Showing posts with label The Hallowed Ones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Hallowed Ones. Show all posts

Sunday, September 1, 2013

In My Mailbox (56)


Bought from Amazon.ca:
The Compound
by S. A. Bodeen

Eli and his family have lived in the underground Compound for six years. The world they knew is gone, and they've become accustomed to their new life. Accustomed, but not happy.

For Eli, no amount of luxury can stifle the dull routine of living in the same place, with only his two sisters, his father and mother, doing the same thing day after day after day.

As problems with their carefully planned existence threaten to destroy their sanctuary—and their sanity—Eli can't help but wonder if he'd rather take his chances outside.

Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe. But are they safe—or sorry?

Enchanted
by Alethea Kontis

It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?

The Hallowed Ones
by Laura Bickle

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

Borrowed from the library:
Defy the Dark
edited by Saundra Mitchell

Defy the Dark, an all-new anthology edited by Saundra Mitchell. Coming Summer 2013 from HarperTeen!

It features 16 stories by critically-acclaimed and bestselling YA authors as they explore things that can only happen in the dark. Authors include Sarah Rees Brennan, Rachel Hawkins, Carrie Ryan, Aprilynne Pike, Malinda Lo, Courtney Summers, Beth Revis, Sarah Ockler, and more.

Contemporary, genre, these stories will explore every corner of our world- and so many others. What will be the final story that defies the dark? Who will the author be?

Incantation
by Alice Hoffman

Estrella is a Marrano: During the time of the Spanish Inquisition, she is one of a community of Spanish Jews living double lives as Catholics. And she is living in a house of secrets, raised by a family who practices underground the ancient and mysterious way of wisdom known as kabbalah. When Estrella discovers her family's true identity--and her family's secrets are made public--she confronts a world she's never imagined, where new love burns and where friendship ends in flame and ash, where trust is all but vanquished and betrayal has tragic and bitter consequences.

Infused with the rich context of history and faith, in her most profoundly moving work to date, Alice Hoffman's first historical novel is a transcendent journey of discovery and loss, rebirth and remembrance.


What was in your "mailbox" this week?


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

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Review - The Hallowed Ones

The Hallowed Ones (The Hallowed Ones #1)
by Laura Bickle
Date: 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Reading level: YA
Book type: prose novel
Pages: 311
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This one had so much potential.  Why?  It's a post-apocalyptic novel involving the Amish and vampires!  How could that not be great?

Unfortunately, it fell really flat for me.  While I appreciated the attempt at world-building, I thought it took up far too much of the book.  The book either needed to be longer (to include more action), or some of the everyday Amish stuff needed to be cut back.  After reading this, I feel disappointed.  It seemed that there was so much build-up and not enough payoff.  The final showdown was little more than a few pages, and we were left with an ending that did little more than usher in a sequel.

I also wasn't taken with the characters.  Katie, the narrator, came across as way too non-Amish at times (granted, I'm not sure how real Amish would speak... but she seemed awfully worldly for someone who had grown up in such a community).  Alex, the young man she finds injured in a field, was obviously the love interest from the moment he stepped onto the page... and yet, I sensed no real chemistry between the two of them.  Perhaps that was because he was kind of a mixed-up character, not quite sure if he wanted to be flirty and teasing or serious and philosophical.  I honestly never got a feel for him, even though there were plenty of opportunities to develop his character.  (His ex-girlfriend was presumably torn apart by the vampires... and we really don't know how he feels about it!)  I thought that Katie had more chemistry with Elijah, her childhood friend, before he went through a sudden (and rather unbelievable) change in character, for no apparent reason.  The Elders and the Bishop were also problematic for me; they seemed to exist only to provide some much-needed conflict.  They were overly proud and dictatorial, and I question whether some of their actions would even be contemplated by true Amish folks.

The vampire aspect was interesting and suitably gory (and I mean really gory; those with weak stomachs should give this one a pass).  It was probably the most well thought-out part of the whole book.  The reveal at the end, when some things are explained, made sense.  However, that scene was just too short and easily resolved, which made me feel cheated, and like I had just read 300+ pages for nothing.  Aside from getting a few answers, readers are just shunted off to the next book, hoping that something more exciting will happen there.

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 1/5
Writing: 2/5
Editing: 3/5
Originality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.43 out of 5