Review: The Prince Who Fell From the Sky by John Claude Bemis

Title: The Prince Who Fell From the Sky [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: John Claude Bemis [Website|Facebook]
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic
Published: May 22nd, 2012 by Random House
Format: Kindle edition; 272 pages
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley
Challenge: YA/MG Fantasy Challenge

In Casseomae's world, the wolves rule the Forest, and the Forest is everywhere. The animals tell stories of the Skinless Ones, whose cities and roads once covered the earth, but the Skinless disappeared long ago.

Casseomae is content to live alone, apart from the other bears in her tribe, until one of the ancients' sky vehicles crashes to the ground, and from it emerges a Skinless One, a child. Rather than turn him over to the wolves, Casseomae chooses to protect this human cub, to find someplace safe for him to live. But where among the animals will a human child be safe? And is Casseomae threatening the safety of the Forest and all its tribes by protecting him?

Middle-grade fans of postapocalyptic fiction are in for a treat with this fanciful and engaging animal story by the author of the Clockwork Dark trilogy.

Anyone who’s been reading my reviews for a while now has probably realized that I love when a book puts a spin on my traditional way of thinking.  I don’t always agree with the spin, but I like knowing it’s out there affecting the way people think about things.  The Prince Who Fell From the Sky was one of those books.  I was worried on more than one occasion that it would cross the line into ‘big message’ territory and make me groan, but it didn’t!  John Claude Bemis weaved his tale with a deft hand in a way that made me think without making me feel like I was being judged.  Not completely easy for a story about post-apocalyptic earth where the humans live no more and animals pass down stories of the Skinless Ones’ cruelty to the Forest.

The Prince Who Fell From the Sky was an interesting weave of native mythology, animal fantasy, and the currently popular post-apocalyptic setting.  The main character, Casseomae (or Cas for short), is an aging bear with the instincts and desire to be a mother.  Unfortunately, all of her cubs have been stillborn.  As a result, she feels very protective of all those in need, saving each member of the band repeatedly throughout.  When the Skinless Ones fall from the sky (presumably in some sort of space craft) and a child emerges, Cas refuses to let the hierarchy of the Forest kill him, despite the risk.  The only memories creatures of the forest have of the Skinless Ones are of killing and destruction. She sets off with the companionship of a somewhat knowledgeable rat, a Faithful dog, and the ‘cub’ in tow.

The Prince Who Fell From the Sky is the story of unlikely partnerships between animals of different standing and relation to humans.  It seems that each type of animal has their own stories and myths about humans, and I loved to see the alternate takes that the animals had.  The greatest humor of the book sprouted from Dumpster, the rat who begrudgingly journeys alongside Cas in search of his Mischief and the Havenlands.  He is the Memory for his Mischief, the one who is supposed to remember all of the stories and history.  As such, he considers himself the authority on all things human, but of course, at least half of his ideas are laughably ridiculous and nonsensical to our human minds.  For example, the idea that people had fire escapes on buildings so they could escape fire on the ground and run up to safety.

The relationship between Cas and the ‘cub’ is powerful.  Despite a language barrier (and I honestly loved that the human and animals couldn’t talk with one another), she manages to impart wisdom and respect for the Forest into him.  This, she hopes, will make him a part of the Forest and unlikely to cause the destruction that all of the animals fear he portends.  The ending of The Prince Who Fell From the Sky is unequivocally perfect.  It’s realistic, heartwarming, and sad all wrapped into one.  Plus I have to say, that I totally dig this cover.

While I obviously have many kind things to say about John Claude Bemis’s The Prince Who Fell From the Sky, I will admit that this story didn’t really grab me.  It was well done, unexpected, and made me think from a new perspective, but at the same time it was very easy to put down, and didn’t have me longing for more.  I feel descriptions of this one as a post-apocalyptic Jungle Book are fairly on the nose, though that is another story I was never enraptured by.  Personally, I could take it or leave it, but I do feel that it will be a better fit for many young readers.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  This was my first John Claude Bemis, and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t fall madly in love and am not sure I will be picking up the Clockwork Dark trilogy.

Recommended for: They’ve pitched this one more to fans of post-apocalyptic fiction, but I personally feel it’s a better fit for fans of animal fantasy such as Redwall, Wattership Down, The Jungle Book or the Warriors series.  Nice crossover appeal! 

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Review: Starters by Lissa Price

Title: Starters[Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Lissa Price [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: First in what I believe will be a duology.
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic
Published: March 13th, 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Format: Kindle edition.
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley.
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge

Callie and her younger brother have been living as squatters on the street since losing their parents to a genocide virus.  Unlike the lucky kids, they have no grandparents to take care of them.  When her brother is sick, and they are evicted from a building holding all of their meager belongings, Callie feels she’s reached the end of her rope.  She decides to sign on at Prime Destinations.  Three rentals, and she’ll be free, with an astronomical paycheck.  The thought of an Ender renting her body for fun disgusts Callie, but not as much as letting her brother die.  Callie is in for more than the contract, however, when she realizes that the woman renting her body has more in mind than being young and having fun.  Who is she supposed to turn to, and what is she supposed to do with so little control?

So here’s where I get sheepish, because just last week I faulted Partials for being too similar to Battlestar Gallactica.  Well, if that bothered me, I only loved Starters all the more for basically being the novelized YA version of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse.  I’ll just go ahead and pin that “Hypocrite” badge to my chest now, thank you!

I was sold on Starters from the moment I picked it up.  Not only does the cover give you that totally eerie feeling of being watched, but the story grabs you and doesn’t let you go till the closing page.  Imagine a future where the United States has been ripped apart in a war.  The country has suffered the release of a virus engineered for destruction, but luckily they had a vaccination...just not enough for everyone.  I could totally buy this circumstance--the elderly and children being the most vulnerable were the ones to receive the cure, unfortunately, the adults weren’t immune either and perished.  This left countless children, “Starters” because they’re at the start of their lives, at the mercy of the “Enders”, who are at the end of theirs.  The Starters can’t vote, work, or fend for themselves in any way that isn’t scraping and surviving on the streets.  Only Starters with surviving grandparents to claim them have any semblance of ‘normalcy’, though even those kids have struggled with the situation of a country torn and parents lost.  I was shocked at the implication that the elderly of this nation would just abandon so many of the young, but as the story unfolded, the situation became more believable.  There weren’t enough Enders with grandchildren or benevolent hearts to provide for the mass numbers of Starters, but that doesn’t mean that all Enders were bad, or that the government didn’t attempt to provide solutions (however terrible).  

I would like to get a bit more of the back story of the Spore Wars, and the circumstances leading up to Starters.  I appreciate that there were no info-dumps, but it would be nice to uncover more.  After all, who doesn’t want to learn more about our country becoming such a mess that Mexico would build a wall to keep us out?  I have high hopes that my questions will be answered in Enders.  Also, there is a prequel short, Portrait of a Starter, but I haven’t read it.  The tragedy of Starters was the children--they became the greatest victims of a war they had no part in.  Isn’t this always the case with war?  Certainly, but in Starters, it is in your face and more apparent than ever.

I loved that Callie’s experience slightly paralleled Cinderella’s.  This girl from the streets, no better than trash, is given the opportunity to glam up and turn it all around.  For a time.  Like every Cinderella story, there’s a deadline, and there’s more to the story than can be seen on the surface.  Oh!  And there’s even a total Newsies scene!  Love it!  

Starters was action-packed in a way that had my heart pumping and my brain locked in.  The last time I can pin-point this exact sensation while reading would be during James Dashner’s The Maze Runner.  Both post-apocalyptic books will have you on the edge of your seat, and literally nauseated with the twists and turns that humanity takes.  That, for me, was the best and most powerful thing about Starters.  Despite its similarities to Dollhouse, I had no freaking idea where this book was going.  I don’t dare reveal much of the plot lest it be ruined for others, but as someone who appreciates the unpredictable greatly, I will say that Starters had my jaw dropping and my head exploding by the end.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Absofreakinlutely.  Starters earned a place on my favorites of 2012 shelf, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Enders towards the end of this year.  

Recommended for:  Dollhouse fans, those who enjoy post-apocolyptic/sci-fi YA ala The Maze Runner, body snatchers.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  Well duh.  If you haven’t seen Dollhouse, you really ought to go watch it.  It’s only 2 seasons, and so effed up the entire time you’ll be thinking ‘how the heck did this ever get on tv?’.  Plus, it’s Joss Whedon!

Review: Partials by Dan Wells

Title: Partials [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Dan Wells [Website|Twitter]
Standing: 1st in what I believe is a duology?
Genre: Young Adult, Sci Fi, Post Apocalyptic
Published: February 28th, 2012 by Balzer & Bray
Format: Kindle edition.
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley.

Humans created the Partials, human-like machines, in order to fight their wars for them.  Eleven years ago, the Partials rebelled killing off the bulk of humanity and a deadly virus was released that has kept the surviving humans from successfully reproducing.  Now, humans have retreated to Long Island where they attempt to maintain civilization and look to the future by enacting The Hope Act.  The Hope Act requires all women 18 and over to be pregnant as often as possible in the hopes that more babies will provide a chance to cure the RM virus.  When Kira’s adopted sister becomes pregnant, she feels a strong need to do something more to save the baby.  Kira determines that humanity’s best hope lies in their greatest demise, the Partials, and the best chance to cure RM is by studying the enemy.

If you’re curious about Partials, I’m fairly sure this is the book trailer:

Now, this book was good, but it could have been great if it had done a few things differently:

1) Not followed so many of the same plot lines as Battlestar Galactica.  Unfortunately, for me, this made Partials fairly wrote and predictable. I do think that Dan Wells did an excellent job of creating a very probable future with real issues (like The Hope Act) that were unique and believable, but I'm hoping the plot will deviate more from BSG in the upcoming book.

2) Have been told from a male point of view.  I get it, maybe Dan Wells was trying something new, or maybe someone suggested the female perspective because there are more female YA readers.  However, I felt like Partials would have been better suited if it’d been aimed more towards males.  With all of the military and scientific medical speak, action, and lack of gushy romance, I feel like this book could really grab some teen boys--a group that more great books need to be aimed at and written for.  I’m not saying males won’t enjoy Partials, but they will be less likely to pick it up.  I'm also not saying he didn't do a good job of writing Kira (even if I didn't much like her), he did. I’m hoping for a change of perspective in the second book (give me Samm prz).

3) Axed out about half of the dialog.  Did we need to expound on everything?  It went something like this: 5 pages-make a plan. 1 paragraph-realize plan won’t work. 3 pages-adjust for new plan. 1 paragraph-this plan goes up in flames as well.  10 pages-the action.  The action bits were good.  This is what kept me going, but the having to explain things over and over every time we run into someone new or there’s a kink in the plans got really old.  Also I didn’t need Kira’s every thought spelled out for me. This takes away my own ability to think, and I find that somewhat degrading as a reader.  The book could have probably been cut down 100 pages and been better for it.

My final complaint about Partials was that I didn’t really like the main characters, but I know others have, so that’s hardly the author’s fault so much as my personal preference.  I couldn’t stand Marcus, and I didn't like Kira much either.  Anytime anyone pulls out the phrase “If you really loved me you would/wouldn’t do this.” it sends off immediate warning bells in my head that this is a doomed relationship.  And at some point they both say this.  There was a pretty strong supporting cast (color me a Xochi/Samm fan) and since the book highlighted the story and action more than the characters themselves I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Okay!  Done with the negative, because I’d like to emphasize now that despite my complaints, there was a lot to like about Partials.  The story was action packed (you know, between all of the talking), and emotionally charged on a basic instinctual level of survival vrs. personal rights.  This book had me feeling real emotions (mostly anger and frustration), and I appreciate that both sides of arguments were presented in such a way that it was hard to really hate any given side so much as the situation itself.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  As annoyed with this book as I was at times, the story was good enough that I’ll check out the second installment (and I really hope this is a duology).

Recommended for:  Fans of Battlestar Gallactica, anyone who enjoys post-apocolyptic sci-fi minus the fluff, and yes, boys!

Real life repercussions of reading this book: Me to boyfriend shortly after starting the book: “If the big twist is that ____________ I’m going to throw this book against the wall.”  400 pages later: Throws book against wall.