You know how I would describe "being speechless" by something? It's when you're overwhelmed with so much emotions that words escape you. Something madYou know how I would describe "being speechless" by something? It's when you're overwhelmed with so much emotions that words escape you. Something made you happy so much that you could only cry. Something made you so sad that your throat tightens and you can croak nothing out. Something made you so angry that you find it hard to mutter a single word because you're just fuming inside. This is basically what happened to me after reading What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler. It rendered me completely speechless.
I honestly don't know how to review this book, if I can even review this book and give it the justice it deserves. It's the sort that you know everyone - and I mean, everyone - should read; the sort in which when people ask you why they should bother allocating time in their lives to read it, it'd be hard for you to explain and you simply just say, "Please, just do it. You'd miss such an important message otherwise."
I, however, would add something else to that: "Because it made me sad. Because it made me angry. And because it made me ashamed of ourselves."
There are three kinds of angles in a story when it comes to rape and rape-shaming: the victim's, the rapist's, and the mob's. This is a story of what happens behind the scenes, how the people around the two central figures of a fucked-up situation reacted when and after the rape and sexual harrassment of a schoolmate happened, and how the very same people coped with it when the victim and the rapists, as well as their small, no-name town suddenly were at the world's centerstage.
And trust me, reading it is not a all rainbows and butterflies.
Here's the thing, ladies and gents: this book is real.This book is so fucking real that it hurts. A girl was raped by a couple of popular athletes, a bunch of boys who were heralded as the town's "saviors" because of their skills in basketball, a bunch of fucking cowards who took advantage of an unconscious girl and then thought nothing of it. You think that by 2015, we as humanity as a whole would have gotten rid of our barbaric way of thinking and moved on with the times, but this book, which perfectly mirrors the mentalities of many of us today, proves to us otherwise. Do you guys remember the Steubenville High School rape case? We all know how the media portrayed that one, and how so many people turned their backs on a vulnerable, helpless young lady and instead defended their town's heroes despite the atrocious thing they did. In the end, however, the boys were found guilty, but something was said after the announcements of their verdicts that shocked and shook me to the core: the fact that a reporter, a female reporter at that, said how it was a pity that their "promising careers" were now ruined.
Doesn't that just make you want to see the world burn to ashes?
This is what you should expect in this book: a mirror of this kind of mentality. The indifference. The injustice. The way how some people think it's okay to go to a party dressed however you want, but as soon as you've been violated, it's your fault because you acted like a slut, you drank too much, your skirt was too short. You're a friend until you get your school's basketball heroes into trouble because they were stupid enough to think a no, a silence, meant a yes. And how one girl sees all of this, feels rightly uncomfortable by it, and so strives to seek the truth, even if it meant going against the tide. Even if it meant "betraying" her own best friends.
Because as cliché as it sounds, the truth hurts, but it shall set you free.
This book was absolutely heartfelt and so heart-breaking at the same time. It made me feel so much pain for particular characters, knowing this is the story of many girls out there who have been sexually abused and yet find themselves alone and harrassed even further; at the same time, it made me feel so much anger at those who refuse to see beyond their narrow-minded ways, knowing that so many people still think this way, and will continue to perpetuate that mentality to their own kids, unless we stand up just like what Kate did, see the greater picture, and encourage others to do so.
This is not a book to be missed, folks. Please, for the love of all things holy, read this book and spread it. Sometimes, taking the first step is to see what it's like in their shoes....more
"HEY, PARDNER. You don't happen to have a dip there, wouldcha? Yer gonna be in fer a wild, wild ride, Western style."
Did I say that right? Did I s"HEY, PARDNER. You don't happen to have a dip there, wouldcha? Yer gonna be in fer a wild, wild ride, Western style."
Did I say that right? Did I sound like a kick-ass cowboy, about to tell a story around a campfire? Yes? ...No? Ah, well.
2015 is definitely the year where Western YA is taking the world by storm. I've already read 2 set in this era - one during the Californian Gold Rush (Walk on Earth a Stranger) and finally, this one, set a little bit after all the gold hooligans have come and gone. And to think there's another one set with a Chinese heroine (Under the Never Sky), which I hear is pretty good, diverse, and character-driven (you bet I'll be reading that one as soon as I can a copy. Chinese heroine + Western setting? I THINK I'M DROOLING). I like the direction YA trends are going; we're finally exploring other settings out there that could provide limitless possibilities, settings that could give original stories, adventures and journeys.
Vengeance Road's premise is something that we definitely have seen before, do note. It's a story of revenge - Kate came home only to find her father hanged for the gold he whisked away from the Superstition Mountains years ago, a fact he kept hidden to protect her from outlaws whose greed for riches have clouded their judgement. Instead of letting go and moving on, Kate has other plans - dark, dangerous, and deadly plans. She wants to chase after the people who killed and hanged her father as there is no other way for her mind to rest easy otherwise. So, armed with her pistols and her new cowboy get-up (because who else would seriously believe a woman could actually do a suicide mission during these times?), she gallops with her mare, Silver, either towards her death or her vengeance.
Like I said, a revenge story. We've all read that before, but what made this one interesting is the setting it was in. We're not in some typical high school full of geeks and nerds and jocks who could lend a helping hand to our band of merry cowboys. We're in the wild, wild west - where towns were made of wood, where saloons were everywhere, where cigarettes were called dips, where battles were settled with Coltons and Remmingtons, where your life could be forfeit in a game of poker, where your strength was valued in how fast you could pull that trigger. I love that instead of getting in the car or taking a plane to get to one state, our cast of characters hop on to their horses and ride the night and days away, camping when necessary, only having each other and their stories and emotions as their companions. This is what made this revenge story more memorable - the uniqueness of the setting, the values and the personality of the characters that have been shaped by their environment.
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And the best part is? It's immersive. Just because this is YA and it has eighteen year olds as heroes and heroines don't mean it's some carebear version of that dangerous reality. People die, people get killed, accidentally or intentionally. Our characters get blood in their hands - some they regret, some they relish because it aveges multiple deaths whose only fault were that they were at the wrong place and time when the Rose Riders came upon them. All the shoot-outs, man. So. Cool.
PLUS, THAT DIALECT. If you're someone whose eyes get twitchy at wrong spellings (yer instead of you're, I's instead of I'm) and wrong grammar (ain't instead of aren't), then you might want to proceed with caution cause you brain would likely explode. But in my opinion, it was pretty worth it because the language used felt so very Western and authentic. And come on, it takes great skill to weave a story with this kind of language and make it flow so well. Hats off to you, madam.
One thing that I didn't really like was the romance. So, Kate meets these brothers at Wickenburg who decided to accompany her in her quest of revenge. One of them's Jesse and, suffice to say, he is an ass. A judgemental, hypocritical ass whose sometimes-friendly-sometimes-mean-as-hell attitude made me not care for him nor his brother not one bit. I don't even get why Kate's heart flutters for him, and how she could forgive him for the things he would do to her in the novel. Seriously, the things he did were defintiely ass-worthy. I was not a fan of this ship, and the scenes they had together made me just want to roll my eyes to Kingdom Come.
Other than though, this was really good. This is the first I read from Erin Bowman and it ain't gonna be my last. Here's to hoping other authors will start using other settings, too, and give us stories with extraordinary characters with extraordinary experiences....more
Do I need to add it to my TBR?YES. Do I need to pre-order it?YES. Do I need to take it out on a romantic date as soon as it's in my hands?DOUBLE YES.Do I need to add it to my TBR?YES. Do I need to pre-order it?YES. Do I need to take it out on a romantic date as soon as it's in my hands?DOUBLE YES. Do I need to put it in a special shelf dedicated to special books?THE UNIVERSE SAYS YES. Do I need to read it... AS SOON AS POSSIBLY POSSIBLE?!?!?!
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It's been a while since I've read this book but it still feels like I read it yesterday. I can still remember how engrossed I was, flying through the pages with such vigor; how it was so immersive and how it completely made me feel like I was in the middle of the hustle and bustle of New York during the 1890s; how the characters were so well-done, so well-characterized and developed that it felt like they were my old friends; and how the mystery was so nicely done, and the tension, suspense, and clues were nicely placed all over the book. Fine, the mystery was a bit predictable (called it from the very first page the mystery started), but the journey of the characters to getting there? HECK. YEAH. You don't always get a YA Historical Thriller novel with amazing gender equality themes, and a strong steadily-written-romance with an unexpected-yet-heartwarming ending. HECK. TO. THE. INFINITE. LEVEL. YEAH.
The picture above is pretty much what I felt upon finishing this book - a sense of triumph and victory that this book was able to accomplish so many things and it did them so spectacularly.
Meet Josephine Monfort (nickname "Jo"), a girl who came from a highly prolific family who considered herself anything but a lady. She wanted to be a journalist - go on undercover field work and write about the struggles of women in questionable situatons - but such ambition was unheard of for ladies back then. Then one day, her father "died". He accidentally killed himself, but Jo knew her dad, and she knew that he wasn't the sort to go through something like that, and she knew that she had to find out the truth, even if it meant going against so many cultural norms that were prevalent at the time.
Let it be known far and wide, to the clouds and beyond, that this girl kicked ass.She was so cool that I would have loved to be her friend. Jo was strong-willed, resolved, and bold; she knew what were expected of women and she knew how much she was capable of, and thus she went against the waves without fear because for her it felt right and for her, this was what she wanted, and no patriarchal society should take that away from her. She resonated with me so much because of her fierce and strong personality that shined so brightly wherever she went. Yes, she wasn't the smartest girl on the block, considering she was heavily sheltered, but she had the passion and the willingness to learn and to get dirty if the situation called for it, and I really admired that about her, and I have no doubt y'all would admire that aspect of her, too.
Plus, her drive to find out the truth, even if it meant seeing the darker parts of her family's history? So respectable. She was someone who was born into wealth and nobility, and yet, in this book, to find out what truly happened to her father, she went to the slums, went to morgues, and faced absolute danger itself with her life on the line.
And the best part?
NONE OF IT EVER FELT EASY.
Remember all the mystery thrillers out there where every clue, every hint to the end-goal, was given to our heroes and heroines on a silver platter? Where there was absolutely no tension and urgency at all because "WHOOP-DEE-DOO, THEY GO TO THIS STREET RANDOMLY AND LOOK! A MAJOR CLUE! AMAZING!"? It never felt that way here. That's why, even though the plot and mystery was predictable and nothing we haven't seen before, it still felt fun and refreshing and nerve-wracking because the execution, the pacing, the suspense - they all were handled amazingly and cleverly.
You bet I was on my toes.
You bet I held my breath (I was aware of it, of course).
You bet that I was at the cliff's edge a lot of times BECAUSE DUDE, THE SITUATIONS THEY END UP GETTING INTO CAN GET A BIT CRAZY.
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Add to that the well-written setting. It was incredibly immersive. I've had a taste of what this era was like with Libba Bray's THE DIVINER series (which I recommend 101%), and THESE SHALLOW GRAVES does not disappoint in this aspect at all. You could really see how awfully patriarchal society was back then, treating women likee they were a delicate flower, as if they would break easily. It's just so amazing how the book was aware of the societal norms then, incorporated it, and then strived to go against it at the same time through Jo's character and ambition.
Plus, did I mention the romance? THAT SWEET, SWEET, SWEET ROMANCE THAT LEFT ME CLUTCHING MY HEART. It was a ship that I totally shipped, the mast and sails fully down and ailed not by the wind but by a bloody typhoon - THAT WAS HOW AMAZING IT WAS. It had everything that I wanted - a flawed love interest whose personality and background made him endearing, someone who didn't let his life revolve around the heroine but instead made her his inspiration to do the things he wanted to do.
AND THAT ENDING. God. I still can't get over how beautiful and melancholic and right it was.
This book achieved so many things, guys. PLEASE DO GET IT.
Pre-order this. Right now. Oh, no, you don't - don't give me that wary glance. I'm not telling you this just because I wan[image]
No, seriously, guys.
Pre-order this. Right now. Oh, no, you don't - don't give me that wary glance. I'm not telling you this just because I want you to drain your hard-earned money, because I care where your hard-earned money should be spent --- on worthwhile books.
And guys, it can't get any more worthwhile than What You Left Behind by Jessica-fucking-fantastic-Verdi.
I mean, when do you usually read about a contemporary novel about a seventeen-year-old male teenager who suddenly found himself a father of a newborn girl, whose cancer-strickenmother (his girlfriend, Meg Reynolds) died before the baby was even born? Look at those emphasized words. Look at them carefully - isn't that the recipe of "holy-shit-that-sounds-intriguing-as-hell"?
Guys, this is an emotional, heartfelt, and heart-breaking story of a young hero whose life took a confusing and uncertain turn at a time when he had his future set out for him. What are you to do when it feels like your girlfriend died because of you? What are you to do when you have a young one depending on you, when you don't even know what to do with yourself? What are you to do when so many things are crying for your attention - your schoolwork, your job, your soccer practices - when you aren't even able to take care of your damn kid properly?
This book made me feel all sorts of feelings. It felt like a realistic portrayal of someone who didn't know what to do and was crumbling from all the pressures and responsibilities. It was so refreshing to see it from a male perspective... usually when it comes to teenage parents, we all get it from the eyes of the mothers. Heck, we even have TV shows for that, but what about the teenage fathers? What do they go through? How do they feel about it? It was an intimate journey witnessing Ryder's struggles and insecurities in light of his life's recent developments, and how he coped with his conflicting feelings and bottled guilt.
I did have one problem, though...
I know that this was mainly about Ryder's growth. He had to learn how to forgive himself, to move on, and to make life worth it whatever his circumstances. However, I was quite disappointed that there wasn't much portrayal about his being a father and how he was going to cope with it... Hope, his baby, was such an integral part of why he was so lost, and yet, Hope was mainly by the sidelines. By the end, he realized what it meant to be a father, but it wasn't really shown. It felt like his romance with a new girl took more pagetime than being with his daughter.
That's my only complaint. I would have loved more father/daughter time since I'm a daddy's girl, too.
But otherwise, this was great. The narration was very personal and very realistic, full of emotions that would easily connect to any reader. I love how parents were an important part here, too, as the support to their kids as they tried to find their path in life. The character development, Meg's presence even thought she wasn't physically there anymore, and the idea how everything in life is one big mess but it's up to us on what to do with it.
Seriously guys, pre-order this book. You won't regret it....more
You're probably wondering, "Whoa, is this actually a contemporary drama or somTHIS BOOK MADE ME CRY.
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GOSH DARN IT, ONION-CUTTING NINJAS!
You're probably wondering, "Whoa, is this actually a contemporary drama or something?" Well, it's not, my dear friends - it's a psychological suspense thriller about two sisters who drifted apart after a car accident; a story of regret, bitterness, and ultimately, forgiveness. This is an atmospheric story about how a sister tries to make amends, but ultimately finds herself in a chaotic situation that would change their life forever. It made me sweat in anticipation, hold my breath in suspense, and cry my heart out for both of them and the revelation they discovered at the end.
As someone who never had a sister (I have three annoying, mildly adorable brothers), I never really thought I could relate to Nick and Dara's story. Apparently, it was far more relatable than I thought, because their dynamics here pretty much pinched my heart until I could barely breathe, touching my soul so deeply that it hurt. Hey, mom and dad, can I have a sister?
(That would be an awkward conversation with my 50 year old parents...)
I don't even know where to start. I knew this was going to have suspense and mystery because the blurb said as much, and having read Panic, I went in with expectations because I enjoyed that book a lot. The author has a knack for putting and sustaining urgency and tension in her stories, and Vanishing Girls was not an exception. From the very first page, we can already feel that there is more to this story than what meets the eye, and it slowly unravels through the perspectives of "perfect, goody-two shoes" Nick and "sneaky, free-spirited, broken" Dara. And even though these two girls have their own flaws, I loved both of them - they were all so relatable, for each and every of their imperfections. You go to the next chapter anticipating both of their sides of the story, both addicting and heart-breaking, wanting to see how they became who they were and what went down the drain between two sisters whose relationship used to be brighter than life itself.
There were even these snippets from Dara's diary that really, really added depth and mystery to the story. Through them, you can see and feel the bottled feelings resurfacing, shedding light even further on the strained relationship both of them have, feelings that were probably inevitable as they leave their innocent childhood and enter the frustrations of being a teenager.
In a way, this is a very dark book, as it highlights the bad that happens when it comes to having a sister - jealousy, petty fights, and words said that can never be taken back. Of course we all love our brothers and sisters, but there will always be times when we will have ill thoughts about them because of what they said or what they did, times when we will hold grudges because of the fact that it had to be someone of the same blood and flesh who would have the gall to hurt and take something important from you. And it really shows in the writing and in the thoughts both these sisters have, and you'll feel nothing but pain for them.
And then, came the twist. Truth be told, I already saw it coming. It's not a surprise because there are HINTS everywhere in the book, some that were obvious, some that were subtle that you needed to read again in order to catch it, but it never affected my reading experience. Why? Because the feelings were all still there. The raw emotion. The impact when discovering a revelation that would be earth-shattering if you were the character in the book. I felt them all. It hurt my heart so much that I couldn't help but bawl my eyes out.
You and your sibling may fight, may hate each other for a time, may have your differences, but at the end of the day, despite everything else, you may find that there are times you only have each other.
Love your brothers, folks. Love your sisters.
And for the god of all things holy, get this book....more
Let me guys tell you something: I have complete faith in my co-bloggers. If they love a book so much, I am very much inclined to check that book out fLet me guys tell you something: I have complete faith in my co-bloggers. If they love a book so much, I am very much inclined to check that book out for myself and see what was in it that lit their reader pants on fire. Threats of Sky and Sea by Jennifer Ellision was one of them. To be honest, I have never heard of the book until Aimee reviewed it on her blog, listing so many awesome reasons why we should read the book. She didn't need to write that review to convince me; just the fact that she loved it was enough.
When the author offered generously a review copy of her book, I took the opportunity straight away. The fact that it was fantasy added to my excitement even more. My verdict?
Enjoyable, but there were a few things that didn't sit well with me. Here is my review in list form:
1. The beginning was weak. I honestly felt annoyed by how the first three chapters felt so simplistic. It was a recurring case of "I (verb here). I (verb here). I (verb here)"made worse by the fact that they were oftentimes very curt sentences. I had expected it to start with a bang, but the lack of a more natural and flowy writing made it difficult for me to appreciate it.
2. However, the writing got better after that. Impressively, after the fourth chapter, the writing got so much better that I had thought I was reading a different book altogether! The sentences started becoming smoother, making the transition from one paragraph to the next more natural. It was then at this point that I started enjoying the story about an 'ordinary' girl who later finds out she and her dad are actually more than 'ordinary'.
3. Do you like the magic system in Avatar: The Last Airbender? If so, you'd find the system here pleasant. In this world, there are people who are born with powers of fire (Torchers), earth (Shakers), water (Throwers), and air (Riders). Each region (or kingdom?) has a special affinity with a particular element, for example, the Egrian Kingdom is full of people who can control fire, and they are at odds with the people who can control water, finding it hard to invade them because they don't have the resources to combat an element that exploits the wild fire's weakness.
The moment the magic system was introduced here, I instantly thought, "Oh, damn. This sounds exactly like Avatar's." But it's such an overused magic system that it didn't really bother me that much (I mean, you have watched Cartoon Network's Captain Planet, yes?). I did like the few details the author put here to add depth to it: the fact that you can only know your power through a Reveal (which is something that happens when you reach seventeen), and the fact that one can control two elements at the same time. Other than that, I wish it was polished and made more unique, but there are still more books in the series to behold, so I'm sure we'll be getting more meat in this aspect.
4. I adored the father/daughter dynamics. My dad and I are close. I'm the only girl in the family and that's why I particularly get spoiled by my dad more than my three brothers, and there really isn't that many YA books out there that explore this kind of special relationship in depth. Most of the time, you'll find strained relationships; worst case scenario, a non-existent one due to lame-ass reasons (dead, alcoholics, on vacation, or absent for no reason at all because apparently they're not a vital presence in a teenager's life, right?! /s), that's why when I saw how close Bree and her father were here, I was overjoyed.
No, seriously. Even when her dad was thrown in jail and Bree is left to figure out what to do, we regularly get snippets and narrations that talk about the life Bree and her father had before the Elementals caught them. We see Bree thinking of her father a lot and how she wished things were different for them, how she felt betrayed by his secrets, and how she desperately looked for a way to save him. It was so refreshing and so touching to see Bree go off on her own adventures (which is absolutely normal) and still have her father frequently in her thoughts (which is absolutely awesome). I need more of this theme in my bookshelves, fo' real.
5. The heroine is feisty, intelligent, and just downright fantastic. I love Bree. She's a girl who suddenly finds herself thrown into a chaotic and tricky situation full of politics and power, and instead of whining and wallowing in self-pity or recklessly doing stupid things, she patiently bids her time in order to get the advantage and gain more information that would help her along the way. Which I definitely approve. A want more level-headed heroines, kick-ass female heroes who make mistakes and not be annoying at making them, and rise from them like an Amazonian warrior. Which is what Bree is, in a nutshell.
6. I didn't like the romance, though. The romance with Caden wasn't built up enough, in my opinion. I mean, I get that they're attracted to each other, but their "progression" was a bit contrived for me. I want a development that's more subtle and more believable, a romance that is built on a beautiful friendship, on shared experiences, and a level of "comfortable-ness" that a pair achieves when they go through trials and tribulations together. The development between Bree and Caden was a little in-your-face and felt like rather than convincing me, it was trying to make itself believe it was there.
Examples (non verbatim):
Caden kisses Bree's hand. Her heart pounds and she wonders, "Is it me or does his kiss linger a second more on my knuckles?"
or
Bree remembers Caden and another girl's marriage. She imagines the two of them standing with clasped hands before a priestess, and her stomach churns unpleasantly.
Don't get me wrong, there isn't really anything wrong with any of these two situations. It's just that, for me, these weren't enough, and before I knew it, the two were kissing already. There weren't enough believable scenes for me to take their feelings for each other seriously.
All in all, this was a pleasant surprise, and I certainly do see why Aimee loves this book. Although I wasn't able to enjoy it fully, there were still many things about it that I found fantastic. Consider me excited for the next book....more
OKAY, THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST ADORABLE AND FUNNIEST SPY-KIDS NOVEL I HAVE EVER READ.
Sorry for the all-caps, but seriously, I never thought a premiseOKAY, THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST ADORABLE AND FUNNIEST SPY-KIDS NOVEL I HAVE EVER READ.
Sorry for the all-caps, but seriously, I never thought a premise involving elite spy kids... or, err... pseudo-elite spy kids... would be in the same sentence as "cute" and "adorable". In less than 3 hours, I finished from A-Z and I was like, "I NEED MORE SPY KIDS IN MY LIFE."
Heroes don't always look like heroes, and villains don't always look like villains.
I had to work out who was who. I had to work out the truth.
Meet Hale Jordan - the son of two of the most elite spies of the SRS and the brother of a possible spy prodigy - a young soon-to-be-and-still-in-training spy who could not be anymore "unfit" for the role. He's fat, he doesn't move as fast, and nobody ever takes him seriously but he's witty, clever, has a lot of street smarts, can speak Russian, can lie to your face (or can lie to himself to believe he's someone else), and a brave kid who sneaks into the lair of his network's greatest nemesis just to find his mom and dad.
And, oh, he's fricking hilarious.
I was laughing my ass off every now and then and I was just so engrossed in the novel. The writing, while not absolutely spectacular as in like the narrative we see in more mature books, has a very endearing quality to it. Hale is such a charming and funny hero - he never wallows in self-pity, he brushes off all the bullying he gets about his appearance, he even makes fun of himself at times to lighten up the mood, and is just plain awesome. He makes the slogan "brain over brawn" ever more true as he continuously uses his wits to improvise when things go wrong, and it's so fun to see him go through all kinds of situations, because his narrative just makes it all so refreshing.
You may be thinking now, "But, Faye, aren't you going to nitpick? Hello, how could it ever be feasible for there to be an elite spy organization that uses... twelve year olds?!?!" And yes, yes, yes, that question is quite valid, but there are times that a book just... works. You know what I mean? There are books that make it hard to take it seriously, and there are books like this that make such premises feel natural. Even the dialogue didn't sound contrived! And that's a feat because some action-y middle grade books don't make it feel as genuine.
And didn't you see me say it has a hilarious hero with equally hilarious kid friends, one who is named Ben who keeps inventing silly stuff and naming it after him?! ---> ex: JellyBEN, BENchwarmer, HellBENder, BENoculars... among other things...
Seriously speaking now, this book was a hilarious and fantastic debut to what couldwill
be an awesome spy series. I love that it ends an arc while leaving still so much room for bigger and even more dangerous missions in the future. I love that while it has action and adventure and even conspiracies that affect people on a global scale, it still centers on family, friendship and sibling love. If I had a young one, I would read this alongside with them, because it is that enjoyable....more
The blurb talks about how this is a powerful thriller, but a more apt description would be a "quiet" thriller This... was an interesting read, indeed.
The blurb talks about how this is a powerful thriller, but a more apt description would be a "quiet" thriller that sends ripples of emotions to the reader in frequent, yet small doses. This is actually the first time I've read something like it, because when I see THRILLER, I expect SUSPENSE! MYSTERY! TWISTS AT EVERY CORNER! But Last Good Day of the Year is anything but. The first 90% is all backstory, and the actual "thriller" part comes almost at the very end.
That doesn't mean to say that it didn't work, though, because I found myself liking the overall touch. When Sam was seven years old, she witnessed someone go inside their house and kidnap her four year old sister, Tabitha (nickname: Turtle). If something like that happened to me, my life would definitely change, and so would my parents', my siblings', my neighbors' and friends'. And the book here emphasizes that - how the lives of Sam and the people close to her heart changed, and how they felt the grief, the sadness, the blame, and the regret and how these all followed them for years until the present time. I felt all of these emotions in my very core as I read along, as there was this brutal honesty but softness in Sam's voice that would hold your heart and tenderly accompany you from finish to end.
If there is one thing that I didn't like, though, it's just that there were times the narration felt dragging at times. Like I mentioned, the book was 90% character backstory, and the rest were actually for the "thriller" part (or the knowing of who kidnapped Turtle). It would narrate quite extensively about certain details that I felt were quite irrelevant, although I guess the author really wanted to flesh out the characters and let us see some sort of domino effect. It's just weird when the book's shorter than the usual novel and yet there were times you would feel like it's taking forever.
Also going to throw this out there: while I appreciated the backstory, I was disappointed that the actual "thriller" part was so, so, so short, and the details and evidences pointing at the real killer were given to us in an "avalanche". There weren't really any clues beforehand and so the story gives it all to us in one go as if all of a sudden, the characters had a moment of HUGE epiphany. I usually look forward to the discovering of clues, to the reading between the lines, to thinking about the puzzle pieces myself when it comes to this type of books, so to see it nonexistent here bummed me out. The transition to that point of the book was also not there. So it was like "character backstory, backstory, backstory, OH THE KILLER WAS THIS DUDE AND THIS IS WHY" and every character would be like, "OH I SEE NOW" as if they all simply accepted it. I wish there were more tension :(
All in all, it's an interesting novel and I would read more of this kind of thrillers, as long as the tension is also in abundance (or at least present even in small amounts). I think contemporary readers would definitely like this....more
If I could describe this book in one word, it would be quiet.
Yes, Emmy & Oliver is something that I would call a "quiet contemporary". I'm not eveIf I could describe this book in one word, it would be quiet.
Yes, Emmy & Oliver is something that I would call a "quiet contemporary". I'm not even sure where that came from, or if it's a thing, or something I made up on a whim, but I know deep inside that this is the best word for it. I try to think of another description, but there is nothing that fits as this. Emmy & Oliver is meaningful, thoughtful, and like I said, quiet.
How is it so, you ask? I've read a number of contemporaries over the years, many of them involving issues and concepts teenagers face during their youth, experiences that mirror our own and lessons that are valuable to us, too. But while that is so, there are times when it feels like the situation those characters are in are something that I don't really see myself getting into; as if it feels like there is still a sense of detachment somehow.
But Emmy & Oliver is different, in a sense, and I don't even know how to say why. There is something so down-to-earth with the way it is written. There is no unnecessary or explosive or superficial drama among the characters. There is a "peaceful" atmosphere going on despite the big elephant of sadness in the room. In this book, characters go to school, go back home, do what teenagers do, eat what teenagers eat, fret over college applications - things that are 100% real to us - and it doesn't feel tedious at all. There is even an endearing quality to it, a realness that you know is genuine. It feels eerily human-like in a way that this you see this happening to yourself, or to your next-door neighbor, or to your friend down the street.
I guess, in short, it is not pretentious at all. There are no characters who spout deep and complex sentences in an attempt to swoon the MC or the reader. It's genuine to the very bone, especially the dialogue. I even think the dialogue is the best part of this story, because the way they talk to each other and the things they say and the things they do are so, so, so real. This is why I say it is quiet, because most of the time, our lives are quiet, too (unless you're a big hot shot in loud field like Hollywood, I guess!), and it really captured that ambiance and atmosphere in the setting, in the writing, in the characters, and in the dialogue.
TL;DR: it's one of the most natural contemporaries I've ever read. Read it to believe it, folks....more
Today, Aimee and I will be reviewing this gem of a book together. To say we loved this is an understatement... we absolutely adored it to the moon andToday, Aimee and I will be reviewing this gem of a book together. To say we loved this is an understatement... we absolutely adored it to the moon and back. It's amazing to finally find a dystopia that's refreshing and original and new, springing from a society we haven't read much of. Without further ado, here are our thoughts regarding this beautiful narrative.
Faye
: So, Aimee, when was the last time you read an original and ACTUALLY good dystopia? Have you ever come to that point?!
Aimee
: *Checks Goodreads* I've read a handful of dystopian novels in my four years of reading, but I've never read about anything quite like this. Nothing that touched up on feminism this deeply.How about you?
Faye
: I agree. It tackles so many topics all at once: gender imbalance, equality, and freedom, while also somehow touching on some issues women in India face. I mean, just the fact that it sets place in India is already so awesome.
Aimee
: Agreed. Although that brings me to a minor (and the only) problem I had with the book: some of the terms were confusing, like the things the main characters called their family members, since the author didn't explain who each term referred to.
Faye
: Oh yes, that's one thing. Since it's a story set in a completely different culture and country, it would have been nice if we were properly introduced to some of the foreign terms, but, overall, I didn't mind it too much. The way it was written just moved me. This is my first free verse book (well, half free verse book) and it was written so good. There was purpose in every line, in every word, and every few pages, a verse would strike a cord within me. It was beautifully written.
Aimee
: I couldn't agree more! This is my first book written in verse, too, and honestly I wasn't expecting to be even midly interested in it, but I ended up adoring the beautiful writing. Whose POV were you more interested in, if any?
Faye
: I loved the female MC's more. Even though she didn't really go into much detail because she was talking in free verse, I loved how every verse was well-written, well-timed, and well-placed, as if each line meant something. The male MC was interesting, too, to see his side of things, but I just loved the intimacy of the female's. What about you?
Aimee
: I think I was more drawn to Sudasa's as well. Probably because we're more immersed into her family, and I loved how she was realizing all these things and beginning to believe in things for herself and not just because of what other people tell her.
Faye
: Does it bother you that there's not much character development?At least, a kind of character development that was shown more personally.
Aimee
: Personally, I felt like that was only the case for Kiran and not so much with Sudasa. I felt like we weren't given enough time to get to know his way of living since he only narrated how he was during the Tests, and not too much of how he lived with his family before.
Faye
: Fair point. The story to me was more about Sudasa's story and how meeting Kiran and seeing his defiance became her catalyst to look for a way outside this system. All in all, how would you rate this, Aimee?
Aimee
: I gave the book 4.5 stars, even upped it on Goodreads. ;) And you?
Faye
: I give it 4 stars, definitely. I had thought dystopia was stagnant, but it only goes to show that if we think outside the box and go towards diversity, there are all kinds of situations we can write about. PLUS, intertwining it with another culture makes for a really interesting read!
Aimee
: Totally! There are all sorts of cultures, issues and situations that can be turned into gorgeous stories, and Holly Bodger definitely succeeded in bringing a refreshing new YA dystopian. And I was surprised that I loved it despite the fact that there wasn't any romance. ;)
Faye
: Exactly! It's all about the societal issues that were handled extremely well.I can't wait to read more from Holly Bodger!...more
How to describe this book? Basically, if ever Amazing Race and the National Treasure film had a baby, it would be Inherit Midnight. Family secrets, anHow to describe this book? Basically, if ever Amazing Race and the National Treasure film had a baby, it would be Inherit Midnight. Family secrets, ancestral history dating back to the founding of the New World, a race around the world to see who would inherit the family's moolah... I mean, it's really not hard to find the similarities in pop culture.
The only difference is, I would rather watch Amazing Race and National Treasure over reading this again.
Now, don't get me wrong; this is NOT a bad book by any means, but in the same breath, it wasn't all that memorable, either. It's a stand-alone that you may want to suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy... because holy shit, guys, there are so many stuff here that I can only see happening in a 1 to million chance (unless you guys have a deranged grandma to force her money-hungry, non-remorseful kids and grandkids to go to a really deep hole in Venezuela and mine a diamond, because it's not like that's extremely dangerous for a bunch of pampered brats who never worked for once in their lives.... right?!). However, if you're looking for something fun without it making you think too much, this could be a good candidate. Just... be wary of a few things that may piss you off a bit, if you're as nitpicky as I am.
For starters, this book is a huge info-dump. Because the heirs are on a race to get to the finish line (read: $$$$$$), they will need to solve puzzles and riddles their grandmother has left them - something she thought to do on a whim after she nearly died - which, consequently, results to a shit-ton of background history that are given to us in heavy doses. I am not kidding. In every challenge (there are seven in all), the reader is thrown a bunch of names, a bunch of places, a bunch of stuff that happened to their ancestors, all told in such a matter-of-fact and lecture-like way that it leaves the reader rather overwhelmed, if not, detached, which honestly happened to me. It truly felt like I was in high school again, listening to this boring history teacher of mine spout facts after facts after facts, without even looking at any of us. And why should she? She was reading the "facts" from that goddamn history book. That's what it honestly felt like, which was a shame, because I love history, especially if it's taught in such a fun way (shout-out to my two history teachers back in university... you guys were the best).
Thankfully, Inherit Midnight did some cool "reenactment" bits in some scenes, but for the most part, you could pretty much skip the "history lectures" and not really miss anything. Although I don't think that's really a good thing for our book here.
Secondly, the writing here leaves a lot to be desired... there were a lot of awkward phrasing here. The number one culprit was:
"I stared at him in a way that showed I was annoyed."
Like... uhhh... really? How the frack did this phrase pass the editor?! It's just so awkward! I tried reading it out loud and couldn't help but cringe in second-hand embarrassment. I was like, surely, there must be a shorter and better way of saying this? Not to mention, the dialogue exchanged sometimes were so incredibly cheesy that I had to pause reading the book at times because I felt like I was being doused with cheese myself. Example (non-verbatim):
Lawyer: We'll strike a deal. If you win this race, we'll give you these letters. MC: Fine, but for every competition won, I want one letter back. Lawyer: *starts to disagree* MC: Take it or leave it. *heads to the door* Lawyer: WAIT! *chuckles* *shakes head* *chuckles softly* This is why we bet on you. You're ~~*DIFFERENT*~~. You've got yourself a deal.
When I got to that bit where he was chuckling and shaking his head, I wanted to rip the world apart. Is it just me? IS IT JUST ME?!?!?!??!?!?!?!!?!
Thirdly, Avery. She was an alright girl, but it felt like she couldn't do anything without Riley (the love interest and the lawyer's intern) by her side. It's like, without Riley she would've a.) chickened out; b.) chickened out; c.) chickened out; and d.) not get the clues; or e.) not notice the clues. She had her moments of intelligence and courage, but it was always after Riley would help her, and it really made me feel discouraged. Thankfully she does grow out of her shell later on... unfortunately, though, that's not my only issue with her. I felt that the way her reactions to certain events were very exaggerated and stupid. She reads a letter from her mother, and this MC right here than RUNS AWAY from where she and Riley were researching, leaving their things vulnerable to the grabby hands of their money-hungry, battle-ready competitors. I really get her being emotional with regards to her mother, as we learn she has never seen or heard of her, and it's really a nice side story here, but I just couldn't help but feel the way the way this was handled was so unrealistic.
Other than that, it was okay. I did feel that the romance could have been better set up. No, there were no insta-love, but it did still feel underwhelming somehow. And the competitors and side-characters were also really one-dimensional... pretty much a rinse and repeat of each other: backstabbing, money-hungry (yes, this demands to be repeated every time) fools. Like, after a while, it becomes hard to differentiate them because they're pretty much the same vultures as each other, with little to no depth at all. They're all just so intolerant and nasty to our special Avery for such a petty reason that it was hard to even take them seriously.
But, hey, like I said, this is a fun book if you suspend your disbelief. These factors included.
All in all, it was an okay read. Like I said, not bad, but not memorable, either. Try it out if you want to have something akin to The Amazing Race with American and family history mixed....more
Good god. If ever the day comes when I need a book about my life published, I will beg Leah Raeder to write it because I bet she can write
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Good god. If ever the day comes when I need a book about my life published, I will beg Leah Raeder to write it because I bet she can write from my perspective, own it, bring out emotions I didn't think were there before, and maybe even write sides of me I never even knew.
And here I thought Unteachable was Leah Raeder's masterpiece. Black Iris proved me wrong as this book made me feel as if I were the main character herself - the way it was written was just so sublime and so honest and raw and dark and enchanting that it was easy to imagine being in Laney's shoes and experience what she was experiencing. How does Leah Raeder do it? How is it so easy for her to connect a bunch of words together and make them seem like heaven-sent angel-sung poetry? Her writing is so bloody addicting that it actually consumes you whole, pulling you in, immersing you in the story, and making you absorb the emotions, and you eat them all up willingly.
Black Iris is dark. It's twisted and complex, full of hidden meanings and hidden motives and bottled-up feelings of lust, love, anger, regret, guilt, and rage. It's about characters that are not likeable by any means, as their lives are filled with things like sex, drugs, and alcohol, letting these things consume and even drive them. And yet... they feel real. I'd even say they were the realest characters I've had the honor of reading, the closest that I could see as truly human-like. They are so genuine in their flaws and in their imperfections and their screwed-up-ness, that I even saw myself in them. Does that make sense? Am I talking madness? How could I relate to people that are so fucked-up?
Because I just do. Even I get dark days sometimes where I lock myself in my room and let brooding thoughts consume me. And I somehow found that dark side in me in these characters, in the narrative and dialogue and scenes, resonating with me, hitting me hard where it hurt and making me feel, "Oh my god, someone gets it. Someone fricking gets it." Black Iris is one of the few books that have touched me that deeply, and it came from characters who've become who they've become because of the actions of others.
I know I've talked length about the characters and the writing and their effects on me, but hear me out: they are the best factors in this novel and they truly showcased Raeder's impeccable writing prowess. I didn't know this was actually a suspense and thriller book, as I was expecting something along the lines of unconventional romance like Unteachable, but goodness gracious me, even Raeder herself rocks this genre and with very unique LGBT characters, to boot. One thing is for sure: this author knows how to make a mystery sexy, absolutely relatable, and beautiful at the same time....more
"THERE HAS TO BE A BOOK TWO. THE STORY CANNOT END HERE."
This was my mantra upon finishing this book. And boy, did I keep on repeating this with much f"THERE HAS TO BE A BOOK TWO. THE STORY CANNOT END HERE."
This was my mantra upon finishing this book. And boy, did I keep on repeating this with much fervor and passionate flailing. I mean, guys. GUYS. I found a 5 star book. THIS IS NOT A DRILL: I FOUND A 5 STAR BOOK. Where's the confetti?! Where are the champagne?! WE NEED A GODDAMN CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN OVER HERE.
I am getting goosebumps all over my skin as I type this. I don't even know how I'm going to review this book in the most logical, coherent way possible. I usually write my reviews in a calculated, objective (with a tint of emotional bias) manner, but right now, I don't think that is possible. Warning: I may repeat the words awesome, fantastic, excellent, sublime, amazing, magnificent, epic many times. SAYING ALL OF THOSE WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR THIS BOOK.
Basically? This book is awesome. It's written so, so well that my mind is still so blown away at how amazingly thought-out everything here is. The plot, the characters, the development, the romance, the world-building, the complexity of human relationships, EVERYTHING. I loved how realistic they all felt - the feelings, the dialogue, the characters themselves - I found them so real and genuine that my heart really ached for them, that I wished I were there with them because I could see them as real people, not as fictional characters with personalities that feel forced. It was all just so natural.
Take the world-building for example. Basically, in this world, there is another realm where all dreams take place - all the happy dreams, all the nightmares, and this realm plays a big part in the world's balance as a whole. If there are too many nightmares going on, it would mean the end of both worlds. That's where Dream Walkers like Josh come in, people who have been resolving nightmares for generations. It may sound really simple, and you may be thinking, "Meh, that doesn't sound complex at all."
But this book will prove you wrong because the book really sets the world extensively with scientific explanations (that do not make you dizzy) and dream theories (that do make sense in-world). It may feel slow because of this, though (which seems to be the complaint of many reviewers), and I wouldn't blame you if it feels to you that way if you read this, but for me, it was never a problem because the writing made up for it. The writing was so delicious to consume. I just loved how smooth and lyrical the narration was, and how it effectively gave life to the story and to the characters effortlessly.
Speaking of characters, can I just say that I love how Josh was so realistic and flawed at the same time? She was seen as the best of her generation, being able to resolve nightmares 88% of the time and with such ease and efficiency; but deep inside she was so insecure and plagued by guilt of a death that happened in the past that she thought was her fault. And these flaws were shown so realistically - she would be praised for her skills, and she would put walls around her and then think that if she were, what happened in the past wouldn't have happened. She would get away from a dire situation, and she would berate herself for letting it happen in the first place. And best of all - it never felt overwhelming. It never felt contrived. They were all handled so sensitively, resolved gradually and realistically, and they even compliment the storyline at the same time.
And my GOD, WILL. WILL KANSAS. The love interest was just so bloody amazing. He's an average joe who suddenly finds himself all mixed in affairs he never knew existed, and he handles them all like a champ. He is sweet, laid-back, kind, sensitive to the problems of the people around him, and has demons of his own. I loved how he was such a genuine partner to Josh, how he complimented her aggressive, reckless nature with his cautiousness and compassion. I loved how even though he was the love interest, his "development" with Josh never took center stage - they were all in the background and even moved alongside the real storyline. It made me yearn for scenes with both of them even more.
Long story short: Will Kansas is my current book boyfriend, and he won't be going anywhere anytime soon. MORE MALES LIKE HIM, PLEASE?!?!?!
I know I've talked about this book in length already. I just can't get enough of this book, if you haven't noticed yet. If you loved The Diviners by Libba Bray, you'll definitely want this because that's the feel I got from this book. But even if you don't know that book, you guys definitely need to read this. It's just so beautifully and masterfully written....more
You know a book is really special when you've only just begun and you're already overwhelming with emotions. Imagine, I've only read a few pages of this novel and my eyes were starting to water already. My little brother was even giving me a bewildered look as he saw me wipe my tears away with the back of my hand.
Le brother: What's up with you? Me: This book... this book is... it's just so sad...! Le brother: You're crying over a book? Me: I'm not crying over a book. I'm crying over the characters in this book! Le brother: ... you're crying over a book. Me: Fuck you, you heartless bastard. You wouldn't understand.
Pffft, brothers. Who needs them?
I've first read Jessi Kirby in Golden, a heart-warming and relatable story of a girl who was looking towards her future with uncertainty, and it remains as one of the best Contemporary books I've read up to this day. Kirby has this unique writing ability that truly brings out the thoughts and feelings of her characters, to the point that they accurately mirror the kind of thoughts and frustrations of people undergoing the same issues. You read her book, and you feel like her characters are so real, because how could anyone write such heartfelt monologues if they weren't written by someone who went through the same thing? I'm not saying that Kirby probably went through similar insecurities and feelings herself, but whether or not she did or didn't, you can really see through her work that she is able to put herself in individuals with such problems and convert their emotions to words.
Things We Know by Heart is not an exception.
This book was utterly beautiful and honest. I've read a lot of books about characters mourning and in grief over the death of a loved one, but Things We Know by Heart is probably the only book that really reached out to me, that really showcased how mourning really is: that empty feeling inside you; the constant longing and yearning for that one person and the hurt that comes along with it knowing he's never, ever coming back. How it's easy to say "move on!" or "move forward!" or "he would want you to be happy!" and how it's actually hard to do any of those things, because the concept of letting go is just so scary. You've been with someone you love and care about, and then all of a sudden he's gone from your life, and days float by and nothing seems to really matter, and you take anything - anything - to lift a fraction of that heaviness away.
Which is what Quinn Sullivan did.
When her boyfriend died, he gave life to five other people when his organs were donated. She wrote a letter to each of them, and four wrote back, and the one recepient who didn't had the organ that mattered to her - the heart. And so she sought him. She found him. And by finding him, she found herself - that part of her that died with Trent, waiting to be cured and resurrected.
I really can't praise this book enough. It's profound and deep, written in a genuine and heartfelt way that only a master storyteller is capable of telling. Even though we only know very little about Trent, mainly through the snippets of memories Quinn, the heroine, tells us, we already feel a veil of heaviness when it came to him. Like we also lost a friend, or a lover, or a family member. Every time the heroine remembers him and their memories together, I can't help but get teary-eyed, something I couldn't imagine happening because Trent died before we even get to know him. This is how effective the writing is - it grabs you instantly and makes you mourn with Quinn, feeling every helplessness and vulnerabilities she felt.
But this book is not all about grief. It's also about healing and one's journey to self-recovery. I love how it portrays the difficulties of getting back on your feet, and how it only takes one small step to jumpstart it. That step? Colton.
I used to hate the name "Colton". There was this one season of Survivor where a person named "Colton" was the embodiment of an extremely annoying and migraine-inducing male primadonna. I hated him so much and every time I heard the name "Colton" I would rememeber him and all the things his lazy ass did. But the Colton Thomas here made me forget all those ridiculous things and fall in love with him. His persona was such a breath of fresh air. He was the one who received Trent's heart, and although he feels grateful for being given a chance at life, he still has his own demons to face. He was a sweetheart who was patient, kind, and caring; because of his sickness, he viewed life as both fragile and beautiful, and he reminded Quinn that despite all the bad things happening around us, there is always something to look forward to, too, that would make life worth living.
Seriously, there are so many life lessons to be learned here. Golden was life-changing for me, because I had the same problems as the heroine at the time I read it. Things We Know by Heartwas the same way in which it reminded me of what's important.
That life is fragile, but it's because it is that makes it beautiful, too. By recognizing the fact that life can end so suddenly and for no reason at all, we must always live life to the fullest. And sometimes, it's the simple things that mean the most to us.
That letting go doesn't mean forgetting what's in the past. Letting go simply means accepting them to have been a part of who you are. It's not betraying anyone, but being grateful for the mark they left in your life, and opening yourself to others again.
That having weaknesses doesn't make you weak. Getting through them is hard, but it doesn't do anyone any good to force yourself through it. Baby steps are okay, and there will always be others who'll walk with you overcoming them. However long it takes.
If you have to buy ONE contemporary book in 2015, please, please, please let it be this. This is a beautiful and heartfelt story written in the rawest, most heartfelt way possible. I absolutely love it....more
First off, this was such a beautiful novel, inside and out.
I like the sky. It's rational to me in a way that life isn't. Looking at it doesn't suck
First off, this was such a beautiful novel, inside and out.
I like the sky. It's rational to me in a way that life isn't. Looking at it doesn't suck the way you might think it would, given all the dying-girl-stares-at-heaven possibilities. I don't think of the sky as any kind of heaven item. I think of it as a bunch of gases and faraway echoes of things that used to be on fire.
When I read the first few paragraphs of this book, I initially thought it was the diary of a self-absorbed girl who thought she was the shit. After finishing the first two chapters, I ate my words and realized that the heroine was actually exploding with a certain kind of wisdom only a mature person who accepted her upcoming death could achieve.
Speaking of ocean and big fish in it. This is the first footage of a giant squid ever taken in which the squid is swimming around in its own environment. Imagine this sea-monstery unbelievable thing with eyeballs the size of a person's head, and a body and tentacles twenty-five feet long. As long as a school bus. Now, realize that no one's ever seen one moving around down there before. It's a pretty huge miracle, and if this exists, maybe there are things in Loch Ness, too. Maybe there are things everywhere, all over the place. Maybe there is... hope?
Because every time someone finds a new animal, or a new amazing thing on earth, it means we haven't broken everything yet.
Emily May, in her review, likened the writing to Neil Gaiman's, and she's very accurate with her assessment. Aza Ray was a dying girl, and she knew it. She talked about how her life has been since she was diagnosed with a breathing problem, and how she adjusted and her family adjusted to make her feel better and more comfortable. She would even make fun of herself sometimes, giving the narration self-deprecating moments that just make her even more endearing. You can actually feel how weak she was, and how it was her family and friend who were giving her strength to endure it all. With such a situation, you'd think the atmosphere would be filled with drama, but the narration was just brimming with an uncommon honesty, full of raw emotions and hope and a sense of defeat, while also effortlessly making the mood somehow surreal at the same time. And funny. Don't forget funny.
I, myself, have never gotten my period, which I'm actually not too upset about. Postpone the misery, I say. It's because I'm too skinny, and have no luck gaining weight.
Clarification: by "too skinny," I don't mean Sexy Goth Girl in Need of Flowery Dress and Lipstick to Become Girl Who Was Always Secretly Pretty but We Never Saw It till Now. I mean: dead girl walking. Corpse-style skin, and sometimes when I cough, it's way gross. Just saying.
Or this:
When Jason feels inclined, he's been known to make chocolate éclairs. Today he feels inclined. If I weren't already worried, this'd worry me. Chocolate éclairs are for birthdays. If he's making them early, I must really look bad.
Yeah. I think I'll avoid the mirror.
But wow, when the scene's emotional, it really hits you. There was this scene that lasted a good 10% of the book, and I cried all the way. I know I'm a crybaby, but when you saw how I was crying and how my heart was being pulled at different places, you just realize how powerful the book and the author are, impacting you so much when we barely even knew the heroine yet.
My dad is fading out. All I can see are my own eyelashes and my eye own eyelids, and somehow, also, my own brain, all the pathways inside it, everything dark and narrow, and getting narrower, bookshelves closing in, books crushed, falling into muddled piles, pages crushed, words mangled, and me, running through it all, trying to get out before the walls collapse.
I feel the entire inside of my body folding up, some kind of awful origami. I thought it would hurt, but the pain I've been feeling forever and ever is actually something that's ceasing to matter to me, just like my bones no longer matter to me, and I inhale, and exhale, and
Bird in my chest
Bird in my chest
Bird in my chest
Ships in the sky
Last moments before dying
The rest of the novel was equally fascinating. The plot here, while not be one hundred original (girl finding out who she really is, comes to possess mysterious and unimaginable powers), still feels refreshing because of the world-building that's absolutely and entirely new (at least to me it felt like it). Instead of borrowing from overused mythologies that we're already so familiar with, we're introduced to something that came from a French medieval tale, and man, was it an adventure riding the skies with them Magonian creatures. I always rejoice when we're treated to new concepts because it also meant broadening your knowledge of the world's tales, many of them long forgotten, itching to be told and presented to the world again in a modern way.
And Maria Dehvana Headley did it right with this book.
The other characters were such a delight, too. Jason Kerwin might just be the most adorable guy ever. He's Aza's best friend, fascinated with computers and numbers and the world, someone I could just fricking relate to, and doesn't say anything so sugary, or flirt so openly. He's just being himself and uses small gestures to communicate his feelings and it's so bloody heartwarming. The family dynamics were so awesome, too. You can just see how much family plays a huge role in Aza's life, her family's kindness influencing her and reminding her of what's important. They're not absent at all. They were present even when they weren't there, because early on, you already witness how big of a mark they put in her life.
Overall, this was a beautiful book, and not just because of the cover. The writing is charming and bewitching at the same time. The pages are full of honesty, love, fun, friendship, and magic, and will surely introduce you to places and heights you've never been to before. Get ready to be surprised this upcoming April!...more
Edited to add: YOU CAN WIN A HARDCOVER IF YOU'RE A PHILIPPINE RESIDENT ON THE BLOG
HOLY MACARONI ON A PLATE OF SIZZLING AND AWESOME GOODNESS IN AMAZINGEdited to add: YOU CAN WIN A HARDCOVER IF YOU'RE A PHILIPPINE RESIDENT ON THE BLOG
HOLY MACARONI ON A PLATE OF SIZZLING AND AWESOME GOODNESS IN AMAZINGLY EPIC PROPORTIONS.
I'm not even sure that made sense, but I don't give a crap right now because I doubt any kind of praise or adjective would truly give this book the justice it deserves.
If you ask me right now, did you like this book, Faye? I would tell you this:
No, I did not like it; I absolutely LOVED it. No, I did not enjoy it; I pretty much LIVED it while reading it. No, I do not want the next book; I AM ACTUALLY SO THIRSTY FOR IT I AM QUITE WILLING TO SACRIFICE A LIMB OR TWO FOR IT.
This is the kind of romance-fantasy I yearn for:
1.) One where we are honored with a flawed, relatable, yet utterly genuine heroine;
2.) A romance that does not feel forced, the kind that leaves trails of pleasure all over you while pinching your heart when you see the couple struggling against forces that threaten to topple it;
3.) A world that is so wonderfully set-up you will immediately immerse yourself in it;
4.) And a plot that weaves all of the above with action, urgency, and tension. I was literally on my toes the in the last thirty percent. I was flipping pages faster than I could blink.
5.) AND SOME AWESOME ROMP TIME, TOO. Although, to be honest, I really, really, really would have loved if there were action in that department... I mean, seriously, I wanted some of that hotness going on. *turns to Maas with puppy eyes*
I was like this:
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and like this:
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And pretty much ready to go to war with Feyre against that gosh-darn awful and evil "Queen":
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Seriously, guys. I know it's weird to see a heroine with a name that is ALMOST close to mine, but Feyre was a bundle of joy. I loved that she came from riches and then due to unfortunate circumstances, was forced to be the breadwinner of her family. I loved that she was so passionate in providing for her family that she would shoulder all that burden on her shoulders. I loved that because she was so preoccupied of caring for her family, she didn't know how to read, sacrificed her love for art. I loved that she was initially judgemental and made costly (if somewhat stupid) mistakes, but she saw through her errors, made up for it, and eventually stood for what she believed in and for who she loved.
AND IT WAS A GLORIOUS FEELING, I TELL YOU!!!
I was literally cheering in my mind for this girl. I don't know about you, but I am kinda liking her more than Celaena. She loves her family, does everything for them even if some of them piss her off, she knows how to defend herself and kill if she has to, and she even rescues her prince! Buzz off, Superman, there's another person made of steel here.
Okay, fine, they're actually on par.
AND TAMLIN. O-M-F-G.
If he ever materializes before me, I would probably go:
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He reminds me of a tamer Curran (Kate Daniels series) somehow. And you guys know how much I loved that smexy beast. This guy right here had the power to probably cut everyone to ribbons and yet he was sweet, caring, and so fricking romantic. I loved that even though he was the love interest, there really was not that much of an overwhelming emphasis on him and his beauty - he was made to compliment the heroine and the plot. In short: he didn't make my eyes bleed. He made stars out of them.
AND THE PLOT. FROM THIRTY PERCENT ONWARDS I WAS LIKE:
This is probably the first time in a long while since I've gotten this infuriated and angry and just fuming over a book. I chose to read this n[image]
This is probably the first time in a long while since I've gotten this infuriated and angry and just fuming over a book. I chose to read this novel expecting great things (especially with such a title as romantic as that), but I ended up putting the book down at certain times and pacing around the room just to cool off the steam coming out of my ears. I was that seething.
(And I'm not the only one. I buddy read this with Aimee and we kept ranting about the book to each other.)
I don't even know where to start with this thing. It had so many factors that could have given us an amazing story - underground family-syndicates that deal with black market organ transplants, a heroine who has an autoimmune disorder, assigned guardians and protectors who are a part of the Family - but all of these were taken for granted and flushed down the drain by the book's seemingly unnecessary emphasis on the romance, which was the most rushed and cheesy and instalove-y romance that I've read yet.
First of all, let's talk about the heroine, Penelope Landlow. She is a descendant of a family that has done countless organ transplants for those who can afford it (read: illegal). She is very frail and everyone is very careful with her because she bruises and bleeds easily due to her autoimmune disorder, a condition where her body keeps destroying her platelets count. I wouldn't really have minded this tidbit and would normally have embraced it, but it felt like her condition was more of a cop-out in order not to explore the syndicate aspect of this book. Since we see the events unfold in her perspective, we keep getting brushed off whenever it comes to the business and ongoings in said family business, because such were"not good/right for her" or that "she shouldn't bother herself with it". The only time she was actually in a meeting that discussed the business, the heroine was fucking spacing out. When she came back to reality, the meeting was finished. FINISHED.
What the fuck???
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Here I am, not already getting enough info about the politics and internal affairs of this goddamn business, and the remote chance that we do, the heroine conveniently spaces out. She's already isolated from everything as it is! This goes on until the rest of the novel... where it consequently becomes a hundred pages of cheesy dialogue and feewings between the girl and a guy who she falls in love with at first sight... I mean, he saves her from falling in the streets and she later dreams about kissing him... take note: at this point, they still haven't conversed with each other decently (at least not a conversation with her thinking straight), and they do not know each other's names. So consider me flabbergasted when shelatertalks about how she dreamt about him while unconscious! (and I'm here, wondering, how the hell would someone know that if they were bloody unconscious?!).
I mean, get this: she later wakes up and finds this guy followed her to her apartment, and instead of, I don't know, panicking that her location got found out so easily (since her life is in danger), she tells him this:
"And I thought rock-hard jaw lines only existed in romance novels."
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DO YOU SEE NOW WHY I HAD TO TAKE BREAKS WHILE READING THIS BOOK?! IT WAS FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP GOING AND NOT WANT TO STAB SOMETHING. I was actually scolded by my mother for continuously walking around the room muttering incoherent curses, but I assure you, I had to put the negative energy somewhere or else I was going to explode. The heroine and her lack of self-preservation just made me want to bang my hand on a granite wall.
And this continues for a loooong, looong time. A repetition of her going out with the dude, of them saying sweet nothings to each other, of them going to places and acting like an old married couple despite the fact they know zilch about each other, despite the fact they've only met a few days prior. I had to resort to skimming because it wasn't just annoying, it was also so cheesy. I mean, she gets told she's "the best thing in the whole city" and she thinks he's the one "keeping her alive". Take bloody note: they only met a few days ago.
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And it really annoyed me how she made everything about her. Her brother is having a life? She doesn't get happy and instead gets angry at him for "getting ahead of her". She is hesitant to share about her life, and she notices this certain guy is hesitant to tell her about his life, and she has the bloody gall to feel offended at this. She lies about herself and someone else lies about themselves, and she jumps the gun and accuses him of being a liar. WHAT THE FUCK. JUST WHAT THE BLOODY HELL.
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God, don't ask me how I lasted this long. I don't even know.
I did like the ending, though. The ending was promising. The ending made me see a Penelope that was more mature and more determined. However, even if this is so, that doesn't invalidate the fact that reading this book was like watching Teletubbies on TV: unbearable and just so horribly painful. Hopefully you guys will like this more than I did, and if you did, don't forget to tell me what you liked so I can go back and reminsce if I may have liked it somewhat, too. At this point, the negatives are just so glaringly obvious....more
You see, a few weeks ago, I thought to myself that perhaps I should give an equal focus to Middle Grade books coming out this year for a variety of reasons: one, they're usually shorter; two, the plot is more focused (therefore not all over the place), and; three, it's more light-hearted than many of the Young Adult ones that I'm surrounded with. So when I found myself staring at an ARC of The Thickety: A Path Begins, I thought I'd finally read something that would give me all three.
Man, was I wrong.
My friends, do not read this book if you're looking for something that could make you laugh and cry and be in cloud nine. This book is not it. This book will squeeze your pumping heart, pull your heartstrings, make you see red, and wonder why is there a thing such as 'evil' in this pitiful, pathetic world. It will make you hate humans and bratty, spoiled girls who are fond of power trips at the expense of others. This will make you scared of anything that resembles a forest. You will want to cover yourselves with blankets, and wish for bizarre shadows to go away. You will never see remote islands the same way again. The cold of the night will give you cold sweat, and the sight of rats and insects will make you run for your life. You will wonder if there is such a thing as happiness in this world.
I may be stretching it out a bit, but I shit you not when I say that this is a dark book. It may label itself as Middle Grade, but I don't recommend giving it to children who are sensitive to dark themes such as death, dark magic, murder, psychopaths, and severe cases of ostracisation. It's highly disturbing and atmospheric in a sense, and seeing children involved in these things makes it a notch more damaging to one's mental self. This book honestly felt like going to hell, meeting the devil and its children, and then going back barely surviving the horrors you faced.
*shudder*
Kara's mother was executed for allegedly killing two people through her witchcraft ways when she was 5 years old, nearly 7 years ago. Since then, Kara has been taking care of herself and her baby brother, Taff, making herself strong enough for both of them as they are constantly scrutinized, discriminated upon, and ostracised by the villagers for the mere fact her mother was a witch. One day, a bird beckons her to follow it into the Thickety, a mysterious forest with a dark life of its own, the very same forest where the Forest Demon, Sordyr, lives, making it forbidden and utterly dangerous. Deep into the forest, she sees the Grimoire, a magical book that eventually allows her to practice Witchcraft. From then on, she finds herself slowly discovering the cruel, awful truth... that magic is power, and power kills.
Like I said before, this is a very dark book. The treatment the villagers give to 12 year old Kara alone is enough to make you see red. It's absolutely dreadful, and it even made me feel a wee bit depressed and sad for her. Nobody deserves to be constantly mocked behind your back for something you had no control over. Nobody deserves to have their house vandalized night after night by mud and dung. Nobody deserves to be bullied by seemingly charitable people like Grace who presents herself as sweet and innocent, but treats Kara inferior to dirt. From the get-go, you instantly feel for the main character and her little brother, Taff. The fact that their father has become a negligent parent because of what happened to his wife makes their situation all the more heartbreaking.
With that said, you'll understand Kara's frustrations, and even some of her dark thoughts. And when she gets her hands on the Grimoire, a magical book that stores spells for witches, you even feel like cheering on for her. You start to look forward to her using it to smite those who laughed and spat at her face. (I feel so evil now)
Surprisingly, this book got even darker at that point. For once, finally having power over others makes Kara's ego balloon. The more she uses the book, the more she becomes obsessed with it, to the point of sleeping with it, and having nightmares when she doesn't use it. At this point, you become concerned for her, and you'll start to wonder if you even know this girl at all. That's what happened to me at least. Chapter after chapter, Kara gradually became a trainwreck that it was painful to watch her slowly get overcome with power that was so easily abused. It felt like seeing another Sophie (School of Good and Evil) come to life. The character development from bad to good to bad to good was so strong and evident that her actions left me uneasy and full of trepidation.
Doki, doki, doki, doki...
Do you hear that?
That's my heart beating fast and my sanity ebbing away. That's how intense this book was.
And then, there is Grace: the girl with the white hair and beautiful smile who look at others with a twinkle in her eye. She is devil incarnate. She is CHUCKY in woman's clothing. And you guys surely remember Chucky? That evil doll? If not, let me refresh your repressed memories:
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I AM NOT FUCKING KIDDING.
I've never been scared and angry of a kid this much. This girl is absolutely heartless. She makes me scared of kids (okay maybe not, but she's making me second guess them now). Characters like her lead me to believe it is hell on earth, because only demons can be that evil. Let's just say if you're not of the faint of heart, you'd really rather not meet this girl at all.
...
OKAY SCRATCH THAT PLEASE READ THIS BOOK SO I CAN SHARE THIS FEAR WITH SOMEONE!!!
Overall, here's a checklist:
1.) If you want a dark book with witches, hateful villagers, scary forests, and Chucky-like characters, this is the book for you. 2.) If you like atmospheric stuff with a hint of horror, mystery, and thriller, this book is for you. 3.) If you like good character development, this book is for you. 4.) If you like a well-written Middle Grade book, and be damned scary stuff, this book is for you.
I think I shall rest my case here. My blanket is looking really cozy right now, and I want to sleep under the covers tonight.
P.S: THAT ENDING WAS SUPER, SUPER, SUPER, SUPER CRUEL. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING AND WHILE IT WAS BRILLIANT, IT WAS SUPER HEART-RENDING AT THE SAME TIME. WAAAAAH!!...more
I THINK I JUST FOUND MY FAVORITEST FAVORITEST FAVORITEST BOOK OF ALL TIME
This... was a sight to behold, to read, and Dear mother of all things holy...
I THINK I JUST FOUND MY FAVORITEST FAVORITEST FAVORITEST BOOK OF ALL TIME
This... was a sight to behold, to read, and to consume. The last few weeks reading this are easily the best weeks of my reading life. I... I can't deal. The world is grand, the characters are so flawed and yet so relatable and so different from one another it's amazing how Sanderson can truly write such phenomenal individuals, the history is so well thought-out, and the plot is just sublime.
Everyone needs to read this. EVERYONE. Those 1000 pages aren't enough. This can have a million pages and it would never be enough.
I AM WILLING TO WORSHIP THIS BOOK FOR IT IS JUST THAT BRILLIANT.
Whispers: I'm so sorry I read ahead... it was just too epic to stop!...more