Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas- Review

To say there was buzz about the forthcoming Throne of Glass would be a major understatement.  It took me awhile to realize that it stemmed from a huge online community who'd been reading it in a serial format under the title Queen of Glass on a site called Ficitonpress.  Between the buzz and the intriguing background, Throne of Glass was on the top end of my must finds at the BEA.  So when I spent a few days couch bound and under threat of having to entertain myself for hours at the hospital, Throne of Glass was my go to choice for a guaranteed good read.  Trust me on this one, hospitals require some seriously good books to counteract their inherent mind-numbing horribleness.

I dig a kick ass heroine and Celaena Sardothien definitely fit the bill.  A teenage super assassin, whose sassy, got a terrible temper, and in the end a young girl at heart, what's not to love?

From Goodreads:
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

I really enjoyed Throne of Glass, and cleared through it in just one day.  The story was intriguing, the characters were charming and the tension between Celaena and Dorian (the prince) was fun.  The set up for a long reaching mega series has definitely been put into play, and I can see this stretching into a YA version of a David Eddings type fantasy series (which rocked my world back in my fantasy only phase).  To be honest, I can't wait to see what she does with it, it's going to be fun.

I do have a few complaints I have to voice though (may the mega fan base not strike me dead, pretty please).  How is it, that a super assassin whose tricky and supposedly always on her guard, can be snuck up on?  And only ever by her love interest?  Who repeatedly startles her in her rooms while she's playing pool, playing the pianoforte, reading etc. I get that it's got this romantic slant to it, but it wasn't believable, and I kept waiting for Celaena to question it or worry about the fact he could sneak up on her.  Especially because she comments at one point on how she'd adjusted all the hinges on her doors to be extra squeaky.

Also, and this is going to be the controversial part here, I didn't dig the love triangle.  It was a bit contrived.  For starters Celaena seemed to mostly be just toying with both Dorian and Chaol, until the end when there was a glimpse that she was having some possible feelings for Chaol, maybe.  Which really didn't do her character any favours in the like-ability department.  Also, Chaol only makes a couple of small plays early on and then at the end, and they're a bit ambiguous.  Like he was going to ask her something, but she throws up and so he doesn't, but it was never clear to me what he was going to ask- however there's this emphasis that it's important.  So I felt like I was missing something.  

Although a bit niggling while reading, I can forgive these things for a debut author who has other wise written a tight story.  I'm guessing these things will iron out in the future sequels of which I can't really find any concrete talk about (how many? Is the second one in the works now?), and I'm really looking forward to the potential for an epic story arc.  Please, please make this a long and complex series.  YA could use an ongoing fantasy series, especially one with a crazy teen super-assassin.  I mean, who doesn't like the sound of that?

Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas

Published by Bloomsbury, August 7th, 2012

My copy acquired at the BEA

Don't miss the ebook prequels!

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord

The Assassin and the Desert

The Assassin and the Underworld

The Assassin and the Empire

Buy Throne of Glass on Amazon

Pandemonium, by Lauren Oliver- Review

From Goodreads:
I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

There were two things I knew as a certainty going into Pandemonium. 1- There was no friggin' way Alex was dead.
2- There was going to be a new love interest.
The first was just my own personal conviction.  There was no way Alex was dead.  I had decided, end of discussion.  The second I knew because at some point Lauren Oliver blogged that folks were not going to be happy with her, and I took that to mean Lena was going to move on to another boy.  I was worried that might turn into some stupid, angsty love triangle, but I was dying to get my hands on part two so I didn't really care.

The story flips back and forth from when Lena first joins the rebels (?), and the present when she's in the city on her rebel mission.  As always, this is a slightly frustrating narration style for a second book, as it's constantly teasing you with what happened after the crazy cliff hanger of book the first and some mysterious future point you feel slightly unconnected to.  But I understand it's designed to drive the tension of the read, and it worked, but I have to go record as saying it's not my favorite.  I was already dying of excitement, why torture me further? Cruel, cruel Lauren Oliver.

Now on to this love interest business.  Without a doubt, there are hordes of Delirium fans who were very unhappy with how quickly Lena seemed to move on from Alex.  I'm talking about you- rabid "book boyfriend"ing fans, I know how jealously you guard your beloved fictional love interests.  I myself, am much more interested in real people for boyfriends (poolboys, I'm only allowed poolboys now that I'm married.  I'm pretty sure that's the rule anyhow), so I was unoffended by Lena's lack of loyalty.  Also, and this is the part where I really piss the die-hards off, it works really well within the precepts of Oliver's story and world.

Let me explain.
Oliver has built a world where love is considered a disease. Lena has been raised to not only, not know what love is, but to be actively deprived of it (except, of course, by her mother).  So it stands to reason that a teenage girl, being thrown into intimate situations with boys, would think every attraction was love.  Now if you're no longer a teen, it's possible you don't remember, but lets face it, things are dramatic when you're that age.  You feel ALL THE THINGS, in very bold and large ways.  So it seemed completly sensible to me that Lena feels she's falling in love again.  And she's not a traitor, she thinks Alex is dead, so she's just moving on.

I will not comment further, as it will lead to spoilerage, just know that the big twist at the end held one big surprise for me and one moment of AH! HA!-ing.  And they were both oddly satisfying.

The actual arc of the story, the details of the rebellion, and the new characters involved with the rebellion were all very enjoyable.  Stunning, I know, there's story outside of Alex and Lena?  Who would have thunk it.  In fact the rebellion and Lena's growing understanding of it is absoloutly fascinating and what makes this series tick for me going forward.  In many ways it's a far more intriguing book then Delirium because you're learning so much more about the world and from the other side of the fence- literally. 

A strong second book in an intriguing series, I can't wait to see where Oliver takes book three Requiem.  Though, I just have to say it, I loath the new covers.  What is up with the uber close ups and flowers?

Pandemonium, by Lauren Oliver
Published by HarperCollins, February 28th, 2012
Buy Pandemonium on Amazon

Pushing The Limits, by Katie McGarry- Review and Giveaway

From Goodreads:
"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.


I'll be honest, this cover would have been a full blown turn off for me if I was shopping for this book, but instead I acquired it in one of the Harlequin Teen group signings at the BEA.  Katie McGarry was signing with Julie Kagawa, and Kady Cross (among others), and so I came upon a copy of Pushing the Limits by default.  And I'm glad I did, because although it doesn't have the curb appeal that would normally draw me in, the story was intense and totally gratifying.

McGarry's debut is a steamy YA romance with a gripping mystery behind it.  Echo's accident, and Noah's background are the quintessential mix for an opposites attract romance, and McGarry plays up Noah's bad boy rep while balancing his good boy past to make him Echo's surprisingly perfect match.  Mixed into their hot romance is the gradual reveal of both of their complicated backgrounds.  Noah's struggle with the foster system and his hope to one day reclaim his little brothers is a poignant reminder that not all teen experiences are about who is dating whom and how you'll make it through Calculus this semester.  Meanwhile, Echo's struggle with a Bi-Polar parent is an honest look at how even the popular kids can't survive everything.

Expect a higher level of steam then the average YA, McGarry doesn't toy around with clandestine smooches or romantic posturing, be prepared for black lace panties and Noah fussing with Jeans that are getting too tight.

Apparently McGarry's follow up is going to be about Beth, another broken teen and friend/co-foster kid to Noah.  I love the idea of a companion novel instead of the stereotypical trilogy, and am eager to see where she'll take these characters next.

Not your typical teen novel, Pushing the Limits was a bit gutsier than normal, and thoroughly enjoyable. But don't take my word for it!  Throw your name in the pot for a chance to win you're own copy!


Pushing the Limits, by Katie McGarry
Published by Harelquin Teen,  July 31st, 2012
My copy acquired at the BEA
Check out Katie McGarry on Twitter
Check out Katie McGarry on Facebook
Check out Katies website
Check out the book trailer for Pushing the Limits
Buy Pushing the Limits on Amazon

Saturday Link Salad

If you follow me  on Twitter you've probably noticed I've been knee deep in a mega clean-out of my studio this week.  Two 9+ hour days in and I'm still uncovering tantalizing tidbits like the receipt for my pet guinea pig (who I got in elementary school), love letters from my own personal YA experience, and the RoE from my first Camp Counsellor job when I was 18 (can you believe I put myself through three years of university on 5.30$ per hour? Me neither).  It's been fun, dirty and totally satisfying, but its kept me mostly offline.  So the pickings are slim this week, but it's quality not quantity right?

-THE most exciting news of my week was the Chapters/Indigo announcement that The Bloggess is coming!  That's right, I missed her at the BBC but it doesn't matter because she'll be in Toronto at the Manulife Indigo a week from Tuesday!  I can hardly wait, and the timing couldn't be better as I was going to buy her book for my Oma for her birthday the following weekend.

-With Artemis Fowl all wrapped up, Eoin Colfer stopped by Blue Peter for a quick Q & A.  The best part?  The hints at the end about his new series.

-Were you one of the many people glued to the Olympics opening ceremonies last night?  Are you a prolific reader?  Why not combine your loves and join me over at Random House Canada's Olympic Readathon?  It started yesterday, and because I've been busy I'm only at 135 pages, but I'm hoping to meet or surpass my 2500 page goal.

-Michelle Hodkin hasn't released her YA crush tourney teaser yet (sigh!) but there's a teeny, tiny pre-teaser teaser in honour of a full teaser coming out Monday over on Hollywood Crush, from book two- The Evolution of Mara Dyer.  Have I mentioned yet how incredibly excited I am for this book?  I cannot wait to see where Hodkin will be taking us next!

-Speaking of the YA crush tourney, Cassie Clare has dropped two teasers with a third coming tomorrow (Magnus!).  Both of the two so far have been Will and Tessa, with the second one mentioning Jem briefly.  Oh Clockwork Princess, why do you have to be sooooo far away still?

Happy Saturday!

The I Haven't Read The Book Club, with Rachel Hartman and Kelley Armstrong

Seraphina, as previously described, blew my mind a little.  So promptly after putting it down I emailed Lindsey over at  Random House and begged her to please, please tell me Rachel Hartman was doing a signing sometime between August 8th and 13th in Vancouver.  Because I was going to be there, and I had to meet this spectacular woman (she lives in Vancouver, I wasn't just randomly picking a location).  To which she promptly replied that she could do one better, Rachel was going to be HERE on thursday.  Yes, as in 3 days from the moment we were emailing.
And I said I was never lucky!

So it was with great glee that I attended the Toronto Public Libraries I Haven't Read the Book Club event with Rachel Hartman and Kelley Armstrong.  A collaborative effort between Mables Fables, the Toronto Public Library and Small Print Toronto, it's a bi-montly event for teens where they can flex their writing muscles and meet they're favourite authors.  Ok, so obviously my teen years are past me, and my writing muscle is like all my other muscles and doesn't respond well to on the spot performance.  But all the same I went and it was a blast.  Lets just say this was my second Toronto Library author event, and they throw the best author events I've ever attended.  I mean, other than the ones at Random House.  There was even popcorn!

All the usual blogging suspects were present, and then a good turn out of teens as well.  There was a brief Q&A between Kelley and Rachel, then Rachel suggested a writing exercise and everyone got to work.  Except me.  I froze up, and could literally think of NOTHING.  I told you, I bad when I'm put on the spot.  I went through French Immersion for 13 years, and am fluent, but if someone goes -say something french- I forget every single thing I know and just stare blankly at them.  So I sat in the back and giggled and generally distracted people.  Then I thought of excuses I could use if anyone called on me.  It was like high school all over again. Just without any cute guys I had crushes on.  So marginally less embarrassing.

Once the time was up, several very brave/selfless people (many of them the not teen bloggers) took mercy on us and volunteered to read their essays.  Then there was an open forum discussion about writing.  And more popcorn.  Followed at the end by a signing.

I took some notes in my great retro exercise book, and so I thought I'd share.
Kelley Armstrong-
What inspired Seraphina?
Rachel Hartman-
In her 30's her parents got divorced and it set her to wondering what it would be like if you married someone and found out many years later they weren't who you thought they were.
Kelley-
It's such a rich world, how did you come up with it?
Rachel
She'd been drawing a comic of this world for a long time before the book, so she had already developed the world.  The dragons inhabiting human skin came from her not being able to draw dragons.
Kelley-
Will there be more?
Rachel-
YES! She's writing it now.  Hopefully summer 2013 it will publish.  Assuming all goes well with deadlines!
Kelley-
Seraphina is such a great and capable Heroine, where did she come from?
Rachel-
She is a tribute to so many great women she's known.  She has one really musical sister and one really smart sister (lots of laughs on that one caused Rachel to amend it to -ok, both of them are smart, they both have PHD's and she does not).
Kelley-
Were you into Dragons growing up?
Rachel-
Yes, she loved books with Dragons, and thinks she probably owes Anne McCaffrey a subconscious debt.

On creative writing and the creative life:
Rachel- She started writing when she was 11 and was inspired by one of her teachers.  At one point she handed in a poem to which the teacher wrote on the bottom "Rachel you're a real writer!"  And she thought, Yes! I am!


On her greatest skill as a writer:
Rachel- Patience with herself (Kelley agreed).  Seraphina took 9 years to write from the first inkling to publication, and if someone had told her when she started that she would be 40 before it published it would have been discouraging.


On if they were plotters or if they let the story just flow:
Kelley- Both, though with deadlines she's more of a plotter.  Early on she was a let it flow writer.  Plots need to be something you're not married to, more like casual dating.  If you see something better out there you need to go for it!
Rachel- She wrote with the flow for the first draft and after submitting it to numerous publishers and being told repeatedly that "you're a good writer, if you ever figure out what a plot is, contact me." she decided it was time to plot.


On how helpful is it to work with other writers:
Rachel- Doesn't really know many other writers yet.
Kelley- Writing groups are hard, because they all need to actually, consistently, be writing (not necessarily published).  Published writers retreats are great!  It's like girlie slumber parties for writers.  Lots of talk about craft, and it's great to get out of your head for awhile.  The YA community is especially inclusive.


On Why YA?
Rachel-
Because of the kinds of questions she was asking and also because it's a hopeful time of life.  She feels like adult lit is often about looking back and regrets.


On who is a big inspiration (writers):
Rachel- Terry Pratchett.  She thinks they're interested in the same kind of questions, social questions.

Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman- Review

From Goodreads:
Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.


You know that feeling when a book blows your mind?  Where you're completely wrapped up in it from almost the first few words and you have issues putting it down until you're done?  Where everything is so vibrant and rich you're not reading your experiencing the story? The hubby commented once when we had 5 hour flight and I was about to start the last Harry Potter that I wouldn't be on the plane, I would be at Hogwarts so the 5 hour trip wouldn't bother me at all.  Its like that.  Anyhoots, Seraphina was that kind of read for me, and the amazing thing is (outside of that already amazing and rare accomplishment), this was a debut author guys. Yah, I know right? Impressive.


I'm not sure where to start, honestly I loved it all so much!  I suppose for starters I'll talk about the world she's built.  It's phenomenal in its subtleties, and impressive in it's scope.  Hartman hasn't just created a fantasy world with Dragons, she's developed cultures and prejudices, a whole world of whirling politics, segregation, intolerance and persecution.  The world is almost secondary to the society she's lushly filled it with.  And it's fascinating.

Undersecretary Eskar looked down her aquiline nose as if checking human features off a list.  Two arms: check.  Two legs: unconfirmed due to long houppelande.  Two eyes, bovine brown: check.  Hair the colour of strong tea, escaping its plait: check.  Breasts: not obviously. Tall, but within normal parameters.  Furious or embarrassed redness upon cheeks: check.
"Hmph," she said. "It's ot nearly as hideous as I always pictured it."
Orma, bless his shriveled dragon heart, corrected her. "She."
"Is it not infertile as a mule?"
My face grew so hot I half expected my hair to catch fire.
"She," said Orma firmly, as if he himself had not made the same mistake the first time. "All humans take a gender pronoun, irrespective of reproductive fitness."
"We take offence otherwise," I said through a brittle smile.
Eskar lost interest abruptly, releasing me from her gaze.

Which leads me to my next love about this story. The characters, my god what great characters!  Complex and layered, everyone of them had a surprising depth and were lovingly rendered.  No wishy washy fill in roles were played, no half baked side characters thrown in to move along the plot, everyone had a place and a history and everyone of them were absolutely absorbing.  At no point did the story wander off somewhere or with someone who wasn't incredibly interesting, no scene bored me, no conversation felt like the push compelling the story back into the interesting bits.  And funny! Did I mention how funny it was?  Seraphina's dry humour and her practical approach to even the craziest situation was so witty and refreshing, she was like no other heroine I can think of.  No super fighting/killing skills, no mad weaponry, she's just smart and no-nonsense.

There was something very compelling about how intelligent the story was.  No cop out love story (though of course there is a love story, it just doesn't own the narrative), no wild fight scenes, Seraphina is a clever political mystery.  The vocabulary matches the high caliber of the story telling and I even had to look up a word or two, which is a nice change of pace.  Hartman does not talk down to her audience which is so refreshing, so although it was complete fantasy I felt like somehow I was learning something.  Hopefully it was a higher level of vocabulary.  Honest to god, I read so much, but I could use a bump in my vocab.

I fell in love with this story plain and simple.  I loved the drama, the intrigue, I was torn by the prejudice and touched by how Seraphina and Orma struggled with their differences and yet loved each other all the same.  The love interest, Kiggs was charming and was one of the first love interests I've ever read who wasn't some gorgeous god of a man, Seraphina falls in love with his wit and personality and the reader does too.  I was paging through the book for this review and spent an hour re-reading passages sorely tempted to read it all over again.

Simply put, you have to read this impressive debut.  Needless to say I can't wait to see how this series spreads its wings going forward.

If you want a taste of what a wonderful treat you're in for, check out Hartmans short story prequel The Audition.  It's also totally delightful.

Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman
Published by Random House, July 10, 2012
My copy kindly provided by the publisher
Buy Seraphina on Amazon

The List, by Siobhan Vivian- Review

From Goodreads:
It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.

This is one of those funny stories where you go in not liking anyone and leave loving everyone.  Angsty, unhappy, pretty or petty as each girl has their most redeeming qualities laid bare beside their least redeeming qualities you can't help but love how honest their experiences are.  It seems to me, far too few YA books whittle their stories down to the most basic elements of being human, and yet in the end that is what all experiences are about.

Vivian uses a multi character narration, first person perspective to show how a list, so simple in its pronouncements has a deep and far reaching effect on all those it touches.  Pretty or ugly, on the list or not on the list, all the girls at Mount Washington High are belittled by the yearly tradition.  But far worse is how The List illustrates the way women, teenage or otherwise are some of the biggest offenders when it comes to supporting, encouraging and sometimes even creating these hurtful things.   It was eye opening and left plenty of food for thought.

Two of my favourite characters were Sarah and Milo.  Outcasts who actively shun the mainstream school population but who are still dragged into the drama despite their refusal to conform.  I loved how Sarah was both one of the toughest characters of the story and also one of the most fragile, and how Milo single handedly saves her from herself.  Now that is a YA love story I want to see more of, no hot sexual tension or mysterious glances, just awkward affection and bumbling attempts at proving you care.  If only there were a plethora of real Milo's in every high school, or in life in general.

A beautiful look at what it's like to be a girl in society today, from a multitude of angles, I highly recommend The List makes it on to your reading list and that of any pre-teen and teen you might know looking for their next read.  

The List, by Siobhan Vivian

Published by Push, April 1st, 2012

My copy kindly provided by the publisher

Buy The List on Amazon

Sunday Link Salad!

Yea Gads! I cannot remember the last time I got it together for a bit of weekend linkage! I know, I'm terrible.  I have been collecting, just not posting. Terrible, I say!  But I am here with oodles of news and linkage to try and buy my way back into your favor.  Also, I would offer chocolate, but it links poorly over the Internet.  It gets all melty, ugh. Messy.

So many links! Where to start?
-Stephen King has announced another new book, releasing next June.  It's another edgy mystery publishing with Hard Case Crime, the publishers of the Colorado Kid.  His new book is caled Joyland, and it's about a College kid working in a small town amusement park and digging around in an old murder.

-Speaking of new books, Robin LaFevers sequel to Grave Mercy has a title and a first chapter teaser up on Amazon.  It's called Dark Triumph.

-Beth Revis's Across the Universe series has announced it's third cover revamp.  That's right, each book in the series has had a new cover revamp. That sound you hear?  Book lovers screaming bloody murder at having three mis-matched hardcovers.  We're sticklers if nothing else!  The Book Rat (among others) has kindly posted all three looks at the series for comparison, including the latest rendition.  What do you think? Do new covers entice you to a book?  Or are you just frustrated by the indecisiveness?

-Remember last year when the "new" Sweet Valley High came out and all the old school fans rushed out and bought it?  Then were horrified by the drivel and the strange personality changes, not to mention the blatant attempts to up the drama into the "adult" sphere?  Well THERE'S MORE!  That's right, St Martin's Press is making a whole adult SWH series called The Sweet Life!  Two new books released last Sunday and (good god) there will be an e-novella every following Sunday until August 12.  I can just imagine how great they'll be.  The bi-line?  The Twins.  At thirty.
Blech.  How is it the Twins were always older than me but now they're younger?
EW had an exclusive excerpt if you can stand it.

-Need to cleanse your palette from that? Thought so.  Maggie Stiefvater has posted her making of post for the beautiful Raven Boys trailer.  Which, by the way, I can't hold off reading any longer.  This past week I got a SUPER exciting, beautiful delivery of Raven Boys and now my excitement for it is officially ratcheted up to INSANE! So expect me to be moaning about being finished it by later this week via Twitter.  I'm already depressed and I haven't even started it yet! Sigh.

-A couple of weeks ago I had the immense pleasure of being invited to Random House for lunch with the charming Karen Walker Thompson, author of the wonderful Age of Miracles.  I did not take notes, and my pictures were blurry, so I point you towards Random House's blog and Lost in a Great Book for fantabulous recaps.  And of course my review.  I've already started handing out my copies for the first book of my new book club.  That's it! I'm sick of not being in a book club so I am starting one!  I know, tricky hey?!

-A couple of great ARC contests popped up this week. Michelle Hodkin has a creative way for you to win an ARC of The Evolution of Mara Dyer.  Be still my heart, you have months to wait for this book yet!  And Lenore, of Presenting Lenore fame has a great Apocalypsies Starter Pack giveaway.

-Publishers Weekly posted a sneak peek at Spring 2013's YA and Middle Grade line up.  It includes the current working titles of Sarah Dessen's latest.

-The New York Times had a cute little interview with Kristin Cashore last week.  It has a smattering of interesting Tidbits and a very unflattering sketch of the author herself (I met her at the BEA, she is much better looking than the odd cartoon.  What's with the cowboy kerchief?)

-This week all the YA Crush Tourney fun started.  Mostly I follow this for all the great teasers and POV extras that the authors throw out there for wins, but this year I've been enjoying the silly fun off it on Twitter as well.  So much more amusing then Goodreads and ARC drama.  Anyhoots, Julie Kagawa offered a little shirtless Ash teaser from next months release of Irons Prophecy, even though poor Ash didn't win (who is Aiden anyhow?).

-Speaking of teasers, Cassie Clare has been crazy full of them again!
      - A Will snippet from Clockwork Princess
      - And of course, that cover reveal that drove Twitter a bit insane.
      - A Jem snippet from Clockwork Princess courtesy of TMI
      - Finally a small teaser from The Huffington Post about the Prologue of Clockwork Princess.

Alrighty! Did that make up for my dearth of Salads lately?  Hopefully!  Now Sunday Forth and enjoy!

E.B. White, animal lover, oh and the dude who wrote Charlottes Web, you know. Feline Fridays

Because we can all use something charming and smile worthy on a Friday afternoon.  I present to you this great little article on E.B. White and his dog  Minnie.  Also, how cute is it that his dachshund is called Minnie? Just saying.

She Doesn't Answer the Phone, from Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience.

Unraveling, by Elizabeth Norris- Review

From Goodreads:
Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she’s opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn’t possible, Janelle knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her reincarnation, and Ben’s possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI-agent father’s files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what’s right in front of her: Everything that’s happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben’s sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she’s going to need to uncover Ben’s secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.


Generally speaking I'm not a sci-fi fan.  I loved Star Trek next generation when I was growing up, and I cheered my way through Star Wars on many occasions as well, but most sci-fi books just don't really do it for me.  I couldn't even begin to tell you why, too much physics and math maybe?  These were not great subjects for me.  Or maybe there's just something about space time continuum's that I find tedious.  One way or another they often fall totally flat for me.

This being said, I love being surprised by things, and Unraveling surprised me both by blindsiding me with some serious sci-fi about half way in and making me thoroughly enjoy it to boot.

So the story starts out in typical YA romance/supernatural style with a shocking save by an unlikely but uber attractive boy, and then quickly spirals into a fascinating mystery with FBI elements, mutilated bodies and a count down.  Norris has put together an excellent cast with just the right mix of problems, smarts, dark pasts and foibles to keep things interesting but not stray too far into the land of the improbable.  Although she has Janelle and her good friend Alex playing junior detective by rooting through her fathers FBI files and delving into things they shouldn't, she also repeatedly acknowledges they're in over their head and makes sure there are consequences.  This isn't Nancy Drew, and Janelle does not single handedly solve the case or make everything right in the world.

But quite beyond the fact that she has great characters, Norris has written a striking story full of highly unexpected twists and turns.  Honestly I can't remember the last time I was so surprised by a book.  I'd be settling in thinking, yup supernatural romance, then the story would take a quick left out of nowhere and I'd think, hmmm, mystery?  Just to have it twist again and suddenly become seriously sci-fi.  It was endlessly fascinating and kept me glued to the story.  I was riveted, and I honestly couldn't fathom where Norris was taking me until the very last few sentences played out.  Even better?  Although it appears from Goodreads this is book one in a series, Unraveling reads as a solid one off.  No cliff hangers, no cryptic endings, just 100% solid story telling.

Finally, it appealed to my blood lust.  In true epic style Norris spared very few members of her cast, and made several shocking axes.  This lady does not mess around people, bad things are happening and she's not going to sweeten it up just for your reading pleasure.  Do I even have to tell you how much I love that in a book?

All in all a terrific page turner of a read.  So much more than your average YA supernatural romance.  Put it on your summer reading list without delay, I promise you won't regret it!

Unraveling , by Elizabeth Norris
Published by Balzer and Bray, April 24th, 2012
My copy acquired at the BEA
Buy Unraveling on Amazon

The Diviners, by Libba Bray- Early ARC Review

From Goodreads:
Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

There are many authors who write books I love, and of them there are several I've had the great pleasure of meeting and discovering they're very love able themselves.  I always knew Libba Bray would be one of those authors, I mean have you read her blog? Um, seriously, have you? Because if not, please go back and read it all. I promise you will thank me.  Anyhoots, after reading her her first four books and loving her more with each one, and after reading her blog for several years (often laughing in inappropriate places and times), it was with great joy that I met my beloved Libba and found her to be even more charming in person.  Yes, last year THE GREATEST moment of BEA for me was not even at the BEA, but at the Scholastic This is Teen event on my second last night in the city. 

This years BEA promised to be just as fantastic as it not only had Libba Bray present, but it had the first book in her Diviners series, which she'd been teasing her beloved fans with for some time.  The Diviners was the number one book on my BEA wish list, and it was with great joy that I nabbed a copy on my first day at the Javits.  I would have loved nothing more than to have my copy signed, but I get BEA guilt if I line up for time sensitive signings for folks I already have signed books from, so I swung by and made Mooney eyes at Libba while she signed others books but I left the line to those who had yet to have the enchanting experience of meeting her.  I know right? How selfless am I?  Lets just say mean posts about bloggers will never be about my Canadian self (snort), unless you know, you meet me on a grumpy day.  Did I mention I was the biter?
No, no! I'm pulling your leg.  Really.  Biting strangers is unsanitary.  Germs people! Germs!  I pay someone to do the biting for me.

But wait! I digress, there was a book I was reviewing here wasn't there?

Since it was my birthday, I decided I was going to read one of my top three BEA books as a special treat for myself.  Since all three weren't due out until September it meant I was cheating a bit by reading them extra early, but isn't that what birthdays are all about?  Let's just say, it wasn't even really a contest, The Diviners was pulled out and reverentially placed on the coffee table so that I could admire it for a few more hours before digging in.

First off, let me just say it was a work of art.  From the first few words to the last few, Libba transported me to a time and place so vibrant and full of life, so detailed and carefully fleshed out it's hard to believe it was nearly 100 years in the past.  Her research was obviously thorough, but the art of it was how she wove the many facts of the 20's in New York City into her story so seamlessly it all felt as if it was part of the narrative.  Everything from prohibition to segregation, Jazz to Ziegfeld follies, car makes to the details of the El trains, gave this supernatural tale of horror and intrigue all the solid footing in history and fact it needed to make the creepy factor so much more alive and real.

Oh and how creepy!  I was completely blown away by the horror in this story.  I didn't see it coming and it was some seriously creeptastic stuff.  Cults, rituals, evil houses and seedy mysteries, not to mention a demonic ghost, getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night was not fun for a few days, let me tell you.  Again, she grounded a truly terrifying bad guy, John Hobbes, with many factual baddies of the time period.  The Pillar of Fire Church, the Ku Klux Klan, and all the various general bigotries of the time helped to set the stage for some chilling moments.

Flipping between the first person narrative of several different characters, Libba manages to show a sampling of many different experiences.  A young black number runner, a runaway Ziegfeld girl, a trouble making flapper, a street smart immigrant, a gay piano player, and a straight lace daughter of activists, gave the story a range which greatly helped to immerse the reader fully in the roaring 20's.  But more than that, it made the story a group adventure, a sort of historical/supernatural avengers epic.

As Evie would say, this story was pos-i-lute-ly swell-ski.  I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to book two!

The Diviners, by Libba Bray
Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers, September 18th, 2012
My copy acquired at the BEA
Buy The Diviners on Amazon

Artemis Fowl, The Last Guardian, by Eoin Colfer- Review

From Goodreads:
Seemingly nothing in this world daunts the young criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl. In the fairy world, however, there is a small thing that has gotten under his skin on more than one occasion: Opal Koboi. In The Last Guardian, the evil pixie is wreaking havoc yet again. This time his arch rival has somehow reanimated dead fairy warriors who were buried in the grounds of Fowl Manor. Their spirits have possessed Artemis’s little brothers, making his siblings even more annoying than usual. The warriors don’t seem to realize that the battle they were fighting when they died—a battle against Artemis—is long over. Artemis has until sunrise to get the spirits to vacate his brothers and go back into the earth where they belong. Can he count on a certain LEPrecon fairy to join him in what could well be his last stand?


Artemis Fowl is, without a doubt, in my top five for Middle grade reads.  The series is funny, smart and full of clever twists on both fairy legends and modern day science.  So when Eoin Colfer announced his forthcoming book 8 would be the last, I was decidedly disappointed.  What was I going to do with out my yearly Artemis fix?  He promised to send the series out with a bang and it was all I could do not to accost him at the BEA and demand he pinkie swear it.

I was given a nine chapter sampler by Hyperion, but decided I didn't want to ruin the read by breaking it up.  Also, The Last Guardian was set to come out the day after my birthday, so it seemed the universe was presenting it as a gift, and peeking at gifts early is rude.  That being said, I ran into The Last Guardian at my local Chapters on the Saturday prior to it's release and figured maybe the universe didn't mind if I got my birthday read just a little bit early after all.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect as I was just a few pages out from finishing The Diviners.

Colfer was as good as his word.  The Last Guardian was a whirlwind of action and adventure from just a few pages in.  By page 62 Holly is thinking:

Usually I pull this sort of stunt toward the end of an adventure, she thought.  Third-act climax.  We're starting early this time.

and truer words were never spoken.  This epic last battle with evil mastermind villain Opal Koboi was everything I could hope for in a final Artemis showdown.  All the usual suspects were present and each had their moment to shine and their giggle to impart.

"Oh," She mumbled sheepishly.  "It's you."
"Yes," said Mulch, then coughed up something that squeaked and crawled away.  "If you could please relinquish the beard- I just had a salon conditioning treatment done."
"Really?"
"Of course not really.  I live in a cavern.  I eat dirt. What do you think?"

I was chuckling away almost immediately and dying to read off bits to the hubby who refused to listen since he wants to read it himself right away.  Party pooper.

Artemis's brothers were my new favourite characters, and they were so much fun I'm almost more disappointed I won't get more of them down the road then I am that this is the last Artemis book.  Spin offs anyone?

For the past ten minutes the boys had been rustling behind a bush, plotting their next attack.  Juliet could hear muffled giggles and terse commands as Myles no doubt issued a complicated series of tactical instructions to Beckett. 

Juliet smiled. She could just imagine the scenario.Myles would say something like:You go one way, Beck, and I go the other. 'S called flanking.To which Beckett would respond with something like:I like caterpillars.

But funny and whirlwind aren't enough for a grandiose finale, and Colfer lived up to the challenge by giving Artemis, Butler and Holly each a great selfless moment to shine.  I would be a liar if I said I didn't shed a couple of tears.  All in all I was 100% satisfied with the grand ending, Colfer wrapped a great series with a perfectly choreographed finish and I think the series will be all the stronger for quitting while it was ahead.  Which doesn't mean I won't miss reading a new Artemis adventure next year, but does mean I'll be merrily revisiting them starting with book 1 next summer.  I'm already looking forward to it!

The Last Guardian (Artemis Fowl, book 8), by Eoin Colfer
Published by Hyperion Disney, July 10th, 2012
Buy The Last Guardian on Amazon

Masque of the Red Death, by Bethany Griffin- Review

From Goodreads:
Everything is in ruins.
A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.
So what does Araby Worth have to live for?
Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.
But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor (Rhiannon's note, he's not, he's just a sort of bouncer) of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.
And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

Another BEA score!  Bethany was part of a five author signing at Harpers booth on the second day of the show.  Her, Aprilynne Pike, Veronica Roth, and Elizabeth Norris drew one of the biggest lines of the show, and people were camped out in it for up to two hours.  Let's just say, I'm one smart cookie for bringing along my camp stool on day two.  Also, it was worth it.

From it's release on April 24th, Masque of the Red Death has been getting tremendous buzz.  Based on an Edgar Allan Poe short story, Griffin has developed an exotic dystopic world of pleasure, wealth, poverty and death.  The way she plays the lushness of Araby and her surroundings against the stark truths of her world reminded me of the flavour of Wither and Fever.  But where Rhine is an instigator of her own actions, Araby is tossed about by various factions, often without her even really knowing or understanding what's going on around her.

To be honest, I was hoping Araby would grow a set.  I didn't hate her, but I didn't love her either.  She was too much of a pawn for me.  Will, Elliott and April were much more appealing to me, if for no other reason then they each had strong wills and strong opinions.  Some of the things Araby was willing to do, the risks she was wiling to take, without fully knowing what she was involved with made her seem like a silly girl who was easily influenced by a good looking guy.

That being said, I was totally smitten with the story Griffin was weaving.  Her world, the plagues, the rebellion and mystery, swept me right along and I whipped through this book in less than a day.  She kept me guessing as to who were the good guys and who were the bad, even after I'd turned the last page.  I mean, it was keeping me up at night trying to figure it out!

Although Araby was a bit weak for me, the ambience and mysteries of this story more than made up for  her lack of personality.  I have my fingers crossed she'll develop into a better heroine in book two, but even if she doesn't I can't wait to see where Griffin is taking this story, though, if Poe is any indicator, she's taking them to an opulant palace party filled with death. Yummy!

Masque of the Red Death, By Bethany Griffin

Published by Greenwillow Books, April 24th, 2012

My copy acquired at the BEA

Buy Masque of the Red Death on Amazon

The Secret Feline Employees of The Hermitage Museum, for the Return of Feline Fridays

Since 1745 the famed Hermitage Museum in Russia has been home to a small group of furry employees.  Brought in to help with mice and rats, this community of cats have been with the museum continuously for 267 years with only a brief break during the second world war.

Now a days there are somewhere in the region of 65 cats, all of them strays who've been brought in from around the city, making the Hermitage a one of a kind rescue operation.  There are no official funds to support this small furry army, and instead they are lovingly looked after by the human employees of the museum who contribute to a monthly fund to pay for their food and vet care.  There are three part time care takers who groom, feed and care for the colony, but they are obviously beloved by many as they've become famous in their own right.  Folks can even adopt Hermitage rescue cats, which come with a certificate proclaiming their unique and distinctive heritage.

For more info on this delightful story check out this article over at Purr-n-Fur.org, fascinating and sure to put a smile on your face this friday afternoon.  Also a great little video over on cbc's offbeat stories.

Happy Friday!

The Sisters Grimm- The Council of Mirrors, by Michael Buckley- Review

From Goodreads:
When Mirror fails to escape the barrier using Granny Relda’s body, he turns to his plan B: killing all the Grimms so that the magical barrier collapses. In the meantime, Sabrina has gathered the other magic mirrors as advisors on how to deal with their mortal enemy. They tell her to join forces with the Scarlet Hand against Mirror, in exchange for offering all the citizens of Ferryport Landing their freedom.

The ninth and final book, The Council of Mirrors was a strong finish to a great series.  Like usual, it's hard to look at a series critically until you've read it all.  When they're spread apart, a year or more between books, some of the story elements that work really well as a whole come across as weak or disappointing.  Take The Inside Story, book 8, for example.  I didn't love it.  Not because it wasn't a good element of the greater story arc, but because I'd waited a year for that book and then it left behind most of the cast and went on an adventure which branched off from the main story line.  Yet now I've read The Council of Mirrors, and now that you can merrily pick up book 9 as soon as you've closed the pages on book 8, The Inside Story seems like it works much better than I had originally thought.

Buckley charmed me as usual with his characters, Puck, and Daphne, are funny and whimsical enough to keep the story upbeat even in its darker moments, and Sabrina's doubts and frustration anchor the drama.  The three of them make such a great match you would think anyone else would be unnecessary, however The Sisters Grimm books have always been an ensemble cast and characters like Pinnochio, Prince Charming, Mayor Heart and Mr. Canis are all given their time to shine.

Although not as epic an end as say, Fablehaven, or Harry Potter, Buckley put together some excellent fight scenes and kept the tension high throughout.  He takes it relatively easy on the death toll, but doesn't wimp out with one of those everyone-miraculously-survives-except-the-bad-guys end.  But what I truly loved was the hysterical 13 years later, and 16 years after that, epilogues which were totally satisfying tie outs to characters I'd grown to love.

An excellent series I can't recommend highly enough, The Sisters Grimm is clever, funny and well worth your reading efforts.

The Council of Mirrors, by Michael Buckley

Published by Amulet Books, April 24th, 2012

Buy The Sisters Grimm: The Council of Mirrors on Amazon

The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker- Review

From Goodreads:
On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, 11-year-old Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life—the fissures in her parents’ marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.

Dystopia and post-apocalytic stories have become increasingly more prevalent in fiction these days. I've grown from having just a few, to half of a shelf shared with zombies, and all of a sudden I seem to have towering piles of them screaming for their very own BIG shelf. Maybe it's all the worrysome signs in our every day lives that things are changing in the environment and weather, or maybe it's human nature to dream up worlds where everything is chaos, but either way I'm obviously not the only one who's into the subject these days. So when I heard about The Age of Miracles back in February at a Random House event I knew it was a book I had to read.

Like Erin Morgensterns Random House debut last fall, Karen Thompson Walkers book blew me out of the water with its voice, ambience and style. You don't read The Age of Miracles so much as you're swept away by it. It's haunting, sad and yet in many ways a very steriotypcal look at growing up- in all it's awkward glory- just while the world slowly grinds to a stand still.

Julia is quiet, and desperately alone, struggling to survive puberty and all the horrors it can throw a pre-teen, while simultaneously struggling with the slow death of the world. Sun or no sun, snow in California or whales beaching all across the coast, Julia gets up and goes to school, where she longs to be noticed by her crush, is hurt by her best friend and tries in vain to avoid the school bully. I'm not sure if the tragedies of these common events are made more effective by the swirl of end of days drama surrounding her, or if it merly highlights how adaptable we are as a specieces. Julia's childhood is my childhood, just with longer days, less gravity, and a lot more dead whales. Either way it's equal parts dramatic and mundane, and somehow it makes the apocalypse scarier, because Karen Thompson Walker has made it feel very, very real.

It left me with a profound sense of unease, but also a feeling of hope, and no shortage of things to think about for days after. A beautiful read you'll want to talk about after (why, oh why, am I not in a book club?!).

The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker
Published by Random House, June 26th, 2012
My copy kindly provided by the publisher
Buy The Age of Miracles on Amazon

Surviving the Apocalypse, Guest Post by Etiquette for an Apocalypse author Anne Mendel

Etiquette for an Apocalypse, which TheDiaryofaBookworm.com kindly reviewed and reviewed kindly, is a post-apocalyptic/ mystery/thriller/comedy. I had many reasons for writing a “harrowing and hilarious” (at least this is what some reviewers say) book. I wrote an apocalyptic book, not because I believe in any particular Apocalypse, but because 64% of Americans aren’t ready to deal with just a three-day emergency. So, not many people are ready to deal with long emergencies. And I do believe that we are headed towards some hard times. That’s why learning skills, like how to tie a good knot and plant a garden are so important now. And of course building personal resilience and making friends with your neighbors (remember to take them chocolate chip cookies today) are key.


I think many of us have lost our survival instincts. I would probably last for two or three days in an apocalyptic scenario. It’s a kind of ‘do as I say, not as I do’, thing. I’m the Clark Kent that never figures out how to turn into Superman. My protagonist, Sophie, is my alter ego. She is street smart, practical and resilient. I do know how to waterproof matches and make a fire with pocket lint. I’ve learned how to shoot a gun. I’m very good at reading books on survival. Actually, writing books on survival. But no one, I mean no one, knows who they are until they are faced with a dire situation. The better you are prepared emotionally and physically, and the more flexible you are about working with other people, the more likely you can survive and possibly thrive, which I think my main character does.

My main character is Sophie Cohen, obviously a woman, but I really think that men and women bring different strengths to a dire situation. It depends on the crisis. If it has to do with competition, violence and aggression I’ll probably choose a man. They have 50% more upper body strength than women and a mass of testosterone. I have a growing appreciation of that. But if we’re talking about compromise and negotiation, cunning and improvisation, I’ll take women. That’s not to say there aren’t remarkable men and women who can do all these things.

Now, hard times can push all of us to be our best or worst selves. Men, women, families and communities can bond or they can tear apart. That’s where learning resilience skills comes in. For example, I’m working on upping my tolerance for people who drive me crazy. I’m trying to grasp what puts certain people on the short list to extinction. Figure out the skills that make a person valuable in hard times. You know how we make fun on Basketweaving 101 and think Intro to Philosophy 101 is important. Knowing how to basketweave will bond you to your tribe—Knowing about Descartes and existentialism or being charming or beautiful, not so much.

And lastly, why did I make Etiquette for an Apocalypse a comedy in the middle of such tragedy. While not as important as clean water and gorp, laughter is a major component of resilience. Going back to bonding with your tribe…if you can make people laugh, they will keep you around, even if you can’t grow things or make a bug catcher for termite soup.

You can read more about my take on emergency preparedness on my survival guide blog, annemendel.com

Etiquette for an Apocalypse, by Anne Mendel- Review

From Goodreads:
It’s the 2020 Apocalypse and Sophie Cohen, former social worker turned neighborly drug dealer, must keep her family alive amid those pesky end of the world issues: starvation, earthquakes, plagues, gang violence and alas more starvation.She investigates a serial killing and takes down the sinister emerging power structure while learning to use a pizza box solar oven, bond with her chickens and blast tin cans from the perimeter fence with a Ruger 9MM.

In order to accomplish all this she must find a way to love her mother, accept her daughter’s adulthood and reignite her moribund marriage.

She might discover that a decentralized, consensus driven life—without fossil fuels, iPhones and chocolate éclairs—isn’t the end of the world, after all.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love being surprised by books?  Which, granted, is getting progressively harder the more I blog.  After all, I read a lot of reviews, a lot of tweets and a lot of pitches for books these days.  Anyhow, a short while back I got the above blurb in a email pitch for Etiquette, was charmed by it and said yes.  When it arrived I was charmed all over again by the clever cover art, and then it went into my towering (and not that cleverly organized) to-be-reviewed stack to gather dust until I got to it.  

I'll be honest, I had no expectations coming into this book, it had been long enough between when it was pitched to me, and when I read it that I couldn't even remember what it was about.  And from about 3 pages in I was loving it.  Irreverently funny, Mendel takes a stab at what the Apocalypse might look like for the average American family, if there was a murder to solve, family secrets to discover and a gang war to diffuse.  So it's like a post-apocalyptic murder mystery/dark comedy.  In other words, a total breath of fresh air and not really like anything you've read before.  And I mean that.

By Sunday night, Bertrand assumes that in the morning I"m going with him to check out the dead women.  I'm assuming I'm not, but I haven't come up with a sidekick facsimile or a compassionate excuse.  We lay at opposite ends of one of the two matching couches in the living room.  Our feet overlap, but don't touch."Admittedly," I say, "it sounds like a lot of fun, but I don't think so."  I say this playfully, which is more play than we've had in years.  "If I had only been allowed to complete another season of Bones reruns, they were going to give me a medical degree, but since I didn't... It's no, no, not ever.  Anyway, you might just need blood samples.""Oke, good idea. Mitchell would help." he says.  "And it's 'We.' We get blood samples.  See you're very good at this.""Mitchell? My brother?"  After six months of waiting to die and not, we converted the entire tenth floor to a lab and living quarters for  Mitchell.  He's a genius retard, or guitard as I often think of him.  How do I just keep making this discussion worse?

Mendels unconventional sense of humour put a smile on my face in under a minute, pretty much any time I picked up the book.  Which since I was often reading it on breaks at work, was a perk I can't rave about enough.  Her characters were wonky and loveable, but still carefully rendered to show the good and evil potential in everyone, especially in end of the world circumstances.  She had great moments of emotion, and as dark as the comedy got there was a clear and appealing sense of hope to everything.

It's a very long two blocks, but we emerge into a Costco warehouse-sized basement, dimly lit but clean and stocked floor to ceiling with loot.  Kind of like finding the pirate booty in the cave and gold coins and jewels, except this is much more valuable.  Food, row after row of canned goods, boxes of wonders like crunchy granola bars and peanut butter crackers.  Passing a row of Nutella, I grab a jar of the chocolate hazelnut without breaking stride.  My breathing hasn't slowed from its I'm-going-to-die pace.  My hands were already dry and cracked and are now gray with a soot-like substance.  I would very much like to wash my hair, which I am sure is crawling with spiders, but I imagine that's out of the question.  I hug my Nutella to my ribs..."Strategy." Axe nods to his crew.  They not back. "Sophie's in charge now.  I have to get upstairs and run logistics there."I nod. Kyle stands a few feet in back of me.  Beanstalk man is nowhere to be seen.  I take the jar that's still in my very sweaty hand and put it on the table.  I'm tempted to ask, "Does anyone have something to put this Nutella on?"  but go for the commander thing. I put the jar on the table without banging it, but with force.  Now for my first command."I need something to put this Nutella on."

 A solid read, with excellent dialogue, a great plot, and fantastic characters, I can only hope to hear more from Sophia in the long run.

Etiquette for an Apocalypse, by Anne Mendel

Published by Bracket Press, April 22nd, 2012
My copy kindly provided by the publisher

Buy Etiquette for an Apocalypse on Amazon

Scarlet, by A.C. Gaughen- Review

From Goodreads:
Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.

It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

It was the last night in New York City, and all through the Javits, not a creature was stirring not even a blogger.  I needed another book like I needed another hole in the head, and where did I find myself? Why a signing at Books of Wonder of course!

It was the 2K12 debut group signing and since I had read two of the books already (Megan Bostics Never 18 and Meredith Zeitlin's Freshman Year and other Unnatural Disasters) and I had a hotel room full of books I still had to pack, my intention was to enjoy the talk and then head out for dinner and a quick browse at the Strand.  However, Scarlet was singing a siren song to me, A.C. Gaughen was funny and lovely, and there was a rumour circulating that Holly Black had some glowing words for it the night before at her signing.  So I bowed down to fate, bought a shiny new copy and got it signed.  Boy am I glad I did!

For starters, the book was awesome sauce.  Total, unadulterated, kick-ass girl, fun.  One of a very small number of books that appeals to my inner Tamora Pierce fan girl self.  But to improve the situation exponentially, it now has a fab personalization, possibly one of the best I've seen to date.  That's right, Never be afraid to fight like a girl!  Be still my Tamora Pierce-loving heart.

Gaughen had a really clever angle on her Robin Hood re-telling, and although you're thinking, yup, I read the blurb- Will's really a girl, I'm going to tease you with the info that there's more to be discovered as you get further in.  No spoilers! But I have to moon-about a bit at just how cunningly she pulled it all together.  I mean it left me with one of those full on *gasp!* moments, which are exceedingly rare in reading, and I'd venture to say, even more rare with Debut authors.

Now I've probably said too much, right?  Forget I said anything, OMG!! Did you see that spider over there??!! That one!! RIGHT THERE!!!! Opps, stepped on it. Oh well, we could use the rain.

Now, what was I talking about again? Oh right, Scarlet.

Besides great plot, and a fantastic kick ass heroine, Gaughen uses some great language to set the mood. I love a book that's not afraid to get its hands dirty in slang and unique voices.

I open the door to Friar Tuck's and the air fair slapped me 'cross the face.  It were too hot and stank of beer and men, and I smiled.  It were rough, but none here would turn me out for being a thief and a liar.  I slipped in the door and moved quiet past Tuck, the innkeep, and went into the barroom.  It were heaving with bodies, laughs, and mugs slinging 'bout.  The lasses pushed through the lot, using a smile or slap as needed to get their own way.

Between Scarlet's commoner tongue, way with knives and hopelessness with boys I was thoroughly charmed, but Gaughen also wrote in a cast of strong secondary characters and two spectacular villains.  Sherif Nottingham will forever be ingrained in my mind as Alan Rickman shouting "And cancel CHRISTMAS!", but Gaughen has managed to eek out her own Nottingham moments which won't soon be forgotten, not to mention the creepy thief taker Gisbourne.

In the end I loved this book, I ripped through it in under 24 hours and I'll be forever disappointed if her publishers don't buy a book two from her.  This is a series I'm willing to see through for quite some time, it has incredible potential.  If you haven't read Scarlet yet then wait no longer.  Pull up you summer reading seat of choice (lakeside chair, hammock, back yard patio sofa, floaty in the pool, they all work), and dig in.

Scarlet, by A.C Gaughen
Published by Walker Children's, February 14th 2012
Buy Scarlet on Amazon

Enchanted, by Alethea Kontis- Review

From Goodreads:
It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?

I like when I'm happily surprised by a book, and though it doesn't happen nearly enough, I have to say this book is more than a girly cover with a pretty dress.  I'm not sure what I expected from Enchanted but it certainly wasn't the clever blend of famed fairy tales, humour and whimsical fantasy I ate up in under 24 hours.  

Kontis has written a sweeping story with an large ensemble cast, she's encompassed at least a dozen fairy tales in various threads of her yarn and yet she's managed to keep the whole thing fast paced and deeply engrossing.  All impressive feats, but especially for a writers YA debut.

Told from the dual perspectives of our heroine Sunday, and her prince Rumbold,  Enchanted covers a lot of ground for a 305 page book.  Mixed into their star-crossed love story is the tale of Sunday's various siblings, her aunt, her mom, and Rumbolds mysterious past and family.  It's a testament to Kontis's writing that I felt attached to a large number of her characters, and equally intrigued by their back stories as I was to the primary story of Sunday and Rumbolds.  

Most of all I enjoyed the clever way Kontis wove a multitude of fairy tales into her story.  That any moment in the story could move from Enchanted's original tale to Cinderella, to Sleeping Beauty, to the Frog Prince in a matter of a few lines was fun and surprisingly fresh considering how well worn those tales are.  It becomes even more witty when you take into account how important the act of storytelling is to the main arc of Enchanted, and what role it has in Sunday's life as a creator.

Kontis also deftly balanced out traditional dark elements of the more classic Grimms tales with humour and wistfulness, creating much more depth then the Disney retellings we're all so familiar with.  Make no mistake, Enchanted will entertain you, but its not a cheap date.  It left me with a lot to think about in respect to how stories are told and how they're passed on.  As a reviewer I'm more in the business of passing them on, but it has never occurred to me before to consider how I pass them on influences their telling to the next reader (outside of the fact they might be reading the story because I suggested it).  

Fun, fascinating and unique in so many ways, I can't wait for you to read Enchanted and tell me what you think.

Enchanted, by Alethea Kontis

Published by Harcourt Children's books, May 8th, 2012
My copy provided by the publisher
Buy Enchanted on Amazon

Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake- Review

From Goodreads:
Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

I did not miss the fanfare Anna Dressed in Blood made with it's release last year.  Bloggers across the internet were raving about its creepy goodness, and I was dying to dig in.  But as these things go, I had a towering stack of un-read books and too much guilt about them to allow myself the immediate pleasure.  So when Hachett UK offered me a copy in advance of their July release I was thrilled for the excuse to finally get to it.  It almost killed me to wait the couple months between arrival and release to read it.

Now how excited was I, when just a few pages in I realised Anna Dressed in Blood was set on Canadian soil?  And not just anywhere Canada, but places I'd been, Thunder Bay, and Kakabeka Falls (honest to god, I've camped there, with Topaz no less. Somewhere around here I have photographic evidence, I swear).  Cas, you're a crazy man, Saskatoon berry jam is amazing.  Did I love Thomas, Morfran and Carmel more because they were Canadian?  Probably a little bit, we're such an under used culture in books, I mean come on!

I was tickled by how gory and violent Blake made the story while still managing to keep all the regular YA teen issues not only in there, but somehow seemingly still important.  This balancing act is what made the book really work for me on a more character driven level and made it more than just a creepy read.  The fact I can be completely creeped out, but at the same time hope Thomas and Carmel find some time in the chaos to get together is both funny and endearing.

But back to the scary.  Let's be frank.  How many scary books are actually scary?  I mean so many claim to be, but few actually pay out.  Blake had several truly creepy moments.  Chilling enough I had to put the book down in broad day light and walk away, even while I was dying to know what was going to happen next.  And she doesn't skimp on the gory nitty-gritty, which is really the cherry on the sunday, just, you know, don't eat any sundays while reading ok?  This is not an eat-while-reading book.  

All in all Anna Dressed in Blood was an excellent read.  Great plot, endearingly unique characters and a great creepy edge made this book fully live up to all the hype.  What remains to be seen is if Blake can keep it up for Girl of Nightmares, book two.  I'm not entirely sure about how she's going to keep the story interesting and haunting, without devolving into teen angst, but I have my fingers crossed while I wait with baited breath for it's August 7th release date.

Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake

Published by Orchard Books, July 5th, 2012

My copy kindly provided by the publisher

Buy Anna Dressed in Blood on Amazon

Surrender, by Elana Johnson- Review

From Goodreads:
Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque....

Oh how I wish I'd read Surrender first!  All that was confusing and unclear about Johnson's world, the technology and the various forms of control, all that was muddied about relationships and powers- was beautifully described and fleshed out in Surrender.   Right from the outset, everything was described more fully, and clearly, before the story started to weave it's sordid tale, so I could sit back and enjoy the complex story arc instead of constantly trying to figure it out

Surrender follows a new set of characters in a new city, so although it harks back to the story in Possession, and Vi, Zenn, Thane (and eventually Jag) are all a part of the action that's unfolding, in essence Johnson is starting with a fresh slate.  It was exactly what I needed to re-invest myself in a story that had lost me by the end of possession.  This time around Johnson takes the time to explain the technology that's so imbedded in these kids lives, she explains it and then she shows you how it works, and its much clearer but also done in a way that still kept the story pacing lively and interesting.  Power structures, the types of control, government and the many nuances between cities was delved into, and I finally started to grasp her world and how her characters and her revolution fit into it.

Raine, Gunner, Cannon, Starr and Trek (notice the play on Star Trek there?, uh, huh.  It took me awhile to put that toghther in the story, but I still like them) were great characters, with an intriguing set of relationships and a wealth of mysteries to unravel.  It's always impressive to me when an author can bring in new characters to a series and manage to not loose the interest of the reader.  After all it can be very disconcerting when you've become attached to a character only to have them made secondary at a later point.  But the change in perspective was exactly what this series needed, and Vi, Zenn and Thane were shown from an entirely new perspective which really helped flesh them out in way you wouldn't normally get in a series.  It reminded me a lot of George R.R. Martin's technique of flipping from one perspective to the next to really delve into the power plays and politics of his world.  Here Johnson uses  it well to show the layers of double dealing, spying and betrayal necessary for a potential greater good.  By the end of the book, when Gunner is getting Thane's story you've seen enough different sides of the story to believe what he's saying.

A much more masterfully crafted story, I would almost suggest first timers to the series read Surrender first.  I think much that was unclear about Possession would likely be better understood if you read them out of order.  So if like me you were put off of the series by book one, then make sure to reconsider, Surrender is well worth your reading efforts.

Surrender, by Elana Johnson
Published by Simon Pulse, June 5th, 2012
My copy kindly provided by the publisher
Buy Surrender on Amazon