Marie August's Blog, page 29

Book Review: The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

Chick lit with a cute twist

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: April 28, 2009
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 576
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has learned by closely watching the hundreds of people she's served that you can find out an awful lot about someone by their favorite coffee drink. Not only that, it's possible to predict which types of coffee drinker would be good romantic partners for each other. When Jane's ambitious boss learns of her talent, he ropes her into a special four-week, money-making promotion for the Wired Joe's coffee shop where they both work. Jane will make matches for free one evening a week and allow her boss to increase his sales and get them both a big bonus and a raise. At first only interested for the boost to her college savings fund, Jane is soon completely jazzed when her matchmaking succeeds beyond her wildest dreams. Except for the fact that poor Jane can't seem to make a match for herself!
This is an adorable, fast-paced story. Jane is an endearing, quirky character. I really enjoyed hearing about her analyses of people and how it turned into matchmaking. There's also a fun relationship with her best friend, and it was very amusing reading about all the various matches Jane made.
The book is well written, highly readable, and G-Rated. I enthusiastically recommend it to anyone who enjoys young adult female-centric comedy.

Heroine: 4

Subcharacters: 4

Writing: 4

Chick-Lit Plot: 5

Romantic Subplot: 4


Overall: 4

Book Review: Gone (Gone #1) by Michael Grant

A dystopian YA fantasy

Gone (Gone #1) by Michael Grant
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: April 28, 2009
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 576
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Suddenly everyone over the age of 13 vanishes, and children everywhere are left to fend for themselves. This dystopian novel, written for grades 6-9, puts a fantasy spin on the famous plot of William Golding's Lord of the Flies . The book is well written but very dark, and it frequently contains subject matter that is too mature for pre-teens and young teens. Because all the characters are 13 or younger, older teens will find it hard to identify with them, but adults who are fans of Stephen King or Dean Koontz might actually enjoy this story.

Hero: 4

Subcharacters: 4

Fantasy World-Building: 4

Writing: 4

Science Fiction Thriller Plot: 4


Overall: 4

Book Review: Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison

YA dramedy about a Mean Girl's redemption from beyond the grave

Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: January 18, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 224
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry
Bridget Duke has been the unofficial queen of her high school for years, and she's mean as a snake. But suddenly a new girl named Anna Judge arrives, and Bridget's world starts to cave in. Where are her worshipful slaves? Where are the complacent teachers ready to accept any excuse Bridget gives them? And why can't she hold onto her boyfriend Liam Ward, who was her childhood best friend and the only person she's actually ever cared about? In a desperate mood, Bridget drives fast and carelessly, wrecks her car, and earns a trip to limbo, which is not quite heaven, not quite hell. She has one last chance to make up for the lousy life she's led. Or else.
This is an extremely entertaining, often comic, debut novel that contains a solid, but non-preachy social message. Bridget has no compassion for the people around her, whom she regularly hurts. Through the course of this story, she gets a chance to, literally, feel what other people felt like when she hurt them by experiencing what she did to them, as if she were them.
It's very difficult to successfully pull off a story like this, where the audience is asked to stick around as a very non-sympathetic heroine is forced to mend her ways. But this is the only way that many people can ever develop empathy and humility, by being forced to literally walk in the shoes of people they have scorned. This book is a very entertaining way for teens to experience how destructive casually-callous behavior is. Even seemingly small, sarcastic remarks can wound so deeply, that the scars last a lifetime.
For those who enjoy this book, there is another YA novel using a similar storyline, but written in literary-fiction style, Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall .
Heroine: 3.5

Subcharacters: 3.5

Writing: 4

Paranormal Dramedy Plot: 4.5


Overall: 4

Book Review: Everneath (Everneath, #1) by Brodi Ashton

First book in a new YA, paranormal-romance trilogy

Everneath (Everneath, #1) by Brodi Ashton
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 384
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

In the Prologue of this book, we learn that teenager Nikki Beckett has just spent 100 years of Everneath time physically bound to a spiritual vampire called Cole who fed off her energy all that time in order to provide himself with immortality. Almost all teen girls who are subjected to the Feed don't survive, and because Nikki does--not even aging--Cole wants her to be his queen and rule with him in the underworld of Everneath and become an Everliving like him. Unfortunately for his goal, Nikki has not forgotten her real love, a boy named Jack whom she has known since she was 11 and he was 12. Because she wants to return to Jack, Nikki is sucked back to the surface of earth, into the real world, but only for six months.

We soon learn that Nikki has only been gone six months of human time. She looks so thin and drawn that everyone assumes she ran away and was on some kind of drug or alcohol bender the whole time. It is very difficult for Nikki to get back into her old life, because those 100 years of Everneath trauma stole a lot of her humanity, most especially the ability to feel emotions. And reconnecting with the real world is made even more difficult by the fact that she is just there to engage in a long good-bye.

This story utilizes two very popular premises for the YA market: a love triangle and a version of immortality that involves a fantasy element very similar to vampirism--only this time sucking energy rather than blood. The author has employed some other new twists to these beloved themes: she uses a mixture of Greek and Egyptian mythology for her world-building, and rather than the heroine choosing between two potential lovers who are both supernatural, one of them is human.

I enjoyed the fact that this book is told with two points of view, Nikki's and that of Jack, her human love interest. I also appreciate very much that the book is written in third-person, past tense rather than first-person, present tense, which is most common in YA. That's another excellent breakaway from the norm that many might find a refreshing difference. The author's writing, in general, is also very readable and well done.

Fans of paranormal romance rooted in love triangles will very likely enjoy this book very much. This is the first book in a trilogy, and the author does a good job of drawing the first book to a definite conclusion--rather than offering an annoying cliffhanger--while at the same time setting up a huge story question to drive the next installment.
Heroine: 4

Hero (Jack): 5

Subcharacters: 4

Fantasy World-Building: 3

Writing: 4

Romance Plot: 4


Overall: 4

Book Review: Entwined by Heather Dixon

Fairy-tale retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" appropriate for girls aged 9-11

Entwined by Heather Dixon
Reading Level: Young Adult (Ages 9+)
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Pages: 480
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Twelve princesses, each named for flowers, dance in a mysterious, magical forest every night to escape from their own and their father's grief at their beloved mother's untimely death.

Though there are 12 sisters in the famous fairy tale this book is based on, this story focuses primarily on the oldest sister, Azalea, and her two next-in-line sisters. The feel of the story is partly that of a historical novel, with period costume and courtly manners and events, and partly that of a fairy tale, due to the quaint language and "princess in distress" convention of fairy tales. The characters are delightful. The writing excellent. And the story itself is filled with exciting events and satisfying relationships.

The publisher has chosen to market this book as a young adult novel, typically aimed at ages 12-15. However, in my opinion, the story treatment in Entwined seems geared more for girls younger than 12. Admittedly Entwined is much longer than a recently released middle-grade/tween novel I reviewed, The Thirteenth Princess, which is based on this same fairy tale. But girls of around age 9-11 will very likely be happy for the extra pages in this delightful tale since the unique twist on the dancing princesses this author has created is fun to read about, and there is plenty of magic, romance and adventure to keep the pages turning.

Any young girl who loves fairy tales and enjoys having them fleshed out into full-fledged novels will savor this well-written book.

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 4

Fantasy World-Building: 4

Writing: 5

Fairytale Retelling Plot: 4


Overall: 4

Book Review: Cloaked by Alex Flinn

Hilarious, young-adult, fairytale remix suitable for all ages

Cloaked by Alex Flinn
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: February 8, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 352
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Seventeen-year-old Johnny has worked hard for years to help his mother keep their family shoe-repair shop afloat since the day his father mysteriously disappeared when Johnny was a young boy. Even though the shop is associated with a ritzy South Beach hotel, it doesn't make much money in the summer off-season, and Johnny and his mom have to choose between paying the electricity bill for their apartment or paying the rent. Johnny would far rather be creating designer shoes for the wealthy than repairing shoes they already own, but he's afraid the rest of his life he'll be stuck in his dead-end job, because his mother needs him and he can't desert her.

Then suddenly one day, a real, live princess shows up at the hotel, and she changes Johnny's life forever. A witch's curse has transformed her brother into a frog, and only a good, kind, loyal boy like Johnny can save him. With the aid of a magic cloak that can transport him anywhere he needs to go, and the advice of various magical animals that were once human, Johnny sets out on a wild adventure with the promise of a $10,000 reward from the princess and her hand in marriage if he rescues the frog prince.

I discovered this author the way thousands of people are these days, because her book Beastly has been made into a movie, which I was very much looking forward to seeing. I read and enjoyed that book, which is a contemporary, fairy-tale retelling. This book is, too, but it goes a step farther. Rather than dealing with only one fairy tale, it is a "modern fairy-tale mash-up." The author has cleverly woven together multiple Grimm's fairy tales, among them "The Elves and the Shoemaker," "The Frog Prince," "The Six Swans," "The Golden Bird," and "The Brave Little Tailor."

As all of this author's other books seem to be dramas, before reading this book, I assumed it would be a drama, too. I was delighted to learn that it is actually a comedy, because I love YA comic fantasy, and I devour it whenever I can find it. It is great to discover an author this talented who realizes that magic creates wonderful opportunities for humor because of all the hilarious ways that magic can go wrong.

There is ton of that type of magical mayhem in this book as Johnny and his trusty magic cape face constant danger from dastardly, magical villains. If many of these villains were presented in the usual gritty, dark manner of YA contemporary fantasy, they might be quite overwhelming. But in each action scene, the threat always has a comic twist that keeps the villains from being overwhelming to read about, and there is no overt violence. As an additional parental guideline, there is no sensuality, no drugs, drinking or swearing.

In short, this is an extremely well written, highly entertaining, G-rated story which younger siblings can safely borrow from the teenagers in their family.

Hero: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 5

Writing: 5

Paranormal-Comedy Plot: 5


Overall: 5

Book Review: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (Steampunk Chronicles #0.5) by Kady Cross

An action-packed, short-story prequel to the YA steampunk novel, The Girl in the Steel Corset

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (Steampunk Chronicles #0.5) by Kady Cross
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: May 1, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: n/a
Source: Purchased
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

As an appetizer for The Girl in the Steel Corset , this short story works really well. It gives a tantalizing glimpse into the life of sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne before the events of The Steampunk Chronicles series.
Finley lives in an alternate-universe Victorian England where familiar, modern-day technology exists, but with a brass-and-steam twist in keeping with the actual technology of the real Victorian times. She has known since puberty that she is not a normal girl. When she gets angry, a strange power inside her kicks in that has super strength. Though it feels great at the time when she can defend herself against attack, the milder side of Finley is afraid of her wild side. What if she loses control and harms an innocent person?
Lady Morton is not afraid of Finley's wild side. On the contrary, she is grateful for it, because Finley will make the perfect secret bodyguard for her daughter Phoebe. Lady Morton gives Finley a beautiful room, lovely clothes, and an excellent salary, and Finley attends balls and other society functions with Phoebe while pretending to be Phoebe's distant relation.
Finley is surprised and worried for sweet, gentle Phoebe when she learns that the person Phoebe needs defending from is her much older fiancé, Lord Vincent. Finley's wild side thrusts her into a dangerous investigation to discover what Lord Vincent, an obsessed scientist, is up to. Finley agrees with Phoebe's mother it can't be anything good.
This short story is very well written and filled with action and adventure. It is a great introduction to Finley, who is an exciting heroine. She is strong, determined, honorable and loyal. Her struggles to keep her wild side under control and her desire to protect Phoebe at any cost make her a very sympathetic character.
This is also an excellent teaser for the steampunk universe of robotic horses, steam-driven carriages, and all manner of entertainingly odd, anachronistic technology.
Since reading this I've had the opportunity to read The Girl in the Steel Corset , and though it isn't necessary to read this short story before reading the book, I am grateful I didn't miss out on it. The book definitely lives up to the promise of this story.

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 4

Writing: 4

Action-Adventure Plot: 5


Overall: 5

Book Review: Singing the Dogstar Blues by Alison Goodman

Young adult science fiction novel with wonderful characters and world building

Singing the Dogstar Blues by Alison Goodman
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: November 18, 2004
Publisher: Firebird
Pages: 261
Source: Library
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Joss Aaronson is almost 18 and about to begin studies in time travel at the Centre for Neo-Historical Studies in Melbourne, Australia, circa 2050. She is the child of a sperm donor and a famous, newscaster mother who has had little time for her daughter, whom she sent away to boarding schools starting at age 12. Joss hides a soft heart beneath a cynical, tough, wise-cracking exterior. She tells herself that what's important in life is taking care of herself first, an example she learned from her neglectful mother. But she's very close to a fatherly bar owner with underworld connections whose life she saved when she hauled him out of the Yarra River before he was "mulched by the cleaning system." And when she has a chance to be paired at the Centre with a young alien visitor named Mavkel, she steps forward willingly, unlike most of her fellow students. They don't want anything to do with a Chorian humanoid who has floppy ears like a dog, two noses and two mouths, and struggles to speak out loud since his culture uses telepathy to communicate. When Mavkel does talk, it comes out like singing, and his destined profession on his planet before coming to Earth to learn time travel was to be a healer, using music as the means to achieve it.

Joss relates to the music, because she is an extremely talented blues musician who plays a mouth harp. She also relates to Mavkel's loneliness and isolation--she's felt that way all her life. However, she's not sure she's prepared to support Mavkel to the extent he wants and needs her to, by allowing him to forge a mental bond between them strong enough to allow them to communicate telepathically. Joss is afraid of being engulfed by such a close connection and resists, until she learns that without this mind link, Mavkel may die.

Unfortunately, the link cannot be made, even after Joss finally agrees to it, until she discovers who her father is. And that can't be achieved until she and Mavkel take a wild--and totally non-Centre-approved--trip through time to the day of her conception in a Petri dish.

I loved this book's characters, world-building and emotion-laden plot. And I consider it an amazing achievement by the author to inspire someone like me to feel this way because, frankly, I'm not a big fan of science fiction, which makes me a really hard sell. The main reason she won me over is that I'm a sucker for a great buddy story where two outsiders, who seem at the outset of the story as different as they can be, form a moving friendship by going through adversity together and protecting each other's backs. (One of my favorite examples of this kind of relationship is the Harrison Ford and Gene Wilder film from 1979, The Frisco Kid.)

I was in particular awe of the author for creating a character as wonderful as Mavkel. He comes across as completely alien and other, which is extremely important if the character is from outer space. And yet he's so intelligent and kind that I came to care for him very much right along with Joss.

As for Joss, I was really moved by how much she grows across the course of the story due to gradually, irresistibly, opening her heart to Mavkel. Her friendship with him involves being as sympathetic to his emotional pain as he is to hers, making it impossible for Joss to maintain her hard, defensive shell around him.

As much as I loved the book, though, I had trouble with the ending. Not because I found it predictable, as some reviewers here and elsewhere, who are obviously sci fi fans, found it to be. What bothered me is that the author used a time-travel paradox that I don't much like in that the logic doesn't make sense. Character's experience reactions to actions occurring during time travel *before*, not after, those actions occur, much in the way time travel is used in the first Terminator film. In order to avoid creating a spoiler, I'll use a metaphor to describe what I mean for STDB: Joss has a metaphorical "bruise" throughout the first part of the story that should not have been there at all (reaction), because the "punch" given during a time travel excursion that caused the bruise is not thrown (action) until the end of the book. I much prefer it when reaction follows time-travel actions in a logical sequence, such as in the Back to the Future movie series.

That quibble, however, did not spoil the book for me, because the world-building and great characters far overshadowed it. My only regret on finishing this book is that it is a stand-alone story. I would love to read more books about Joss and Mavkel.

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 5

Writing: 5

Science-Fiction Plot: 5


Overall: 5

Book Review: Jessica Rules the Dark Side (Jessica #2) by Beth Fantaskey

YA murder mystery with supernatural elements

Jessica Rules the Dark Side (Jessica #2) by Beth Fantaskey
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Pages: 320
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

This is the second book in a trilogy. If you have not yet read the first book, Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, this review will be a spoiler.

Jessica is now married to Lucius and living in Romania as a vampire princess, but in spite of Lucius being a prince, he is thrown into prison when he is framed for the murder of one of the Elder Vampires. The only way for Jessica to save him is to find out who the real murderer is. Fortunately, her wacky best friend Mindy is there to support her in her time of need.

While the first book is a sometimes quite funny paranormal romance, this book's primary plot is a murder mystery. However, for those who enjoy paranormal romance, there is a delightful romantic plot between Mindy, an adorably colorful character, and a sexy vampire named Raniero who is, of all things, a surfer dude!

The first book of this trilogy was written in first person in Jessica's point of view interspersed with Lucius's point of view in humorous letters to his uncle. In this book, there are four points of view, Jessica (now referred to as Princess Antanasia, her Romanian birth name), Mindy, and Lucius and Raniero in the form of an email correspondence with each other.

If you enjoyed the first book, the focus of this one is quite different, but enjoyable in its own way. Overall I'm finding this a fun trilogy, and I am looking forward to the third book.

Heroine: 4

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 4

Writing: 4

Murder-Mystery Plot: 4

Romantic Sub-Plot: 5


Overall: 4

Book Review: Birthmarked (Birthmarked #1) by Caragh M. O'Brien

A post-apocalyptic YA futuristic novel

Birthmarked (Birthmarked #1) by Caragh M. O'Brien
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: March 30, 2010
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Pages: 368
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone has trained for years as an apprentice to her midwife mother. She lives in the post-apocalyptic world of 24th Century America. Her lifestyle is similar to that in agrarian villages of 18th Century Europe, but minus horses or wagons for transport. There is no need for them because there is no long-distance travel. Gaia's entire world consists of a small settlement outside a walled city. Inside the wall is a class-based society with each social rank identified by a distinct color of clothing. The society's rulers are called the Enclave, and the head of the Enclave is an iron-fisted dictator. In exchange for food, water and other basic necessities of life, the Enclave demands absolute obedience from the people outside the wall. Including the ultimate sacrifice of handing over a quota of their babies every month to the Enclave in a transaction euphemistically called "advancement." Gaia has accepted the Enclave and its commands as just the way things are, including knowing her parents "advanced" her two older brothers to the Enclave, until the day that the Enclave's soldiers come and take away her parents. Gaia is outraged that their deference to the Enclave has earned this horribly unjust punishment and is determined to get to the other side of the wall and save them, at any cost.

Gaia is a strong heroine who persists against incredible odds, which makes her very sympathetic. The world-building in the story is well done, and there are plenty of questions every step of the way in the book to keep the reader turning pages to find answers to the many mysteries of the Enclave. There are a lot of important messages in this story, without it being at all preachy, including the importance of family, the meaning of loyalty and courage, and the suffering that is inevitable in repressive societies where arrogant elites sure of their infallibility trample on the rights of individuals.

The book has a tender romantic subplot and the beginnings of fascinating future subplots about sibling relationships as babies taken from their families by the Enclave who are currently teenagers will, hopefully, begin to find each other and band together to take down the evil Enclave as the series progresses.

Speaking of which, I assume this will be, at the very least, a trilogy, because the ending of this book is wide open for a sequel. It leaves us with a huge new mystery: What lies beyond the boundaries of the known world of the villages and walled city in Birth Marked? The Enclave has worked very hard to convince everyone under their command that there is nothing else out there. But is that really true?

For parents: There are no teens engaging in sex or consuming drugs or alcohol in the story. There are multiple scenes of violence, but it isn't graphic. There is constant menace surrounding the heroine, and this is a very dark book throughout with no let-up in her pain, ever. But many teens enjoy that kind of read, and many adults do, too. It is no darker than Harry Potter.

Heroine: 4

Subcharacters: 4

Fantasy World-Building: 4

Writing: 4

Action-Adventure Plot: 4

Romantic Sub-Plot: 4


Overall: 4