Sunday, August 31, 2014

Review - Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters
by Barack Obama
illustrated by Loren Long
Date: 2010
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

In this tender, beautiful letter to his daughters, President Barack Obama has written a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation. From the artistry of Georgia O'Keeffe, to the courage of Jackie Robinson, to the patriotism of George Washington, President Obama sees the traits of these heroes within his own children, and within all of America’s children.

Breathtaking, evocative illustrations by award-winning artist Loren Long at once capture the personalities and achievements of these great Americans and the innocence and promise of childhood.

This beautiful book celebrates the characteristics that unite all Americans, from our nation’s founders to generations to come. It is about the potential within each of us to pursue our dreams and forge our own paths. It is a treasure to cherish with your family forever.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I saw this book at the library, and I was curious.  President Obama as a children's book author?  It was only forty pages, so I decided to give it a shot.

This is a sweet little book that celebrates a father's love for his daughters while imparting a sense of history and national pride.  Since I'm not an American, I was a little nervous, wondering if it would have an overly patriotic vibe.  But it didn't.  It manages to proudly share the stories of some of the country's most notable historical figures while not going overboard with the patriotism.

I absolutely loved the illustrations in this book.  They're adorable, yet not cutesy, which makes the book suitable for boys as well as girls.  There are even a couple of illustrations of the first family's dog, Bo, which are super cute.

There is a section at the end that gives a little more information about each of the historical figures, so kids who are interested in one or more of these people could use this book as a starting point for learning more.  All in all, it's a nice little book that imparts some information and helps American kids learn about their history... with beautiful illustrations to highlight the experience.

Quotable moment:

Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?
How the sound of your feet
running from afar
brings dancing rhythms to my day?
How you laugh
and sunshine spills into the room?

Recommended to: kids who are interested in historical figures; anyone who appreciates well-illustrated children's books

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.83 out of 5

Review - A Time to Dance

A Time to Dance
by Padma Venkatraman
Date: 2014
Publisher: Penguin Books
Reading level: YA
Book type: verse novel
Pages: 320
Format: e-book
Source: library

Padma Venkatraman’s inspiring story of a young girl’s struggle to regain her passion and find a new peace is told lyrically through verse that captures the beauty and mystery of India and the ancient bharatanatyam dance form. This is a stunning novel about spiritual awakening, the power of art, and above all, the courage and resilience of the human spirit.

Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Well, it had to happen sometime: I found a verse novel that I dislike.  And it's funny because I think I might have liked this book more if it had been written in prose instead.  The verse format just didn't work here.  Actually, quite a few things didn't work... but the format may have been part of the reason for those as well.

I thought the story sounded interesting, and I hoped that the Indian setting would be beautiful and evocative.  Unfortunately, the story was barely there -- this was more of a character study than anything -- and the setting wasn't described well enough for me to really get a sense of the place.  There were moments when the Indian setting came alive, but those moments weren't consistent.  As a result, large chunks of the book felt like they could have taken place anywhere.

I can overlook a lackluster plot if the characters make up for it.  In this case, they didn't.  The story is told by a teenager named Veda, who is a bharatanatyam dancer.  At the beginning of the story, she is focused on being the best and winning competitions.  We really don't know much about her, other than that.  So when she loses her right leg in a bus crash (on the way home from her triumphant win at a dance competition, no less) it quickly becomes obvious just what kind of character Veda is... and that is, not much of one.  For most of the rest of the book, there is little in the way of character development; instead, Veda becomes defined by her disability.  Strangers ask inappropriate questions in the street.  Her classmates make stump jokes.  Her old dance teacher kicks her out because she can't dance like she used to.  And Veda spends a lot of time floating through her life, feeling sorry for herself at times, but often not showing much emotion at all.

One of the biggest problems with the characters in this book was the dialogue.  I think the author was trying to make the speech poetic (perhaps to better fit with the verse novel format), but more often than not, it came across as stilted and silly.  Veda, her best friend, and her love interest -- all teenagers -- at times sounded like mature adults using very formal speech.  They spouted off such overly mature dialogue that it was unrealistic and unbelievable.  It was as if all of the characters were following some script where they said what they were supposed to say.  As a result, it came off like a school play that was written by a second grader.  One character would say how they were feeling, another would rattle off some platitude, and the first would acknowledge how right they were and thank them for making them feel better.  I just didn't buy it.

We were also treated to some forced romance.  I say forced because it was quite obvious that the relationships didn't happen organically.  The first quasi love interest was Jim, Veda's prosthetist.  Of course he's much older than her and the reader knows that nothing can come of it, but I thought, at first, that their interaction and Veda's crush were cute.  However, once the second love interest, Govinda, was introduced, I grew worried that something unrealistic or overly convenient would happen to get Jim out of the picture.  I wasn't wrong.  He went from being an altruistic, nice guy who really loved India to a condescending, distant man who couldn't wait to go back to America... and there didn't appear to be any reason for the switch, other than to highlight Govinda as the better love interest.  As for Govinda himself... I didn't like him.  He's a teenaged boy, a dancer and teacher of the beginners' class that Veda takes after her previous teacher rejects her.  Govinda is portrayed as practically perfect: handsome, kind, patient, and respectful of his parents.  He also speaks like an 80-year-old yogi.  It got a bit annoying after a while.  He was just too... nice.  Unrealistically so.

Once Govinda was in the picture, things went from bad to worse.  At one point, in the midst of a bout of phantom pain so strong that it prevented her from sleeping, Veda -- sweating and desperate -- actually prayed to Shiva for romance advice.  This was near the end of the book; had it been earlier, I probably would have laughed and tossed the book into the DNF pile.  Priorities, girl!

Overall, I was disappointed.  Had this book been written as a prose novel, with more room to develop the characters and setting, it might have worked better.  On the other hand, if the dialogue were as silly as it was here, it might not matter.  The best thing about this book is its pretty cover; unfortunately, beyond that, it fails on almost every level.

Quotable moment:

My heels strike the ground fast as fire-sparks.
Streams of sweat trickle down my neck.
My black braid lifts into the air, then whips around my waist.
Nothing else fills me with as much elation
as chasing down soaring music,
catching and pinning rhythms to the ground with my feet,
proud as a hunter rejoicing in his skill.

Recommended to: readers who enjoy foreign settings, though only if they've got good enough imaginations to fill in the gaps themselves

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
Pace: 2/5
Writing & Editing: 2/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 ladybugs

In My Mailbox (77)



Borrowed from the library:
A Time to Dance
by Padma Venkatraman

Padma Venkatraman’s inspiring story of a young girl’s struggle to regain her passion and find a new peace is told lyrically through verse that captures the beauty and mystery of India and the ancient bharatanatyam dance form. This is a stunning novel about spiritual awakening, the power of art, and above all, the courage and resilience of the human spirit.

Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her.

Bought from Amazon.ca:
A Stone in My Hand
by Cathryn Clinton

The year is 1988 in Gaza City, and it has been a month since eleven-year-old Malaak’s father left to seek work in Israel, only to disappear. Every day Malaak climbs to the roof and waits, speaking little to anyone, preferring the company of the little bird she has tamed. But her twelve-year-old brother, Hamid, has a different way of coping. He feels only anger, stoked by extremists who say violence is the only way to change their fate. Malaak’s mother begs him to stay away from harm, but Malaak lives in fear of losing her brother as well. What will it take for her to find her voice—and the strength to move past the violence that surrounds her?


What was in your "mailbox" this week?  Let me know in the comments!


In My Mailbox was started by Kristi of The Story Siren.

Weekly Recap - August 24-30, 2014

Here's what I blogged about over the last seven days:

Sunday - I shared what I got In My Mailbox.  Two e-book freebies!

Monday - I reviewed Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor and gave it 4.29 ladybugs.  That was one of the best wrap-ups to a YA trilogy that I've ever read!

Tuesday - I participated in the Top Ten Tuesday meme.  This week we talked about the books that we really want to read but don't own yet.

Wednesday - I reviewed Future Flash by Kita Helmetag Murdock and gave it 2.14 ladybugs.  Needless to say, I wasn't that impressed (but at least it was a short book)!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Review - Future Flash

Future Flash
by Kita Helmetag Murdock
Date: 2014
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Reading level: MG
Book type: prose novel
Pages: 208
Format: e-book
Source: library

For as long as she can remember, Laney has been having “future flashes”—visions of the future that she sees when she makes physical contact with another person. Left on a doorstep as a baby, Laney’s past has always been cloudy to her, despite the clarity with which she can see the future. Her caretaker, Walt, claims to be her father, but Laney has a nagging suspicion that he isn’t quite telling her the entire truth. And when a new kid, Lyle, moves to her small town, Laney is dreading meeting him—she almost always gets a future flash when first meeting someone new, and the flashes aren’t always good. Unfortunately, her meeting with Lyle isn’t just bad; it’s painful. Engulfed in flames, Lyle’s future flash is the worst Laney’s ever experienced. But what does it mean? Is there anything Laney can do to change the future? And will she be able to save Lyle not only from a fiery death but also from the merciless class bully without becoming a victim of his antics herself?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This book was so frustrating.  It had the potential to be really good.  Unfortunately, there were a number of things that kept it from being anything more than a bland, preachy, condescending criticism of bullying.

The first thing I noticed was the use of stereotypes instead of well-developed characters.  I nearly stopped reading when I first encountered Ms. Fontane, the gym teacher: the 300-pound, lazy gym teacher who sits in a chair, sweating and panting, while instructing (not demonstrating, of course) her students how to dance.  And that was just the beginning.  We've also got a crazy cat lady with literally dozens of cats, and an irresponsible local shelter that keeps allowing her to take more, even though her house stinks of cat pee; the redheaded boy with freckles who wears a t-shirt with the periodic table on it, who immediately gets picked on by the local bully, and who has allergies that make him sneeze (because a nerd's not a nerd without allergies); the "bad seed" who used to be a nice kid, but who apparently lost his mind when his parents divorced and now goes around violently assaulting his classmates and setting fire to action figures; and the unwashed shut-in who can apparently move house over and over again in the space of three years, but somehow can't muster the energy to change out of her bathrobe and open the front door.  The main character, Laney, isn't much better.  She dresses in black (instead of pink, like the other girls at school) and likes to draw and paint.  I also had a big problem with her character because she was the narrator.  The book is told in first person, present tense.  The problem is that Laney is twelve but her voice sounds more like an adult.  And yet, at times, she comes across as stupid or as if she has a memory impairment; she tends to remember things only when they're convenient, or after the reader has already remembered them.

The writing was also pretty bad.  There were numerous typos, comma splices, said bookisms, and homophone mistakes all over the place (callous/callus, peak/peek, chord/cord).  The author didn't seem to know the difference between lie and lay, and thus had characters "laying" all over the place.  (What were they laying?  Eggs?)  I wondered if perhaps she did this because Laney might not have known the difference... but I kind of doubt it.

But the worst part was that so many things seemed contrived for convenience.  At one point in the story, Laney draws a picture of her classmate on fire, and gets in trouble with the teacher.  The teacher doesn't call home until days later... when it's convenient to the plot.  Then there was the extended conversation in a burning hallway that stretches the limits of credulity, fire behaviour, animal behaviour, and human physiology.  This is when Laney dumps an important piece of information on the reader right at the height of the climax, one that ultimately helps resolve the plot.  When this happens, I pretty much lose all respect for the author.  These sorts of things need to be properly set up, or they come across as contrived.

The final paragraph left me convinced that this was nothing but a preachy little book for middle schoolers with the message that bullying is bad and that you need to tell an adult.  The message is not sophisticated or nuanced at all; it pretty much hits you over the head.  And that's disappointing, because the potential was there for this to be a good story.  I'm not saying the message needed to be done away with completely, but it could have been a little more subtle.  I feel like I was deceived into reading this book, because I expected something quite different.  It was like someone had tricked me into eating broccoli when what I thought I was getting was dessert.

Quotable moment:

I've never seen a dead person before. A tear trickles from Lyle's closed eye down the side of his right cheek. I saw a dead deer last year in the back of a pickup truck at the gas station. Its eyes were unblinking and tear-free. Aside from the slow-moving tear, Lyle is perfectly still.

"Are you dead?" I ask him. He lets out a small snort but doesn't move.

"I wish," he says after a minute.

Recommended to: middle graders who don't mind overly didactic stories

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing & Editing: 2/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall Rating: 2.14 out of 5 ladybugs

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books I Really Want To Read But Don't Own Yet

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Books I Really Want To Read But Don't Own Yet.  I wasn't sure I could come up with ten.  I really shouldn't have come up with ten; my TBR pile is big enough to keep me going for ages, without adding more books that I want to read:

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill - I actually do own this one... but as an audiobook.  I think I'd prefer to read it, though.  So that's why it made the list.

A Dream of Lights by Kerry Drewery - I can count the number of novels I've read with North Korea as a setting on one hand.  This one looks really good.

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares - Time travel... yay!  I really enjoyed this author's novel about reincarnation, My Name Is Memory.  I'm hoping this one will be just as good.

The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones - The final novel from a master of storytelling, completed by her sister, Ursula.  I'm curious about this one...

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson - I really enjoyed The Adoration of Jenna Fox by the same author.  This book looks like it has an interesting plot... and I've read some very positive reviews!

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver - I've been wanting to read something else by Lauren Oliver ever since I read -- and loved -- Before I Fall.

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd - This one looks really cute.  And I love the title!

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray - A love story that transcends universes.  Sounds like a good one!

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling by Lucy Frank - Another verse novel!  I love these things... but they're not that easy to find.  When I hear about one that looks interesting, it goes on my to-read list.

Under the Light by Laura Whitcomb - I've been wanting to read this one ever since I heard it was coming out.  The first book, A Certain Slant of Light, is one of my favourite YA titles.


What are some books that you really want to read but don't own yet?

Monday, August 25, 2014

Review - Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3)
by Laini Taylor
Date: 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Reading level: YA
Book type: prose novel
Pages: 624
Format: e-book
Source: library

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?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Well, that was... epic.  I don't know if I've ever enjoyed the final book of a series or trilogy so much.  If I have, it's been a long time since then.

Laini Taylor did an amazing job of building these fantastic worlds, populating them with remarkable characters, and setting the story in motion through a complex web of events that could have easily been one big chaotic mess in the hands of a lesser author.  Resolutions that might have seemed like cases of deus ex machina made perfect sense in light of the groundwork that had previously been laid.  New characters that were introduced didn't seem like conveniences so much as essential parts of the story that fit perfectly into the puzzle of the whole.

While Daughter of Smoke & Bone was mostly Karou's story, and Days of Blood & Starlight really belonged to Karou and Akiva, Dreams of Gods & Monsters switches between even more points of view, bringing minor characters into the forefront.  I thought the characterization of Karou and Akiva did suffer a little bit because of this, but since we already know the main characters from the previous books, it didn't have a huge detrimental effect.  I honestly don't know how else the story could have been told; it was huge and ambitious, and limiting the points of view to just the main characters would have done the whole book a disservice.

I did have a couple of minor complaints.  One was to do with the English language as a default (which I also noticed in Days of Blood & Starlight).  Some of the plays on words simply would not be possible in languages other than English... and yet, there they are.

My other complaint was the length.  I can't really think of what could have been cut (since cutting anything would have sacrificed some beautiful writing), but I found myself a bit bogged down at times.  At upwards of six hundred pages (making it about 100 pages longer than the second book and 200 pages longer than the first), it's a bit intimidating... especially when Taylor's immense vocabulary forces you to the dictionary every few pages.  For that reason, I might hesitate to recommend this book to younger YA readers, particularly if they didn't absolutely love the first two books.

Setting those two small issues aside, I really enjoyed the whole series.  It's intelligent, thoughtful, imaginative, romantic, emotional, and satisfying... which is something I've been looking for in a YA series for a while.  I hope Laini Taylor continues to write and grace us with her beautiful imagination.

Quotable moment:

The feeling, it was the sense of waiting drawing to an end. Not dread waiting, but excited waiting of the best kind: waiting for magic.

Recommended to: fans of the first two books; readers who like fantasies with amazing world-building and well-developed characters

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing & Editing: 5/5
Originality: 5/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4.29 out of 5 ladybugs

Sunday, August 24, 2014

In My Mailbox (76)



Dang freebies.  Okay, okay... it's awesome to get freebies.  But my TBR pile isn't thanking me!

Freebie from Amazon.ca:
Freak of Nature (IFICS #1)
by Julia Crane

Donate Body to Science. Check.

When seventeen-year-old Kaitlyn checked the box, she never suspected she’d have her life–and her body–stolen from her. She awakens one day in a secret laboratory to discover that her body is now half-robot and is forced to hide her own secret: that she still has human emotions and a human mind. If the scientists who made her find out, they’ll erase what remains of who she was.

Kaitlyn finds an unlikely ally in Lucas, a handsome, brilliant scientist who can’t get over the guilt he feels knowing she was once a vibrant, beautiful young woman. He never expected a science project to affect him the way she does. As he tries to help her rediscover her past, he finds himself falling for the brave girl struggling to find her place and acceptance between the human and computer worlds.

The Secret
by Taylor Hart

Seventeen-year-old Delanie Hart has a past she wants to keep hidden. Moving to a new state and attending a new high school seems to be just the thing — until she accidentally sees a mark exactly like her own. When the people she is running from come after her, Lanie is left with a choice — give up what she wants or save her friends.


What was in your "mailbox" this week?  Let me know in the comments!


In My Mailbox was started by Kristi of The Story Siren.

Weekly Recap - August 17-23, 2014

Here's what I blogged about over the last seven days:

Sunday - I shared what I got In My Mailbox.  I got way too many books this week...

Tuesday - I participated in the Top Ten Tuesday meme.  This week we talked about the top ten books people have been telling us we must read.

Friday - I didn't actually blog it, per se, but I did remove the four non-fiction reviews I had on this site.  Now it's 100% fiction, from children's picture books all the way to adult novels.  I changed any relevant links to point to Goodreads, which is where those reviews are now.  (In case you're curious, those books are: Memories of the Afterlife, Messages from Michael, The Power, and The Spiral Draw Book.)  I still read non-fiction from time to time; if I review those books, it'll be done on Goodreads.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books People Have Been Telling Me That I MUST Read

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Books People Have Been Telling Me That I MUST Read.  I don't get that many book recommendations, really.  Not personal ones, anyway.  Here are the top ten books that I've gathered (through reading online reviews, comments, etc.) that I really should read:

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill - I wanted to read this one, but NetGalley wouldn't let me.  Boo.  I did get a freebie of the audiobook (unabridged), but I think I might prefer to read it rather than listen to it.  I've heard mostly positive reviews about this book; it sounds amazing!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Yeah, I know, I know.  Why haven't I read this one yet?  Well, I had it from the library as an e-book, but I didn't get through it in time.  So I bought it in paperback, thinking I'd finish.  But I didn't... and now I can't remember what I already read, so I'll have to go back and start from the beginning.  I really should do that...

Carrie by Stephen King - Confession time: I have never read a Stephen King novel.  *ducks incoming tomatoes*  I've been meaning to do so for years, but books like The Stand and Under the Dome are just too intimidating.  Seriously... I don't want to have to take up bodybuilding just to hold up a book.  So I thought I'd start a little smaller and go back to the beginning.  (Please note that I have read some stuff by Stephen King, including some short stories and his non-fiction book, On Writing.  I've just never read one of his full-length novels.)

Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor - I've read the first two books in the series and loved them (four-and-a-half ladybugs... yay!).  So I've got to finish this trilogy.  Most people who've read the whole thing seem to have enjoyed it.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker - Here's another book I started and -- for some reason -- never finished.  I've read such good reviews of it.  I don't read a ton of adult literature, so I'd really like to finish this one someday.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld - I started this one, but then got sidetracked.  It's been sitting in a pile, gathering dust, ever since.  I've heard it's good, and I really should read some steampunk-ish books.  I enjoyed Stupid, Perfect World, a novella by the same author... so I don't know why I wouldn't like this one.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout - This book hasn't been in my TBR pile for long.  I picked it up after reading some glowing reviews.  I never gave it much of a second thought before; the cover looked super cheesy to me.  But it sounds like it might actually be a good story.

Plain Kate by Erin Bow - I've heard such good things about this book... and yet, I've let it sit in my e-book TBR pile for years.  I'd like to get around to reading it soon.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Okay, fine.  Any Jane Austen novel.  Can you believe I've never read even one of them all the way through?  I've read half of Pride and Prejudice and half of Sense and Sensibility.  I really need to learn how to push through and finish one of these.  I'd like to be able to say I've read the books.  (As it is, I only know the stories from watching numerous film adaptations.)

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - I've tried.  I really have.  More than once.  But I just can't do it.  Everybody is so unpleasant, and I just want to punch them all.  I didn't even like the film adaptation I saw of this a couple of years ago.  All these characters need therapy.


What are some books people have told you that you MUST read?

Sunday, August 17, 2014

In My Mailbox (75)



It's the beginning of the month, and Amazon has some great e-book deals this August!  I've got a few books here that are out of my comfort zone... but I feel like I need to branch out, even within YA.  Among the books I got this week was The Lord of Opium, sequel to The House of the Scorpion, by the amazing Nancy Farmer.  I'm looking forward to reading that one!

Borrowed from the library:
Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3)
by Laini Taylor

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?

Future Flash
by Kita Helmetag Murdock

For as long as she can remember, Laney has been having “future flashes”—visions of the future that she sees when she makes physical contact with another person. Left on a doorstep as a baby, Laney’s past has always been cloudy to her, despite the clarity with which she can see the future. Her caretaker, Walt, claims to be her father, but Laney has a nagging suspicion that he isn’t quite telling her the entire truth. And when a new kid, Lyle, moves to her small town, Laney is dreading meeting him—she almost always gets a future flash when first meeting someone new, and the flashes aren’t always good. Unfortunately, her meeting with Lyle isn’t just bad; it’s painful. Engulfed in flames, Lyle’s future flash is the worst Laney’s ever experienced. But what does it mean? Is there anything Laney can do to change the future? And will she be able to save Lyle not only from a fiery death but also from the merciless class bully without becoming a victim of his antics herself?

Bought from Amazon.ca:
Crash (Visions #1)
by Lisa McMann

Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode... and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

The Ex Games
by Jennifer Echols

Brace yourself for the battle of the exes...

Hayden and Nick used to be a hot item, but their brief affair ended with a highly publicized breakup. Now the two are "just friends," excluding the occasional flirtation.

When Hayden wins the girls' division of a local snowboarding competition, Nick is unimpressed, claiming that Hayden wouldn't have a chance against a guy. Hayden calls Nick's bluff and challenges him to a head-to-head boarding contest. Their mutual friends quickly take sides, the girls on Hayden's and the boys on Nick's, making for an all-out battle of the sexes. This friendly competition is bound to get heated—and they might end up igniting some old flames.

Gift
by Andrea J. Buchanan

Daisy has an electrifying secret that could save her life—or kill her

High school sophomore Daisy Jones is just trying to get by unnoticed. It doesn’t help that she’s the new girl at school, lives in a trailer park, and doesn’t even own a cell phone. But there’s a good reason for all that: Daisy has a secret, unpredictable power—one only her best friend, Danielle, knows about. Despite her “gift” (or is it a curse?), Daisy’s doing a good job of fitting in, and a gorgeous senior named Kevin even seems interested in her! But when Daisy tries to help Vivi, a mysterious classmate in a crisis, she soon discovers that her new friend has a secret of her own. Now Daisy and her friends must deal with chilling dreams and messages from the beyond. Can Daisy channel the power she’s always tried to hide, before it’s too late?

The Lord of Opium (Matteo Alacran #2)
by Nancy Farmer

The new book continues the story of Matt, the boy who was cloned from evil drug lord El Patrón in The House of the Scorpion. Now 14 years old, Matt rules his own country, the Land of Opium, the only thriving place in a world ravaged by ecological disaster. Though he knows that the cure for ending the suffering is hidden in Opium, Matt faces obstacles and enemies at every turn when he tries to use his power to help.

Populazzi
by Elise Allen

Cara has never been one of those girls: confident, self-possessed, and always ready with the perfect thing to say. A girl at the very top of the popularity tower. One of the Populazzi.

Now, junior year could change everything. Cara’s moving to a new school, and her best friend urges her to seize the moment—with the help of the Ladder. Its rungs are relationships, and if Cara transforms into the perfect girlfriend for guys ever-higher on the tower, she’ll reach the ultimate goal: Supreme Populazzi.

The Ladder seems like a lighthearted social experiment, a straight climb up, but it quickly becomes gnarled and twisted. And when everything goes wrong, only the most audacious act Cara can think of has a chance of setting things even a little bit right.

Sanctum (Guards of the Shadowlands #1)
by Sarah Fine

"My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple."

A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance—hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone—she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife.

As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t—the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.

Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1)
by Danielle L. Jensen

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

Freebie from Amazon.ca:
The Key (True Reign #1)
by Jennifer Anne Davis

Seventeen-year-old Rema lives in a brutal kingdom where travel between regions is forbidden, people are starving, and looking at someone the wrong way can mean death. Nineteen-year-old Darmik is the king's son and Commander of the King's Army. He spends his days roving the island, doing his father's bidding and trying to maintain control over the people.

When a chance encounter throws Rema and Darmik together, they share an instantaneous connection, but any sort of relationship between them is strictly forbidden. Darmik's brother, the Crown Prince, notices Darmik's interest in Rema and, in a calculated, political move, blackmails her. Faced with an impossible choice, Rema is forced to sacrifice her heart in order to save her family.

As Rema is taken to the palace with the Crown Prince, Darmik confronts the growing rumor that a legitimate blood heir to the throne exists and is trying to overthrow Darmik's family. In Darmik's quest to hunt down and kill the threat, he discovers that nothing is as it seems. Locked in the king's castle, Rema finds herself a key player in a massive power struggle. When Darmik shows up, she's not sure if she can trust him. The line between friends, enemies, and loyalty becomes blurred. As truths are unlocked, Rema understands that she just might be the key to finding the rightful heir and restoring peace to the kingdom... if she can manage to stay alive long enough.


What was in your "mailbox" this week?  Let me know in the comments!


In My Mailbox was started by Kristi of The Story Siren.

Weekly Recap - August 10-16, 2014

Here's what I blogged about over the last seven days:

Sunday - I shared what I got In My Mailbox.  So many books... so little time!

Tuesday - I participated in the Top Ten Tuesday meme.  This week we talked about the top ten books we're not sure we want to read.

Friday - I reviewed Seven Wild Sisters: A Modern Fairy Tale by Charles de Lint and gave it 2.57 ladybugs.  On the whole, I like Charles de Lint's books... but I haven't had the best luck with his books for younger readers.