Struck

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
Grade: 3 stars out of 5
Published: May 8, 2012; hardcover
Source: ARC from publisher

What Jennifer Bosworth wrote is something that is frighteningly possible. A massive religious cult, another massive cult trying to stop the other cult, no government stability, prices on basic needs sky-rocketing, etc. Of course in real life there is no psychics or magical beings who with withhold lightening.

In this dystopian novel, Mia Price is the only one who can either save the world or destroy it. Mia is addicted to being struck by lightening and will chase it in for that one hit. Like a drug addict, she keeps asking for more and it shows. With Lichtenberg Figures dancing all over her body, she dresses in black to not scare anyone. But people know who she is, what she’s done, and what she can do.

Jeremy wants to protect Mia, but from what and exactly from whom?

I’m conflicted with my response to Struck. I think it’s dangerous, sexy, and creative. But then again I think it’s creepy, underdeveloped, and too quick.

My biggest issue was Mia and Jeremy. Mia and Jeremy happened too fast for my liking. I found Jeremy really creepy in the beginning and exasperated at how quickly Mia was able to forgive Jeremy. The foundation to the relationship weak; their connection together too strong given the amount of time together. I found both characters lacking in development and background. Of course this is only part one of a series so I expect more later on.

What I did find fascinating was just the idea behind Struck. It’s something I’ve never read before and something I never expected to read. This book will hit a couple of sore spots for some, but I think overall it’s so interesting and unique that will make people curious and draw them in.

I love that Bosworth takes the most innate part of human and expands it. Why does Mia like to be struck by lightening? Because it gives her a high; it makes her feel alive. Why does the Prophet want to run the world? Because it’s power and control and the need to feel safe from anybody. Why do people join the two different cults? Because it gives them a sense of purpose, it makes them feel needed, they want to survive, they want the weight taken off their shoulder. The basic drive in humans is so powerful that it can cause mayhem. I love it; I love that it’s a raw emotion.

The action scenes were done well. The cult scenes were deliciously strange and haunting. The characters were set apart and individualized ‘cause nothing spells a bad book when I can’t tell where one character ends and another begins.

The climax had a pow to it. The ending was satisfying. Struck was a solid read that has a solid audience.

Cover C+/B-

case of a lightening strike: Lichtenberg Figure

This is Not a Test

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
Grade: 4 stars out of 5
Published: June 19, 2012; paperback
Source: ARC from LibaryThing ER

I have a love affair with Courtney Summers’s books. I’m usually strictly a paranormal gal (I mean, have you seen my bookshelf?), but as soon as Courtney Summers’s has a new book I’m on it like as if it were a cupcake—devoured with a every-man-for-themselves attitude. So when Summer’s announced her new book involving zombies I had to read it!

And thank you jebus that these zombies are not the cuddly, happy-go-lucky zombies that’s French kissing some cheerleader/goth dude. No, this is eating-the-flesh-off-your-face zombie.

Oh yeah.

This is Not a Test is about Sloane and a motley set of teenagers trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. Of course, what’s a Summers’s work if there isn’t emotional tension, angst, and drama. A boring one is what that will be.

This is Not a Test is heart pounding, jaw clenching novel that really leaves you hanging off the edge of your seat. (I know, I know, second POV is bad because it makes me sound obnoxious, but truly, this novel will have you on the edge.) While the zombies attack is an essential part of the novel, it is not the main focus. For This is Not a Test is a character driven novel with Sloane being the instigator. It is about living to survive from abandonment. Learning how to breathe even when the room starts to feel small and closing in. Learning to forgive people.

Summers’s draws forth an emotional response from the reader in every chapter. Even with the first person point of view, there’s an attachment and connection to the other characters. Take a deep breath in, and exhale slowly because it’s easily to get wrapped up in the characters. It’s so easy to get caught up in the loneliness and the despair from Sloane. Sometimes the urge to yell at someone is strong, other times tears sting your eye. There were so many times I had to stop reading, close the book, and take a minute to collect myself before I started to bawl. I became so emotionally invested in Sloane that it surprised me. I wanted to follow her tale till the wee rosy-fingered dawn. But I passed out around midnight so instead I dreamed about it. I wanted her live, but I wanted her to want to live even more.

By now you might have noticed my lack of mentioning of the zombies aside from the initial introduction. There’s a reason for that. Courtney Summers writes fantastic contemporary works of fiction. This is Not a Test reads just like a contemp. book with zombies being in the background. The zombies may be the ones that started the book, but the story of Sloane started before that. What the zombies do is make everything much more intense; it kick-starts the adrenaline. That’s not to say there aren’t any zombie fighting and chasing scenes. And that’s not to say what Summers’s wrote about the zombies wasn’t frightening. Because there were and it was. There is more to This is Not a Test than flesh-eating zombies.

The one part of Summers’s novels that frustrates me: the ending. They are typically open-ended and for me, I need to know what happens. Will they make it? To the new safe house? As a couple? Will Sloane continue to want to live? What happens now!?

With Summers’s terse writing and some unforgettable lines, This is Not a Test will haunt you; it’ll stick with you even after you finished reading it. I want to carry this book with me always so I can smack people in the face and demand that they read it. Now!

Cover A-

Absolutely love the blood splatter and the tilt of the model's head.

Glow (Sky Chasers 1)

Glow (Sky Chasers #1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Narrated by Matthew Brown and Ilyana Kadushin

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

As someone who has heard of Amy Kathleen Ryan before and read one of her novels, Zen and Xander Undone, I was surprised to see this dystopian, science fiction novel by her. Also not being the hugest fan of her work—found Zen and Xander Undone to be eh/okay—I was very much hesitant about Glow. But the reviews were generally positive when I first heard of it so I dove straight in. Glow was everything that I did not expect.

There are so many different synopses to Glow and many of which doesn’t seem to capture that essence of the book. Here is the synopsis I first read when the news about Glow started buzzing:

"The Empyrean is the only home 15-year-old Waverly has ever known. Part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, she and her boyfriend Kieran will be pioneers of New Earth. Waverly knows she must marry young in order to have children who can carry on the mission, and Kieran, the handsome captain-to-be, has everything Waverly could want in a husband. Everyone is sure he’s the best choice. Still, there’s a part of Waverly that wants more from life than marriage, and she is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.


Suddenly, Waverly’s dreams are interrupted by the inconceivable – a violent betrayal by the Empyrean's sister ship, the New Horizon. The New Horizon’s leaders are desperate to populate the new planet first, and will do anything to get what they need: young girls. In one pivotal moment, Waverly and Kieran are separated, and find themselves at the helm of dangerous missions, where every move has potentially devastating consequences, and decisions of the heart may lead to disaster."--from Amazon

My initial thought: So it’s a love triangle in space. Okayyy. And the first couple of discs seemed to point at what I thought, but then…then the New Horizon came. Dun dun dun. Continuing and finishing Glow was like an obsession that had taken over.

You might have noticed that I said discs. Yes, I listened to Glow as an audiobook while I was doing biology slide drawings* and preparing for my practical. I’m nothing if not a multitasker who doesn’t know when multitasking isn’t exactly the best thing to do. Glow is distracting! I barely remembered what I drew and annotated and am pretty sure I spelled a couple of things wrong. But it was worth it. (Managed to get a perfect score on the drawings so it’s a win-win situation.)

Let’s talk about the specifics on the narration because Glow is my first full audiobook. I’ve sampled bits and pieces of other audiobooks before so I’m not a true “noob”, but it was very exciting. The first thing I noticed was the voicing. Matthew Brown voiced Kieran and Ilyana Kadushin voiced Waverly**. My preference flip-flops between the two over the course of the 8 discs, but I do think they both spoke very clearly and depicted the right emotions. I struggled for a bit on the speed of the audiobooks. I can read about 250 pages in about 3-4 hours so for a 300 page book (of course the fonts are smaller than most YA novels) to take 8 hours had me itching to read the book myself. Another thing that I struggled with was when the characters were screaming, but it was through with whispering(ish) on the audiobooks. Some of the voicing for secondary characters took time to get used to.There were some nasally voices that were not pleasant to the ear. (3.5 out of 5 stars).

Now onward to the storyline!

Glow goes beyond love triangles in space. It’s about inner strength, defying against the norm, and finding the truth for yourself. It’s about religious cults, government propaganda, gender oppression, abuse, and the ever escalating fear of the Earth’s environment. It’s about a lot of things that the synopsis doesn’t seem to hint at. Ryan put everything together so effortlessly.

That’s why I was so pleasantly surprised when I hit the midpoint of the story because it went against my initial judgment. The tension was at its peak. The chance of survival was slim. (And finally a set of characters who manages to show rather than tell their emotions and their actions followed what they say.) The emotions were raw; the desperation could be felt in the air. The actions were sickening. Each character was like an apple: some ripe, some bruised, some tart, but each with its own texture. The antagonists seemed like good guys from one perspective and the perfect villains in the other perspective. The protagonists were just the same—with both good and bad traits.

From the middle of the novel I just couldn’t stop listening. I needed to know what happened next. It’s as what Lauren Myracle said; Glow is “Utterly engrossing.” It is electric. It is all-consuming. It is shocking.

I found the resolution to be impeccably done. None of that happier ever after crap because, really, they hardly happen in real life. There are still questions to answered and people to be rescued (literally and symbolically), but the focal conflict was resolved. The last scene just hit the ball out of the park*** for me. My lips are sealed, but I expect some backstabbing in the next installment.

My qualms about Glow were mostly with Waverly and her relationship with Seth. I was iffy about the whole thing. It had its purposes, but there was nothing fleshed out about it. After Waverly is taken away, she doesn’t really mention him at all. Waverly, herself, I couldn’t connect to. She was all over the place emotionally. What she represented I thought was amazing and powerful.

Look into Glow. The synopsis doesn’t do it justice. Glow is so much more than teens hooking up. Far from a quick and breezy read, Glow is thought provoking and heartbreaking and captivating.

Hey, since the holidays are right around the corner you know what make an awesome present for readers...hint hint.

*they are so tedious to do and it feels like a waste of time

**Glow is broken into two POVs. To recreate this Brown would voice one CD and Kadunshin voiced another. They don’t narrator the same discs.

***I can’t seem to stop my cheesy metaphors. Really got into baseball this season.

Cover B+

I love the simplicity of the cover. It hints to a spaceship with the porthole, but not as much as I would have liked. I do wish that there was male on the cover, but perhaps Kieran will be on the sequel and Seth on the last book.

Published: 2011, September 13; ebook, hardcover, audiobook.

Source: audiobook from Macmillan

Amazon / IndieBound

Dark Companion (Early Review)

Yan: *waves* Well this is strange since I haven't reviewed anything in a long time, but hopefully the following review is coherent. It's a very VERY early review so I will be posting this again closer to a release date, but I wanted to get this out while it's still semi-fresh in my mind.

---

Dark Companion by Marta Acosta (website/twitter)

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

When foster teen Jane Williams is invited to attend elite Birch Grove Academy for Girls and escape her violent urban neighborhood, she thinks the offer is too good to be true. She's even offered her own living quarters, the groundskeeper's cottage in the center of the birch grove.

Something's not quite right about the school -- or is it Jane? She thinks she sees things in the birch grove at night. She's also beginning to suspect that the elegant headmistress and her sons are hiding secrets. Lucky is the gorgeous, golden son who is especially attentive to Jane, and Jack is the sardonic puzzling brother.

The school with its talented teachers and bright students is a dream for a science and math geek like Jane. She also loves her new friends, including hilarious poetry-spouting rich girl, Mary Violet. But the longer Jane stays at Birch Grove, the more questions she has about the disappearance of another scholarship girl and a missing faculty member.

Jane discovers one secret about Birch Grove, which only leads to more mysteries. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to stay at this school...and be bound to Birch Grove forever? 

Note Dark Companion is *not* a paranormal romance novel. Marta Acosta calls it dark gothic.

Dark Companion is a great title because it gives a sense of the plot and just how “dark” this novel can actually get. 

When the manuscript for Dark Companion first arrived in my hands, I admit that I was a little scared. It was daunting stack of 200+ pages that would later be printed, bound, and shipped off as a book. While 200 pages might not so scary on screen, when you have it your hands and feel its weight, you worry if you can ever finish it. So I set a goal for myself, a chapter per day while eating breakfast/lunch. (The convenience of a lightweight single paper as opposed to a huge book makes that possible.) But for some reason I couldn’t stop at one chapter per day.

Dark Companion is addicting. It immediately drew me in from the very first page and wouldn’t let go until the last. With its combination of sinister secrets and equal parts light and dark romances, Marta Acosta’s debut YA novel will surly captivate new readers. (And have some fans asking for their own Jake; I know I want my own Jack.) With strong, but conflicted heroine Jane Williams leading the charge of a delightful motley crew, Dark Companion really asks what the true worth of free will really is to a person.

The prologue leaves readers wanting to know what happens next, what happened before. Rather than forcing the readers to continue on just to make any sense of the scene, Marta Acosta dangles a carrot to entice the reader.

It was a great hook for what I hoped to be a great book. The characters alone seemed to seal the deal for me. When I say a motley crew, I meant it. From Jack, the epitome of an organic, healthy, silly boy to the melodramatic and amusing Mary Violet, every character is different. However it was Lucian (Lucky) that I suspect will leave readers torn down the middle. He is rather childish, selfish, arrogant and hard to emphasize with. I spent a good 10 minutes ranting to someone how much I disliked him and why Jane liked/pitied him. This is not necessarily a bad thing since polarization creates discussions between readers and what better way to spread a book than through talking.

Jane Williams was a surprising character. On one hand she is constantly praised for her intelligence. She’s book smart, but she’s also street smart. And yet I felt that because she’s never known physical and emotional security she latches onto Lucky (whom you might recall isn’t the most giving and kind boyfriend). He comes from a well-do-to family and definitely shows some sort of attraction towards her, which would later prove dark. He can provide physical security, but emotionally he’s much more immature than her. I could empathize with Jane while at the same time I wanted to shake her. Her development over the course of the novel showed Jane transforming from the little Mousie and just Jane and her taking roots. Her old lifestyle was all that she knew and can’t forget (that results in a charity that made me proud), but this new lifestyle was one she grew accustomed to.

Dark Companion delves into the issue of security that separates the major characters into two separate groups. There is the survival of a population and there is the individual survival. Which is worth more depends on the character’s personality which comes through the dialogue and action. Their actions are far from the norm which makes it hard for me, particularly, to comprehend and swallow. I understood why—for the sake of survival of course—but the motives were evil and dark.

Dark Companion will shock readers with its many twists and turns. While readers might have an inkling of what might come, the finer details will be a complete surprise. Marta Acosta has begun to what I hope will be a long continuation of YA novels.

Cover B: after finishing the novel I'm less in love with it*

Source: accepted manuscript from author

Publication Date: June 2012 from Tor/Macmillan

Add this on Goodreads 

(not available on Amazon yet)

*this was my initial reaction that I expressed to the author:

I think the cover is pretty. Really pretty. It's simple and catches a reader's eye immediately because there's a great contrast of colors. And all the you really need is the chance to catch the reader's attention before convincing them with the synopsis. I mean after looking at it, I'm a little bit more eager to read it!

It fits nicely with the other YA fantasy novels now. Following the trend, however, can be bad at times. The cover is less "wow" than some of the other covers for example, The Girl in the Steel Corset. 

The leaf border on the bottom, I feel, is not needed. Most YA book covers do not have any type of bordering. The font of the title I'm iffy about. It gives off a playful air which is different from the sober environment/coloring.

I will say that the designer did a great job with the setting. In your synopsis, you mentioned birch trees, which thankfully was incorporated into the cover. Too many times I see covers that have absolutely nothing to do with the book. So while the cover is following the trend of 'girls in dresses', it's one of the better ones. Especially for a stock image. 

You described Jane Williams as a plain girl and what this cover is showing is a plain girl with a simple dress. The background is what gives the book a light fantasy element that you mentioned.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Grade: 3.8 stars out of 5

As I type this review out all I can think about was how I should I posted this review before my review for The Fox Inheritance. Oh well; what's done is done.

Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox has just awoken from a year-long coma—so she’s been told—and she is still recovering from the terrible accident that caused it. But what happened before that? She’s been given home movies chronicling her entire life, which spark memories to surface. But are the memories really hers? And why won’t anyone in her family talk about the accident? Jenna is becoming more curious. But she is also afraid of what she might find out if she ever gets up the courage to ask her questions. What happened to Jenna Fox? And who is she really?

The Adoration of Jenna Fox, like I said in my previous review, was very much a character driven plot. It's the world-building that makes The Adoration of Jenna Fox such a great novel to read. The philosophical and moral stance Pearson takes combined with the technological advances is light-years from where we are today. Yet it could be the future. Decades, centuries, millenniums away, but there is still a chance of whatever Pearson writes to be true.

I absolutely love the family structure for The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Jenna, obviously, is no longer the same since she came out of her coma. The family members' attitude all differ because of who she is now. Some overcompensate by overprotecting Jenna from a guilt, I presume, that came from not being able to prevent Jenna's accident. Some remain hostile towards Jenna because this is not the real Jenna. The real Jenna was someone they already said goodbye to. It's the shift when the new Jenna starts to take action, begins to live her life once again, that readers see a change in the family dynamic. Feelings are being understood rather than a hearing-but-not-listening demeanor.

I found the other characters, Allys, Ethan, and Dane, sort gave a different perspective to how to live life. You take life as it comes or you block out what life can give. I particularly enjoyed Allys and Ethan because of their opinion on just how much a human body can be changed before it's no longer a human , but an android or machine.

Again to reiterate: The Adoration of Jenna Fox had less action than The Fox Inheritance. Instead it delve deeper in the moral ethnics of society. Those who aren't really interested in general world-building and lack of a real plot may not enjoy The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Still, this is a sound novel that I plan to reread when I'm in the mood to be intrigued and challenged.

Cover B+

I much prefer this cover over the hardcover. This has an abstract feel rather than the symbolic meaning. 

Source: personal copy

Publication: 2009, September 1

Order the paperback edition from Amazon

The Fox Inheritance

The Fox Inheritance (The Jenna Fox Chronicles #2) by Mary E. Pearson

Grade: 3.8 / 4 stars out of 5

Locke, Jenna, and Kara were best friends before their accident. Jenna was set free from their prison 260 years before Locke and Kara. Those 260 years allowed for resentment, guilt, and confusion to grow. The Fox Inheritance, like The Adoration of Jenna Fox, was the exploration of self. Who am I? What am I? These questions bounce continually in the mind of Locke when his mind is finally downloaded into a body created by a madman. But surviving in a dark hell by yourself changes a person. Their minds may be intact and their bodies may be better now, but they’re completely new people now.

While The Jenna Fox Chronicles may be centered on the mentality versus the physicality of a being, The Fox Inheritance brings more political unbalance, action, and the advancement of technology. Mary E. Pearson continues to raise interesting concerns on legal and moral consequences of dealing God’s hand: death. Pearson tells the struggle of living a new life through a new POV, Locke’s.

Pearson effortlessly blends the past and the present together when Locke relapses. I struggled to pinpoint Locke: Do I like him? Is he good? Is he weak? Is he worthily enough to be given a second-chance? My answers swayed back and forth and I appreciated the chance Pearson gave me as I thought longer and deeper about my impression of Locke. He was physically strong, weak mentality and filled with this anguish. One question that repeatedly came up was who he loved more? Kara or Jenna? Its answer wasn’t clear-dry as love typically isn’t. Even in the depth of vast technological improvements and ever-changing worlds, Pearson still captured the realism of human emotions. She brought pieces of contemporary elements in a fantasy realm.

With the continuation of a series, there is an addition of new characters. Several struck out to me. One in particular isn’t human or even part human. Dot (Dot Jefferson) is a Bot who is programmed to drive a cab. The purpose of her existence is just that: drive. She doesn’t need legs, the sense of smell, taste, or touch for her purpose. But she, like other Bots, dream. They dream to escape their caged world and long to live their lives their way. With Dot, readers experience the excitement of looking at a brand new world. Taking simple pleasures and being thankful for just that. She was full of life…of bubbly energy that was infectious.

I found the plot to be simple but the details complex. Pearson built a world in The Adoration of Jenna Fox and sustained it in The Fox Inheritance. There is some drag to the novel where things slow down and Locke gets lost in his mind; a frustration with Locke when his indecision halts the entire novel and forces me to chug right on through. The climax leaves more questions than answers.

I urge readers who more interested in philosophical novels to read The Fox Inheritance and its prequel, The Adoration of Jenna Fox.

Cover A-

Normally I'm not a fan of faces stuck in the middle of covers but I love in this case, the face is made up of pieces of a puzzle.

Source: ARC from Henry Holt for blog tour

Published: 2012, August 30; hardcover

Amazon: preorder now

Future Imperfect (rant)

Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese

Grade: DNF

Ade Patience can see the future and it's destroying his life. When the seventeen-year-old Mantlo High School student knocks himself unconscious, he can see days and decades into his own future. Ade's the best of Denver's "divination" underground and eager to join the heralded Mantlo Diviners, a group of similarly enabled teens. Yet, unlike the Diviners, Ade Patience doesn't see the future out of curiosity or good will; Ade gives himself concussions because he's addicted to the high, the Buzz, he gets when he breaks the laws of physics. And while there have been visions he's wanted to change, Ade knows the Rule: You can't change the future, no matter how hard you try.


His memory is failing, his grades are in a death spiral, and both Ade's best friend and his shrink are begging him to stop before he kills himself. Ade knows he needs to straighten-out. Luckily, the stunning Vauxhall Rodolfo has just transferred to Mantlo and, as Ade has seen her in a vision two years previously, they're going to fall in love. It's just the motivation Ade needs to kick his habit. Only things are a bit more complicated. Vauxhall has an addiction of her own, and, after a a vision in which he sees Vauxhall's close friend, Jimmy, drown while he looks on seemingly too wasted to move, Ade realizes that he must break the one rule he's been told he can't.


The pair must overcome their addictions and embrace their love for each other in order to do the impossible: change the future.

Second rant of the week: Future Imperfect (which by the way I love the title though I keep adding an –s at the end of Imperfect unintentionally). What seems to be so freaking amazing turns into one giant headache.

Ade gives himself concussions so he can get a “Buzz” from seeing into the future. Why oh why does Ade not suffer any lasting brain or body damage? The things he put his head through is astonishing! The way he can walk away from almost everything is equally amazing! Who the eff would jump off a freaking roof, land on their head, and can GET UP FROM THAT. And then people can accept it! The kid is jumping off roofs and people are pissed that Ade’s up to his usual self! Are you kidding me? The kid is obviously not stable. His mom also lets him get away from that because she thinks he will see the second coming of Christ. All I can say is ‘really’!?

This is all before the “girl” comes into the picture. Gotta love that instant love-ol’-lust meter that boils my blood.

I skimmed through the rest because I wanted so badly to throw the book. A lot more action-y towards the end. But Ade was still purposely trying to knock in the head to see the future so I don’t think I’ll reread the novel again.

Source: publisher for early review

Cover B-

Published: 2011, April 26

Amazon

The Miles Between

The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

Destiny Faraday wants just one fair day where the good guy wins. For that to happen Des is going on a joy-ride with 3 other kids from school--acquaintances and friends--where they try to find that "fair" day.

The Miles Between, I will admit I shied away because a) the cover and b) the synopsis. With a new cover and the positive reviews I've read about Pearson, I'd jumped at the chance to review the paperback edition of the book. I was surprised. I liked the book quite a lot. The Miles Between asks from the readers to put reason in the wind and let life take its course--believable or coincidently it may be. Once I let go of my hold on the why's and how's I became immersed in the story of Destiny.

Destiny has a little hobby obsession. She collects these random too-coincidental-to-be-true facts. At first I found these little stories to be fun and kind of cool, but they bore me as the chapters went by. Maybe because I've heard of some of them before or maybe because of the way it was told through one big paragraph.

What The Miles Between that I constantly look forward in most books were the unique and structurally unsafe characters. I like my characters a little kooky in the head if you know what I mean.There's just something fun about all 4 characters that I wanted to be friends with. As the passages continue, there is light shed onto the backgrounds of the characters that makes them stronger. Destiny's tale will shock some readers. Destiny's actions and motives behind each step are emotional, but told as if Destiny was a hard candy with a soft center.

As I seem to be blabbering on about nothing and everything in-between I'll leave a few parting words: take a chance, read The Miles Between if you believe in coincidence.

Source: InGroup

Cover C+

while I like the paperback cover more than the hardback cover there's still something off about it

Published: 2011 January 4; paperback

Amazon [hardback on bargain]

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

Grade: 1.8 stars out of 5

Blurbed by P.C. Cast: "A deliciously clever and totally unique twist on the struggle between Good and Evil."

“It’s the year 2018, and with human society seriously disrupted by the economic upheavals of the previous decade, Lucifer has increased the number of demons in all major cities. Fortunately, humans are protected by trappers, who work to keep homes and streets safe from the things that go bump in the night.” --from ARC

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter was a heart pounding, adrenaline kicking novel that tried too much as the first book in the series.

This dystopian world is caused by the economic downturns of countries. The price of gas is a hundred or so dollars per gallon. “With the ridiculous cost of gas even horses made sense now” (18, ARC). Yet if that is true and people are stealing traffic lights and “sold for scrap metal thieves” (18) then why is it, and how is it, possible that the demon trappers own cars. Like I think almost every one demon trapper that I’ve come across in the novel has a car. And then they bitch about being broke.

Riley is from a long line of demon trappers [not hunters, as hunters think all demons are evil and must be killed whereas trappers merely trap demons, and sell them to get them “purified”]. She’s—what 16, 17?—years old with a smoking body, because we get inner monologues and talks about how pretty she is. I got it, so thanks. She’s also really kick-ass for an apprentice nabbing a level 3 class demon when she’s only allowed to trap a level one. But Riley does get beaten up in these fights and nearly dies at one point. Riley is stubborn and sees very little outside of her own little world. The Demon Trapper’s Daughter offers readers realistic fighting scenes where the good guys get beaten, bruised and bloody. And the possibility death is ever constant.

This is VERY SLIGHT SPOILER so I would advise you to skip this paragraph if you hate spoilers of any kind. Death is a very real thing in The Demon Trapper’s Daughter where one character’s death creates a ripple effect in the trapping world, specifically affecting Riley the most. However, my preference to the way the character’s death is handled is less snark, more grief. A sentence describing the way Riley was in bed for such and such days isn’t effective in drawing out sympathy from the readers especially when the very next scene has Riley a little pissed of for causing her so much trouble. Whatever, it bothered me when I was reading it.

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter is told in two third-person perspective which is good and bad. Bad because one of them annoyed me. It was very repetitive and tiring after a while. Good because it gave a different point of view and set of opinions to the same scene. It also allowed two different reactions and coping mechanisms in regards to the character’s death.

In the novel each demon is categorized by their size, power, and attributes. Oliver does a great job of describing and separating each demon into subclasses and ways to fight them. Yet my problem is where did these demons come from? When did they first appear on Earth? Have they always been there? Have demon trappers existed as long as demons have existed? I’m curious about the over trappers in the world and if there are any aside from Rome.

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter has a set-up for a potential love square. SQUARE! It might be a triangle, or it might be a couple, but it can definitely go anywhere at this point.

Oliver keeps bringing up more questions to the world and another plotline before the previous question was answered. The world building was iffy, but the action top-notch. I found myself having to read the sequel to The Demon Trapper’s Daughter rather than wanting to read the sequel because it interested me so much. While I say that there is a big chance I will not continue with the series.

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everything looks great except for the hand. or whatever that thing is.

Source: Early Review from LibraryThing

Published: 01 February 2011; paperback

Amazon

UK edition

Fall for Anything

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

Grade: 4.8 stars out of 5

After her father’s suicide, Eddie can’t seem to move on.

Straight off the bat readers’ find Eddie to be different from Summers’s typical heroine: quiet, fragile, and much more solemn. Going in I mentally prepared myself to dislike Eddie as I did to the previous other characters of her previous works. But there wasn’t that bitchy, outwardly hostile, and combative girl I was so used to and expecting from Summers’s. And I loved it. This was an uncharted area.

Courtney Summers keep readers on their toes who expected the worst of a situation. She always seems to surprise me with every new novel on how she’s stretching the line of no-man’s-land. How evil can a character be while still making them well-rounded and letting the reader connect to them? And with every new novel, I sit back and ponder that question: can I really blame so-and-so for acting in such a fashion?

Fall for Anything deals with the emotional trauma of not only a death, but an intentional death. Eddie deals with it by just not letting it go. She becomes obsessive with the reasons why her father killed himself. (Her father, might I point out, is much older than Eddie’s mother. He can possibly pass for Eddie’s grandfather.) When Culler Evans appears with the same obsession and a different link to her father than she has, Eddie is drawn to him. He is the connection to the world of photography and the apprentice of Eddie’s father. But Cullen does something unforgettable that makes the reader go ‘holy ****’. It goes back to the question, can you blame him? The intention was good, but did he overstep the line of no-man’s-land? There are some hints along the way that readers can pick up so this wasn’t something completely from left-field. The climax and the resolution was something that I really hoped Summers nailed and she did.

I love how open-ended the novel is. I love how not nothing can be solved because in real life the real reason why behind suicides are only known by the people who committed the suicide. While it’s frustrating not having a 100% positive sure answer after going on this journey with Eddie, it is a realistic ending. The novel itself is the journey to accepting this fact and moving past it.

Despite not having the spotlight on the mother, I believe she follows the typical behavior of dealing with deal that I seem to see in novels. Just this complete shut-down and shut-off. Fall for Anything has two characters who deal with death separately that affect the entire community and each other. Readers will come across classmates, acquaintances, best friends who are affected through ripple effect.

P.S. I love Summers’s sense of humor.

P.P.S. I love Summers’s novels period.

Cover: B

Source: St. Martin's Griffin/ accepted review pitch

Published: 21 December 2010; paperback

Amazon

Glimmerglass

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Taking care of herself since the age of 6, Dana Hathaway has finally had enough of her alcoholic mother. Dana reaches out to her father, someone whom her mother ran away from when she was pregnant with Dana. But visiting her father after 16 years bring more than awkward goodnights as her Faerie side comes with a bit more political influence and power than she ever realized.

Glimmerglass is quite easily one of the quickest novels I have ever read in one sitting—and that is saying something. The novel is by far not the most impressive works I have read, but there is something easy on the eye the way it was written and something heart pounding the way the story flowed. Glimmerglass is definitely not short of hot guys and life-ending fights, which makes for a nice balance between the two.

At first I was quite hesitant about Dana being half-Fae because it never went in depth of her reaction when her mother told her, but that quickly dissipated when it turns out that it is a known fact that Faeries exist. Hello tourist attraction! Okay I’m lying when I say that I completely understand the whole human-with-Faeries ordeal. Faerie politics—needs to understand more. Creatures and rankings—needs to know more. Thank goodness this is only the first book.

It is an addicting novel I will tell you that. Dana is that elusive teenage character that you don’t know if you like, understand (ahhh I’ve been there), or that almost Mary-Sue. I suspect a lot of male leads in the upcoming books, which I am petrified about.

Cover C+
Um is this suppose to symbolize the whole one-girl two-worlds thing?

Glimmerglass is available for order: Amazon / Indie Bound / Book Depository

Maybe This Time

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Cruise

Source: ARC from publicity firm/St. Martin’s Press

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

10 years after they divorced, Andie visits ex-husband North to return 119 alimony checks and to tell him she’s getting married again. Ouch. North then drops a bomb of his own and offers Andie a deal she really can’t refuse: $10,000 a month for taking care of two children down in a house in Ohio where their father (North’s distant cousin), their Aunt May, their grandmother, and almost a governess died. Andie accepts and finds herself in a haunted house with a pyromaniac, a screaming 8-year-old, and a housekeeper that likes her tea spiked (heavy handed please). They can be only 3 reasons why there are ghosts 1) everyone’s been drugged; 2) someone is pulling a really nasty prank; 3) there really are ghosts. Andie is bringing reinforcements.

Jennifer Cruise’s Maybe This Time was flirtatious read. It draws the reader in then pushing them away; it forces them to dream about the book—borderline nightmare—then wakes the reader up at 6 in the morning because the next chapter is dying to be read; it melts the body into the couch while reading for 4 hours straight then the reader realizes they can’t move because your muscles have been locked in place. But the reader does not care because this is some good stuff read. (Not that I speak from experience coughcough.)

One thing that I loved most about this novel that I just do not get enough of in YA lit is the closeness in families. In Maybe This Time family plays a large role with Carter and Alice, the children, Flo and Lydia, North’s and Andie’s mother, and Southie (Sullivan), North’s brother. It is not this cold-shoulder-mention-once type of deal, but they play vital key components to the novel with their rich dialogue and funny antics. But the children are the spotlight with a great relationship of sister and brother. Even when Alice is extremely stubborn and constantly screaming, there was no feeling of irritation from me. I found both children endearing and brave to endure it all.

The tension between North and Andie is 60% sexual and 40% love at least from what I garnered throughout the book. It can get a bit frustrating at times. I did enjoy the banter between the two and there were hints of deep affection between the two.

There is a mild twist in the end and another funny twist at the last page that I thought ended Maybe This Time on a right note.

In all I found Maybe This Time to be a blast to read and will end it with a quote by the editor of the novel Jennifer Enderlin: “I’m stopping you in the street. I’m grabbing you by the lapels and I’m saying “You’ve got to read this book.”’

Cover B+
It’s cute—very.

Maybe This Time releases later this month: Amazon / Indie Bound / Book Depository

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OR you can win a copy! Thanks to the same marketing manager who sent me my copy (thank you!!!!) and to St.Martin's Press, I have one copy to give away. For an extra entry, let me know in the comments if you believe in ghosts!

Harmonic Feedback

Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly

Source: Personal

Grade: 5 stars out of 5

Drea has obsessive interests. Before it was car parts now it's music. She loves producing music, adding beats, creating more depth and she just might have found her newest band members: Naomi and Justin. Naomi with her soulful voice and Justin with his sensual skills is all very new to Drea.

Drea has never been good at making friends. She has Asperger's, a current diagnosis, that might explain her social awkwardness. But in this town Drea is experiencing a whole spectrum of new emotions and companionships. With her fairy looks Drea just might attract the wrong crowd...or maybe just right.

After finishing Harmonic Feedback one thought came to mind: Thank God I bought this book. Harmonic Feedback was exactly what I was craving for at that moment. It filled my need for a sweet romance yet did not overdo it that would have left me gagging. Harmonic Feedback had a nice balance of intense drama and warm fuzzy feelings accompanying the blooming relationship.

Naomi was a little hard to swallow, but I still managed to read Harmonic Feedback, not once, but twice (and a half) in one sitting. As soon as I was finished, I wanted to read it again because I enjoyed it so immensely.

My words are not good enough for Harmonic Feedback so I am going to point out Courtney Summer's review of the book because it is AWESOME.

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Definitely buy yourself a copy: Amazon / Book Depository / IndieBound

Infinite Days

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel


Source: ARC from St. Martin's Griffin


Grade: 1.8 stars out of 5

Lenah is one of the oldest vampires with a coven at her beck and whim. But Lenah is slowly losing herself, her sanity, to age. She has just one wish...to turn human. She wants to live again: touch, taste, smell again. Rhode, her lover and the one who turned her, is going to help fulfill her wish at the cost of his own life.

A hundred years later Lenah finds herself waking up in an environment and a completely new society, but a ultimately a new school. With less than a day left with Rhoda prefer he parish, he teaches Lenah what he could about the new place and its expectations.

But the coven knows that Lenah is now human and they will track her then kill her. And they will not hesitate to use Justin, a guy that makes Lenah feel alive, to lure her.

SPOILERS MAY BE BELOW (because when I rant I tend to let things slip)

Infinite Days is surely a disappointment on my end. My biggest issue was Lenah. I find her behavior not reflecting centuries worth of knowledge. I find her extremely shallow, somewhat childish, and unbelievable. The novel is also told in first person narration. This is the part where I would take out the copy of Infinite Days and quote lines with its appropriate pages, but I cannot seem to find my copy and I am 90% that I accidentally shipped the book in someone's package. To the recipient of the book, enjoy! To me, crap; this is going to be a weak argument.

When we are first introduced to Justin, Maizel describes his brothers. She describes the younger as pudgy; the older brother a little thicker; and Justin with his wash-board abs as a Greek god. (I really wish I had my ARC to double this!) That line ticked me off so much because, although there is barely anything about the brothers aside from that little fact, I believe that all three brothers share the same activities. So how is Justin the only gorgeous one? Between Lenah just happens to be beyond gorgeous with all the guys staring at her walk past. Perfect match eh?

Then there is how much Lenah knows about the modern world. Despite having less than 24 hours, perhaps less than 12 hours, she seems to know an awful lot of today. There is a line that I can recall, not with exact clarity, that Tony, a new acquittance to Lenah asks; it mentioned something about 'I hope you're not one of those girls who date only rich guys who play extreme sports and drive fancy cars'. (I really, really wish I had that ARC right now!) Lenah replies back in her mind how she barely understood half of that sentence. That I had trouble believing. For one thing, car is not the problem seeing as how she learns about cars from Rhode and receives one the following morning. Aside from that I do not understand what part of the sentence she has trouble comprehending. That are parts where I understand why she cannot understand, then there are times where I struggle to accept how she knows about that.

Then there is her love of Rhode. Lenah mentions that whenever a vampire loves, they give up a piece of them, so it's an extremely strong love yes? Yet why I do I feel as though she barely remembers or properly mourn for Rhode? Why does Lenah throw the urn of Rhode's ash? She could have placed the urn back to its place and threw another vase. It is at though Lenah is not as deserving of Rhode's sacrifice.

But just her love with Justin I need more. They both seem to throw caution out the window and love with a passion. I need more depth of why Justin seems to be the one (well the next one). Justin seems to be nothing impressive and unremarkable except being hot. At least with Tony I find there to be a good enough reason why they would together as a couple.

I did, however, like the transition from past to present. The ending was also a shocker!
 
Cover B-/C+

Infinite Days releases early next month in paperback form.

Halo

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Source: ARC from Feiwel and Friends

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Bethany along with her sister Ivy and her brother Gabriel are sent from Heaven to the small town of Venus Core. It is their job to counteract the negativity, evil, and chaos in Venus Core that seemed to have increased over the years. However, both Gabriel and Ivy has had century’s worth of experience as a human and developed a more stoic, detached approach to the townspeople. Beth, on the other hand, is new to the confinements of the environment and its strange sights, textures, and tastes, becoming easily attached to companionship as well as relationships.

Xavier has faced a great deal of hardship over the past years leaving him an emotional barrier that cannot be pierced despite the many girls who tried. On the day Beth and Xavier meet at the beach, neither can get the other out of their mind. Beth starts to loose focus on her mission and plans to risk it all. But there’s an even bigger risk lurking in the shadows.

Imagine a hatchling you are not allowed to dote on, but merely allowed to observe. You witness its naivety, its all consuming thoughts, and its curiosity. You will feel confused, irritated, and annoyed by this hatching, but it is young so a lot can be forgiven. This what I feel towards Bethany. Halo is the life of the hatchling just experiencing life and its mundane (to us at least) affairs. Alexandra Adornetto goes over the beyond when writing each scene, scrutinizing every detail. Like light, it shines throughout the room creating a fresh experience.    

One thing that Halo had me most considered about was the religion. Religion is not my forte and it was something that I was told to be prominent in Halo. Thankfully it was not to my relief. (Then again I was expecting the discussion of Christianity and God to be forced down my throat. But there is 2 pages where it takes of God that I felt were awkwardly placed.) Halo is a read for the romantics at heart; for those who enjoy the fight for love in a forbidden match. It is a novel about character development and love rather than the action and fight scenes that some might be expecting. Halo deals with raw emotions of love and confusion of young love at that.

However there is quite a bit of editing that Halo needs. For one thing this is a hefty novel, reaching almost to 500 pages with a great chunk of it on the development of love. The pacing of the novel is fairly slow as one might associate long novels with, but the ending was anticlimactic. For all the details Adornetto had written within the first two-thirds of the novel, she lacked the strong emotional battle ground I was hoping for. It was also really, really, really cheesy.

For another thing, Adornetto does not do well with dropping subtle hints or foreshadowing of any kind. She attempts to foreshadow scenes, but that it just spoils everything. (The biggest being on page 257 in the ARC for those who have read the book.) I am also curious about tenses: everything is written in past tense so I wonder where Beth is now. Perhaps this is something we find out in the last installment of the series. There is also the feather that Beth finds in the car something that is brought up only towards the end. It is never fully explained so I wonder if it will play a much bigger role in the later installment or just be forgotten.

In fact there is a lot left to be explained in the sequel: Molly, Beth’s friend; Limbo and Hell; the higher power above who cleared everything.  

Then there are the characters. Adornetto pushes some stereotypes to the extreme such as the ‘gossiping bimbos’: “‘I don’t think so, Bethie.” Taylah laughed. “Everybody knows the Middle East is in Africa.”’—page 125 of ARC. There is also an inconsistency that I am confused about. Gabriel is deemed as the cook in the family and yet Ivy “had gone to a good deal of trouble with the menu—she’d made an aromatic potato and leek soup followed by whole baked trout…” (229, ARC). And with no mention of Ivy picking up cooking as a habit I find this odd.

In all Halo was a straightforward romance novel that leaves plenty for the next novel to pick up. Again, romantics will love this novel. Realists (such as I) will want something more. Hopefully Hades will be action laded to please the savage need within me of the battle between good vs. evil.

For now I am going to leave you with a quote (it is slightly spoilish so you can highlight if interested): “There were two things I was now certain of: First, Jake Thorn knew about us; and second, he was dangerous” (396, ARC).

P.S. For those curious, there is a stanza of Beyoncé’s “Halo” in the novel. It is before the first chapter though. There is also an Edgar Allen Poe poem “Annabel Lee”, which I loved.

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You can pre-order Halo and check out for yourself.

The Gardener

The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen

Source: ARC from Feiwel and Friends

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

You have no idea how turned off I was about this book. There are very few books that can make me gag and The Gardener is perhaps one of those (un)lucky few.

The Gardener has a simplistic narration that ensnares you in quickly. I had only expected to make through half-way then hit the hay, but somehow time slipped through my fingers and the entire novel was complete in one sitting.

Bodeen used the idea of current dilemmas—global warning, the exponential growth in human population and linear growth of food, and the possibility of the next world war—and “cultivated” (heh I made a pun) into this inorganic piece of art. While the mystery of the novel is spoiled by the synopsis in the back there is still a slight twist that was thankfully unspoiled, but can be predicted—

Mason has never known his father, but longs to. All he has of him is a DVD of a man whose face is never seen, reading a children’s book. One day, on a whim, he plays the DVD for a group of comatose teens at the nursing home where his mother works. One of them, a beautiful girl, responds. Mason learns she is part of a horrible experiment intended to render teenagers into autotrophs—genetically engineered, self-sustaining life-forms who don’t need food or water to survive. And before he knows it, Mason is on the run with the girl, and wanted, dead or alive, by the mysterious mastermind of this gruesome plan, who is simply called the Gardener.

Will Mason be forced to destroy the thing he’s longed for most?

--from Amazon

The characters are a tad bit flat-line individually there lays a great deal of friendship, trust, and understanding that does not make it a problem. Instead it makes it a simplistic asset.

The Gardener is a great novel to pick up for thrill-seekers and sci-fi fans.

Cover D

A Long Way Gone

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Synopsis: “In A LONG WAY GONE, Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a riveting story. At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. Eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, he struggled to regain his humanity and to reenter the world of civilians, who viewed him with fear and suspicion. This is, at last, a story of redemption and hope.”

Review: I was required to read this memoir for a school assignment—Civic Leadership—to become more globally aware. I found myself captivated of his tale yet I have to question it at times. You can imagine us as an impromptu “Book Club” as we discussed the book every so often during class. One question that was brought up was Beah’s vivid recollection. While being a child solider for the government Beah takes many drugs: Brown brown, a combination of crack and gun powder, heroine (this one I’m 50-50), marijuana, and this white pill that makes him addicted. The credibility of the memoir is questioned. If the memoir was written as a fiction based off a true story then I’m sure that it would much better receive. So to make easier on me, my review will pretend that A Long Way Gone is a “fiction” piece.

The first half of the tale is the tension building or how we perceived it, the bore. As terrible as it may sound, it’s how we all summarized it. Beah travels to a village to see his grandmother and to perform in a talent show, rumors spread that the rebel army (an army trying to overthrow the government who captures children for their army) are coming, so he flees. We arrive in Destination B, same thing happens again. Destination C—and again except this time he loses his friends and brother during an actual rebel raid. Destination D he runs into a group of acquaintances and joins them. They travel together for another few destinations (E, F, H…) until finally they reach a village where his family is staying along with his brother (that he lost previously). The first half ends rebel raiding the village, killing lives, burning down huts, and shooting at the group while they run away towards the bush before reuniting with his family.

The second half is where the real tale begins for me. This is where he is captured by the government army, trained, fought in the war, and finally given to UNICEF. Beah goes through rehabilitation where he develops a friendship with the nurse that aids him to recovery. The reader follows Beah through his anguish, mistrust, despair, and horror. He finally rejoins society when a distant uncle picks him up from the center. I’ll end it at that.

The question comes up for me was how and why was he chosen to come to New York. Beah lets the reader know what he is there for but why him and not the other hundreds of child soldiers. There are some iffy aspects during the read. He goes off tangent at points; quickly shuffle through one thing then goes into a long-winded description of another.

Overall: It is the message it delivers that makes this memoir powerful, not the actual tale.

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I would recommend watching Blood Diamond with this memoir.

Some Girls Are

Some Girl Are by Courtney Summers (January 5th 2010—St. Martin’s Griffin)

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

Summary: “Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard—falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High...until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around. Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past”

Review: Some Girls Are had me blubbering along rotating from a tissue to a stress ball in one hand while death-gripping the book in the other. Some Girls Are is a malicious, shameful, tension driven, gut-wrenching, throat-clenching, tear-jerking read that I loved every minute of. And I have to blame it all on Courtney Summers’s twisted sick mind for that.

Very few books break me down to the point where I needed to cut the book off, breathe in and out, vent on twitter and dive back in a few minutes later, yet Summers seem to be able to create this situation countless times. Regina does not get a break many times throughout the novel and neither does the reader.

We follow Regina on this roller coaster ride of turmoil as she faces every possible malevolent scenario. From not-so-innocent shoulder slams and chairs digging into her side to locker “mishaps” all the way to ditching her in the middle of nowhere with no shoes…in the friggin’ cold…beaten and bloody. But Regina could take it all and dish it back because she’s strong. Yet she is still vulnerable. However, there are times when things begin to lose its credibility when the reader questions if such a person exist? Can a person be so devious, so spiteful, so full of hate?

Every character Summers introduces is memorable and captivating. Her writing style is engrossing and straight to the point. Just as how a poet chooses his words carefully, every word Summers uses has a purpose—to guide its reader, to astound them, to mesmerize them. The love interests that she cultivates buds and has the possibility to blossom at the end of the novel.

Overall: Courtney Summers will suck you and never let you go. She will trap the readers into her world and will have them gasping…from shock? for air as they cry? from the tenderness that Regina demonstrates to Michael? One thing is for though, readers will be watching for the next novel by Summers.

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FTC: Review copy was provided by the publisher

The Espressologist

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer (October 27th 2009—Farrar Straus Giroux)

Grade: 2.7 stars out of 5

Summary: “What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right?” [from GoodReads]

Review: Eh. I’ve had some doubts about this book when reading the reviews. People call this book too short or cute. If you’ve read my previous reviews where I use the word cute, you’ll find that grade accompanied with it isn’t very high. And neither is this. “Too short” is the key default to this book. Before I could get a grip of this book and plant my feet firmly to the ground it ‘whooshed’ by and I’m left suspended mid-air. That and the fact I was confused by the lack of information helped a bit.

• Jane=okay. Nothing really pops out about her. She’s the typically girl-next-door that cuts class more often than naught with an atypical idea. Surrounded by her friends she fades out into the shadow which is something not really good when she’s the main character.
• Em=er. Liked her. Didn’t like her. She’s a good friend to Jane most of the time but when something good happens to her she’s too focused on that.
• Melissa and Ginny=predictable. It’s a slapped into your face predictable. Melissa is the evil school bully, Ginny is the sidekick that doesn’t really go well with Melissa but still hangs out with her for some apparent reason.
• Cam=typically boy interest. Smart, hot, funny, great smile, caring, sweet. Here’s a hint at what he says about Jane: “she’s much smarter, stronger, and more beautiful than she realizes”—pg 117.

The Espressologist has a fun and interesting concept one that would do well if it expanded more. Add some cinnamon sass, some energize shots, some rich, smooth, mocha! I’m not sure if it was just me but I would have liked to see some cracks in this happily-ever-after book.

Overall: Stopped by Wired Joe’s for 5 minutes then headed back to my regular coffee shop.

Cover: B+

P.S. Did anyone else really really liked Derek for some reason? And was anyone else annoyed by the all cap words?

My Invented Life

My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman (September 29th 2009—Henry Holt)

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Summary: “With Roz and Eva everything becomes a contest—who can snag the best role in the school play, have the cutest boyfriend, pull off the craziest prank. Still, they’re as close as sisters can be. Until Eva deletes Roz from her life like so much junk e-mail for no reason that Roz understands. Now Eva hangs out with the annoyingly petite cheerleaders, and Roz fantasizes about slipping bovine growth hormone into their Gatorade.

Roz has a suspicion about Eva. In turn, Eva taunts Roz with a dare, which leads to an act of total insanity. Drama geeks clamor for attention, Shakespearean insults fly, and Roz steals the show in Lauren Bjorkman’s hilarious debut novel." [from GoodReads]

Review: Roz is a character that will not be silenced. She has a personality that rushes into things head first without understanding the consequences. Her kooky attitude shows no restraint in her ‘Invented Life’ or in the real life. She has a good will, one that may be blinded at times by her sense of karma. Her over-exuberance may be her downfall though when the reader thinks that enough is enough yet she still pushes forward.

Eva has a conflicting opinion by me. Either you can understand her or you just wish she would stop hiding. Eva has a secret that she herself wasn’t aware of until much later in her life. Roz has a clue and in an impulsive dare she decides to make Eva realize and come out with her secret. On one hand you can sympathize with Eva. On the other hand you want to take that hand and slap her silly. Her fear creates a hostile personality; one takes it mostly to Roz (though not something I can’t entirely blame her for, but can still be irking). She can be the sweet older sister or the sister you wish just pack up and leave for college already. You can’t always take and never give back and I feel that Eva doesn’t give back enough half the time.

The supporting characters are just as conflicting. While I love many of them—Andie, Nico, and Jonathan—some I had to grow to love or shove out of the way (Carman, Bryan, and Aunt Sapphire). Each has a quirky personality from flamboyancy to the weird, shy, yet cute/intense sometimes, and the divaesque type.

My Invented Life is a LGBT novel that I have yet to come across where the protagonist isn’t the one trying to find herself but does in the end. Created in two worlds, one in the mind filled with hopeful desires, and the hard cold factual life. In the end they meet eventually to get the happily ever after paint gun and all.

Overall: Humorous, annoying, a tad ridiculous, benevolent but always, always loud.

Cover B-

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FTC: copy provided by publisher and author