Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 63

DNFed Books: Two Recent Additions

I don’t like DNFing books. I will fight til the end of time itself to finish a book if it has the slightest bit of potential. But, right now, I can’t do that, with school swallowing my time. Reading for the blog is the one outlet of pleasure reading I allow myself, and my standards get set much higher during this time. I really, really don’t want to waste my time slogging through books that bother me, even if I have hope for them. This weekend, I got hit with a double whammy, as I was forced to DNF two different books in two days. Two books I thought had an EXTREME amount of potential. Here’s what getting me to put the book down these days:

DNFed Book: When the World was Flat (and we were in love) by Ingrid Jonach

Stopped Reading At: 7%

Why: First off, heavy handed ways of describing things just bugs me. Why uses three sentences when one will do? Secondly, and most importantly, the overall negative tone of this book was killing me. Everything was being described (quite heavy-handedly) as what it wasn’t, not as what it was. It gave the entire book a depressed, about-to-hurt-myself feel that seemed absolutely out of place for a book that clearly put all it’s emphasis on the love story. Oh yeah, that love story, that insta-love right from the get-go. That also was part of the reason I just couldn’t do it anymore.

DNFed Book: The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

Stopped Reading At: 18%

Why: I don’t have enough time to slog through YET ANOTHER BOOK where the main character needs to be rescued by a charming young prince when she clearly has more power, and–though she has no reason to be attracted to him instead of shock–spends more time fanning herself over his features than worried about the million other life and death situations currently unfolding because of her actions. Maybe I’ll return to this one later, but I don’t have high hopes.

So that’s what’s getting me to put a book down right now – what about you?

Disclaimer: I completely and utterly accept the idea that these books have the potential to become good, worthwhile books if you hang in there longer than I did. I just didn’t, and that’s a matter of personal preference. Judge these books for yourself if you’re at all interested.

ARC Review: “The Chaos of Stars” by Kiersten White

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

Goodreads | Amazon

Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.

Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.

Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.

3 1/2 stars

Thanks to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for this eARC! This title will be released September 10th, 2013.

When I saw that Kiersten was writing a book with an Egyptian theme, I nearly died of happiness. I am a HUGE fan of her Paranormalcy series (see here), as well as her Mind Games series (see here), so this … this just hit the spot in every right way. Well, at least the news she was writing it did. After all that, it’s not surprising that the book itself couldn’t live up to my anticipation…

The story opens up with a bang. Isadora is the bajillionth daughter of Isis and Osiris, living with them in their pyramid in Egypt. Unlike her god-powered brother Horus, Isadora knows that she is just one in a long line of mortal children who will die and be forgotten, replaced every twenty years by a new baby. When danger begins to surface at the pyramid, however, Isis thinks it’s best for Isadora to move to San Diego with her brother–and Isa decides she’s never coming back. That is, until her “normal” life becomes a little too real for her comfort. Oh yeah, and then there are those dreams that won’t stop about how her family is all about to die.

I think my initial problem with this book is that Isadora is not a very likable character in the beginning. She’s whiny, she’s petulant and she’s spoiled. She’s really quite annoying. I had trouble being able to connect with her anger towards her parents–however justified–because I was stuck on the fact that THEY ARE ISIS AND OSIRIS AND THAT’S SO COOL. Plus, Isa kind of wouldn’t shut up. I was excited when the story moved to San Diego, but then she gets whiny with her brother too and it’s like, REALLY ISA PLEASE.

However, once she gets to San Diego, the real character development starts. She steps outside her comfort zone, makes friends and starts being less emotionally stunted. Given the severity of her annoyance factor in the beginning, her character arc makes more of an impact for sure–if you can get past that first part of the book. I promise, it does get better, with great results. Can’t say much more without being spoilery, but it made me really happy.

The other characters in the book were fairly cut and dry – none of them really popped for me, except for Horus the Drunk. That was pretty great. The love interest and Isa’s friends were fairly basic, but not in a terrible way. I liked them well enough, even without the wow factor. (Well, Ry–the love interest–has a wow factor later. But I digress.)

The plot was also pretty mellow, but I didn’t expect explosions or anything anyways. The focus was more on the contemporary, real elements of the story rather than the fact that GODS ARE REAL, more on her dysfunctional family then MY FAMILY’S MADE OF GODS. It would have been easy to depend on the kitsch of the story, but Kiersten didn’t, and that made me really like it all the more, even if I did wish there was a little bit more Egyptian power worked in.

All in all, I found the story really cute, quirky and unique. I loved the Egyptian history lessons that were folded in, and the characters–after the first part–weaved together to tell a touching story about family and love. Isa’s character development was certainly the highlight for me. Goodreads doesn’t list this as a series book, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed for another one because there is CLEARLY a huge world Kiersten has set up for herself out there.

ARC Review: “Rose Under Fire” by Elizabeth Wein

 Rose Under Fire, by Elizabeth Wein

Goodreads |  Amazon

While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women’s concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?

Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival.

Five Stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Disney Hyperion for this eARC.  This title will be released September 10th, 2013.

As of typing this paragraph, I finished Rose Under Fire about five hours ago and I still feel…humbled.  I’m not quite sure how to review this book.  How do you even begin to review something this important?

It’s a companion to , which means that a few secondary characters show up (Jamie!  Maddie!  And Anna Engel—I should be careful what I wish for) but it is an altogether different story.  I have to admit that I spent the (short) first bit of the book focusing more on other characters.  Rose annoyed me, maybe because I was expecting another flash-bang performance like Verity’s narration, but mostly because she is privileged.  She’s oblivious.  She makes thoughtless comments to people who have seen horrible things, questions the validity of stories from inside concentration camps to people who have relatives there.   Here’s my advice: commit to getting through the first part, because once Rose ends up in Ravensbruck, you will never read another work of fiction quite like this.

This is not a suspenseful, guns-and-knives read like Code Name Verity was.  Because the story moves just a little more slowly, you have time to take in everything.  The greatest failing of the way we talk about the Holocaust is that we lose sight of the atrocities in a sea of statistics.  This book gives full impact to the horrifying details: girls tied down for medical experiments that left them permanently maimed or dead, people so hungry they will try to eat their own hands, brave and beautiful people gassed to death for no reason.  Women memorizing the list of ‘Rabbits’—the subjects of the medical experiments—so that, if they ever escaped, they could give those names to the world.  Only those names out of the millions of other names the world would never hear, because the scale is so unknowable that a camp full of dying people has to decide who will be remembered.

The characters in this book are so strong, in the worst possible situations.  People starving and freezing to death still find ways to fight back and keep their humanity.  It’s incredible to me that in the middle of so many horrors, these characters will still give you hope.  There’s friendship and courage and selflessness, and tiny gestures that seem enormous, and sympathetic people in the most unexpected places.

I think that, all by itself, is one of the most important things about this book: the whole thing is so much bigger than the individual that there are people committing atrocities and you feel sorry for them anyway.  And everything starts out so civilized.  When Rose is first captured, everyone is polite.  She’s given papers, told she’ll be given work.  There’s always a sane explanation.  Which is how the Holocaust started: people in authority made horrible things sound reasonable, and everyone else went along with it.

I did wonder how I felt about a book giving voice to Holocaust survivors when there are still Holocaust survivors to speak for themselves, but—I think the most important thing is that the voice is there.  It’s so, so easy for people to forget.  The author’s note immediately directs you to the realities of the subject matter the instant the story is over, listing historical facts and directing the reader to real survivor accounts.  In a way, it’s a gateway book to the rest of the story, which is too huge for anyone to really comprehend, and which we might otherwise avoid if it wasn’t cloaked in fiction.  Which makes me all the more glad this book exists.

I’m not making this sound at all inviting, so let me clarify any doubts right now: you need to read this book.  It will hurt, but in the best possible way, and you’ll be glad you did it.  It’s a story of survival and beautiful things emerging from horrible places.  Rose sees the very worst of humanity and is changed forever, but she also learns to live with the world again, and that’s not something I would miss for the world.  She looks at people with new perspective, and learns to find happiness again with the very best friends she could hope for.  The story is one of terrible things, but it ends with hope.  I, for one, will never be able to forget it.

Waiting On Wednesday: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Title: Dreams of Gods and Monsters

Author: Laini Taylor

ETA: April 1st, 2014

Note: That’s not the actual cover, just a placeholder, but you can bet the cover will look awesome, given the precedents.

Summary from Goodreads:  By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael’s brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz … something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy. 

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

Why I’m Waiting: I really enjoyed the first two books in the series.  There are some problems–there are always problems, right?–but I love how Karou is not defined by her relationship to Akiva.  She’s a veritable badass all by herself, resurrecting the dead and pulling off SUPER-TRICKY SPOILERY THINGS in the name of peace and sanity.  Actually I can’t tell you many of the reasons why I love these books, but the prose is pretty awesome, the descriptions and worldbuilding are cool, the author skillfully avoids most of the things I hate in YA romance, so I’m very curious to see where the next book goes.

–Marina

Top Ten Books That I Wish Were Taught In Schools

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

Hey, Gretchen here, and I have a confession. Due to the unconventional nature of my high school experience, I have no freaking idea what is actually on a general required reading list for anyone. So I decided to do the secondary topic this week, Top Ten Books That I Wish Were Taught in Schools. Again, I have absolutely no idea what SHOULD be on this list, so I came up with a bunch of my own for my own reasons. Cool? Cool. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

I had no idea what I was signing up for when my book club did this book, but OHMYGOD. The feels. The thoughts. The dialogues this could create about a very important subject. Just … yes.

2. Tree of Codes by Jonathon Safran Foer

Again, this is another book my book club reviewed. I don’t know exactly why this would be on the syllabus, other than LOOK MODERNIST LITERATURE. But it would be way cool to look at, at least. (Also, short.)

3. Watchmen by Alan Moore

This book is actually picking up steam in certain classrooms – I read it in college – but I think it should have more. It’s important for students to know that the graphic novel form isn’t just for Sunday comics, and this book says some very important things to think on.

4.

GUYS. If only one book from this list could make it, THIS SHOULD BE IT. That is all. See for more details.

5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Yes, I know this is very fictional, but I still think it’s an important historical concept to teach, and this is a very enjoyable way to do so.

6. The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson

I’m just kinda picking on this one, but honestly anything by Eva could go for this topic.

7. I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles

This is a way more enjoyable way to learn about the life of Elizabeth the First than from a textbook. Just saying.

8. The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan

I think a bunch of schools could do with an injection of some color into their reading lists. This book was phenomenal, and opened my eyes to a realm of history I know thoroughly enjoy.

9. Streams of Babel by Carol Plum-Ucci

Possibly the most underrated book I’ve ever read. It should have thesis papers and conventions dedicated to it’s themes.

10. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

THE FEELS. THE HISTORY. THE FEELS. This HAS to be on a list somewhere already, right?

ARC Review: “Gold” by Talia Vance

Gold (Bandia #2) by Talia Vance

Goodreads | Amazon

Descended from an Irish demigod, Brianna has fled to Ireland to escape destruction at the hands of her sworn enemies, the Sons of Killian. Taking refuge at the estate of her former nemesis, Austin Montgomery, Brianna discovers a rift in time that opens to an era before the feud began.

Wrestling with her newfound feelings for the more innocent Austin, Brianna begins to wonder if she can alter the past. But when Brianna and Austin learn that the Sons are raising an army of mythical beasts, the pair will need to use their magical strength in the present to avoid a tragic end.

Four stars

Thanks to Flux and NetGalley for this eARC! This title will be released September 8th.

WARNING: This review WILL contain spoilers for book #1. Please see my review of Silver for more!

If you read my review of book one, then you know that I died in all the right ways during Silver. I had so much fun with the action and the sexiness (both books have a PG-13 rating for sure), and I was completely depressed when it ended. When Gold popped up on NetGalley, I hit the request button so hard I thought my mouse would break. Whatever I expected out of Gold, though, was not what I got–but in a (mostly) good way.

When the book started out, I was completely confused as to how we got Brianna to Ireland. It takes a few pages to come out that Brie was being chased by the Sons–included a furious Blake–after she was accused of setting fire to Blake’s house at his sister’s birthday party. Yes, at the beginning of the book, Blake and Brie are broken up, sorry guys. Joe sends Brie to Ireland to stay at the now abandoned house of Austin Montgomery, who Brie sent to the underworld for 1000 years a few months prior. But, lo and behold, Brie can’t stay out of trouble long. Austin returns, Brie finds a portal to a time when Danu is still alive and a new god rears his ugly head to try to control the world. Oh, and it looks like Blake’s moving on and Brie might be starting to realize it’s time for her to do the same.

I’ll be honest, basically the entire reason that I docked one star from this review was because of the first half of the book. A lot of the events require a large suspension of disbelief. I had to ride out a few moments where I was shaking my head going “I DON’T THINK SO,” whether that be for character actions or very convenient plot devices. I’m still not entirely sure how Austin got out of the underworld 998 years early, or why Brie started falling for him besides the obvious lust she was going through, but I rode through it, convinced that Talia would pay me back for it later.

She did.

I did NOT expect Gold to tackle the kind of problems it tackled, but I was SO HAPPY it did. Once the second half of the book gets going, it GETS GOING. Just the convoluted timeline she was juggling, with Brie going back into Austin’s past and Austin trying to wait for those things to happen in Brie’s present, could have caused the story to fall flat on it’s face right there and then. But it DIDN’T. Instead, it worked beautifully and made me smile and also want to cry. 

Brie and Blake’s relationship also squeezed my heart in ways that I never would have imagined. My expectations, of course, were for cliches and loud declarations of love and blah blah blah. I never, ever, have high hopes for love triangles, so I was terrified about the whole Blake-Brie-Austin thing from the get go. But Talia instead decides to use Brie’s complicated love life to explore why you love someone, how you learn to love someone, and how sometimes you have to learn to let go. The amount of growth Brie goes through because of these relationships is astronomical, and I couldn’t have been more pleased. 

In the end, this book was riddled with moments where I was confused or found something a little too convenient, but this is one case where I–Ms. I-Focus-Completely-On-Plot-All-The-Time–was not focused on the plot at all. What made this book for me was the emotions of the characters and everything they were going through. This isn’t even limited to Blake-Brie-Austin. If you follow my Twitter, you know the FIRST thing I did after finishing was RUN to Twitter and BEG Talia to tell me there was another book. (Which there is, but it’s still a thought bubble only. Whatever, I’ll hold on to that.) The ending of this book made me want to cry in all the right ways.

Weekly Wrap Up + Stacking the Shelves for 8-31-13

Hey guys! It’s been a LONG time since I’ve done one of these, so this isn’t so much of a “weekly” wrap up as much as a “here’s what’s happened since the last one.” My Stacking the Shelves this week is also huge, but mostly because I just bought a bunch of books for college. No, I’m not StS-ing with textbooks – I’m showing off the books I bought for one of my awesomest classes, “Studies in YA and Children’s Lit!” (Plus, you know, actual review books.) As always, watch the video for the views, and check out the links below!

PREVIOUSLY ON THE BLOG:

Join the Agenda: A Special Message from Gennifer Albin, Featuring Prizes and Scholarships!

Cover Reveal: Daughter of Isis by Kelsey Ketch + Excerpt!

ARC Review: The Morning Star by Robin Bridges

BREAKING NEWS: My Life is a Notebook Adds a Co-Blogger!

Gretchen’s ARC Review of Taste Test by Kelly Fiore

Marina’s Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters

Gretchen’s 43rd Waiting on Wednesday, featuring Blindsided by Natalie Whipple

Marina’s ARC Review of The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Marina’s ARC Review of Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

BOUGHT:

The Unnaturalists (The Unnaturalists #1) by Tiffany Trent – Goodreads

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros – Goodreads

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson – Goodreads

Harriet the Spy (Harriet the Spy #1) by Louise Fitzhugh – Goodreads

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge – Goodreads

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (Ramon Quimby #6) by Beverly Cleary – Goodreads

The Higher Power of Lucky (The Hard Pan Trilogy #1) by Susan Patron – Goodreads

Caddie Woodlawn (Caddie Woodlawn #1) by Carol Ryrie Brink – Goodreads

Pippi Longstockings (Pippi Longstockings #1) by Astrid Lindgren – Goodreads

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume – Goodreads

Make Lemonade (Make Lemonade #1) by Virginia Euwer Wolff – Goodreads

NETGALLEY:

Skulk by Rosie Best – Goodreads

Waterfell (The Aquarathi #1) by Amalie Howard – Goodreads

EDELWEISS:

The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine – Goodreads

ARC Review: “Conjured” by Sarah Beth Durst

Conjured  by Sarah Beth Durst

Goodreads |  Amazon

Eve has a new home, a new face, and a new name—but no memories of her past. She’s been told that she’s in a witness protection program. That she escaped a dangerous magic-wielding serial killer who still hunts her. The only thing she knows for sure is that there is something horrifying in her memories the people hiding her want to access—and there is nothing they won’t say—or do—to her to get her to remember.

At night she dreams of a tattered carnival tent and buttons being sewn into her skin. But during the day, she shelves books at the local library, trying to not let anyone know that she can do things—things like change the color of her eyes or walk through walls. When she does use her strange powers, she blacks out and is drawn into terrifying visions, returning to find that days or weeks have passed—and she’s lost all short-term memories. Eve must find out who and what she really is before the killer finds her—but the truth may be more dangerous than anyone could have ever imagined.

Two and a Half Stars

Thanks to Negalley and Walker Childrens for this eARC!  This title will be released on September 3rd, 2013.

Fair warning, guys: I have a serious case of Mixed Feelings about this book.

First of all, I have to give kudos to Sarah Beth Durst for managing to pull off an amnesia story that didn’t frustrate me immensely.  These things are so incredibly easy to do wrong.  The not-remembering part of the story is handled gracefully and compassionately.  I sympathized with Eve; the disorientation after an episode felt real and frightening, and I was legitimately invested in the day-to-day scenes of Eve just trying to get by with her memory loss.  She has an amnesia episode every time she uses her magic, and wakes up with more nightmare images and days or weeks lost. (I love it when people show the costs of magic!  It makes things so much more REAL.)

I found a lot of the first 2/3rds of the book delightful.  I’m a sucker for a good nightmare sequence, and this book has them in droves.  Scary, nasty, frightening circus scenes and moments where you find yourself legitimately fearing somebody’s knitting yarn.  Fabric sewn over people’s mouths and girls miniaturized in boxes.  Death in the guise of entertainment and descriptions that will make your spine shiver.  Those nightmare scenes ROCK.  I also enjoyed the way the multiverse idea was treated; again, this is something you see done badly, so it was nice to see it done in an interesting way.  Although I was a little confused—and kind of dubious—about the involvement of Witness Protection.  It seems like magical teenagers from other worlds would warrant at least the INVOLVEMENT of other people, even if they are being protected from a freaky serial killer, but WitSec seems to be operating in isolation here, which is fairly weird.

So, I enjoyed the first 2/3rds of this book.  But you can’t build a story on just amazing nightmare scenes…and I have some problems later on.  I feel like the worldbuilding was rushed and sometimes shallow.  I also feel that Aidan’s—he’s one of the scary magical teenagers—his backstory and purpose were rushed and shallow, and not given full importance.  Same for Zach, the love interest, who seems kind of like the male version of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, except with a little family angst jammed awkwardly into the situation.  He was never developed to my satisfaction.

But my biggest problem is that this is set up as a book about self-discovery.  About creating yourself.  It’s a book about finding your individuality—or it should be.

I’m going to try to make this unspoilery: Eve makes big game-changing decisions, which is what agency is supposed to mean, but she makes most of them at Zach’s urging.  In my opinion, her personhood continues to be about other people telling her she’s a person, not about her finding it out for herself.  She only shows agency when other people are telling her to.  Other people can use her magic, but she still can’t.

I don’t think this is the author’s intent, but I just…couldn’t bring myself to ignore it.  This book brings into question a bunch of huge free will problems, and then dodges them entirely by giving other characters most of the agency.  Also, to me, certain scenes smack frighteningly of ‘You’re the only thing I need to be happy!’, which is a very dangerous trap to be caught in.  No one person can be anybody’s everything, no matter how awesome they are.  That thinking is where relationships go to die.

So yes: I enjoyed this book.  I still think the nightmare sequences are awesome and the idea has loads of potential.  I still like a lot of the characters.  But the ending made me uncomfortable.  I think it’s entirely possible that the ending won’t make others uncomfortable; I fully acknowledge that I think too much about these things, and again, I’m guessing the author didn’t want to imply what I’m seeing.  I’m giving it the stars it has for coolness and the fact that I did enjoy myself most of the way through, but despite my eternal cycle of rereads, I probably won’t be picking it up again anytime soon.

ARC REVIEW: “THE DREAM THIEVES” BY MAGGIE STIEFVATER

The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

Goodreads | Amazon

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…

Four and a half stars

Thanks to Scholastics and NetGalley for this eARC! This title will be released September 17th, 2013.

Warning: this review will contain spoilers for The Raven Boys. See my review of the first book HERE.

Given my last review, it will come as no surprise to anybody that I love this book. If the writing was only good instead of awesome and the plot was only so-so, I would adore it for the characters alone. But the writing is amazing—maybe the best yet. I had to resist the urge to quote random sentences at literally everybody.

I had only one problem, which I’m going to hit on first because then we can get to the awesome stuff and not worry about it again: it is sometimes difficult to tell where the plot is. The last book had a very focused goal, and the characters were constantly driving for it; in this one, I feel like the antagonists had the most agency. The main characters were more reactive, and the plot arc sometimes got fuzzy. I’m not sure how this can be true in a book with so much suspense, but apparently it can. That’s why this is only 4.5 stars, despite my enthusiasm.

The characters only become more real and more delightful, and their relationships only become more complex and interesting. We learn more about many things, and new, bizarre elements are introduced. Ronan is the main character right now, and it’s interesting to get his narration. Although at first being inside his head was kind of like being in the room with an unexploded bomb, he becomes more likeable as a person. In the first book he was difficult to sympathize with, but I felt like I cared for him a lot more by the end.

There’s a new character on the scene, and if I thought Ronan was an unexploded bomb…WELL. Kavinsky quickly proved that Ronan was the least of my worries. He is larger-than-life, he is angry, and he is always, always looking for trouble. (Memorable line: “Get in the car before I have to get high again.”) He provides an interesting contrast to Ronan, who despite his teen-delinquent image would never go near a lot of the things that happen with Kavinsky.

Adam is still breaking my heart, in ways that will surprise no one who read the Raven Boys. I actually love his decline, because it’s so real. People rarely become suddenly terrible in real life. It’s always a slow accumulation of circumstances and personality traits that slowly build into something…not good. Also, can we just talk about Blue and relationships for a second? This is a tiny bit spoilery, I guess, but: Adam is her first relationship. She cares about him. This isn’t easy for her. But she never compromises the things that are important to her. When he loses his temper with her—for really unjustified reasons—she doesn’t try to appease him. She stands up to him. This is so fantastic, because she refuses to apologize for something that isn’t bad, and she knows she deserves better than he’s giving her. I wish more girls (including girls in YA, who seem to let bad boys walk over them with disturbing frequency) had the strength to realize that.

This book thinks a lot about family, and the influence a family can have on someone, willing or not. Almost everything that happens can be connected somehow to family—the main driving force of the plot, which is the Gray Man’s search for Ronan, is happening because A) Ronan’s father was Niall Lynch and B) the Gray man is running from a family member. Adam’s problems stem from family; Gansey’s need to make an impact is largely influenced by his family. I think that’s something else that doesn’t get addressed enough in YA, where parents are frequently neglectful or absent or just plain underdeveloped. It’s lovely to see family acknowledged this way, in its best and worst incarnations. I’m curious to see where these things go, especially given the cliffhanger (this time it really is a cliffhanger—CURSE YOU ALL OVER AGAIN, STIEFVATER) at the end of the story.

Miscellaneous cool things that happen in this book (which are also reasons why you should read it):

We learn more about Persephone! Sort of!
We learn more about the Lynch family and it is seriously messed up!
Gansey’s family is surprisingly supportive and amazing in terrible situations. I found this genuinely delightful—I feel like I’ve really seen their best side now.
Scenes where reality is questionable.
A hit man who loves Anglo-Saxon poetry.
More Latin, spoken by things other than trees.
Drag racing.
Molotov cocktails.
Monsters.

Waiting on Wednesday #43

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Blindsided (Transparent #2)

Author: Natalie Whipple

ETA: January 2014 from Hot Key Books

Summary from Goodreads: What price would you pay just to look in a mirror? It’s junior year of high school, and Fiona has definitely had enough of being invisible. It’s pretty hard to have a normal relationship when the only photos of her and Seth show him kissing thin air. On top of that, old Arizonan gang tensions are threatening to spill over at any minute, which could put them all in serious danger. So when Fiona realizes that she and her friends know something that could change everything, she has to decide whether working with the criminal syndicates is too high a price to finally be seen.

Check out my review of Transparent to see why I’m so excited about this book!