Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: John Green [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Published: January 10th, 2012 by Dutton Books
Format: Hardcover; 313 pages.
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Challenge: Completely Contemp Challenge

You have a choice in this world, I believe, about how to tell sad stories, and we made the funny choice.

Did you know that there are, chemically speaking, two different stages of love? The first stage, the one where you’re falling and all dopey and basically unable to function because you can’t think of anything but that other person is the result of a chemical cocktail of adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin pouring through your brain. The second stage, the one where you’re committed and stay together potentially for life is because of two other chemicals, vasopressin and oxytocin. These are the ones that really bond you together, but the fact is, once you’re getting the vasopressin and oxytocin, you don’t get so much of the adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin. And that, my friends, is probably the biggest reason that I (and quite probably you) love to read about falling in love. It gives me a bit of those chemicals (and feelings) back. That’s why after reading a book I love, I often can’t sleep, and I usually have a lot of energy. And I love it!

But here’s the thing. Reading can also make you feel not-so-good feelings that you don’t like and want to avoid like the plague. That, my friends, is why I did not really want to read The Fault in Our Stars. I drug my feet…a lot. Even while reading. A book that could have easily been read in one sitting, I read a third of, put down for two days, then read chapter by chapter for some time, getting up and doing something else constantly to try to keep myself from getting too involved. This behavior continued for about 2/3 of the book.  I knew what was coming, and I dreaded it. I kind of Monnicad this book. I didn’t want to get hurt, so I pushed it away, but it hurt anyway. But it also felt pretty good, falling in love with Augustus Waters.

This book doesn’t really need another review at this point (heck, I didn’t even bother to post a summary, please click the GoodReads link if you need one). Many/most of you have already read it, and to my knowledge, everyone’s loved it, so it seems silly to go on and on, and yet I’m not sure I can resist fawning a little. So here it goes:

I love Augustus. I love that he pushes this perfect boundary between being pushy and just plain attentive. I love that he doesn’t try to kiss Hazel, or call her too much, and I love that he reads her favorite book first thing, and really thinks about it.

I love that Hazel has a hard time standing much, and Augustus has a hard time sitting. Something about that whispers “star-crossed lovers” in your ear and breaks your heart.

I love that Hazel and Augustus both have wonderful families. Families who care about them and support them, and even hover a little, but the kids don’t resent them for it. They love them for it. There need to be more families like this in books (and maybe in real life).

I love that this book manages to include poetry that wasn’t at all cheesy, and did not once make me gag.

I love that this book made me laugh a lot more than it made me cry. I agree with Hazel and Augustus (and with Mr. John Green), you have a choice how to tell sad stories, and the funny choice? That’s the best one.

And I like my choices.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: This was my second John Green, and I’m not going to lie, I am glad it wasn’t my first.  If it was my first, I’d probably think “wonderful book, but I’m not signing up for that again”.  Luckily, I remain very excited to read his other books, and plan on listening to the audio of Looking for Alaska somewhat soonish.  This guy’s made himself a must-read.

Recommended for:  The next time anyone says something degrading about the quality or value of YA lit, I’m going to slap them with The Fault in Our Stars and just dare them not to feel all the things.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  Only 2.25 tissues used! <—Unsure if this is a bragging point, or a sign that I am well and truly dead inside.

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Review: Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

Title: Sloppy Firsts [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Megan McCafferty [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Book one in the Jessica Darling quintet.
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Published: August 28th, 2001 by Crown Publishing Group
Format: Kindle edition; 304 pages.
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

“My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? ... I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment—from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.

So I’m just going to lay it out there.  I have never been so sexually frustrated at the end of a book.  Ever.  Now maybe that’s a bit spoilery, but I don’t think it’s so bad considering this is a five book series and we know these things get drug out in a five book series.  But I’ve never read a contemporary series before; in the world of cliffhangers, Sloppy Firsts is far from the worst, but it was enough to make me die inside just a little and keep me up all night worrying about what’s going to happen to my new BFF Jessica.  Which brings me to my basic conclusion about Sloppy Firsts--I freaking loved it.

Now, I pretty much never read contemporary before this year.  Sure, maybe, if a book was renowned enough or I was required by some form of schooling, but I never really got into the genre.  I’m totally a fantasy girl, and spent the bulk of my library time growing up on the floor of that one aisle at my library combing through the Sci-Fi/Fantasy collection and ignoring all other forms of literature.  And I’m cool with that.  But just this once, I found myself wishing with every fiber of my being that I had read Sloppy Firsts as soon as it came out.  Not only can it easily be crowned my favorite contemporary YA ever, I just know this book would have spoken to teenage me like a lifeline of sanity (or mutual morbidity).

Dude, Jessica Darling is my homegirl.  And I would totally print that on a shirt and wear it.  Yeah she has her annoying quirks, like getting all giggly when she’s awkward or embarrassed, but for the most part she’s probably the fictional character I could most see myself being friends with in high school.  We both really hate weddings and just want to elope, we both didn’t bother buying yearbooks, we’re both phone phobic, goody-goody ‘smart’ kids, and we’re both pretty hyper aware of our own ridiculousness.  That doesn’t stop us from stressing to the point of physically harming our own bodies, being dramatic about our problems, and searching for pretty much any purchase in our home towns.  I love that Jessica is holding out for a guy who can be her best friend, that she so dutifully keeps up correspondence with Hope, and that she writes us her story in her journal.  Technically, that makes Sloppy Firsts an epistolary novel.  I like that, and felt that the journal entries were believable, but at the same time, it read more like a strait up novel to me than you often get with the epistolary format.

I got such a strong feel for all of the characters in this book.  Jessica struggles with relating to her parents, caring at all about her friends (whom she hates), dealing with her mad crush on senior who doesn’t know she exists, and a period that’s completely M.I.A. Of course my favorite character besides Jessica would have to be (you guessed it) Marcus Flutie.  I loved Marcus, because even though I’d seen people mention him before I read this book, he was so completely not what I expected.  In fact, more than anything, he reminds me of my own best guy friend from high school, right down to his woodsy-smoky smell, and I honest to God had ‘why was I just platonic with that guy again?’ thoughts.  Because, dear friends, Marcus Flutie is awesome.  Okay, he’s pretty weird and kind of a dick at times, but he’s also unexpected, quixotic, and pretty perfect for Jessica even if the world doesn’t see it.  

One of my favorite things about Sloppy Firsts was that the two most important and influential characters in Jessica’s life, Hope and Marcus, were more or less absent for the bulk of it.  In fact, Hope is physically nonexistence, and Jessica has a weird curiosity about Marcus that begins to border on an obsession she just can’t drop, so while he’s mentioned often, he’s not very frequent appearance-wise.  I found myself positively pining for more contact with this enigma of a character, while simultaneously loving how drawn out the relationship was.  Sloppy Firsts was, to me, an entirely realistic representation of life in high school, and I loved every agonizing second of it.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Okay, let me tell you, if I had had Second Helpings on hand, or if I hadn’t had to put myself on a wait list for the Kindle edition from Overdrive, I would have started it immediately.  And it was 2:00 am.  And I had to work in the morning.  I call that a sure thing.

Recommended for:  Absolutely anyone and everyone who enjoys contemporary YA.  I have to thank Forever YA for picking this as the March book club pick, or I never would have read it.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  I have totally and irrevocably changed my opinion of contemporary YA.  It’s not that I haven't enjoyed contemporary since I’ve been pushing myself to read more this year, but this is the first time I’ve ever been completely riveted and dying for more.

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Audio Review: White Cat by Holly Black

Title: White Cat [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Holly Black [Website|Twitter|Tumblr]
Standing: First book in the Curse Workers series.
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Published: May 11th, 2010 by Listening Library
Format: Audiobook; 6 hrs, 40 min. Read by Jesse Eisenberg
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

The first in a trilogy, this gritty, fast-paced fantasy is rife with the unexpected. Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn’t fit in at home or at school, so he’s used to feeling like an outsider. He’s also used to feeling guilty—he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.

But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas—and a plan to con the conmen.

Sometimes I don’t really bother to figure out what a book is about before I pick it up.  When I decided to check out White Cat, by Holly Black, somewhat on a whim, it boiled down to 4 simple reasons: 1) It was available on Overdrive, 2) It wasn’t too long (I was burnt out from listening to 14-18 hour books) 3) It was by Holly Black, an author I’ve been wanting to read more of and 4) the series was wrapping up, so I could go through the whole thing without having to wait.  Needless to say, I was hoping White Cat would be decent, but didn’t expect it to be near as intriguing, original, or engrossing as it turned out to be!

Full disclosure: I’ve had a huge girl boner for con men ever since…well forever.  There’s something about grifters that is just undeniably sexy and alluring to me.  I blame my parents for glorifying The Music Man so much as a kid…you know that’s totes why I became a librarian, to meet my con man!  So…Cassel Sharpe?  Yeah, I’d hit it.  I probably wouldn’t even care if he were just using me as a means to an end (but he’d totally want to be strait with me because I’m the woman who would change his life).  I’ve never had a thing for Jesse Eisenberg before, and the second his voice came out of my headphones (yeah, I didn’t even read who the narrator was prior to checking this out), I had all sorts of thoughts flash through my head, most of which added up to: I don’t know how I feel about this.  But now?  After finishing?  I love me some Jesse Eisenberg.  I mean, I liked Zombieland a lot, but his other movies like Adventureland and Social Network were largely depressing views of the world and humanity, and since the kid comes across as a slightly less awkward and slightly more attractive version of Michael Cerra, I wasn’t exactly wringing out my panties for the guy.  But now I know that if I were to ever see him, I’d probably try to muster up the courage to tell him that I love his audiobooks: 1) Because it’s true, 2) Because I bet actors don’t get that a lot, and he’d totally want to have a night of splendor with me because of it, and 3) It’s cool, my boyfriend doesn’t read my blog.

Where were we? Oh yeah, con men. Sexy magical con men. Sorry Sawyer, my heart was yours, but it’s been sold to another because you lack the literal magic touch.  Holly Black has created a world in which there are curse workers; humans who have the ability to change something with a single touch.  There are seven kinds of curse work: luck, dream, emotion, memory, death, transformation, and physical.  A curse worker has to touch you with their bare hands in order to work you, which is why everyone wears gloves all of the time, and a bare hand is terrifying to behold.  Working people is illegal, and has been for several generations.  People that were once held up, have now been cast down as lowlifes and criminals, the worst of the worst and the lowest of the low.  And for the most part, they’ve taken on this mantle.  Worker families have become the crime families of the world.  They can change your memories, change your emotions, make you believe what they want you to believe, and kill you with a single touch.  They are, suffice it to say, scary awesome.

Cassel’s family doesn’t run a crime ring, but they’re not too far off.  His mother is in prison for working men for money, his brother is working for one of the biggest crime bosses around, and him?  Well, he’s just trying to finish high school.  Cassel is the disappointing child, the one without the power to work.  Raised in a worker family, he knows all the tricks.  He knows how to work a mark, and can almost always manipulate those around him to get what he wants.  He’s haunted by his past, and the worst memory he has: killing his best friend, Lila, at age 14.  As Cassel struggles to find out what really happened to the girl he loved, he begins to uncover a reality that he’s almost better off not knowing. 

Cassel is one of those bad boys that you just can’t help but have a thing for…because he’s also kind of a good guy.  Cassel wants to do the right thing, it’s not his fault that doing right by someone often means doing wrong by someone else.  Seriously, if this book doesn’t sound intriguing to you, then I think you might be broken.  It’s cool, I’ll get Cassel’s mom to work you into feeling like you must read this series.  Because really, you should.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I’m pretty sure there’s no question about that.  I’ve already checked the last two books out, and am most of the way through Red Glove as I write!

Recommended for: YA UF fans, chicks who dig con men, those who want a story that is dark and edgy with a male narrator—no fluff-n-stuff in White Cat!

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  Hey, did you guys know/notice that Jace Wayland from Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series makes an appearance in all three of these books?  Made my day in the “I spotted the pineapple in Psyche!” kind of way.

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Review: Railsea by China Miéville

Title: Railsea [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: China Miéville [Website]
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Young Adult, SciFi, Retelling (ish)
Published: May 15th, 2012 by Random House Publishing Group
Format: Kindle edition; 448 pages
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley

On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watches in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt: the giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death and the other’s glory. But no matter how spectacular it is, Sham can’t shake the sense that there is more to life than traveling the endless rails of the railsea—even if his captain can think only of the hunt for the ivory-colored mole she’s been chasing since it took her arm all those years ago. When they come across a wrecked train, at first it’s a welcome distraction. But what Sham finds in the derelict—a kind of treasure map indicating a mythical place untouched by iron rails—leads to considerably more than he’d bargained for. Soon he’s hunted on all sides, by pirates, trainsfolk, monsters, and salvage-scrabblers. And it might not be just Sham’s life that’s about to change. It could be the whole of the railsea.

Here is a novel for readers of all ages, a gripping and brilliantly imagined take on Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick that confirms China Miéville’s status as “the most original and talented voice to appear in several years” (Science Fiction Chronicle).

I’m not going to lie and say that Railsea is a book I will be recommending to all readers, but I will, with certainty, be recommending it to anyone and everyone I think would enjoy it.  Railsea isn’t what anyone expects to see under the ‘YA’ label.  Many have argued that it isn’t really YA at all, but when a book is pitched as ‘a novel for readers of all ages’, I don’t think it’s really trying to be.  Given its content, I think that ‘a novel for readers of all ages’ is the perfect description for Railsea.  It will appeal to Miéville’s adult fanbase, as well as make him more accessible to younger readers.  The teens who will fall in love with Railsea will be those who probably read a lot of adult sci-fi or fantasy already; they will be smart, appreciate a wry sense of humor, and have a wonderful sense of adventure.  Readers must be patient getting into this one, as it will take you a while to feel entirely at ease with the language and story, and to understand the world that Miéville has built, but I assure you that it will be worth the effort.

As China Miéville  has said himself: “Part of the appeal of the fantastic is taking ridiculous ideas very seriously and pretending they're not absurd.”  I couldn’t possibly describe Railsea in a more accurate sentence.  Railsea is ridiculous, but the respect and authority that Miéville gives to his characters in the story therein left me completely enraptured, enamored, and on the edge of my seat wanting more.  To me, Railsea was hilarious.  I was constantly laughing out loud in the way that you laugh at someone who you are never quite sure recognizes how truly clever they are.  I was initially worried that I would be bogged down in the language, but instead I found myself languishing in it, making Railsea one of the more literary works I have read for some time.

However, the best part of Railsea is the story that is found within all of this.  Railsea is a sort of Moby Dick retelling, but readers shouldn’t go in thinking this will be all about a captain balancing on the edge of sanity pulling all the stops to bring down the big one.  That’s only part of the tale.  In fact, our focus isn’t the captain at all, it is Sham ap Soorap, who dreams of a life more exciting than that of a doctor’s assistant aboard a moler, and gets it.  It’s the story of a sort of treasure map, a high seas adventure, and an escapade to the very ends of the earth. 

Now, those readers who love a focus on excellent world building and plot—Railsea is for you, but for those of you who are all about character development, you may not approve.  It’s not that the characters are shallow, but Railsea is not a book where we get strong images of the characters’ emotions.  And personally, I didn’t feel like anything was missing despite this.  The world of Railsea, with scavengers, pirates, and hunters riding the railsea on trains rather than ships made me think of a futuristic old west, kind of like a more localized take on Joss Whedon’s Firefly.  Add to that giant vermin such as fanged meerkats or predatory chipmunk packs living under the land of the rails, and you have some pretty terrifying imagery going for you.  In addition, Railsea contains a number of illustrations of the creatures described, drawn by the author himself.  I loved seeing them in detail, though I’ll admit I craved to see some of the drawings that Sham himself had done, or others depicting the railsea.

I’m always impressed when an author writes a book so utterly un-sexist, that traditional gender divisions aren’t even a thought.  As was the case with Railsea.  Gender roles are never even alluded to, it is just a part of the world that women do the exact same jobs as men, and nothing whatsoever is thought about this.  Our captain, Naphi, is a woman whose life philosophy has become killing Mocker-Jack, the Mole of Many Meanings.  And she’s not the only strong woman about, there’s scrappers, molers, and Caldera Shroake making Railsea a book that spreads the crazy, savvy, and skill all over. 

I realize I haven’t talked overly much about the plot, but the reality is, you don’t want me to.  You want to dive into the unknown of the Railsea with as few preconceived notions of the plot as possible.  This is one of those books I loved, but about which I still have a hard time adequately formulating my thoughts into words. While I have tried to express that this is not for everyone, I have to stress that those that click with Railsea will really click.  This will certainly be one of my top reads of 2012.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: Oh goodness yes!  I’ve been wanting to read some China Miéville for some time, and since I particularly enjoyed the zany wit of Railsea, I think my next read will be his other book for younger readers, Un Lun Dun.

Recommended for: Fans of Firefly, Neal Stephenson, Tremors, Treasure Island and Moby Dick.

Real life repercussions of reading this book: Okay, I loved bats before, but now I want a pet day bat so badly it’s ridiculous.  Daybe for best animal companion of the year?

Also:

This one’s for Naphi.

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Audio Review: Fever Crumb by Philip Reeves

Title: Fever Crumb [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Philip Reeve [Website|Twitter]
Standing: First book in the Hungry City Chronicles prequel trilogy.
Genre: Young Adult, Futuristic, Sci-Fi
Published: March 1st, 2011 by Scholastic Inc.
Format: Audiobook; 7 hours. Read by Philip Reeve.
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Fever Crumb is a girl who has been adopted and raised by Dr. Crumb, a member of the order of Engineers, where she serves as apprentice. In a time and place where women are not seen as reasonable creatures, Fever is an anomaly, the only female to serve in the order.

Soon though, she must say goodbye to Dr. Crumb - nearly the only person she's ever known - to assist archeologist Kit Solent on a top-secret project. As her work begins, Fever is plagued by memories that are not her own and Kit seems to have a particular interest in finding out what they are. Fever has also been singled out by city-dwellers who declare her part Scriven.

The Scriveners, not human, ruled the city some years ago but were hunted down and killed in a victorious uprising by the people. If there are any remaining Scriven, they are to be eliminated.

All Fever knows is what she's been told: that she is an orphan. Is Fever a Scriven? Whose memories does she hold? Is the mystery of Fever, adopted daughter of Dr. Crumb, the key to the secret that lies at the heart of London?

Haunting, arresting, and astonishingly original, Fever Crumb will delight and surprise readers at every fast-paced, breathless turn.

Philip Reeve has created a most intriguing world in Fever Crumb, the first installment of a trilogy preempting his Hungry City Chronicles (also called the Mortal Engines series--the prequel trilogy was written after).  Now, I haven’t read the Hungry City Chronicles, so I can’t really speak to that effect, but I will say that Fever Crumb was a delightful, quirky, futuristic steampunk-like read.  Fever Crumb appears to be set in our own world, but so far in the future that electronics and such are referred to as creations of the ancients.  While I would argue that Fever Crumb is not technically steampunk, and is rather just straight up sci-fi, it does have a very steampunk-like quality in that the world has a Victorian feel, and thus it will appeal to fans of that genre.

I picked up Fever Crumb on audio after seeing it on YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list.  The title alone grabbed me, and when I read the premise I was drawn in.  The audiobook is read by the author, Philip Reeve, and I am almost always a fan of audiobooks read by their authors (see Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens).  I’m happy to say that Fever Crumb did not disappoint!  Philip Reeve’s narrative was excellent, and with an accent matching Jim Dale’s it was easy to be charmed into enjoying the audio of Fever Crumb.  His futuristic London held some laugh out loud quirks for me, like the use of the term ‘blogger’ as an insult, or instead of Hari Krishna cults on the street there were cults chanting ‘Harry Potter’.  In fact, my initial reaction shortly into listening was ‘why haven’t more people I know read this book?!’  I’m sad to say, however, that my initial interest in Philip Reeve’s London waned by the end.  I did enjoy Fever Crumb, but it turns out I liked the entire storyline significantly less than I liked the idea up front.

Fever Crumb is also one of those books that, at least for me, sits on the precipice between Middle Grade and Young Adult.  It is technically categorized as Young Adult, but reads very much like a Middle Grade book.  I’d put it on the brink with books like Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, or C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia.  I enjoy this age range, though I find it difficult to peg down at times, but sadly Fever Crumb didn’t grab me in near the same way as the other series mentioned.

The character I most enjoyed in Fever Crumb was, no surprise, Fever Crumb.  Fever is practical and logical to a fault; so much so that she seems almost robotic like.  She won’t drink hot tea (because the transportation of tea is impractical), she shaves her head every other day (hair is an unnecessary vestige of our ancestors, and creates a home for lice), and she certainly doesn’t go in for things like fairy tales or fun.  I think this is why the beginning of the book was so much more enjoyable to me than the end.  I loved seeing Fever’s reactions to things, and observing her thought process.  As the story goes on, she inevitably learns that it is okay to feel, and honestly I found her less interesting when she became more personable. 

The overall story of London, humans, and the scriveners was most assuredly an interesting set up, but I am uncertain that I was caught up enough to carry on.  Philip Reeve does have a unique and charming way of putting a Victorian style on Science Fiction that is different from the steampunk genre in which we normally see this union. 

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I did enjoy Fever Crumb, especially in its audiobook format.  However, since my library doesn’t have the rest of the series on audio, and I don’t feel invested enough in the series to purchase it on audio, I do not know that I will be continuing on.

Recommended for:  Those who enjoy older MG/younger YA books, steampunkers.

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Salute Your Shorts: Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr–the Wicked Lovely Edition

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) feature here at Bunbury in the Stacks highlighting and reviewing short stories and novellas. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, just grab the pic above and shoot me a link in the comments so that I can include your post in a roundup.

Title: Faery Tales and Nightmares [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Melissa Marr [Website|Twitter]
Standing: This week I’m talking the Wicked Lovely stories.
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Published: February 21st, 2012 by HarperCollins
Format:  Hardcover; 418 pages 
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Challenge: YA/MG Fantasy Challenge
Spoilers!: This review contains all sorts of spoilers for the Wicked Lovely series, which I’ve reviewed as a whole here.  Half of the stories take place after that series ends.  So seriously.  Go read that first.  But remember, you can read half of this anthology spoiler free, and I’ve reviewed those stories here.

Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments dark and light by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from beneath the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention—with amorous or sinister intent—relentlessly.

From the gentle tones of a storyteller’s cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr’s Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with...or to fear.

Lush, seductive, and chilling, Melissa Marr’s stories revel in the unseen magic that infuses the world as we know it.

Welcome to the Wicked Lovely edition of Salute Your Shorts for Faery Tales and Nightmares!  Today I’ll be talking the other six stories in the anthology, the ones that are either in, or somehow related to the Wicked Lovely universe.  What can you read?  First off, The Sleeping Girl and the Summer King is not technically Wicked Lovely, so go to town.  Old Habbits and Stopping Time take place after Ink Exchange, so you are free to read those if you’ve only read up to that point in the series.  Cotton Candy Skies shouldn’t be read until after Darkest Mercy, Unexpected Family and Merely Mortal should not be touched until you’ve finished the series.

The Sleeping girl and the summer king

I knew that this story was described as Wicked Lovely-ish, but before reading it I didn’t really understand why.  This was the short story that Melissa Marr wrote that later turned into the series, however, The Sleeping Girl and the Summer King is quite different than the series itself.  You can see that the structure is there (and a character named Aisling!), but it is still very much its own story.

Each winter, a girl falls asleep, and spring only returns when she dreams of it.  Throughout the summer, she spends her days basking in the sun with the summer king, until finally she comes of age where she is too old to sleep again.  At this time, she is presented with a choice: stay young forever as one of the many girls of summer, or age as winter.  Only if she chooses winter will its previous barer be free, but the allure of both sides is strong.

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Cotton Candy Skies

This was the WL story I was most excited to read when I picked up Faery Tales and Nightmares.  I probably would have been more excited about Old Habits and Stopping Time, but I’d already read them, and I knew Cotton Candy Skies featured my other WL favorite—The Shadow Court.  I love Devlin and Ani, and was super excited at the chance to see them again, so I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t a little disappointed that they were barely in this story.  However, when I thought about it, it made sense.  They’d already had their happy ending, and there were others that still needed some tying up.  That’s where this story, and Rabbit came in.

Cotton Candy Skies features Rabbit, Ani and Tish’s older brother and father figure, who has found himself sealed in Faerie.  He feels at a loss, unsure of what to do with himself that will make him feel worthwhile in the same way that he felt needed and worthwhile in the outside world.  It was fun to have a story about Rabbit, a minor character that I always liked, but we never heard much from.  It was the perfect choice for a Shadow Court tale, and in the end it may not be my favorite in the collection, but I was happy nonetheless.

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Unexpected Family

Unexpected Family takes place about a week after the events of Darkest Mercy conclude, and it’s a Seth story (yay!).  Seth receives a letter from his mortal parents insisting that he visit them, indicating some urgency.  He hasn’t seen his parents in several years, and while they have an amicable relationship, he’s certainly not in the mood to leave Huntsdale after all of the upheaval.  For his family, however, he will.  Seth bids goodbye to Aisling, and requests that Niall accompany him to California, knowing that he and Niall have to work out their differences.  Seth doesn’t want to lose Niall as a brother, but he knows there will be friction as his opposite.

I enjoyed this story a fair amount, particularly because Seth is one of the most interesting characters in the Wicked Lovely series.  With three courts heavily invested in his welfare as son, lover, and brother, is it any surprise that he’s generally a good guy?  Unexpected Family was probably my favorite WL story in this collection, though it would honestly be behind Old Habbits and Stopping Time which I read previously.

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Merely Mortal

Unfortunately, Merely Mortal ended up placing as my least favorite story in this anthology.  It’s a shame, being as it was also that last story in this collection, and therefore left me feeling a little down on it (even though the bulk of stories were wonderful). 

Merely Mortal is a story of Keenan and Donia, attempting to cope as a real couple for the first time in over a century.  They have loved each other for a very long time, but have never been able to surmount the obstacles standing in their way.  Now, finally, Keenan has given up his regency and is free to love Donia, however, he has also given up his immortality.  After 900 years, Keenan is mortal, delicate, and easily broken.  He wants to attempt to become fae again, but Donia is so afraid of him being hurt.  Merely Mortal tells a light tale of this couple vacationing—something rare and unusual for any fae reagents.

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Old Habits and Stopping Time

I’m honestly going to kind of gloss over these two stories because I read them as e-book singles while I was reading the Wicked Lovely series last year, and chose not to reread them when they were published in this collection.  They are the two longest stories in the book, each more a novella than a short story, they make up about 1/3 of the text in Faery Tales and Nightmares. 

Let’s just suffice it to say that if you love Niall, Irial, and Leslie (and if you don’t, I really think you’re missing out), you must check out Old Habbits and Stopping Time.  Stopping Time focuses largely on Niall and Leslie, while Old Habbits focuses largely on the relationship between Niall and Irial.  To me, these three characters are the most compelling of the entire series, and getting these extra novellas to explore the relationships between my favorite characters was time well spent!

Review: Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Title: Struck [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Jennifer Bosworth [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: First in a series, can be read as a stand alone.
Genre: Young Adult, Apocalyptic, SciFi
Published: May 8th, 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR
Format: Kindle edition; 385 pages.
Source: ARC copy from publisher via NetGalley.
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She's survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn't who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

Ah, Struck.  It was awesome, it was frustrating, I’m thinking it was worth the time I took to read it, but also that I could have lived without doing so.  First thing’s first, let’s talk about the good, because Struck does have some very cool culty goodness to offer.

Mia Price can’t even keep track of how many times she’s been hit by lightning, and it hits her different every time.  Sometimes it will throw you 20 feet, sometimes it will fry your hair, sometimes it will even stop your heart.  Once you’ve been hit, you’re more likely to be hit again, and lightning is attracted to Mia like a star-crossed lover.  As a result, Mia’s family picked up and moved to Los Angeles, where it rarely rains.  There, she’s far less likely to be struck.  She wears all modest clothing to hide the lightning scars that cover her body, Lichtenberg figures, which now encompass her skin.  They usually fade within days of being hit—but Mia’s don’t.  Here’s an idea of what the scars look like:

Pretty cool, eh?  Personally, I think they’re kind of amazing and I’m not sure why anyone would want to cover that awesomeness, but I suppose seventeen year-olds that have been labeled freaks by their former communities are self conscious about this sort of thing.

Struck had the type of fast-paced plot that made the book a breeze.  It takes place in the lull between a massive earthquake and the official apocalypse.  Or, ‘official’ according to the cults.  Er, the cult and the secret society (though I’m with Mia, the two look the same from where I’m standing).  Mia finds herself, and her family, caught between two warring factions, each certain that they will save the world.  However, both sides believe Mia is the key to victory, and they’re willing to cross more than a few lines to win her over to the cause.  Struck plays with the power of belief, particularly in a time of crisis, and paints a frightening image of those who will take advantage of chaos and fear in destruction.  The perversion of playing in people’s heads made me feel dirty, and I loved the real fear and emotion Jennifer Bosworth was able to impart with the actions of those involved.  The plot wasn’t exactly full of surprises, but the writing was solid, and the characters were well-developed if (at least in my opinion) unlikable. 

And with that we come to the bad.  As stated, I didn’t really like the characters.  In fact, I didn’t really like anyone in this book.  By the end I was ready to throw the book against the wall for lack of ability to shake some sense into or just flat up strangle Mia.  Mia has leverage and power, and she doesn’t even realize it which drives me nuts.  People keep trying to blackmail and lie to get her on their side, and it never once occurs to her that they should be begging and offering her stuff.  I get the whole wanting to help your family thing, but at the same time, I don’t get the overprotectiveness that Mia exhibits.  I’ve never been a big sister, so maybe I just can’t understand, but as the youngest of 5, I’m happy to say my brothers and sisters let me make my own mistakes and didn’t try to shield me from experiencing things the way Mia does with Parker.  Sure, it’s the apocalypse, but I still think that’s just who she is and I’m not a fan.  Also, it takes Mia way too long to figure things out. Wait, scratch that, she never does figure things out, she has to have facts spoon fed to her. 

And then there’s Jeremy.  Oh the love interest.  This is where I started beating my head against the wall and rolling my eyes so much my head hurt.  It’s the whole immediate attraction, can’t take their eyes off each other, become completely stupid kind of love interest.  Yuck.  When they first meet, there is the implication that Jeremy has been stalking Mia.  She actually thinks: “Jeremy, a stalker? No way. A guy like Jeremy didn’t need to stalk.”  Um, so, let me get this strait.  Attractive guys don’t ever do creepy or inappropriate things to girls?  They don’t have to stalk girls, because women just fall naked at their feet?  Mmhmm, you’re really earning my respect here.

Finally, there’s the fictional science.  I understand that sci fi is fictitious, and often requires suspension of disbelief, and I’m cool with that.  Telepaths?  Sure!  Psychics?  Why not?  But when you start implying ridiculous things such as lightening causing an 8.6 magnitude earthquake, I draw the line:

There was a geological survey going on at the time—which, ironically, had something to do with earthquakes—and a crew had opened up a hole in the ground that went way down into the earth, supposedly for miles, all the way to the Puente Hills Fault that runs right beneath downtown. Lightning struck straight into the hole, and immediately afterward there was an 8.6 magnitude earthquake that lasted over three minutes. The top seismologists in the world had formulated a theory that, hypothetically, the friction along the Puente Hills fault line might have acted like a beacon for lightning. When the fault was struck, it increased the pressure on the fault exponentially, setting off the earthquake like a nuke buried miles underground.

Sure, Bosworth gives herself the out by saying that this could neither be proved or disproved, but since the entire plot more or less revolves around the notion of lightning being able to cause earthquakes, I’m going to say no.  Just no.  To be fair to her, I did check with the U.S. Geological Survey’s page on earthquakes.  It states that “If weather does affect earthquake occurrence, or if some animals or people can tell when an earthquake is coming, we do not yet understand how it works.”  But as someone who spent several years as a geosciences major, I find the notion pretty laughable. 

In the end, I had my frustrations, but it was engrossing and such a fast read that I devoured it in two sittings.  It’s a good read for those looking for a plot-driven book, but be ready to ignore some pretty implausible science and annoying characters.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: Although I enjoyed a lot of Struck, it irked me.  There was a lot of eye rolling and heavy sighing (the annoyed kind, not the happy kind), so I do not think I will be reading the rest of the series.

Recommended for:
I’ll just say this, watch the trailer.  It’s one of the best-done book trailers I’ve seen, and it'll give you a really good feel for the book itself:

Real life repercussions of reading this book:
When there’s nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire.

The song in my head after Struck.

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Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda

Title: Fracture [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Megan Miranda [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Young Adult, Speculative Fiction
Published: January 17th, 2012 by Walker Children's
Format: Hardcover; 262 pages.
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge

The first time I died, I didn't see God.

No light at the end of the tunnel.  No haloed angels.  No dead grandparents.
To be fair, I probably wasn’t a solid shoo-in for heaven.  But, honestly, I kind of assumed I’d make the cut.
I didn’t see any fire or brimstone, either.
Not even an endless darkness.  Nothing.
One moment I was clawing at the ice above, skin numb, lungs burning.  Then everything--the ice, the pain, the brightness filtering through the surface of the lake--just vanished.
And then I saw the light.

Delaney fell through the too-thin ice on the lake one day.  She fell through, and she didn’t come back up.  Her best friend, Decker, pulled her out eleven minutes later.  Death was definite; she was blue, cold, and not breathing.  Even if by some miracle Delaney were to live, she’d be in a comatose vegetative state for the rest of her life.  Only she wasn’t.  She was fine.  Or as fine as you could be when you were supposed to be dead but weren’t, which I suppose is really not fine at all.

Fracture took me by surprise with its intense emotions, steady pace, and overall feel.  This was one of those books I was greatly looking forward to, and yet for some reason once I had it in my hands, I let it sit for two months before picking it up.  Once I did, I couldn’t put it down.  I read Fracture in a single sitting, I think I actually put the book down once when I realized I needed sustenance and went to the kitchen for a snack, but I’ll admit it even made bathroom runs with me.  

Fracture instantly grips you into Delaney’s emotional plight, as she miraculously recovers from what should have been death, but despite her being alive, she isn’t the same.  Physically, and mentally, there is something most definitely wrong.  Her brain scans light up like a Christmas tree with areas that shouldn’t be firing properly, but are.  She should have short and long term memory loss, but she doesn’t.  She shouldn’t have control over her body motions, but she does.  Delaney isn’t in top shape, she has broken ribs, intense headaches, and no short of trauma.  She begins to have intense feelings of itch and pull from inside her brain, that draw her to certain places, certain people, as her hands begin to shake.  Her parents and the doctors tell her she is having hallucinations, and believe that she is hurting herself, and hurting others.  Delaney can’t believe this, and with horror she realizes that the pulls are drawing her to death, and that she’s not the only one.

I was surprised at how moved I was by Delaney’s story.  I was expecting an edge of my seat type story, and I got it, but I wasn’t expecting the dive into depression that Fracture took.  Both Delaney and her mother experience intense changes after Delaney’s accident, and have to struggle not to drown in their own hopeless states.  I went in thinking Delaney’s drowning was over before I started, but I ended knowing Delaney had been grasping for the surface for the duration of the book.  She has to grapple not only with her new abilities and physical changes, but with a complete upheaval in her home life, her school aspirations, and her relationships with friends.  Delaney has a surprising sense of mortality for someone so young, even beyond the reality that she should by all rights be dead.

It was sad to me how few friends Delaney really seemed to have.  It was like she was part of a group, but Decker was really the only one she let herself be close to.  While this never hurt before, when Delaney and Decker begin struggling with their own emotions, she has no one else to turn to and Decker basically ‘wins’ their mutual friends by default.  This upset me in no small part because I really wanted to love Decker.  I totally fell for him in the first chapter, when he breaks down in utter relief at Delaney’s revival, but then his actions through the rest of the book frustrate me to no end, and I ended up despising him and all of their other so called friends.  And then, there’s Troy.  Troy, the one person who can really understand what Delaney’s going through.  I want to hate Troy as much as I want to love Decker, but again, I can’t.  More than anything, I pity him.  When he meets Delaney, Troy finally feels that he’s no longer alone in the world, and I cannot fathom that kind of relief and intensity of emotion.

Fracture, to me, was an interesting observation on life, death, and healing.  It recognizes that often in the face of tragedy, the person whose tragedy it is gets pushed to the side as those around them need comfort.  While I loved that Fracture was a stand alone novel, I will say my biggest disappointment was the end.  It felt abrupt, and too out of touch with the overall story.  I wanted a little more of an outlook to the future, or at least an acknowledgement that there would be a future, however difficult or easy or sad or happy. Fracture was one of those books that I was completely immersed in, and yet liked much less than I expected when all was said and done.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I will happily read whatever Megan Miranda comes up with next.  Fracture was a solid debut, and judging from it Miranda has immense potential.

Recommended for:  People who enjoy unreliable narrators, and some twists to their contemporary reads.  I’d say Fracture has a similar set up to If I Stay balance-wise, but reads more like Fury.

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