Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Format: eARC
Pages: 390
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Rating: 7.5

Summary:
From Goodreads: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Why did I read this book? It’s a retelling of Cinderella as a cyborg. ‘Nuff said.

Source: eARC from Netgalley

My Review
Honestly, I was really excited to read this book. Then some reviews came out from some of my trusted sources that kind of tempered my excitement, since I usually wholeheartedly agree with said sources. Not to mention, I tend not to become so enchanted with the hyped young adult releases as others do. So I sat down to finally read Cinder and to my surprised I actually kind of fell in love with this book.

Let’s start with everything I loved. Cinder is a cyborg who is living with her stepmother and two stepsisters in New Beijing. Because of her situation as a cyborg, this means she has fewer rights than “regular” humans and so is treated very poorly by her family (except for one sister, Peony). Cinder herself is a pretty awesome heroine – she’s a skilled mechanic, clever, interested in boys yet not an imbecile. She dreams of a better life, but most often, that doesn’t necesssarily mean a life dependant on a man. Then there’s her friend, the family android, Iko who is completely lovable and the perfect companion for Cinder.

Cinder eventually meets Prince Kai, son of the Commonwealth’s emperor when he shows up at her shop with a android for her to fix. This sparks a romance which is sort of doomed from the start – Cinder is an cyborg, so believes she could never be accepted, not even by the Prince.

Then there’s the whole other part of the story: the Lunars. These are people who live on the moon and are governed by Queen Levana. Lunars possess advanced technology which is perceived as magic by the humans of earth. They even possess ‘magical abilities’- able to make people see what they want them to see and feel what they want to feel – but this is really a biological thing, the ability to alter the bioelectricity of others. I really liked the play between science and magic; it all really depends on the person who perceives it. Cinder often calls this magic while others call it biology.

Queen Levana wants to pretty much take over the Earth and is trying to go through Prince Kai to do it. It’s hard for me to explain all the side plots of the story since it’s quite extensive. Meyer does an excellent job of taking all the iconic aspects of Cinderella and using just enough of it to create an original and engaging science fiction fantasy.

Meyer does a pretty good job with the world-building, but there are times that I felt that it could have gone even further than it did. I had many questions, such as: why doesn’t the Queen just take over the world if she’s so powerful? Why are cyborgs seen as lesser beings? How do people live on the moon? Also, I did question the reasoning behind making Cinder Caucasian when this story is set in a futuristic Chinese setting. Sometimes these questions would interrupt my immersion in the story.

Lastly, I have to mention that there is NO LOVE TRIANGLE. The romance is more of a “star-crossed lovers” story, and I enjoyed this a lot. There are threats to their romance, including other people, but I don’t think there was ever a question about whether Kai and Cinder had feelings for each other. Cinder also isn’t empty-headed or unreasonable when it comes to her feelings for Prince Kai.

Rating: 7.5
So, yeah. I definitely liked Cinder and found it to be one of the most enjoyable young adult novels I read in a long time. It had everything I look for: good world-building, no love triangle and bonus: it’s science fiction rather than paranormal. Warning: the story ends with a major cliffhanger. The sequel, Scarlet comes out next year.

Read more...

Interview: Sarah Beth Durst, author of Drink, Slay Love

In October I had the chance to read a book called Drink, Slay, Love (review) about a vampire who gets stabbed in the heart with a unicorn horn and starts to develop a conscience, despite wanting to stay evil.

Here's the blurb from Goodreads:

Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.

Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees. 

The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?

Naturally, after reading this fun novel I had to ask the author to stop by for an interview!

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of young adult novels Drink, Slay, Love, Enchanted Ivy, and Ice from Simon & Schuster, as well as middle grade novels Into the Wild and Out of the Wild from Penguin Young Readers. She has twice been a finalist for SFWA's Andre Norton Award, for both Ice and Into the Wild.

Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her two children, and her ill-mannered cat. She also has a miniature pet griffin named Alfred. Okay, okay, that’s not quite true. His name is really Montgomery.

1. Thank you for taking the time for this interview! Firstly, I'm dying to ask: where did you come up with the idea of sparkly unicorns and a vampire turned good for Drink, Slay, Love? 

So there I was, an ordinary Saturday night, sitting on the couch, eating tortilla chips, thinking about unicorns...  Yeah, that's pretty much a Saturday night for me.  Anyway, it suddenly occurred to me, "Unicorns have a built-in stake!  They're natural vampire hunters!"  And that's the moment when Drink, Slay, Love was born.

As for the idea of a vampire-turned-good...  I'd read about vampires who try to be good, and I wondered what would happen to a vampire who didn't want to be good but had to be... an evil vampire who LIKES being evil.

2. With so many other vampire young adult novels out there, how did you want this one to be different (if you did at all)?

I actually didn't intend to write a vampire novel, though I love them.  But once I had the idea of unicorns as vampire hunters...  It felt so right that it would have been wrong not to write it!

I also knew that I wanted it to be funny -- there aren't enough funny vampire/unicorn books out there.  I knew I succeeded when a friend that I've known for at least a decade and a half said, "Wow, Sarah, I didn't know you had a sense of humor!"  *facepalm*

3. Are you team were-unicorn or team vampire and why?

Team were-unicorn.  They're less likely to eat me.

4. Could you tell us about any upcoming projects you might be working on?

I am putting the finishing touches on VESSEL, my next YA fantasy novel.  It's coming from Simon & Schuster in September 2012, and I'm really, really excited about it.  I recently posted the cover art on my blog, along with this description:  In a desert land where serpents made of unbreakable glass fly through the sky and wolves made of only sand hunt within storms, Liyana is destined to be a vessel, to sacrifice herself so that her clan's goddess can inhabit her body... but her goddess never comes.

Thanks so much for interviewing me!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Read more...

Review: First Day on Earth by Cecil Castellucci

Title: First Day on Earth
Author: Cecil Castellucci
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 160
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publication Date: November 1st, 2011
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rating: B

Summary:
From Goodreads: A startling, wonderful novel about the true meaning of being an alien in an equally alien world.

"We are specks. Pieces of dust in this universe. Big nothings.

"I know what I am."

Mal lives on the fringes of high school. Angry. Misunderstood. Yet loving the world -- or, at least, an idea of the world.

Then he meets Hooper. Who says he's from another planet. And may be going home very soon.

Why did I read this book? I was contacted by a fellow Montreal Book Blogger about whether I wanted to participate in a breakfast with the author, Castellucci (she's lived in Montreal I believe) and was super excited about it. I had seen good reviews of her novels but had yet to read any, and now was my chance!

Source: Review copy provided by publisher

My Review
This is a very short novel so my review will probably be short as well. The novel is about teenager Mal who has a pretty tragic life, living with his alcoholic mother after his dad left the family. This is very character driven, I find, and it's what makes this short book interesting. Not only does Mal have to deal with some pretty serious problems, he also is trying to cope with being abducted by aliens. He goes to group meetings for the contacted and meets another called Hooper, whom he becomes friends with. I really liked Mal as a character and I felt that what drove his story was the sympathy we had for him and wanting things to be okay for him. Despite growing up in harsh circumstances, he's a really great person. He looks after those that need it and never once does he complain about his life. He has a sort of matter of fact way of looking at things.

One of the heart-wrenching things is that he wishes he could go back into space with the aliens (and who can blame him?). The ending is compelling, since you never really get a clear answer on anything and it leaves you pondering.

Rating: B
I thought this was a very valuable read. It's short but packed with emotion and the characters are detailed and life-like. I really liked Mal and his journey to come to terms with his life and his feelings, and that's what this is about. It's a story about people and what they go through. We are abducted into his life for a brief time but we come out just as effected as he is after his contact with outer beings. I recommend this for anyone looking for a meaningful, character driven story. I think young adults particularly will find this valuable since it deals with so many real issues that they go through.

Read more...

Review: Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst

Title: Drink, Slay, Love
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 385
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Publication Date: September 13th, 2011
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Rating: B+

Summary:
From Goodreads: Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.

Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees.

The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?

Why did I read this book? I thought the premise sounded like this could be a fun, different kind of vampire book then what's out there right now. I've also read this author before and have enjoyed her work!

Source: Review copy from author

My Review
There are many things that attracted me to Drink, Slay, Love. The cover is really nice and gives off the light, amusing feel of the story. Then I read the synopsis and found it perfectly clever that this story is about a vampire named Pearl who is stabbed by a were-unicorn's horn, and starts to develop tendancies that would suggest a soul. I wasn't disappointed with this either, once the scene came around: "Despite the thick shadows by the dumpsters, he sparkled like a horse-shaped disco ball. His traditional spiral horn beamed like a toy light saber." (p. 8) I found myself reading with a smirk on my face because Durst references so many well-known vampire tropes. I really liked that things were poked fun at and it made the story more enjoyable, that it wasn't just following a tread, but commenting on it.

While the humor and wit of the story is what really grabbed me, I found that what sustained me throughout was the universal nature of Pearl's growth. Yes, she's a vampire but her whole situation is what most young adults are going through (and even some adults). She finds she different from everyone and her parents are pressuring her to be one thing, to follow the family's path. On the other hand, the human friends she makes are pulling her the other way. It's her story of self-discovery and trying to find a place in the world.

What I also really liked about Pearl is that she didn't just get stabbed and "changed" by a were-unicorn's magic, it was a catalyst to her change, but instead of making her life change for her, it just spurred her into thinking about it. She really struggles with how to live her life, whether to suck the life out of people or to do something else. She doesn't exactly welcome the were-unicorns intervention, either.

Rating: B+
In a world where there are so many vampire books, I found this one to be rather refreshing. I loved the humor and the personal growth of the main character, Pearl. Along the way there's action, some romance (but it doesn't dominate) and overall I found it to be a smart story. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a light, entertaining read.

Read more...

Review: The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Title: The Faerie Ring
Author: Kiki Hamilton
Series: The Faerie Ring #1
Format: ARC
Pages: 176/352
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Fantasy
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
Publisher: Tor
Rating: No Grade

Summary:
From Goodreads: Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger.

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

Why did I read this book? Although I think fey-themed books are a dime a dozen these days, I was interested because it was set in Victorian London and I love historical settings!

Source: ARC from BEA

My Review
As you can see, I didn't have much luck with this book despite it being on my most anticipated reads from BEA this year. I really wanted to be absorbed into Victorian London and experience through the eyes of Tiki, the main character, but it never worked out. Tiki is a street kid living in an abandoned shop with a few other orphaned children. They have to steal to live and often go hungry. I liked that the author chose to tell this story from that angle, rather than the more common tale from the point of view of nobility. However, I never really feared for them, since they always managed to steal enough money or objects for their plans, such as Tiki going to a ball. I thought this was a little hard to believe, and undermined the potential grittiness. However, the bigger issue I had and the reason I set the book aside was that by page 176, barely anything had happened. We only see glimpses of the fey and we spend more time reading about Tiki think about what to do to help her friends and what to do with the ring (which doesn't really have any effect on the story by then anyway).

Rating: No Grade
This book has gotten great reviews so far and it seems I'm in the minority. I just couldn't invest more time after feeling like the story was going on and on without any action or movement of the main plot. I wish there had been more magic in the first couple hundred pages.

Read more...

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Author: Laini Taylor
Series: ?
Format: ARC
Pages: 420
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Rating: A

Summary:
From Goodreads: Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Why did I read this book? I was midly interested in this book after receiving it at BEA, but what really piqued my interest was all the rave reviews.

Source: ARC from BEA 2011

My Review
This is one of those times where I'm going to have to reign in all my giddy fangirlishness and try and make this sound like a proper review. But I really, really want to squee all over this page but I suppose that's not the best way to get people interested in reading this book...

I would say there are two major things about Daughter of Smoke and Bone which easily makes this an awesome read: world building and the prose. I never heard of Taylor before, but she surprised me with this world she geniusly created. It's set in Prague and centers round Karou, our aquamarine-haired protagonist who loves art and whose adopted family is a set of chimaera. Her father-figure is Brimstone, a creature part man, part stag and who knows what else. Karou often runs errands for him, using the portal of to his workshop as a means to travel around the world. She picks up teeth for him, all kinds of teeth. She doesn't know what he uses it for, but he often trades wishes to clients who bring him teeth of various species. In this world, wishes are like a currency, the lowest being a scuppy, that can only manage something like turning hair a different color.

But this world is hidden from ours and Karou is the only one who seems to know it exists, until she meets another mysterious player, Akiva. Akiva's a seraphim and somehow connected to this other world, but he is also her enemy. The seraphim are at war against the chimaera and so there's natural tension between him and Karou, but they also can't help but be attracted to each other.

I really loved Karou's world as we see it through her life. However, she's been kept in the dark about her past and so have we and much of the story is about her discovering who she is and where she came from. This was expertly done by Taylor who provides a thrilling action-packed story filled with the glamour of Prague and the magic of a world elsewhere.

The only issues I had with this novel is how prominent the romance became after the first half of the book and the fact that the book doesn't really end. We are left to wait for the second book to find out what happens in Karou's story.

Rating: A
I definitely recommend Daughter of Smoke and Bone to readers looking for a magical story. It's a great read for young adults and adults alike. I hope to read the next novel in the series and to get closure on some of the events and also hope to see the romance fleshed out a bit more. 

Read more...

Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars by Nick James

Title: Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars
Author: Nick James
Series: Skyship Academy #1
Format: ARC
Pages: 380
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction
Publication Date: September 8th, 2011
Publisher: Flux
Rating: A-

Summary:
From Goodreads: A devastated Earth's last hope is found in Pearls: small, mysterious orbs that fall from space and are capable of supplying enough energy to power entire cities. Battling to control the Pearls are the Skyship dwellers—political dissidents who live in massive ships in the Earth's stratosphere—and the corrupt Surface government.

Jesse Fisher, a Skyship slacker, and Cassius Stevenson, a young Surface operative, cross paths when they both venture into forbidden territory in pursuit of Pearls. Their chance encounter triggers an unexpected reaction, endowing each boy with remarkable—and dangerous—abilities that their respective governments would stop at nothing to possess.

Enemies thrust together with a common goal, Jesse and Cassius make their way to the ruins of Seattle to uncover the truth about their new powers, the past they didn't know they shared, and a shocking secret about the Pearls.

Why did I read this book? After reading the premise of this book and finding out it would be available at BEA, I thought I must get myself a copy. I was hoping this to be a young adult dystopia that I could finally be excited about.

Source: Grabbed the ARC at BEA this year.

My Review
Recently I haven't had much luck with the popular young adult dystopias that have been released. It really started to get me down since I wanted to read a good YA dystopia. Then I read The Pearl Wars and that was it.

This debut novel from Nick James really has it all. There's wonderful worldbuilding. About one hundred years in the future, America is unrecognizable. The Surface was devastated by war and now run by a corrupt government while their opposition live in the sky onboard Skyships. Both depend on Pearls, glowing orbs that fall from space and can power a whole city. I mean, doesn't this just sound cool? Not only that, it all makes sense. We find out way more about this future world and where the Pearls come from, which I never saw coming. All the while I was reading this book I just felt like James had thought out and created such a fantastic world that really gave the other dystopias a run for their money.

Other aspects I enjoyed about The Pearl Wars were the main characters. Jesse, a boy attending the Skyship Academy, struggles with self-confidence and his feelings for a girl named Avery. I really liked Jesse even though I thought he was often hard on himself and felt he grew a lot from the beginning to the end of the book. Cassius, on the other hand, has no issue with confidence or self-doubt, but he has his own demons to face. Overall I felt these two were the most fleshed out out of all the characters. In the future books I'd like to see more on Eva, Jesse's kickass friend.

Also, I felt that since this story didn't have such a prominent romance (there's some, but it's not the focus) we really got to experience some great worldbuilding, action and adventure. Not that you can have that along with romance, but it was nice to see a young adult dystopia not entirely focused on a romance.

Rating: A-
Really, this is a great new dystopia along with some great science fiction elements. The ending left me wanting more: more about the characters, the world, and what will happen next. For anyone who's wanted a young adult dystopia with more meat on its bones, this is it. I loved it. I hope that a sequel will be coming out in the near future! 

Read more...

Review: Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman

Title: Want to Go Private?

Author: Sarah Darer Littman
Series: N/A
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 336
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: August 1st, 2011
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rating: B

Summary:
From Goodreads: Abby and Luke chat online. They've never met. But they are going to. Soon.

Abby is starting high school—it should be exciting, so why doesn't she care? Everyone tells her to "make an effort," but why can't she just be herself? Abby quickly feels like she's losing a grip on her once-happy life. The only thing she cares about anymore is talking to Luke, a guy she met online, who understands. It feels dangerous and yet good to chat with Luke—he is her secret, and she's his. Then Luke asks her to meet him, and she does. But Luke isn't who he says he is. When Abby goes missing, everyone is left to put together the pieces. If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.

Why did I read this book? Normally I don't read contemporary young adult novels becaue they don't appeal to me, but this one grabbed my attention due to its subject matter. Online targeting of kids is an important issue to me and I wanted to see how the author handled it.

Source: This book was donated to our Montreal Book Blogger meetup by the publisher and I was able to snag a copy!

My Review

This book starts off in Abby's point of view while she starts high school. She is like many teenagers who have low self-esteem, problems at home with the family, but is generally an all around good student. She doesn't do drugs or drink and she gets great grades. Even so, she is targeted and groomed online by a predator posing as someone who claims to understand her home problems and fills that void for her. Soon after, the situation escalates and the point of view switches between Abby's younger sister and her best friend. We see how lives can be disrupted and destroyed as easily as someone logging into a chat room and saying the right things to a vulnerable child.

This is a hard review to write because I can't say I enjoyed the book. It was gut-wrenching and hard to see Abby go through things that I think many young girls go through; lonliness and lack of self-confidence. However, Littman does a great job in describing the grooming process and how a star student can be made to do things she would never normally do. We also see how this effects the family and friends in the aftermath of such a situation. I believed the story that Littman told and I think a lot went into the research of writing about online predators and how they work. I really felt connected to Abby because I was a lot like her at that age and it made me think what would have happened if I had been targeted the way she was. It shows that anyone can fall prey to these online predators.

Rating: B
While the subject matter of this book can be rough and graphic at times, I think this is great book for young adults and their parents, one they could read and talk about after. It provides a gripping story and yet is informative and certainly a wake up call for parents out there. I wouldn't advise anyone sensitive to the issue of sexual assult to read this because it can be explicit.

Read more...

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent #1
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 107/487
Genre: YA, dystopia
Publication Date: May 3rd, 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Rating: No Grade

Summary: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

My Review

Why did I read this book? I bought this book due to the many positive reviews I've read and I thought the synopsis looked interesting.

Why it's a DNF: The usual reason I don't finish a book is because I reach a point where I realize that the book just isn't for me. Many people love Divergent, but after reading about a quarter of it, I knew I should call it quits. This is another YA dystopia and I think I've been really burnt out from them. I find I'm harsher on the worldbuilding because there's just so much others to compare it to. I was generally interested in the premise and the set up of the world: how people are divided into factions based on the traits they feel they need to exude in order to keep the world peaceful. However, I just couldn't grasp fully onto this idea and in particular, I thought the Dauntless faction was disappointing (which is the one that's focused on highly). I didn't understand why dangerous stunts and fighting each other (even in unfair fights) was brave. Once I got hints to a romance I decided to put the book aside since I was not feeling the worldbuilding and characters.

Overall Thoughts 

Obviously I'm in the minority, so if you like YA dystopias, there's a good chance you'll like this one. If you're someone like me who will really question the worldbuilding, then perhaps it's not for you.

Read more...

Review: Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

Title: Spellbound

Author: Cara Lynn Shultz
Format: ARC
Pages: 384
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication Date: June 28th, 2011
Publisher: Harlequinn Teen
Rating: C

Summary:
What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?

Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Conner, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

My Review

Why did I read this book? I received an advanced copy of this from BEA and thought it looked interesting.

What I liked: As you can see from my rating, I had reservations about this book. They mostly had to do with the plot. I enjoyed the writing and the pacing and I found that while I did have problems, I sped through this novel quickly and found myself enjoying certain parts. These were often the times the main character, Emma, showed her strong side, like when she stood up for her cousin at school. What can I say? I enjoyed myself well enough to keep reading despite my problems with the fundamental parts of the plot, which is saying something. Oh, and huge props for the author not using a love triangle!

What I didn't like: Basically, I didn't like how the romance was portrayed. Emma and Brendan fall for each other and aren't sure why their feelings are so strong and why weird things keep happening. We're told their love is special (I won't give anything away) and I don't have a problem with that. I have a problem with the fact that their love seemed to be portrayed as any teen infatuation. There was no depth as I expected; I couldn't really distinguish their love from anyone else's, despite the reminder that their love is special. Part of this is because, at least from Emma's point of view, her perception of Brendan was often superficial. He's smart, gorgeous, rich, and nice. Well, who wouldn't fall madly in love with that?

I also thought Emma was given a past that was especially tagic in order for us to give her our sympathy, but her past really never made any impact on herself or the story at all. Why make her life so tragic? Why make Brendan so perfect? Is it for the 'fairy tale' effect? I don't think I like that.

Thoughts on the cover: I really like the font and the black background.

Overall Thoughts 
I'm sort of torn on this. On the one hand I felt engaged and interested enough to read the book quickly and enjoy most of it. The problems I had with it came afterward as I sat thinking about the story and the characters. I began to think I didn't like the idea of soul-mates between two teens which often came across as obsession and infatuation. Perhaps if I could have believed it more, I would have a different opinion. I'd recommend this only if you're really interested in this type of romance or if you are looking for a light beach read.

ARC was provided by the publisher.

Read more...

Review: Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Title: Shade

Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Series: Shade #1
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 309
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Publication Date: May 4th, 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating: A

Summary
From Goodreads: Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift.

My Review

Why did I read this book? I had heard so many good things about Smith-Ready's writing and a lot of good things about Shade in particular. I bought this book right after Christmas and finally go a chance to sit down a read it.

What I liked: There's a lot to like and love about Shade. First, I was completely absorbed in how original this story is. What would happen in a story about a girl who loses her boyfriend but can continue to interact with him as a ghost? I just liked the premise so much and I thought it added a lot of weight to the theme of grief and how you cope with losing someone you love. While the book is very entertaining I always came back to the feeling that I felt so sorry for Aura and the situation she's in. She has to juggle a ghost-boyfriend who very much still loves her and the attention of a new boy at school while also trying to figure out what happened to her mother. It might not sound like much the way I'm describing it, but Smith-Ready does a great job of balancing a fast-paced plot and heart-wrenching story.

I also loved the worldbuilding and thought it very well developed. People 16 and under can see and talk to ghosts because of a mysterious event that happened called the Shift. As you can expect, this event changes the world in ways such as how crimes are solved. I mean, things can really change when a person who's murdered can testify at their own murder trial. As for the Shift itself, we don't get much answers but I suspect we will as the series continues.

What I didn't like: There's not much I didn't like, really. Sometimes I became fustrated with Aura and her insistance of continuing her relationship with Logan, but I ususally ended up feeling bad and thinking that most people would do the same thing in that situation, so soon after losing someone like that.

Thoughts on the cover: What can I say, my favorite color is purple so I automatically like it a lot!

Overall Thoughts 

I definitely recommend Shade to anyone looking for a great young adult read with a paranormal slant. I really liked it and plan on snatching the next book in the series, Shift, as soon as I can.

Read more...

Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Title: Howl's Moving Castle

Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Series: Castle #1
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication Date: March 16th, 2009 (first 1986)
Publisher: Harpercollins; New edition edition
Rating: B+

From Goodreads: In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter.

After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl, who, it was said, liked to suck the souls of young girls.

The Hatter sisters--Sophie, Lettie, and Martha--and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning.

In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?

Diana Wynne Jones's entrancing fantasy is filled with surprises at every turn, but when the final stormy duel between the Witch and the Wizard is finished, all the pieces fall magically into place.

I think this review might be hard for me to write since I feel like this is a book that is just so unique and fun that it would be hard to talk about it to people who haven't read it. So that's a long way of saying: read this book!

I've never read a Jones book before (they somehow escaped my childhood) but I was always interested in them since they are so loved by so many. I picked up Howl's Moving Castle after I heard of her death and read it quickly after that. This book was so much fun and so clever and I found that Jones' voice really shone through. She created pretty lovable characters, my favorite being Sophie. Sophie grows up thinking nothing great will happen to her because she's the eldest of the siblings, only to find herself cursed and living in the body of a 90 year old. I felt this was so appropriate since Sophie was living her life before as if it was over, and once her body changed to match her mindset, she started to act differently because she thought that an old woman didn't have to worry about acting a certain way. I thought the curse sort of freed her from her own issues and while living this way throughout the book, she discovers what her life means and what she can make of it, whether she's young or old.

I also enjoyed the little tidbits of magic such as the seve leage boots and the magic door that ingeniously connects Sophie's world to ours. The ending was surprisingly more awesome thant I thought it would be (which I won't reveal for spoilers).

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a light children's fantasy with a fantastic ending. Really, to anyone who was hesitant about reading Jones before, just go do it already!

Read more...

Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness
Series: Chaos Walking #1
Format: Paperback
Pages: 479
Genre: Dystopia
Publication Date: May 5th, 2008
Publisher: Walker Children's
Rating: B
Challenge: Calico_Reaction's Book Club - March Challenge

From Goodreads: Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee - whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not - stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden - a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

Gosh, I'm pretty late on this one. I actually finished reading it on time but got sidetracked when trying to write the review.

Anyways, I was really excited to read this book and was happy to see it was chosen for the book club. I have heard great things about it and I really wanted to read a good young adult dystopian after having some trouble with others.

Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. I found The Knife of Never Letting Go an exhilarating experience in a world where men can hear each other's thoughts (these thoughts are called Noise). Todd lives in Prentisstown, where there are no more women left and he's the last boy to grow into a man. Ness presents a very creepy look into the world where susperstition plays a big part in everyone's actions, especially those in Prentisstown. It kind of reminded me of the Lord of the Flies, where a bunch of kids (in this case, adults and kids) get put on an island and left to their own devices. In Prentisstown, the men have created a skewed view of the world and they make some pretty crazy plans.

The story follows Todd as he tries to escape the clutches of the men of Prentisstown. There's a lot of adventure. Todd is always on the run. I find that to be a pro and con to this book, since it means there was a lot of action, but I was really yearning for more interaction with people outside Prentisstown. I wanted to see and experience more of the world through Todd's eyes - not constantly follow him alone into the forests on his journey.

That pretty much sums up my opinion of this book: I really was fascinated by this world and it kept me turning the pages, but I wished I had learned more about it. This is obviously a series since Ness leaves us with a big cliffhanger at the end. I hope in the next book, The Ask and The Answer, he shows us more about the world he's created. B

Read more...

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Wither
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Series: Chemical Garden #1
Format: ARC
Pages: 137/356
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
Publication Date: March 22, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Rating: No Grade

From Goodreads: What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

As you can see from the no grade, I didn't finish Wither. There's a lot of positive reviews out there and I found that I wasn't able to get into this book as much as others.

The biggest problem I had with Wither was maintaining my suspension of disbelief. DeStefano created a harsh dystopian world that, I think, took backseat to
the romantic story. In her world women die at 20 and men at 25, and it's not very clear whether this was a virus or genetic disease (although the desire for perfect mates made me think it might be genetic). Our heroine, Rhine, is kidnapped from her tragic life with her twin brother and is inserted into this mansion in Florida that also holds two other girls (wives). One thing I didn't understand was, if the world was so full of orphans, why do people have to kidnap girls to marry? Why not take the orphaned girls rather than ones not wanting to go? Also, if the girls are so precious, why kill them so easily?

Rhine is chosen to live (according to her) on her unique trait of having one blue and one brown eye. A lot of the selection of girls was based on appearance, which confused me, because if you were trying to cure this virus/disease, why would you base it on certain looks of the women? Why not use all girls, since who knows who will be the one to have the right traits?

In the end, I thought that the world would have been better explored if not for the huge focus on a love triangle-type romance. Rhine didn't do anything for me. As another reviewer pointed out, if you had four years to live and you were starving to death, why wouldn't you be more interested in living the high life for the last years of your life in a mansion? These questions sat in the back of my mind as I read and finally decided I wasn't interested in the romance and relationship between Rhine and the other characters.

ARC provided by Simon & Schuster.

Read more...

Review: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Title: Hunger
Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Series: Horsemen of the Apocalypse #1
Pages: 177
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Publication Date: October 18, 2010
Rating: A-

“Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world.”

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home: her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power — and the courage to battle her own inner demons? (from Goodreads)

When I first heard of this book what really caught me was the original and clever premise: an anorexic girl is chosen to become the new Famine. I was also curious as to how Kessler would deal with the issue of anorexia since this is a young adult novel and many of her readers may be dealing with some sort of eating disorder. What I found was an incredibly sensitive, real and heart-wrenching story of a girl named Lisabeth and her struggle with starving herself. I was completely engrossed in the story; I really connected to Lisa and found she was so well portrayed I thought she could have been a friend of mine and I was getting a secret glimpse into her life.

Initially I was more interested in the fantasy part of the story, the part about the horsemen. Eventually I realized that it wasn't as important as Lisa's personal journey and her role as Famine would play a part in helping her with her disorder. I think anyone can relate to Lisa since I'm sure everyone has dealt with self-esteem and/or body image issues. I think this book sends a great message to girls who are dealing with these kinds of problems but it doesn't necessarily paint a rosy picture of a girl sailing through her recovery. It's real and raw and I loved that Kessler didn't shy away from the frightening parts of it.

There isn't a huge cast. There's Lisa and her best friend Tammy, who also suffers from an eating disorder, bulimia. I don't have any real experience with these serious issues but I felt that both girls were portrayed pretty convincingly and I really believed their different stories. There's also James, Lisa's boyfriend, who notices something's wrong but doesn't know how to help her. A character I really enjoyed was that of Death, who is part of Lisa's horseman life. He's eerie and weird and says some pretty intriguing things. I hope to see more of him in the future books.

I thought the ending was great. It was just right to provide closure to the story but also not to leave the reader feeling too sad for Lisa. I think it gives hope and encouragement to anyone reading it who is suffering from the same thing.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. It's quite short but packs a major punch. I think it would be especially great for young women or anyone who is interested in reading about real teenager issues. The next book in the series is Rage and will be out next year. A-

Read more...

Review: A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliott

Title: A Wish After Midnight
Author: Zetta Elliott
Pages: 258
Genre: YA, Time Travel, Historical Fiction
Publication Date: March 5, 2009
Rating: A
Challenge: Calico Reaction's Book Club - September Challenge (Alternate)

A Wish After Midnight is the story of 15 year old Genna Colon and her turbulent life in Brooklyn, New York. Her days are filled with school (which she is very good at), taking care of her younger brother, Tyjuan, and dealing with her older brother and sister. Her father left the family when they were little; their tiny apartment is crowded with five people. Then Genna meets Judah, a Jamaican boy who teaches her about her African roots and who is also there to support her. Suddenly, she is thrown into a new time: the year of 1863. There she learns about America during the civil war the hard way and exposes us to the daily life of African-Americans, the Irish and American people of Brooklyn 1863.

This book is divided into three parts; the first being about Genna's life in Brooklyn. It is a struggle to say the least. Her family is financially drained, there is the threat of drugs and violence around her, and there are still racial undertones in the city. Genna doesn't fit it as much as she would want to. I thought that this first part of the book was a good way to introduce us to Genna and her life. It also creates and interesting parallel to 1863: there is, surprisingly, still a lot of changes to be made in society. Genna gets an after-school job babysitting for a white woman and ironically, that's the same job she gets in 1863.

The second part is based on Genna's life in 1863 Brooklyn. I personally was more interested in the past part of the story. This is probably because I like historical fiction so much and anything set in the past is attractive to me. I really was fascinated by all the information Elliott crams into one book without info dumping. She not only explores the lives of African-Americans of the time but also the racism against the Irish and the mistreatment of women as well.

I really felt immersed in this story and I think this has to do with the fact that it is told in first person by Genna. I thought it was very emotional and raw and real despite the fantastical premise.

Overall, I really liked this novel and I cannot wait for a sequel! The ending left in a pretty big cliffhanger and I'm really interested to see what happens in the present and the past. Also, I thought Elliott was just expert at creating a world where different characters have different opinions on everything and it serves to teach the reader about issues such as race in the present day and the past. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a gritty novel, a smart young adult read, or even just a great historical tale.

Read more...

Review: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Title: The Thief
Author: Megan Whalen Turner
Pages: 280
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: C+

From Goodreads: "I can steal anything."

After Gen's bragging lands him in the king's prison, the chances of escape look slim. Then the king's scholar, the magus, needs the thief's skill for a seemingly impossible task -- to steal a hidden treasure from another land.

To the magus, Gen is just a tool. But Gen is a trickster and a survivor with a plan of his own.

My initial impression of this book was pretty good. I liked that the author uses good volcabulary (words such as agora, megaron) which I think would be great for younger readers. However, I thought the first 60 pages or so of the book to be quite boring. It mostly has to due with traveling the countryside, but I personally thought there wasn't enough information given to have any anticipation of the events in the story.

The main characters are three boys (including the title's theif), a soldier and a magus. Although I thought the constantly changing relationship of the three boys to be kind of interesting, I felt the story was hindered by the exclusion of any female character. I tend to gravitate to the female characters of the story and sometimes during The Thief I felt like I wasn't connecting as much as I could to the main characters. In the end this changes but sadly, it wasn't soon enough for me.

Many readers will enjoy the twist ending as did I. Based on the ending alone and how the novel leaves off, I could see myself reading the sequal The Queen of Attolia but perhaps from the library. However, I do recognize that this book would probably be very popular with younger audiences. It's clever, well written, and the characters deal with relevant issues (such as bullying). I recommend this to anyone who find the premise especially interesting, or for youngsters who are looking for a fun, quick read with a surprise ending.

Read more...

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Pages: 374
Genre: YA Dystopia
Rating: A-

From Goodreads: In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.

When a YA novel comes along that has so much hype such as The Hunger Games I become hesitant to read it because I haven't had much luck with the hyped-up YA books. I think it's just because I don't mesh with the things that make those books exciting for others. I put off reading The Hunger Games until I saw it was available at the library so I requested it.

Despite my bias going into it (which I tried really hard to suppress) this book still managed to win me over. There were many things that I liked. Firstly, despite the book's premise being hard to believe, the fact that people would actually watch children kill themselves in an arena for victory, I thought Collins did the best job she could to make it plausible. There was some internal logic that I sensed which made me happy. I like when things make sense. I was able to suspend disbelief and nothing broke that.

This was done through good world-building in the form of a dystopian North America. The characters were real. I thought the portrayal of Katniss as a strong teenaged girl was not over the top or too weak. You really knew her motivations (to take care of her sister) and you could relate to them.

Another great aspect of the story is the fast pace and Collins' ability to create tension. The Games are brutal, exciting and scary. If I was a teenager reading this I'd be freaked out and intrigued. I was even still! Actually, I think I would have loved this book at that age.

There are some areas I thought could be improved on. I would have liked to see more of the outside world. We are limited in what we see due to the first person view of Katniss. I would have liked to see more of the people of the world and what their experiences are like because I believe Collins created something interesting. However, this is a little critism and in general I still thought the book was great.

I recommend this to teens who don't mind some violence and anyone interested in good quality YA fiction. I will be reading the sequel soon. A-

Read more...