Review- A Torch Against the Night

Stars: 5 stars
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Razorbill


Review:

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'm happy to report that after a decidedly difficult experience with the first book, An Ember in the Ashes I LOVED this installment. Maybe I loved it because it reads more like traditional adult fantasy than the first one. Tahir doesn't pull any punches with the amount of dark and downright horrible things that happen in this second installment-- and I respected her commitment to the story and the characters.

It took me more than a third of the first book to get into the story largely because it read like most other teen fantasy novels. There were a bunch of love trials and what felt like teenage angst. There were hints that Laia was more than what she seemed, a lot of things that have been done a lot by a lot of people.

However, by the second third of the first book, there were hints of depth and Laia's character had started to fill out. The introductory and development of the secondary characters like Izzi, Cook and Helene started to work and I started to care what happened to them. There were a lot of mysterious elements introduced in that first installment not properly answered and sadly, many of them were again NOT answered in Torch. Like WHO is this Cook person?! (I have my suspicions.)

But, in this installment, Laia is fully formed as a character. She is fierce and tenious-- someone you can really route for. More importantly so is Elias. His demons come front and center in this book and he becomes a character that I really, really connected with. I wanted his and Laia's love story so bad! I did not feel fulfilled! That alone will get me reading book 3.

Even better, we get into Helene's head and find her to be a deeply conflicted, rounded character. Somehow the three head POV rotation works here in a way that it maybe doesn't for me a lot of the time. In the first book, I mostly wanted to brush off Helene because I couldn't really understand her blind allegiance to the empire despite the genuinely shitty things that were happening to and around her. Here, we get to see inside her head, what makes her tick, and understand the truly horrible choices put before her.

The setting reads like Gladiator which is unique, but the newness ends there. Book one introduces relatively little of what would be found in adult fantasy and so the Romanesque setting is really the only novelty from other YA reads in this genre. What I really liked in Torch was the full-on dive into fantasy: wraiths, the Forest of Souls, magical abilities, etc. There are elements of great fantasy here, reminiscent of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. And as I said before, Tahir doesn't shy away from the darkness. People die. There is a genocide. There is torture. These elements make the story incredibly engrossing and much more emotionally relevant than if Tahir had written a lighter, more friendly book. At the end, I was DYING for the next installment (which I will have to wait until next year for!!!! *sighs*)

Book Review: The Wrath and the Dawn

Stars: 4 stars!
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Amazon

Review:
My first 1001 Arabian Nights retelling and boy was it a good one! Got this rec from Ivy Book Bindings, who I almost always steers me in the right direction as far as great fantasy goes. This was a total winner, great pacing, beautifully written, and with an EPIC love story at the center of everything. I had to knock off a star though because the ending made me WANT TO SCREAM. I know there is going to be a sequel, but this installment did not resolve anything and it left all the characters in the worst way and I just wanted to keep flipping to the next page because I was sure that I missed something.

Aside from the lack of ending, this book was a home-run. It might be because I haven't read many books like this. The setting in the Arabian desert, the amazing clothing, the kings, sultans, princesses, the food, the palace etc. The whole middle-eastern fairy tale thing completely rocked my world. I wanted to dive in, curl up and take a nap on Shazi's platform bed covered in colorful pillows. 

But even without all of that, I think I would have loved this book. Shahrzad is a fierce heroine. Fierce like Beyonce, but good with a bow like Katniss. She's absolutely great-- and the way that she falls in love with Khalid against her own will was just delicious. Khalid is a tortured hero, but not really in the  typically angsty way. Although honestly what we know about him for most of the book really is what we DON'T know about him. Once his secret is fully revealed (which if you know the story, I guess you know going in) you realize he sort of does have the weight of the world on his shoulders and there is really no good way for him to spin it. 

I'm not sure where the author is going with the next book-- I read the synopsis and thought that is seemed a bit of a departure from where she left our characters, but I'll take it. I wish it was coming out before May though!

Review: The V Girl

Stars: 1
Author: Mya Roberts
Genre: YA Dystopian
Publisher:


Review:
DNF 16% 

*NetGalley eARC

Sadly this book did not work for me AT ALL. And I don't think it is really a good one for kids to read. It's pretty explicitly focused on sex, but in a way that feels both completely unrealistic and very voyeuristic. I did not understand the premise of the dystopian world set forth by the author. I did not finish this book (not sure that matters in this case), but there was a quite a lot of info-dumping at the beginning that the author uses to try to world build, but that didn't explain in a way that makes sense how the world had ended up in this very, very messed up place.

From what I could understand there was a civil war happening in the America and has been for 21 years. And apparently soldiers on one or both sides had been given drugs to turn them into violent, sex-crazed super-soldiers, and thus are allowed to rape people because that seemed the best way to keep them in line?  But it was unclear who was still fighting and why. And also, why, when there women available (Lila makes mention of them) to have sex with the soldiers willingly did they need to turn to rape? I mean I guess that happens a lot in warfare, but to turn it into an established practice and legalize it seems bizarre. And also, why was sex and rage and being a virgin the central focus of everything and everyone? Surely there were more important conflicts in a society riddled by a war lasting more than two decades than who is and isn't having sex with who consensually or not!

Then there was the whole inciting incident where Lila doesn't want to get raped so she plans to have sex with her friend Rey before the troops come to town. It just didn't really make sense. She wants to have sex, but she doesn't. Rey won't have sex with her and she's upset and really wants to do it especially after she is rejected, so she goes and sits in the woods and watches two other people have sex. Also there is an incident where she is swimming naked in the river and comes upon the hero and somehow ends up sliding off a rock, naked, butt-first onto his head. See what I mean? There is really very little sense to the world-building.

I really couldn't follow. The writing also felt choppy and all over the place. Lila would have a thought and then two or three lines down have another that would directly contradict the first. The "hero" Aleksey had that sort of weird, old-school romance-hero thing going on: he was big like a lion and had long, flowing hair. Gag me please.

The way that all of the characters talk about sex all the time was also unnerving and not in the way that pushes the readers' boundaries or makes them think about things in new ways, in the way that makes you feel uncomfortable. For example Lila's sister, Azalea, is talking to Lila about Aleksey and wondering if Lila has considered him for her "emergency de-flowering" by saying, "He towers above soldiers so his truth must be...extraordinary. Too much for a tight girl." Really?! That's both awkward and weird. Lila's father talks the same way about sex to his kids, some of them young. I think the author was trying to convey the necessary frankness in this world and differences in boundaries between this world and ours, but it completely misses the mark for me.

I couldn't finish this book because there was really nothing I liked enough about it to keep me reading. I also think it is 100% an adult story because it doesn't have any ANYTHING that I consider important for young adults to read and feels very inappropriate.

Book Review: Burning

Stars: 2
Author: Danielle Rollins
Genre: Ya Fiction
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA


Review: 
I did not like this book, but it that doesn't mean it is a bad book. In fact, I think a lot of kids might like it. It's a bit edgy (in that the teens in the book are in a juvenile detention center and they have committed crimes, some of them seem like they are sincerely dangerous and disturbed). It has a very, very Orange is the New Black vibe right from page one. I could almost picture Brunesfield as Litchfield. Also, there is a quite a bit of violence, some of it a bit gory, and there is a mystery/thriller element with a paranormal twist. I found it to be well-paced, but not particularly original. The story didn't totally lose me until after about 60% when the dangerous purpose of the SciGirls club is finally revealed (cue the cheesy, creepy music).

I didn't mind the heroine, Angela, but she didn't really do much for me either. She is reasonably well-fleshed out and her two friends: Cara and Issie are also reasonably well-drawn, but none of them were particularly compelling for me. Quite frankly, I didn't care what happened to any of them. The mystery centers on a newly incarcerated young girl named Jessica. Over the first 40% of the book we come to find out Jessica has the mysterious and horrifying ability to set people and things on fire-- with her mind! (*gasp* ) However, after the initial mystery surrounding Jessica is revealed, the story fell flat for me. I easily predicted that the new, "good" doctor at the prison, was not really good and that there would be a romance between Angela and the guard (really?! Straight rip-off from Orange is the New Black *sigh*). I didn't love any of that. And  I really didn't love the conspiracy theory secret-organization-who-takes-girls-from-juvie-for-secret-experiments-because-no-one-will-notice-or-care angle. There is a cliff-hanger at the end, but by that point, I was skimming. I wouldn't pick up the next one. For a younger, less-jaded reader this book might work, but it didn't for me.

Book Review: Dumplin'

Stars: 4
Author: Julie Murphy
Genre: Young adult fiction
Publisher: Balzer & Bray

I fought against liking this book, I'm not sure why, but I did. In the end, it overcame all of the negativity I could throw against it and was a really excellent read-- and not just for girls who have felt "fat," or bad about themselves their whole lives-- this is an empowering story for anyone who has struggled with body image or self-esteem. My initial concern with the book came from thinking that this would be a book that encouraged girls to be unhealthy. I think everyone should be happy in their body, no matter the size, but eating healthy and maintaining a healthy weight is important, especially for teens. The blurb makes it sounds like Will (Dumplin') is one of those "fat" girls that is all in your face about how she's fat and she's proud and she doesn't care if that means she is unhealthy.

It turns out that Will, like all of us, has a confident front that she puts on, but is insecure deep down. But she's insecure about lots of things in her life, not just her weight, I guess you could say that most of them stem from her weight, but really this is more than just a story about a girl with body-image issues.

I LOVED the setting in Texas. Somehow a Texas setting always feels like you are reading about some exotic foreign country (if you are living in the Northeast like me). I also loved the excellent development of the secondary characters. Will's mom was well-fleshed out, and Will's aunt Lucy, though deceased, plays a big, important role in the story-- a complex role. Will has really complicated feelings about her aunt and the things that she struggled wit h in her life (Lucy was morbidly obese). The other girls competing as the ugly ducklings of the pageant are pretty great and are given more than just the token-misfit roles here. And lastly, Dolly Parton plays a big role in the story which sets the whole story apart.

There is (I hesitate to call it a love triangle) some conflict for Will about her feelings for Bo versus Mitch. I liked the way that conflict was resolved. Although you can see going along that Mitch-- the nice guy-- is going to get the short end of the stick. It's hard to watch Will treat Mitch badly and know what she is doing, but continue to do it anyway. But I could relate to that, and I think lots of others will too sometimes you hurt people carelessly and then feel bad about it.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the storyline with the pageant, and Dolly Parton references, and how Murphy resolves everything. And it's not some silly, ridiculous, tied-up-in-a-bow perfect ending, it felt legit.

I immediately picked up Murphy's first novel: Side Effects May Vary, because this was a great read.

Review: Me, Early and the Dying Girl

Stars: 4

Author: Jesse Andrews

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Genre: Young adult fiction

I laughed out loud while reading this book-- a lot. His description of hot girls as moose tromping through the forest over chipmunks (guys like him) was fantastic. Equally great was the whole bit with the accidentally getting high, really that whole episode, ending in him getting ice cream all over his entire body, including his ankles-- was very funny. 

That being said I kind of got over Greg's self-loathing by the end of the book. In fact, his whole world view got to be so much convincing the reader that he doesn't care, and by extension you, the reader, doesn't care, that I wasn't even affected by Rachel's death at the end. There was really no emotional punch to what happens because you know going in that is what is going to happen, but really also because Greg spends the entire book telling the reader that he really thinks the book is a piece of garbage, that he does nothing out of the goodness of his heart, cares about no one, and he thinks he is a terrible person. It's all a bit too Holden Caufield of him. 

By the end, I started to agree with him. On the other hand, I thought the writing was witty and frankly hilarious. Greg's inner monologue is a thing of beauty. All the secondary characters equal parts ridiculous and vivid. I liked the whole thing. Andrews has Greg narrate the book using both first person narration, but also lapses into screenplay style interactions at times and perhaps my favorite-- bulleted listed in lieu of written dialogue. 

Greg's obviously an anti-hero but I appreciated that this book stays well away from all the teen book stereotypes. It was very refreshing. (Which I felt made the movie version o the book less awesome-- because they included the obligatory teenage prom and a lot of stuff at the end around Rachel's death to specifically pull on your heart-strings) but I digress. I appreciate the utter lack of romance and teen cliches in this book. 

A final note: Earl is fantastically awesome. Not only is Earl just about the best character ever, but he sounds like what you would expect him to sound like. He's just awesome. The book wouldn't have been a tenth as good as it was without short, angry, chain-smoking Earl-- who deep down seems to get people and Rachel in particular, a lot better that Greg ever does.

Review: Forever by Judy Blume

Star rating: 4 stars
Author: Judy Blume
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Pans Children


This is the story of two high school seniors, Katherine and Michael and how they fall in love. It is also the story of how their relationship develops until they decide to have sex. The novel follows their entire relationship, and Blume presents a realistic, though ultimately unhappy, look at young love. Katherine and Michael are ultimately forced to separate for the summer (by their parents against both of their wishes) but vow that they will stay together forever.

Many of the parents and censors that I read about felt that students reading this book would promote sexual activity. It was pointed out in the New York Times article that just because a kid feels old enough to read about the sexual relationship presented in Forever, does not mean that that child feels old enough to go out and engage in sex themselves. This goes back to the idea that we as adults can predict and understand exactly how a book will affect a specific child. Children will take what they want from books.

This book is a slippery slope because it does contain graphic sexual content. Though I would point out that the sex between Michael and Katherine is ridiculously responsible: Michael doesn’t pressure Katherine, he waits until she is ready, they use condoms, Katherine takes herself to Family Planning and gets on birth control. Though young, they are enter into a mature relationship. Those points alone are enough for me, were I parent, to allow my child to read this book. However, I don’t believe that reading books will convince children to do things that they weren’t already considering. Just as I don’t believe that reading Harry Potter will convince children that magic is real and that there is no God, I don’t believe that reading about sex makes people have sex.
However, I can understand the reaction to this book, especially in light of when it was originally published. Not only were there different standards for the content of books at the time, but there weren’t as many books being published that pushed the limit. Were this book to be published today I don’t believe it would receive as much negative notice.

Review: The Winner's Curse

Rating: 4 stars

Author: Marie Rutoski

Genre: Young adult fantasy

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

Goodreads
Amazon

Click here for the first five chapters on Kindle.

This novel is thought-provoking and deliberate. I enjoyed it and I want to the next book in the series sooner rather than later. I didn't give five stars because I felt like there was purposeful distance between the reader and our two protagonists, Kestrel and Arin. The distance I felt was probably due in part to the fact that both Kestrel and Arin are both very stoic characters, deliberate in their actions and their thoughts, but I still felt I couldn't get close enough to them to really understand everything that they were doing. Sometimes I felt like I was on the outside watching them, inside of right there with them. It was told in the third person, alternating between Kestrel and Arin. Another strange thing was the that when Arin's perspective was first introduced he is referred to as "the slave." This was because the reader hadn't yet been given Arin's name so we only knew that he was a slave and not much else about it, but it was still a bit jarring. I don't think it would have been as confusing if it were a third person narrator telling us about him, but the 3rd person perspective was supposed to be from the Arin and Kestrel's perspectives, respectively.


Another thing that contributed to the distance between reader and the characters is that there is a lot of implied communication between the two of them. While this made the novel feel smart and intriguing, it also didn't allow me to feel a lot of intimacy with the the characters.


Both Arin and Kestrel as intelligent and calculating, excellent at reading other people, both strategists with complicated agendas which are not always clear either to the reader or to each other. These implications make the book both intriguing and sometimes frustrating. Intriguing because you want to keep reading, because you don't really know what Kestrel's ultimate plan is, or who Arin is really. Lots of agendas here. Lots of subtlety from the author.


Rutkoski writing is quite brilliant. She leads you through her story and the world that she has created without being heavy-handed. There is a lot to consider in this novel. It is a story about loyally, ownership and slavery. There is a lot that is provocative about its exploration of slavery and what it means for both the owner and the owned. Kestrel struggles with the idea that she owns slaves and more importantly that she owns Arin-- in fact she bought him herself-- she is no bystander to the act of slavery, she actively chooses to participate. But a lot of Kestrel's behavior is dictated by the rigid rules of her society. Her situation is complicated by the fact that she is the daughter of the Empire's top general. There's not a lot of room for her to rebel, or dissent without completely going AWOL. Though she struggles with the idea of slavery as accepted by her society, parts of her don't agree. She is a rebel, but at first a passive one.


Once love enters into the mix and all bets are off. (But don't get too excited, while this is a "romance" there is very little true romancing going on here.) The tables get turned in the middle third of the book and the master becomes the slave. That's where things got a little jumbled for me. Both Arin and Kestrel are fighting so hard against each other, what they want and what they believe, that is becomes a bit trying. I could understand them both, but I also just wanted them to make a decision. But I guess that was really the point of the thing, they are star-crossed lovers.


The ending redeems the book. For me it wrapped it up and made it a four star read and not a three star. This is how a book in a series should finish. The central conflict is resolved and a secondary conflict is left undone making you want to read the next book. I was glad that there wasn't a cliffhanger, or an "ending" that resolves nothing and just stops in the middle of the story-- that seems like has been happening with more and more books recently. Here we get good closure. The kind of closure that makes clear, finally just want the characters mean to each other and they lengths they will go to for one another.


ARC copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.