Tag Archives: YA

January 14, 2013 · 10:59 am

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

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This one was a let down for me.

One morning pre-teen Julia and the rest of the world wake up to some alarming news – the Earth’s rotation has slowed by 56 minutes, and it doesn’t show any signs of stopping. They don’t know how long it will go on, or what’s causing it, but the days are getting longer. Julia and her family try to adjust to this new Earth.

There’s one key phrase in the blurb on the book jacket that should have told me I wasn’t going to particularly enjoy this book – “coming of age”. Coming of age novels hardly ever work out well for me. Julia is about 11 and just coming into those teenage years, so this book focuses a lot more on her being lonely and friendless, her first crush on the stereotypical skater boy with a tragic story, on her family dynamics, and so on. The huge effects of the Earth’s rotation slowing were kind of going on in the background, so if that’s what makes this book sound interesting to you, I’d skip it.

I guess my problem with this book is just that it was slow-paced and there wasn’t a whole lot happening. I’m sure this was intentional, to match the gradual slowing of the Earth’s spin, but it made for kind of a boring read. And while the focus on Julia and her life make this seem like a YA book, it’s not quite written as one – the language and prose is a lot more mature, because Julia is actually telling the story as an adult later on, looking back at that time in her life.

Once again, an interesting premise that just could have been done better, I think.

Sarah Says: 2.5 stars

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January 10, 2013 · 9:00 am

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray book review

This is going to be short. My entire review could just be “ehh”, but that’s not very entertaining. Or informative.

Basically Soviets take over Lithuania and this girl and her little brother and her mom get shoved into a train and taken to Siberia. They’re forced to do lots of manual labor and it’s freezing and they’re starving and things over all just suck. Oh and she’s good at drawing. The end.

See, THIS is why I don’t read books that get a lot of hype. Because EVERY REVIEW I SEE goes on and on about how a book is so fantastic, and then I read it and it’s so not even close to fantastic. I read the book quickly, in one afternoon. The situation of the characters sucked, but it didn’t really move me or make me feel all the emotions that other reviewers apparently felt. Honestly, I’ve read much better books about fictional characters suffering during World War 2. Between Shades of Gray was kind of boring, with very little plot, and I was happy that it was over. SNORE.

I’ve had this book on my shelf for at least a year now, so at least now I can get rid of it without feeling guilty for not reading it.

Sarah Says: 1.5 stars

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October 26, 2012 · 9:18 am

The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners, Libba Bray

Holy crap ya’ll – this book was so much more awesome than I was expecting. I finished it 2 days – it was really hard to put down. I literally have NO complaints about it.

Evie is a 17-year old flapper girl who is being sent to live with her Uncle Will in Manhattan, where she plans to live it up- dancing the night away in speakeasies, shopping, and seeing pictures with her friend Mabel. But when her uncle (the curator at the so-called Museum of the Creepy Crawlies) becomes a consultant to help solve a rash of new mysterious and gruesome murders, Evie is right there ready to help however she can. Evie has a mysterious gift no one knows about, and it may just be the key to catching the madman behind the murders.

SO MUCH TO LOVE ABOUT THIS BOOK. First off, if you’re looking for something to read in the next week to put you in the Halloween spirit, look no further. The spooky factor was definitely there – a terrifying serial killer, horrible ritual murders happening in the dark streets of Manhattan in the 1920′s, special powers, awesome scenery – anything you could want.

Evie is a fun character – at first I thought she was a bit of a brat, but she definitely matures throughout the book. I loved her flapper ways, even the pos-i-tute-ly silly flapper lingo. Her gift is pretty cool, and I like that she doesn’t shy away from it. She has a much more reserved friend, Mabel, who already lives in NYC. She also makes some new friends instantly – a pickpocket, her uncle’s quiet assistant, and a Ziegfield girl. We’re also introduced to a couple more really interesting characters, including the handsome young poet named Memphis. Overall, it was a FANTASTIC group of characters who I ended up loving and can’t wait to see again. Everyone was brimming with personality, even the secondary characters who only turned up once or twice.

I wasn’t sure I’d like the 1920′s setting, but it was a lot of fun and felt very real. You could practically feel the hustle and bustle of the city, the daring nature of the flapper girls, the racial tension, the excitement for industry… I did have to look up some of the slang used, and it was a little distracting at first, but I got used to it. And there was just so much happening – dances, parties, chases, visions, tricks, flirtations, interrogations… never a dull moment, really.

The mystery of the murders was really engrossing, and for real, it creeped me out a bit. Like when it was dark out I got just a little bit paranoid that the serial killer was out there somewhere coming to get me, before I reminded myself that duh – it’s fiction. And even though I’m not sure what the plot of the next book will be (this is supposed to be a 4-book series, I believe), there is plenty that has me already eagerly awaiting it. I can’t wait to see where the characters’ storylines go, and what the whole mystery is behind the “gifts” that some of these characters possess, and… yeah. It’s hard to talk about without me giving away any spoilers, so just trust me on this.

The Diviners is only the second Libba Bray book I’ve read – I knew I really liked her just from reading Beauty Queens, but I hadn’t tried anything else by her yet, so I was slightly hesitant going into this. But it totally wow-ed me, and while I’m waiting for the next book in this series, I think I may have to try out her Gemma Doyle series.

If you’re thinking of waiting for the paperback to come out, I don’t recommend it. The hardcover (underneath the dust jacket) is decorative and pretty, AND there’s a bonus little “newspaper” included in the back. It’s definitely worth the money, and once you read this, you’ll want to buy the next book as soon as it comes out. If you’re picky like me, you like all of your books in a series to be in the same format, so you should just plan on getting them all in hardcover now*…

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Seriously, you guys need to read this so I have someone I can talk to about it!

Sarah Says: 5 stars

 

* I just realized this makes me sound a little pushy and I promise, I read this book because I wanted to and am recommending it so highly because I loved it. I bought my own copy, and I don’t receive any sort of compensation for this review.

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October 6, 2012 · 11:58 am

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

The Last Dragonslayer, Jasper Fforde

 

The Last Dragonslayer is the first in what will be a YA trilogy, and was just released in the U.S. I like Jasper Fforde and had my eye on this for a while, so when it came out I bought is right away.

I’m feeling particularly lazy this morning, so here’s the description from the back of the book, which is way better than the description I would be able to come up with…

In the good old days, magic was indispensable—it could both save a kingdom and clear a clogged drain. But now magic is fading: drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and magic carpets are used for pizza delivery. Fifteen-year-old foundling Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for magicians—but it’s hard to stay in business when magic is drying up. And then the visions start, predicting the death of the world’s last dragon at the hands of an unnamed Dragonslayer. If the visions are true, everything will change for Kazam—and for Jennifer. Because something is coming. Something known as . . . Big Magic.

 

Seee, doesn’t it just sound awesome? And it was. It was all the weird quirkyness and Britishness of Jasper Fforde, but in YA form. The writing was easy and witty. The magical set-up is interesting – since magic is fading, the magicians try to conserve their energy down to the last shandar (unit of magic), and use their magic to earn money and pay the bills.

Like Fforde’s Thursday Next series, this book is set in an alternate-Britain – the characters live in the Ununited Kingdoms, magic exists but is strictly regulated, dragons are a fact of life, indentured servitude still exists, etc. Quarkbeasts exist, and they are awesome. I want one.

Jennifer Strange was a likeable girl – she’s young but also responsible, good, and a little sassy. She handles all that life gives her admirably, even when she doesn’t think she’s up for it.

Overall, this was a really fun read and while the plot was tied up pretty well, it also set the stage for the next books with unanswered questions like “Where did Mr. Zambini go?”. I’m very eagerly awaiting the U.S. release of the second book, The Song of the Quarkbeast. Sadly, there’s no release date yet.

 

Sarah Says: 4 stars

 

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September 5, 2012 · 5:00 am

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

John Green

 

John Green. So far, I have such a love/hate relationship with him. Will Grayson, Will Grayson was a pretty great book and he co-authored that. An Abundance of Katherines was my first full John Green book, and it leaves a lot to be desired.

So basically there’s a teenage washed-up child prodigy named Colin Singleton, who keeps falling in love with and getting dumped by girls named Katherine, 19 times to be exact. To get him out of the depression of his latest break-up, his friend Hassan convinces him to go on a road trip. While on the road, Colin tries to perfect his “big” discovery, The Theorum of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes can be used to predict how all relationships will end and earn him the genius spotlight he’s been craving.

So here’s my issue – despite witty and often great writing, this book just TRIES TOO HARD. It tries too hard to be hip, nerdy, and teenage-y. There is barely a story here, and the story that is there is pretty implausible. I won’t go into too many details because I don’t want to be spoiler-y, but for real, lamest road trip and Eureka moment ever.

Colin is often whiny and kind of an asshole, though a slight part of me forgives that because of his genius-ness, and I like really smart assholes (House, anyone?). He was DEFINITELY too emo and dramatic. Hassan was pretty awesome, and I was happy to see a teen that’s a practicing Muslim in a book. Overall Hassan was pretty great, he was the best character. Lindsey is a girl they meet on their road trip and she was a cool girl, but also a little too angsty and she lacked some basic common sense.

Also, the every time the characters should be saying “fuck”, they say “fug”. Like “mother-fugger”. It’s explained in the book, but my god it made me want to tear my hair out in annoyance.

The book reads quickly, but the best part of it is the random nerdy fact-dropping and anagramming via Colin. Damn you John Green, for luring me in with your cheap smarty-pants tricks. The writing is pretty good, but I feel like he’s trying to manipulate me with his teenage drama bullshit and exagerrated quirky-ness. Like everything is supposed to be so eye-opening and epic, but really I kind of want to slap these kids and tell them to man up.

I’ll probably try another John Green book again, but it’s going to be a while.

 

Sarah Says: 2 stars

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August 9, 2012 · 11:21 am

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – GIVEAWAY

Hey so remember that book that I didn’t love even though basically everyone else in the world does?

This one.

Welllll since I bought it but wasn’t crazy about it, I figured I’d give it away here on my blog, which I almost never get to do!

Don’t worry, it’s practically brand-spanking new since I read it in less than 2 days and just laid around on the couch reading it. And I read with my dust jackets off, so that’s still all nice and pretty too.

Sooo, who wants it? If you do, leave a comment (make sure I can get to your blog or email address so that I can contact you) and on Saturday morning I’ll use random.org to pick a winner and announce it. (Also, this IS open internationally.)

Good luck!

~Sarah

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August 6, 2012 · 4:06 pm

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo

 

Shadow and Bone has been making big waves in the book blogging community, and I went ahead and bought it to read because I hadn’t heard a single bad thing about it. I’m not quite so gushy about it.

This book is set in Ravka, which has been torn in two by a weird darkness called the Shadow Fold, in which people who enter barely ever make it out alive. On top of that, it’s destroying the land and the people are at war. Amidst it all is Alina Starkov, a scrawny mapmaker traveling with the army. Her regiment gets sent into the Shadow Fold, and while trying to save her friend she unleashes a power that’s been hiding inside her. Realizing that she may be the key to getting rid of the Shadow Fold for good, she’s taken away to train with the Grisha – the magical elite who serve The Darkling, and the King of Ravka. Once she learns to master her new power, she could be the savior the people of Ravka have been waiting for… or she could be their new worst fear.

Sound confusing? It was at first, with all of the made up words and names and stuff. After the first 50 pages or so it all started to make more sense and I was able to get into the story a little bit, and I read this book really quickly. I enjoyed all the Russian-ness of the names and places. I like Alina, although she has some faults. (She’s a little too merciful and righteous for my taste.) I really like her friend / love interest Mal (especially cause it makes me think of Mal from Firefly). Learning about her training and stuff was cool, and I was very torn on what to think of The Darkling at first – he’s very good at switching between good guy and bad guy. There was kind of a lack of secondary characters… she befriended a servant Grisha girl named Genya, but just barely. The only personalities you really get to see are Alina’s, Mal’s, and The Darkling’s. No one else is really memorable.

I didn’t fall in love with this book, and I can’t even say for sure if I’ll read the rest in the trilogy when they come out. While I liked the characters enough that I didn’t want bad things to happen to them, it’s one of those books that seems like the outcome of the last book is kind of a given – girl and boy triumph over evil and live happily ever after together. And while that’s always a good thing and I like happy endings, I just didn’t love the beginning of the trilogy enough to see it all the way to the end.

 

Sarah Says: 2.5 stars. I’m split right down the middle.

 

 

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July 31, 2012 · 8:00 am

The Graveyard Book Readalong Ch. 7 & 8

Awwwww! It’s over! *tears up* I’m sad that this is the last post, this was a really fun book to readalong with and discuss every week!

So how does Bod’s story end?

Well, first he’s a bit mopey because Silas and Miss Lupescu have been gone for what seems like ages and he’s a bit lonely. And THEN we find out that Scarlett is back in town! Hooray! Her and her mom have moved back and she’s kind of forgotten about Bod and the graveyard until she winds up there one day and meets a nice little old man named Mr. Frost and then that night her and Bod have a reunion in her dream. So of course her and Bod kind of meet again and catch up and he shares with her his sad family story and Scarlett asks Mr. Frost to help her learn more about that family 13 years ago that was murdered, you know, for a friend. (Meanwhile, Silas and Miss Lupescu are off doing mysterious but dangerous things.) Then Mr. Frost says he learned a lot and for Scarlett to bring her friend over so he can share what he learned and it turns out Mr. Frost is Mr. Stabby Jack Frost and HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT COMING???  And then some other Jacks show up and chases and stuff ensue… and of course Bod comes out alright and then it’s time for him to leave the graveyard and finally experience life.

So, questions!

1. We see the return of Scarlett, were you happy to see her again? Do you think her mother paid her enough attention?

Yes! Yay Scarlett! And her mother seemed more attentive this time around, although she was a little over-protective now. Oddly, she let her 5-year old daughter do whatever she wanted but now that she’s a teenager she has all these rules. I’m a little sad at how Bod’s friendship with her ended, but in my head I like to imagine they meet again someday.

2. Getting a ride from a “friendly” stranger when it’s raining…yay or nay?

Oh hell no. NO. And this is exactly the kind of situation that makes me think ALL GIRLS SHOULD CARRY WEAPONS. What if he had tried to force her?

3. Did you figure out “Stabby Jack’s” (best nickname ever, Sarah!!) new tactic before it was revealed? Evil genius or just creepy evil?

Thanks Jenn :-) And no, I did not see if coming. This creepy random old guy introduces himself as Jay Frost and lives in Bod’s old house, and I STILL never saw it coming. I’m ridiculous. It was creepy evil genius.

4. Final thoughts on Ms. Lupescu?

:-(

5. Do you think it’s a good idea to send Bod into the world at age 15?

I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad idea… He’s definitely more mature than a normal 15 year old boy. And at least Silas hooked him up with money and a passport. I am a bit confused as to why he had to leave the graveyard at 15 though… was he no longer welcome there because he was no longer in danger? If so, why did he slowly lose his abilities over the course of a month or two?

6. Were you touched by any goodbye more than the others?

Silas and Bod’s goodbye was sad. I was hoping they would head off into the world together, at least for a while so Silas could teach him a bit more about the ways of the world.

7. Where do you think Bod will go and what will happen to him?

I like to think that he goes off into the world to read all the books and see all the places, before coming back to his hometown as a fit and healthy old man who meets up with Scarlett, gets married, dies, and gets to live in his graveyard again.

8. Final thoughts on Silas? Is he a vampire or some supernatural other?

Vampire! Vampire! Vampire!

9. Are you glad you read The Graveyard Book and would you take a chance on reading Gaiman’s other YA works?

I really, really enjoyed The Graveyard Book and I am looking forward to reading his other YA / childrens books. I liked this a whole lot more than I did American Gods. I wonder if I should try Stardust next? Or maybe there will be a Stardust readalong in the future? (She says hopefully.)

Thanks so much for hosting Jenn! This was a blast!

Sarah Says: 4 stars

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July 19, 2012 · 7:00 am

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

 

I’d heard such good things about this book and it’s been on my radar for a while, so when I was at the grocery store the other night and saw it, I bought it.
 
The Emerald Atlas is book #1 in The Books of Beginning series (trilogy?). It introduces us to three children – Kate, Michael, and Emma, who have been shuttled around between orphanages for the last ten years but still believe that their parents are alive out there somewhere. They are eventually shipped off to an orphanage in Cambridge Falls, at the request of a Dr. Pym… and there the adventure begins, when they find a mysterious book that throws them 15 years into the past.
 
Soooo… this was overall a good book, and it was definitely a quick read. Sadly though, it never really grabbed me. While I really liked the concept of super-important magical books, some other things in this book just reminded me too much of other kids series, like The Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter. The parts of the book that were really unique were overshadowed by all the similarities to other books. 
 
The children themselves grow to be likable enough, especially Emma. She was a fierce little girl. I really liked the dwarves, and Dr. Pym, and Gabriel. The baddies were creepy, but I’m not sure I really understand what / who the big baddie is, and his name is just… goofy. Hard to strike fear into the hearts of people with a name like that.
 
Overall, this was an enjoyable book, but I’m not sure if I’ll go on to read the rest of the books or not. I guess we’ll see, since the second one (The Fire Chronicle) comes out on October 9th.
 
Sarah Says: 3 stars

 

 

 

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May 17, 2012 · 3:04 pm

The Dead and The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Dead and The Gone

 

The Dead and The Gone is the second book in Susan Beth Pfeffer’s “The Last Survivors” series. I devoured the first book (Life As We Knew It) and really enjoyed the catastrophic world that Pfeffer creates with the idea that an asteroid knocks the moon closer to Earth and completely screws our world up.

This takes place at the same time as the first book, but it centers around a 17-year-old boy named Alex Morales in New York City. The first book constantly mentioned how things were SO much worse in major cities, especially NYC, so I was really looking forward to a darker, grittier book. I was really disappointed. Alex starts off in a pretty bad situation – both of his parents are missing at the time the moon in knocked closer to Earth, and NYC is in an uproar. Most of the island was flooded, and there’s tales of panic in the streets. But besides trying to take care of his younger sisters, Alex has it okay. The area that he lives in isn’t flooded, and he’s able to get a bunch of food from his uncle’s store. He catches a lot of lucky breaks. Some real bad stuff does eventually happen, but it’s all cushioned with Alex’s devoutness.

I totally get and appreciate that there are millions of people out there who are religious and look to that for comfort in times of crisis. But where Pfeffer could have written a fascinating, gritty account of NYC in total chaos, she made is all seem nice and glossed over with the excess of religion. This is the most pious trio of siblings I’ve ever read about, and it seemed kind of fake. Even the priest in the book told Alex to stop trying to be a saint. Alex had to do some tough things eventually, such as loot from dead bodies. You’d expect a character to feel some sort of way about that and go through a bit of a moral dilemma, but Alex reassured himself that God would want him to do it to survive, and goes to confession later. He used religion to basically gloss over that moral dilemma. It was such a copout. And that’s what basically the whole book was – religion helping to avoid the really tough and scary things that were happening.

And besides the religion stealing the show, little things just bothered me. In the first book they made a point of saying how the major coastal cities were so much worse off than those inland, but it seemed like food and supplies came to Alex and other NY-ers pretty easily. Way easier than inland PA, where the first book took place. Also, the fact that the main characters in this series flinch from guns in these books is a little ridiculous. Come on, the last decade or so has been overrun with zombie / post-apocalyptic movies and books, all teenagers know that weapons are a good idea in these types of situations. Even the saintly teens.

ANYWAYS. Big long rant over. I was really disappointed in the route Pfeffer took in The Dead and The Gone. But for all of that, I’m still going to read the third book (This World We Live In) because I already bought it and feel like I mind as well finish it off. In the next book, Alex somehow meets up with Miranda from the first book, and I’m still really curious to see what happens there.

 I was just hoping for something more realistic with this one, I guess. I hope This World We Live In redeems the series a little for me.

Sarah Says: 2 stars

 

 

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