Book-review post!
Three YA titles this time around – all sequels, curiously enough.
Deirdre Sullivan – Improper Order
This is quirky and lovely and very, very sad in parts. The sequel to Prim Improper sees Primrose at fourteen, dealing with mean girls at school, messy friendships, her desire for True Love, and generally plotting and scheming her way through life. There is also lots more on her developing relationship with her dad, Fintan, who has some lovely moments in this (oh, god, there is a brilliant celebrating-Joel’s-coming-out scene) even though he is obviously still deeply embarrassing and perhaps not the best father in the world, and also Prim’s mum, sparked off by the release of the man who killed her in the hit-and-run accident two years previously. Even though it’s funny and delightful in places, it’s these bits that are just so sad – I think made sadder by the fact that this isn’t an immediate grief but something that’s always going to be there. Very much looking forward to the third book.
Daria Snadowsky – Anatomy of a Single Girl
I was delighted to see there’s a follow-up to Anatomy of a Boyfriend out now. This follows Dominique through the summer after her first year as a pre-med student, back at home for a couple of months and still getting over her ex, Wes, but also finding herself in a new situation with the very cute Guy. He doesn’t want a ‘forever’ thing, and she’s wary because of her previous experience, but there’s chemistry there and they eventually settle on a summer fling. As with the first book, there’s a focus on the sex part – not just the salacious details (and in the vein of Judy Blume’s Forever, there’s also a detailed ‘here’s how a gynaecological exam goes’ scene) but the emotional/chemical/hormonal side of it. Dom does get sucked into a ‘sex haze’ for a while with Guy, but it’s not love, and it’s not going to last. There’s also a lot going on with her best friend, Amy, who’s now in a steady long-distance relationship but still determined to ‘have fun’. (Some of the references to ‘being a tease’ are kind of problematic, but I think at least partially addressed in the text.) It’s really interesting to see a YA novel (I imagine this will possibly be labelled ‘new adult’, but… yeah) focus on this kind of a relationship without getting overly preachy; while there’s a lot of introspection and analysis there isn’t ever a sense that Dom should feel ‘wrong’ or ‘guilty’ for this fling. It helps if you’ve read the first book, but this also works as a standalone for older teens.
Beth Revis – Shades of Earth
Oh, I love this conclusion to the Across the Universe trilogy. Amy and Elder are finally getting down onto the planet – but there are monsters there, and other things to fear, including the reawakened ‘frozens’. Amy has her parents back, but there’s conflict between the military personnel and the ‘shipborns’ as they face the challenges of this new world. Without spoiling it too much, I will say: the stakes are really high, and there are some shocking things that happen. And also that the mystery and the reveal was very satisfying, and more convincing in many ways than had things been… as they seemed. (Is that vague enough for ya?) Even though this works as the conclusion, I’d love to see a fourth book possibly set several years down the line… so much potential there.
(okay, the spoilerish version below)
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People! I love that the aliens are just genetically modified humans, and also that it ties into the drugging we’ve seen previously. Even though it is a very alien planet, the concept of alien sentient life that could communicate with humans… it’s slightly less believable in many respects, and you want to avoid the ‘little green men’ idea or having aliens that are presented as totally different and yet being bipeds and breathing oxygen et al and basically human but not. (It was the biped thing that convinced me they had to be human – because the rest of the worldbuilding is so carefully thought out that it wouldn’t make sense for the aliens to be conveniently humanesque.)
And oh Amy’s mother! Heartbreaking. Completely. And then her dad. And the way that there is just so much death in this book, so much loss. I was prepared for losing Elder, but that was played rather nicely. Even so, Amy’s lost so much else that it doesn’t feel like quite a happy ending – yes, she has a new planet, and she has someone she loves, but she’s also so far removed from where she began. Achey.
And we get to learn more about the FRX and their creepiness. And technology evolves and marches on. (And tesseracts! And the Madeleine L’Engle shoutout with Dr Engle who is just the once given a first name, Maddie. Lovely.)
The fourth book that I would hope for would be about the FRX and other Earth types arriving at the planet, years after the two colonies have moved on a little bit but not quite from everything that’s gone before, and seeing Amy and Elder’s kid being caught in the middle, part shipborn and part modified-human. Keeping fingers crossed.
