Tag: review

• Book Review: “Dark Companion” by Marta Acosta

  Posted at 1:34 pm by Laura, on July 5, 2013

  Dark Companion by Marta Acosta 

  Publisher: Tor Teen
  Published: June 2013
  Genre: gothic, paranormal romance, young adult
  ISBN: 9780765329653
  Goodreads: 3.56
  Rating: ★

  Orphaned at the age of six, Jane Williams has grown up in a series of foster homes, learning to survive in the shadows of life. Through hard work and determination, she manages to win a scholarship to the exclusive Birch Grove Academy. There, for the first time, Jane finds herself accepted by a group of friends. She even starts tutoring the headmistress’s gorgeous son, Lucien. Things seem too good to be true.

  They are.

  The more she learns about Birch Grove’s recent past, the more Jane comes to suspect that there is something sinister going on. Why did the wife of a popular teacher kill herself? What happened to the previous scholarship student, whose place Jane took? Why does Lucien’s brother, Jack, seem to dislike her so much?

  As Jane begins to piece together the answers to these puzzles, she must find out why she was brought to Birch Grove—and what she would risk to stay there…

  Jane Williams takes advantage of a marvelous opportunity to go to a private all-girls school and escape her life of poverty and abuse in the foster home system. As she begins her new life there, she befriends the Radcliffe family: Mrs Radcliffe, headmistress of Birch Grove Academy; Mr Radcliffe, a calm and quiet businessman; Lucky, a gorgeous womanizer; and Jack, an artistic musician hell-bent on confusing Jane with his riddles. But as stories about previous foster students’ deaths and disappearances crop up, Jane cannot hide from the truth any longer, and looks to the Radcliffe family for answers.

  This review will contain three parts: a book review, a literary review, and a spoiler section. Disclaimer: this book is considered a “chick-lit update” of Jane Eyre and Twilight.

  Book Review

  At first, Jane came across as a tough and stern girl anxious to prove to others that she can be independent and take care of herself. Any fan of Jane Eyre can also see similarities and differences between Eyre and Williams, and even who the characters represent from the original. But as the story progressed, Jane no longer seemed like an independent person. She lost personality, too. One moment she appeared to be in some sort of abusive relationship with Lucky without even realizing it — a smart girl from the streets would know the signs immediately, so why didn’t she? The next she’s throwing herself at Jack while simultaneously accusing him of hating her, when there is no sign of that whatsoever in the book.

  The vampire storyline was imaginative and I appreciated this fresh new look to it — but then it became too strange, too odd, too discomforting. It was as if Acosta didn’t know what she wanted these characters to be, more vampire-like or more human-like. This is where comparisons to Twilight come in. Meyer at least was solid on what she wanted from her vampires: they were immortal, they could not go out in the sun, and they could drink any kind of blood. But Acosta did not come across as sure in her footing with the characters, and it left the story wanting.

  There were so many excellent opportunities for this book to shine. I was open to a Jane Eyre-vampire twist, but the characters were weak, the plot even weaker, and the dialogue and descriptions told rather than showed. That’s the art of writing: showing, not telling. Acosta did not master this concept at all.

  Literary Review

  I was very hopeful at the beginning. Acosta provided quotes from the top Gothic novels to help set the tone of each chapter. I could see Jane as Jane, Lucky and Jack combined as Rochester, and there was even a crazy Mason in the story for Bertha. There was a fire in an old building, a rough past childhood, and the desire to keep emotions down and hidden rather than exposing them and becoming vulnerable. All the elements for a gothic novel were there as well, with the setting, the horror and terror, the uncanny and fantastic…

  But it was horrible. The name “Jane Williams” is not plain, it’s very Anglo-Saxon aristocratic. “Jane Eyre” is plain for its all-vowels, no-consonants, one-syllable name. If we wanted a modern Jane to be plain, she could be Jane Smith or Jane Moore, something so common and so soft to say that she would go unnoticed. The description of her appearance is more exotic than plain, as well. She is part Mexican, has beloved light brown skin and dark brown hair and eyes. In this all-white town she transfers to, she would be the most beautiful and exotic person there, not plain like Jane Eyre was to her friends.

  Lucky and Jack, combined, were complete caricatures of Rochester. Rochester is rugged — considered ugly in Victorian times, where delicate men were beautiful, and attractive in modern times, where the burly and scruffy are seen as manly — and speaks in riddles. Everything he says has two meanings: one that Jane and the reader misinterpret, and the other that is revealed to be his true intentions and true meaning. Lucky and Jack do not fit that. Lucky is gorgeous, stunning, pale and blond and an Adonis, who treats Jane like scum despite all she does to make him happy. Jack exaggerates Rochester’s insistence that Jane is a pixie or an elf. Rochester believed Jane to be a quiet, all-knowing, delicate being, and joked that she came from the land of “little green men.” But Jack is constantly talking to Jane about fairies and pixies and halflings, to the point that their conversations aren’t real at all. It became annoying and saddening.

  SPOILERS — DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED

  These vampire-like people come from a small tribe in Romania that have a genetic anomaly, where they need to have human blood every once in a while to survive…according to Acosta. Okay, sure, that would work for a good plot, a nice scientific twist to it — but the need to have Companions that give the blood and are bound for life, all the money for people’s loyalty, the strange ceremonies, the perfect night vision and strength and speed? The way they look at normal people as if they’re food? That’s not normal. If someone needed human blood to survive, wouldn’t that be considered a weakness? The concept of this bothered me, and the lack of information given to Jane prior to her accepting to become Lucky’s Companion made everything so unbelievable. Why would this incredibly intelligent, scientific-minded, logical girl immediately accept something so bizarre without having questions of her own? Wouldn’t she want to know why they needed blood? Why they needed Companions rather than dealing with modern medical science? Why it had to be her and not someone else? Once again, her lack of personality and characterization conflicted with this neat not-quite-paranormal concept, and both fell through entirely.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: paranormal, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Shadowed Summer” by Saundra Mitchell

  Posted at 1:25 pm by Laura, on June 30, 2013

  Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell 

  Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
  Publishing Date: June 2010
  Genre: gothic, Southern gothic, mystery, young adult
  ISBN: 9780440422570
  Goodreads: 3.5
  Rating: ★★★

  Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.

  Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?

  Fourteen-year-old Iris and her friend Collette decide to do something different this summer in their teeny tiny town: speak to the dead. At first, Iris pretends to just go along with Collette hearing things and seeing things. Until one night, Iris really does hear something: a boy’s voice. Over the course of the summer, the girls begin to piece together the town’s one and only piece of unfinished news about a boy named Elijah who disappeared and whose body was never found.

  Although the narrator is naive and has a voice that seems much younger and far more imaginative than a fourteen-year-old, Iris does tell the story well and through plain and simple language. She doesn’t like to be bossed around by Collette but is afraid to lose her best friend. She’s not interested in boys but really wishes Elijah would come out and just say what he wants from her rather than pelting her bedroom with rocks.

  The story was haunting and a perfect ghost story to tell around a camp fire. It also captures the heart of Southern Gothic: God-fearing and superstitious people, children wandering around saying they’re afraid of witchcraft but they pretend to do spells anyway, knowing the proper way to bury the dead based on who can go to heaven and who can go to hell. The sweltering heat, playing around by the river, and the ghost lights that float away from the bayou all created such a rich atmosphere for this chilling tale.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: mystery, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “A Spy in the House” by Y.S. Lee

  Posted at 3:52 pm by Laura, on June 28, 2013

  A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee 

  Publisher: Candlewick Press
  Publishing Date: April 2009
  Genre: young adult, mystery, historical fiction
  ISBN: 9780763652890
  Goodreads: 3.79
  Rating: ★★★

  Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan (and thief) Mary Quinn is surprised to be offered a singular education, instruction in fine manners — and an unusual vocation. Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls is a cover for an all-female investigative unit called The Agency, and at seventeen, Mary is about to put her training to the test. Assuming the guise of a lady’s companion, she must infiltrate a rich merchant’s home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the household is full of dangerous deceptions, and there is no one to trust — or is there?

  Mary Lang is sentenced to death at age 12 for thievery when a young lady saves her and offers her a place at Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls. Eager to start a new life, Mary accepts and changes her name to Quinn. By the time she’s 17, she is asked to become a member of an undercover all-female detective agency. She is placed in a prominent household as a companion to a spoiled daughter, and is supposed to uncover the truth about a series of shipwrecks pertaining to smuggled artifacts. But what she finds out, and who she works with, is the biggest surprise of all.

  For diving into the book knowing absolutely nothing about it, I really enjoyed it. It was a quick read, and Lee certainly knows her Victorian history and culture. I was happy to see all aspects of Victorian London in the 1850s addressed: the snobbery of the upper class, the poor on the streets in filth, the Great Stink from the Thames, opium use, the influx of Asian sailors, and the oppression of women. Apart from Dickens, authors rarely remark upon the hushed-up or negative aspects of life of that time. If anything, these are mentioned in passing while the upper class characters go about their country holiday. This was, ironically, refreshing!

  Mary is an exception in Victorian culture. She is part Chinese and part Irish, but her features both help and hinder her navigation through society. Porcelain white English women know she looks different and assume she has black Irish, Spanish, or French ancestors, and Chinese women consider her too white to be a part of their culture. Not only is her race enough to make her an outcast, but her orphaned life, childhood crimes, and headstrong will sets her apart as well. She has “ideas” and “notions” and likes to be independent. It makes her job in the Agency easy. She’s already tough for a woman, and no one will pay attention to her in the household because of her outcast status, so snooping should be easy.

  Another aspect that I found refreshing in this mystery was the love interest — or lack thereof. James Easton is a charming man and thoroughly believes in Mary’s capabilities to be an independent woman. Mary stayed true to her character throughout the book and wouldn’t toss all responsibilities aside, though, and I’m grateful for that.

  What prevented me from giving this book five stars was the lack of urgency on her assignment. It sounded, from the very beginning, like another agent already had most of the work done and Mary would only be in the way. And as Mary continued to search for clues, three or four different plots spun in different directions, to the point where I’d forgotten what Mary’s original assignment was. Thankfully they all linked together in a cohesive manner, but it almost felt as if Mary wasn’t needed in the first place.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Long Lankin” by Lindsey Barraclough

  Posted at 12:04 pm by Laura, on June 23, 2013

  Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough 

  Publisher: Candlewick Press
  Publishing Date: January 2012
  Genre: young adult, horror, gothic, mystery
  ISBN: 9780763658083
  Goodreads: 3.70
  Rating: ★★★★★

  When Cora and her younger sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Bryers Guerdon, they receive a less-than-warm welcome. Auntie Ida is eccentric and rigid, and the girls are desperate to go back to London. But what they don’t know is that their aunt’s life was devastated the last time two young sisters were at Guerdon Hall, and she is determined to protect her nieces from an evil that has lain hidden for years. Along with Roger and Peter, two village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries – before it’s too late for little Mimi. Riveting and intensely atmospheric, this stunning debut will hold readers in its spell long after the last page is turned.

  Cora and Mimi are sent by their father from London to Bryers Guerdon to temporarily live with their great-aunt Ida. Ida, however, does not want the girls and keeps trying to convince their father they should leave. Cora, headstrong and determined to make the best of this visit, makes friends with some neighbor boys, Roger and Peter and the rest of their family. As the days pass and Auntie Ida’s stern warnings to stay away from the church and to keep all doors and windows locked tight, Cora and Roger soon learn of a chilling family secret, and Mimi is the target victim of a long-standing family curse.

  Holy Mother of God.

  I could not put this book down, but I also could not read it without turning on all the lights and blasting happy Christmas music at night. Even in the day I kept seeking out more light and cheerful noise. Although the protagonists, Cora and Roger, are roughly age 10 and Mimi is 4, this is not a book for children. The content and the atmosphere are perfect for young adults, but may be a bit too terrifying for some.

  Barraclough took an old folk song and spun a chilling tale from it. The poem itself gave me chills (small excerpt below): 

  Said my lord to my lady as he mounted his horse:
  “Beware of Long Lankin that lives in the moss.”

  Said my lord to my lady as he rode away:
  “Beware of Long Lankin that lives in the hay.

  “Let the doors be all bolted and the windows all pinned,
  And leave not a hole for a mouse to creep in.”

  The doors were all bolted and the windows all pinned,
  Except one little window where Long Lankin crept in…

  Barraclough also captured all the classic gothic tricks in this chilling novel. First, an old and crumbling estate. Cora and Mimi are constantly fighting through cobwebs and choking on the rotting air. Second, a family history that needs to be uncovered. Cora is a curious sort, to her aunt’s disdain, and begins to ask all the adults in the area all sorts of questions about the crumbling church, the tree with rags and children’s shoes, why Ida still lives in a rotting mansion, why there is Latin writing all over the place, who knows who in the village and why are people worried Mimi will disappear, etc. Third, documents and religious implications are scattered throughout. Cora finds a tin box filled with writings on the history of Bryers Guerdon and the Guerdon family, all recorded by a parish rector from Ida’s time and dating back to the 1500s.  Finally, sightings of haunted children, ghosts, and spirits, and things that rattle and slither and go bump in the night, fill these pages. Every sound is significant. Every sighting has a purpose.

  Frightening, immensely chilling, well-plotted and deeply fascinating, this book is worth a read if one is looking for a perfect ghost story. I haven’t read any recently published ghost stories like this since Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black. 

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 3 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: horror, genre: mystery, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “The Archived” by Victoria Schwab

  Posted at 9:12 pm by Laura, on June 18, 2013

  The Archived by Victoria Schwab 

  Publisher: Hyperion
  Publishing Date: January 2013
  Genre: young adult, gothic, mystery
  ISBN: 9781423157311
  Goodreads: 3.99
  Rating: ★★★★

  Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

  Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

  Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

  Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

  Mackenzie Bishop does the best she can to hang on to her dead brother’s memory while her family aches and attempts to move on. When her family rebuilds life in the Coronado, an old hotel-turned-apartment building, history begins to haunt her — literally. She is a Keeper, responsible for the lost souls trapped between life and death. It is her job to find them and send them back to peaceful rest. But as more and more Histories appear, and one History seems unable to listen to her demands to leave, Mac begins to unravel a decades-long mystery that could lead to an answer as to why the Archive seems to be crumbling to pieces.

  Haunting, eerie, and filled with rich language and deep emotion, this book is a must-have for any reader interested in Victorian literature and Young Adult literature. It has the perfect combination of the slow-building and mysterious plot trademarked in Victorian literature, mixed with the first-person, raw emotions, and teenage heroes of today’s YA genre.

  Schwab’s concept of a library archive as a place for the dead was incredibly believable and deeply fascinating. The bodies lie in drawers, and are records of that particular person’s memories and experiences. Librarians take care of them, and make sure they stay “asleep” and are left undisturbed. When awakened, these Histories escape into the Narrows, dark and eerie, maze-like hallways between the Archive and the Outer, or our world. It is the Keeper’s responsibility of that section of Narrows to find the History and return them. If a History escapes into the Outer, Crew is called upon to fight and work them back into the Archive.

  When Mackenzie moves into the Coronado and meets Wes, a charming and funny character that I ached to see more of, she begins to realize that the older and more haunted a place, the busier her work load. But she has to hide all of her work from her parents, who grieve for their lost son. Mac’s struggles with awakening her brother or not plague her thoughts, and Wes does the best he can to keep her from dwelling in the past. Schwab does an excellent job of making Wes a likable character. One would think all of the self-confidence could be turned into arrogance, but Wes is nothing like that.

  The flashbacks with Mac’s grandfather, Da, were appropriately placed as well. It allows for the reader to experience the new world and new rules without Mac’s first person to stop and explain. The flashbacks take the reader to a time when Da was explaining the Archive to her for the first time. It also shows her strong bond with her grandfather, and her desire to do good by him and make him proud.

  This would be one of those books that I would have to say, “Read it to believe it.” The slow pace and suspenseful plot fits wonderfully with this sort of tale.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 3 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: mystery, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Defiance” by C.J. Redwine

  Posted at 9:25 pm by Laura, on May 24, 2013

  Defiance by CJ Redwine 

  Publisher: Balzer + Bray
  Publishing Date: August 2012
  Genre: young adult, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, fantasy
  ISBN: 9780062117182
  Goodreads: 3.8
  Rating: ★★★★★

  While the other girls in the walled city-state of Baalboden learn to sew and dance, Rachel Adams learns to track and hunt. While they bend like reeds to the will of their male Protectors, she uses hers for sparring practice.

  When Rachel’s father fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the city’s brutal Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector: her father’s apprentice, Logan–the boy she declared her love to and who turned her down two years before. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself.

  As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

  Rachel Adams — fierce, impulsive, strong, and daughter to the best courier and warrior of Baalboden — is filled with anger and grief when the brutal Commander declares her father dead and assigns her Protectorship to her father’s apprentice, Logan. Logan, a techie inventor who always has a plan, is just as determined as Rachel to prove Jared Adams is alive. But as Rachel throws caution to the wind and acts impulsively, all of Logan’s plans crumble, and the two are sent out of Baalboden on a death mission into the Wastelands, where the Cursed One is bound to turn up at any moment.

  I eyed this book for months. I rolled my eyes at every dystopian or post-apocalyptic book I saw on the shelves because, really, it felt overdone. But this one, with the cover and fierce female protagonist and enticing first chapters, kept calling to me. I’m so glad I bought and read this book.

  Rachel is impulsive to a fault, and she knows it. That’s the beauty of her character: she’s aware that she reacts without a plan, and it only heightens as more of her loved ones die. Every action screams rage, regret, and revenge — her desire to rid Baalboden of their dictator is justified. What started as anger and frustration and a need to defy authority turned into something realistically deeper and more meaningful. Her reactions are very much like a soldier’s, a war victim’s, a person with PTSD. Beautifully written, expertly explored, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

  Logan is really neat and clever! He’s easy to love. His character starts off as that quiet nerdy boy who loves to play with metal and wires, and bit by bit we discover he’s extremely protective, fiercely loyal, an excellent fighter and huntsman, and quick on his feet. There is always a plan, and you can count on Logan to come up with all sorts of scenarios and how to respond to them. Logic and fear control him, another natural response to a horror he witnessed when he was younger.

  The world, of Baalboden and the Wastelands, is so fascinating! Set in the future, the continent was ravaged by Cursed Ones disturbed by noise and oil drills from above. The Cursed Ones are wingless dragons, and though they should be feared, they did remind me of cranky neighbors or roommates that constantly nag at you to shut up and be quiet. These beasts are unstoppable, and now there is only one left. Survivors of these attacks banded together and formed city-states, under the protector-ship of Commanders. However, like Medieval and Renaissance Italy, these city-states no longer trust one another. People are trapped within their walled cities, trade in markets, go back to male and female spheres, are Claimed for marriage, and have little access to advanced technology unless they work directly for the Commander. Past and future collide in this fantasy and it’s brilliant.

  Action-packed with each chapter, bloodshed and fights and explosions, fear and love mix with plots for revenge, and a tracker or Cursed One looming around every corner — this book cannot be put down.

  Deception will be out August 2013! 

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fantasy, genre: post apocalyptic, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Darker Still” by Leanna Renee Hieber

  Posted at 9:34 pm by Laura, on May 22, 2013

  Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber  

  Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
  Publishing Date: November 2011
  Genre: young adult, paranormal, gothic
  ISBN: 9781402260520
  Goodreads: 3.67
  Rating: ★★

  I was obsessed.

  It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brushstrokes of color swirled onto the canvas. It was the most exquisite portrait I’d ever seen–everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable…utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.

  There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. Trapped within his golden frame.

  Natalie Stewart, a mute and social outcast, works with her father in the Manhattan Metropolitan Museum of Art, which recently acquired a beautiful painting of the stunningly handsome Lord Denbury. Natalie is drawn to the painting, and it’s not until she meets Mrs. Northe that she is able to understand why. A series of terrifying dreams, a stream of murders, and the only way to stay sane is to fall into a painting, this twist on Oscar Wilde’s A Picture of Dorian Gray is magical to the core.

  While I loved this new perspective on Wilde’s classic, seeing what it would be like to be trapped mentally within a painting while the evil and physical portion corrupts in the real world, I found Natalie’s voice lacking. Hieber’s choice to write in a diary form is justified — that form of documentation was common for women in the Victorian era and is a common aspect of gothic literature (all the truth is revealed in a woman’s diary) — it was poorly executed. Who truly remembers every single detail and word said in a conversation? Normally things like this are paraphrased.

  The haunting aspects of this book are in Natalie’s dreams. She never witnesses murders, but is able to predict them and sees how they will be murdered while she’s dreaming. Her dreams also transport her to Lord Denbury’s painting, where he is alive and well and hoping to find a way out. This was very intriguing and I liked these dreams. The story was propelled forward then.

  Natalie’s attachment to Lord Denbury was quick and odd. There’s intrigue and then there’s extreme obsession. Hieber keeps writing that Natalie is “drawn” to him, that “fate” brought them together. But throughout, I couldn’t help but feel Natalie and Denbury were interested in each other sexually and that was it. There was nothing about his character that seemed interesting or romantic. Natalie was a rather dull protagonist as well.

  The heightened bits of this novel were the passion between Natalie and Denbury, and the nightmares that helped Natalie discover the mystery and magic of the painting. The plot was simple but dragged out,  the protagonist was a little boring, the love interest lacking in personality. But the idea of the book, and the neat twist to the classic, was neat enough to see where it went.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: paranormal, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Reviews: “Tea Rex” and “I Want My Mommy!”

  Posted at 7:29 pm by Laura, on May 12, 2013

  These are children’s books that I spotted at work and couldn’t help but pick up, read, and then recommend to customers. And when that happens, it’s worth putting up a review and then qualify them in my yearly challenge.

  Tea Rex by Molly Idle 

  Publisher: Viking Juvenile
  Publishing Date: April 2013
  Genre: children’s, picture book
  ISBN: 9780670014309
  Goodreads: 4.10
  Rating: ★★★★

  Some tea parties are for grown-ups.
  Some are for girls.
  But this tea party is for a very special guest.
  And it is important to follow some rules . . .
  like providing comfortable chairs,
  and good conversation,
  and yummy food.
  But sometimes that is not enough for special guests,
  especially when their manners are more Cretaceous than gracious . . .

  Averaging five words per page, this book is remarkable. The illustrations tell the story even more than the words, and those illustrations are fantastic. You see how large Rex is — so big Rex’s full body cannot fit on the page — and how frustrated the hostess becomes. Tea and flying crumpets and torn lace and everything, it’s all so humorously beautiful. The manners written in the book almost appear to be the exact opposite in the illustrations. For example: “good conversation” has a picture of the hostess jabbering away, making one guest doze off and the other sneaking another cup of tea. It’s cute, children are bound to love it.

  I Want My Mommy! by Tracey Corderoy 

  Publisher: Tiger Tales
  Publishing Date: February 2013
  Genre: children’s, picture books
  ISBN: 9781589251304
  Goodreads: 3.61
  Rating: ★★★★

  It’s Arthur’s first day apart from his mommy and he really misses her. Even his fantastic dragon suit and favorite toy dragon don’t help cheer him up. Rargghh! he roars grumpily. But luckily Grandma knows just what to do!

  So adorable and true to life, little mouse Arthur dresses up in a dragon costume and goes to Grandma’s for the day. Every time the doorbell rings he races to see if it’s Mommy. But Grandma’s plan to dress up as a Knight makes Arthur’s day pass super fast. Beautiful, soft artwork and a charming story. It’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 1 Comment | Tagged book review, books, genre: children, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Revel” by Maurissa Guibord

  Posted at 11:37 am by Laura, on May 8, 2013

  Revel by Maurissa Guibord  

  Publisher: Delacorte Books
  Publishing Date: February 2013
  Genre: young adult, fantasy, paranormal romance
  ISBN: 9780385741873 
  Goodreads: 3.84
  Rating: ★

  There’s an island off the coast of Maine that’s not on any modern map.

  Shrouded in mist and protected by a deadly reef, Trespass Island is home to a community of people who guard the island and its secrets from outsiders. Seventeen-year-old Delia grew up in Kansas, but has come here in search of her family and answers to her questions: Why didn’t her mother ever talk about Trespass Island? Why did she fear the open water? But Delia’s not welcome and soon finds herself enmeshed in a frightening and supernatural world where ancient Greek symbols adorn the buildings and secret ceremonies take place on the beach at night.

  Sean Gunn, a handsome young lobsterman, befriends Delia and seems willing to risk his life to protect her. But it’s Jax, the coldly elusive young man she meets at the water’s edge, who finally makes Delia understand the real dangers of life on the island. Delia is going to have to fight to survive. Because there are monsters here. And no one ever leaves Trespass alive.

  Delia McGovern is determined to find out why and how her mother escaped the unmapped Trespass Island. When she arrives, the people find her dangerous and odd, an outsider bringing death and fear into their peaceful haven. As the Revel celebration approaches, Delia discovers a frightening secret lurking in the waters — imprisoning the inhabitants as well as keeping trespassers out.

  I wanted to enjoy this. I loved the idea of some otherworldly sea creature preventing inhabitants from leaving and newcomers from entering. The ocean is a vast and alien world, a frontier not yet fully explored, so having some sort of monster there is alluring. Sure, throw in some Greek demigods as well for fun, but the mysterious, frightening aspects was what I was looking for.

  Guibord failed me. First, Delia was just plain odd for a character. Her internal thoughts were intelligent and somewhat snarky, but everything that came out of her mouth was stilted. The dialogue was off — from everyone, not just Delia — and the actions were unjustified.

  Second, this book could have been written in so many different (and better) ways. Toss out the love triangle, first of all. The horror and tension would have been much better if Jax was seen as a monster throughout. The pull to the water Delia experiences would have been more terrifying, it would make her have difficulty coming to terms with her identity. That would have been interesting. Another aspect would have been introducing the monsters later in the novel, rather than right at the beginning. Telling us immediately what makes this island odd doesn’t add suspense, it kills it. The mystery of the caves no longer seems dire. If Delia were to slowly discover the caves, slowly experience how she feels in the water, slowly piece things together about the island, Trespass would become a terrifying place, and the monsters even more frightening!

  Finally, the excuse of a celebration — Revel — could have been the conclusion. Delia’s identity surrounds Revel. The book is called Revel. The plot Guibord writes, however, does not. And that’s such a disappointment.

  Open with weird events and history of the island, progress to enjoying the water and discovering the caves, continue into the eerie aspect of Jax and the fierce protectiveness of the caves, climax at the discovery of the monsters, and a huge action/ending with Revel and self-discovery (all the while with little doses of Sean-love). That’s the book I thought I was going to read.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: fantasy, genre: paranormal, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “The Name of the Star” by Maureen Johnson

  Posted at 8:38 pm by Laura, on April 27, 2013

  The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson 

  Publisher: Speak
  Publishing Date: September 2011
  Genre: young adult, paranormal, gothic
  ISBN: 9780142422052
  Goodreads: 3.9
  Rating: ★★★★★

  The day that Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school is also the day a series of brutal murders breaks out over the city, killings mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper spree of more than a century ago. Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him–the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target. In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

  Louisiana teen Rory Deveaux transfers to England to attend Wexford, an East London boarding school. On the day of her arrival, a murder occurs — one that mimics the exact same murder as Jack the Ripper’s in 1888. Students and society are entranced more than horrified, following the murders and recounting the history like a historical documentary or TV reality show. But when Rory realizes she can see the murderer and no one else can, her peaceful existence at school ends. This modern Ripper has his sights set on her and her alone.

  A thrilling and entertaining read, especially for an American reader who has traveled to England and went on a Jack the Ripper tour that took you to the exact locations of the murders. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Rory adapting to life in England — noticing the way the English say “thing” (fink) and “perfect” (pahhh-fect); constantly being corrected for defining England, Great Britain, and United Kingdom; interpreting how English boys flirt versus American boys. Reading this was partly nostalgic.

  The characters, even the ghosts, were remarkably relatable and realistic. Jazza was my favorite. If I were a character in this book, I would be Jazza to a T: her love for books (especially Austen), her steadfast determination to do good and think positively of others even when angered, her desire to do well in classes and stay out of trouble. Jerome is an enthusiastic journalist-to-be, constantly keeping tabs on the latest reports for the Ripper case. Boo, Callum, and Stephen were fascinating to read, their backgrounds and past lifestyles shining through their every action and phrase before it was explained to Rory. I especially enjoyed the way Johnson wrote the various ghosts, too — Jo in the 1940s garb and language, Alistair and his love for literature and the Smiths, the man in the tunnel lost and confused, even the Ripper and his mad obsession.

  To see ghosts, one has to experience near-death. Once one sees ghosts, a whole new heirarchy must be explored. Some ghosts are misty and can hardly speak. Some have full ghostly bodies, but repeat the same words or phrases over and over. Others can hold conversations and pass through solid structures, while others look and act mistakenly like humans because they can move solid objects and interact with the environment. This is what sets the ball rolling for the new Ripper: no one can see him, but he can handle a knife.

  Thrilling, chilling, and humorous all at once, Johnson’s first book in her paranormal trilogy is worth every second of reading!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 4 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: paranormal, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

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• Hello, I’m Laura!

  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to travel, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm always down for chips-and-queso nights. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!

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