Review: Demon Girl (Rae Wilder #1)

Title: Demon Girl
Author: Penelope Fletcher
Series: Rae Wilder #1
Genre: YA Paranormal Dystopian
Age restriction? 10+?
Published: 7 October 2010
Recommended for: I wouldn't recommend it.
Buy: Demon Girl @ Amazon (Free Book)

What seemed like an interesting idea was ruined by lack of editing. Too bad, really.

DESCRIPTION (via Goodreads): Rae Wilder has problems. Supernatural creatures swarm the earth, and humanity is on the brink of extinction. Stalked by a handsome fairy who claims she is like him, demonkind, Rae thinks maybe it was a mistake breaking the rules by going over the Wall into demon territory. Plunged into a world of dark magics, fierce creatures, and ritual sacrifice, she is charged with a guarding a magical amulet. The changes to her mind and body are startling, but rather than accept her purpose she struggles against who she is destined to be. Throw in a big lust for a vampire who can't keep his hands off her, and life starts to get complicated. Rae is forced to make the ultimate choice: to live and die human, or embrace her birth-right and wield magics that could turn her into something wicked, a force of nature nothing can control.

REVIEW: I thought this sounded like a fun and original story and couldn't wait to read it. Sadly, I simply couldn't get through the egregious grammatical errors, homonym confusion, and general lack of editing.

This could be a great book, but I simply could not finish it. I have great respect for Indie authors, but this is one book that really needed a good editor. Besides the language issues, the plot needed some serious tightening up and the pacing - oh lawd the pacing!

It read like an unedited NaNoWriMo attempt, sadly. Most disappointing indeed.

RECOMMENDED FOR: I couldn't finish it.

Review: Delirium

 Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium #1
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Age restriction? None
Published: 1 February 2011
Recommended for:
Buy: Delirium: The Special Edition @ Amazon

Great YA Dystopian with a few minor flaws. A stellar idea executed very well overall.

Lena Holoway is counting the days until she can have her operation and be free of the curse of love forever. Unlike many of her peers, she doesn't resent the government's interference in her life - she welcomes it, counts the days until it can happen. Because love is dangerous. Love hurts. And love kills. Lena knows this first-hand - that's the reason she's living with her aunt and her two cousins.

Desperate to escape the "curse" her family must bear, the increased scrutiny, the whispers of them being sympathizers, eager to just be normal and happy and free, Lena doesn't even consider that things could be, (should be?), different. Until the day of her evaluations to determine her future partner and life course, when the Sympathizers stage a protest. When she meets him, and her entire life and everything she thought she knew gets turned upside down.

Well-written and captivating, Lauren Oliver's Delirium is a gentle look at identity, feelings and duty as well as being a decent love story and a terrifying glimpse into what might be.

One of the things I particularly enjoyed about Delirium was how every symptom, every justification given for the outlawing of love is made to make absolute sense. I mean, it's true: love is dangerous. Love has caused people to kill themselves and others. Love has driven people insane, it's shattered nations and leveled empires. It's irrational, unexplainable and uncontrollable. And yes, it freaking hurts! It hurts a lot, sometimes.

The only major problems I had with Delirium was that the romance between Alex and Lena seemed a little bit too "pat" and easy and the Authorities of this Dystopian world seem slightly incompetent and useless. I mean, if you're going to have a totalitarian government that wants to control people up to and including what they feel, you'd need to be stricter and it wouldn't be so easy to sneak out after curfew and so on.

Still, all in all this was an excellent and satisfying read with a memorable (albeit cliffhanger!) ending.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Lovers of YA and anyone with any interest in dystopian fiction.

Review: Shifting

Shifting

Author: Bethany Wiggins
Series: This is a standalone book, I think.
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Age restriction? None.
Published: 27 September 2011

Buy: Shifting @ Amazon

Breathes new life into a familiar theme with an incredible main character and fast-paced, action-packed story.

Maggie Mae's life has been everything but a fairy tale. After the death of her parents and family when she was only five, she has spent close to thirteen years in the foster care system, drifting from home to home, never belonging but trying her best. It was only in the last two years that she's had trouble with the law, trouble which led to her latest foster family begging her social worker to find her yet another home... but someone follows her. Someone who wants her dead.


With so little time to go before she turns eighteen and graduate, Maggie Mae hopes that this foster home will be her last and that she will just be able to hold out until graduation to enter an unsure future. When she meets Bridger, she warns herself not to get attached, that everyone she gets attached to comes to harm, besides, Bridger is not even allowed to date local girls, never mind an orphan scarred from years in the system... but her heart has plans of its own. How can she keep her secret from Bridger, elude the hunters that are intent on killing her and survive for long enough to even have a future?

I enjoyed Shifter a great deal. It's an exquisitely crafted book and Maggie Mae is one of the most sympathetic-without-being-pathetic characters out there. Her life is hard but she's not letting it get her down for one second. The plot is tight and action-packed with heart-stopping pacing and some genuinely surprising twists and turns, and the romance! Beautifully executed, the romance is the heart of the story, knitting it all together into one brightly coloured and extraordinary read.

I had some issues with the resolution of the plot - it felt slightly deus ex machina to me - but other than that, this is a wonderful and satisfying book that will stick with you long after you've read the last page.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Fans of Urban Fantasy, Young Adult or Paranormal Romance.

If you haven't read it yet Review: Jumper

Title: Jumper
Author: Steven Gould
Series: #1 Jumper
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, soft sci-fi
Age restriction? 13+ for adult themes, sexual violence, abuse and other explicitly described violence, including terrorism.
Published: 5 February 2008

Buy: Jumper: A Novel @ Amazon

An intense character-driven book with much more meat and a completely different story than the movie.

DESCRIPTION (via Goodreads): What if you could go anywhere in the world, in the blink of an eye?  Where would you go?  What would you do?    
Davy can teleport. 

To survive, Davy must learn to use and control his power in a world that is more violent and complex than he ever imagined.  But mere survival is not enough for him.  Davy wants to find others like himself, others who can Jump.(more...)

REVIEW: Let's just first get this out of the way: YES I LIKED THE MOVIE (mostly because Samuel L. Jackson ;p). Lots. It was fun, exhilarating and all that jazz an action/adventure movie these days must be. But it was also, not to fine a point on it, as shallow as a puddle after a summer shower, also as these kinds of movies tend to be. Despite that, I enjoyed the movie for what it was, but the book is something completely different from the movie. Best you sort that out in your mind right quick (luckily, being a veteran Stephen King reader, this is an exercise that comes easier to me).

While the movie is all about Davy and how he tries to escape the Paladins, who want to get their evil hooks in him and stop him from jumping or whatevs, the Paladins don't even exist in the book. I found this worked excellently for the book, turning it to more the story of a boy who's trying to literally escape his abusive past but keeps getting drawn back in while having to make hard choices about morality, privacy, agency and responsibility.

Other stuff I liked:

• The author pulls no punches. There are some violent scenes in the movie, but in my view it's nothing a teenager these days hadn't seen a million times on TV or in a game and here it's not just gratuitous. (PROTIP: If you're looking for a book for your child to read, looking at the AGE OF THE PROTAGONIST is the best way to see if it's in your child's age bracket. Seriously, how do people not know this?)
• I enjoyed the voice of this book. Davy is a great character and is written in such a way that even when he says something in his own head, we can see what the thought behind it is, even if he doesn't necessarily have that level of knowledge yet.
• I really liked how seriously Davy took responsibility and how hard he tries to convince himself that it's okay, he doesn't need to feel guilty, and yet he still can't help but feel guilty about things he can't necessarily control. 
• I couldn't put the story down. Although the main conflict isn't introduced until much later in the book, the narrative creates enough conflict with Davy and his coming to terms with his powers to keep you enjoying page after page even before the real "story" starts. Personally I wouldn't plot it like that, but it worked in this instance and some of the events in this "backstory introduction" become very important when looking at and understanding some of David's later choices.
• Solid ending. Always good, especially good here, even though it's the first of a series.
• Subtle yet effective glance at some feminist themes in relationships: the problems the dominant narrative of sex as a transaction creates for the individuals involved who don't want to follow that narrative yet know no other way, things like that mentioned in passing, things most girls and some guys have to deal with and normally sooner rather than later was really gratifying and added a bit of (sorely needed) depth to David's romance with Millie.

Disliked:

• I didn't really feel the romance between David and Millie. There were great aspects around this arc (see the last bullet above), but I found most of the romance to be slightly passionless and pretty meh. Could definitely have been handled better.
• The descriptions in the action scene sometimes went by too fast, especially with his jumping thrown in. It was hard for me to maintain a sense of what exactly was going on in the battle scenes.

RECOMMENDED FOR: "Soft" Sci-fi fans, those who like both contemporary YA and urban fantasy, anyone looking for a male protagonist, anyone who felt the movie slightly "lacking" and is willing to read this book as a YA and not a hardcore science fantasy. Just don't bother with the second book and you'll be golden.

Review: The Replacement

Title: The Replacement
Author: Brenna Yovanoff

Genre: Young Adult Urban Fiction/Fantasy
Age restriction? 12+ at least, it gets pretty macabre (and gruesome) and there's some cursing.
Published: 21 September 2010
Recommended for: If you're looking for a fresh concept and some dark, grim variety, this is the book for you.
Buy: The Replacement @ Amazon

Excellent concept and lots of grim darkness, though the plot and characters may be a bit cold to some.

DESCRIPTION (via Goodreads): Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, Mackie comes from a world of tunnels and black, murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattoed princess. He is a replacement - left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago when it was stolen away by the fey. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world. (...more)

REVIEW: I enjoyed reading The Replacements, although at some times it felt like it was trying too hard to imitate something like Donnie Darko (which is referenced). The plot and characters could seem cold and distant to some readers, but was just what I needed after numerous Teen Angst Tee Em books to clear my palate for more.

What I liked:

• It was pretty dark and grim. I loved that.
• The author pulls no punches - vivid, sometimes gruesome imagery and honest descriptions of difficult-to-sympathize-with emotions like the desire to stay safe and unnoticed, apathy and depression was done very well.
• Did I mention dark and grim? This what the Fae should be like! 
• Despite the darkness and grimness, a heartwarming plot with the main character building truely heartfelt relationships.

Disliked:

• The main character, Mackie, is difficult to emphasize with - mostly because he's not human and part of what that entails is a certain distance and aloofness.
• Also, "Mackie"? Seriously?
• The "Big Bad" was just too stereotypically bad, with nothing redeeming at all - no nuance. I found this incredibly disappointing, especially because its counterpart (The "Good Witch", if you will, because Big Good she ain't) was incredibly nuanced and not all goody goody unicorns and rainbows and stars.
  

RECOMMENDED FOR:Anyone looking for something a bit more substantial and grim and/or gruesome on the Young Adult scene.

Review: Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2)

 Title: Supernaturally
Author: Kiersten White
Series: #1 of Paranormalcy
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Age restriction? None
Published: 26 July 2011
Recommended for: Fans of lighter YA or spec fic
Buy: Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2) @ Amazon

Incredible writing and characterization - a sequel that doesn't disappoint!

DESCRIPTION (via Goodreads): Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.(more...)

REVIEW: Continuing her riveting series with the eloquent voice, vivid and funny writing and shining characters, Kiersten White brings the goods in the highly anticipated second book of her Paranormalcy series.

Like with Paranormalcy, I found being in Evie's head a delightful and very often hilarious experience. This book is slightly darker than the first and I liked that we get to explore the fairy realms and magics some more and deal with some conflicting and more troublesome emotions.

Other things I loved:

• Lend.
• The way the overarching story arch vs. local story arch is handled. There are still many questions left unanswered and you'll long to read the third book, but this book's story wraps up completely and neatly, leaving you with a feeling of satisfaction and a good anticipation.
• The writing style. It's just so comfortable, funny and quirky. It works incredibly well. 

Things I didn't like so much:

• Too much Lorethan - and not in a good way. I like the character of Lorethan but found his actions and motivations in this book growing more and more strange and incomprehensible as the book continues. Where I felt I had a grip on the character before, after finishing this book I'm mystified and more than slightly horrified.
• This may sound strange, so I hope I explain it sufficiently. I really, really missed Lish, and felt as if Evie didn't think about her or miss her presence as much as I did.
• Evie becomes stupid and makes stupid decisions, most unlike her socially naive but street smart self from book one. Perhaps it's a part of showing her as "normal", in the author's mind? For me and most other people, teens most definitely included, it borders on TSTL. Whatevs, but for a while in the middle there I seriously thought: Evie would never fall for that shit.

Despite its problems, I had a fantastic time reading this book. I thoroughly enjoyed Supernaturally and wait in anticipation for the next (last?) one.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Fans of Paranormalcy - Paranormalcy is Required Reading before reading Supernaturally. Some series you can just start off in the middle. Not this one. So, some demographic as for Paranormalcy.

Review: Paranormalcy

Title: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Series: #1 of Paranormalcy
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Age restriction? None
Published: 31 August 2010
Recommended for: Fans of lighter YA or spec fic
Buy: Paranormalcy @ Amazon

Stellar book with fun characters, original concepts and a great story. A MUST READ NAO book.

DESCRIPTION (via Goodreads): Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal. 

REVIEW: I loved this book. Loved loved loved it. Not only were the characters fully rounded and incredibly engaging (even the "bad guys", I love that!), but the main character, Evie, goes through several upsets during the book changing her entire life and the way she views the world. 

While there are your stock paranormals kept at the Center, White also invents a couple as she goes along (including the two main characters), which I found very well-done and enriching. While it may be said that the paranormals the Center pursues are "underpowered", in the context of the book it made a lot of sense - if they were invincible and there were that many creatures all around us all the time, human population would have died out long before the IPCA or the APCA could have been started to contain them. The moral and ethical implications of containment and "neutering" the PNs are also beginning to be explored towards the end, which I found added an unforeseen level of depth to an already exciting and fresh plot.

Speaking of plot, this book's was perfectly paced, leaving you to wonder at the right moments and offering (some) explanations only when you need them.

Paranormalcy was, in my book, almost perfect. It was great fun to read, you really come to care about all of the characters and the story was engaging and original. I had to wrack my brain to come up with something I didn't like, and the only thing I could get was that Evie named her taser gun. Tasey. Yah.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Any fans of spec-fic or YA, and anyone whose soul sometimes craves for just fun and something non-angsty. This book is pretty light and fluffy, so there are no age constraints or worries and is just a general feel-good book. I guess if you think the light side of life and people having fun while in danger is all unicorns and rainbows and stupid, you might want to first lend it from the library or a friend.

Review: Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse #11)

 Title: Dead Reckoning (Goodreads)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: #11 of the Sookie Stackhouse books
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Adult
Age restriction? (Much) Older Teens, 16+
Published: 3 May 2011
Recommended for: Die-hard fans of Sookie and/or Eric and/or Beel
Buy: Dead Reckoning @ Amazon

Disappointing. Weak story, weaker characters, lots and lots of telling. I wouldn't bother unless you're already a fan.

DESCRIPTION: Well, if you need a description, you probably don't want to read this book. Seriously. Sookie and Eric have trouble in their relationship. Sookie messes up. Lots of people (and non-people) are out to kill Sookie. Vampire Politics Plot. Fairy Politics Plot. Cue Curtain.

REVIEW: Dead Reckoning left me feeling flat. I've enjoyed all the books in the series so far (yes, even 9 and 10, which fans bitched about), but this? This was beyond pale. Weak, flat story with no real action, danger or mystery. Predictable to the extreme and all of it told instead of shown. No character development at all. 

A flicker of interesting happened when Sookie went with Hunter to size up his new school, but once again, everything was told and then it's the last we hear of Hunter (whose relationship with Sookie could be a really invigorating change to what's become a plot-by-numbers series). When I say "everything is told", I mean "everything is told". Almost zero showing going on. Like with Tara's baby shower, we are told there are some women and a few names are mentioned, and we are told Sookie is told a really nice story about her gran and we're assured that this makes her feel better. 

Yeah. The whole book is basically like that.

I don't know, it's as if the TV series has sucked the blood and originality out of the books, which is funny considering that they're only similar in an "inspired by the books" kind of way, and it's almost as if Charlaine Harris herself is getting bored with it all.

THIS IS WHY SERIES SHOULD END AT SOME POINT. Ahem. Just sayin'. 

Still, I did find it intruiging enough to finish, and it had one or two fun moments, so two stars it is.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Die-hard Sookie book fans (not the series, the books), who hope that the next one will be better or will finally end the damn series.

Review: Before I Fall

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: Stand alone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Age restriction? Teens, 12+
Published: 2 March 2010
Recommended for: All teens, those who like contemporary YA fiction, those looking for a soul-moving read.
Buy: Before I Fall @ Amazon

An unexpectedly fabulous read with a great story and REAL characters that suck you in and won't let go. 

DESCRIPTION: What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life? ...more

REVIEW:  I have to admit, I went into Before I Fall with a very "bleh" attitude. I was still on a high from reading the Vampire Academy books and I did NOT feel like some mushy, anst-ridden, "oh no, existential anxiety plus moral lesson" book.

I was pleasantly surprised, however.  I found in the prologue everything I feared the book would be: Angsty, over-written guiltfest. Ugh. I even thought about just shelving it and trying something else, but I hate leaving books unfinished, so I resolved to stick it out until at least the second chapter or the first twenty pages, whichever came first. I fully expected to have to drudge through that before being able to give up with a sigh of relief and a "at least you tried" backpat.

However, when I started with the book itself, I literally couldn't tear myself away. I didn't take any bathroom breaks, I didn't eat anything, I drank the coffee that my husband brought to me and nothing else. It's lucky for my kids I started reading this on a Saturday morning, because I was incapable of looking after them or even getting them some juice. (Luckily their dad is great, and a reader himself so he understood. Love ya!).

The character of Sam drew me in immediately. I liked her, even though she was everything (and everyone) I hated in high school and after - fake, does anything to fit in with the popular kids, quite frankly a jerkass asshat of the nth degree. I really cannot pinpoint why, exactly - she's just that well-written.

And that's the strength of the story. All the characters but especially Sam is so well written that you happily relive the same day seven times with them all, seeing how they react, how they change, discovering their secrets and their fears.

This book blew me away, although the prose was pretty purple at times and by the sixth day I was getting impatient with Sam's not-getting-it-ness. Still, a great read and one I wish every teenager going through popularity drama (either being unpopular or popular, or just struggling to be themselves in general) would read. I know it would have changed my world as a teenager, and I plan to make it required reading for my three children.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Teens. Even though there's some smoking and swearing and talk about sex, I really don't think it's anything anyone older than 12 or so wouldn't be able to handle. Also, anyone who still sometimes feel their inner teenager/child rebelling, or just plain likes reading damn good books. 

Title: Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between
Author: J.A. Saare
Series: #1 of Rhiannon's Law
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Age restriction? Yes. One explicit sex scene
Published: 30 April 2011
Recommended for: Fans of Urban Fantasy, fans of snarky main characters, vamp lovers and those who just enjoy a great story
Buy: Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between @ Amazon

Excellent read with a strong plot structure and incredible characters. Highly recommended.

DESCRIPTION: One bad corpse can ruin your whole day.

No one knows that better than Rhiannon Murphy.

She left behind the flash and sass of Miami for the no-nonsense groove of New York City, eager for a clean slate and a fresh start. A bartender by trade, a loud mouth by choice, and a necromancer by chance; she managed to keep her nifty talent hidden from those around her—until now. ...more

REVIEW: I liked this book WAY more than I thought I would. At first I was like: girl with special powers, check. Sexay Vampire Dood Love Interest, check. Badass badmouthin' attitude-slinging asskicking heroine, check. However, I was very soon surprised with how much depth the author managed to put into the characters and their interactions. She took familiar tropes and went above and beyond to make them personal and fresh.

The plot is well structured, although I found that there were awkward moments. One of them is the way in which Rhiannon reveals the abusive past she'd been hinting at from the first chapter. I was seriously like OKAY WHUT?, not at what she revealed (heart-breaking stuff) but at the how of it. Clumsy plotting, the kind of thing a good editor would have picked up on.

Another thing that slightly vexed me was that there were two or three scenes (one chapter) that were completely unnecessary. This is something I'm particularly sensitive too, since it's a huge flaw and struggle for me in my own writing as well (I either over-compensate by making it All Action All the Time or I'm left with chapters and chapters describing mundane, unimportant crap, so I really have a lot of sympathy with this flaw). 

Other than these two minor things, I was ALL OVER this book. Unlike many people, I wasn't upset with the "cliffhanger" ending at all. The plot arc for this book was done, it was just a teaser introduction to the next book's premise. 

However, the best part of the book for me? The "romance" aspect did not dominate the plot at all. I found that SO refreshing and incredibly satisfying and I simply can. not. wait for The Renfield Virus - out in AUGUST!  

Who would like this book: Older teens, fans of any form of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.

Review: The Vampire Diaries 1 & 2

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle


Title: Vampire Diaries: The Awakening & The Struggle
Author: L.J. Smith
Series: #1 & #2 of The Vampire Diaries
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Age restriction? Teens, 12+
Published: 26 June 2007

Overcoming an incredibly unlikable main character to become a mediocre yet satisfying girl meets vampires story.

DESCRIPTION (via Goodreads:): Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.

Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.

Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Determined to have Elena, he'd kill to possess her. ...more

REVIEW:  I almost threw the damn book right across the room. I think if I hadn't already been invested via the TV show, I would have, so word to the wise: Don't expect book Elena to be anything like show Elena. At all.

Elena was really that annoying in the beginning, so fair warning. She's the blonde beauty, the ice princess, the Queen Bee and knows it, and when she meets Stephan, who is trying to outrun his past and find his humanity, her resolution to get him has nothing to do with love initially: she's just pissed that a guy is not showing interest in her.

Yuck, right?

Luckily, it improves dramatically. Through the course of the first book, Elena changes her attitude drastically, which meant I finally got to relax and enjoy the story. So, the plot is nothing new, except for the bizarre bit with Katherine looking exactly like Elena, and I quite enjoyed the deviation from the TV series in that Stephan spends most of the first book wondering if it was him killing those people after all. Good times.

I've always been a sucker for ye olde siblinge rivalry, so I enjoyed the story arc with Damian and Stephan's relationship immensely. I also appreciated the way they were total polar opposites - though sometimes the author intrudes grossly to point out just how different they really are. 

I think one of the real saving graces of the series, for me, was Meredith and to a lesser degree, Bonny. They are so much fun and very well-rounded and real. They made me giggle at inappropriate times and often provide Elena with opportunities to redeem herself.

All in all, fun to read and enjoyable, though not exactly what you'd call breakthrough or original.

Review: Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties (The Uglies)


Title:Pretties
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Series: #2 of The Uglies
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Dystopian,
Age restriction? Teens, 12+
Published:11 November 2008

Very promising beginning, but fell flat at the middle and just got worse and worse.

Description: Gorgeous. Popular. Perfect. Perfectly wrong.

Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted.

But beneath all the fun -- the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom -- is a nagging sense that something's wrong. Something important.  ...more 

REVIEW: When I started reading this book, I was like "YES! This is what I wanted Uglies to be! Thanks Scott!" Tally's unease in her new life, her nagging feeling that there's something more, something other than partying and being pretty all the time. Suddenly, Tally's shallow self-involved cowardice and dullness which so irritated me in the first book fit perfectly here, and together with the nebulous but unshakable knowledge that there's something more, that being "pretty" isn't everything, isn't all it's cracked up to be but her inability to put her finger on exactly what, serves to make her sympathetic to the max - with the understanding, of course, that she'll learn and grown and grow out of these things.

Right?

Sigh. Sadly not, it turns out.

For a long time I strongly felt that the beginning of this novel should have started the series. You actually care about the viewpoint character, you are shown the disconnect between what she knows subconsciously and what she is told to believe, you get sucked into her life and root for her all the time. Even her love for Zane would have made a great triangle once she got back with David.

However, I am very sorry to say, that is exactly where the problem came in. Suddenly, now that she's all prettied up, now she loves Zane more because, according to Tally, they had 'shared so much'. Sure, they did, and I like Zane a lot too, but David and Tally went through so much more and shared such a special connection that I came to the same conclusion that David did - she was sticking with Zane because he was pretty and he wasn't.

Further, the unconvincing use of anorexia to escape the City, the gratuitous physical mutilation and danger to achieve and maintain a sense of "realness" and release and the overall shallowness - it was all just a little too casual, just a bit too flip. The emotions, consequences and reality of these elements were just nowhere to be found, for me. Further further, the of the point of view character. Oh good grief. She never grows up, never learns anything other than how to make everything work out nicely for herself, never willingly sacrifices anything. No, with her it's all "what's in it for me?" and it frustrated the crap out of me.

I will not be reading the third book, as I'm sure I'll just be further frustrated. I was so hopeful when starting this book that it feels like an extra-large letdown that Tally remained the same shallow, heartless, power-hungry conformist that she always was.

I'll be reading the next book just to see if the flicker of character Tally finally showed in the last chapter will be realized, but I don't have much hope.

Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies (The Uglies 1)

Title: Uglies
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Series: #1 of The Uglies
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Dystopian,
Age restriction? Teens, 12+
Published: 10 May 2006

 While this is a serious and thought provoking book, I just didn't enjoy the character or the story at all.

Description: Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.  ...more

REVIEW: I wanted to enjoy this book. I mean, a critical look at and deconstruction of our appearance obsessed culture and a dystopian glance at the extremes to which it can be taken - YES PLEASE. As the mother of two very young daughters, my heart withers daily as I see the glorification of impossible beauty standards and the ridicule of those not conforming them, always knowing that this excessive obsession with appearance will damage them, the question is just how much.

However, I'm very sorry to say that I just couldn't get into this book. First off, I found Tally to be completely unsympathetic. While I understand that she is the product of her culture and society (aren't we all?) and I enjoyed her adventurous side, I found her cowardly, untrustworthy and just dull. Maybe if she was just a bit more like her friend, Shay, in the beginning at least asking questions or wondering about the status quo and how it's all supposed to make sense - because it doesn't, not really, how can a society like that function? - before being thrown into a situation where she's shown how it doesn't make sense, I would have felt differently? I can't honestly say.

I also found the plot desperately predictable and unsurprising and the writing mostly uninspiring. While I did enjoy the other characters Tally met during her stay at Smoke (Yay, Croy!) and the conversations with David about appearance, it was all very predictable and formulaic. Even the "shocker" cliffhanger-ish end was something I saw coming from miles away. 

I feel bad for giving it only two, but I really just did not enjoy the book at all.

Review: Strange Angels by Lili St Crow

Strange Angels (Strange Angels, Book 1)


Title: Strange Angels
Author: Lili St. Crow
Series: #1 of Strange Angels
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy,
Age restriction? Older teens, 15+
Published: 14 May 2009

 A kick-ass book that was completely engrossing and entertaining.

Description (from Goodreads): Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.)

Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?

REVIEW: I enjoyed this book so, so much. Dru's character is just the right mix of vulnerable and warrior to make her believable as a teen who has been trained in combat and action from a young age but always worked with her dad as a safety net.

The characters were fully drawn and completely believable, and although some reviewers thought that Dru was too whiny (what? Did we read the same book? My whininess meter read at 0, btw.), I actually wondered for a while if she was showing enough emotion. I mean, here we have a teen whose last living family member, a fully trained and highly successful hunter of creepy things, has just been killed and turned into a zombie by something that's coming for her and she had to shoot her dad dead. 

That's a pretty good excuse for some angst, yo. And yet, the angst level is really, really low, in my opinion at least. I also greatly enjoyed the character of Graves, and although the plot moved fast and with impeccable pacing, we are still left with ample time to spend with the characters, some of whom are not even really in the story (like Dru's dad, her grandmother, etc.) The world was so fully developed that it simply slipped a new layer over our own, familiar world and there was not a single time in this book that I was left unconvinced or doubting.  

There were some minor flaws (pretty predictable plot, uhm, I think that's it), but this book was so much fun to read, so gripping and enjoyable that I read well into the night and also while I should have been doing other things (*cough* blogging, spawnwrangling, working *cough*). I was left drooling for more (but no cliffhanger ending, YAY) and highly satisfied.

Who would like this book? I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal fiction, Urban Fantasy, and/or a ton of heart-racing action.

Review: Demonglass

Demonglass (Hex Hall #2) by Rachel Hawkins

 Title: Demonglass
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: #2 of Hex Hall
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy.
Age restriction? Teens, 13+
Published: 1 March 2011

Fun and feisty, a wondrfully enjoyable sequel to Hex Hall.

Description: Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth. ...more

REVIEW:  When I finished reading Hex Hall, I couln't wait to start with Demonglass, although I was a little worried that it wouldn't be as good as Hex Hall.

That worry was completely unfounded, I'm happy to report. In Demonglass, the story started in Hex Hall is taken to breathtaking new heights with more of the characters you've come to enjoy and grow fond of. The developing love triangle between Sophie, Archer and Cal is believable and I thoroughly enjoyed the lesbian relationship between Victoria and Jenna. MOAR LGBT RELATIONSHIPS IN YA PLOX.

All in all a highly satisfying sequel adhhering closely to the "the same but different" rule. Hey, there's a reason why this rule is there: it works!

Who would like this? If you liked Hex Hall, it's difficult to see how you wouldn't like Demonglass.

Review: Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson

 Title: Ultraviolet
Author: R.J. Anderson
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, elements of paranormal and Sci Fi.
Age restriction? Teens, 13+
Published: 2 June 2011 (?)

  Incredibly well written and thought-provoking, Ultraviolet is one of the best YAs I've ever had the pleasure of reading. BUY NOW!

 Description:

Once upon a time there was a girl who was special.

This is not her story.

Unless you count the part where I killed her.

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison's condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can't explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori -- the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that's impossible. Right? (from Goodreads)

REVIEW: Wow, a second top-rated book in less than a month! I hadn't thought I'd encounter another one of those for at least another year! I must have won the "great reads for you" lottery, because this book completely blew me away.

Using superb writing and astonishing characters, Rachel Anderson has crafted a Young Adult novel which is intelligent, consuming and enthralling. I couldn't put this book down and read through the night to finish it with tears in my eyes and a song in my heart. Honestly, I don't know how I'll find the words to do this book justice, but I will try.

Alison experiences the word differently from everyone else she had ever met. She sees the shapes of sounds, she hears the light of the stars, she physically feels sounds. Since her early childhood, she believed that this meant that she was crazy and she had been working very, very hard to hide not only how different she is but how she reacts to events - which serves to make her seem even more psychotic to the psychiatrists who have to evaluate her when she lands up in a mental institution, which is where the book starts.

The thin line between psychosis and the supernatural/paranormal is one which I had always found fascinating and almost hypnotic, and Alison's rigid control over her emotions and reactions  as well as her constant questioning of her sanity and whether she could trust her own thoughts and feelings was something I may even have over-related to, which may have coloured my entire view of the book. Fair warning!
 
Anderson's writing skill is simply astounding. Her use of language to explain Alison's perceptions is incredibly well done and I would not hesitate to rank her as one of the best stylistic writers I have ever read. The writing was just that good, so even if the plot or character hold no interest for you (which I find hard to imagine!), Ultraviolet would be well worth the read for the exceptional writing alone.

That said, I found everything else about the book to be admirable. I have seldomly identified so strongly with a character as I did with Alison, despite the fact that I do not experience the world as she does. Her character is amazingly sympathetic and fully developed. The secondary characters are also vibrant and authentic although the reader's perceptions of them are heavily reliant on Alison's first-person narrative.

The plot is absolutely astounding. It hooks you from the first page and takes you on a rollercoaster-ride through Alison's mind and life at a mental hospital. The final piece of the puzzle was totally unexpected even though it was clearly foreshadowed, once you knew what to look for - even this veteran of mysteries was fooled!

Ultraviolet is, in one word, fantastic, and I can't recommend it strong enough.

Who would like this book? To be honest, it's hard for me to imagine who wouldn't! It's just so well done! That said, this is a YA book with elements of sci-fi, the paranormal and an exploration into the nature of mental illness. There is also a sexual assault, which may upset and/or trigger. The ending may not fall into everyone's comfort zone, either.

Disclosure: I received a pre-release electronic copy from Netgalley with no obligation to rate the book or even review it, so everything in the review is my own, personal and honest opinion.

Review: Hex Hall

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: #1 of Hex Hall

Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural School
Age restriction? 12+

An immensely fun read, with everything you'd expect from a supernatural boarding school book plus a great voice and lots of humour.

Description: Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. ...more

REVIEW: This was such a fun read! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the book delivers on everything it promises.

Sophie was a character that I truly treasured - vulnerable, scared and insecure yet trying to hide behind sarcasm and jokes. There were many times while reading a book that I actually laughed out loud.

Sure, there is a kind of "plot-by-numbers" feel and you've probably read the same story a million different times (starting with Harry Potter), and the characters, while pretty much stock (your "cool-but-evil" trinity, your "hot, popular and hates you" crush, your "misfit BFF", even your "strong and sexy ranger-type") but the dialogue is fresh, the writing absolutely sparkles and exploring this well-known plot through the eyes and thoughts of the indomitable Sophie was a blast.

As far as escapism fiction goes it doesn't get much better than this!

Who would like this book: If you're looking for a quick, fun read that's exactly what you expect, only with more fun and theatrics, this is the book for you. If you're looking for something different from or more than the standard New Misfit at Supernatural School tm  yarn, don't bother.