Review: Dead of Winter by Kresley Cole

I've discovered a lot of new YA authors in the last couple years. Since I've pretty much failed at recording my readerly thoughts in this blog lately, I sadly can't remember who half of those authors are now. (I'm not sure if that says more about the quality of their work or the quality of my rapidly aging brain. It's a toss up.) BUT...I can tell you with unfaltering confidence that my favorite discovery in recent times is Kresley Cole's new YA series, The Arcana Chronicles.

The first book in the series, Poison Princess, completely blew me away. The hauntingly vivid and all-consuming world building; the complex, fully formed, compelling characters (not to mention the palpable chemistry between them!); and the fast-paced, unpredictable, mind-blowingly creative plot knocked this one out of the park for me. I am wracking my brain trying to think of another YA author who succeeds so fully in all three of these areas: world building, character development, and plot. I dunno, J.K. Rowling, maybe?

Anyway. Then the second book in the series, Endless Knight, came out, and it was friggin great as well, and I was like holy cow Kresley Cole HOW DO YOU DO IT, and then I had to wait like 11 months or some ungodly amount of time for Dead of Winter to finally publish, and that was total agony, and then finally it came out and I downloaded it on my Kindle at like 12:01 am the day of publication, and....

SON-OF-A-B. It's not good. It's just a filler book. It's okay, I still love this series, but this book was basically a total flop for me. First of all, nothing much happens in the book. Ok, like one or two things happen, but not enough to warrant an entire effing book. Second of all, the main character, Evie, who I generally really like because she's badass and pretty and independent, is reduced to a boy crazy shell of her former glory. She basically spends the entire book moaning about how she's not sure if she should choose Death or Jack. I used to be pretty invested in that question, but to my horror I now find that I no longer care.

Another thing I used to love about this series is the steamy chemistry Cole builds between Evie and both Death and Jack. I have truly never felt so conflicted about a love triangle! But in this book, the chemistry dies. It's not enough to hear Evie drooling about how sexy Jack is, or how she just feels this CONNECTION to Death. The reader needs to FEEL it, and in this third installment, I have to confess that I no longer feel it. There's just too much telling, not enough showing!

To me, this book just felt half assed and rushed--like it wasn't meant to be a full book at all, but the publisher was like CRAP SALES ARE DOWN GET THAT KRESLEY WOMAN TO WRITE SOMETHING TOUT DE SUITE. And she complied, even slapping on the obligatory heinous cliffhanger at the end (which was so predictable it hurt).

Le sigh. I still love the series and will definitely read the fourth book whenever it comes out, but I do feel a bit like my Arcana Chronicles balloon has been deflated.

2.5 stars :-(

Review: Gone by Michael Grant

This is one of the most imaginative dystopian-type books I've come across in a long time! In a small town called Perdido Beach, whose only real claim to fame is the nuclear power plant it is home to, everyone is going about their day when suddenly all the adults vanish. At first, you wonder if they were raptured or something. But then things start to get a bit strange--some of the kids develop powers, dangerous rivalries emerge, and there is a hint of some Darker Power at force here.

It reminded me a bit of Alexandra Bracken's Darkest Minds books, except without the oppressive grownups.

Grant was constantly surprising me with the creative twists he threw into the book. From talking coyotes to flying snakes, to the whacked out powers the kids developed--I never knew what to expect and was constantly delighted with some fresh horror.

That being said, I feel like I should have enjoyed reading this book more than I did. Not that I didn't enjoy it at all--I did--but it just wasn't the kind of all consuming page turner that it seems like it should have been. I kept reading a few pages at night before bed and then falling asleep. That shouldn't happen with this type of book--normally with a fast paced dystopian, I can't put it down til I reach the end.

I think the problem here is in the character development. None of these characters really felt very fully formed. They each have approximately one key trait: Sam is a leader; Astrid is a genius; Drake is an evil sadist; Little Pete is autistic; Quinn is insecure; Alberto is an entrepreneur, etc. etc. etc. The interpersonal drama just felt kind of forced and half baked. And for me, it doesn't matter how creative a world is or how tense the plot--if I can't really relate to the characters, I'm never going to be fully sucked in.

Still gotta give this points for creativity - it's really not like any other book I've come across lately. 3.5 stars.

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I'm sorry to rain on the Rainbow Rowell parade, but this book really just did not do it for me. I liked Eleanor and Park decently well (though I wasn't foaming at the mouth with delight the way a lot of people seemed to be), and there were things I liked about Fangirl (as someone who used to write lengthy Harry Potter fanfiction, I loved the premise of this!), but ultimately I just could not get past some of the problems with this book.

First and foremost, I found the Simon and Baz story excruciatingly dull and honestly kind of a bizarre choice on the author's part. It's obvious that Simon and Baz are basically Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy stand-ins. I used to spend way too much time on Fanfiction.net, and have certainly read my fair share of Harry/Draco "slasher" stories. It seems really obvious to me that the Rainbow Rowell WANTED this to be about a Harry Potter fanfic, but her legal team said no. So rather than thinking up something original, she came up with Simon and Baz, wizards living in a witchcraft and wizardry school, who hate each other, and are fighting an evil dark lord. SOUND FAMILIAR????

So that was really odd and made me feel a bit uncomfortable. It kind of felt like Rowell was borrowing from JK Rowling in a strange and not fully authentic way--like I would have honestly felt better about it if the story was just blatantly about Harry Potter rather than about ANOTHER blockbuster book about teenage wizards that totally isn't Harry Potter at all!!!!! Even weirder was the fact that Harry Potter (the REAL Harry Potter) is actually referenced in the book, so it's not like Rowell is even trying to create some alternate universe where HP never happened and Simon Snow is all there is. So, so weird... did not work for me.

I found the endless Simon & Baz excerpts really boring. It reached a point where I skipped them entirely. I got the point that the Simon & Baz stuff was kind of a metaphor for whatever Cath was going through at a given time in the story, that she WAS using her own life to inspire her writing, just like her teacher asked her to do, etc. I got that. But I still found it really boring and clunky. I just didn't care about Simon & Baz at all. If this had been an actual Harry Potter fanfic it would have been SO MUCH BETTER. 

Other than that, the romance between Cath and Levi was kind of underwhelming. I got tired of hearing about how wonderful Levi's smile was and how flat his face was and blah blah...I don't know, I just didnt' really feel it. He never really emerged as a real person to me. Honestly I was most intrigued by Cath's sister Wren, and by her friend Reagan. Those characters I would have loved to hear more about. 

2.5 stars

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 authors new to me I read in 2013

1. Kresley Cole, Poison Princess and Endless Knight
2. Rachel Hartman, Seraphina
3. Elizabeth Wein, Code Name Verity
4. R. J. Palacio, Wonder
5. Alexandra Bracken, The Darkest Minds
6. David Levithan, Every Day
7. Max Barry, Lexicon
8. John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

Hmmmmmmm that's just eight...but I really failed at reading YA through most of the year until September-now. Hopefully a more productive year of reading for 2014!

NaNoWriMo: I won! ("won")...but what now?

Hellooo! Just thought I would leave a quick post about NaNoWriMo since it was such an all-consuming part of my life in November. I can't believe it, but I actually made it to 50,000 words! Well, 50,257, to be precise---had to stay true to the tradition I have upheld my entire life of doing the absolute bare minimum to succeed. Woooot.

Anyway, wow, what a month. I admit it was definitely a relief when November ended. I've had aspirations of writing a novel for as long as I can remember, and I've gotten up to 20k or 30k words before but have never finished a book. Not because of anything other than lack of motivation/laziness. So, I really took the NaNo challenge seriously, which meant I was constantly stressed out any time I was doing anything other than writing during my spare time. A few times during the month, I would get on a roll for a few hours and just feel this incredible euphoria, like holy crap I am doing this, I am actually writing a novel, and maybe it's not even all that bad???? But honestly...the majority of the time I was an anxious, self-doubting wreck. I literally had to force myself to sit down on the weekends and do this thing...the moments when it was easy and fun were few and far between. And I shudder to even think what I wrote...

Yep, haven't even opened the document since Thanksgiving. Which is probably really bad, because even though I made it to 50k, I didn't actually finish the "novel" yet. Probably still have another 15k words to go. But I just needed a break to get away from it all. Work also got really intense, and blah blah blah. My plan is to wrap her up over xmas break, then take another break from it, and then start revisions in February or something. Or maybe when I open it up again I'll be so horrified at the verbal diarrhea splattered all over the pages that I'll just hit DELETE and be done with it. Which would be terrible, but at the end of the day I would have still succeeded in writing 50k words in a month, so that's cool. I don't know. NO. I won't do that!! Ahh, here the anxiety is again. Alassss.

Anyway that was/is my NaNoWriMo experience, in a nutshell!

Feature & Follow Friday: Book-selling time!

Hello loverzz!! I love this week's FFF. The instructions:

Go to your biggest bookcases. Go to the second shelf from the top and pick out the sixth book from the left. Hardsell that book to us -- even if you haven't read it or if you hated it. 

My book turned out to be the bold, the shocking, the heart-wrenching, the life-altering classic of classics: CYRANO DE BERGERAC by Edmond Rostrand!!

Cyrano de Bergerac is a French play written in the late 19th century. It is based on the real life figure of Cyrano de Bergerac, a brilliant poet, formidable soldier, and hopeless romantic who is madly in love with his distant cousin, the beautiful Roxanne, but suffers from debilitating insecurity on account of his enormous nose. This was assigned reading for me in the 9th grade and I actually did love it. The movie Roxanne with Steve Martin, which is based on the play, is fabulous and hilarious as well--though also gutting. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! There are a lot of themes that come up in YA novels in good ol' Cyrano actually, which could be why it's often assigned reading for high schoolers. Self doubt, romance, quirky humor, etc. Cyrano is one of the most endearing characters of all time and you are doing YOURSELF a disservice if you haven't read this play yet. IT'S A CLASSIC!

Thanks to Parajunkee & Alison Can Read for hosting Feature & Follow Friday :-)

Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

First, a call out to my mom, who told me I needed to read this book. "It has five stars on Amazon and 2000+ reviews!" she told me. I've never heard of a book having 5 stars on Amazon...the most I've ever seen is 4.5. I don't normally read middle grade fiction, but the 5-stars intrigued me, so I made an exception. And I'm glad I did!

August Pullman is 10 years old and severely, profoundly deformed in the face. Otherwise he's perfectly normal...he can do everything normal kids can do (skateboard, hike, play video games, etc.) and he's got above average intelligence. Told primarily through August's POV, with a few chapters in the POV of his close friends or family members, the book recounts August's experience in the fifth grade, which is the first year he goes to real school (he was home schooled previously). Not a whole lot actually happens in the book; it's more about the minor, day-to-day slings and arrows we all experience and how the various characters cope with them and gradually grow as people. Kind of like Anne of Green Gables!

I thought the author nailed the setting of a fifth grade classroom. In August's school, fifth grade is the first year of middle school. When I was growing up, fifth grade was still considered elementary school, but it was definitely a transitional year when kids suddenly started "going out" with each other, popularity became a Thing, and everything just became super awkward and hard. Suddenly it mattered what clothes you wore, who your friends were, what stuff you were into, etc., in a way that it never had before. Honestly, it was friggin horrible, and there was no turning back after that year.

Fifth grade was an especially terrible year for me, and I didn't even have half the problems August has! I think 10-11 year olds might be some of the cruelest people on earth. They kind of embody the worst qualities of both children and adults: like adults, they have the intelligence to know if something is "cool" or not, to really know how to say the most cutting thing possible to hurt a person; yet, like children, they lack the maturity to filter themselves. Bad, bad combination, especially if you're the ugliest person on the planet, as August seems to be. A natural target.

Anyways, at times when I was reading this, especially the chapters told through August's POV, I would forget he was deformed. He deals with things like growing apart from his childhood best friend, over-hearing the person he thought was his new friend talking smack about him to a more popular kid in the effort to appear cool, etc. These are things every kid has to deal with, and I kind of think that was the point of the book and what made it all so relatable. To the outside world, August is perceived as a freak, as different. But in his own head, he's just a normal kid.

I liked that all the characters were presented in shades of gray (with the exception of Julian, the bully, and Mr. Tushman, the Dumbledore-like, benevolent principal), as opposed to being solely good or bad. Even August behaves like a petulant little brat sometimes, and I think it's important to see him that way...if he'd been presented as 100% angelic the book would have been insufferable. Would have read like an Aesop's fable or something.

I am giving this 4.5 stars. Why not 5? I don't know...I really liked it, loved it even, and felt uplifted the whole time I was reading it, but I don't know. When I think of a similarly moving/heart wrenching book, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors comes to mind, and I just felt like that book was on a slightly higher level somehow. I can't quite pin it down. But there was a certain preachiness to this one, especially towards the end when Tushman gave his lengthy speech about kindness, that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Still, it was excellent, and I highly recommend it!

Review: Broken by C.J. Lyons

This is a quick, suspenseful little read. I won an arc from Tiffany at About to Read (thanks Tiffany!) and it landed on my doorstep just as NaNoWriMo was kicking off. I sat on it for awhile, and then dove in one night when my fingers were bleeding from trying to force out the NaNo wurdz.

If it feels like I'm spending more time reviewing how I got the book and went about reading it than the book itself, that's true, and it's probably because I don't have a whole lot to say, unfortunately. The book wasn't awful or anything; it was just kind of meh. It's kind of a horror/suspense/mystery type novel, and I figured out very early on how it would end. This isn't because I'm some genius at unraveling mystery novels (in fact I'm usually pretty dense about such things)--rather, I'm pretty sure this exact scenario played out on an episode of House years ago.

15-yr old Scarlet Killian has had a rough life, to say the least. In an out of hospitals with a rare heart condition for as long as she can remember, she convinces her parents to let her go to high school for one week during her sophomore year. Though they're terrified she'll keel over and die at any moment, they begrudgingly agree to let her live like a regular teenager for the one week.

The pacing of the novel is well done, with each chapter consisting of one day of Scarlet's life at high school. Slowly, the author reveals certain clues about Scarlet's life, like the weird dreams she has about a baby boy being smothered by clowns, the fact that she has zero memory of massive periods in her life, and the way her step mother (the school nurse) seems just a little too involved in the personal lives of many students at the high school.

I don't know. Like I said, it's a very suspenseful novel and it's one that you will want to read cover to cover in one sitting. But, at the end of the day, I guess I just didn't feel it was terribly original. I won't give away what happens other than to say that "what happens" has already happened in at least one episode of a very popular TV show, and I'm pretty sure there is a Lifetime movie (or five) with this exact plot as well. It's predictable and I'm not sure C.J. Lyons adds anything too exciting or unique to the tale, unfortunately. I realize that plenty of "plots" have been done again and again, but I think it's easier to forgive this type of thing when it happens in a romance novel. If it's a mystery novel and you've got the same exact set up and conclusion as other popular works out there, that's a problem. Maybe if there had been some unique twists or if Scarlet's voice had been particularly interesting or unusual in some way, it would have worked, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Still, it's clear that C.J. Lyons is an experienced storyteller. The writing was very good and the pacing was excellent, keeping me engaged from the first page to the last.

3 stars.

Review: The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

Ahhhh. Those who know me in person know I am obsessed with Richelle Mead. I once drove an hour in the pouring rain to hear her do a reading from Spirit Bound. It was me and a bunch of 15 yr olds and it was amazing. Major girl crush on that woman. The event of a new Richelle Mead book is ALMOST as exciting for me as those days of yore when new Harry Potter books were coming out. Seriously, if they held midnight parties for new Richelle Mead releases, I would be there. I'd prob dress up as a strigoi.

ANYWAYYYY, getting to the point here, THE FIERY HEART. My heart sunk when I opened to the first page of the book and saw it was from Adrian's perspective. I sighed with every fiber of my being. nooo. Don't do it, Richelle! These dual POV YA books are so overdone and so rarely well done. I can think of like one example of a dual POV YA book that I enjoyed, and it's Perfect Chemistry. So I felt a major sense of foreboding plunging into this. And yet plunge I did, steeling myself with the thought that if anyone can pull off a dual POV, it's got to be Richelle!

Happily, I do think she pulled it off. It wasn't perfect, but it was a hell of a lot better than most of the dual POV books out there, and I can understand why she decided to tell the story this way. In Vampire Academy, she was able to use Rose & Lyssa's bond to show scenes that weren't happening in Rose's immediate presence, but with Sydney and Adrian that's not really possible. I also think the romance aspect of Bloodlines is more crucial to the story here than it was with Rose and Dimitri (even though I still swooned way harder over Rose/Dimitri than I do for Sydney/Adrian), so it was a nice surprise to be able to watch the story play out through Adrian's eyes as well as Sydney's.

 I could definitely tell the difference between Adrian and Sydney's voices most of the time, though I still like Adrian's speaking voice more than his narrating voice. There were a few times when he began waxing poetic over Sydney's glorious amber eyes for the eleventh time in a chapter and I started to feel nauseated, but in general it was mostly sweet. I like that the boy in this story is the whacked out emotional one, whereas Sydney is pragmatic, level headed, and always strong (and obsessed with cars).

I thought the ending was pretty predictable, although that might be because I read an interview with Richelle where she said a lot of readers were going to be worked up over this book. And I know how she likes to torture us midway through her series! So I was ready for it...

In sum, a lovely addition to the Bloodlines series. Adrian continued to be a highlight. The scene where he's having a manic meltdown and decides to attempt baking creme brulee had me spitting out my water. Makes me yearn for a retelling of Vampire Academy through Dimitri's eyes! Ahemm.

4.5 stars! HURRY UP WITH THE NEXT ONE! Also, can't wait for the VA movie in February!!!

NaNoWriMo: Out of the ashes comes a phoenix...

I'm still going! The fact that 10 days into this masochistic ritual I haven't been reduced to a pile of quivering angst is pretty huge, honestly. I just hit 31,000 words and am feeling really good. Srsly don't even need the strikeout keys at the moment. Not that I think I've produced a masterpiece, by any means, or even something publishable. I am pretty sure the previous 10-15k words would put anyone who suffered the misfortune of having to read them right to sleep. I know I felt sleepy as I was writing them, in any case, which is probably not a good sign.

But now I'm about at the halfway point of this "novel" (can I call it that????) and I'm feeling strangely optimistic. I'm having fun again. The first ten thousand words went by really quick and smoothly. I knew exactly how I wanted to set everything up, and had a fun time doing it. But then I started getting into the nitty gritty around 10-25k, and it was kind of a snoozefest. But now at 30k, stuff is goin down and it's one feisty scene after the next, and I'm lovin it. Created a playlist to get me amped up too.

Not sure if anyone would ever want to read this (aside from my parents, obviously. Hi!) - but at least I'm having fun writing it. At least I haven't given up. I think 50,000 words by the end of November is definitely in reach, and that was the goal. (KNOCK ON FRIGGIN WOOD.)

So, for now, I'm just going to bask in the feeling of contentment that comes from doing something productive that is for yourself and only yourself. Not your employer. Not your family. Not your friends. YOU! yay.

NaNoWriMo: Onward, ever onward!!!

So I know all my millions of followers are just beating their heads on their keyboards in frustration because there hasn't been an update to this blog since Friday (HORRORS). And to that, I just wanted to say: get friggin used to it, suckahhhzzzz. I am doing NaNoWriMo this month, which means every spare moment of free time is going to be spent cranking out this pile of steaming cow dung deeply-wrought, magisterial, life-affirming masterpiece.

So far I have written 15,500 words of festering mucus poop brilliant, inspired prose, and I'm feeling like a nervous wreck who could give up at any second and accept that I will never come even remotely close to achieving the smallest of my dreams really confident!

So that's where things stand. I will be back in December though, or sooner if I succumb to the ennui which has plagued me all the weary days of my life continue this trend of inspired genius and epic productivity and finish my 50,000 words ahead of schedule!

Happy November to all!

NaNoWriMo: Great Expectations

I have decided to take the plunge and attempt NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time ever. I figure, I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to finish a novel since I was about 10, so why not try once again, this time in a somewhat structured fashion. What's the worst that can happen--I don't finish? Well, I've been there before and it wasn't that crushing. I have a full time job, so my days are occupied, but I am planning to get up an hour earlier in the mornings and crank out the words while injecting caffeine into my eyeballs if necessary, and then haunt local coffee shops in the evenings. Nothing can possibly go wrong with this plan, can it???

Anyway I would be really curious to hear from anyone else that has participated in NaNoWriMo in the past or is doing it now. Did you have an entire plot meticulously constructed before you began, or did you figure it out as you went along? Did you actually finish the novel in a month? Tell all please; any words of advice are most welcome!

Feature & Follow Friday: What Book Are You Embarrassed to Admit You LOVED?

I work with a lot of academics, so I don't exactly make it a point to bring up my untamed passion for Vampire Academy (which people who haven't heard of it before assume is a Twilight knockoff...so frustrating) on a regular basis. But I wouldn't say I'm embarrassed about it. I do sometimes get some weird looks when it comes up, but those people can shove it.

Here is an All Hallow's Eve spoOOooooOooOOoky bonus treat:

Feature & Follow is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

I did a quick tally on my Kindle and it appears that I have read almost a dozen dystopian YA novels in the past year (not counting sequels/subsequent books in series), including blockbusters like Divergent, Enclave, Wither, Matched, and The Selection. So clearly I deserve a cookie for making it through so much dystopian doom without offing myself, no!?

Cookie aside, the point is, The Darkest Minds is without question the best dystopian book I've read this year.*

This book is scary. Bracken creates a world that is so vivid and horrifying and gritty that you really lose yourself in it; it takes over your whole mood as you're reading and stays with you after you finish. I finished it late last night, fell asleep, and when I woke up this morning it took me a few minutes to remember why I had that pit of despair in my gut. Yep, because of a book. Well done, Alexandra Bracken, that is not an easy feat to pull off!

The premise of this book is really original. All of a sudden kids between the ages of 10-18 start dropping dead of a mysterious illness. About 2% or so survive, but they are . . . different. As their peers are keeling over, the survivors realize that they've suddenly developed a variety of special powers, powers the government categorizes by color. Reds can light things on fire with their mind; Blues can move objects with a thought; Yellows can manipulate electricity, and Oranges, the most feared of all, can control people's minds. Naturally, the adult-run government is not thrilled to have thousands of super-human children running around, so they round up all the kids into what are basically concentration camps to try to stomp out their "abnormalities." The book centers on a girl named Ruby, who is classified as a Green (one of the more innocuous colors), but is harboring a secret, which, if found out, would almost certainly mean her death sentence . . .

Having just recently finished Lexicon by Max Green, which is based on the idea that certain people ("poets") skilled at the art of persuasion can take total control over another person simply by uttering a few words, I've been musing about mind control a lot lately. It is a horrifying concept, obviously, and one that presents a lot of disturbing yet fascinating ethical dilemmas. Is it ever ok to slip into someone's mind, control their thoughts, make them do something? What if it's for their own good? And are you automatically a monster if you have that ability, or is there hope of redemption? These are some of the big questions that come up in The Darkest Minds, and Bracken does a superb job of showing how the characters grapple with them and struggle to retain their humanity in a world where they are being ruthlessly hunted.

One thing I really like in dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels is when the author gives us a glimpse into what life was like before all hell broke loose. It gives us some context that we can relate to, so that when we see these characters stumbling through a strange new heinous world, there is a point of reference. For example, I loved that Poison Princess begins a few days before the apocalyptic "Flash" and we get to know Evie as a popular cheerleader just going about her life in high school. Seeing her that way added depth to her character and made her whole saga more relatable. And it is the same way in this book. The Darkest Minds picks up right as the "apocalypse" is about to happen, so that we get a peek at what life was like for Ruby (and all the other characters as well) Before. It just makes it easier to empathize; makes the characters seem more real.

The only thing that fell short for me in this book was the romance aspect. It's not that I didn't like Liam (Ruby's love interest, an absolute stand-up guy)--I just felt like his character was never as sharp/complex as many of the other characters, such as Zu, Sam, and Chubs. I didn't really understand why Liam and Ruby had the hots for each other, aside from the fact that for most of the book they are the only same-aged individual of the opposite sex that the other knows (which, actually, is probably enough when you are 16, lolz). Luckily, the romance part was not the focal point of the book, and you get the feeling that plot line will be developed more in the sequel.

All in all though, this was definitely one of the best books I've read all year. Utterly original, action-packed, with complex world-building, the whole 9 yards! 4.5 stars.

*Just to be clear I am not counting The Arcana Chronicles here, because I do not really consider those books to be dystopian, even though there is definitely a post-apocalyptic, dystopian vibe to them. Both Poison Princess and Endless Night still remain my favorite reads of 2013. Just wanted to clarify!

Top Ten Tuesday: Scariest Book Covers

I read most stuff on my Kindle these days so I don't always pay attention to jackets. Also, I don't read too many scary books because I get nightmares! But here are a few jackets that stuck out and still haunt me:

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

Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

"They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't."

So muses Lena, the main character and narrator of Delirium, giving us a peek into the rationale behind the dystopian society she lives in where teenagers get an operation around their 17th birthday or so, removing the part of the brain that "loves." Because the reason behind all the world wars and catastrophes in the days of yore was surely...too many slighted lovers!

Maybe I've just read way too many dystopian novels lately (along with anyone else on the planet who reads a lot of YA books), but when I heard that the premise for Delirium was a world where "love" had been banned, I rolled my eyes and sighed painfully. It just sounded so lame and unbelievable (that a society would actually decide banning love was the answer to world peace).

However, I really enjoyed Lauren Oliver's previous book, Before I Fall, so I decided to give this one a try. And it actually exceeded my expectations!

Though I never really got on board with the whole "love ruined the world so we cut the love nerves out of everyone's brains!" idea, it didn't ruin the book for me. When the book begins, Lena is just a few months away from having the operation that will render her incapable of love, and she's actually looking forward to it, viewing it as a rite of passage and a much wanted escape from all the raging teenage hormones she is currently suffering. Then, as one does in these books, she meets Someone, and begins to question things.

So it's not a terribly original story line, but Oliver is a great writer and she makes it compelling. I was really surprised to find myself staying up late tearing through the book because I had to find out what Lena would decide to do: to rebel or not! Lena is a likable character and she experiences growth as the novel progresses--at a realistic pace. She doesn't just see her loverboy the first time and immediately declare "damn the surgery, I'm in LOVE and I LOVE IT!" -- it takes awhile and that is a blessing. And there are obviously lots of obstacles in the way, this being a dystopian novel with an all-knowing all-seeing iron-fisted government.

The book ends on a massive cliffhanger, unsurprisingly. Because I am an awful person with no self restraint, I immediately got online after I finished it and read some spoilers about the second book, rather than reading the second book myself. And, woof! I did not love what I saw there. Which is terrible...I should grow up and actually read it and give it a chance, yadda yadda. Maybe one of these days.

In any case, not the most original or believable story lines for a dystopian novel, but still a good read that sucked me in and kept me up way past my bed time. 3.5 stars.

Feature & Follow Friday

This week's acivity: 

photograph your favorite read in a funny place

and a spoooooky feline bonus photo:

Thanks to Parajunkee & Alison Can Read for hosting Feature & Follow Friday!

When is it okay for an author to kill off a beloved main character?

WARNING: I'm gonna talk explicitly about some deaths in some books here. No books published in the last year or two, other than the Bridget Jones catastrophe. But there is always the possibility you haven't read one of these books yet and might be disappointed if you read on. So don't say I didn't warn you!

So, there have been a few controversial slayings in literature lately, which has got me thinking about this question of When Is It Acceptable For An Author To Slay A Beloved Character?

Obviously it's always "acceptable" in the sense that the author can do whatever she damn well pleases with her own work. I'm not debating that question because it is a fundamental truth. But, just because an author has the authority to do it, does not in my view always mean it's a good choice or that it makes for good literature. For example, if the death appears to be purely for shock value, or if it seems like it could have been easily avoidable and is thus contrived so that the reader feels manipulated, then I would argue that it was a poor choice.

One of the deaths that got me thinking about this is one that happened recently and is a big thing. I won't even utter the book's title here for fear of spoiling it for people, but I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about. I had it spoiled for me on Amazon, but I'm actually grateful for that. It made me glad I didn't read that book because I'm pretty sure I would not have been ok with that death and would have been annoyed that I wasted my time on such a book. Since I didn't read the book, I'm not going to debate it at length on here, but I'll just say from the reviews I read this one sounded like it was done for shock value more than anything else, which just seems like a cop out to me.

The other recent killing is of course the case of Mark Darcy of Bridget Jones. That one has been all over the news lately. It appears that Helen Fielding casually announces Darcy's death in the opening pages of the new Bridget Jones novel, Mad About the Boy. Now, I like Bridget Jones a lot. I am a huge fan actually and have watched the first movie at least a dozen times. I definitely would have bought the third book. But now, I am not so sure. I guess I should still give it a chance to see for myself if Bridget is still likable and endearing without Darcy in the picture...but, blegh. I just can't get excited about it and I think I'd prefer to pretend this book didn't exist.

Another book that I grew to hate because of the mass slaughter of beloved characters is Mockingjay. I realize people have a lot of different opinions on this one, but for me, it didn't work. It began to feel like gratuitous violence. I think the author was probably trying to make a statement about the horrors of war, how you do become numb to it after awhile, or something, I don't know, but to me it felt like some of these deaths served no purpose at all other than to make the reader think "wow Suzanne Collins is so ballsy killing off all these beloved characters, how RADICAL!" And after a point I just began to roll my eyes at it.

I would argue that The Fault in Our Stars (SPOILER WARNING!!!!) is an example of a book where killing off the main character absolutely does work. I guessed what was going to happen in the book pretty early on, but it didn't ruin it for me at all. It felt inevitable, in a good way, and it made for a richer story. I sobbed when it happened, but I didn't feel manipulated or cheated. It was the right way for that book to end.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (SPOILERZZZZ) is another one where the main character is offed at the end and I didn't mind in the slightest, even though I did weep bitterly. I loved this book. In it, the main character dies in a car crash in the first pages, and then through the book gets to relive over and over again (similar to Groundhog Day) the last day of her life. She starts off completely self absorbed, but by the 8th or 9th try at the day, she has grown as a person and ends up doing everything right. I admit I held out hope until the end that she would somehow figure out a way to avert her own death, as often happens in these paranormal-ish books, but she doesn't, and it's for the best. It would have felt cheesy if she had lived and I think would have undermined the quality of the book.

Similarly, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors. This is a modern day re-telling of Don Quixote, so it's not giving much away to say that one of the main characters (the one modeled after Don Quixote) winds up kicking it in the end. But it is so well done here. It definitely tears at your heart, but in the best way possible. If DQ hadn't died in this book, it would have felt absolutely ridiculous.

So those are some examples of killings that worked for me. What about you? Were you outraged by what went down in the last pages of Mockingjay? (I was.) Is it ever ok for a main character to die in a YA book or is that sacrilege because these books are supposed to be hopeful and happy? Or do we forfeit our right to complain altogether because the author has artistic liberty to do anything she likes? Share your opinion in the comments!

(short) Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Disclaimer: I read this book several months ago, so apologies in advance if my musings aren't the most specific and crisp. Alas, the mind is not as sharp as once it was.

Why I read it: Heard a lot of buzz about this puppy that was not even limited to the YA nerd realm I tend to orbit. Had some upcoming travels and was looking for a tolerable, non-gag-inducing YA book to get me through the trip. From what I had read about the book and its unconventional characters, this seemed like it might just fit the bill.

Initial thoughts: Whoa, the lead girl is not waifish, but rather full-bodied. Overweight, even. Way to go Rainbow Rowell: BREAKING DOWN CONVENTIONS, one pound at a time. I am all for it. I was drawn in right from the first pages when Eleanor is having such a rough time on the school bus. Blessedly, I did not have to take the bus to school in high school, but I am still a little traumatized from having had to take it in elementary school. It really is a snake pit. And that feeling of oh God where am I going to sit, did I wear the wrong thing, why is everyone looking at me, etc., is truly the worst. So, reading this, I felt like Rowell was pulling me right back to my own heinous times on the bus and could visualize the scene SO VIVIDLY as big, awkward, stupidly dressed Eleanor boards the bus on her first day at a new school and realizes there are no empty seats, and everyone on the bus watching her fumble wants to dig themselves a hole and crawl into it because the situation is so mortifying and awkward. Nothing unexpected or unusual happens in this scene; I mean really, how many YA books have we read where the main girl feels awkward and isolated? But the way it was done, through Park's eyes, with just the right amount of detail, was really spot on and gave me the impression I was almost certainly going to like this book.

Things I liked: I liked most things about the book, truly. This is character driven rather than plot driven, which is always a major plus in my book. Rowell does a great job at developing Eleanor and Park and showing how each of them grows over the course of the book. I especially liked the character of Eleanor. She felt really real to me, the way she compartmentalizes her heinous home life and so that she can function like an almost normal teenager when she's at school. I really liked the fact that she wasn't your typical skinny, pretty-but-not-pretty-but-actually-truly-divinely-beautiful Mary Sue type YA character.

Things I did not like: I honestly cannot think of anything specific I didn't like about the book. I will say that despite all the positive things I have to say about it, this book was not transformative for me, and it's not the type of book that really stuck with me all that long after. I've actually been putting off reviewing it because I was having a hard time imagining what I might say other than "yeah that was pretty good!" Which is fine - not every book has to be friggin Vampire Academy or The Arcana Chronicles, amirite?

In sum, if you're looking for a well-written (like truly much higher quality of writing than most YA books that take place in a high school) YA book about high school romance, you cannot go wrong here. It is a sweet book about on par with the quality of John Green's novels and I cannot really fathom anyone having anything the least bit nasty to say about it.

4.5 stars!

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Character Names in Books

I am sure I'm going to miss some great ones, but, off the top of my head...

1. Lyra Belacqua from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. Sounds so...lyrical! I always loved this name and am jealous Pullman used it first...otherwise I'd be tempted to steal it in my own efforts at fiction writing.

2. Dorothea Brooke from George Eliot's Middlemarch. So distinguished with just the slightest bit of frill. I like it.

3. Rose Hathaway from Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy. I've never been a huge fan of the name "Rose" before but I fell in love with the name in Vampire Academy. Rose the character is such a firecracker and "Rose" the name seems so gentle and lovely...the contrast really worked for me here.

4. Cormoran Strike from J.K. Rowling's The Cuckoo's Calling. Cormoran Strike?? Enough said. Brilliant.

5. Arwen from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. So simple and pretty.

6. Gilbert Blythe from L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. At first I thought "Gilbert" was a ridiculous, dorky name, but it really grew on me over the time. And "Blythe" is lovelyyyyyy.

7. Bella Swan from Twilight. I'm not a fan of Twilight, but Stephanie Meyer nailed it with the name Bella Swan. It really rolls off the tongue pleasantly.

8. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. Love the name Katniss. Love even more the nickname Katnip.

9. Jackson Deveaux from The Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole (who has an excellent name herself, in fact...is that her real name??). Mmmmm...

10. George Knightley from Jane Austen's Emma. My ultimate knight!

CANINE BONUS: Manchee from The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. MY HEART.....ahh, Manchee might just be the best animal character ever, like in the history of animals in books. I realize that is a huge statement to make, but I'm prepared to stand behind it. And he has such a cute name.

Thank you as always to The Broke & the Bookish for hosting Top Ten Tuesday!

PS: Just discovered this is my 100th post on here. Hooray!!