To repeat what I tweeted while I was halfway through this book – All this angst and not a single blueberry muffin in sight! Life can be so unfair some...moreTo repeat what I tweeted while I was halfway through this book – All this angst and not a single blueberry muffin in sight! Life can be so unfair sometimes.
Honestly, this book oozes angst, and while I know there are many readers who enjoy just that (proven by the very fact that this book is a New York Times bestseller), I’m not a fan myself. However, that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy this book – I did. I just thought it was pushed a bit too far at times.
Ella and Micha have been best friends since childhood, but they were always either too afraid to take their friendship further, or there was something standing in their way. Neither of them comes from a happy home. Ella’s mother is dead and her father is an alcoholic, and Micha’s father walked out ages ago, never to be heard from again. Through it all, they always had each other, until one day, Ella just packed up and disappeared, without telling anyone where she can be found.
Micha spent the next eight months obsessively searching for Ella. He always knew he loved her, but he waited for her to come to him, and when she left, he realized it might be too late. He put his life on hold and moved heaven and earth to find her, but Ella was nowhere to be found. When she suddenly reappeared, Micha decided he’d waited long enough. It was clear to him that he and Ella were made for each other, so all he had to do was convince her of that fact.
In a way, I’m glad neither Ella nor Micha resolved their family situations in the end. That would have turned this book into a fairy tale, and I dislike fairy tales on principle. It was never about making their lives perfect, it was about facing everything that comes at them together. Things as big as alcoholism or estrangement can’t be resolved overnight, but I loved seeing them make their peace with their respective situations.
Although I’m not in the habit of punishing books (or authors) for things that are entirely the publisher’s fault, I feel I have to point out that The Secret of Ella and Micha is chock full of editing issues. There are spelling errors, grammar errors and formatting errors on almost every page. I realize it was self-published first, but I thought the whole purpose of traditional publishing was to avoid this kind of thing. A half-decent copy editor could have fixed this in no more than a few days.
Clearly every successful book gives birth to a trilogy these days, and that is the case with The Secrets of Ella and Micha. They will be getting a sequel soon that will apparently focus on their family situations and issues with long distance relationship. After that, Lila and Ethan will be getting their own book as well.
4.5 stars Here’s a fair warning for you guys: don’t start reading Boy Nobody just before bedtime, especially if you have something important to do the...more4.5 stars Here’s a fair warning for you guys: don’t start reading Boy Nobody just before bedtime, especially if you have something important to do the next day. It will not end well, learn from my mistake. I thought I’d just read a few chapters and go to sleep, but somehow I ended up with a can of Red Bull at three in the morning, desperate to keep myself awake long enough to finish that last part.
Zadoff was very careful not to reveal our protagonist’s name for most of the book, giving him an alias only when the narrative would have suffered otherwise, and always emphasizing the fact that his name, or anything else about him, don’t matter. His alias, Benjamin, was also used sparingly in the attempt to make him seem less like a person, and more like a well-oiled machine, completely stripped of personality, a weapon you aim at any given target and wait for it to go off.
Our protagonist – I’ll call him Ben to avoid confusion although it’s not his real name - is emotionless, but not cruel; well-trained, but not bloodthirsty; competent, but not overly ambitious. The Program killed his parents and recruited him when he was no more than twelve, and his life is just mission after mission. He has no friends, no family, just two bosses (or handlers) he calls Mother and Father.
While Ben’s story is undoubtedly sad and one can understand why he made some of his choices, make no mistake – he is a killer. He is no would-be assassin; he is an agent with six successful missions behind him. He is the new boy in school who will use his training and expertise to worm his way into your life, kill your parents at first available opportunity and then disappear forever.
Zadoff’s story seems to be Young Adult by accident, not by design, by which I mean that his protagonis’s age seems to be determined by the effect it has the story, and not the publishers or the market. This means that he didn’t pull any punches: the violence in Boy Nobody is not graphic, but it's constantly present. In many ways, this is a story better suited for older, more mature readers, although there's nothing to prevent me for recommending it to younger audience as well..
I loved that the author never tried to redeem his character. He never made excuses for him, never tried to turn him into something he’s not. In that, Boy Nobody is unlike any other YA book before it. Yes, Ben asks himself questions about morality, right and wrong, love and duty, but those questions aren’t the center of this story, nor is there some life-altering lesson hidden between the lines.
Let me put it this way: try to imagine Jason Bourne in his formative years. If you like what you come up with, it means you’ll probably like Boy Nobody as well. Just make sure to start reading when you know you have time to finish it in one sitting.
4.5 stars The last two books in Julie Kagawa’s impressive bibliography – first The Lost Prince and now The Eternity Cure – show a certain level of matu...more4.5 stars The last two books in Julie Kagawa’s impressive bibliography – first The Lost Prince and now The Eternity Cure – show a certain level of maturity and self-assuredness that simply wasn’t there before. I always enjoyed her books, even those first few ones in which she relied on familiar mythology and tropes, but now that she trusts herself enough to fly solo, like has become too small a word for how I feel. In The Eternity Cure more than ever before, Kagawa kept all the fine threads tightly in control.
Things that bothered me in The Immortal Rules, like lack of backstory and worldbuilding, were neatly taken care of with Dawn of Eden, a prequel novella published in the ‘Til the World Ends anthology. Going into this sequel with the hows and whys properly explained allowed me to relax and sink into the story without the constant nagging questions rising at the back of my mind.
Our long-awaited reunion with Allison Sekemoto brings with it a few surprises. Months have passed since she left Eden behind, and while she’s getting closer to Kanin every day, she still hasn’t found him. After so many months spent in solitude, searching fruitlessly for her Sire, Allie is a somewhat different vampire. She is much stronger and far more confident, but even more importantly, she knows who and what she is, and although she suffers from occasional bursts of nostalgia, she never whines or wallows in self-pity anymore. This Allie is someone I can get behind, a person (oh, fine, a vampire) I can admire.
It’s probably why I felt so strongly about the romance this time, when it failed to touch me at all in the first book. Back then, I simply didn’t understand the attraction between her and Zeke, it seemed like something included pro forma rather than a passionate, heartfelt thing. Allie is not the only one who’s changed, matured. Zeke is hardened, different, but still the kind, gentle boy somewhere underneath. Still, this new and improved version seemed somehow more believable in those circumstances. To explain it like a vampire would: he stopped being prey and became a hunter instead.
After reading dozens of reviews, I think it’s safe to conclude that Jackal, Allie’s blood brother, is the readers’ favorite. I just love redeemed characters, but I love characters that dance on that fine line between good and bad, likeable and obnoxious, even more. Allie kept having to remind herself to hate him for what he’s done, and I had the same problem, although it’s safe to say Zeke never came near forgiving and forgetting. Jackal brought with him what the first book sorely lacked – a wonderful sense of humor. Without him, this would have been an action-packed, tense, but humorless adventure.
As much as I enjoyed my love-hate relationship with Jackal, Kanin remains my favorite. Quiet and solemn, he seemed a bit more approachable this time around, and possibly a bit warmer too, especially towards Allie. We finally learned about his past, and the revelations were timed perfectly. Instead of turning me and everyone else against him, they just made me love him even more.
The Eternity Cure is positively addictive and it took me completely by surprise. As someone who felt merely lukewarm about the first book, I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did, but I said exactly the same about The Lost Prince. I won’t make the same mistake a third time.
Lately, I’ve been growing increasingly tired of all the apocalypse scenarios we’re being bombarded with. Getting me to read one without whining too ha...moreLately, I’ve been growing increasingly tired of all the apocalypse scenarios we’re being bombarded with. Getting me to read one without whining too hard is no small feat, my friends. But even though Monument 14 has been getting some very mixed reviews, I felt weirdly drawn to it from the start and surprisingly enough, ended up enjoying it. We’ll call this intuition, although dumb luck might be more accurate.
Emmy Laybourne’s version of the apocalypse is what makes Monument 14 work. None of it is too hard to imagine: the chemical disaster, weather gone mad, people affected according to their blood type, child predators using the opportunity to do their absolute worst. Really, this could all happen tomorrow! When Dean and Alex woke up that morning, they didn’t even dream that they wouldn’t be coming home that day, that there would be no home to come back to. Who could have predicted that they wouldn't be going to school at all, but that they would end up in a superstore with twelve other terrified kids and with raging weather outside.
In such claustrophobic environment, characters become extremely important. Worldbuilding itself, while convincing and terrifying, didn’t do much to show Laybourne’s skill. Characters, on the other hand, showed how great a writer she is, despite this being her debut. She did more than just flesh out Dean and Alex, she breathed life into all 14 of her characters equally. Each name came with a complete person with opinions, backgrounds, traumas, and more importantly, coping mechanisms. We get a clear picture of each of them, even though we only see them trough Dean’s eyes.
Each of these kids reacts differently and Laybourne is an excellent psychologists. Everything her characters did made perfect sense in those circumstances, and she showed rather excellently how people deal with grief and fear in so many different ways. Some kids fight to be in charge and organize the others to increase their chances of survival, while the others raid the pharmacy for prescription drugs. Some even attempt to do both. Adding the smaller kids into the mix was a risky, but extremely smart move. It was them, or the need to take care of them, that kept the older ones from losing it.
For the most part, our Dean is no hero. He is not one of the popular kids, he is not smart like his younger brother, he has no talent for sports and his people skills need work. But there was something about his sardonic voice I found very easy to identify with and while he kept doing stupid and embarrassing things, I couldn’t help but sympathize. His thoughts and comments were often unintentionally hilarious, which only made me like him even more.
The almost-cliffhanger Laybourne left us with didn’t bother me as much as these things usually do. There was at least some closure, not an ending, but a new beginning, a change in the circumstances that promises a brilliant and thrilling sequel.
Fractured doesn’t suffer from the dreaded middle book syndrome, not in the least. If anything, the stakes are higher, the plot more complicated and th...moreFractured doesn’t suffer from the dreaded middle book syndrome, not in the least. If anything, the stakes are higher, the plot more complicated and the characters better developed. It is a tense read, a thrill ride from start to finish. There were times when I was genuinely afraid for Kyla, even though the rational part of me insisted that nothing too terrible could happen to her.
Most of the anxiety I experienced was caused by Nico, an important person from Kyla’s past. Even when she didn’t know who or what she was, due to being slated, she knew he was no ordinary teacher. His presence brought forth some very strong emotions, but she didn’t quite know what to make of him. As her memories started returning in Fractured, her feelings toward him became even more complicated. For the most part, he was kind and supportive, and Kyla kept getting this urge to please him, to gain his approval. But even when he was smiling at her, there was a feeling of wrongness she couldn’t shake. As the story progressed and her past with Nico came to light, I as a reader understood that what Kyla was experiencing was some form of Stockholm syndrome, but her confusion and constant changes were done excellently. The nuances of their relationship, the creepy undertones, were impossible to ignore.
Thanks to Nico and his many forms of tough love, Kyla is actually three different persons in Fractured: Kyla, the slated girl; Rain, a Free UK fighter under Nico’s command; and Lucy, the little girl who was taken and broken by Nico, only to be rebuilt into a terrorist. Handling an MC with a multiple personality disorder of sorts on top of Stockholm syndrome would probably prove challenging for most authors, but Terry dealt with it beautifully. I was (although it seems a bit rude to admit it) more than a little surprised.
Ben was mostly absent in Fractured, but he was always present in Kyla’s mind and a great many of her actions were in some way motivated by her desire to protect him and reunite with him. He was, in his absence, perhaps more important to the story than he would have been had he actually been there. Through him, Terry showed that a feeling as strong as love can work against any kind of conditioning.
Some old secondary characters were given more important roles, and some exciting new ones were introduced. Tori, Ben’s supposedly re-slated old girlfriend played an essential part and caused some emotional conflicts, and then there was Katran, another Free UK fighter and Rain’s (Kyla’s) greatest rival for Nico’s affection and approval.
All in all, I thought Terry did an outstanding job with this sequel and I simply can’t wait for the final installment in the Slated trilogy.
“A genuine thriller.” Those are the words written on the cover of The Night She Disappeared and they’re words with which I wholeheartedly agree. With...more“A genuine thriller.” Those are the words written on the cover of The Night She Disappeared and they’re words with which I wholeheartedly agree. With its 230 pages, April Henry’s YA crime novel is a quick and exciting read. It is clear from every page that Henry is an experienced author with more than ten novels behind her. Her control over the characters, plot and pacing is absolute.
When a pizza delivery girl named Kayla goes missing, her two co-workers know that she wasn’t the intended target, but no one else thinks it’s important that the kidnapper asked for Gabie specifically, and that Gabie was supposed to be working that night. While everyone else is out looking for Kayla, Drew and Gabie struggle with guilt and fear. Gabie especially can’t forgive herself for being home safe while Kayla was being kidnapped in her place.
The Night She Disappeared is told from multiple perspectives, and while it’s not my favorite narrative mode, each narrator contributed to the story. The kidnapper’s perspective would normally bother me, but Henry skillfully offered his POV without giving us insight into his motives, which made him all the more interesting and kept me on edge. I am still unclear as to why he wanted those girls, but that too suited me just fine in this case. Psychopaths like him rarely make sense. Gabie herself wasn’t much of a heroine, but Henry used her well to show how ordinary, weak-willed people can sometimes gather the courage to do something extraordinary.
The guilt and responsibility they both feel bring Drew and Gabie closer together. Their budding relationship is a bit awkward because of the differences in their social status. Gabie is a daughter of two respected surgeons, a quiet and hardworking girl, already accepted to Stanford. Drew is a troublemaker and a small-time drug dealer with a tweaker mom. Ideally, things like money, clothes and cars wouldn’t matter at all, but since it mattered to the both of them, it was a constant source of misunderstanding.
What made this book stand out even more were the newspaper clippings, police interrogation transcripts, coroner’s reports, evidence forms etc. that were inserted between the chapters. They gave the story a more realistic feel and I found myself racing through each chapter just to discover what’s next.
April Henry has a new project coming up on June 11th called The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die. I think I might just pre-order it.
Sometimes I decide that a book isn’t for me based on some silly, almost non-existent reason, and then I stubbornly stick with my decision until someth...moreSometimes I decide that a book isn’t for me based on some silly, almost non-existent reason, and then I stubbornly stick with my decision until something forces me to reconsider. In this case, I avoided Matched like the plague because the entire plot seemed to be based on a love triangle, but I was forced to change my mind when I came into possession of the audiobook. With hours of driving ahead of me, I had no choice but to give it a chance. And I loved it.
Matched is extremely character-centric. There’s very little plot to speak of, and there aren’t many oscillations in the narrative structure. While it’s a beautiful, gentle read, exciting isn’t a word that applies. In all honesty, I didn’t mind one bit, the character growth was enough to keep me happy and my mind fully occupied.
I won’t go into the love triangle lest I spoil what little plot there is. Suffice it to say that it’s not really a love triangle as it’s clear from the beginning what Cassia feels for Xander and what she feels for Ky. As someone who dislikes love triangles on general principle, I must confess that this one wasn’t nearly as torturous as I’d originally assumed.
I love that Condie approached the Society in a very mature way, always aware that while it might be bad for some, it saved many others; and I don’t just mean those who hold the power, but regular people who are better off because the Society took care of them. This is somewhat new in dystopian literature and I admire Condie for thoroughly exploring the gray areas and not portraying the Society as the source of all evil. What is awful and constrictive for some may very well be great for others. Cassia’s thoughts about those who are not free-spirited by nature and who are very comfortable being taken care of by the Society endeared her to me greatly. She was never judgmental or harsh, and she understood that people find comfort and happiness in different things, and that for some, nothing works better than having all their decisions taken away from them.
Some things about the Society were more believable than others but I took them all in stride as inevitable parts of the genre. However, there was one thing central to the story that I simply couldn’t accept. In the Society, people use tablets to write, but no one writes or reads cursive anymore. In fact, they have nothing to write with and they’d surely get into trouble for even attempting it. As someone who’s spent years studying language(s), I find it hard to believe that people would allow themselves to lose their ability to write. I’ve read a research or two a couple of years ago that focused on this possibility (and it was considered to be a possibility), but it seems very unlikely to me.
I suppose I should write a few words about Kate Simses, the audiobook narrator, as well. At first I was uncomfortable with her mellow, almost childish voice, but as I got to know Cassia, I realized that it fits her perfectly. (That said, she also narrated Shatter Me, and somehow I doubt her voice worked as well for Juliette.) She never fell into the trap of overdoing male voices as so many narrators do, and I really liked how easily she used her voice to make the differences between Ky and Xander even more pronounced.
Matched is a read only for the patient, but it is very rewarding. If you’re like me and you’re avoiding it because of the love triangle, learn from my mistake. I should have read it much sooner.
3.5 stars My grandmother makes the best bean stew. (I realize this is an unusual review opener, but bear with me just a little while.) Yes, my grandmot...more3.5 stars My grandmother makes the best bean stew. (I realize this is an unusual review opener, but bear with me just a little while.) Yes, my grandmother’s bean stew is quite the celebrity in my family. I don’t know how she does it, but it’s not like she’s keeping it a secret… quite the opposite, in fact. She shared her recipe and showed me how it’s done many, many times. But although I’m a pretty decent cook (if I do say so myself), I always end up with something else entirely. A pretty good bean stew, yes, but the magic is simply not there. In truth, if you give five cooks the exact same ingredients, they’ll each come up with a different meal, and no more than one, if that, will be truly unforgettable.
These days, books aren’t all that different, really. No matter how many times a certain recipe is used and reused, the end result is never the same. Ten authors can use all the same tropes, and they’ll each end up with a different story. Eight out of ten resulting books won’t be worth your time, one will be moderately enjoyable, and one will shine like a comet. There’s always an author capable of making even the most (ab)used tropes work.
Jennifer Archer is one of those authors. On the surface, The Shadow Girl is really and truly a cliché fest. A recently deceased parent. A best friend in love with the heroine. A mysterious new boy in town. An agonizing (read: annoying) love triangle. A secret waiting to be revealed. I see you all waving your heads in disgust, but I promise you, aside from the horrible and unnecessary love triangle, The Shadow Girl is a great and exciting read.
I pride myself on the fact that I can guess pretty much everything these days. (Sometimes I curse myself for it, too.) But with The Shadow Girl, I made all the wrong assumptions. Despite all the foreshadowing, my guess was nowhere near the truth. Honestly, I was lucky to go into this book knowing next to nothing about it. Everything is a spoiler with The Shadow Girl, even mentioning the genre it belongs to. I strongly recommend avoiding anything even remotely spoiler-ish.
This whole experience would have been much better without the love triangle. Even I, a well known hater of divided hearts, have to admit that there are love triangles that work. However, Jennifer Archer wrote hers almost as an afterthought, a painfully predictable and tragically unnecessary thing. Let’s not kid ourselves, Lily’s best friend Wyatt never really stood a chance. Their sudden forced attraction was explained with their fear of separation, of going to college and losing each other, but while that certainly makes sense, it should have stopped the second Ty Collier showed up. It was always clear who Lily would choose, which made her constant wavering all the more aggravating.
But that is one flaw in an otherwise excellent book. Lily’s relationship with her other, Iris, was a true delight to read. This concept is perhaps not the most original, but as I wrote earlier, Archer made the best of it. Lily also struggled with her mother’s strange behavior, especially after her father died, and as the story progressed, their relationship increased in complexity, and as frustrating as it was at times, it was an essential part of the book.
I’d hate to spoil even the smallest thing for you guys, so I’ll stop here. I’d recommend downloading a sample to see if it works for you like it did for me. The first 20% should make it clear enough.
Some books should be sold with a companion novel, a cheerful, nonsensical one people would read immediately after the main story to lighten up their souls. If there was ever a book that left me in urgent need of some cheering up (and a cup of spicy hot chocolate), it’s this one. But would I change a single thing about it? Not in a million years!
There are some things most people would rather not think about. I dare say Spanish flu is one of them. It’s a nasty scar in human history, and October 1918 possibly the worst month humankind has ever endured. Not only was the world desperate and exhausted by the First World War, but far worse was the second wave of influenza that killed anywhere between 50 and 100 million people.
This is the month Cat Winters chose to write about, and she did so with the surety of a seasoned author (I still can’t believe that this is her debut) and a thorough research behind her. In the Shadow of Blackbirds is a story built on the contrast between a young, innocent love and the war that tried (and succeeded) to steal that innocence away. Everywhere Mary Shelley turned, she saw nothing but ugliness and death. In her world, human warmth and compassion disappeared behind fear and mistrust. The gauze masks people wore to protect themselves from the flu are very symbolic of the period, and of the terror and distance between people.
”Oh, you silly, naive men.” I shook my weary head and genuinely pitied their ignorance. “You’ve clearly never been a sixteen-year-old girl in the fall of 1918.”*
Through it all, Mary Shelley Black is practically alone. Her father is in prison, accused of being a traitor, her 26-year-old aunt is superstitious and unsupportive, and her young boyfriend Stephen died in a battlefield in France. As a very unconventional girl who enjoys taking things apart to see how they work, Shell is quite used to a lonely life, but at least before she always had Stephen to talk to. He was the only one who ever appreciated and even admired her eccentricities.
When Stephen's spirit starts showing up next to Mary Shelley in photographs taken by his opportunistic half-brother, Mary has to consider the possibility that he isn’t resting peacefully and investigate the circumstances of his death. In this book, the brutally realistic and the paranormal collide, and the reader is never quite sure how much of it is truth, and how much is the product of overactive imagination (actually, the words ‘group delusion’ and ‘mass hysteria’ come to mind).
I’ve never given much thought to the things people hold on to in difficult times to alleviate their fear, but the sudden (renewed) popularity of spiritualism during World War I makes perfect sense, as do the folk remedies people resorted to to protect themselves from the flu. It’s very easy for us to be judgmental and ridicule people who stuffed salt up their nose, but in October 1918, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have done the same.
I don’t need to be a clairvoyant to see the future that lies ahead of Cat Winters and her debut: awards, critical acclaim, translations to more languages than I can name (I’m a linguist, I can name a lot of languages). If you squint at the cover, you can already see the shiny William C. Morris medal in the top left corner, possibly even a Printz. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
The first thing you’re likely to notice about Zenn Scarlett is that it’s unlike anything that is currently being published. The second thing you’ll no...moreThe first thing you’re likely to notice about Zenn Scarlett is that it’s unlike anything that is currently being published. The second thing you’ll notice about Zenn Scarlett is that its breathtaking originality is a very good thing indeed. There have been quite a few surprises from the Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry camp in the last year, and it seems that they'll just keep on coming.
In worldbuilding, Shoon reminded me of a kid with Play-Doh and an overactive imagination. It’s easy to feel the joy with which he created each of his creatures, from Zenn’s tiny rikkaset Katie to the Kirian sunkiller. Although impressive, the worldbuilding is also a bit overwhelming at times. The Martian setting is completely foreign, there’s nothing familiar to hold on to and it’s quite disorienting at first. Even now I don’t have a clear picture of the Universe as Zenn knows it, but hopefully this will change in the next installment.
”The native life forms on Mars all died out long before humans came. We’re all aliens here. That’s why it drives me crazy when Graad and the others complain about the cloister’s patients. Calling them monsters. Calling them alien ‘things’ and saying they don’t belong. They belong here as much as we do.”*
Third person limited narration is never my favorite, and I think I would have enjoyed Zenn’s story more if it were told in first person. As it was, I can’t say that I experienced a strong emotional connection, although I did admire Zenn's determination and courage. She also seemed a bit young for her sixteen years, which I suppose can be explained by her isolation in the cloister. It’s no wonder she was immediately (and a bit naively) attracted to Liam, a townie boy who started showing up at the cloister to help with the animals. She and Liam developed a tentative friendship and an odd sort of relationship, with just a hint of romance between them.
The plot takes a while to pick up. Combined with the rather complicated worldbuilding, it might be a bit challenging for a less patient reader. The mystery seemed pretty straightforward the entire time, but in the end, it wasn’t anything I thought it would be. I love it when I’m absolutely convinced I have everything figured out, only to be proven utterly wrong in the last few chapters.
Schoon daringly weaved a tale that is richly imaginative and breathtakingly original. Zenn Scarlett is perfect for younger YA and middle grade readers, but older audience will find much to love about our red-haired heroine and her cloister on the Red Planet.
*Quote taken from an uncorrected proof and might be changed in the final version.
There’s only a handful of authors whose insightfulness I admire as much as I admire Sarah Skilton right now, most of them Australian. At first, my rating was 4.5 stars, but then I decided that such profound understanding of human psyche combined with really excellent writing deserves more. So I gave it a five, which is something I rarely do. And I don’t regret it.
Control and power are such interesting things. We all crave them, some more, some less, and none of us like to feel helpless or weak. But feeling powerful and in control can be a double-edged sword. That wonderful feeling easily turns into something horrible the second someone stronger comes along. We all want to believe that we can defend ourselves, that nothing big can harm us. Those things happen to other people, right?
But what if you spend years preparing for exactly one such event? Countless hours of training to protect not just yourself, but those who are weaker, powerless? And what if, when the time comes, you fail? I doubt an adult would be able to handle that very well. A sixteen-year-old girl? She’s likely to get angry, violent and depressed, and not in neat little stages, but all at once. She’s likely to crack.
Imogen spent six years living and breathing Tae Kwan Do. She followed all the rules, inside and outside the dojang. She trained hard, ate healthy and studied a lot for her average grades. She was confident that she could face any situation, confront any bully, fend off any attack, all thanks to her rigorous training. What she didn’t count on was a gun.
This story about Imogen’s struggle with guilt, depression, and the need to prove to everyone that she IS capable of defending herself, is one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever read. Skilton’s approach is brutally honest and realistic, and she’s not in the business of creating heroes. Imogen wasn’t always the easiest character to like, but even when she was being unfair or judgmental, I could feel the hurt pouring off her, and I desperately wanted to protect her even though she doesn’t need anyone’s protection.
The most wonderful thing about Bruised are its layers. As the story progresses, more of Imogen’s family issues are revealed, and we see it’s not just the event in the diner she struggles with, but also problems that were there before. She’s angry at her father for ignoring his diabetes and ending up in a wheelchair, she’s upset with her older brother for outshining her in everything, but most of all, she resents her mother for not accepting her for who she is.
There is no magic wand Imogen can wave to make her problems disappear. Depression and anger aren’t things one can just decide to recover from overnight. Bruised isn’t some miraculous story about self discovery. It’s about a girl forced to question everything she stands for and maybe become a better person in the process.
If you’re a contemporary fan, Bruised is an absolute must-read. If you’re not… well, neither am I, but the best things in life come from unexpected directions. I know not everyone will love this book as much as I did, but it will definitely leave an impression. It’s not one you’ll easily forget.
Middle Grade books seem to be falling straight into my lap lately, but I’m not complaining, not yet. OMG! Is This Actually My Life? caught me complete...moreMiddle Grade books seem to be falling straight into my lap lately, but I’m not complaining, not yet. OMG! Is This Actually My Life? caught me completely off guard. I can’t remember the last time I laughed myself into stitches.
Fourteen-year-old Hattie Moore is just like every other fourteen-year-old girl on the planet. She worries about boys, school and friends, obsesses about the changes on her body, worries about her braces and her “jaws of death”, hates her older sibling and despises the most popular girl in school. But on top of all that, Hattie doesn’t know her real father, she doesn’t even know his name, and she dreams he’ll show up one day to solve all her problems. Like every other girl in the history of girls, Hattie pines for a boy she barely even knows and fails to see what’s right in front of her. She is an extremely relatable character.
"Just done my weekly tit test in front of the mirror. When I jump up and down they STILL don't move. Goodnight, breasts. Please grow a bit overnight so I can bounce to school."*
OMG! is a diary novel that reminded me, in some ways, of Adrian Mole (whom I adored while growing up) and Bridget Jones (whom I never particularly liked). It wasn’t just the format that made me think of Adrian and Bridget, it was the combination of that, the fabulous British humor and some character traits Hattie shared with one or the other. Although OMG! was an endless source of hilarity, I really liked that Earl found a way to push some seriousness between the lines, mostly through Hattie’s non-existent relationship with her father, and her tense and resentful relationship with her mother. Those things were, of course, wrapped up in her great sense of humor, but they were there to give the readers something to think about.
OMG! has an array of colorful characters. Hattie’s two best friends, Weirdo Jen and Dimple, are both very supportive, each in her own way. Her grandmother insists on texting dirty jokes to everyone, including her dentist, and asks for a ‘Britain’s Hottest Firemen’ calendar each Christmas. Her archenemy is the prettiest and meanest girl in school, Ruby aka Miss Gorgeous Knickers. There is, of course, McFittie, a server in Bertie’s, whom Hattie never really spoke to (other than him offering her a biscotti), but whom she’s desperately in love with nevertheless. And last, but not least, there’s Goose, Hattie’s first neighbor, her oldest and most supportive male friend and an all around awesome guy who spends time with her stepfather and cheers her up when things go terribly wrong.
Dimple is UBER gorgeous. In fact, I’m a bit annoyed her parents aren’t arranging her marriage because it means she’s shopping in the snog supermarket at the same time as me. ”Love IS a battlefield” – so one of my mum’s CDs says.*
What stopped me from fully enjoying Hattie’s diary was her (Earl’s) excessive use of caps. They served a purpose, of course, they reflected Hattie’s flair for the dramatic, but the overall effect was a bit jarring. I’m not sure younger readers would feel the same, though, so please don’t take my word for it. I really think this book is an excellent choice for younger teens and more patient adults.
I honestly never thought I’d say this, but Frost is even better than Mist. The stakes are higher, the romance is more intense (although still appropri...moreI honestly never thought I’d say this, but Frost is even better than Mist. The stakes are higher, the romance is more intense (although still appropriate for MG readers), and the action is far more exciting.
After spending two months far north, trying to open the iron camps and release their elders, Evan had to return to help the other Elven children, but he is not the lighthearted boy he once was. Watching his parents and hundreds of other Elven waste away in the iron camps changed him, made him mistrustful of all humans, including Nell. During those two months, Nell tried to go back to her usual, everyday life, but a part of her remained with the Elven and especially with Evan. When Star comes to her for help, terrified and panicky, Nell is ready to do anything to save Evan’s world.
She saw shadows start to move on his face, like last time when he’d told her about his family in the iron camp. This time, as he’d told her how cold they’d become, and how they’d walked for days, hardly sleeping, snow formed on his eyelashes and frost on his face.
The harps that are keeping the Elven world alive are slowly going quiet. Without them, there will be no more forest behind the mist, no place the Elven kids can call their own. They would be forced to come to the human world, where they would surely be hunted down by the Watchers and forced into iron camps. There are no adults they can turn to, only Nell and Evan.
This time, the sweetest almost-couple had more than just prejudice and fear to fight – they had to join forces against the cold-hearted ice Elven. A brother and a sister, Loki and Laki, showed up in Nell’s little town and turned Nell’s older sister and her friends into mindless servants. While immune to their powers, Nell was still desperate to protect her sister Gwen.
In Frost, the world around Evan and Nell expanded even more and Kathryn James was really able to let her imagination run wild. When she combined that with her beautiful writing, what resulted was a book that was rich and magical, gentle and more satisfying than any fairy tale.
Nell was even more fierce and daring in this book, and rightfully so. She did achieve the impossible last time after all. Evan, while wounded and traumatized, still kept showing his sweet side, especially around Nell.
All the loose ends were tied in Frost so I don’t think there’ll be another book, but I can hope, right? For someone who doesn’t even read Middle Grade, I’m enjoying this series more than I can put into words.
4.5 stars ... And wow! It’s no secret that I didn’t much care for Night School. While I thought there was nothing wrong with it technically, it just di...more4.5 stars ... And wow! It’s no secret that I didn’t much care for Night School. While I thought there was nothing wrong with it technically, it just didn’t leave much of an impression. But I’ve been known to change my mind before, and I’ve changed my mind this time. Everything C.J. Daugherty failed to do with Night School, she did with Legacy, and then some. The characters were more memorable, the plot was absolutely thrilling, and even the love triangle wasn’t as obnoxious as last time. Quite the contrary, in fact.
Before all else, I feel the need to say more about this formerly obnoxious love triangle. I have never in my entire life switched teams mid series, not once, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything. Daugherty expertly manipulated me into liking Carter a lot less, and liking Sylvain infinitely more, and yet I never felt manipulated at all. Other authors have tried, I assure you, it just never worked before. So mark this day on your calendars because I’m about to write something I doubt I’ve ever written before: this love triangle works! Every time Allie changed her mind, I changed mine too, and every time she was confused, I was right there alongside her. I obviously have a favorite now, but she’s already pushed me into changing my mind once, she could just as easily do it again. Brava, Ms. Daugherty. Well done.
Daugherty showed her ability to successfully transform her characters through more than just Sylvain. Jo was a different person altogether – wounded, insecure and vulnerable after everything she’s been through, but more composed and reliable as well. Some new characters were introduced, and I found them all very interesting, especially Rachel’s father Raj Patel and Sylvain’s friend Nicole. Old enemies were still there, but as soon as the truth about Allie’s family came to light, some new ones showed up as well.
Just the other day I was sitting here, chatting with a friend and shamelessly making fun of boarding school books (with a few exceptions, of course), and now I am forced to eat my words. Or just add Night School to that very short list of exceptions. I adore Cimmeria Academy. I adore the idea behind it, I adore the teachers and I desperately want to be an advanced Night School student. (Only I’m not very athletic so that would never, ever work.) This series is a new favorite of mine and my expectations for the third book are sky high.
Legacy doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, but it does have an open ending, so be prepared for quite a few unanswered questions. It didn’t bother me. To be honest, I barely noticed, I was too busy crying and worrying and crying some more.
Finally, I’m not usually overdramatic, but please allow me to say this: Oh my God, my heart is broken, I doubt I’ll ever, ever (ever!) recover! Please write faster, C.J. Daugherty!
4.5 stars Perfect Scoundrels was my Waiting on Wednesday pick just over a month ago, and no wonder; I’ve been looking forward to it for months. I loved...more4.5 stars Perfect Scoundrels was my Waiting on Wednesday pick just over a month ago, and no wonder; I’ve been looking forward to it for months. I loved Heist Society and I loved Uncommon Criminals (although maybe just a tiny bit less), but Perfect Scoundrels exceeded all my expectations. It was by far the best of the series, exciting and virtually unputdownable. Finally (finally!) things moved forward between Kat and Hale, but just as Kat recovered from the panic attack their new girlfriend-boyfriend status caused her, the news came that Hale’s grandmother is dead and that he inherited his family’s billion dollar company.
In Perfect Scoundrels, Kat and her crew face the most cunning enemy yet, and the stakes are even higher because they’re defending one of their own. W.W. Hale the Fifth may be an heir and a billionaire, but he is also the most loyal, wonderful person any of them has ever met. Kat’s entire family (and it’s a very large family) will have to work together to fix the mess and steal back the boy that has become irreplaceable to them all. As difficult as that sounds, it’s still easier said than done. Kat’s usual crew – Gabrielle, Nick, Simon and the Bagshaw brothers – will need help from their elders if they’re to outsmart Hale’s enemies and save his company.
It was exactly what Kat would have done – what she had done on a number of occasions – and she felt the sting that comes from knowing that turnabout is absolutely not fair play.
In this emotionally difficult situation, Kat shined brighter than ever. I’ve always admired her, but here she showed the presence of mind and astounding maturity one simply doesn’t expect from a 16-year-old, not even an accomplished thief. Hale always seemed more mature to me, but that was not the case in Perfect Scoundrels. While he was busy mourning and showing us his more vulnerable side, Kat was fighting everyone (including him at times) to steal back the boy she just wasn’t ready to let go.
Once again, Ally Carter’s trademark sense of humor shone from every page, but in this book, she showed a different side of her characters as well – a frightened, more vulnerable side that gave them more credibility. I’ve complained in my earlier reviews that this series lacks emotional depth, but that’s not the case anymore. Finally these characters are three-dimensional. I just hope this won’t be the last time we get to see it.
I think my overall enjoyment of this series is largely due to my love for W.W. Hale the Fifth. He is the perfect love interest (and possibly a hero in his own right) , good looking and genuinely nice, but mysterious enough to keep me on my toes the entire time. He still didn’t share what W.W. stands for, although he came very close in one heartbreaking scene, but we did get to learn the nickname his family uses for him, and let me tell you, it’s not one you’re likely to forget. *g*
Objectively speaking, this isn’t a 4.5-star book, but I gave it the extra half just because it made me happy – and objectivity be damned. It’s my party after all, and I fervently wish there were more books like Perfect Scoundrels out there. I’d read them all. And then I’d re-read them.
When the release of The Lost Prince was announced, I didn’t quite know what to think about it. In ninety percent of the cases, a spin-off isn’t the be...moreWhen the release of The Lost Prince was announced, I didn’t quite know what to think about it. In ninety percent of the cases, a spin-off isn’t the best idea an author can have and it ends up disappointing the fans. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of The Iron Fey in the world, I still enjoyed the series and I didn’t want it ruined in some sad attempt to milk the cash cow. Now, after reading the first book, I’m very excited that Ethan’s (and I suppose Keirran’s) story is being told.
As usual, what bothered most reviewers is actually what I enjoyed the most. Ethan is very angry; at himself, at his life, his parents, but above all at Meghan for abandoning him and deciding to cut all ties to her human family. The way he sees it, she is the Iron Queen now and she doesn’t need Ethan or the problems he inevitably brings. Being inside his head was interesting to say the least, and I thought it was done really well. I suspect that’s exactly how I’d feel and behave in Ethan’s shoes.
I honestly didn’t thing Kagawa was capable of writing a book without a love triangle, but even though I expected it, there wasn’t one in The Lost Prince, which is probably part of the reason I liked the book as much as I did. I loved Kenzie and Ethan’s relationship, they are definitely a couple I can get behind. Even with all their problems, they are both better people around each other and there’s this wonderful chemistry between them that makes my heart flutter every time. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about Keirran and Annwyl, I just didn’t feel any sparks there. Since I know Kagawa is excellent at writing swoony romances, I can only assume this was done on purpose.
Keirran is the primary source of suspense, at least once you try to look at the big picture, and through him, Kagawa manipulates her readers splendidly. As much as I wanted to like him, I was never quite sure where he stood, and as sincere as he seemed, there were always doubts at the back of my mind. I don’t want him to turn bad, mostly because of who he is, but I fear that it’s inevitable.
Once again, Julie Kagawa simply excels at worldbuilding. Nevernever is just as rich and imaginative as before, if not more. She always paid attention to detail and this time is no different. I’m not usually one for long descriptions, but Kagawa has a talent for creating vivid images with no more than a few carefully chosen words.
It was old, even from a distance, I could see that. Stone walls and mossy roofs, vines coiled around everything. Trees pushing up through rock, roots draped and curled around stone. Some of the buildings were huge – massively huge. Not sprawling so much as they looked as if they were built by a race of giants.
Here comes the real shocker: I ended up liking The Lost Prince even more than I liked the original series. Lack of a dreaded love triangle probably contributed to that fact. If Kagawa continues following her usual pattern, this series will only get better. Considering how much I already like Kenzie and Keirran, and how much I’ve warmed up to Ethan, it seems I really have something to look forward to. More, please!
For a book that is mere 180 pages long, Absent is surprisingly heart-wrenching. It is a poignant story about coming to terms with death, accepting thi...moreFor a book that is mere 180 pages long, Absent is surprisingly heart-wrenching. It is a poignant story about coming to terms with death, accepting things and moving on. Although short, Absent has many great qualities, like Katie Williams’ simple, yet beautiful writing and many subtle messages that delicately, but firmly teach us the truths about life.
Paige is dead. She fell off the roof of her high school during her physics class and ended up tied to the school grounds along with two other ghosts, Brooke and Evan. She spends her days in classes, listening to conversations, hoping to hear that she’s missed by someone other than her best friend Usha. Instead, she hears rumors that she committed suicide and she knows exactly who’s to blame.
Paige soon discovers that she can possess any person, as long as that person is thinking about her. The memorial being painted by the school entrance ensures that people remember her, at least in passing, and she’s free to possess whomever she chooses. She uses this ability to stop unwanted rumors, spread different ones and make sure that everyone gets exactly what they deserve.
Paige isn’t a bad person at all, but she’d been deluding herself in life and death has a way of opening your eyes even when you don’t want it to. Her desire to be mourned by the boy she liked despite herself, the same boy who refused to acknowledge her in public when she was alive, helped me see the lonely girl underneath her masks. All three ghosts had to come to terms with their untimely deaths and the damage the left behind. They had many regrets and things to forgive themselves for, but they all learned that it’s never too late to become a better person.
Even with three ghosts at the center of the story, Absent doesn’t address the matter of life after death. Williams never even tries to offer her version of the afterlife, nor do her characters question their ties to the school. I saw this as an admission that the hows and whys aren’t for us to question, which I really appreciated.
The subtle message of this tiny book is that not all wrongs can be put to right and that sometimes the cards you’ve been dealt don’t matter – all that matters is making peace with the things that went wrong and moving on. Absent wasn’t what I expected it to be, but what I took away from it was more valuable than it first seemed. This is a book you’ll think about long after you finish it, and the more you think about it, the more you’ll like it.
Well, well. Color me impressed. If you would have told me, three months ago, that someone could still offer an original take on vampires, I’d probably...moreWell, well. Color me impressed. If you would have told me, three months ago, that someone could still offer an original take on vampires, I’d probably have laughed in your face. So far we’ve seen nightwalkers, daywalkers, vegetarian vampires, vampires with magical powers, sparkly vampires, bloodthirsty monsters, gorgeous vampires, hairless ugly vampires, and just about everything else you can possibly think of. But Ticks? Trust me, they’re new.
They’re not quite vampires, true, but genetically altered humans, even more frightening because of their mindlessness. They drink blood, but they take it straight from your heart after they rip it out with their bare hands. The one real vampire in this book is still a far scarier monster, true, but the very thing that makes him more dangerous, his ability to blend in, is the same thing that makes him easier to accept.
Their frames were too bulky and broad, their arms too long, but it was their faces that churned my stomach. The almost human quality to their features. Their eyes darting fervently under hair that was shaggy and unkempt. Their heavy jaws and bulging leonine teeth.
Ever since The Farm’s US release, I’ve been dutifully reading reviews and I’ve noticed that people tend to point one (or all) of three things: their surprise over the originality of Ticks, their love for all things Carter-related, and their disappointment with Lily’s character. I agree with the first, tentatively agree with the second, but I absolutely can’t agree with the third. As someone who is extremely socially awkward, but also fiercely protective of those few people I consider my own, I found it very easy to sympathize with Lily and her willingness to do anything to save her autistic sister. Yes, there were times when she seemed almost prejudiced, but there’s no way to know how any of us would react after six months on a Farm, being used as a cow. Lily understood herself very well and she was willing to change when circumstances required it, or when she realized she was being unfair. Some of my favorite heroines started out as mildly unlikeable only to become fascinating and admirable later on, and I have a feeling Lily will find her place among them soon enough.
Including a few short chapters from Mel’s point of view was a risky move, and one that didn’t pan out in my opinion. We can’t possibly know what goes on in an autistic mind, and while McKay approached it in an original way, there were still a few problems; the most important being that her narrative was barely understandable. Mel’s thoughts made very little sense, and while I appreciated both the original attempt and the fact that they were supposed to be messy, I still didn’t see the point of those chapters at all.
Another thing that stood out was a pretty big plot hole someone should have noticed and pointed out in time. Carter came on the Farm looking for Lily specifically, because he thought she was an abductura, a powerful individual able to influence the emotions of others. I didn’t like his reasons, and I thought the entire thing was incredibly insulting to Lily, but I understood him to a point. What I didn’t understand was how he was able to convince others with such a weak argument, especially a four thousand year old vampire who should have demanded more proof. Whether Carter was right or wrong isn’t really important, you’ll have to read the book to find out. All I’m trying to point out is that a lot of people followed him in a pretty wide search, risking their lives daily, all because he couldn’t believe his attraction to Lily was natural.
Despite a few problems, I’d recommend The Farm to all those who enjoy reading about vampires, but not the romanticized kind. I am very much looking forward to the next book.
You wouldn’t think it possible, but when I was a little girl, I used to read even more than I do now, or just as much at the very least. (Now people a...moreYou wouldn’t think it possible, but when I was a little girl, I used to read even more than I do now, or just as much at the very least. (Now people are going, “Yeeah, right”, but I promise it’s true.) We moved around a lot in those years, and it was a difficult time for me. I was never very social to begin with, and having to make new friends and adjust to a new environment every couple of years didn’t help much in that department. So I read. And I read and I read and I read. I read Enid Blyton, and every other Middle Grade mystery I could find. And they made things better for me.
I still hide behind books all the time, but it’s been a while since I’d read a good Middle Grade mystery. (The Apothecary by Maile Meloy is the last that I can remember.) However, The Mist by Kathryn James was the perfect choice for me. I wish it had been around back when I was in constant search for a good MG read.
Behind the mist, there is a world full of giant musical harps, thorn-covered castles, wolves and unicorns that is equal parts scary and enchanting. The Elven and humans are at war, yes, but even hostile Elven can’t make their forest seem any less beautiful. There are no adults in it, not any more. Every grown Elven has been taken to the iron camps and only a handful of children are left. Their solution is to kidnap Nell’s sister and try to get her grandmother, the leader of Watchers, to open the camps.
”The watchers have from now until sundown to open the iron camps. And then set the Elven free.” He paused. “Or your sister will become ours forever.”
The first thing you’ll notice about Mist, even after a single chapter, is that it’s very well written, and not in a way that draws attention. Kathryn James in an expert in making her written word seem almost transparent, entirely unnoticeable, thus allowing the reader to slip directly into the story and really live through everything alongside Nell.
And trust me, you’ll want to take this journey with Nell. She is an amazing girl, a bit socially awkward, a bit withdrawn, but brave and outspoken when necessary. She is compassionate and open minded, resourceful and true to her word.
The romance between Nell and Evan is gorgeous and believable because it’s so age appropriate. I loved how timid they were around each other and how they were able to put aside the fact that they’re natural enemies and call each other friends. Their friendship and their puppy love never crossed any lines, but their feelings were somehow a part of every decision they made. They were both fierce individually, but toward each other they were tender and playful, even when they were seemingly on opposite sides.
Evan is such a tragic hero, a sad little boy whose parents and younger sisters were taken and he was left with no one but a half-crazy older brother. Kathryn James did an excellent job with him; he was distinctly otherworldly, and yet his emotions were very easy to understand. My heart ached for him and his kind.
I surprised myself by requesting the second book, Frost, for review the second I finished this one. I’m looking forward to spending more time with Nell and Evan.
Beyond is the second young adult book by a Canadian male author I’ve read in the last year (first was The Repossession by Sam Hawksmoor), they were bo...moreBeyond is the second young adult book by a Canadian male author I’ve read in the last year (first was The Repossession by Sam Hawksmoor), they were both published by Hodder, and they’re both original and refreshing. I’m even more picky and difficult with horror than I am with steampunk, which is why I’m especially happy to report that the horror parts of this story met my extremely high standards. But I’m getting ahead of myself here…
Jane is afraid of her own shadow… literally. Every time she faces any kind of danger, her mind goes numb and her shadow takes control, moving Jane’s body towards peril instead of away from it. If there’s one thing Jane can be sure of, it’s that she’s not making it up; her best friend Lexi witnessed her shadow trying to force her to throw herself in front of a train. But since it’s not a story she can actually share without ensuring a bed in the psychiatric ward, everyone including her parents thinks she’s suicidal. It’s up to Lexi and Jane to find a pattern and discover the mystery and horror behind Jane’s shadow.
Although Beyond wasn’t without its problems, the idea behind it was thrilling and so very original. It was unlike anything I’ve read before, and the mystery kept me on my toes until the very end. It wasn’t easy to even try to guess the outcome of this, or the solution to the mystery, and the premise behind it was simply exhilarating. There’s nothing creepier than being threatened by your own shadow… it’s the only thing you can never hide from, and seeing it take over, start moving on its own and even control your movements is a waking nightmare. *shudders* Poor Jane.
The writing style was also fairly unusual. McNamee prefers short sentences that create a steady staccato rhythm; in that, he reminded me of Lisa McMann, whose Wake trilogy I happen to like very much. Generally, I adore this sort of thing – any peculiarity in someone’s style is enough to keep me interested and fascinated even when the plot becomes tiresome. McNamee wasn’t consistent enough to be truly impressive like McMann, but his writing still made the book more memorable for me.
However, I don’t understand why Jane couldn’t have been a teenage boy instead. The story would have worked just as well, if not better, from a male point of view, and quite frankly, McNamee knows about teenage girls about as much as I know about quantum mechanics. Jane and Lexi both thought and acted more like adolescent boys than sixteen-year-old girls, and this was especially apparent in their romantic endeavors. That is not how girls think about boys, Mr. McNamee, not even close, and that is not how girls talk to each other. Suffice it to say that changing this to a male protagonist wouldn’t take much work at all – a simple name change (from Jane to John, since we’re being original and all) would have been enough. No other modifications would be necessary, the voice is already distinctly male. This, too, is the second time that I’ve encountered this problem lately, the first being Vesper by Jeff Sampson.
Nevertheless, few books truly scare me anymore, and Beyond made me want to sleep with my lights on for the first time in many months. McNamee is an excellent horror author with a unique style, but he should definitely stick with male protagonists from now on, in which case I’ll probably read whatever he writes next.
It's not often that a sequel outshines its predecessor, but with Through the Ever Night, it seems to be the general consensus. We've had a few example...moreIt's not often that a sequel outshines its predecessor, but with Through the Ever Night, it seems to be the general consensus. We've had a few examples here and there, and they've all proved to be pretty memorable, but I don't think I've ever seen a case quite like this. Don't get me wrong – I loved Under the Never Sky, it was fresh and dynamical and it left a lasting impression, but due to its intensity, Through the Ever Night is far more remarkable. Rossi has grown more confident as a writer, the success of her debut has done her a world of good, and her newly found self-assurance shines from every page. As with everything else, the attitude makes so much difference, it's a well-known fact, and Rossi now firmly stands on her own two feet. I believe we can expect great things from her.
I deem it necessary to mention that the book is perfectly paced. Like its predecessor, it’s told from both Aria and Perry’s point of view, and while third person alternating view is by far my least favorite narrative mode, Rossi made it work splendidly. I can’t imagine Through the Ever Night told any other way.
It goes without saying that things never go smoothly for Perry and Aria. Theirs is a romance I’m very fond of and left to their own devices, they would be no more than a step away from their happily ever after. However, there’s not one, but two worlds between them: Aria’s Dwellers would never accept someone like Peregrine, a savage by their standards, and his Tides have nothing but insults for Aria, with only a few exceptions.
Even though their feelings for each other were constantly being put to the test, through it all, they both grew tremendously as individuals. Aria is nothing like that pale, scared girl from Under the Never Sky. She is confident, fierce, a strong Aud and a good friend. All her attitudes and prejudices are gone. There is both strength and grace in her gait she didn’t possess before, and she certainly knows what to do with a knife. But there are also changes on the inside, she cares for people differently and she values different things. She’d been seeking the comfort of a place. Of walls. A roof. A pillow to rest her head on. Now she realized that the people she loved were what gave her life shape, and comfort, and meaning. Perry and Roar were home.
Changes on Perry are perhaps less evident, but they are just as big. Through his responsibility toward his tribe and more losses than he can count, he gained a somber maturity that he lacked before. His every step, every single word carries more weight, and each decision he makes shapes the lives of many. He is a far cry from that rash, headstrong boy we know from Under the Never Sky, and if I had to choose one thing that really stood out in this book, it would be his characterization – the subtle changes found between the lines, but perhaps more important for the remainder of the story than everything else put together.
There are things in Through the Ever Night that will make you laugh, things that will make you cry, things that will make you inch up nervously in your seat, some that will make you angry enough to punch something (hopefully not someone, though), and things that will make you swoon. Now, aren’t those signs of a perfect read?
I think you’ve all noticed that my five star ratings are few and far between, but a book that had… HAS such a tight hold on my heart, that still lingers in my mind even though it’s been weeks since I’d finished it, definitely deserves my wholehearted support. Veronica Rossi does, too. While the ending was open, but entirely satisfactory, Into the Still Blue can’t come soon enough, I tell you. I will be right here, nervously biting my nails until it does.
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