Sage Nestler's Blog, page 51
December 27, 2016
Review: Nora & Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
Title: Nora & Kettle
Author: Lauren Nicolle Taylor
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
What if Peter Pan was a homeless kid just trying to survive, and Wendy flew away for a really good reason?
Seventeen-year-old Kettle has had his share of adversity. As an orphaned Japanese American struggling to make a life in the aftermath of an event in history not often referred to―the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the removal of children from orphanages for having “one drop of Japanese blood in them”―things are finally looking up. He has his hideout in an abandoned subway tunnel, a job, and his gang of Lost Boys.
Desperate to run away, the world outside her oppressive brownstone calls to naïve, eighteen-year-old Nora―the privileged daughter of a controlling and violent civil rights lawyer who is building a compensation case for the interned Japanese Americans. But she is trapped, enduring abuse to protect her younger sister Frankie and wishing on the stars every night for things to change.
For months, they’ve lived side by side, their paths crossing yet never meeting. But when Nora is nearly killed and her sister taken away, their worlds collide as Kettle, grief-stricken at the loss of a friend, angrily pulls Nora from her window.
In her honeyed eyes, Kettle sees sadness and suffering. In his, Nora sees the chance to take to the window and fly away.
Set in 1953, NORA AND KETTLE explores the collision of two teenagers facing extraordinary hardship. Their meeting is inevitable, devastating, and ultimately healing. Their stories, a collection of events, are each on their own harmless. But together, one after the other, they change the world.
Review:
Nora & Kettle is by far the most original novel that I have read in 2016. Even though it has been publicized as a new take on Peter Pan, it was so much more than that and its story line is one that is important and rarely seen in literature. Nora & Kettle is unapologetic and explores child abuse as well as the Japanese internment camps that are so often forgotten in our history. Lauren Nicolle Taylor doesn’t sugarcoat anything, and her novel is of vital importance in young adult literature today.
In his eyes are the reflections of the beating I didn’t know how to stop, and even though my heart remembers, the rest of me would like to forget.
Nora & Kettle is written in chapters alternating between the title characters as they struggle to survive and eventually cross each others’ paths. Nora suffers physical abuse at the hand of her father, while Kettle is a young Japanese orphan who was cast out of an orphanage due to his heritage during World War II. Their story reflects how their lives have always run right along each other until tragedy captures both of them and they crash into one another by an act of fate.
My father watches me, his eyes crinkling in disgust with every movement. I have his ears, nose, and hair…and he can’t stand it. I wish I could scrub out my face and start again. Not because it would protect me, but because it would mean I wouldn’t see him in my reflection.
Taylor is a truly poetic author. She doesn’t over explain sections of her plot or characters, but she adds in beautiful lines of literature that can sum up an entire scene in one sentence. I found myself awestruck at Taylor’s words, and her artistry filled my veins with a warmth that I find hard to find in today’s young adult literature. Her novel is one that I believe everyone needs to read – girls, boys, men, women – whoever you are, your life will be better after reading this novel.
His eyes are intense. Dark. They look like they’ve seen things I don’t want to know about.
As I said in the beginning, this novel is so much more than just a re-imagining of Peter Pan. It is sure to make us all see beyond the smokescreen that has prevented us from our painful past for years and years.
New Years Blogish Resolution
Happy Almost New Year Everyone!
This coming year, my goal is to organize my reviews, publishing tips, and writing tips a bit better on my blog. Each week I will post a schedule for what you can expect to see during the week, and this will help me to be more consistent as well! That being said, this week my posts will include:
Review of Nora & Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor (Clean Teen Publishing)
Neverland Wars by Audrey Greathouse (Clean Teen Publishing)
Next week I will be releasing more information on changes that I am making to Go Indie Now!, our subscription book business, and what can be expected in the new year! As a sneak peek, Go Indie Now! is changing its name to Literary Vacation Club and while the box will still feature indie novels, it will be focused on bringing the books we send to life so that they can take readers on a journey into the books we send.
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I hope you all have a wonderful finish to 2016!
Much love,
Ashley
December 26, 2016
Soul Cry by Xavier J. Frazer
Title: Soul Cry: An Anthology
Author: Xavier J. Frazer
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
Xavier Frazer’s anthology is an epic thought provoking poetry thriller that takes you into the heart of Inner City life in Jamaica while addressing social issues, indulging in love and matters of the heart and human desire for self actualization, thus stimulating a global “Soul Cry”. The author encourages and challenges his audience to “accept the past, embrace the present, and while confidently preparing for the future”; a message conveyed with every cry of his soul. The metrical composition of this publication brings life to unspoken words and comfort to wounded souls as it renders its healing by casting light on real life situations. These poems will captivate your mind, body and soul as you embark on this inspirational journey of words. These powerful expressions have touched people worldwide; consequentially moving many to tears. Frazer’s ‘Soul Cry’ is a must read!
Review:
Soul Cry is a heartbreaking poetry anthology that explores the pain and trials of the human existence. The poems are raw and almost feel like diary entries when reading them. It is clear their Xavier J. Frazer put their heart and soul into these poems, and I found my heart breaking as I read along.
The most beautiful aspect of Frazer’s poems is that they don’t tend to follow a certain design, and that they are raw forms of emotion put onto paper. Each poem was different but based on the same theme of bittersweet feelings and pain that tend to be the underlying condition of the human experience.
Even though I felt that some of the poems didn’t flow well do to the free form structure, I enjoyed them because they weren’t altered and portrayed a form of emotion that isn’t often used in modern poetry. Frazer’s collection will resonate with anyone needing to find comfort through literature, and I am sure that these poems will save lives.
FOR BOOK REVIEW REQUESTS FILL OUT FORM: Book Review Request Form
IF BOOK REQUEST WEBSITE IS DOWN EMAIL: peachykeenreviews@gmail.com
December 25, 2016
Merry Christmas
Hello Everyone!
I hope you are enjoying this Christmas and holiday season with your loved ones. Make sure to take time with your families and just kick back for a few days! I also hope that your holiday is filled with mountains and mountains of books!
Merry Christmas from my family to yours,
Ashley
December 23, 2016
The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
Title: The Sun is Also A Star
Author: Nicola Yoon
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
Review:
Nicola Yoon has a gift. She understands how humans work and how the adolescent experience can shape a person and change them forever. I found The Sun Is Also A Star to be an important work of fiction for young adults and adult alike, and Yoon’s writing did not let me down.
The Sun Is Also A Star follows the lives of two star crossed teenagers, Natasha and Daniel. Both could not be more different from one another, but they both end up changing each other for the better. Even though this story line can be considered overdone, Yoon turned it into a poetic literary fiction that was very different from anything else I have read. Her characters were diverse and had great depth, and I fell in love with both of them. I could tell when reading Yoon’s novel that her heart and soul went into her work, and that is what I look for in an author.
The layout of Yoon’s books are always one of my favorite aspects of her writing. Each chapter in this novel is labeled after either Natasha or Daniel until they eventually meet and clash with one another. In this way, Yoon’s writing becomes more a collection of poetry than a novel, and it made for a quick read. Some chapters were also labeled after those surrounding Natasha and Daniel and by understanding some of the side characters better Yoon’s world came to life. She clearly outlined the personalities and lives of Natasha and Daniel before and after they meet one another, and the progression of their personalities and evolutions was remarkable. I have not read another author who can evolve characters as brilliantly as Yoon can in one short novel, and The Sun is Also A Star will stick with me for years to come.
To make a thing as simple as an apple pie, you have to create the whole wide world.
I highly recommend this novel to young adults and adults alike. It is clean and beautiful, and it will leave you changed.
FOR BOOK REVIEW REQUESTS FILL OUT FORM: Book Review Request Form
IF BOOK REQUEST WEBSITE IS DOWN EMAIL: peachykeenreviews@gmail.com
December 18, 2016
Payback by Michael Fitzgerald
Title: Payback
Author: Michael Fitzgerald
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
WHAT IF THE MAFIA AND FBI JOINED FORCES TO ASSASSINATE HITLER IN 1938? COULD IT HAVE SUCCEEDED? COULD IT HAVE PREVENTED WWII? COULD IT HAVE CHANGED THE WORLD?
The FBI colludes with the mafia to assassinate Hitler in the spring of 1938 during a state visit to Italy. Bugsy Siegel and his accomplice, a secret agent to keep the gangster’s volatile nature from erupting, are chosen to carry out the deed. With the help of the Italian mafia, conned into thinking the target is their bitter enemy Mussolini, the pair must avoid rival gangs and a wily Italian police inspector to avoid being caught or killed before they can even get close to Hitler. No one could have predicted the calamitous events their mission unleashes.
Review:
I have come to realize that plots that try to change history come with serious repercussions…and I love it. Payback is precisely one of these novels, and I couldn’t have been more pleased by the outcome of its plot.
Assassinating Hitler has been a popular topic as of late, and even though I have seen other novels discuss this possibility and the “what ifs” of it all, Payback brought more to the table. It is a novel filled with disaster and possibility, and Michael Fitzgerald didn’t hold anything back.
Fitzgerald’s writing is crisp and clear. He didn’t add unnecessary details or drama that could hinder this type of story, and he stuck straight to the facts. It was clear to me that he knows this time period well and prepped his novel in length to make sure that it was as factual as possible. I couldn’t put Payback down due to the historical intrigue, and I am sure that crime enthusiasts, as well as history buffs, will faun over it. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in WWII history as well as alternate history and crime!
FOR BOOK REVIEW REQUESTS FILL OUT FORM: Book Review Request Form
IF BOOK REQUEST WEBSITE IS DOWN EMAIL: peachykeenreviews@gmail.com
December 17, 2016
BOOK SALE! – Epic Fantasy
Hello Everyone!
I am excited to announce that one my favorite authors is offering her novel “Magic Price” for 99 cents on Kindle this weekend!
Ian Troy is one of the Shinree, a fallen people with an inherent addiction to magic. Scorned and reviled for the deadly side of their spells, the Shinree are bred as slaves. Their magic is suppressed by drugs and used only as it serves the purposes of the other races.
Descended from a long line of soldiers, Ian is conscripted into the Rellan army and made to fight in their longstanding conflict against the ruthless Langorian invaders. The downfall of Rella imminent, Ian goes against orders and turns to the Crown of Stones, an ancient Shinree relic of untold power. Ignorant of its true purpose, Ian uses the crown to end the war, and pays a terrible price.
A decade later, still tortured by the aftermath of that day, Ian lives as a bounty hunter in self-imposed exile. Having renounced his magical heritage, he curbs his obsession with a steady stream of wine and regret. He struggles to put it all behind him, until a fateful encounter with a pretty assassin brings Ian’s past crashing into the present.
Targeted by a rogue Shinree, and a ruthless old enemy, Ian is forced to use magic again. His deadly addiction is rekindled and his life of isolation is brought to a swift end. With the land he gave up everything to protect once more in jeopardy, and his people’s future at stake, Ian becomes embroiled in a violent race for control of the Crown of Stones. To save the realms and those he cares for, Ian must embrace the thing he fears most: his own power.
I highly recommend this novel, and this series, for those looking for a new epic fantasy series! It is original and beautifully written, and you are sure to love it.
Much love,
Ashley
FOR BOOK REVIEW REQUESTS FILL OUT FORM: Book Review Request Form
IF BOOK REQUEST WEBSITE IS DOWN EMAIL: peachykeenreviews@gmail.com
December 15, 2016
Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
Title: Everything Everything
Author: Nicola Yoon
Rating: 3/5
Synopsis:
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.
Review:
“Sometimes you do things for the right reasons and sometimes for the wrong ones and sometimes it’s impossible to tell the difference.”
Everything Everything is a novel that is many things at once. It is a tragedy, a romance, a coming of age, and a mystery. Nicola Yoon weaved in all of these elements beautifully into the story of Maddie, a teenage girl living with SCID, a rare disease that essentially makes it so that she can’t leave the house for fear of becoming sick due to the different allergens that she suffers from. The novel itself is written in short chapters, IM logs, pictures, and emails, and I found it to be an extremely entertaining and quick read.
Despite her condition, Maddie comes off as independent and sassy, but we soon find out that she does veil herself under the label of “the sick girl”. She doesn’t realize this fully until she comes to know the boy next door, Olly, and they begin to fall in love with one another. But what was beautiful about this interaction was that Yoon didn’t necessarily write this book as a tragic romance. She wrote it to be about a teenage girl who is getting to know her wants and needs for the first time in her life. Yoon has many insightful moments in the novel that connect well to the reader, and I felt that the story was trying to be so much more than it was.
However, my main critique of this novel is that the beginning seemed to drag, whereas the ending was rushed and too many things happened at once. Many of these things were not realistic and I felt like the novel was rushed to be finished. As soon as we get to see and understand who Maddie really is as a person Yoon cut her story short and left us with an ending that did not bring closure or understanding to the reader. I wish that Yoon had made the events in the ending more realistic and a bit more prolonged so that the book didn’t seem to end so abruptly. But I did appreciate her insights and the ideas that she based the novel on. She brought us many fascinating characters, but some of these characters, such as the mother, weren’t as developed as they could have been.
Overall, if I were still a teenager I would be swooning over this book. Teenage girls are sure to love it, and I am sure that it will be a classic in the YA world.
FOR BOOK REVIEW REQUESTS FILL OUT FORM: Book Review Request Form
IF BOOK REQUEST WEBSITE IS DOWN EMAIL: peachykeenreviews@gmail.com
December 14, 2016
Calling All Horror Authors!
Hello, Loves,
I am in dire need of indie horror authors! I am in the works of creating a second book subscription business featuring ONLY indie horror novels, and I would love to get to know some indie horror authors beforehand so that I can get a feel for some novels that I would like to feature. Since this is a MUCH under-served community, my goal is to help it grow by bringing indie horror novels to a bigger light. As someone who is extremely passionate about the horror written word, I would love to review your novels and help promote you.
If you are a horror author please do email me at peachykeenreviews@gmail.com. I will be reviewing multiple horror novels in the next few months and I would love to help market you! Please also feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested.
Much love,
Ashley
December 13, 2016
The Mortifications by Derek Palacio
Title: The Mortifications
Author: Derek Palacio
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
Derek Palacio’s stunning, mythic novel marks the arrival of a fresh voice and a new chapter in the history of 21st century Cuban-American literature.
In 1980, a rural Cuban family is torn apart during the Mariel Boatlift. Uxbal Encarnación—father, husband, political insurgent—refuses to leave behind the revolutionary ideals and lush tomato farms of his sun-soaked homeland. His wife Soledad takes young Isabel and Ulises hostage and flees with them to America, leaving behind Uxbal for the promise of a better life. But instead of settling with fellow Cuban immigrants in Miami’s familiar heat, Soledad pushes further north into the stark, wintry landscape of Hartford, Connecticut. There, in the long shadow of their estranged patriarch, now just a distant memory, the exiled mother and her children begin a process of growth and transformation.
Each struggles and flourishes in their own way: Isabel, spiritually hungry and desperate for higher purpose, finds herself tethered to death and the dying in uncanny ways. Ulises is bookish and awkwardly tall, like his father, whose memory haunts and shapes the boy’s thoughts and desires. Presiding over them both is Soledad. Once consumed by her love for her husband, she begins a tempestuous new relationship with a Dutch tobacco farmer. But just as the Encarnacións begin to cultivate their strange new way of life, Cuba calls them back. Uxbal is alive, and waiting.
Breathtaking, soulful, and profound, The Mortifications is an intoxicating family saga and a timely, urgent expression of longing for one’s true homeland.
Review:
Derek Palacio is a beautiful author. He brings to fiction the type of art that is necessary for poetry. I am always a fan of raw and real contemporary novels, and The Mortifications blew me away. Palacio brought to a wider audience the experience of a specific population, and he allowed the reader to connect to the characters though the reader had known the characters their whole life. From the first chapter I was drawn to the small Cuban family that the novel is centered around, and my heart broke for them again and again.
One of the techniques that I did like in this novel was that quotation marks were not used around the dialogue presented. This gave the novel a sense of being a story being told, and it made the reader connect better to the narrator. By doing this, Palacio gave us more insight into his narrator, and I found the technique to be strikingly beautiful.
I am always amazed when authors can describe how a character feels or what they are thinking in a way that reveals more than just the top layer of existence. One of my favorite quotes from the novel was:
“Hartford she understood as a machine, a contraption she might force herself into, but its clamor, all the life of the city, coalesced into a fugue noise, such that she felt herself submerges in a fugue state.”
Palacio clearly understands how humans think and feel, and he explains their actions and emotions in ways that they don’t even understand. I molded into The Mortifications like one would mold into an oversized mattress, and I have yet to come out.
