Persy -- Starlighter by Bryan Davis

What's this?? A REVIEW??? Did anyone else know those ever happened here? Seriously, it's been like, two or three months. Sorry about that. My bad.

Jason's a young man living on the human world where few people still believe the stories of dragons and human slaves. But his brother is one of those few, determined to save the people who, a century ago, were captured by dragons and taken to another world as slaves. Jason himself isn't sure he believes the stories, but when his brother disappears in search of the lost ones, the quest is left up to him. But first he must rescue Elyssa from the dungeons and accept her strange, perceptive abilities...

Meanwhile, Koren lives as a dragon slave, prized for her red hair and green eyes and bewitching storytelling abilities. But what do the dragons really have in store for her? And is it true that they were enslaved against the will as the humans say, or did the dragons really rescue them from an even worse fate?

It's not a bad fantasy adventure. It's a relatively fast read, so it doesn't feel like you've wasted your life away reading it or anything. Honestly, it's just not good enough to spend a ton of time on. Aside from Arxad the dragon, all of the characters are very one-dimensional and flat. Don't get me wrong, plenty of them are likeable. I honestly love Randall and Tibalt, but they're still pretty flat, plus they're only secondary characters. Jason and Koren certainly aren't bad for main characters, in fact they're pretty cool themselves. And Elyssa's not awful or anything. But... they're all just pretty boring. The character interactions as well are just kind of... flat. 

The plot doesn't really make up for it, unfortunately. Lots of the adventure seemed pretty pointless, making the whole thing unnecessarily complicated. The whole mess with them falling down the bottomless pit and floating down the river and everything totally went over my head and I had no idea why any of it was happening. And then Elyssa's always coming up with "brilliant" schemes that seem totally pointless, like sending Jason out to die while she works on stopping the flood. Why didn't she just try to stop the flood first and then send out Jason? She's supposed to be super smart, but she just strikes me as kind of distracted.

If I were to sum up this book in two words, they would be "needlessly complicated." I think if it had been edited down a bit more it would've been really something, but as is it kind of reads like an early draft I wrote when I was twelve. Tons of twists and turns and delays and puzzles and not much else.

I will say that the Black Egg gives me genuine creeps. That part was extremely well done. When he's trying to convince Koren, I actually wasn't sure for a minute if the Black Egg was good or bad. And the fact that I was so unsure and on edge made it so much more interesting. It's honestly one of the few reasons I'm looking forward to finishing the book series.

--Persy

You might like this if you: like dragons; like Christian fantasy; like simple fantasy adventures; don't care about the characters; have time to kill; or if your ancestors were kidnapped by dragons.

Persy -- Singularity by William Sleator

Sooo I really was going to write this on an actual weekend day, buuuuut my dorm kind of flooded last night and it threw off my schedule just a tad. I'm also super sleep deprived and loopy right now, so this is going to be an awesome review! Yay college!

Harry and Barry are sixteen-year-old twins. Harry is smart, Barry is athletic and popular and generally gets what he wants. Their family randomly inherits the old house of a crazy uncle, and Barry gets it into his head to spend a few weeks there while their parents are away. Harry thinks it's a bad idea, but Barry convinces their parents.

There they meet Lucy, a teenage girl, and hear stories of animals wandering onto the property and then disappearing. When the trio unlock the playhouse, they slowly discover that inside time passes differently. Once you step inside, the outside world practically stands still. You could spend a year in there and mere hours would pass outside.

There is a singularity inside the playhouse, a portal to another world that is affecting time. Harry finds their uncle's journal and begins to get worried about what might come through the singularity. He wants to tell someone, but Barry threatens to lock himself inside the playhouse if Harry does anything.

This is a really lame summary. Sorry, I'm really just out of it.

Basically, the point is that there's a singularity and Harry is super awesome. And there's a dog, Fred, who's cute. And there's a singularity. And it's awesome.

But really though, I love this book. There's a very eighties feel to the writing and yeah, it starts off pretty slow in the beginning, but it definitely pays off. I mean, talk about character growth (this should make you laugh if you've already read the book).

Yes, I would've liked even more time travel play and that kind of thing, but this isn't meant to be an indepth, hard scifi novel. It's basically a quick, young adult read, and it functions very well as such. Because it's not super hardcore, readers who don't normally like scifi can probably still enjoy it, while there's still enough awesomeness for scifi nerds to get into. It's a very nice balance.

So, y'know. Read it.

--Persy

You might like this if you: like time travel; like science fiction; like hard science fiction but want a quick read; only like soft science fiction; aren't normally a huge fan of science fiction; like character growth; like awesome books; or if you feel like time passes super slowly sometimes and are worried about the possible causes.

Arty -- My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger

Look who's finally getting around to appearing again! Sorry, I had an influx of homework and suddenly all I was reading was stuff that you can't really review on a "fluffy stuff you read to feel good" sort of review blog. Also, look for the review of January this Wednesday, because I am slime who can't keep a deadline.

Anyway! Let's talk about happy things, such as books that make me laugh out loud. My Most Excellent Year is one such book.

In it, we have Anthony Keller, aka Tony C, aka T.C., aka Tick, a crusader for baseball rights and the love of the new girl in town; Augie Hwong, obsessed with and knowledgable about all things related to classic movies and musicals; Alejandra Perez, the above-mentioned new girl in town who also happens to be the daughter of a UN ambassador, a crusader for social justice, and a closet singer/dancer. Throw in a small deaf child named Hucky with a serious addiction to Mary Poppins, budding romance between kids and adults alike, and enough baseball and cinema references to choke a Wookie, and you have My Most Excellent Year.

Firstly, the writing is excellent. Like John Green, there tends to be one overall tone for the characters, without much deviation in terms of character voice; unlike John Green (I'm so sorry), Kluger manages to pull it off. Maybe it's because the subject matter is more lighthearted than JG tends to go for. Anyway, with such smooth, natural writing, it's kind of a given that it'll succeed at the emotional/comedic points it attempts. And it does, for the most part (no novel is perfect).

The characters were, on the whole, loads of fun. T.C. starts out as a pretty flat, cliché character, but by the time the novel ended, he'd uncovered his secret stash of complexity and emotion and won my heart, succeeding where most characters like him don't (his mother is dead, he's chasing after a girl who doesn't like him, et cetera et cetera). Alé, on the other hand, never really got much affection from me. Maybe it's because I know/have experienced people like her in real life and it's never been fun (people who can make a social issue out of a tissue box). She got more bearable towards the end, and she did have her moments of fun, but overall, she was probably my least favorite character (along with Wei, Augie's mom, who had the same problem).

The characters who really stole the show, though, were Augie and Hucky. Augie, unlike T.C., spouted off trivia I could appreciate - old classic movie trivia. Some of his references I got ("The Cub Room. Where the elite meet.") and some of them reminded me of movies I have to watch soon. His whole thing (all of the characters in this book have a thing) was practically perfect in every way; he managed to be obsessive and a little neurotic without being overbearing, and, indeed, typically being adorable. I would have appreciated more substance in his relationship with Andy, and after a certain point I didn't want them to end up together as much as I had before, but the whole relationship was handled in a sensitive and yet hilarious way, so I don't have much to complain about.

(And I can't say anything about Augie without saying something about his All About Eve addiction. Just wait until you get to the part where he retells the Tooth Fairy story. If he were straight, I would have married him on the spot.)

There's also Hucky, the six-year-old child living in a home for deaf children. I was skeptical of Hucky at first - little kids with disabilities usually end up getting used as emotional props - but he was actually a really adorable character. He's testy, obsessed with Mary Poppins (how many times can I use the word 'obsessed' in one review?), and he helps T.C. cheat at informal baseball games. What more can you say?

The story is rambling, in a good way. There's no real point to the plot, though there are some longterm goals set by the story. And in the end, they're all met. There's a beautiful sense of closure that a lot of 'genreless' novels like these don't have. And that makes a huge difference. Putting down a book with a smile on your face - priceless.

So if you're in the mood for some fun, light-hearted rambles through Boston with a handful of quirky ninth-graders (and a six-year-old with an attitude) (and some hilarious and extraordinarily human parents) (and an older brother who will surprise you) (and a dog named Nehi) (and a lot of references to All About Eve), then I'd definitely recommend My Most Excellent Year.

Persy -- Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Y'all should be proud. Because even though I just spent my first night in a college dormroom and I've been way too busy the past few weeks to read a reviewable novel... I'm bringing you an ontime review. Shazam.

 

All Brittany wants to do her senior year is maintain the perfect life others see: the clothes, the grades, the cheerleader, the boyfriend. What they don't know is that Brittany struggles to take care of her autistic sister and deal with her distant parents.

 

But her first day goes ominously bad. She accidentally amost runs over Alex Fuentes, the toughest guy in school, and then finds out she has to be his partner in chemistry. Yikes.

 

Meanwhile, Alex is just trying to take care of his brothers and his mom and protect them from the gangs by being in one of the gangs. But when a bet is placed over Brittany's virginity, his world gets a little more complicated...
 

I was expecting to either hate the book and quit within the first five chapters or find a surprising new favorite. I actually did neither. My first impression was that Simone Elkeles is trying pretty hard, and almost has really good writing. Instead, it's just pretty good. The best thing this book has going for it is that it's real easy to read quickly, so the 350 pages goes by in a breeze. If it didn't, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have finished the novel. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a r...more I was expecting to either hate the book and quit within the first five chapters or find a surprising new favorite. I did neither. My first impression was that Simone Elkeles is trying pretty hard, and almost has really good writing. Instead, it's just pretty good. The best thing this book has going for it is that it's real easy to read quickly, so the 350 pages goes by in a breeze. If it didn't, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have finished the novel. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a retelling of Romeo and Juliet or not, but it basically is. So I might consider excusing the stupidity and hopelessness of Brittany, the heroine. She's kinda... boring and... silly and... impetuous, in a weird kind of way. I'm honestly not sure what her personality is supposed to be. Alex is a little better, but he's also very dramatic and I can't see why he's so in love with Brittany.   I personally like Alex and Shelley, but whatever.   And then Mrs. Peterson is really cool. In fact, she's probably my favorite character. But whatever.   Y'know what's really silly? The epilogue. I mean, I guess it's kind of cute in a weird kind of way, but it's also just... silly. Sorry.   Overall it's not a bad book, but I certainly wouldn't reread it and I don't think I'm even going to continue the series (the second book is about Alex's little brother and the love he finds in an unexpected place!).   --Persy   You might like this if you: like shallow romance; like Romeo and Juliet; like high school romance; like forbidden romance; or if you yourself are shallow, in high school, and are involved in a forbidden romance.



Arty -- The Selection by Kiera Cass

Friends, readers, countrymen - I bring you a YA dystopian romance that doesn't completely suck.

I know, I know, le gasp.  This is not to say "GO OUT AND BUY THE SELECTION RIGHT NOW CUZ AWESOME!!!1!!" YMMV and I recommend a library read before committing.

But seriously guys.  AMERICA.  AND MAXON.  AND MARLEE.  THESE CHARACTERS.

Have a Goodreads summary:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime.  The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth.  To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels.  To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare.  It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her.  Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want.  Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon.  Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself - and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

I don't actually know what's up with that last paragraph, because... there's nothing much like that in the book at all.  Maybe it's a series overview, I dunno.  But it makes America sound all dramatic when she's such a down-to-earth kind of person.

America is what made the book for me, mostly.  She has her Weepy Sensitive Heroine moments, and she can jump to some pretty drastic conclusions without a lot of evidence, but for the most part, she's a really friendly girl.  Her character is pretty consistent, and along with lovely consistency is likeableness.  It's really pretty dang fantastic.  The only thing that annoyed me was the constant "Oh boohoo I'm not pretty" when basically everyone else told her she was - why that needs to be a thing, I have no idea.

Also, MAXON.  Maxon is a sweetheart.  I don't think Cass was really comfortable writing him at first - he came on kind of stiff, and not just the kind of stiff she was going for - but as it went on, he became a teddy bear.  Impulsive and naive, but a teddy bear.  And, before the inevitable Love Triangle of Wangst broke in, he and America had the most. adorable. friendship.  YOU MEAN BOYS CAN BE FRIENDS WITH GIRLS WITHOUT THERE BEING ROMANTIC INTEREST AT FIRST SIGHT?

(We don't talk about Aspen.  Aspen is a testosterone-fueled child who needs to grow up a few years before getting into a serious romantic relationship.  Go away, Aspen, no one likes you.)

Plotwise, the Selection competition - thirty-five girls being gradually whittled away until Maxon chooses his bride - isn't as fierce as the blurb makes it out to be.  Only a few of the girls turn out to be conniving witches; it's even mentioned, a couple times at least, that the majority of the girls are close and don't want to intentionally sabotage the others' chances.  I liked that, since most YA likes to depict large crowds of girls evil queen bees with a few honored exceptions (aka, the protag and her one/two friends).  Maybe it made the plot less intense, but it was unexpected and there wasn't an overload of the author trying to come up with a load of different ways to tell us "MOST OF THESE GIRLS ARE EVIL."

The rebellion groups - nice, realistic touch, there being more than one rebellion group - weren't very intimidating except for one scene, mostly because the worldbuilding in The Selection is the very weakest part of this book. (It tends to be, I've noticed, in most new YA dystopian romance.)  There is the mystery of one group (I can't remember whether it was the Southern or the Northern group) trying to get inside the castle to steal something, but it was hardly a major plot point.

I can't talk about this book without going into massive hysteria about the last chapter, which should be entitled "In Which America does what Every Female in the Typical YA Love Triangle should Do but usually Doesn't."  No spoilers other than that, but it just made me really, really happy and put me firmly in the court of Team America.

Weak and cheesy writing - on an infrequent but consistent basis.  Not really that much conflict - yes.  Almost total lack of worldbuilding - yeah.  However, The Selection has a great MC, a great prince/friend/love interest, and genuine hope for an even more awesome sequel.  Definitely a recommend!

Arty -- Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Let's get the new year (or the closest chronological thing to it) of reviews started off with a bang - in other words, a rant!

Aislinn (don't ask me how to pronounce it - I'm not proficient in Irish or Celtic or Gaelic or whatever it is pronunciation - I'm guessing like Ashlyn because her nickname is Ash) has the Sight - in other words, she can see faeries.  She pretends she doesn't see them because they don't know she can, and she doesn't want them or other humans to know of her ability.  But poor Aislinn is tormented by this knowledge and her entire existence seems to be one of victimization and misery at hiding her true self.

But hark!  A hot faerie approaches!  Seriously, he is hot - he's Keenan, the faerie Summer King.  And he thinks Aislinn is destined to be his Summer Queen.  Because of a 'feeling' and 'dreams' that have apparently gotten a lot of other girls kicked out in the cold - in other words, reduced to miserable Winter Girls, each successive Winter Girl having the duty of warning Keenan's next victim not to trust him.

Cue a tug-of-war between Aislinn, Keenan, Donia (the current Winter Girl who's still in love with Keenan), and Berea (I think her name is Berea), Keenan's mother and the current wicked Winter Queen.  It's not as dramatic as it sounds - mostly it's just Aislinn running away and being blah and hiding out at totally-not-her-boyfriend Seth's house.  And Keenan moping.  And Donia moping.  And Berea plotting.

I do have to say that it started out really good.  I was interested.  I was hopeful for something more interesting than your typical YA paranormal romance.  Seth, despite being in high school, lives alone, drinks tea, has tons of piercings, and keeps a boa constrictor.  He was cool at first.  Original.  Aislinn was moderately interesting and not too whiny.  Donia and Keenan had good personalities.

At first.

Oh good story of faeries and intrigue and Court angst.  You disappeared into a pile of teen angst, shaky characterization, and an exponentially growing number of wearisome plot devices.

The characters started to dissolve about a third of the way through.  There's a feeling you get when you have a firm grasp on a character, who they are and how they work.  None of the characters ever got that feeling - or, if they had it, it was for a few short chapters and then they lost it.  The only character who was halfway consistent was Berea, and that was because she was a cackling villainess who was there to hurt people and enjoy doing it for no particular reason.

There was one plot twist that I didn't see coming and that I appreciated - it would give away major spoilers if I wrote it out, but let's just say Marr didn't fall into the tired old love triangle bit, at least not fully.  It was just that by the time came to unleash the plot twist, I just didn't give a rip.  Everyone was boring.  Not unlikeable, per se, but just... blah.  Who cares that some faerie-human lady loves some faerie dude who wants some human girl who loves some mortal guy and they're all trying to be killed by some evil faerie queen?  Marr gave me no reason to care.

The prose was nice, there were regular sprinklings of originality, and the cover is absolutely gorgeous, but there's just not enough good here to warrant a recommendation.  In the end, the execution of the story is just as bland as the cover is beautiful.

Arty -- Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Hey guys.  Sorry about the delays.  I've been all over the place lately.  And I've been reading almost nothing.  But today I get to review something that really makes me happy.

Actually, in general, Sarah Beth Durst tends to make me happy.  She renews my faith in the ability of humanity to write decent YA fantasy/romance.  And not just decent - really, really good.

The premise is simple.  Liyana has been chosen as the vessel for her tribe's goddess, who needs to come to the physical world to remedy the drought that's been plaguing their nomadic desert world.  But despite a flawless ceremony, Bayla the goddess doesn't come. 

Outcast as 'imperfect' and 'unworthy,' Liyana thinks she'll die in the harsh, dying desert.  But that's before she meets Korban - an actual god, already in his vessel.  Korban is the desert tribes' trickster god, the raven always tricking the gods in and out of things.  He tells Liyana that five of the desert gods have been stolen, godnapped for presumably nefarious purposes.  And that if they don't rescue them... the desert could very well die.

So off they go on their quest to save the gods.  But on the way, Liyana gets to learn a lot about the way the deities work - and she begins to question if she really wants to give into them at all.

Characters first.  Liyana was actually a pretty interesting heroine.  Nothing special - no Sophie Hatter or Liesel Meminger - but she didn't make me want to smack her over the head or anything.  And, while we did get the whole 'she's gorgeous and she's gifted' thing, it felt... organic, usually.  Not tacked on just to make Liyana likable.

But, if we're being honest, Korban is the best thing about the book.  Trickster gods are a weakness with me, and who doesn't like ravens?  I liked how he was suitably mischievous while still maintaining a godlike presence.  He wasn't a tumbling jester idiot.  He was, first and foremost, a god - just a god of trickery. 

I really want to talk about my second-favorite character - possibly my first, seeing as how he's a bit more original and intriguing than Korban - but I don't want to give anything away.  Just... those chapters from a different POV than Liyana's?  They get better.  A whole lot better.

There were times when the plot felt drifty, aimless, and there were times when I had to wonder what on earth Durst would do to fill the next two hundred pages.  But she always delivered - there was almost always just enough foreshadowing, and every seemingly random addition had its place.

The villain... well, I was honestly a bit disappointed in the villain.  Everything else was so magnificent, and then... I just wasn't scared.  At all.  Not of him.  There just wasn't enough about the villain to really feel anything for him.  His army of monsters was three times as scary as he was.  If he had just been more developed, then it would have been better; as it was, he was the worst part of the book.

But that army of monsters?  Pretty awesome.  Not perfect or horrifying by any means, but still - powerful enough to cast doubt.  Doubts that weren't necessarily avoided in the end.  The end, I say, which was this close to perfection.  It gave me swirly, happy feelings - the kind of swirly, happy feelings that make you think, "This should have a sequel - no, it shouldn't - but what happens next?! - but that's the beauty of it!"  Et cetera.

(And can I mention the love triangle that ACTUALLY WORKED.  A toast to Sarah Beth Durst.)

Another book I have to heartily recommend to those who are fans of this genre or even to those who aren't, since it basically bucks every negative cliché about the YA Paranormal/Fantasy Romance genre.  Cheers.

Persy -- Aldo's Fantastical Movie Palace by Jonathan Friesen

Chloe's life wasn't bad at all until a tragic accident on the farm leaves her with ugly emotional and physical scars. Her relationship with her father becomes strained, at best, and her mother's old movie theater, named after her great-grandfather, isn't doing well. Her only comfort lies in Grandpa Salvador, who spends his time painting and repainting his trailer.

 

Then a new boy moves into town, a blind boy named Nick. Neither take a shine to each other, but in time they grow to accept each other into a peculiar partnership. Nick is working on a script, and he finally allows Chloe to help him with the details.

 

But then it all goes crazy when they fall through the movie screen at Aldo's Movie Palace and find themselves in Nick's script! But it's neither his version nor Chloe's of their fictional land of Retinya, and they soon discover that the land is in dire need of help. But will Chloe be able to keep Nick on her side?

 

I was pretty excited going into this because the publishers of Replication sent it to me (I felt so special), and the whole story is really easy to fall into. Buuuuut there are so many things that aren't quite right with this poor little fantasy adventure... let's start with the characters.

 

Chloe started out interesting. She had the whole scarred thing going for her and a cool granda and works at an old movie theater. But let's face it, not only is she rather 2D, the one layer she has is pretty annoying. She will not listen and plunges straight ahead no matter what any of the wiser and more experienced characters say. She's ridiculously stubborn.

 

And then we come to Nick. You'd think he'd be a main character, but no, not really. He's only in the book for like, five minutes, and does absolutely nothing. Starts out mean and annoying, disappears for the middle of the book, and then comes back with...well, he's certainly not the same Nick. But there's a difference between character growth and character inconsistency.

 

Scout and Nob are okay. Quite flat, like everyone else, but certainly more interesting (and intelligent) than the others. Grandpa Salvador is easily the best, but, naturally, he doesn't get to do much at all. And then the villain...hardly exists. There's just not much going on there. His only purpose is so that there is a villain somewhere in the story to keep things going.

 

The world of Retinya is actually pretty cool. We just don't get to spend much time there or see many sights. The majority of our time is spent getting through the adventure as fast as we can, an adventure that makes less sense the more you think about it.

 

I mean, they make it work. But oftentimes it's hard to tell how the characters got where they are and why they're doing whatever they're doing.

 

But let me also say that the memory scenes were pretty cool. If you read the book, you'll know what I'm talking about.

 

To summarize, it's not a bad book, but it's far from good. It's just kind of...a book. A quick and easy read, though, so you probably won't feel like you've wasted a bunch of time reading it. But I can think of better quick-and-easy reads.

 

--Persy

 

You might like this if you: want a quick-and-easy fantasy read; enjoy fantasy stories with modern characters in strange worlds; don't care so much about character depth but like creative fantasy worlds; or if you have a horrific scar and a blind friend and wonder what adventures are in store for you.

Arty -- Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I am so late again.  I apologize. 

Cinder.  Another one of those 'you have to read it, it's so good' books I keep hearing about. 

And you have to admit, the idea is pretty awesome.  A cyborg Cinderella in futuristic Beijing (New Beijing, to be precise)?  Definitely cool.  But surely such a great idea that was popular to boot couldn't be that good.

It could.

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

I'm going to start with the best and most impressive thing: the book wasn't about Cinder and Kai.  It was about Cinder.

It was about Cinder being a mechanic, and about Cinder's different relationships with her family (unfriendly with her stepmother and older stepsister, loving to her younger stepsister, Peony), and about Cinder trying to make sense of what she's found herself in, and about Cinder trying to help Kai, and then, sparsely, about Cinder falling in love with Kai.

It's about Cinder and how she works (no pun on the cyborg nature), not about Cinder falling in love with her Prince Charming.  It's ridiculously refreshing.

Kai and the other characters were well fleshed-out, too.  I actually love Kai.  Not a fangirl, ooh-I-love-him-so-much kind of love, but he's a really cool character with his own identity apart from Cinder, too.  His balance of insecurity and intelligence was interesting to watch. 

Queen Levana was a sincerely creepy villainess.  I mean... really creepy.  The whole idea of her - I won't spoil it - and of the Lunar race is oddly believable and at the same time just really creepy.  Which made a few of the plot twists even more horrible.

Meyer has a great writing style - very crisp and precise, not flowery or overdone or very fairytale-ish at all.  It actually felt a lot like Cinder - a brilliant mechanic, picking exactly the right words for exactly the right effect.  It wasn't a pretty style, like - say - Markus Zusak or Diana Wynne Jones - but it really worked.

Oh.  And the way she incorporated the Cinderella story details into this was just brilliant.  The car, and her baby cyborg foot, and the missing slipper... brilliant.  Did I say brilliant?

The cons of Cinder... there aren't many.

The afore-mentioned plot twists were... sort of predictable.  I don't try to figure out anything ahead of time, usually, but this time it was easy to see where Meyer was going.  Not all the time, but on a few of the key points.  Though I hate to say it, Cinder's and Kai's relationship does sometimes smack of insta-love.  (But love is rarely the focal point of their dealings with each other and it's overall more tastefully handled than in most cases.)  And it ends on a dreadful cliffhanger, and the next book, Scarlet, doesn't come out 'til February.

Small complaints from me.  In my humble opinion, it's a must-read for fans of fairytale retellings, sci-fi lite, or even just really well characterized YA.

Persy -- The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Life is acceptable.

 

Sure, things aren't great. Mary's father is gone, her mother sits by the gate staring into the Forest of Hands and Teeth waiting for some sign of her husband, and her childhood friend Harry is getting a bit too close. But the Unconsecrated are still safely beyond the gate, and the villagers are surviving. Mary still tells herself the stories of her mother, stories of a time before the Unconsecrated and a neverending ocean.

 

But then Mary's mother does see her husband -- and gets too close. She is infected in an instant, and condemned to death. By the time Mary's brother Jed gets back, it's too late to say goodbye. Their mother is shoved outside the gate to join the rest of the Unconsecrated.

 

Life is hard.

 

Now orphaned, Mary expects to be taken in by her brother Jed and his wife Beth, but Jed stonily tells her that she is to be taken in by the Sisterhood, the religious women who rule the village. Harry doesn't come through on his interrupted proposal, and, with nowhere else to go, Mary is forced into the Sisterhood, where her world starts to turn upside down.

 

First of all, Travis, Harry's brother, is injured and taken to the Cathedral to be looked after. Mary has always been in love with him, and she now finds it harder than ever to give up on him (he's engaged to Cass, Mary's best friend) when she sees him every night.

 

And, to top it all off, Mary discovers the impossible: a stranger has come from outside the fence. Does this mean that they are not the last survivors of humanity? That there is an end to the Unconsecrated and the Forest of Hands and Teeth? That her mother's stories weren't just nonsense, but true? Is there really an ocean out there, as she's always dreamed?

 

Life is unacceptable.

 

Mary begins to unwind the lies and mysteries surrounding the Sisterhood and the limping little village. But before she can get very far, the unthinkable happens: the gates are breached, and the Unconsecrated flood the village. Mary only barely survives along with Harry, Travis, Jed, Beth, Cass, a little boy named Jacob, and Mary's dog Argos. The group escape the village and start along one of the many fenced paths leading into the Forest. Mary is confident that there is something waiting for them, something better. Something free. The ocean.

 

I had mixed feelings about The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I've also been rather oblivious about it. When it first came out, I declared it uninteresting and so didn't put it very high on my to-read list. And then when I finally picked it up the other day, I realized it was about zombies. ILOVEZOMBIES. Buuuut then I saw some of the tags it had on various book websites: die-heroine-die, stupid-love-triangle... you get the picture. My excitement faded.

 

Ten pages in: dull dull dull dull Mary is such a stupid whinypants.

Ten - thirty pages in: hey, this is pretty good.

Thirty - one hundred pages in: ugh, Mary.

One hundred - end of book: AAAAAAAAAAAGH.

 

This is one of those books with terrible chars. They're all stupid in their own special way, and I can't help but wonder if they all had some actual mental problems. But then again, seeing as how they live in a post-apocalyptic zombie world, I'll cut them some slack. I doubt I'd have all my lightbulbs screwed in just right if I were in their situation.

 

But this is also one of those books that is just so tragic and well-written and realistic that it somehow ends up beautiful in my head. I closed the book with a sense of awe and shock, completely exhausted from the trip. Talk about a climax done zombie-style. I even sort of ended up liking Mary towards the end. She's still not exactly smart, but I can see her being awesome in a kind of Resident Evil-one-woman-against-the-zombie-horde way.

 

This review reminding you of another book? Life As We Knew It, for example? Yeah, the books are ridiculously similar. They both follow the basic plot of an apocalypse with a character who is incredibly dull and yet resourceful. None of the main chars are all that interesting (though "Forest" had the advantage of a dog; I'll put you out of your misery and give you a small spoiler: Argos survives the entire book), but the writing is spectacular, and for the last half of the book, it's impossible to stop reading. Both books are the first in a series, and both sequels are about different characters. Both main characters are female with names beginning with M. If Carrie Ryan and Susan Beth Pfeffer aren't already friends, they should definitely get together and see what other tragedies they can come up with. Can you imagine what would happen if they wrote a book together?

 

"Forest" definitely isn't for everyone. I don't expect it to become the next great classic or anything, but I still encourage you to give it a try, as long as you aren't too incensed by stupid main chars or too sensitive to mental and physical pain. Yikesies.

 

You might like this if you: like Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer; like apocalypse/futuristic stories; love zombies and therefore must read/see/listen to anything related to zombies; enjoy amazing, unique writing styles (if you can call it unique... let's just say Pfeffer and Ryan are the only two with it); or if you feel like your life is not enough and that there's something else waiting for you beyond a deadly forest. Perhaps this book can give you examples of the does and don'ts (DO practice archery. DON'T be indecisive about your one true love).

Persy -- Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock

Sherlock Holmes is a 13-year-old Jewish misfit who doesn't go to school and reads police newspapers for fun. He never interferes with investigations, but follows them closely, all the while solving little mysteries around his household and surrounding neighborhood. But when random chance implicates Sherlock as the accomplice to a violent murder, he has no choice but to go into hiding and attempt to clear his name. But first, he must escape from prison...

 

I'm not quite sure why, but I was expecting this to be some kind of retelling of Sherlock Holmes, in which Sherlock is a young boy in modern day London or something like that. I have no idea where I got that idea, because that's not what this series is. This really is about Sherlock as a kid before his master detective years.

 

First of all, everyone should know better than to meddle with Sherlock's past. That's part of the fun and mystery of Sherlock -- you know nothing about him. If you start trying to fabricate mysteries and adventures and details, it just starts to feel a little... meh.

 

But the funny thing is, Eye of the Crow is actually a pretty good mystery/adventure/historical book, but I really really wish it wasn't about Sherlock Holmes. If it wasn't about him, I'd look on the series with a much fonder eye.

 

I'm also not sure if this is some kind of precursor to the original Sherlock Holmes, or if Shane Peacock is retelling basic Sherlock Holmes stories. Because there's an Irene in this book (though her name isn't Irene Adler and she's not a thief or anything), and I would find it curious to name her that if it wasn't supposed to mean something. There's also the leader of a street gang, The Malefactor, who is something like Moriarty. The only thing I can figure is that maybe these characters turn into Irene Adler and Moriarty. Or perhaps it's just a big coincidence.

 

The writing isn't bad, and the plot's okay, and the mystery bit is pretty well done. Nothing about this book screams greatness, and when you add in that it's supposed to be Sherlock Holmes, it turns out to just be a meh-y book. Unfortunately, I'm required to review books four and six, so I'm going to have to continue through the whole series.

 

--Persy

 

You might like this if you: love Sherlock Holmes, and feel obligated to read every version of him you can find; like quick, easy mystery reads that don't require too much energy; like historical fiction; or if you like historical mysteries and don't care a whit about Sherlock Holmes.

Arty -- Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Ah, genreless fiction.  How you continue to surprise me.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school - until now.  He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be.  The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face.  But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

Simple.  For once, a summary is sufficient.

This book could have flopped many, many times, and it came pretty close a few times.  But, in the end, it was just really good.  Mostly because of Auggie, who I love.  

Auggie is... I don't know how to describe Auggie.  He's a normal kid, really.  He just has a twisted-up face.  He's happy, usually; he's friendly, he's funny, he's trusting.  He's just a really sweet kid, and by the time the book ended, I wanted to give him a huge, bone-crashing hug.

The emotional connection you make with Auggie helps carry some of the plot points that would have been cheesy if they had happened to someone less... lovable.  But Auggie is Auggie.  When he's sad, you're sad.  When he's happy, you're happy.  When people mistreat him, you want to punch them in the face.

Auggie is like everyone's best friend's little brother.  You just... take care of him, even though he's capable of taking care of himself. (And his obsession with Star Wars is adorable - he knows the story, as opposed to so many 'geeks' in genreless stuff who know Darth Vader and 'Luke, I am your father' but nothing beyond that.)

The othr characters are interesting, too - Via, Auggie's older sister, is a particular favorite.  We also get parts of the book from other characters' perspectives - Jack and Summer, Auggie's school friends, and Miranda and Justin, Via's once-best friend and boyfriend, respectively.  All of them were easy to like (except maybe Summer, she was a bit too perfect to be believable), and they all introduced different aspects of Auggie - living with Auggie, how the world treats people like Auggie.  They put the book into perspective.

The plot, which goes through Auggie's first school year, can seem a little long and winding at times - almost pointless - but every time it starts feeling like that, something else will happen, and the story sort of sucks you back in.  It's addictive.  I hated putting the book down because I wanted to see what came next.

Cons.  Sometimes Auggie sounded ridiculously mature for an eleven-year-old.  It was a bit jolting sometimes, when he'd act like a little kid and then suddenly come out with something 'old' and deep.  And, like I said, sometimes the plot got a little slow, or a little unrealistic.  But it's still so good, mostly due to the characters.

So, basically, Wonder is a wonder.  (Sorry, I had to.)  Read it.

Persy -- Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey

Once upon a time...

 

A beautiful princess is born to the King and Queen, and at her christening, she is subject to two very powerful works of magic. The first is from her aunt, whose invitation was forgotton. Princess Aurore is cursed to prick her finger on her sixteenth birthday, and die. But the second spell comes from her godmother, who decrees that she will prick her finger, but will merely sleep for a hundred years until woken by a kiss.

 

Because of the first spell, the young princess is forbidden to leave the castle or go anywhere near a needle. But Aurore feels called to the outside world, and, with the help of her cousin Prince Oswald, she is finally allowed outside. She grows up under the teaching of her father, who instructs her on how to be a ruler of the people. It's not long before the villagers fall in love with their cursed princess, but the nobles are far from happy.

 

The nobles long ago fell in love with Oswald, who was originally declared successor to the throne. But the king changes his mind, and declares Aurore to be his heir after all. But when her sixteenth birthday comes and goes, things begin to get messy, and Aurore will have to face the two spells inside her.

 

First of all, don't pay any attention at all to any other synopsis you read. They don't make any sense.

 

Second of all, for some reason, I wasn't expecting much from this book. Maybe it was the unattractive cover (mine really wasn't very appealing), or maybe it was one of the lame summaries I read (just stay away from them), but something made it seem very uninteresting. Despite this, I decided to give it a try. I'm really glad I did.

 

Aurore is easy to like, even when she's being childish and impetuous. I still can't help but sympathize with her, even when I know she should calm down. The small cast of supporting characters (her father, Oswald, Ironheart, La Foret) are all very well done likeable.

 

Most of the plot is very well done, but it feels like a lot of buildup and not much else. I kept expecting something big and dramatic and horrifying, but it never came. Nevertheless, it was still very interesting and the difficult plot of having a main character whose supposed to be asleep for the story was handled very well.

 

I'm not entirely happy with the ending, though. I think it could've worked, but it just didn't quite click for me. But it was still done much better than most of the people who try to pull off that kind of thing, so I'm not terribly upset.

 

Bottom line: Beauty Sleep is a very good fairy tale retelling that I would immediately recommend to Sleeping Beauty fans, with good characters and good writing. It may not be perfect, but it's pretty close. I will definitely be looking into Cameron Dokey's other fairy tale novels.

 

--Persy

 

You might like this if: you like fairy tale retellings; you like short, fun fantasy novels; your favorite princess is Sleeping Beauty; you have a soft spot for time travel or enchanted forests; if you aren't sick of unconventional princesses; or if you were cursed as a baby and need a good example of how to get your own happily ever after.

Arty -- The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

I'm starting to really fail at this "review every weekend" thing.

Anyway.  The Adoration of Jenna Fox.  It's one of those kinda popular, kinda not books that I figured wouldn't be very good.  Because 'kinda popular, kinda not' books have this nasty habit of not being very good.

But it was the September book for a book club I'm part of, and another friend rec'd it (who has good taste, if you'll remember Hope Was Here, Pandora Hearts, and Quicksilver).  So I got it.

And it was really, really good.

It reminded me of my favorite Margaret Peterson Haddix books, Double Identity.  Only three times as well characterized and plotted out and thought-provoking.  Yeah, thought-provoking is a good thing in this case.  Somehow, Pearson managed to make it thought-provoking without saying "This is a book about THIS subject, now here, make up your mind."

Who is Jenna Fox?  Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name.  She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago.  But what happened before that?  Jenna doesn't remember her life.  Or does she? And are the memories really hers?

Gosh, that summary just does not give the book justice.  It makes it sound so run-of-the-mill.  And boring.  And uninteresting.  And cliché.  I'm repeating myself.

One of the things about this book is the writing.  It's easy to read, and it sounds like Jenna.  It's mechanical and almost surreal at first, as Jenna wakes up.  And then it becomes more flexible, more grounded, the more she goes through, the more she remembers or learns.  It was just awesome to read.

Another is the characters.  Jenna is a great MC - not a favorite, but she didn't leave me wanting to kill her or even just feeling blah about her existence.  She actually gets to be likable.  (Except with Ethan, the annoying prerequisite 'love interest,' but there were only a few scenes with him.)

The side chars are really fun, especially Lily.  Lily was amazing.  Jenna's godmother and grandmother figure, she's grounded and realistic and sometimes pretty unlikable but still.. relatable.  You get her.  And by the end of the book she was my favorite character.  Jenna's parents, too, were really well done - very human, not demonized or perfect.  So human.  And Mr. Bender - I kinda want a book just for him.  He sounds like an interesting guy and he didn't have enough scenes.

The action of the novel - if it can be called real action - was very well set up.  It started a little slow, but then you get the sense that something's wrong... and it keeps escalating.  And escalating.  And there comes a point when you think it can't get more horrible for Jenna, but it does.  There were a couple times when I thought, "Okay, how is Pearson gonna top this?" and she always does.  It drove me crazy and it was brilliant.

Random rant - Pearson actually managed to incorporate Jenna's going to school in an intelligent way.  Several plot points revolved around things Jenna did or discovered or heard in school.  Which is just great.  So many books stick school in there just for the lulz, or to introduce the romantic interest.  Which Pearson did, but it was the least important reason.

I really can't find much wrong about this book - except for the random, unnecessary romance with Ethan.  Not everybody would love it.  But for anyone who likes low-key scifi or interesting books that make you think without pushing it, this is a must-read, just to see if you enjoy it.  I'm really excited to read the sequel, Fox Inheritance.

Arty -- Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

Genreless.  It sounds so boring and dull.  And yet sometimes you stumble across a treasure.

Hope Was Here is such a treasure.  It has a simple premise: Hope Yancey, a sixteen-year-old with no father and an absentee mother, has been raised by her aunt Addie for as long as she can remember.  They travel the US, working at different diners and restaurants - Addie is a short-order genius, and Hope has plenty of experience waitressing.

The story opens with another move, to small-town Mulhoney, Wisconsin and the little diner called the Welcome Stairways.  This town and this diner, however, are ever so slightly different.

There's Lou Ellen, the single mother with the disabled baby Anastasia; there's Braverman, the diner's teenage griller who had to stay home from college because of family financial issues; and, most of all, G.T. Stoop, the Welcome Stairways's owner, the effervescent older man with leukemia who also up and decides to run for mayor.

It's a good thing Hope is skilled at hope, because it appears Mulhoney will need it.

Good grief, this book was good.

The characters are what make it.  Hope is what makes it.  I've never read a better genreless heroine. (Sammy Keyes is under the mystery genre - she's more fun but Hope is right on her tail).  She's not whiny or annoying, and she's not a Pollyanna - she knows life is tough and she's okay with that and she knows it's still worth it.

CAN I GET AN AMEN FOR THE MOST REFRESHING HEROINE SINCE EVER?

Sorry.  I get really excited when I find a female MC I love this much.  Seriously.  This girl danced around a diner in a red clown nose to lift her spirits.  You cannot dislike Hope Yancey.

The other characters are amazing, too.  I thought Addie would be another cliché brash-but-lovable aunt; she turned out to be an opinionated, stubborn, frightfully intelligent, warm, loving, oh-my-gosh-can-I-be-her-niece character.  (Also a can-you-come-cook-for-us character - her food sounds divine.) Braverman was actually an interesting love interest - you could see it from a mile away, but still.  He and Hope were cute.

G.T., however, turns out to be the second driving force of the novel, after Hope.  This guy... I'm not even going to try to sum him up because it's late and I'm tired and besides - one does not simply sum up Gabriel Thomas Stoop.

Basically, he's one of the most amazing old guys ever.  Any Adventures In Odyssey listers - ironically, he reminds me a lot of Tom Riley.  (Without the Richard Maxwell issues.  Mainly because there's no Richard Maxwell figure in Hope Was Here.  But that's beside the point.)

The subplots - the political side (which was amazing), the diner/short-order cook/waitressing side (which was amazing and made me hungry), the personal, girl-wishing-for-family side (which was amazing) - it all worked so well together.  So well.  And even if the ending was a little easy... it was worth it.

Hope Was Here is like comfort food.  You sort of know what you're getting, but at the same time it's sort of a surprise how good it is, and it makes you happy the whole way through.

Persy -- Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom by Susin Nielsen

12-year-old Violet Gustafson is a bit bitter, a bit pessimistic, and a bit jaded. After the messy divorce of her parents and watching her father remarry, have twins, and steadily get richer and richer, she has sworn off love entirely. Her mother, on the other hand, is determined to find "The One". While taking care of her five-year-old sister Rosie, Violet also has to take care of sorting through her mother's suitors by whatever means necessary, but they all seem to be losers.

 

Enough is enough, she decides, when her mother introduces her and Rosie to her latest boyfriend, Dudley Wiener. If his name wasn't bad enough, he also likes puns. With the help of her best friend Phoebe and the cute boy from Winnipeg Jean-Paul, she must get rid of Dudley and find the perfect man for her mother. And the only candidate is George Clooney himself.

 

I was kind of doubtful going into Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom by Susin Nielsen. Page 14 and I was already wishing I could ditch the stupid thing, but I dutifully kept reading, and... well, I'm glad I did.

 

This is one of the few books that make me suck up my pride and admit that I like. Y'see, once I'm predisposed to hate something, I have to hate it, even if I do like it. I just can't admit to switching sides. But sometimes, something is so good, that I'll suck it up and proclaim the world that it is amazing (Life As We Knew It, comes to mind). "Dear George Clooney" is one of those things.

 

While at first Violet seems a bit silly and unoriginal, she rapidly became one of my favorite main characters of literature. She's outspoken (like, really), resourceful, and nerdy. Three of the best qualities in an MC. Her little sister Rosie is pretty darn adorable too, and Phoebe, the sidekick, is appropriately cool. And don't get me started on how much I like Jean-Paul, and trust me, it's hard to like someone named Jean-Paul.

 

I'm not sure exactly when I switched sides on this book. I think I started admitting the book's likeability when Violet calls Jean-Paul a grapefruit (in French). But I think I actually gave into the dark side when Violet breaks Ashley's nose. And I totally fell in love when she crashes a golf cart into George Clooney's car.

 

Now I kind of want to read it again.

 

But anyway, I'm not normally a fan of the contemporary-realistic-humor-genreless books, but every once in a while I find one I really, really like, and it's usually because of the same reasons: hilarious and awesome main character; strange but possible adventures; and brilliant character growth. Just when you start to think the MC has gone a little overboard, the MC herself realizes she's gone too far. It's almost like you grow along with the main character.

 

This is Susin Nielsen's second novel, and her first is actually set in the same world about a character who makes a brief cameo at the end of "Dear George Clooney". And I have to read it. And I will. Ha.

 

--Persy

 

You might like this if you: like books like Audrey, Wait! (Robin Benway) and Lia's Guide To Winning the Lottery (Keren David); love main characters with true spunk, not that crap that passes for spunk in the literary and television world; if you're looking for a quick, enjoyable read; or if you're trying to get George Clooney's attention.

Persy -- Replication by Jill Williamson

Yaay, I'm back! Though I'll admit, I'd rather be back in Ireland right now... but I'll suck it up and face the music and write a review already.

Abby Goyer wasn't too pleased with her life to begin with, what with her parents' divorce and all. But then her dad drops the bomb: they're moving to Alaska, and she has about a day's notice. So she packs up and moves, only to discover that she's not very well-equiped for life in Alaska (her car certainly isn't practical).

J:3:3, AKA Martyr, has none of these troubles. He's lived at Jason Farms for all seventeen years of his life, and has never questioned his purpose. He knows that the outside world is toxic and suffering from a deadly sickness, and he knows that when he and the other Jasons turn eighteen, they will expire for the good of humanity.

But when a new doctor turns up at Jason Farms, Dr. Goyer, Martyr is suddenly allowed to ask questions he never could before, and he suddenly wants things he never even knew about. After talking with Dr. Goyer, he wants to see the sky just once before he expires. Is that too much to ask?

Escape proves easier than he expected. He sneaks out of Jason Farms, hides in the back of Dr. Goyer's truck, and is whisked away into the outside world, where he eventually comes face to face with Abby Goyer.

What follows is a very interesting adventure in which Abby struggles to understand Martyr's existence, struggles to survive her new high school, and struggles to keep a hold on her faith in God.

Clones. Christianity. Alaska. Skeptical? Don't be, 'cause this stuff is EPIC.

The summary I read of Replication: The Jason Experiment did not do justice to the book. I had no idea there was another subplot going on about Abby; in fact, the summary didn't even mention Abby. Which is a shame, 'cause she's pretty awesome.

When Abby's first moving out to Alaska, I couldn't help but be reminded of Twilight. As in, Jill Williamson was doing the same kind of girl-moves-to-a-freezing-area-and-starts-at-a-tiny-high-school-where-she-is-the-focus-of-all-attention-and-by-the-way-she's-really-smart story. The difference is, Jill Williamson made it work. For one thing, the reason why Abby becomes the main attraction is because she IS a rich girl from a big city and stands out a bit until she figures out how to blend in better. And then when the captain of the football team starts smirking at her, she RESISTS!!! She doesn't stand there stupidly with her mouth open. Oh, and by the way, Abby actually is smart.

That's really the only similarity between Replication and Twilight. So now we can move on with the review.

Martyr is freakin' awesome. Awesomer even than Abby. He's just so... cool. And he and Abby are freakin' adorable.

Oh, and did I mention that this book is Christian? And that it's still good? 'Cause it is, and it is. Very rarely have I encountered a Christian scifi book (thinking... thinking... actually, can't think of one at all), much less one that is actually made of awesome. But this is sooooo gooooood.

I'm really not sure how to go into more detail without giving anything away, but let's just suffice to say that YOU NEED TO READ THIS. Yes, YOU, the one on the computer! YOU need to read THIS BOOK.

I'm not exactly sure how you'll get your hands on it though; it feels a little obscure. I dunno, maybe it's not, but it just has that feel, if you know what I mean.

Well, we're one week into RAMFAP month, and I've read only three of my favorite books (but I'm picking up speed as we go). How are you guys doing?

--Persy

You might like this if you: like low-key science fiction; like clones; think Bella Swan is an idiot; want some actual good Christian fiction; or if you've recently discovered a bald clone in your bedroom and aren't sure what to do about it.

Arty -- As Easy As Falling Off the Face Of the Earth by Lynne Rae Perkins

(Hey, guys!  Sorry about the lack of review last week - busyness... and Persy's jaunted off to Ireland again, so you have to put up with me for two more Saturdays after this.  Or, y'know, Sundays.  Mondays.  Whenever my brain tells me to remember.

Anyway.  Onto the review.)

It's not that hard to fall off the face of the earth.  That's what fourteen-year-old Ry finds out when he misses his train to camp, his phone dies, and he finds himself stuck out in the middle of nowhere.  In the middle of nowhere, with nowhere to go, and no way to get in contact with his parents (who are on their own vacation around the world).

You can get anywhere with the help of some good friends, though.  Or, in Ry's case, one really, really good friend.

Del, a strange but compassionate man who finds Ry wandering around town with a single shoe, is one such friend.

And thus begins a convoluted tale of finding home and finding yourself.

Like my attempt at being dramatic and poetic and stuff?  Yeah, neither did I.  Onto the actual review.

The thing about Falling is that I don't usually like stuff like this - realistic fiction.  No elves or spaceships or special powers or anything, just regular people doing some regular stuff.  Except that Falling isn't realistic fiction.  It's not regular people doing regular stuff.  It's like... I don't even know how to explain it.  No magic?  No.  No magic?  I dunno, because this is such an unlikely, utterly fun story that sometimes I think there might be magic involved.

If there is, Del is the main purveyor.  Del is such a fun character.  Kind of old, kind of young; kind of insane, kind of overly sane; kind of selfless, kind of selfish.  Kind of a study in contrasts.  By the time the book ended, I was totally in love with him.  He goes to ridiculous lengths to help Ry, a kid he barely knows, and it doesn't feel... fake.  It feels like what he would do.  Del is just the best mentor/ally/combination of both ever.  Well, not ever, but in a book like this.

And Ry!  Ry is adorable!  He's always just kind of along for the ride, but then his voice is so... cute.  He's whatever but not apathetic.  It's like he doesn't really mind... it doesn't really get to him.  He's a very calm guy without being annoyingly zen and mature.  I want to hug him.  And then there's Lloyd, Ry's grandfather, who is almost as adorable as Ry.  And then the dog cartoons, which were pretty much squeal-worthy.  Adorable dogs.

The style, too, is adorable.  It's quirky - take Lemony Snicket's hilarious and playful word art, Wendelin Van Draanen's wry observational tone, and a sprinkling of Jonathan Stroud for the awesome author's interjections and footnotes.  Van Draanen and Stroud, two of my favorite authors - of course it'll be awesome!

There are some plot holes to be found.  Some characters that were introduced, made likable, and then discarded for the rest of the book.  And the end was pretty abrupt.  I was expecting that - most books like this have tough endings, and this, I can imagine, was tougher than usual.  Maybe it didn't take away too much because I was expecting it, but either way, it wasn't too grating - not as grating as it could be.

So, if you need a break from your typical YA stuff about intense love and the world's possible end, or if you just need a nice relaxing beach read for the summer, take a break for As Easy As Falling Off The Face Of The Earth.  It's just so much fun.

Persy -- Cast In Shadow by Michelle Sagara

Kaylin Neya has a past (don't we all?). But she's trying to forget it. Now, she tells herself, she is a Hawk, serving the land of Elantra. Hawks are the eyes and ears of Elantra, serving to maintain the peace along with the Swords and Wolves (it's complicated, I think... that or just badly explained in the book). But it's hard to escape your past when you've got strange powers that don't go along with anything the Mages understand, and when your arms are covered in strange markings.

It's also hard when the nightmare from your past appears, and you're supposed to work alongside him. And a Dragon. Yeah.

Okay, so it's hard to sum up this book with a dramatic, realistic tone, so let's try it this way: Kaylin grew up in the Fiefs, a basically lawless group of lands each ruled by a Fieflord. There, mysterious and terrifying killings began, and all the victims had the same markings as Kaylin. But when she was thirteen, she managed to escape into Elantra, where she began serving the empire by becoming a Hawk.

But then one day, she is assigned a new mission by the Hawklord to go back to the Nightshade, the fief where she grew up, to investigate the reappearance of the murders of marked children. And her two partners are Severn, the boy she grew up with in the Nightshade (who did something REALLY BAD, but we don't get to know what that was until halfway through the book, so I won't say anything), and Lord Tiamaris, a member of the Dragon Caste (they aren't fully explained until later in the book either, so... no spoilers). Supposedly, both Severn and Tiamaris have become Hawks, but Severn might as well be a criminal, and Dragons never become Hawks.

Hijinks ensue. Yeehaw.

Okay, I sound sarcastic, but I actually did enjoy Cast In Shadow. Well, mostly. I would've enjoyed it if the writing was...better. It felt very much like a rough draft, like it could've been amazing if Michelle Sagara had just gone over it a few times. There were random sentences in there that were probably put in for poeticness, but they just made things confusing and cluttered. On the other hand, most of the writing was un-cluttered. There wasn't nearly enough description, and I had to fill in most of the gaps with my imagination and hope I was close to the truth.

For instance... how the heck do they get from Elantra to the Fiefs? Everytime they'd go it seemed like they just walked over and it took about five minutes. If the Fiefs are lawless and so hard for the Dragon Emperor (who I think rules Elantra? It was hard to tell) to control, then shouldn't they be a little farther away than NEXT DOOR?

There's also a lot of chitchat, which seems to be how most of the explaining is done. Oftentimes, I couldn't tell who was speaking, either.

The characters are pretty cool though, for the most part. Lord Tiamaris is freakin' awesome. FREAKIN' AWESOME, I SAID!! *glomps him*

Ahem, anyway.

Severn is just okay. Bit of a cliché, but he pulls it off passably. Lord Nightshade (ruler of Nightshade) is pretty cool. And then we get to Kaylin Neya. Heh.

Basically, she's pretty darn stupid, but that makes her kind of endearing. I mean, everyone knows she's stupid, and I love how she's not one of the big shots at Hawk HQ. She's lowest of the low, always late, never proper, and never really knows what's going on. She failed pretty much every class in Hawk school, which gives everyone else the excuse to explain things to the reader.

Though sometimes, they don't explain. She'll say something stupid, and the other people will look at each other and go "You didn't tell her?" "Of course not." "Okay, let's leave it that way." and they'll just carry on with their lives. It gives the impression that Michelle Sagara hasn't really figured out the details yet.

Like I said, rough draft.

There are like, five more books in the Elantra series, so maybe she'll get around to explaining a few things. I'm hoping her writing gets better too. The second book is called Cast In Courtlight, which sounds absolutely stupid, but by "Court" they mean the Barrani High Court, so maybe it'll cool after all (the Barrani are one of the high races, along with the humans and Dragons and... other people I can't remember). Although with her stupidity, I don't see how Kaylin would last two seconds in a Court, much less a Barrani one.

--Persy

You might like this if you: like fantasy worlds like Poison Study (Maria V. Snyder) or Graceling (Kristin Cashore); are looking for a fantasy book that's not very typical; have a fondness for unattractive covers (I really don't like this cover, I'm sorry); if you like awesome Dragon people (WE LOVE YOU, TIAMARIS); or if you have a fondness for vampires, dragons, or zombies and want to read every single book that so much as mentions them.

Arty -- Half-Human, edited by Bruce Coville

I admit that I'm not a huge fan of short stories.  Unless they're brilliantly told or written by one of my friends, I just don't care to read them.

But I have a weakness for half-human, anthro-something types.  So when I saw this at a library sale, I picked it up.

I think this may be my first anthology - if not, then it's been a looong time since I've read anything like it - but from what I gather from Percy's reviews, it was a pretty typical collection.  A few stories were reeeally good, a few were just 'meh,' and the rest were okay.

My favorite, surprisingly, was by Jane Yolen.  I say surprisingly because I've read a couple of her books and haven't been overly impressed.  But her story, 'Centaur Field,' about a baby centaur (naturally) was surprisingly good and realistic.

My other favorite was 'The Hardest, Kindest Gift' by Bruce Coville himself.  It's quite a bit more complicated than 'Centaur Field,' but it's really very, very good and the mystery unfolded itself beautifully.  I liked the unique take on the fallen angel love interest.

Also good - 'Scarecrow' by Gregory Maguire.  You might know Maguire for Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.  His story - about, naturally, a scarecrow come to life somehow - was taken from a sequel to Wicked he never published.  It's really fun to read - kind of macabre, kind of philosophical, kind of just fun in a sober sort of way.

And 'Princess Dragonblood' by Jude Mandell was cool.  There were times when the pacing went way too fast, but the idea was just awesome.  It starts out as your typical fairytale, but then Princess Eleanor grabs a sword and starts swinging and just never really stops.  (But she's not an annoyingly talented warrior babe, which is refreshing.  She just knows how to fight.)  The ending, while a bit easy, was good.

Speaking of warrior babes, Tamora Pierce has a story in here, called 'Elder Brother.'  Now, unlike 95% of the female reading population, I can't stand Tamora Pierce.  Her story, though, started out terrifically - a tree turned into a man!  A man-tree!  I LOVE trees!  A tree walking around in the form of a man?  This had to be good.  And it was for a while.  And then the tree-man - Qiom - met a young man named Fadal.

Spoiler alert, just so you know.  But I have to rant.  It's not that big of a surprise when you think about it, anyway.

Qiom has ended up in a place where women have to bundle up (a Middle-Eastern sort of city).  And Fadal is - guess what! - a woman dressed up in man's clothes to escape the oppression!

Reeeeeeeally, Pierce.  What is this, your literary signature?  I can understand her pretty much creating the clothes-switching subgenre in fantasy, but come on.  And it's not that I wouldn't have given the twist a chance, but there was no real reason for Fadal to be a woman.  Except that it got her and Qiom out of their world.  And there were so many other ways that could have happened.  It's just annoying.

Anyway.  Spoiler alert aborted.

The rest of the stories were so-so.  'Becoming,' by Nancy Springer, was an interesting take at a daughter of a Gorgon in modern-day New York.

'Linnea' by D.J. Malcolm could have had promise, but I didn't especially care whether Linnea, the MC, lived or died, which sort of hurt the execution.

'Water's Edge' by Janni Lee Simner also could have been really good - selkies!  Nobody writes about selkies!  But it was just okay, too, also due to an MC I couldn't care less for.

Tim Waggoner wrote 'Soaring,' which I really expected to like - about Icarus, a boy with wings (surprise, surprise).  It was better, but still not especially enthralling.  I just wanted to smack Bethany for being so annoying.  And the ending was a bit weak.

'How To Make A Human' by Lawrence Shimel was a depressing bit of humans-are-worthless-animals-are-awesome poetry which left me with a bad taste in my mouth stylistically as well as thematically (apparently you can just write some blocks of text and then separate them into lines and call it poetry).

So, if you're in the mood for some half-human tales, then... well, I recommend a couple stories.  But it's not a must-read by any means.