What I’ve (been) Reading, June 14, 2013

I’ve been a bit busy, and despite the fact that I have been reading, I haven’t had the time to share what I’ve been reading each week. So, instead of a short list of my week’s reads, here are the books I’ve been reading since May 17th (that date of my last “What I’m Reading” Blog).

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White (Releases 9/10/13)
This teen paranormal/mythological novel revolves around the human daughter of Isis and Horace, Isadora, who in rebellion against her parent’s moves to San Diego, Ca to live with her older brother. The premise of this one was good, but the book got a little silly at points, just missing the mark with me. There was proper teen angst, amplified by the parents being gods, and some fun insight into Egyptian mythology, something I always enjoyed, but in the end this one just didn’t quite do it for me. Although, as a San Diegan it was fun to see the city I love so much on display, but for non-San Diegan’s the tour guide-like view of our famous Balboa Park, and other attractions would get a bit wearing, and a little to kitschy. The Chaos of Stars wasParanormalcy (the sequels of which were also a bit disappointing), which was so fresh and fun.

just an okay book, but a little disappointing after White’s

Night Film by Marisha Pessl (Releases 8/20/13)
Loved it, loved it, loved it. My hands down favorite of the summer, possibly the year. Watch for an in-depth review on August 15th.

Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst (Releases 9/3/13)
I’ll start by saying that I really loved Sarah Beth Durst’s book Ice. It’s a great story that blends fairytale and cultural mythology together, and I would recommend it for teen fans of that genre. Conjured, has a very creative premise; Eve is an amnesiac with fainting spells that cause short term memory loss, she is in the protective custody of a government agency (a form of witness protection), and she had magic powers. Eve doesn’t know who she is, but she knows there is a killer on the loose and she is the key to stopping him. Filled with intrigue, magic, and glimpses of horror, Conjured should have been a pleasant blending of the mystery, paranormal, and horror genres, unfortunately, despite having all the elements of success, Conjured loses its momentum mind-book, and instead of a tight and interesting story, falls apart. This is going to be a common statement in this particular blog, having read four YA books in the last few weeks, all but one, fell into the teen trap of great start, messy and rushed ending. There is this great build up, the introduction of remarkable characters with interesting problems, but when it comes to the meat and potatoes of the story, the author just doesn’t quite pull it together. Things get rushed; character development gets thrown out the door and so does the promise of the book. I stuck with this one, but the hasty conclusion detracted too much from the interesting premise.

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg (out now)
Here’s another one of those books that started off on the right foot, but really lost it in the end. For years I’ve noticed how poorly some authors do with endings. It’s time to step it up ladies and gentleman, learn how to end a book smoothly and intelligently, don’t just throw it all on the page and wait for something to stick, and worse, don’t just end the book because you’ve reached your page count. Teens are more than capable of reading long books; look at the Harry Potter Series, Twilight, The Mortal Instruments series; all huge bestsellers and all quite lengthy. All readers enjoy good character development and actually resolution of conflict; and yet some many of these authors fail to grasp that concept; which is why they are not the go to authors for booksellers, and will never be bestsellers. I digress, apparently this is tangent week. So, the plot of Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality is one we’ve seen before; Lexi, a funny, average girl with beautiful talented sister who is doted upon by the mother, decides to beautify and take the world (or high school and family) by storm. Here’s where it’s different; the sister is only seven, and a beauty queen, the father is absent, the mother is obese and obsessive to the point of bankruptcy about the beauty pageant scene. The story actually has heart; the m other is truly atrocious (she steals from her oldest daughter and generally neglects her), and actually needs psychiatric help, the father is a limp noodle, and Lexi is really struggling to hold it together in a way that does in fact tug at the heartstrings. I liked this part of the book. The problem is that nothing is really resolved in the end. So all that righteous indignation that occurs during the reading of the first three-quarters of this book has nowhere to go, there is not catharsis, no purging of that reader anger, so the ending is deflating and frustrating instead of affirming. Elizabeth Eulberg had something, but she let it go in the creation of her hodgepodge ending, not to mention a few really clichéd characters who really don’t add to the heart of the story, which is Lexi’s dysfunctional family. Another let-down.

Elizabeth the First Wife by Lian Dolan (out now)
Light, chick-lit fair with a nice touch of Shakespeare, Elizabeth the First Wife is a fun, easy read for the summer. The plot follows Elizabeth, a Community College Professor who jumps to her superstar ex-husband’s rescue at a Shakespeare festival. Meddling siblings, controlling mothers, and a handsome intelligent newcomer all make for a fun time.

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls (out now)
The Silver Star follows sisters Bean and Liz as they deal with their unreliable mother, a cross country move, small town prejudices, and adults who manipulate children. Let me start off by saying that Jeannette Walls is a fantastic writer. In The Silver Star she creates a compelling and immensely loveable heroine in twelve year old Bean. In some ways, Bean’s spirit, and sense of justice evokes memories of young Scout Finch. She is strong, full of righteous indignation, but also sweet, loving, and aching to live a normal life. For her character alone, this book was worth reading. Unfortunately, a clichéd ending, that is not quite an ending, and an even more two-dimensional villain, make for a weaker fair. This is one of my big disappointments this year—namely because the book is so good, the characters of Liz and Bean (more so Bean) so life-like in their depictions, but Walls just can’t quite keep the story together in the end. Really, the book seems unfinished—it just ends—that’s it, nothing else. Yes, the villain is taken care of, but in a mundane and completely unoriginal way, but the girls, particularly Liz are left hanging in the wind. I would have easily sat through one hundred more pages to just get a little bit more about these two girls’ futures, to see if they make it, but alas Walls leaves readers unsatisfactorily drifting in the wind. I think this one is worth it for the first half of the book, particularly for book clubs, but after that it just leaves you wanting, and not in a good way.

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Cater (out now)
The second book in Carter’s Heist Society series is great fun. Following a group of wily and elite teen thieves, Uncommon Criminals is both smart and funny. I’m a big fan of this series (who doesn’t love a “good thief”), and can’t recommend it enough. Perfect for younger teens, as the material is not too adult, it will also entertain the older ones with its witty heroine Kat Bishop and her sort of romance with urbane mega-rich boy Hale. Both this and its predecessor are in paperback, with the third book just out in hardcover, making it a great one to take to the beach or on vacation.

So in all, a lot of let downs these last couple of weeks--here's hoping for an author to really hit it out of the park on the next go round.


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The Never List

It’s eerie when you read a fictional book and then see the events pan out in real life, especially when the book you are reading is a thriller that involves the abduction, captivity and torture (physical and psychological) of young women, but that is exactly what happened not long after I finished Koethi Zan’s debut The Never List (out 7/16/13). By now everyone is well aware of the three women found in Cleveland, kidnapped as teens and held for ten years by a trio of brothers; a frightening and horrific thing no matter how you look at it*; which made the events that happen in The Never List, although fictional, that much more disturbing for the casual reader.

The basic plot of The Never List follows a young woman, who a decade ago escaped a man who held her and three other young women captive for several years. Sarah and Jennifer were college freshmen, hyper-aware of the dangers the world can offer—having survived a near fatal accident that took the life of Jennifer’s mother—and always prepared for any possible outcome; yet despite their manic preparedness the girls are kidnapped on a cab ride home from a college party. Held chained and naked in a basement, Sarah, along with two other girls, Tracy and Christine endure psychological and physical torture on par with the psychosis seen in Saw films, from a sadist of the highest ilk who also happens to be a professor of
Psychology at an Oregon University. All the while Jennifer is nowhere to be seen, stuffed in a coffin-like box, unable to communicate with the others. When Jennifer is presumed dead Sarah makes a daring escape, but ten years on, with the chance of their frighteningly brilliant captor facing the possibility of parole, Sarah and Tracy go on a quest to find answers and face their demons once and for all.

The narrative, while primarily in the now, does bounce around in time, with snippets of the girls’ abduction, captivity, and escape dribbled out through the text; giving just enough to whet the appetite and fill in the holes, but not enough to completely tell the reader all that happened during the girls imprisonment. The violence is surprisingly slim, but the hints and possibilities that are leaked through words and images are enough to have even the bravest of women white knuckled. In some ways The Never List is a form of psychological manipulation; exposing the horrors, highlighting the monsters, but not quite giving all the details, which leads to imagination, which leads readers to visualize horrors that no one wants dancing around their heads. In that way, the book and writing are brilliant, what better way to get the true impact of a psychological thriller than to leave the worst of it to the readers’ own bit of psychosis? Unfortunately, the plot itself suffers a bit from an overabundance of foreshadowing and clue leaving; which makes it a bit too easy to figure out. In writing suspense it’s good to leave a clue here and there, a reader should be able to reach the novel’s conclusion and then be able to look back and find the bits and pieces that were left like little breadcrumbs leading to the eventual outcome. The writer should not spell out the conclusion—it makes for a poor twist and a groan from the readers. Debut writer Zan does the latter, the twists and outcome are a little too predictable. Fortunately, the predictability of the plot and resolution does not detract from the well-developed tension of the heroine, and ultimate horror of the acts and lifestyle perpetrated by the villains of the novel. The sheer terror evoked by their deeds is enough to have readers gripping the edge of the book in a weird amalgamation of discomfort and curiosity, both repelled by the concepts and addicted to the possible outcomes. Because the author wisely leaves out the more ghastly details the reader is not subjected to an outright description of the atrocities, making the tension one of the mind, and not of the eyes—meaning it’s not like watching a film like Saw or Hostel that leaves nothing to the imagination, showing torture for the sake of showing gratuitous violence and nothing more—the book is not apt to make one squeamish, or deeply disturbed, if anything it makes readers subtly more aware of their surroundings and the people within them.

In all, The Never List is a worthy read for psychological suspense and thriller fans. It is well constructed, frightening, and at times close enough to reality to make a reader want to check the doors and avoid cab rides. Despite the plot loopholes and predictability, the book creates a wonderful sort of edge-of-the-seat tension that can consume a reader, and lurk about long after the last pages of text are a distant memory. For a first book Koethi Zan has proved herself adept at handling a very real and scary subject, she can only get better from here, and I for one am eager to see what she does next. A good book for fans of Gillian Flynn and Chevy Stevens.

*Please note that I am in no way trying to compare the real life atrocities faced by these kidnapped victims to fictional characters. I’m using this sad story as a point of reference, sadly truth is always much stranger and darker than fiction could ever be, and yet sometimes when they collide, on however small a scale, it reminds us what a frightening world our society can be.


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The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, now there’s a mouthful. I predict that this book title will be the most butchered title of the summer. It just might be up there with the like of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. That being said, this book has already been named a most anticipated book for Summer 2013 by The Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly, and it’s only fair to say that booksellers should get used to the different interpretations of this title that will be bandied about as the word spreads and book clubs tromp through the doors to get their hands on the new hot read.

Here’s the plot in brief:
It’s 1930; America is in the midst of the Great Depression, families are losing money, homes, and their lives. In the midst of the country’s turmoil sits 15-year-old Thea Atwell, the only daughter of a Florida doctor and his beautiful wife. Thea’s family is wealthy thanks to her mother’s citrus groves, and has led a sheltered, unstructured life, roaming her family’s fields on the back of her pony Sasi with her twin brother Sam at her side. When we meet Thea she is in the midst of familial banishment, shunted out to the mountains of North Carolina, so far and so drastically different than Florida, to The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, an elite boarding school for the daughters of the upper echelons. It is here, that Thea, banished from her family due to mysterious circumstances, must fit into the complicated social order that is an all-girls school, while dealing with her own issues of guilt, resentment, and abandonment toward her family.

I’ll start by saying that I was immediately immersed in this book. Told from an adult Thea’s perspective as she looks back at her life, is it easy to empathize with her teenage self; separated from her idyllic home and thrust into the competitive environment of other teen girls, mourning the lost connection with her twin with whom she has been inseparable, and suffering the shunning from her mother. As the story progresses and the reader learns more about Thea’s life and the probable reasons of her banishment that involve the only other teen she had contact with—her cousin George, the sympathy remains, along with a twinge of contempt for the naivety of her mother, and the willful blindness she displayed to the goings on. Author Anton DiSclafani know just how to pull the heart strings, with the right amount of angst and resentment and that cleverness perfectly sucks the reader into the story and firmly implants Thea as a solid, yet tragic hero. The brilliance of this writer is truly displayed in how she slowly and subtlety adds more to Thea’s character and backstory, throwing in little tastes of Thea’s less than perfect traits, stacking them up slowly, so that when the reasons behind the banishment are learned, the reader is so enmeshed in the world through seen through Thea’s eyes, that it becomes nearly impossible to condemn her actions. I say brilliance because the actions of Thea are really reprehensible when removed from the context of the narrative (actually, in my mind they are reprehensible period), and when the shameful reason behind her exile comes to the forefront the reader is still on her side. It’s like being caught up in the gaze of a hypnotist, difficult to breakaway, and in the case of Thea, even harder to condemn.

Having finished, and been given time to digest the plot and motives of its main character, I have come to a far different conclusion; Thea is not a victim—she made her choices willfully and defiantly, but she can be sympathized with to some extent as being a product of her time. Instead of being villains, the Atwell parents bring on their own destruction, both because of the era and the hardships of the Depression, but also because in separating their family from the world at large, they in a sense engineer their own demise. Yet, in the end, when looking back at all that Thea has wrought by her actions, it is clear how much of a path of destruction she left behind her. She is a product of the time—a girl, naïve in her approach to worldly things like sex, politics, money, and society in general, yet because of her isolated upbringing both she and her twin Sam were unable to blossom into fully formed moral human beings capable of becoming healthy members of the world. I’m philosophizing here, but Thea is an almost sociopathic blend of naivety and selfishness, it is her actions that set the ball rolling in a downward spiral, she needs to be punished, and yet in reality it is not Thea who is ultimately punished, it is the family that turned her away, incapable of moving on. Thea is hero and villain, her family the tragic remnants of a battle they didn’t even know had started, and it is they, not Thea who suffer the price. Thea is the champion in this narrative, winning the reader to her side, but upon further contemplation, she is a harbinger of destruction, both contemptible in her actions, but oddly amazing in her resilience, something her parents lack.

I’m torn. This book was phenomenally good. I really felt for Thea, I hoped her parents suffered for their abandonment, for choosing Sam over her. Ultimately, their eventual suffering, even though it stemmed from their own blindness and bad judgment, was so shattering that I can’t help but be frustrated. You love a character, skim over her sins, but when everything else is destroyed by her choices how can you enjoy the aftermath? I was enthralled by the first three quarters of The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, and irritated by the last quarter because of Thea’s blasé attitude and seeming lack of awareness that she was the catalyst of all the misery. Maybe these feelings speak to the talent of the author and her compelling narrative. Perhaps they are a more accurate depiction of what happens when a child is denied socialization and accountability. Maybe if Thea’s parents dealt with the issue instead of just removing the elephant in the room, the outcome would have been different. Life is a series of what ifs; postulating on the parents mistakes, the role of society in that era, and Thea’s choices isn’t going to give me anything, but a headache, and it is this that speaks to Anton DiSclafani’s talent as a storyteller, she is making me think, there might even be a catharsis somewhere in there. A good storyteller charms you with the lore, a great one makes you deconstruct it and feel emotion, positive and negative, question it, revel in it. I might be ethically frustrated by the outcomes of this novel, but while reading it I was invested, and it is that investment, created by the mesmeric narrative, which makes it a book worth reading and discussing.


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Reading Beth Hoffman

It is great fun to find fantastic debut novelists. It’s something that every bookseller gets to enjoy, and do quite frequently, but I have to admit to a bit of nerves when it comes to sophomore efforts. There’s nothing worse than falling in love with a debut author, only to have those feelings thrown in your face with the production of a lackluster second novel. It happens more often than not, and as a reader it is always a bit crushing. So, it was with some trepidation that I picked up Beth Hoffman’s new book Looking for Me. I absolutely loved her debut Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and was a little afraid that I would be disappointed by this second novel. Well, let me tell you how foolish those worries were.

Looking for Me is a fantastic second novel. It possesses the same charm as its predecessor, drawing readers in with its southern warmth and anecdotal tone, while also maintaining the remarkable insight and depth that I believe readers will begin to associate with Hoffman’s writing. Beth Hoffman has that rare quality as an author to present a seemingly light and easy read, only to have a fully-fledged novel that is not only engrossing, but also intelligent, and brilliantly written. Her use of language is beyond simple charm, her sentences flow like warm honey to be savored and reread, and her characters are fully functioning, living and breathing people—ones you wish with all your heart you could get to know.

Told in first-person, and bouncing back and forth through time, Looking for Me tells the story of Teddi Overman, a talented furniture restorer and owner of an antique shop in South Carolina. Born on a farm in Kentucky, readers are introduced to the Overman family; Teddi, a girl who’s love from antique furniture leads her on a road of self-discovery, Teddi’s silent and wonderful father Henry, her perpetually disappointed mother Franny, and her brother Josh whose affinity with nature, in particular rare birds of prey, provides readers with a heartbreaking mystery. As Teddi’s life unfurls, bouncing between her present and memories of her childhood, I was delighted to only be captivated be her life, but to also be engrossed by her love of antiques—learning more about restoration and estate shopping in a way that was both entertaining and emotional, than I ever could have thought. These instances are so well-written in fact, that I, who have never had an interest in these things, found myself wanting to look up terms on Google and pop out to the next big estate sale in my neighborhood. To get non-crafty me interested in furniture restoration is a fete in itself! Hoffman also manages to effectively and lastingly tug on the proverbial heartstring as she addresses Teddi’s strained relationship with her mother, and her brother’s mysterious disappearance, in a way that manages to forgo the mawkish sentiment or cheesiness that so often finds its way into novels.

This is a deceptively complex story that is beyond readable, it’s enchanting, lovable  beautiful, and full of depths that one would not expect from a novel that might appear lighter in content than some. Looking for Me is one of those books you pick-up and literally do not put down, not because of suspense or turmoil, but because it is so well-written, and the characters so believable and rich, that it mesmerizes with the first paragraph. Beth Hoffman is just that good and I will never again feel trepidation that her next novel won’t be good enough—she’s secured my fandom for life.

 
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What I’m Reading, May 17, 2013

This week I read a selection of books covering readers of all ages. So, I’ll start with the youngest and work my way up.

Sleeping Beauty’s Daughters by Diane Zahler (releases August 27th)
I’ll kick-off the list with a good juvenile read, suitable for ages 8 and up. The book is a twist on the Sleeping Beauty story, this time following the narcoleptic beauty’s young daughters Aurora and Luna as they go on a great sea adventure, seeking to reverse the sleeping curse that threatens to overcome young Princess Aurora (after their mother was saved from the curse it reverted to her eldest daughter). The concept is a fun twist on a well-known plot. It’s pretty easy reading and simple enough for younger readers, but if forced to read aloud, the tale won’t bore parents. Because of the adventure, and a rather brave young boy who aids the sisters on their quest, the book will also appeal to boys, so don’t let the more feminine cover fool you. Overall, a fun read for young kids.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal (releases June 11th)
This is a difficult one to review. It has many elements that I enjoy: fairy tale theme, paranormal aspect, coming of age, danger; but it just doesn’t come together in an appealing manner. Let’s get the plot out of the way and then I’ll explain the ways the book lost me.

The basic plot is that Jeremy Johnson Johnson (yes, two Johnsons) of the small village Never Better has two problems, he and his recluse father are about to lose their home, and he can speak to ghosts. Jeremy’s ghost just happens to be the late great Jacob Grimm (who is also the tale’s narrator), a spirit trapped in the space between life and death, wandering the Earth in hopes of either finding his brother or finally passing into the afterlife. When the aptly called “Finder of Occasions” finds Jeremy and friend Ginger in the midst of their own trials, he finds a way to exploit them, endangering their lives unless the ghostly Jacob can do something to stop him.

The story is ridiculous, but not in the appealing manner of fairy tales (which it tries to emulate), rather it bounces all over the place, letting the characters dangle over several problems and dangers, but pulling them back on the brink, so when the actual danger appears you end up breathing a sigh that it’s done. This is not the sigh of an enchanted reader mind you, but one of an irritated reader waiting for the story to end. Another issue is the dialogue—it is very stylized, which can work when applied in the right way, but since there is no sense of time period it is difficult to accept such odd discourse. At times it seems as though the story is taking place in the 1950’s, at others current time, and then there’s the notion that the characters are merely stuck in the back of the Mystery Machine, copying the lingo of the Scooby Gang. No matter how interesting the plot, poor dialogue will destroy a novel, and McNeal just doesn’t write decent dialogue.

I wanted to like this one, wouldn’t dissuade anyone, particularly those between 9 and 12, from reading it, but in all this just wasn’t a great book. Nice concept, poorly executed, a middling novel.

Descendant: A Starling Novel by Lesley Livingstone (releases August 27th)
Descendant is the sequel to Livingstone’s Starling, and also a part of the universe she created in her Wondrous Strange series. This YA series is fun, bringing in an entertaining mix of Norse, Greek, and Egyptian mythologies, as well as the Fae world created in the Wondrous Strange books. In Descendant, there is a nice touch of romance, fierce battles, and familial upheaval. It is an entertaining, if not completely solid tale, but do beware of the cliffhanger ending, as it is a typical middle book where nothing is resolved. An acceptable read for genre devotees or fans of Livingston’s other works.

It Happens in the Dark by Carol O’Connell (releases August 20th)
As a big fan of the series, I have to mention the 13th Mallory novel It Happens in the Dark. This time O’Connell pits the sociopathic Mallory against a ghostwriter who is killing off members of the cast and crew of a Broadway play and then sets his sights on Mallory. This is a typical suspense for the series, nothing too exciting happens, and it has none of the brilliance of Find Me (#11), but as a fan, I’m always eager to spend some time with Mallory, Riker, Charles Butler, and the crew of the NYPD Special Crimes Division. One note though, in both this installment and the previous, The Chalk Girl, O’Connell gives us an epilogue from the point-of-view of an elderly Charles Butler, in each it has Mallory long dead and Butler searching his memories for moments of her humanity. Does this mean that O’Connell is preparing us for an eventual kill-off of Mallory and the series? I hope not, but after the revealing Find Me, and then these two epilogues, I just can’t rule it out.

Circle of Shadows by Imogen Robertson (Releases June 13th)

Another series I thoroughly enjoy, Circle of Shadows is the 4th chapter in the Harriet Westerman/Gabriel Crowther mysteries that take place in 18th Century England. In this book Harriet and Crowther travel to Germany in an attempt to save Harriet’s brother-in-law, Daniel Clode from wrongful execution. What they find is a court built on lies, splendor, mysticism, and intrigue; and a murderer eager to make a very significant and creative statement. Crowther’s forensics, and Harriet’s intuition are always a fine match, throw in a rather complex conspiracy involving the Freemasons and you have an entertaining Georgian suspense. Robertson’s writing gets better with each novel, but her structure is still a bit odd, with the narrative bouncing between locations and individuals a little too haphazardly for a reader’s comfort. Still, fans of the light suspense series will enjoy the banter and intrigue, making it a worthwhile read.

Right now I’m reading The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani. Thus far it is fantastic. One of those great fiction reads that is smooth and enchanting from page one. I can only hope that it continues to be as engrossing to the end. Definitely worthy of its own review, so keep your eyes open.


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What I’m Reading, April 26, 2013

I’ve been a bit of a whirlwind reader this week, plowing through a myriad of YA and adults reads with an incessant need to find something really great. Instead, I found myself faced with a mixture of sequels, odd and slightly disturbing new titles, and disappointing series finales. So, in the order I read them, here’s what’s been in my hands this week.

Black City by Elizabeth Richards (out now)
Okay, this is a bit of a cheat, because I actually read it last Friday, but I thought I would mention it anyway. Black City is another one of those dystopian young adult novels that deals with a corrupt totalitarian government ruling with an iron grip. It differs in that author Elizabeth Richards introduces a bit of a paranormal concept, where Darklings, mutated humanoid-vampire creatures, are the “villainous” others struggling against serious segregation propaganda from the anti-Christ type leader of the humans. Here, the daughter of a corrupt government official/scientist falls for a twin-blood (the product of a human and a Darkling) without a heart. Between extreme religious parallels and violence (really horrific crucifixions of traitors to the government’s cause), and obvious comments on bigotry, segregation, and totalitarianism; the underlying themes are definitely unsubtle—more like a sledge hammer, and the plot suffers for it. Still, the world was interesting enough to keep me reading and the writing was not horrible. I have the sequel, Phoenix, but am still unsure if it deserves my time. I have to say, this book is not for the weak of stomach, or heart, and although it is geared toward those ages 14 and up, I would be hesitant to recommend it to anyone under the age of 17. In all, Black City was not a complete waste of time—it did mash-up genres in an interesting way, but in all, the extremes that it uses to push political, social, and religious tones onto a teen reader takes away from its likability.

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier (releases 10/8/13)
The final book of the Ruby Red series was a bit of a disappointment. Ruby Red had a lot of promise, an interesting storyline, a likeable heroine, and an interesting twist (see my review Ruby Red: An International Bestseller Making its Way to the U.S.). I found the sequel, Sapphire Blue to be lacking a bit, but let’s face it, most of the middle books within a trilogy do, and still I had hope for a good strong finish. Unfortunately, Emerald Green just didn’t have it. While the primary plot threads were closed, there were still many holes left untouched, and there was a rather unsatisfying handling of what should have been a rather pivotal and emotional reveal for the main character. Basically, I experienced a general feeling of let-down. I don’t know if the better part of the series plot and character development was lost in translation (translated from German by well-known translator Anthea Bell), or if in stretching it to three books, as opposed the one single novel—after all the entire series only takes place over a few weeks—took the spark away, but whatever it was, the finished product was sadly lacking in oomph and pay-off.

The Elite by Kiera Cass (out now)
Yes, I did hit the YA hard this week, and the third book I read is the sequel to last year’s The Selection (for review see "The Selection"—read it before you see it). The Elite continues to follow the story of America Singer, a poor musician living in yet another dystopian setting, who has been recruited to compete in a very public Bachelor-esque competition for the hand of the kingdom’s prince in marriage. In book two we find America, now one of six remaining girls, torn between her confusing feelings for Prince Maxon and her childhood love Aspen, now in the Royal Guard. The machinations of the other girls are fascinating to read about as they continuously vie for attention and the crown, and the underlying political happenings start to take on for meaning—making it a little difficult to figure out exactly how this series will end. Despite its middle book-syndrome premise (nothing ever comes to resolution in the second books), The Elite is still engaging, though often maddening (just choose a guy!), and worth a read if you enjoyed The Selection. I can’t help, but anticipate the yet to be named conclusion to this trilogy, I truly have no idea how it will end.

The Last Word by Lisa Lutz (releases 7/9/13)
I always enjoy the wit of a Spellman book and The Last Word, which is the 6th “document”, continues the story of Isabel Spellman and her wayward family of Private Investigators. This time the perpetually sarcastic Izzy is losing control of her recently conquered company (she sprung a takeover of the family’s business in Document #5, Trail of the Spellmans)—her parents refuse to behave themselves in any sort of professional manner, her top client and backer makes her jog three times a week, and she’s under investigation by the FBI for embezzlement. Lutz’s characters are sarcastic, sneaky, and downright scary in their ingeniousness. While not my favorite of the series—that’s a tie between The Spellman Files and The Spellmans Strike Again—the characters are still endearing and entertaining, making it of course, a must read for fans of the series.

The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon (releases 8/16/13)
This reimaging of the Rapunzel and Snow White stories is a dark and twisted piece of fiction. Ostensibly telling the story of Rapunzel, The Fairest of Them All features the long haired beauty as an amalgamation of the innocent young maiden from the tower and the misunderstood, possibly wicked, Evil Queen from the Snow White tale. This Rapunzel, raised by a witch, enchants the less than perfect prince, only to be ditched by him when he marries the mother of the yet to be born Snow White. What ensues is heartbreak, mischief, love, and revenge as the amazingly naïve young lady with the magic hair evolves into an entirely new and unique version of Snow White’s stepmother. An interesting and definitely adult fairytale remake, I can’t quite say I liked it—these characters were almost too human in their flaws, too dark in their thoughts and deeds, heroes and villains alike, but it might be worth a read if you’re in the mood for a skewed trip into the “happily ever after” zone.

I also read The Never List by Koethi Zan (releases 7/16/13), but will be discussing it later in a full review.

I’m currently reading Rick Yancey’s The Fifth Wave, a post-apocalyptic YA that is looking to be very promising. More on that later.


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"The River of No Return"

Fans of Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches rejoice—The River of No Return is here!

No, it’s not another book in the Witches series, and no it is not another book from Harkness herself. Instead, it is a debut novel written by another professor (Harkness is at USC); this time by a professor of English literature at Bryn Mawr College, Bee Ridgeway, and her story is 100% sure to grab your attention and devotion if you are a fan of Harkness.

The River of No Return (not to be confused with the Robert Mitchum/Marilyn Monroe film) follows the story of Nick Davenant, nee Lord Nicholas Falcott, a young man thrust through time during the heat of battle in 1813, landing in 2003 to discover he has a unique gift, one that allows for the manipulation of time. It is there that he is taken under the wing of the Guild, a group of powerful men and women with the same abilities as Nick. Ten years later, Nick is plunged through time once again, this time by the Guild, in order to investigate a terrible hole (called “the Pale”) that is threatening the future. Back in his own time Nick is reacquainted with his young love Julia Percy, a Lady with mysterious ties to time, the Guild, and the Guild’s enemies, and who may have the answer to everything.

There is obviously much more to the plot, it’s a fantasy that weaves between time and characters, building itself a rich history and background, laying the groundwork for future sequels. Much like it’s counterparts in fiction, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander and the Deborah Harkness books, The River of No Return has a plot that is intricately drawn and difficult to describe in detail without divulging too much of the plot (something that drives me crazy in reviews). Yet, unlike the books by Harkness, Ridgeway’s book is much more tightly edited, without the pages of droll description or meandering conversation about subjects that have no real bearing on the plot (wine and yoga in the case of Witches). The pacing is good, and only slows to a squeaking (not quite screeching) halt when the concept of “the River” and time are philosophized upon. The book is of course not without fault. Its characters are interesting, although with a few of them it is clear that the author is trying desperately to give them depth and mysterious undercurrents, but instead reduces them to over-dramatic and somewhat farcical creatures. The writing at times loses its crispness, not the plot mind you, but the writing—something that is more common with debuts, and is sure to be honed by the time the sequel arrives. Also, it does leave readers hanging; a plot device that, in this series driven world of entertainment, is something that seems as unavoidable as death, and yet is done in such a way that readers will not be prone to throwing their books across the room in frustration (yes, I’ve done this) because nothing has been resolved.

In all, The River of No Return is a wonderful read. It is fantasy, it is historical, it is romance, and it is intrigue— all those things that help to create a rich and entertaining narrative. If you love those genres, or are a fan of A Discovery of Witches, you will thoroughly enjoy Bee Ridgeway’s debut, and like me, be eagerly waiting on the next installment.
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