The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 432

Publisher: Little Brown Books

Released: 4th of November 2014

730. That's how many days I've been trapped.

18. That's how many days I have left to find a way out.

DAI, trying to escape a haunting past, traffics drugs for the most ruthless kingpin in the Walled City. But in order to find the key to his freedom, he needs help from someone with the power to be invisible....

JIN hides under the radar, afraid the wild street gangs will discover her biggest secret: Jin passes as a boy to stay safe. Still, every chance she gets, she searches for her lost sister....

MEI YEE has been trapped in a brothel for the past two years, dreaming of getting out while watching the girls who try fail one by one. She's about to give up, when one day she sees an unexpected face at her window.....

What I Have to Say

This books was amazing. It had such an interesting setting, reading like a dystopia despite the fact that it was based on a real city that existed in China. It made everything so much more real and gritty. 

The characters were all really lovable, their traumatic pasts and the things they had to do to survive only served to make them more realistic and gain the readers sympathy. I don't think I even have a favourite out of the three characters, which is really unusual for me, normally I have a favourite from early on, but I warmed to all three of these characters pretty quickly.

I also liked the fact that the love subplot between Mei Yee and Dai was as hyped as it would have been in some other books, because the focus was on the plot, on escaping and getting out of the Walled City. Dai wanted to rescue Mei Yee, but he also wanted to rescue the other prostitutes and Jin. There wasn't the all consuming love that seems to be everywhere in YA. 

In short, this book was amazing. Historical fans, Dystopia fans, fans of other cultures, you'll all like this book. 

Book Haul #6

It's been far, far too long since I've done one of these, but I've had a lot of books recently so here they are!

All synopses from Goodreads or Netgalley respectively.

Netgalley

Rebel Wing by Tracy Banghart

The Dominion of Atalanta is at war. But for eighteen-year-old Aris, the fighting is nothing more than a distant nightmare, something she watches on news vids from the safety of her idyllic seaside town. Then her boyfriend, Calix, is drafted into the Military, and the nightmare becomes a dangerous reality.

Left behind, Aris has nothing to fill her days. Even flying her wingjet—the thing she loves most, aside from Calix—feels meaningless without him by her side. So when she’s recruited to be a pilot for an elite search-and-rescue unit, she leaps at the chance, hoping she’ll be stationed near Calix. But there’s a catch: She must disguise herself as a man named Aristos. There are no women in the Atalantan Military, and there never will be.

Aris gives up everything to find Calix: her home. Her family. Even her identity. But as the war rages on, Aris discovers she’s fighting for much more than her relationship. With each injured person she rescues and each violent battle she survives, Aris is becoming a true soldier—and the best flyer in the Atalantan Military. She’s determined to save her Dominion . . . or 

There's nothing I like more than tough girls flying planes. I've already started this and it's pretty good so far. Thanks Alloy Entertainment!

Mind Games by Teri Terry

In a future world, life is tightly controlled by the all-powerful PareCo. Standing out from the crowd is dangerous so misfit Luna hides her secrets carefully, not realising her own power. Unlike her friends and family, Luna has never been able to plug into Realtime, PareCo's virtual world, where almost everyone now lives their lives. So how do PareCo know about Luna, and why do they want her for their elite think tank?

The truth is hidden in a web of shining silver secrets, and the corrupt authorities would do anything to keep it that way. Can Luna find a way to use her own hidden powers and bring the truth to light before it's too late?

So excited to have this. Cannot wait to read it. Thank you so much Hatchette!

Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

Twig lives in a remote area of town with her mysterious brother and her mother, baker of irresistible apple pies. A new girl in town might just be Twig's first true friend, and ally in vanquishing an ancient family curse. A spellbinding tale of modern folklore set in the Berkshires, where rumours of a winged beast draw in as much tourism as the town's famed apple orchards.

This looks really interesting. I've never read anything by the author before, so I'm really looking forward to it. She seems like she writes the kind of thing I like. Thanks Simon and Schuster!

Physical Copies

The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis

Wherever you need to go--the Map to Everywhere can take you there.

To Master Thief Fin, an orphan from the murky pirate world of the Khaznot Quay, the Map is the key to finding his mother. To suburban schoolgirl Marrill, it's her only way home after getting stranded on the Pirate Stream, the magical waterway that connects every world in creation. With the help of a bumbling wizard and his crew, they must scour the many worlds of the Pirate Stream to gather the pieces of the Map to Everywhere--but they aren't the only ones looking. A sinister figure is hot on their tail, and if they can't beat his ghostly ship to find the Map, it could mean the destruction of everything they hold dear!

I'm really looking forward to this. It looks brilliant. Thanks Orion

Alice and the Fly by James Rice

Miss Hayes has a new theory. She thinks my condition's caused by some traumatic incident from my past I keep deep-rooted in my mind. As soon as I come clean I'll flood out all these tears and it'll all be ok and I won't be scared of Them anymore. The truth is I can't think of any single traumatic childhood incident to tell her. I mean, there are plenty of bad memories - Herb's death, or the time I bit the hole in my tongue, or Finners Island, out on the boat with Sarah - but none of these are what caused the phobia. I've always had it. It's Them. I'm just scared of Them. It's that simple.

Just started this and it's really good. Can't wait to carry on reading. 

Death & Co by D.J. McCune

Adam is a Luman, and it runs in the family. Escorting the dead from life into light, Adam must act as guide to those taken before their time. As his older brothers fall into their fate however, Adam clings to his life as a normal kid - one who likes girls, hates the Head and has a pile of homework to get through by Monday morning. When Adam gets a terrible premonition he realises that he must make a devastating choice, risking his life, his family and his destiny.

This looks like such an interesting book. I'm really hoping it will be a nice new series I can get into. Thanks Hot Key!

The Glory by Lauren St. John

A Girl on the Run from the Law

Alexandra Blakewood has everything any teenager could wish for, apart from the horse she'd love, but she won't stop getting into trouble. Sent to a US boot camp, she dreams of escaping. It seems impossible until she's told about a gruelling 1,200 mile horse race across the American West...

A Boy on a Mission to Save a Life

Will Greyton was the star student at his Tennessee high school until his father was laid off. Now Will works at a burger joint. When his dad falls ill, it seems things can't get any worse. An operation will save him, but there's no way to pay for it. Then Will hears about The Glory, a deadly endurance race with a $250,000 purse, open to any rider daring enough to attempt it... 

I've heard so many good things about Lauren St. John so I'm really looking forward to reading this. Thanks Orion! 

Brood by Chase Novak

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

My thanks go to BookBridgr and Mulholland Books for provide me with this copy. 

Pages: 320

Publisher: Mullholland Books

Released: 7th of October 2014

Two teenagers struggle with a horrific family legacy, and the woman who has adopted them fights for their lives--and her own.

Adam and Alice are reaching the age when some of the children created by the fertility treatment that spawned them begin to turn feral. Will they succomb to the same physiological horror that destroyed their parents? Every change brings on terror--the voice cracking as it changes, the swelling of the breasts, the coarsening of down into actual hair. Their aunt, Cynthia, oversees renovations to the Twisden family's Manhattan residence--torn apart by the children's parents at their most savage--and struggles to give her niece and nephew the unconditional love they never had. Meanwhile, in the world outside, the forces of good and evil collide as a troop of feral offspring threatens to invade the refuge Cynthia is so determined to construct behind the Twisdens' walls.

What I Have To Say

I had no idea that this was a sequel until about five minutes ago, so that shows I need to do more research into the books I review. But even so, it didn't read like a sequel. If books do then I normally stop reading until I can get the book before it. The issues I had with this book had nothing to do with it being a sequel as far as I can tell. 

I really just didn't get into it. The writing wasn't that thrilling to me, especially as there were a lot of characters to keep track of. But I think mostly it was that I wasn't in the mood for this sort of book. It was just a bit slow. 

I also thought that the children didn't show enough trauma. There was a sort of head nod to the trauma, but after what they'd been through it should have affected them and the other wild children, far more than it was in the book. 

This book wasn't bad, it just wasn't for me really. 

The Gatekeeper's Son by C.R Fladmark

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 348

Publisher: Shokunin Publishing Company

Released: 1st of October 2014

Junya’s grandfather is a billionaire who keeps the secret to his success hidden in a heavily guarded safe.

His mother is a martial artist who wields a razor-sharp katana—and seems to read his mind. 

And a mysterious girl in a Japanese school uniform can knock him over—literally—with just a look.

What do they know that he doesn’t?

Junya’s life takes a dangerous turn on his sixteenth birthday, when someone sets out to destroy not only the family’s business empire—the one that he’s set to inherit—but Junya himself. He’s fighting for his life, and doesn’t know who to trust. 

What has his family been keeping from him?

Junya’s journey takes him from the narrow streets of San Francisco to Japan, and through hidden portals to the top of the ancient Japanese Izumo Shinto shrine, to places where death and violence are a way of life. And in a mystical world he’s never imagined, he finds his true destiny.

What I Have To Say 

 This book got better as I got into it, but I had a lot of issues with it. I liked Junya's computer skills and how they were utilized in the plot and I quite liked Shoko's character in general. But I don't really think that the Japanese culture fitted into the story. It didn't seem to have a reason to be there except for the big shrine in Japan where all of it is supposed to have started.

Shoko had no reason at all to be wearing a Japanese school uniform in the middle of San Francisco except for possibly the fact that it gave her an excuse to were a tennis racket case to put her katana in (though why not have a proper case for it, since it isn't uncommon in Japan for students to carry cases to put their Bokken in for Kendo practice, they've already got her in a school uniform?). Since her people are supposed to come from another world where they don't wear modern clothing, there was no reason to have her in a Japanese school uniform. It would have made more sense to have her in regular clothes.

Also, I didn't like the way that Junya came into his powers, automatically knew how to use them and was amazing at it. I get that he had loads of training in martial arts from his mother throughout his childhood, but that doesn't really make someone good at magic... just at martial arts. He might have the mindset already... but surely he'd still need some sort of training to apply it to magic and learn to direct it?

This book just wasn't for me.

Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

My thanks go to the publisher for providing me with this review copy.

Pages: 448

Publisher: Orion

Released: 2nd of October 2014

The spiral has existed as long as time has existed. 

It's there when a girl walks through the forest, the moist green air clinging to her skin.

There centuries later in a pleasant green dale, hiding the treacherous waters of Golden Beck that take Anna, who they call a witch.

There on the other side of the world, where a mad poet watches the waves and knows the horrors they hide, and far into the future as Keir Bowman realises his destiny.

Each takes their next step in life.

None will ever go back to the same place.

And so their journeys begin...

What I Have To Say 

I chose to read this in the order it was put in the book. It was the most logical order and seemed the most easy since I was reading a paperback and was slipping reading time in whenever I could rather than reading it straight through. If I'd had other circumstances, I might have tried a different reading order, but to be honest, I'm pretty happy with the order I read it in. It made sense chronologically and had a nice sort of come together at the end. But I'd be interested to hear from people who chose to read it in a different order and how they found it. 

This book was a work of art. A lot of books that feel more like art than works of fiction feel like the art concept is overshadowing the actual enjoyment of the book. This one was better though. There was still a feeling that the art and the spiral metaphor of the whole thing was overshadowing the goal of making an entertaining story, but each little story was entertaining. 

The final one was pretty confusing though. It made my head hurt. But then often with that brand of sci fi, the confusion is half the fun. Still, I think it is worth reading, if you like Marcus Sedgwick or are just interested in all the myths and ideas surrounding spirals. It's an interesting read. 

Captive by A.J. Grainger

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 250

Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK Children's Books

Released: 9th of January 2015

I open my eyes. The cell is flooded with sunlight; the window is a slice of pale blue. Dust particles dance in the sparkling light, pirouetting in a golden line from the window to the opposite wall of the cell, where they seem to converge into shapes. It is like looking into a kaleidoscope. 

Dad isn't here. No one is, but me.
Robyn Knollys-Green is an A-list celebrity, famous for being the daughter of one of the world's most powerful men. But not even the paparazzi can find her now.

Robyn begins to realise that she is trapped in a complicated web of global corruption and deceit - and that the strange, melancholy boy who has been tasked with guarding her might not be an enemy after all . . .

What I Have To Say

I don't know where this new trend about Stockholm Syndrome has come from, but I don't like it. I think it's something that is hard to do well and that needs to be well researched. Most importantly, I think it cannot be romanticised. 

This book was a lot better at it than Black Ice was. Partly because the boy that she fell for was caught up in the terrorism and not so  much her captor as someone who was helping to guard her, but also because they acknowledged that it was weird and wrong. I think that's part of what's needed in this genre. It needs to be said that it's not a good thing at all. It's a syndrome and it's not real love. 

Aside from the romantic Stockholm Syndrome, this book was all right. It had a fair bit of tension and was enjoyable to read, which is pretty impressive since most of it took place inside a very small, white room. But it wasn't amazing. 

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by e.Lockhart

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 352

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Released: 6th of November 2014 (originally published 25th of March 2008) 

Fifteen-year-old Frankie Landau-Banks has grown up a lot over the summer. She's no longer daddy's little girl - and almost immediately after starting the new semester at her highly prestigious school, she bags goofy-but-gorgeous Matthew Livingston as her boyfriend. They get along great but then Frankie discovers that Matthew is a member of a boys-only secret society that specialise in 'hilarious' pranks. Which hardly seems fair... especially when Frankie knows she's smarter than any of its members. And to prove this, she's going to teach them a lesson.

Impersonating lead member Alpha by using a fake email account is surprisingly easy, and soon Frankie is setting the boys up with all sorts of ridiculous schemes and sending them on wild goose chase after wild goose chase. Alpha's not prepared to lose face and admit it's not him sending the emails - but the fun can't last forever, and soon Frankie will have to choose between what she think she wants, and the reputation she deserves. 

What I Have to Say 

This book was incredible. Often I don't like books about the highly intelligent people because it seems the books look down on those of us with more average school grades. I think it helped that there wasn't patronizing toward the lesser educated and that most of the humour was based on grammar, which I can always get on board with. 

The best bit about this book though was Frankie herself and the strong feminist character that she was. Perhaps her behaviour isn't the best role model, but her perspective of herself as a strong female 

who won't bow do to the male run society that she lives in is one that should inspire us all. 

I just adored this book from start to finish. All the pranks that Frankie and the Basset Hounds pulled were inspired and I loved the fact that Frankie was trying to promote certain messages and social change with the things she planned. 

Anyone who likes boarding school, feminism, social protests, secret societies or really anything really should read this book. 

Hiatus Notice

Due to it being NaNoWriMo, my reading time is being cut short a lot. I don't know how much this will effect the running of my blog. All I can say right now is that I don't have time to read a book before Monday.

I'm sorry for having to do this, I'm hoping to keep up as much as I can,  but expect the number of reviews to be patchy between now and December.

Thank you for reading my blog and see you all when I can!

The Bear by Claire Cameron

My thanks go to Random House for providing me with this review copy.

Synopsis (from official press release + Goodreads)

Pages: 280

Publisher: Vintage (Random House)  

Released: 6th of November 2014

Mummy never yells. Mostly not ever. Except sometimes.

Anna is five. Her little brother, Stick, is almost three. They are camping with their parents in Algonquin Park, in three thousand square miles of wilderness. It's the perfect family trip. But then Anna awakes in the night to the sound of something moving in the shadows. Her father is terrified. Her mother is screaming. Then, silence.

Alone in the woods, it is Anna who has to look after Stick, battling hunger and the elements to stay alive. Narrated by Anna, this is white-knuckle storytelling that captures the fear, wonder and bewilderment of our worst nightmares – and the power of one girl’s enduring love for her family.

What I Have to Say 

This book read like it was trying far to hard to be My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece. What the author was trying to do was fair enough, but I don't think it worked. I'm not convinced that a five-year-old wouldn't know what pins and needles felt like. I'm sure she would have experienced that before and her mother would have told her what it was. But no. Apparently not. 

Also, it was really, really annoying when she went off on a tangent, more accurate for a five year old, but not so much fun for the reader who is having to read through a story that's already been told a few times. Maybe five is too young to be a 1st person narrator. It would at least have to be better written than this to work. 

The only good thing I can really say about this book was the way it portrayed Anna's trauma. It's only in the final bit of the book, but it really shows how trauma, especially in one so young can be hidden beyond the knowledge of the person and only show in outside signs. 

I don't really recommend this book, but if you are interested in trauma in children then it might be interesting in that respect. 

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

My thanks go to Hodder and Stoughton as well as BookBridgr for providing me with this copy. 

Pages: 266

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton

Released: (first published) 1st of October 2009

Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls:

Goblin Fruit

In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?

Spicy Little Curses

A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.

Hatchling

Six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?

What I Have to Say

It's no secret how much I love Laini Taylor. Her words are so beautiful. I think I could be in love with everything she write. This though, was overshone a little by the illustrations. I don't know who the illustrator was, or if it was Laini Taylor herself, but if someone knows please comment to say, because they were so beautiful and such a great way to start and end each of the stories. 

The stories themselves were beautiful in plot and writing. They were the sort of fairytales I like, full of darkness, but with the romantic touch that made them more special. Taylor writes romance really well. 

I can honestly say that I adored every one of the stories in this book. It's sad that it's taken me so long to read this to be honest. But I'm really glad I did. 

The Fall by Bethany Griffin

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Orion 

Release: 2nd of October 2014

For Madeline, the House of Usher is a nightmare to live in - but impossible to leave - in this brand new Gothic novel from Bethany Griffin, author of the Masque of the Red Death sequence.
Madeline and her twin brother Roderick have the Usher name, the Usher house - and the Usher disease. Something is wrong with the family's blood - and it seems to have spread to the house itself. Sometimes Madeline even thinks that the house is alive... When Roderick is sent away to school, the house seems to want revenge on the one member of the Usher family left behind: Madeline herself.

What I Have To Say 

I didn't really find this that scary. It was creepy, but not too bad. As with The Masque of the Red Death the story and the writing was really good. Though I think I would have preferred more creepiness. More despair and desperation. I guess I was just expected more madness than there was.

I liked the concept of the house wanting and feeling things. I liked how Madeline was almost refering to it as another character. It really did make the house feel more alive, like a living creature.

This book really made me want to read the original story. I don't read much Poe, but I think I might start.

Looking forward to the next book from Bethany Griffin.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 337

Publisher: Headline

Released: 10th of April 2014 (first published 1st January 2014) 

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.

What I Have To Say 

I've said before that I'm not that into romance. It takes a special romance book to get me to really invest in the characters. As good as this book was, it's a perfect example about how I just don't care enough about whether the characters get together. 

Lucy and Owen were sweet together and I liked them both a lot. But I just assumed they'd get together again after the night of the blackout, so I just sort of trawled through the book waiting for it to happen. That's not the way to properly read a romance novel, is it? I was interested in their individual journey's, Owen's travels through states trying to find a place to make home, Lucy's explorations of London and Edinburgh. I think I was more interested in that then the romance. 

I'm coming across a bit harsh here. I enjoyed reading the book. I love Jennifer E. Smith's writing style. Owen and his father's struggles over losing Owen's Mother was suitably heartbreaking. Because those parts I was really interested in. Would Owen and his dad get over losing his mom? Would Lucy manage to find a way to connect with her parents again and find a home wherever they ended up? Would she ever get to Paris? To me these were way better stories than the romance. 

This is a really great book about travel and snail mail while trying to find a place to call home, just for me, it wasn't a love story. 

3.5 stars

The 100 by Kass Morgan

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 336

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Released: 1st of January 2013

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -- until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents -- considered expendable by society -- are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's son, came to Earth for the girl he loves -- but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope.

What I Have To Say

Let's be honest, I probably wouldn't have continued with the TV series of this if I'd had anything better to on a Monday night. It was there, it was watchable, I watched it. I got a little into it and when the book was available on Netgalley I decided that I would see if it was good.  It was so much better

Other than decent dialogue, it was actually hard to tell what the TV series lacked until I read the book, but now I can say without a doubt, it was lacking most in background and world building. In the book, the Arc is so much more constructed. There's society. There's castes. There's so much more culture than there was in the TV series and it made it so much more believable. 

The characters were better built too. They all had backstories and issues. Though I found some of the early flashbacks to be a bit unnecessary (did we really need to see how Clarke and Wells met? It was cute but completely unneeded) the later ones really helped to build up the characters in a way that we just didn't see in the series. 

Whether you watched the series or not, this book is definitely worth reading. It's so much better. 

3.5 stars

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 438

Publisher: Headline Review

Released: 1st of February 2012 (first published 1st of January 2011)

Alaska, the 1920s. Jack and Mabel have staked everything on a fresh start in a remote homestead, but the wilderness is a stark place, and Mabel is haunted by the baby she lost many years before. When a little girl appears mysteriously on their land, each is filled with wonder, but also foreboding -- is she what she seems, and can they find room in their hearts for her?

What I Have To Say 

This book started quite slowly. I found I didn't really get into it until Faina appeared for the first time and the book really started off. I honestly don't feel that much of the book up until that point was needed. I think the only thing that kept me reading was the fact that I knew something was going to happen eventually. But after that initial start, I really enjoyed it. 

Faina was a wonderful character, I loved the fairy tale feel of her, created both through the character herself and the lack of speech marks in the scenes she was in (which normally I don't like, but in this case it actually really worked). The fairy tale it was based on was actually one I'd never heard of before as well, so it was really interesting to learn about the story as it was explained in the book. Though I really want that lovely blue book that Mabel has now! It sounds beautiful even if it's in Russian. 

As I said, I didn't like the start of the book, and because of that, I didn't warm to Jack and Mabel very quickly. But as the book went on I fell in love with them almost as much as I did Faina. Mabel was very sweet and she was wonderful around Faina as well as on her own. Jack was so lost at first, especially with the doll. I also really like stories about the whole making a new life in some rural country and living off the land thing, frontier stories? Anyway, I think I just like the idea of living off the land and building your own home. I think it fit pretty well with the fairy tale side of the story. 

This book was real and hard-hitting in some places and magical in others. I think that Ivey managed to combine these two ideas really well. This is definitely a must read for fairy tale fans. 

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 266

Publisher: Children's Simon and Schuster UK

Released: 1st of October 2014

"I was sent here because of a boy. His name was Reeve Maxfield, and I loved him and then he died, and almost a year passed and no one knew what to do with me."

A group of emotionally fragile, highly intelligent teenagers are mysteriously picked for Special Topics English, tasked with studying Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar and keeping a journal. 

Each time the teens write in it they are transported to a miraculous other world called Belzhar - a world where they are no longer haunted by their trauma and grief - and each begins to tell their own story. 

What I Have To Say 

This didn't blow me away as much as I think it did other people. I'd heard good things about it, so I was prepared for something amazing.... but it fell a bit flat for me. It's a great story and Reeve aside I liked the characters and the idea behind it all. There was tension in all the right places and I did really enjoy it. 

The only thing that I can really pinpoint that put me off the whole thing was Reeve. He just felt like a stereotype British boy rather than a proper character. He liked Monty Python and Manchester United and wanted to go to Oxford. And the author was pointing out ever little place where the accent was different. Admittedly a real girl falling in love with a guy from a foreign country would possibly notice these things, but it just felt like she was constantly trying to remind the reader that he was British. It was unneeded. 

I will say this about the book though. I showed mental health well. Especially the main character, who I won't say too much about because of later reveals, but I felt that those reveals were needed in the genre of mental health genre (can we call it a genre yet? It's definitely starting). There's a lot of things about mental health that people see as being "attention seeking" or "overreacting" and I do think that showing these things in fiction for what they are, devastating illnesses that affect a lot of people, is the best way to start. 

If you don't mind overly stereotypical Britishness, read this book. 

 

3.5 Stars

The Witch of Salt and Storm by Kendall Kulper

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 384

Publisher: 4th of September 2014

Released: Orchard Books

Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants only to take her rightful place as the sea witch of Prince Island, making the charms that keep the island's whalers safe and prosperous at sea. But before she could learn how to control her power, her mother - the first Roe woman in centuries to turn her back on magic - steals Avery away from her grandmother. Avery must escape before her grandmother dies, taking with her the secrets of the Roe's power. 

The one magical remnant left to Avery is the ability to read dreams, and one night she foresees her own murder. Time is running short, both for her and for the people of her island who need the witches' help to thrive.

Avery has never read a dream that hasn't come true, but a tattooed harpoon boy named Tane tells her he can help her change her fate. Becoming a witch may prevent her murder and save her island from ruin, but Avery discovers it will also require a sacrifice she never expected. And as she falls in love with Tane, she learns it is his life and hers that hang in the balance.

What I Have To Say 

This is a lovely tale of expectations, coming of age, first love and magic. The vivid backdrop of the Whaling community on a small island gives a really intricate background to Avery's tale. It's obviously very well researched and the authors note at the end gives more details about the way Kulper created everything from the details of society to the magic system based on real details and superstitions. 

Avery was a really strong female character. Although the Roe women seemed to be based on the same mold (as was stated in the book) they did seem to have slight differences as can especially be seen between Avery's mother and Avery herself. But to me, Avery was the best. Determined to take her place in society and obstructed by destiny. 

I'm really looking forward to the next book and seeing how Avery gets on after the events of the book. I can see it being a struggle for her and hope the next book builds on Avery's character in the same really interesting way. I have high expectations for this author. 

Lockwood & Co. The Screaming Staircase and The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud

Synopsis of The Whispering Skull (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 322

Publisher: Doubleday Children's Books

Released: 25th of September 2014

SPOILERS FOR THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE

In the six months since Anthony, Lucy, and George survived a night in the most haunted house in England, Lockwood & Co. hasn't made much progress. Quill Kipps and his team of Fittes agents keep swooping in on Lockwood's investigations. Finally, in a fit of anger, Anthony challenges his rival to a contest: the next time the two agencies compete on a job, the losing side will have to admit defeat in the Times newspaper.

Things look up when a new client, Mr. Saunders, hires Lockwood & Co. to be present at the excavation of Edmund Bickerstaff, a Victorian doctor who reportedly tried to communicate with the dead. Saunders needs the coffin sealed with silver to prevent any supernatural trouble. All goes well-until George's curiosity attracts a horrible phantom.

Back home at Portland Row, Lockwood accuses George of making too many careless mistakes. Lucy is distracted by urgent whispers coming from the skull in the ghost jar. Then the team is summoned to DEPRAC headquarters. Kipps is there too, much to Lockwood's annoyance. Bickerstaff's coffin was raided and a strange glass object buried with the corpse has vanished. Inspector Barnes believes the relic to be highly dangerous, and he wants it found.

What I Have To Say 

Series in general

Lockwood is basically the Sherlock Holmes of ghost hunters. The books are written by his Watson, Lucy Carlyle, who I really, really like the voice of. She explains things well and has good insights on the other characters while being brave, dependable and keeps her head in danger. In short, she's wonderful. 

I can be very sensitive to horror, so I suppose it doesn't mean that much that these books terrified me. Though I think it was a mistake to read the first one late at night with all the lights off. In terms of horror, I think the fact that I'm slightly traumatised by it all is probably a good thing. I don't think I'm going to be sleeping properly for a while. 

The Whispering Skull

I felt this book was better in some ways than The Screaming Staircase. It was less scary, which is either a good or a bad thing depending on whether you like terrifying yourself. Though it was still lovely and creepy in many places, which I much prefer to outright horror. But it was also much more about humanity and obsession and even madness, which I always like more than murder and vengeance,

The whole basic of the story was around a haunted object and how the people around are drawn to it due to various reasons, the curse of the object itself, money ect. It was so much more interesting than the first book, which does make a lot of sense because a lot of first books in a series are kept quite simple to set up the series.

I also really loved the skull, who I'm honestly surprised they haven't named yet. He was so sarcastic a lot of the time and I loved the pure evilness of him, I don't know why, but I love it when evil characters help good characters because they want to get some thrill of satisfaction when they fail. Or any reason that isn't because they're secretly good or whatever. I just love a good evil character.

And that ending! When's the next book coming out?

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 295

Publisher: 9th of September 2014

Released: Scholastic Press

From two bestselling superstars, a dazzling and magical middle-grade collaboration centering on the students of the Magisterium, an academy for those with a propensity toward magic. In this first book, a new student comes to the Magisterium against his will -- is it because he is destined to be a powerful magician, or is the truth more twisted than that? It's a journey that will thrill you, surprise you, and make you wonder about the clear-cut distinction usually made between good and evil.

What I Have to Say 

I know some people have disliked this and I'm not sure why. If it's because it's an average boy wizard story seems a bit close to Harry Potter then I have some advice. Read on. Because that is absolutely not what it is. I don't want to give away spoilers so I can't go into exactly what it is. But it's the sort of book that I've always wanted to read and have never found written by a decent writer. I cannot wait for the next book. 

The writing was interesting in style. I've not seen many books written by two authors where you can't tell that, well, it's written by two authors. Cassie Clare and Holly Black blended their styles together so well that it created something new, unique to either of them in a completely seamless book. 

As with all books like this, characters are very important. If you don't like any one of the main three then you won't like the book. But I really loved Call, Aaron and Tamara. Especially Tamara. She's so strong and has a great back story with her family. I also love Havoc. I know I always go gooey over animals but really, Havoc was both adorable and really interesting. 

I'm really thinking that this could become a great series. I can't wait for the next book! 

Book Haul #5

I haven't been getting as much recently, so I haven't done this in a while (and keep forgetting when I have had something to post). But here are some books I've received lately.

All Synopses are from Netgalley or BookBridgr respectively.

Netgalley

The Witch of Salt and Storm by Kendall Kulper

Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants only to take her rightful place as the sea witch of Prince Island, making the charms that keep the island's whalers safe and prosperous at sea. But before she could learn how to control her power, her mother - the first Roe woman in centuries to turn her back on magic - steals Avery away from her grandmother. Avery must escape before her grandmother dies, taking with her the secrets of the Roe's power.

The one magical remnant left to Avery is the ability to read dreams, and one night she foresees her own murder. Time is running short, both for her and for the people of her island who need the witches' help to thrive.

Avery has never read a dream that hasn't come true, but a tattooed harpoon boy named Tane tells her he can help her change her fate. Becoming a witch may prevent her murder and save her island from ruin, but Avery discovers it will also require a sacrifice she never expected. And as she falls in love with Tane, she learns it is his life and hers that hang in the balance.

.I like books about witches like this. Historical or sort of historical with different opinions about witches. I'm hoping for a bit of persecution but we'll see. Thanks Hachette! 

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

I was sent here because of a boy. His name was Reeve Maxfield, and I loved him and then he died, and almost a year passed and no one knew what to do with me.

A group of emotionally fragile, highly intelligent teenagers gather at a therapeutic boarding school where they are mysteriously picked for 'Special Topics in English'. Here, they are tasked with studying Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar and keeping a journal.

Each time the teens write in their diaries they are transported to a miraculous other world called Belzhar, a world where they are no longer haunted by their trauma and grief - and each begins to tell their own story.

This looks really interesting. I can't wait to read it. Though I feel that having emotionally fragile teenagers reading Sylvia Plath is not going to end well. Thanks Simon and Schuster. 

The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black 

Think you know magic? 

Think again.

The Magisterium awaits . . .

Most people would do anything to get into the Magisterium and pass the Iron Trial.

Not Callum Hunt. 

Call has been told his whole life that he should never trust a magician. And so he tries his best to do his worst – but fails at failing.

Now he must enter the Magisterium. 

It's a place that's both sensational and sinister. And Call realizes it has dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.

The Iron Trial is just the beginning. Call’s biggest test is still to come . . .

I actually managed to buy and read this before getting approved on Netgalley (review on Monday). Thanks Random House. 

Lockwood & Co. The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud

Ghosts and ghouls beware! London’s smallest, shabbiest and most talented psychic detection agency is back. 

Life is never exactly peaceful for Lockwood & Co. Lucy and George are trying to solve the mystery of the talking skull trapped in their ghost jar, while Lockwood is desperate for an exciting new case. 

Things seem to be looking up when the team is called to Kensal Green Cemetery to investigate the grave of a sinister Victorian doctor. Strange apparitions have been seen there, and the site must be made safe. As usual, Lockwood is confident; as usual, everything goes wrong – a terrible phantom is unleashed, and a dangerous object is stolen from the coffin. 

Lockwood & Co must recover the relic before its power is unleashed, but it’s a race against time. Their obnoxious rivals from the Fittes agency are also on the hunt. And if that’s not bad enough, the skull in the ghost-jar is stirring again…

I finished the first Lockwood book yesterday and it stopped me sleeping. So here's hoping this book is just as good. (Review of both on Thursday provided I read fast enough). Thanks Random House!

A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond

I'm the one who's left behind. I'm the one to tell the tale. I knew them both... knew how they lived and how they died."

Claire is Ella Grey's best friend. She's there when the whirlwind arrives on the scene: catapulted into a North East landscape of gutted shipyards; of high arched bridges and ancient collapsed mines. She witnesses a love so dramatic it is as if her best friend has been captured and taken from her. But the loss of her friend to the arms of Orpheus is nothing compared to the loss she feels when Ella is taken from the world. This is her story - as she bears witness to a love so complete; so sure, that not even death can prove final.

The first 200 or so pages of this are great, but due to technical difficulties, I can't seem to read the rest. The review may have to wait until the book is out. Thanks Hachette. 

The 100 by Kass Morgan

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -- until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents -- considered expendable by society -- are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's son, came to Earth for the girl he loves -- but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope.

I've been watching the TV series of this on E4 and, dialogue aside, it's enjoyable to watch. I figured the book is probably better so I thought I'd give it a go. Thanks Little Brown Books.

Bookbrigr

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 

Alaska, the 1920s. Jack and Mabel have staked everything on a fresh start in a remote homestead, but the wilderness is a stark place, and Mabel is haunted by the baby she lost many years before. When a little girl appears mysteriously on their land, each is filled with wonder, but also foreboding: is she what she seems, and can they find room in their hearts for her?

This looks so awesome! Not just because it's based on a Russian Fairytale. Really looking forward to reading it. Thank you Tinder Press!

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Macmillan for providing me with this e-copy. 

Pages: 272

Publisher: Swoon Reads (Macmillan Children's Books)

Released: 26th of August 2014

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out.  But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship. 

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

What I Have to Say 

This book, without a doubt, is the best romance I have ever read. 

With Romance a very important part of the appeal is wanting the characters to succeed and live happily ever after. Which is part of the reason I don't read that many romance books. Quite often I just don't care about whether the characters end up together or not. But I definitely, definitely wanted Gabe and Lea to get together and was getting as frustrated as the other characters in the book when they kept dancing around each other. 

I think that this is partly down to the way it's written, and also just the adorableness of Gabe and Lea as a couple, naturally. The different perspectives and the way they all start shipping Gabe and Lea, trying to push them together, just seemed to make it so easy to fall into the obsessiveness that is Gabe and Lea watching. 

The perspectives are really wonderful. It's a very fresh way of reading romance, as the title suggests. I found myself really liking some of the more obscure characters, the bus driver, Victor and the squirrel. I really think that the squirrel was the best one. Though I am a sucker for animal points of view in general. I did think at one point that maybe Gabe and Lea would take in the squirrel and help him recover from his starvation over the winter when he lost his acorns, but I guess their help was not needed in the end (it would have been cute though). 

I can't honestly think of a single thing not to love about this book, except perhaps that I wish there had been more of it (but then that might have been more of Gabe and Lea being shy and taking even longer to get together. Torture!), Just go and read it, because it's definitely one of the best books I've ever read. 

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 392

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Released: 7th of October 2014

Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn't prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there... and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.

But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

What I Have To Say

I know there has been a lot of negative talk about this book. I seem to be one of the only few who actually liked it. So I'm going to start this review with a paragraph of just my opinions as I'm easily swayed by other people. Then I'm going to look at the reviews on Goodreads and write some more paragraphs on what I think after the flaws have been pointed out. 

I really liked the tension in this book. I felt that there were cliffhangers in the right pages and it kept me reading even when I should have been sleeping, which everyone knows is the sign of a good book. The romance was a little.... Stockholm Syndrome-y? And that was a little weird... But I could see the connection between them and I've honestly read worse books. I quite liked Britt as well. Her friend was completely incapable, but I felt Britt had a good head on her shoulders (unless it came to creepy guys who may or may not have killed people....). 

After reading some reviews, I feel that most people are hating on Britt because she is naive, immature and spoilt. I agree on the spoilt. But other than that... I just... She is a teenager. I have to say that most teenagers are at least a little bit naive and immature. I know I was at that age and it's true that there are exceptions, but word immature... it basically means that you need time to mature. Teenage hood is the time in which you mature... So obviously books about teenagers are going to have some immature characters. I think that the whole thing about Black Ice is that Britt is matured by her journey, by the danger she faces and how she handles it. The thing with Jude being an exception, which I'm just not going to go into, I feel that the Britt we see at the end of the novel is a much more mature and self-reliant Britt, who admits her failings and tries to improve on them. I feel that people are complaining about something which is the entire point of the novel. 

Also Britt's friendship. Yes, it's terrible. Yes, Korbie is a real bitch. Yes, the friendship isn't good. But it's something that can happen in real life. I have actually had friends like that. Do friendships in books really have to be good? 

I'm sure that people will disagree with me, but these are my opinions. I'm not meaning to attack teenagers, I'm just saying that SOME teenagers are like this. 

3.5 Stars