review: 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

pub date: April 17, 2012
publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
pages: 355
source: for review at Kiss the Book
appeals: Space!, horror, scifi, suspense, life and death, future-ish
content: some swearing

summary:
It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide lottery, are about to become the first young people in space--and change their lives forever.


Mia, from Norway, hopes this will be her punk band's ticket to fame and fortune.

Midori believes it's her way out of her restrained life in Japan.

Antoine, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but little do the teenagers know that something sinister is waiting for them on the desolate surface of the moon. And in the black vacuum of space... no one is coming to save them.

In this chilling adventure set in the most brutal landscape known to man, highly acclaimed Norwegian novelist Johan Harstad creates a vivid and frightening world of possibilities we can only hope never come true.
 
thoughts:
I do not read suspense often, but I'm assuming that suspense books normally focus on story, and not so much on character's development. The first half of this story focused on characters, mostly the three teens who are chosen to go to the moon. But I never felt attached to the characters and there didn't seem to be much to them and they weren't really developed. Since there wasn't much going on, it was a little slow. And boring. It took me a week to get through the first half of the book.

Once the five astronauts and three teens got to the moon...much more interesting. Things were happening, people were dying (was that a spoiler? sorry if you hadn't guessed that already), and the suspense was good. But I also felt like it was rushed. Like I said, I don't read suspense so maybe I don't know what I'm writing about, but I think the suspense would have been more suspenseful if it had built over days, instead of hours. They are supposed to be on the moon for 172 of them, not 20. If between horrific events, the characters stewed about it a while... But, whatever. There was suspense and my interest was held. My impression of the book went up quite a bit.

I read the last of it while I was house sitting...and it rather freaked me out. I was in a strange house with strange noises. It was cool.

As for the premise...sending random teens up into space? Really? I get the publicity aspect of sending the teens (sort of), but I also thought it was a stupid idea. Especially because the higher ups at NASA have top secret information and they have specific goals for going to the moon (I think) and teens would just get in the way. And it's dangerous.

The whole, "what else is on the moon," question...the answer is odd. But cool. And the ending was good.

Let me just say, these "possibilities" will never come true.

review: Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

pub date: Feb 14, 2012
publisher: Random House Children's Books
pages: 464
source: for review at Kiss the Book
appeals: romance, family, mystery, travel
content: off page sex, swearing

summary:
When 17-year-old Rosie's mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington's Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty percent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when Rosie tells her mother's best friend, "Aunt Sarah," that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie wasn't her real mother after all. Rosie was swapped at birth with a sickly baby who was destined to die.thoughts:


Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, joining her ex-boyfriend on his gap year travels, to find her birth mother in California. But all does not go as planned. As Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonizing decision of her own, one which will be the most heart breaking and far-reaching of all.
 

I read this book a few weeks ago, so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. But I will start off with: The cover is BORING. I like the UK cover much better--they have some color and personality. With the US cover, just blah. 

And now the story...

I was impressed with how surprising this novel was. When I began, I expected the story to go in one direction, and then it went in a new direction and took a few twists along the way. I liked the originality.

There were really two stories being told, Rosie's and an unnamed girl who had a page here and there between Rosie's narrative. It was interesting how the two girls and their stories met up and how they were resolved.

I thought the writing was interesting, the character's and their stories interesting, and the how twisted it all was.

I will say that Rosie and the mystery girl did get on my nerves at times. Mostly because I wanted them to behave in a different manner then they did. But, not everyone is me so they did their own thing and it worked for the story being told.

I liked.

review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

pub date: January 10, 2012
publisher: Dutton Books
pages: 313
source: library
content: swearing (at least one f-bomb), off page sex...that's all I remember

thoughts:
This is my first John Green book. Well, sorta. I tried to read Looking for Alaska long, long, ago, but there was so much swearing within the first chapter that I never read any further. I can handle some swearing, but the beginning of that book was excessive and I decided that no story was worth wading through that, so I put it down. I never tried another Green book, though I always thought I might be missing something since he's such a superstar in the YA world.

Which is why I decided to try again with The Fault in Our Stars. It had been sitting in my book basket for a few weeks and after a particularly stressful experience last week, I needed to think about something else and stop dwelling on this stressful experience.

A word from the unwise--don't read The Fault in Our Stars as a way to escape life. It doesn't work. First, the subject matter. Teens dying of cancer is not good escapism. Second, it's a smart book.

I liked this book. It leaves a powerful impression and packs an emotional punch. It has humor, it's smart, it has a road trip (or plane trip, really), the swearing was minimal (yay!), it has depth and also an amazing and strong protagonist who I loved. All the characters were great.

But with all that, I didn't love the book. Because I didn't love it, I feel like I need an excuse for my lack of love. Everyone else loves it! Why not me? Am I wrong? Does that make me stupid?

Because really, this book made me feel a little stupid. It was just so very smart. So I want to blame my unlove (and unsmartness) on the fact that my mind was only 70% focused on this book, while the rest of my mind was focused on my life. I needed all my mind focused on this book so that I could understand the conversations of these smart teens, who are so much smarter than I was at 16. And, apparently, smarter than me even at the age of 32.

So a fantastic book, well written definitely, but not my kind of book. I didn't enjoy all the philosophical converstations. There was so much talking talking talking, and I wanted more action. More doing. Maybe if I had been completely focused on the story, I would've loved it? Or not. I will never know.

I did definitely cry multiple times during the story. I was attached to the characters and their struggles. I cared about them.

summary:
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.


Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

review: The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas

pub date: October 11, 2011
publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
pages: 351
appeals: contemporary, cancer, family, romance, hockey
source: for review at Kiss the Book
content: some swearing, Rose has slept with her boyfriend in the past, but there isn't much described, just some references and talk about sex

thoughts:
When I began this book I expected a suffering protagonist, a father struggling with the loss of his wife, a boyfriend who just didn't understand, and a new boy who would help the protag cope.

What I got was a suffering protagonist, a father struggling with the loss of his wife, a boyfriend who tried to understand but the protag was just too damaged to keep the relationship alive, and a new boy who helped the protag cope.

So, yeah, pretty much what I expected. Doesn't there seem to be a lot of this kind of story out right now?

And yet...I got sucked in anyway. It was a well told story, with a few surprises, and I was really interested in Rose's journey to finding hope after the death of her mother. So sure, it was predictable, but still good.

I was really annoyed with the dad. I didn't enjoy him so much. I guess it was because it just seemed so...obvious. Couldn't he grieve in a more original way? But I was supposed to be annoyed with him, so I guess he did his job in the story.

summary:
When Rose’s mom dies, she leaves behind a brown paper bag labeled Rose’s Survival Kit. Inside the bag, Rose finds an iPod, with a to-be-determined playlist; a picture of peonies, for growing; a crystal heart, for loving; a paper star, for making a wish; and a paper kite, for letting go.

As Rose ponders the meaning of each item, she finds herself returning again and again to an unexpected source of comfort. Will is her family’s gardener, the school hockey star, and the only person who really understands what she’s going through. Can loss lead to love?

review: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

pub date: September 13, 2011
publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
pages: 341
appeals: historical fiction, based on fact, mystery, murder, small town, Newbery Winner
source: library
content: some fart humor, hunting, lots of blood(-y noses)

thoughts:
As you most likely know by now, this book won the Newbery Award this year. I was lucky enough to already have it checked out when the award was announced, so I missed out on the long hold list at the library. Lucky!

I went on a road trip to California last week with my sisters and ten-year-old nephew and we stuck the audio of this book in. My nephew LOVED it. We listened to about half of it on the way there, the rest on the way home. It might have been the potty humor (he is ten and thinks that sort of thing HILARIOUS), but for what ever reason while we were in California, any time we were in the car, even for three minutes, he'd say, "Can you turn the book on now?" It was really cute.

As for me, I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. I'm surprised it won the Newbery (especially when there was Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt which I loved and enjoyed so much more and wanted to win--a lot). It had it's moments of humor, it was peppered with entertaining characters, the plot was exciting at points (meandered at other points) but as I think back on the story, nothing really sticks out.

And as for the audio aspect of this book--kind of blah. The author read it, which is cool. But he has kind of a boring voice. A lot of the funny situations would have been funnier if a more expressive reader had read them instead. Just my opinion.
It was enjoyable. But for me, not phenomenal. For a ten-year-old boy, it will probably pass muster.

summary:
Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a fiesty old neighbor with a most unusual chore—typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launced on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder. Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air. Dead End in Norvelt is a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Fiction title for 2011. One of Horn Book’s Best Fiction Books of 2011.

review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

pub date: February 7, 2012
publisher: Putnam
pages: 326
source: Library Thing Early Reviewer
appeals: historical, paranormal, witches, magic, family
content: some sweet kissin

thoughts:
I enjoyed this book. I thought Spotswood's world was interesting, as were her characters. I was mislead by the cover. I assumed the book took place in present times, but it's America in the past sometime (the mid 1800s or so?). Now, does that girl on the cover look like she lived 15o years ago? She's showing her knees! And has a seductive look in her (very make-uped) face! So, yeah, I felt a little mislead. But I still enjoyed the book.

Cate's world is controlled by the Brotherhood who preach against witches and accuse many innocent girls of possessing magic. Which makes it hard for Cate because she is a witch, as are her two younger sisters.

I liked the story. I appreciated what Cate was struggling with and the decisions she had to make and how she strived to protect her sisters. I especially, really, really liked the romance in the book. It was very well done.

I did have an issue with the magic possessed by some witches. I don't like magic that has the power to mess with other's minds. I just think it's too powerful. It makes it so there's no balance between good and evil. So that bugged me.  

Also, I am so FRUSTRATED!!

****Slight spoilers follow...proceed at your own risk...****

I am frustrated on two counts, the first being that Cate is an idiot at times. She finds this important information in her mom's journal that involves all three sisters AND SHE WAITS AND WAITS AND WAITS TO TELL HER SISTERS ABOUT IT because ... well, I'm not really sure why. Except that the plot depended on the misunderstanding between siblings. Withheld information to move the story along is a plot device I loath. The more I think about it, the more it bothers me.

(also, as a side note...what the heck is Cate's mother doing keeping a diary the last year of her life that says, explicitly, that her daughter is a witch? Information that can potentially kill her daughter? why write that out on paper and put her whole family in danger? Don't get it...)


Second, though I am okay with the unresolved ending (but only because I have to be and I have hope in the rest of the series resolving the mess that this book ends with), I am not okay with the way Cate handles herself. Similar to frustration #1, at the end Cate once again doesn't discuss things with her sisters, leaving it to a woman she hates to explain her actions--which will not bode well for the next book. ARG. I am soooo upset about it, and so the last two pages of the book rather tainted my opinion of the whole story.

****Okay, slightly spoilery part of this review is over****

I enjoyed book for the most part. Really, I did. I just get so frustrated at times with characters who do dumb things. And withheld information just to make the plot work.

summary:
Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other

review: Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey

pub date: Jan 5, 2012
publisher: Penguin
pages: 416
source: LibraryThing Early Reviewer
appeals: dragons, fae, friendship, historical, romance
content: some sweet kisses

thoughts:
I have mixed feelings about this book. I thought Carey did a fantastic job creating this world with fairies and dragons and humans, and had a very compelling story arch. I thought it was well written and had a nice flow. Though some parts seemed to drag a tad, the plot was interesting.


However, I also thought it lacked a spark of life. I never found myself enthralled by the characaters or the story, or compelled to keep reading. When I put the book down, I didn't really think about until I picked it up again (and I'm someone who tends to obsess about a book between readings). The romance was also rather ho-hum. I didn't feel emotionally involved with the events or characters.

It definitely has a more serious tone, it is not a light or quick read. Maybe that has something to do with why I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would?

If you like high fantasy and a more serious tone, I think you'll like this one.
summary:
Wilde Island is in an uproar after the recent death of its king. The uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is fraying, and a bloodthirsty witch hunter with a hidden agenda whips villages into frenzies with wild accusations. Tess, a blacksmith’s daughter from a tiny hamlet near the mysterious Dragonswood, finds herself caught in the crosshairs of fate when she is accused of witchery and has to flee for her life along with her two best friends.


Not even Tess’s power to see the future can help the girls as they set off on their desperate journey, but she keeps having visions of a man wielding a sword. And when she finally meets him, Tess has no idea how to handle the magnetic attraction she feels for him, or the elusive call she hears from the heart of the Dragonswood.

In this epic romance, an ancient prophecy comes true in a way neither dragon, fairy, nor human would have predicted

review: Ditched: A Love Story by Robin Mellom

pub date: January 10, 2012
publisher: Disney-Hyperion
pages: 288
source: NetGalley
appeals: prom, romance, high school
content: swearing, sexual reference, underage drinking, drugs

thoughts:
What a fun premise. Justine begins her story in a ditch the morning after prom, then spends the morning telling her new "friends" at the 7-11 how the night that was supposed to be amazing was anything but. For the most part, I enjoyed reading Justine's prom night adventures. It was cute and sweet and full of missed opportunities and misunderstandings.

Justina's voice was strong, appealing and had a lot of personality. At times she was annoying because she jumped to conclusions A Lot, which was one of the reasons her night didn't end up so great, but because of her strong voice, I was able to overlook this small annoyance. 

In the beginning I thought this would be a fun book for younger teens or tweens, but as the novel progressed, I changed my mind. There was a lot of swearing, sexual discussions, drinking, and drugs. All that content took away from the sweetness of the story. It also took away from my enjoyment. Without all that content, I would have loved this book. As it was, it was just enjoyable.

summary:
High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her.


Ian, who always passed her the baseball bat handle first.

Ian, who knew exactly when she needed red licorice.

Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom.

And then ditched her.

Now, as the sun rises over her small town, and with only the help of some opinionated ladies at the 7-Eleven, Justina must piece together — stain by stain on her thrift-store dress — exactly how she ended up dateless. A three-legged Chihuahua was involved. Along with a demolition derby-ready Cadillac. And there was that incident at the tattoo parlor. Plus the flying leap from Brian Sontag's moving car...

But to get the whole story, Justina will have to face the boy who ditched her. And discover if losing out at prom can ultimately lead to true love.

Filled with humor, charm, and romance, Ditched: A Love Story by debut novelist Robin Mellom will have readers dreaming of love on their own prom nights.

review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

pub date: September 13, 2011
publisher: Scholastic
pages: 640
appeals: historical fiction, illustrations, adventure,
content: clean


Thoughts:
Brian Selznick is an amazingly creative person. I think this book and The Invention of Hugo Cabret are great works of art and literature. The format and the way he builds his stories is really cool. Wonderstruck takes two stories, one about a boy that is written in words, and another story about a girl that is shown by drawings. It's cool how they parallel each other, like in one story there's a lightning storm and then switches to the other story and there is also a lightening storm. Which was cool.

But...

Whereas I think the format is cool and the art is great, I was less than impressed with the actual story. I just didn't find either of them very compelling. And when the two stories actually connect, there was a great info-dump to explain all of the illustrations and what they meant and how the two stories tie together. Which takes away from the magic. It would've been cool to figure things out within the story, and not have to be told everything at the end.

Still enjoyable and I think that a lot of middle graders (and their parents) will enjoy this book.

summary:
Two independent stories—Ben's told in words and Rose's in pictures—weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder.


Ever since his mom died, Ben feels lost.
At home with her father, Rose feels alone.

He is searching for someone, but he is not sure who.
She is searching for something, but she is not sure what.

When Ben finds a mysterious clue hidden in his mom's room,
When a tempting opportunity presents itself to Rose.

Both children risk everything to find what's missing.

With over 460 pages of original drawings and playing with the form he invented in his trailblazing debut novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey. Rich, complex, affecting and beautiful, Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.

review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

pub date: November 8, 2011
publisher: Source Books 
pages: 320
source: NetGalley
format: digital
appeals: historical fiction, romance, painting, magic, supernatural, spiritualism
content: some steamy kissing

thoughts:
The premise for this book is so great! I wish I thought of it. I loved how the portrait was introduced to Natalie and the relationship she has with it. I loved how she crossed into the painting. It was just cool, cool, cool.

I also liked that this novel is Natalie's journal. It made it more personal, I think, and more immediate. There was a lot of dry humor that I appreciated and made me laugh. And Natalie has such a fun personality that I enjoyed reading her thoughts.

However...

I don't enjoy paranormal books that bring in Christian religious ideas. I have yet to read a fallen angel book I like for this very reason. Darker Still brings in religion and the idea of angels and devils and God, and it turns an otherwise fun book into something ridiculous (to me). Sure, have a bad guy, but does he have to use religious aspects in his evilness? I wish he hadn't. I would've enjoyed this book so much more.

That was the main complaint for me, but that is just me and my issue. There were smaller things that I wasn't such a fan of. Like the romance turned cheesy instead of sweet. I didn't like the wrap up at the end--I wish it had just ended with Natalie's diary closing, but there were some other stuff that happened outside of Natalie's diary that I didn't care for and I didn't feel were needed. And the "spell" that the evil dude creates is like a grab bag of stuff--oh, lets use religion and a pinch of hieroglyphics, maybe some Latin, and I can't forget poetry! I got confused.

And yet, it was a fun book. Just not my favorite.

The setting reminded me of the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen and the mood of the novel reminded me of Sorcery and Cecilia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer.

summary:
The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.


New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

review: Eve by Anna Carey

pub date: October 4, 2011
publisher: HarperTeen
pages: 336
source: NetGalley
format: ebook
appeals: dystopic, romance, adventure
content: a lot of good stuff

thoughts:
I kind of had mixed feelings about this book. Some things I loved, other things not so much.

This review has some spoilery bits, so beware.

The world Carey created was pretty creepy and scary. I could buy into a King of America, even his setting up schools for girls to be educated and getting work groups together to do manual labor to rebuild the city. Tyrants after disaster--good start.

However, I love dystopic world building that makes sense to me, and this one had some stuff that didn't make sense to me. First, why would the king educate these girls just...

HERE COMES THE SPOILERS

...to lock them up and have them have baby after baby to populate his new world. Incubators do not need to be educated, but neither do they have to be 18. Maybe he has a soft spot for children and can only abuse people once they're adults.

Also, there are really young boys found wandering around (which makes my above hypothesis completely off), why are those children unacceptable to the king to raise in his city? What makes the student's babies so much better?

Another issue I had was with Eve. She was destruction personified. Because of her decisions, so many other people suffered. I could see why she did what she did--she was a rather naive girl--but I was still angry with her. Especially at the end. I found that aspect of the novel frustrating and hard to deal with.  

That is the end of the Spoilers

Besides the above, I did enjoy this book. As Eve goes about her journey, the landscape and people she meets really brought this waste of a world alive for me. I enjoyed the characters. Eve meets a lot of different characters and I felt they were well flushed out. I loved the little boys she meets and her semi-friend, Arden, who she travels with.

I loved the romance. Eve was raised to see all men as evil. Her relationship with Caleb is so well developed that I could see her perceptions of men (or at least some men) change. It wasn't sudden and it wasn't unrealistic. It was perfect. And the sacrifices Eve and Caleb make for each other are really great.

Enjoyable read, but not a must have.

summary:
The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

review: Gypsy Knights by Two Brothers Metz

pub date: May 19, 2011
publisher: LoudCloud Publishing
source: author
format: ebook
appeals: Gypsies, magic, historical fiction, mystery, adventure
content: clean

thoughts:
This was a fun book. It has a lot of mystery, history, some Gypsy magic, and a little bit of romance. I thought it was very well written and had great descriptions. The writing flowed well. As someone who knows nothing about the game (all I know comes from the musical Chess), I loved the roll chess played in this novel and how it became so important to the developing plot.
In the beginning I did have a hard time getting into the story. There was a lot of jumping around in time between 1960 and 1065, and then a lot of flashbacks to other times. It made the story somewhat choppy and confusing. But once I got past that aspect of the novel, I finished the book rather quickly and really enjoyed it.

Also, I thought the clues that Durriken received from his mother seemed rather contrived, but it set Durriken and Dilia on a fun adventure, so I guess it's all good.

summary:
Fourteen-year-old Durriken Brishen has lost his parents, his grandfather, and though he doesn't know it, his Gypsy culture's dangerous gift.

Taken in and raised on the rails by the first woman to pilot a freight train, Durriken has one remaining connection to his Romani roots: a small wooden box that hangs from the hammer loop of his overalls.

The last gift he received from his grandfather, the box contains the world's first chess set. But a piece is missing: the Red Queen. According to Durriken’s family lore, the complete set awakens the power of Tărie, a mercurial gift that confers unique abilities on each new Master.

When a suspicious fire erupts in the Chicago rail yard, Durriken's escape produces an uneasy alliance, though not without its silver lining. Dilia is a few inches taller, several degrees cleverer, and oh yes – very pretty. While Durriken is uneasy allying with a girl whose parents were convicted of sedition, there's no doubt she is a powerful partner. And while it's not immediately clear to either, her own Guatemalan culture and family history are deeply entwined with the ancient Romani mystery.

Jumping box cars, escaping riverboats, deciphering clues, crossing swords with the brilliant madman Radu Pinch – with great American cities as its backdrop – Gypsy Knights is the page-turning saga of Durriken Brishen and his quest to rediscover his past.

review: Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey

pub date: August 4, 2009
publisher: Atheneum
pages: 553
source: my bookshelf
series: A Resurrection of Magic #2
appeals: dark fantasy, mystery, magic,
content: violence, swearing (about 10 f-bombs which I did not think were needed in the context of the story and didn't fit into the world created--really irritated me)

thoughts:
I have a split opinion on this book.

On the one hand--
I enjoyed the mystery. This is a long book and I was interested in it enough to finish it in just a few days. I wanted to know what was going on, who was really who, and what the heck was going to happen before the end.

There are two stories being told, one of Hapt and his experiences in magic school, and the other of Sadima, who lives hundreds of years before Hapt and is there at the beginning of the resurrection of magic, long before the magic school is founded and back when magic was feared and magicians were put to death. The intersecting of the two stories is so awesome. I am impatient for the last of the trilogy to come out so I can see how they will finally come together. Much to my frustration, there is no pub date for A Resurrection of Magic #3. Which means it will be a long wait.  

On the second hand--
This book is slooooow. It takes FOREVER for anything concrete to happen. Hapt spends most of his time trying to build relations with the other boys in the school, which is practically impossible and is mostly internal with tiny interludes with the other boys. The other part of his time is spent trying to figure out magic, which is not a fast process. It takes him an eternity to figure things out. At times it was down right boring. But when his story was going so slow, Sadima's really picked up, and vice versa--when Sadima's was slow, then Hapts would get interesting.

I ended up skimming large chunks.

In conclusion--
Interesting, but way too long. I do want the conclusion of their stories--the ending was rather surprising and I'm left hanging

summary:
Sadima, Franklin, and Somiss, driven out of Limòri by a suspicious fire, are living in a cave hidden within the cliffs that overlook the city. Somiss is convinced the dark passages of the caves were the home of ancient magicians, and his obsession with restoring magic deepens. Sadima dreams of escape -- for her, for Franklin, and for the orphaned street boys Somiss has imprisoned in a crowded cage. Somiss claims he will teach these boys magic, that they will become his first students, but Sadima knows he is lying.

Generations later, Hahp is struggling to survive the wizards' increasingly dangerous classes at the Limòri Academy of Magic. He knows the fragile pact he has forged with his secretive roommate, Gerrard, will not be enough to put an end to the evil. It will take all the students acting together to have any chance of destroying the academy. Building trust, with few chances to speak or plan, will be almost impossible, but there is no choice.

review: Wisdom's Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

pub date: September 12, 2011
publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
pages: 314
source: NetGalley 
appeals: fantasy, fairy tale-ish, romance, adventure
content: clean

thoughts:
I am a huge fan of Murdock's Dairy Queen series. I love DJ Schwenk and her adventures in Red Bend Wisconsin. However, I'm not such a fan of Murdock's fantasy books.

I read Princess Ben when it came out a few years ago, and it was okay, but I didn't love it. I read Wisdom's Kiss because I wanted to give Murdock's fantasy another go because I love her realistic fiction so much. However, I have to say the I felt the same about Wisdom's Kiss as I did for Princess Ben. It was okay. Not my type of fantasy.

I say not my type of fantasy because the fantasy I enjoy delves into characters and relationships and has solid world building and a well-set forth magical system. I didn't get that with this book. I felt like the story just skimmed the surface, and I wanted depth.
I didn't really feel attached to any of the characters. They were fun or evil or woeful or hopeful, but none of them I felt like I knew. They never came alive for me. Trudy was my favorite but there wasn't enough of her, or any of them really, to love.

The plot had moments of surprise and fun, but it wasn't suspenseful. I didn't feel the urgent need to know what was going to happen next. I felt more of a need to finish the book so that I was finished.

I thought Murdock's story telling style was very creative. Told from (I think) 8 different points of view in (I think) 8 different styles, it was fun to read. Though I did skip the encyclopedia entries near the end. The story might have made more sense if I hadn't done so.

I really hope Murdock writes more contemporary, realistic fiction. I will definitely read it when she does. But I think not any more of her fantasy books. Just not my kind of fantasy.

Readalikes would be Jessica Day George's books or Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore. And if you liked Princess Ben, you'll enjoy this one.

summary:
Princess Wisdom, known as Dizzy, longs for a life of adventure far beyond the staid old kingdom of Montagne.

Tips, a soldier, longs to keep his true life secret from his family.

Fortitude, an orphaned maid, longs only for Tips.

These three passionate souls might just attain their dreams while preserving Montagne from certain destruction, if only they can tolerate each other long enough to come up with a plan. Tough to save the world when you can't even be in the same room together.

Magic, cunning, and one very special cat join forces in this hilarious, extraordinary tale by the author of Dairy Queen and Princess Ben. An incredibly creative tale told with diaries, memoirs, encyclopedia entries, letters, biographies, even a stage play, all woven together into a grand adventure.

review: Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst

pub date: September 13, 2011
publisher: Simon and Schuster
source: Simon and Schuster Gally Grab
format: digital
appeals: vampires, high school, prom, romance,
content: 4 or 5 swears and some violence


thoughts:
this is my third Sarah Beth Durst novel. I LOVED Ice, thought Enchanted Ivy was okay, and Drink, Slay, Love is right in the middle of those two. All of Durst's books are different and original and I really like that about her as a writer.


Drink, Slay, Love started out slow. I didn't really care about the characters, or even Pearl's story till 40 or 50 pages in, but once I reached that point my pace of reading picked up with the plot. It was really exciting.


I thought Pearl's development as a character was realistic and that made the story real (as real as a vampire stabbed by a unicorn can be), even with odd and sometimes silly plot developments. I don't read a lot of vampire books, so I might be off about this, but I thought these vampires were intriguing and different and new. They were really heartless and Durst does a good job of showing how evil these vampires are compared to human standards. It made for great conflict.

So overall, this was a fun book. I recommend. And though I gave it three apples, it's more like a 3.5.


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


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


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

review: Witchlanders by Lena Coakley

pub date: August 30, 2011
publisher: Simon and Schuster
pages: 411
source: Simon and Schuster Galley Grab
format: digital
appeals: high fantasy, adventure, male protagonists
content: some mild violence

thoughts:
This is a fantasy novel with lots of dark magic and two male protagonists. Definitely a book that would appeal to boys. Now look at the cover. Are you as horrified as I am? ARG! Really, what fantasy loving teen boy is going to pick up a pretty blue cover with a girl on the front? It's pretty! It's a girl! It reflects nothing of the plot and tone of the story! I think the Simon and Schuster marketing department really screwed this cover up. And I'm not happy about it.

What I liked about this book:

--The writing was beautiful. I loved the way Coakley described places and people and situations. It was really beautiful.

--The world building was really original and enjoyable to read. The relations between the Baen and the Witchlanders was well established. To the point that they were true to their beliefs, even when I really didn't want them to be. I wanted things to resolve in a different way, but that wouldn't have been true to the characters.

--Which brings me to the characters. Two male protagonists. So awesome. I thought they were very believable. And I liked how their relationship developed through the book.

Overall, I think this is a good book. But having written all of that, it wasn't my kind of book. At least not the kind I adore. I wanted more physical action, but especially more magic action. And some romance. (I am a girl who likes some romance in her books). And I wanted a more conclusive ending. But that's just me. Like I said, overall, this is a great book with a very misleading cover. ARG!

summary:
High in their mountain covens, red witches pray to the Goddess, protecting the Witchlands by throwing the bones and foretelling the future.


It’s all a fake.

At least, that’s what Ryder thinks. He doubts the witches really deserve their tithes—one quarter of all the crops his village can produce. And even if they can predict the future, what danger is there to foretell, now that his people’s old enemy, the Baen, has been defeated?

But when a terrifying new magic threatens both his village and the coven, Ryder must confront the beautiful and silent witch who holds all the secrets. Everything he’s ever believed about witches, the Baen, magic and about himself will change, when he discovers that the prophecies he’s always scorned—

Are about him.

review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

pub date: August 2, 2011
publisher: Hyperion
pages: 288
source: publisher for review
appeals: witches, mystery, paranormal-ish, romance
content: clean

thoughts:
It took me two weeks to get through the first 80 pages. Nothing really happened and I was bored. So I made myself sit down and get it read so I could move on to a new book. And happily, it got better. Around page 100 the plot picked up and it just kept picking up. I thought the ending was really exciting and I read the last 50 pages in one sitting, speeding through.

The uncle, and most of Lexi's town were so frustrating! I always respect authors who write annoying and closed minded characters. Because I hate them and they frustrate me and I want to reach into the book and knock their head against a tree. But...such a strong emotional response is because the character, however annoying, is written in a believable way. I don't know that I'd be able to do that myself. So yes, annoying, close-minded uncle, but remarkably written character.

The writing was BEAUTIFUL. Even at the beginning when I was bored with the slowness of the story, I thought the descriptions were amazing. I loved the way Schwab used language. It was stunning.

The romance was fun, but at the same time really quick. Lexi and the boy are suddenly kissing a lot and I wasn't sure where those lovey feelings came from. Though sudden, still fun.

Probably my favorite aspect of the novel was the history of the near witch and how she played into the present time with Lexi. I loved the world building as pertaining to the witches, and that was when the novel really got interesting to me.

I'm not sure what to rate this book. There was a lot I enjoyed about the novel and the ending was strong and exciting. But the beginning so wasn't. I'll go with 3.5 apples. 

summary:
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.


If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.

review: The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon

pub date: June 14, 2011
publisher: Voice
pages: 352
source: LibraryThing Early Reviewer
appeals: adult, mystery, boarding school, murder, contemporary, realistic fiction
content: swearing, off page sex, bullying,

thoughts:
This is not the kind of book I normally read. It wasn't particularly fast paced, it wasn't focused on just a few characters, and it wasn't told from a teen POV. It was an adult murder mystery. But for all of that, I enjoyed it anyway.  

This is a very dense book. Dense as in the paragraphs are long and packed with detailed information. There is also A LOT of info told about each character--present, past, and hinting into the future--that didn't necessary have anything to do with the murder. It was not a quick read for me.

I figured out who the murderer was a little over half way through. Maybe not the reason behind the murder, that was a surprise, but the who-done-it aspect of it. And the reveal wasn't dramatic at all. It was sort of just there, a bit of information tucked in with all the other bits of information. But that was okay. Sometimes drama at the end of a book is annoying, so it was refreshing when that wasn't the case, like in this book. And the wind down after the reveal went on for a while, tying up all the ends of lives of all the characters we .

But, really, I did enjoy the story. The dynamics of the boarding school, teachers and students, and the schools relations with the town, was fascinating. As each piece of the puzzle was revealed, I loved how the thread got more twisted. I thought the plot was very well thought out and laid down in the novel. And I liked the two main characters. I liked how the book ended.

A solid 3 apple book.
summary:
When beautiful but aloof Claire Harkness is found dead in her dorm room one spring morning, prestigious Armitage Academy is shaken to its core. Everyone connected to school, and to Claire, finds their lives upended, from the local police detective who has a personal history with the academy, to the various faculty and staff whose lives are immersed in the daily rituals associated with it.

Everyone wants to know how Claire died, at whose hands, and more importantly, where the baby that she recently gave birth to is a baby that almost no one, except her small innermost circle, knew she was carrying.

At the center of the investigation is Madeline Christopher, an intern in the English department who is forced to examine the nature of the relationship between the school s students and the adults meant to guide them. As the case unravels, the dark intricacies of adolescent privilege at a powerful institution are exposed, and both teachers and students emerge as suspects as the novel rushes to its thrilling conclusion.

review: I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

pub date: May 3, 2011
publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
pages: 400
appeals: contemporary, realistic fiction, romance, family
content: clean (I think. I don't remember anything that would make it otherwise)

thoughts:
I enjoyed this story. It was not what I expected, and I love to be surprised. I thought it was interesting and well written with great descriptions and characters.

However, I felt Sloan's writing style was more of a summary. I felt too much of the story was skimmed over. Emily and Sam supposedly have a deep relationship, but as a reader I wasn't ever privy to the building of the relationship. I just was told by the narrator that they talked and spent time together. I wanted to read about it, not just be told about it. So the fact that this relationship was so important to the story kind of put a kink in my love for the book because I didn't buy into it. 

This novel was written from multiple perspectives, and I really enjoyed that. I thought it opened up a lot of the characters by seeing them through anothers eyes.

Though I did like the multiple perspectives, at times it got annoying. Mostly I wanted the story to focus on Sam and Riddle and Emily, but a few characters went off on tangents that took away from the main story. And that bothered me because I didn't care about the tangents, I cared about the main three characters. Bobby was the worst offender. I didn't like him and though he was important to certain plot points, he got old really fast. I wanted out of his head, especially when it came to the prom. Too many pages were wasted on him.


So I did like the book, I thought the story and characters were compelling. I just didn't love it like I wanted to.   

summary:
Raised by an unstable father who keeps the family constantly on the move, Sam Border hasn't been in a classroom since the second grade. He's always been the rock for his younger brother Riddle, who stopped speaking long ago and instead makes sense of the world through his strange and intricate drawings. It's said that the two boys speak with one voice--and that voice is Sam's.


Then, Sam meets Emily Bell, and everything changes. The two share an immediate and intense attraction, and soon Sam and Riddle find themselves welcomed into the Bell's home. Faced with normalcy for the first time, they know it's too good to last.

Told from multiple perspectives, Holly Goldberg Sloan's debut novel offers readers fresh voices and a gripping story, with vivid glimpses into the lives of many unique characters. Beautifully written and emotionally profound, I'll Be There is a story about connections both big and small, and deftly explores the many ways that our lives are woven together.