ARC Review: Lizard Radio - Pat Schmatz

Lizard Radio
Pat Schmatz
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, LGBT+
Release Date: September 8th, 2015
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Yes! I finally got to it! This was one of the first books I picked up at BEA, so thank you Candlewick Press for giving me this ARC.

I often write about books with diverse subject matter and characters, and often I will crack down on a books that either don't have it or don't do it well. Lizard Radio is one of the few books with diverse subject matter as a key piece of its central themes.

Kivali, the main character, lives in a "dystopian" world where teens are taken to a camp to Conform them, forcing a rigid, orderly set of behaviors so that their adulthoods can be predictable and maintain a tight society. If they do not conform, they are made outcasts. I say "dystopian" because while Schmatz's camp system has many elements of the dystopias we're used to, the trials that Kivali is put through are the ones that we face in our society. What I love about this work is that it is not very far off from our reality: the camp and conforming system works on precisely the same binary ideology and employs many of the same mechanisms as our modern socialization systems. In other words, they're using the same "leader/follower," "boy, girl," "evil, good," strict binaries and enforcing them in a way that we're used to but often don't notice consciously: boys and girls being separated physically, for example, and being socialized in extremely different ways. The plot itself is very focused on answering questions regarding these binaries and other things about coming of age and what it means to be a member of society. Therefore, it's pretty average, with few unexpected twists. There is the addition of the Lizard Radio . . . and you won't understand it for most of the book, but it's cool, I promise.

One of the weaknesses in this book is the characters. Many of the secondary characters feel precisely like secondary characters. While a couple have their own backstories, I can feel them being purposefully sent to the back of the stage, simply because the book is short and its story focuses heavily on Kivali's coming of age.

Despite the other characters, I flat out love Kivali. She's snarky, weird, and living breathing proof that society is messed up. She faces all of the binaries I talked about before head on, and challenges them. She's pretty ruthless, but she has a soft side. Because it's a coming of age book, her character does mature over time. She later realizes everything works on a spectrum: there is no absolute "good" or "evil," just what a society believes is good or evil, and there is no "girl" or "boy," only behaviors society characterizes as feminine and masculine. Therefore, in both instances, there are a multitude of areas in between. It was really wonderful going through a coming of age story that focuses on the gray areas: some choices are morally gray in the book, and I like that. It's fresh. At first, I thought Kivali's bender themes (bender being a term in the book for people not strictly in a gender role) were going to overrule the rest of the plot, but instead, they're woven in tightly to the rest of the action in meaningful ways.

Schmatz's writing is smart. When Kivali is disinterested, the scene is presented with weak and off-hand descriptors (l-shaped building, round-roofed structure). When Kivali is afraid, the scene is menacing, when she's nervous or breaking down, the scene mirrors this with the appropriate descriptors. Too often, this is something missing from a novel. Throughout this, there is a constant lyricism to Schmatz's writing that just kept me drawn in.

The weakest part of the book, for me, is the slang/jargon/etc. While fairly intelligent, we're introduced to it from Kivali's point of view, while she's busy battling questions about why Sheila has left her at the mercy of what at first seems like a summer camp. Even when we get direct descriptions, they're spare: the Mealio is this building, the Pieville is down that road, etc. Though the writing itself is spot on, the beginning makes the jargon seem more confusing than interesting.. It took me about a third of the book to get a good feel for the jargon. Once I did, everything made a lot more sense.

Overall, I would recommend Lizard Radio. It's short and very sweet.

- Marlon

What was your worst summer camp experience?
Let us know in the comments!

Review: Knockout Games - G. Neri

Knockout Games
G. Neri
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Gritty
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Apologies to G. Neri and Carolrhoda Books for not being able to review this copy (received at BEA) earlier!

With that said, there is very little to say about this book other than it's pretty damn good if you can sit through with it.

Plot?

Knockout Games has a simple premise: a game played by young kids and teens try to knock out an unsuspecting stranger with a single punch. At first I considered that the author might have written Knockout Games to draw attention to a societal problem I had barely read about. But it seems, with the complexity of the novel, that the premise really is a premise. The plot has a pretty simple structure, following the story of Kalvin, the leader of a "gang" of middle and high-schoolers who participate in the knockout games, and Erica, a well-to-do teen from out of town who is caught up in the knockout games simply because she has a camera. Of course, Erica's initial involvement of just filming and editing turns into something more until her choices become quite gruesome.

There is natural narrative tension built from the events Neri is piecing together, but most of the plot is predictable. Erica's initial status as an "other" is so well defined, it seems obvious she's going to have to face the conflict of being involved with the gang.

Characters?

The two main characters are Erica and Kalvin, and both are characterized very thoroughly. Erica's progression into the gang seems genuine rather than forced, with the weight of her parents' divorce and her loneliness, etc, on her shoulders. Kalvin, the dropout who struggles for power and control in his life, is also fleshed out and understandable. Most connections any reader will have will fall between these two, whether it be frustration or hatred or excitement or isolation.

I found what most interested was the relationship between Kalvin and Erica, and how they bring their separate worlds together in a fantastic crash. This dichotomy that Neri presents in these two characters really drives the novel forward, and rescues much of the suspense that the predictability steals.

Language?

The language of Knockout Games is gritty. That's the one word I can dredge up to describe it. It isn't graphic, nor dull, but Neri's tone, phraseology, everything about the way he writes grates on the back of your mind the way the story is. Nevertheless, it's very useful in bringing the streets of St. Louis alive, crawling with all things dark and dangerous.

In all, the novel is a fantastic exploration into the socio-psychological responses of young adults to pressurized and unstable communities, with interesting, fleshed-out main characters, and tough, gritty language. Unfortunately for me, the plot fell slightly short, being slightly predictable. I would recommend this to anyone who can handle a bit of mild violence.

- Marlon

What's the most foolish thing you did as a kid?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: New World Order - Elle Casey

New World Order
Elle Casey
Series: War of the Fae, #4
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: A-
On Goodreads

Well I finished! I deviated for a couple of weeks, but I finally finished Elle Casey's War of the Fae series, and it was . . . well . . .  really really awesome, and then really, really confusing.

One of my favorite parts of this novel is that the comedy and word choice are consistent with the past books: utterly spectacular. Casey remains critically aware of when to insert humor and how to express character interactions. Quality work. (I won't waste more time on it, if you want detail and references to Tom Hiddleston, refer to my reviews on the other novels in this series, such as here.)

Good Thing: Remember how, in the first books, trees were dangerous? Don't hug trees? Yeah just don't screw with a Pixie. Especially Pixies named Tim. Especially Pixies named Tim who is still angry at being locked away with "a hungry incubus during all the good parts." Tim and Jayne were so good in the last novel, and they remain that way. (By this I mean, Tim steals the show, man.)

Mostly because of a Bad Thing: Jayne is mostly consistent with past Jayne except that she starts to become stressed out and that's understandable but that stress turns into terrible amounts of b-wording all over her fellow people.

Confusing Thing: Wait the enemies are Demons? Not the Dark Fae? What? Chase is a what? JANE CHOOSES WHO? Spoiler alert (not really), it's not Spike. Or Chase.

Remember Ben? In the last book, I mentioned his 'kill you, love you' attitude and his mentality was a nice way to show that magical societies contain unstable people. And in this book, this wonderfully minor character becomes a major point. IN THE LAST 10 PERCENT OF THE NOVEL, MIND YOU.
"I've been watching over you for a year," he says to Jayne. And their courtship in the last bits of the novel just freak me out. They get to know each other well enough, I suppose . . . and then they get married.

What I loved about the first book was the lack of love nonsense. What I hate about this book is the overflowing love nonsense. I'm sort of glad that Jayne didn't end up with either of the guys, though she does spend a hell of a lot of the novel drooling over Spike and being confused about Chase, but I'm angry. I feel cheated that Chase is revealed to be this transcendent creature and above Jayne's love and Ben is just thrown in there. If a love triangle is constructed, trite as it is, can't I have some kind of resolution to it? Objectively, this seems like a potent way to end the series. Jayne ends up choosing Ben because it's the right thing to do for the world. But Jayne really didn't have as much choice as I'd have liked for her, because if she hadn't ended up with Ben, the security of the world would be compromised. I'm torn between loving the fact that a relationship is formed out of mutual need rather than unintelligible lusty romance and hating the fact that it was introduced so late, as a deus ex for the romance problem.

That ending was just . . . I don't even . . . what happened? It was very well written, in proper Casey style: ending right at the peak of the crescendo.

I know that I might be giving you, my dearest reader, a terrible impression of this novel. But though I have had a lot of complaints, read this book. It's extremely worth it, redeemed by its construction, comedy, character set . . . basically everything that made the past few books great. The novel will trick you a bit: a few things will start to change and you'll be discouraged (these are the real spoilers), but don't worry! Push through! This book is still worth it!

- Marlon

Love Triangles? Yay or Nay?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Angelfall - Susan Ee

Angelfall

Susan Ee

Series: Penryn & the End of Days #1

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Word Rating: Straightforwardly Fantastic
On Goodreads

Okay let's take a break from House of Hades (just kidding, House of Hades is life). But seriously, Kiersten is out of commission for the weekend, so I have come to the rescue with this lovely tale of romance. I did, after all, promise a review of this.

Alright, so, Angelfall. Positives: this book can be very, very driving. It's ridden with emotion, dappled with lots of wit and humor and it has a strange aura of being magical around it; maybe it's the fantastic diction that Susan Ee lays down:

He kisses me with the desperation of a dying man who believes the magic of eternal life is in this kiss. (Page numbers are worthless with ebooks, worthless.)

Unf. That's pretty romantic. And I love that. It represents the romance that you literally have to fight for in your head because Susan Ee does her level best to have Penryn despise Raffe. But you know it's going to happen. You want it to happen. So it must happen. Not even a spoiler, it's a damn romance, okay? There's even a slight decoy when our characters are captured. But that decoy is nothing in comparison to my loves. It's the typical I hate you I hate you I hate you, no please don't go, okay I think I love you. And Ee pulls it off magnificently by nearly making us snap.

More positives: the characters are thrilling. We've got two protags, Penryn the damningly short and Raffe the damningly gorgeous. Both are on missions, stuck together because of mutual need (though Raffe would never admit it.)

This is Penryn:

"Oh. My. God." I lower my voice, having forgotten to whisper. "You are nothing but a bird with an attitude. Okay, so you have a few muscles, I’ll grant you that. But you know, a bird is nothing but a barely evolved lizard. That’s what you are.” (The Middle of the Beginning)

And this is Raffe:

“My friends call me Wrath,” says Raffe. “My enemies call me Please Have Mercy. What’s your name, soldier boy?” (I don't like my epub reader)

What's odd is that I love these characters even though they're mostly static. Their changes are very, very gradual. Penryn is hardened by her time post-apocalypse, and she takes it out on Raffe. She tortures him, she berates him, distrusts him, and the book is, in the beginning, about using him. That is because he's an angel . . . but he's different. He's very arrogant, witty, cunning, doubtful (doubt is a good thing, people; doubt means you trust and require evidence), determined, and miserable. He's a bit damaged, too so it's difficult to see the person behind his mask. Ooh goodies.

Unfortunately, this novel suffers from an exceedingly limited and linear plot. It's a fine plotline, but it's almost boring. It seems like a staircase, each step leading toward a better understanding of the text . . . but that leaves little space for mystery and too much space for suspense. In fact, there are just about zero plot twists ever, and all the mystery is found in why the angels invaded and what they're doing, nothing very far beyond initial contemplation. Sure, Raffe, who is an angel, is agnostic . . . but you can tell this text has simple dynamics so even that's probably going to be eradicated with some lame moment of miracles the same way Penryn's faith grows. I hope World After strays away from this kind of construction because Ee is such a good writer otherwise.

Anyway, read this book damnit.

- Marlon

If the world was ending, what would be the most important thing to you?

Let us know in the comments!

Double Review: Ghost Time - Courtney Eldridge

Ghost Time
Courtney Eldridge
Series: Saccades Project, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Mind boggling
On Goodreads

I must admit, when I started reading Ghost Time, I was very put off by the writing style – I found Thea's shallow, valley-girl speech quite off-putting. However, as the plot progressed and we started to see some depth in Thea, I found myself more and more drawn into this story.

I received an uncorrected proof of Ghost Time from Amazon Children's Publishing at Book Expo America, and I was very excited to start it after reading the blurb – math-genius hacker, the voice of a mute girl, mysterious happenings... count me in! However, at the start of Ghost Time, the reader gets some of the prized dialogue that almost made me stop reading this book.

"It was cold, and I was just like, Brrrr!"

"...there was still a red outline of my lip gloss on his left hip bone, from when I'd knelt down, kissing him, because his hip bones drive me crazy."

"...and his bone structure, like his cheekbones, are to die."

" Because Cam has this really cool old car–it's so boss."

Ugh. Luckily, this shallow Thea didn't last too long, which gave way to her insightful side - a side that is much darker and deeper. The way Thea grows throughout the story is astounding. Gradually, the reader gains more and more information about Thea's past and her relationship with her missing boyfriend, Cam, as well as her new friend Melody, a girl who speaks to Thea in her head. Despite how she sounds at the beginning, Thea has depth that I'm not sure many 15-year-olds can understand. Throughout her life, Thea has been through many hard times, but even after Cam, a boy who taught her to see the world through a different light, disappears, she still does her best to stay strong and keep going. Thea was a surprising heroine for me. When I find a heroine I really love, it's almost always immediate, – I'm usually drawn in by her strength and general disregard for society – but Thea is completely different. Thea is weak, she cares what people think of her, she needs other people – she is a 15-year-old girl, a teenager thrown into a terrible situation. The way Thea survives throughout the story is truly heroic. No matter how bad things seemed, she kept going and hoping for the best.

And then there's Cam - who is, surprisingly, in very much of the book considering the fact that he is missing. Cam is probably definitely my favorite character in Ghost Time. While Thea may not be a scholar, Cam is very intelligent. The things he says to Thea are so insightful and captivating. Cam sees the world very different from most people, especially Thea, and he makes her see things differently. The title of the book, Ghost Time, comes from the equation that Cam is working on, regarding time moving in more than one direction at the same time. Courtney Eldridge does a brilliant job mirroring Cam's equation through the structure of the book, alternating between before and after Cam's disappearance. I love Cam. He is so loving and patient with Thea – it's kind of heart breaking. I wish there had been more Cam in Ghost Time – perhaps in Ghost Signs?

While most of Cam's appearances are from before he disappeared (obviously), Melody appears afterwards. Mel is the daughter of the cop who is investigating Cam's disappearance. While Mel is paralyzed and mute, Thea has strange visions of Mel's "true self" and hears Mel's voice inside her head. Mel is one of the only people who can make Thea forget about Cam and all the drama surrounding his disappearance. Although Thea’s past contributes to her growth in the eyes of the reader, her friendship with Mel augments this growth, allowing the reader to see a nurturing side of Thea. Thea will do anything to help Mel feel like a normal teenage girl. The way Thea takes Mel under wing makes their relationship so charming and heartwarming.

Overall, I really would have liked to give this book a higher rating, but the way Thea is portrayed in the beginning of the story just gets to me. When I compare the way Thea is in the first few chapters in comparison to the rest of the book, it's like she is a completely different character. I just don't see her being so different in the time lapses. Despite that, Courtney Eldridge crafted a wonderful novel filled with so many aspects of life: love, friendship, anger, sadness, family, longing – I could go on for a while. Even though I was skeptical about this book in the beginning, I'm glad I kept reading because the story was well worth it. The ending was very abrupt, leaving me asking, "WHERE IS THE REST OF THIS BOOK?!" but I'm hoping all will be resolved in Ghost Signs. The structure of the book along with the meticulous details, suspense, and insight made Ghost Time a great read.

Also, there's this cool thing: Saccades Project
Courtney Eldridge teamed up with some artists to gather inspiration for Ghost Time. It's really cool.

- Kiersten

Marlon's Ghost Time Review
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Incredible

Ghost time was absolutely miserable, the sort of miserable that one can only find after stubbing one's toe on a particularly blunt end-table and then promptly being made the live sacrifice to an Aztec sun god. While I agree that Deep Thea is a welcome distraction from the waterfall-of-consciousness writing style, and that bits and pieces of Cam spilling through the net of drama kept me going, this novel had a few too many disconnects and failings to warrant more than three stars.

Those three stars came from the impeccable construct of the book: Eldridge's seamless integration of scenes and story arcs is astonishing. Spoiler alert (but not really): the book successively runs scenes from both the future and past, each timeline splaying farther from the epicenter as the book progresses. Even at the beginning, this novel constantly blindsided me with this kind of construct. Each of Cam's stories grow from the insightful and intriguing bits they are into story-arc masterpieces in a matter of pages, simply because Thea connects it so bloody well.

Sadly it was not enough to save the rest of those tiny stars...

Seriously, "I was just like, Brrrr!" for the first hundred or so pages.

I absolutely despised Thea, who is undeniably a shallow bitch and yet somehow a deep, mysterious, and dark character whose love of music and media puts mine to shame . . . that didn't make sense at all. There was far too much of a disparity between the two sides of Thea. I'm not saying a deep character with a dark past should be foreboding and hesitant, of course, but only that someone who can see the world so much more vividly than the rest of us – with such a coursing imagination to boot and such a telling history – should at least make an attempt at maturity.

But no, what do I get? An insanely weak, angst-ridden annoyance that manages to represent the things I hate most: caring what other people think, selfishness and shallowness, and desperation.

And then, of course, I met Mel.

The most powerful connection in the book came to me when Thea first sees a ghost-like version of Knox's daughter, Melody. I thought back to the first few pages: "What if God was a teenage girl?" I was reflecting on what Melody had wanted from life, speculating on the insight and quality she could add to the story. I mean, after having to deal with a shallow teenage girl archetype that was a falsity, I was having a bit of a trust issue with this book. Shortly after, I realized that maybe Thea was the god of the situation. The simple fact that annoying-prissy-ugh Theadora was seeing things that shouldn't exist started to make her a tad less annoying-prissy-ugh, which coincidentally made reading a whole ton easier. (Would it KILL you to use quotation marks?)

And then Hubble started shifting reality and this book just kept getting freaking cool.

Honestly, that's my best description after this book picked up: freaking cool. The insights into reality (such as Thea's Balloon World bit) are to die for. And, for some reason, Melody brings out the kind of Thea that is slightly more enjoyable: deeply caring and concerned and giddy. All of the positive qualities Thea possesses seem to have been bottled up on a shelf for a good third of the novel, but when she begins to open up to Mel and, more importantly, the reader, she truly allows us to see what it's like to be her: the constant war of the world Cam has opened for her and the pressures of her past.

Also there's a climax and end but Kiersten's got that bit covered. Where is the rest of this book? It just dropped, in the middle of a scene.

In all, 3.75 stars, for dazzling construction and insight sorely missed by common eyes. Too bad the narration takes days to get used to and is absent entirely of everything this novel comes to represent.

- Marlon

How would you feel if your best friend just went missing?

Let us know in the comments!