Double ARC Review: Dumplin' - Julie Murphy

Dumplin'
Julie Murphy
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Release Date:September 15th, 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Willowdean Dickson might have introduced herself to her coworker as "resident fat girl" (she also threw in cashier and Dolly Parton enthusiast) but one of the beauties of her character lies in the way she is not just pigeonholed into one type of fat representative -- she is not the timid, hates-her-body all the time girl who shrouds herself like some kind of villain but she is not the has-no-cares girl either who will remind you just how perfect her size makes her. She is a real character, not a trope.

Willowdean isn't the only character with any kind of "flaw" here. In fact, one of the main focuses of the novel is that Will competes is a local beauty pageant -- a pretty big, important local pageant which her mom is in charge of running and has been since I believe 1997 (or at least that was the year she won) -- and Will's decision to compete, as a not-typical looking competitor, prompts three other not-so-typical looking girls from her high school to emerge from the woodwork and compete, and they form this sort of band of misfits with Willowdean. One of these girls, Millie, is overweight to a much greater degree than Willowdean -- specifically "Millie is that girl, the one I am ashamed to admit that I've spent my whole life looking at and thinking, Thing could be worse. I'm fat, but Millie's the type of fat that requires elastic waist pants because they don't make pants with buttons and zippers in her size."

I thought this was a really important thought to showcase because even though Willowdean herself is one of the ostracized, she still has her own prejudices and throughout the book unlearns them. When she uses Millie to think that things could be worse, it's like assuming things are bad as they are, for either of them, even though Millie is the happiest, most optimistic character in the book. She also has the most confidence too. She sings a song on a ukulele to ask a boy to be her date for their schools Sadie Hawkins dance and when Willowdean hears her immediate reaction is to cringe but Millie's friend relays that he said yes in an "of course" sort of tone, because why should her appearance take precedence over the grandness of the gesture? Likewise, another girl in the group, Amanda, has uneven legs and wears corrective shoes and Will is surprised to learn she's very talented at soccer, and athletic enough to play for a team. Hannah, rounding out the group, has uneven teeth, and has been compared to a horse at school, and Will, in her internal monologue, even says to herself that if she doesn't want to fix them she shouldn't have to, but still eventually asks why she never did, out of curiosity.

None of these questions or reactions make her a bad person, just someone learning that people are more than meets the eye. In fact, I think this book does a wonderful job with body positivity. There's the fact that Murphy doesn't use the overweight characters as the comic relief or the inspirational speeches or the butt of the jokes or any of the tired tropes we've seen again and again. They're just friends girlfriends and characters and yes, their weight does affect their lives like when Will is so terrified to move forward with Private School Bo because the thought of him touching her fat terrifies her or when she has issues with her formal dress for the pageant but those are just realistic problems thrown in based on who the characters are and Will is fat so of course it's gonna have a little impact on her life. Like someone telling her that doing a pageant is "brave," to which she thinks

"But I don't want it to be brave. I want it to be normal."

Which is probably my favorite line in the book, honestly.

I felt like the characters were so realistic and the writing was genuine and the combination of the two things just made the book great. Murphy managed to create a great cast of characters; I'm so far down in the review and I haven't even mentioned Mitch or El, and I only barely mentioned Bo. The romance in this story was so well constructed and I didn't feel like I was reading a typical love triangle of "will she pick this boy or this boy" but a real life story of friendship and more than friendship and lines and love. I liked the personalities of both of them and they are honestly sweet people and that's all I'll say on the boys. As for El, the friendship relationship was one of my favorite aspects of the story because I was wondering, like Willowdean, whether they truly were growing apart as people and were destined not to be friends. It was a truly emotionally wrecking experience and I may or may not have shed many tears at the end of this book. I just felt like it was so relatable -- the jealousy of sharing your friend, the hurt when their friend who you hate gets information about their life before you do, the sense of encroachment when something was supposed to just be yours and now its theirs too but they'll do it better. Some of Willowdean's emotional outbursts felt so juvenile but they felt so unexplainably real. 

As for the writing, Julie Murphy truly captured the spirit of a small Texas town and put it into this book. It's a light read, you could 100% just sit and read it all at once, and you would probably want to. It's cute, it's fluffy, there's some deadpan humor, and one of the characters calls a boy Peachbutt consistently, so get yourselves a copy ASAP.

(Also, I find it fitting that last night was the Miss America pageant and 500% of me definitely watched it and 900% of me was definitely rooting for Miss Alabama because her nickname was Egg McMuffin and I deeply resonate with that)

- Noor

Marlon's Dumplin' Review

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Dumplin' is awesome. It's sweet, hilarious, provocative, and so well balanced.

The absolute best thing about the novel is its message, carried mainly by its protagonist, Willowdean. If for some reason you don't know what this book is about, it's a body positivity-book. Willowdean regards herself as a fat girl, and has the will and confidence to own that image in a society that actively tries to shame it, and through her the novel tries to lay out the nuanced world of body-positivity. 

What drove the novel, for me, was the characters. They felt, for the most part, honest. Willowdean, for example, is not pressed into the role of preacher for body-positivity, nor is she its perfect mascot. While she exudes confidence in herself and is often the one to help her friends (like, giving them advice about having sex) she has grown up with harsh beauty standards and can be problematic herself: she spends a lot of the book being thankful that she's at least not as fat as one of her peers, Millie. Really, none of the characters (except for maybe Mitch and to an extent Bo) are pressed into roles that lack nuance. Ellen, for example, is Will's best friend but she hardly fulfills the best girlfriend cliche, and they have a complex, realistic friendship like normal, real human females. Honestly, I felt their relationship was more important than ones with Bo and Mitch, but those, I guess, were necessary for the novel to show that any girl can fulfill the YA love triangle between hot muscular athletic guy and hot loner guy. And while those other relationships did feel real, they were stretched and made into such a huge part of the book that it was hard for me to get a good feeling for the other subplots, and contributed to an overall pacing issue. In the end, it just made me frustrated with Will and the boys, even though the main romance is built with an honest friendship and feels great.

As for the writing, this novel is hilarious. Will, when she turns up the sass, is probably one of my favorite protagonists to be in the head of. It's brilliant, because there are no moments when people's bodies are used for comedic effect, which, in a piece about bodies, would have been pretty simple for a less considerate author. The descriptions are good, the narrative voice is good, the dialogue is some of the best I've read all year . . . the writing is just very spot on. The plot is fluid and complex, focusing on dead aunts, boys, pageants, dying friendships, and so forth, and it is consistent.

The fault, for me, with the book is the nigh unholy pacing. The central action promised in the blurb happens in the second half of the book. While the book certainly can be read quickly, as the scenes transition fluidly and are generally concise, there is just so much before the pageant that it becomes confusing, and there are no real milestones because the novel deals with several subplots at once. Then the pageant happens quickly. The pacing felt rather awkward this way.

That said, I still highly recommend Dumplin'! 

- Marlon

What do you love most about yourself?

Let us know in the comments!

ARC Review: Legacy of Kings - Eleanor Herman

Legacy of Kings
Eleanor Herman
Series: Blood of Gods and Royals #1
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, High Fantasy
Release Date: August 18th, 2015
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Thanks directly to Eleanor Herman for this ARC copy of Legacy of Kings! (Thanks Harlequin Teen for creating this ARC, however).

Legacy of Kings is a wild, wild trip. It takes place right on the cusp of Alexander's claim to his destiny as one of the most accomplished leaders of the world.

I'm not a history buff, but I was totally drooling over this book. Herman has actually written non-fiction history before, and is well-acquainted with this time period. And it really shows. The usual contemporary YA interactions can be seen, to a degree, simply because that's the genre . . . but beyond that, the characters act on passion, impulse, and sheer whim most of the time, and everything is very Greek.

The setting and atmosphere are absolutely fabulous. From the first chapter, there's already the notion of scheming plots and certain death, and the tease of possible intimacy. The magical creatures and kings place it firmly in the hands of High Fantasy, but the book often refuses to use the loftiness of High Fantasy, opting to portray the great story of Alexander in less flowery, but no less bloody, undertones.

Though I hate comparisons like this . . . it might help someone who is unsure of Legacy of Kings: the writing style, to me, seems a slash halfway between George R.R. Martin and fantasy romance YA writers like Cassandra Clare. It took maybe half a chapter to get used to it, and it never really bothered me. In fact, Herman's language was one of my favorite parts. She makes such liberal use of italicized thoughts. I am a huge fan of italicized thoughts. I can't understand people who don't like this way of writing. It's beautiful, effective, and it really helps when characters are having butterflies and wanting to make out and or stab to death other characters.

The language really begins to shine about a quarter way through the novel, when the plot starts to surge forward and the novel picks up. Herman is glorious with action verbs and choreography. I was delighted to imagine her characters expertly murder other characters in such graceful, precise ways.

The plot is an absolute monster. To detangle it would take a very long time. There is no main "protagonist" like we are used to in YA, either. It begins with Kat, but quickly rotates.

I loved the characters. Herman really breathed to life historical figures of legendary status, with a flair. She portrays them just as human as their legends, but often in less of a complimentary light. Alex's ambition is accurate, but sour and bitter at the same time, as his ambition is in direct contrast to the people who deem him unfit because of his inauspicious scarred leg. It's that kind of thing that really made me eat this novel up, all of the characters are battling themselves and the world in some way and its marvelous. And there's a lot of characters, too.

Kat, for example, isn't in love with Jacob, who is willing to die for her. Kat's general demenour is about as polite as a bear. But she's kind and she's definitely a thief, as she stole my heart by the end of chapter one.

My other faves have to be Cynane, Alex's sister, and the queen, his mother, are scheming like hell at every point in the novel and I absolutely love them for it. Cyn especially. She's probably my top character because she has absolutely no regard personal space, and this often leads to some really interesting (and bad) situations. This includes Heph waking up to her face while having just had a dream about Kat and him having sex.

I have two major misgivings in the novel. First, the six-character narration is confusing. Kat, Haphaestion, Cyane, Zofia, Jacob, Alexander . . . I think it's six?

The problem with having so many POVs is simple: the story can become disjointed if the character's unique interests, motivations, and ways of managing information are not handled with perfect precision. Herman takes the road of least resistance by narrating these perspectives in the third person, but even then, it's not enough. Some characters sound too much like other characters to distinguish between each of them. This is understandable. An author's voice can only be so flexible in one piece while still trying to create an air of style. Not everyone can be George R.R. Martin. This could have been mended with a tag at the beginning of the chapter or reducing the amount of POVs. Three or four probably would have done the trick. Unfortunately, the confusing narration really did leave me turning back pages and trying to figure out what was going on.

My second misgiving is Alexander and Hephaestion's relationship. To me, I am just unsatisfied with how it is portrayed. Historically, the legends for these two individuals span between the greatest friends, to intimate lovers. You can research it in depth for yourself, but I'll shorten it here for you: Alexander's sexuality is not entirely clear, and much of his life is shrouded in legend. The ancient world is ripe with references to the Illiad, and one of the earliest ships is the pairing between Patroclus and Achilles. Though these two were not shown to be in an intimate relationship . . . basically half the ancient world including Plato shipped these guys harder than we ship Sherlock/John or Malec. And guess who made shrines to honor these heroes? You guessed it! Alexander and Hephaestion. Alexander even dies in a similar way to Achilles. Historians like Mary Renault postulate that Alexander, learning of Hephaestion's death, quickly deteriorated in health after losing the ability to care well for himself, similar to how Achilles acted recklessly after Patroclus's death. (Alexander's death is of course a matter of debate, but no matter the cause of his death, Hephaestion's death is contended to have had a stark negative effect.)

Given this, Alexander died, in part, because of grief. I'm not saying they are lovers. They have been portrayed as lovers and as friends in other adaptations of this history and both work just fine. I just wanted to give a summary of how extremely deep their relationship runs. However, in Legacy of Kings, this level of intimacy is not apparent. It seems to have been reduced somewhat to fit the novel. Heph definitely see's Kat and even Cyn in some kind of intimate (sometimes sexual) light, but on Alexander there seems to be a hesitation to really talk about him. Alexander's character in this novel is pretty reserved, and I'm glad he's somewhat ambiguous, opting to form a platonic relationship with Kat rather than a romantic one. While Alex obviously favors Heph, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of a really deep, lifelong connection. I was left unsatisfied, as much of their interaction hinged on the scheming and such. Their connection seems genuine, I just don't get the feeling from their narrative cues to each other that they will grow to be much closer than they are. Heph gives major major major narrative cues that he really wants to kiss Kat all the time. Literally all the time. And he gives nothing for Alex, beyond admiration, loyalty, and mild fear. That's friend-level. That is not die of grief level, nor does it indicate that their relationship will grow to that level.

The reason this didn't bring the novel under four stars, even though I just spent a lot of this review talking about it, is that Alex and Heph are still kids, and therefore there is still time for their relationship to develop. Much of Hephaestion's early life is speculation from the writings of contemporaries. If not for Alexander, we probably wouldn't know anything beyond his name. Even his early to mid teenage years are somewhat shaky. Secondarily, Herman doesn't really focus on romance. There's a little between Jacob and Kat, and Zofia has her own side-person, but to be honest, the novel is quite devoid of deep romance. I think what Herman does to his character to bring him alive, with all of his anxieties and quirkiness and kindness, is fantastic and reads quite well. The reason I wrote so much about it, though, is that the following books definitely need to capitalize on this legendary relationship in a grander and more intimate way, and I'm forcing future me to stay true to current me's standards.

In any case, neither of my misgivings made me really dislike the novel. In fact, I genuinely enjoyed it and I can't wait for Empire of Dust!

- Marlon

What is your favorite historical period?

Let us know in the comments!

Double ARC Review: Lair of Dreams - Libba Bray

Lair of Dreams
Libba Bray
Series: The Diviners, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Paranormal
Release Date: August 25th, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the ARC I received at BEA!

After loving The Diviners (review here), I was very excited to dive into Lair of Dreams and see what was in store for the characters I came to love. While Lair of Dreams didn't quite live up to The Diviners, I still really enjoyed the story and thought it was a great second book in the series!

In Lair of Dreams, all the characters from The Diviners are back and getting into more trouble. While we still get a bunch of story from Evie, she takes a bit of a back seat to Henry and a new character, Ling, as they explore - you guessed it - the lair of dreams. Ling actually makes a slight appearance in The Diviners, although she is unnamed, so I was excited to see her become a part of this story.

The story starts off in Chinatown as a mysterious sleeping sickness starts to spread throughout the city. While many people have chosen to blame Chinese immigrants for bringing over this disease, the real reason is unknown. Ling, living in Chinatown, feels first hand the effect this sickness is having on the people of her town - not only are people afraid to come to Chinatown, but they want Chinese people to stay out of other parts of Manhattan.

The fact that Ling lives in Chinatown is not the only thing that makes her interesting. Ling grew up feeling the effects of racial prejudice in the 20s - she had an Irish parent and a Chinese parent, neither of whom were citizens since citizenship was rarely granted to Chinese immigrants and marrying a Chinese person meant sacrificing any hope for citizenship. On top of that, Ling is somewhat crippled - she has to wear leg braces and use crutches in order to walk. I'm pretty sure Lair of Dreams is the first book I've read with a character who is physically handicapped, and I think Libba Bray did a fantastic job showing how Ling felt about her legs without making it a huge plot point in the story. Libba Bray once again did an excellent job with incorporating diverse characters into this series in a way that is consistent with the time period and adds another level to the story. As for Ling's personality, she definitely juxtaposes a lot of the characters from The Diviners. Ling loves science and reason, and she's definitely not the type to go to a speakeasy. She's somewhat severe, quite sarcastic, and very devoted to her friends. While I did like Ling, she definitely doesn't have the charisma and charm of Evie O'Neill (which is totally fine in terms of character); however, since Evie's charm was part of the reason I loved The Diviners, this difference in personality made Lair of Dreams less fun than The Diviners.

The other main half of the story was Henry. I always felt like Henry wasn't given enough back story in The Diviners, so I was absolutely thrilled that he got his time to shine in Lair of Dreams. It was great to hear about his (tragic) past, and I loved hearing about his struggles in trying to get his music published.

Similarly to The Diviners, Lair of Dreams is a slow building story, full of many different layers and story lines, and Libba Bray's gorgeous prose once again added another dimension to the story. While it wasn't quite as exciting as The Diviners, I really enjoyed Lair of Dreams. Plus, that ending! I can't wait to find out what happens next, although I'm sure I'll have quite a while to wait.

- Kiersten

Marlon's Lair of Dreams Review
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Shout out to Little Brown for this ARC! And to Libba Bray for taking gorgeous selfies!

After having read Beauty Queens a couple of years ago, and regarding it as completely iconic, I then proceeded to not check if Libba Bray had other books. That was my bad.

I have thus far rectified that mistake through The Diviners and Lair of Dreams.

Lair of Dreams picks up after The Diviners. While the characters from the first book are present, most of them are taken out of center stage in lieu of the new protagonist, Ling. Henry's character is also upgraded and he features prominently in the book. The characters are all trying to deal with Evie outing herself, and a strange sickness spreading through New York.

First of all, the language is awesome. It sure sounds realistic and from the 20s. I don't have an incredible amount of knowledge in the linguistics of this time, but if Libba Bray had made up all of the phraseology, I feel like I'd still believe her. Like in the first book, it can get dicey when uppity characters begin speaking in their formal tones and it's meant to be serious but I can't help but laugh at them. The silliness, however, is generally mitigated by the fact that Bray's passive narration is masterfully maintaining the strong (almost pungent) atmosphere in the background. It helps to remind me that someone speaking in formal tones usually means the plot is about to shank someone in a dark alley.

Speaking of the plot. It's . . . simply awesome. While the first book definitely had more flair to its plot, helped by its characters, I liked that this novel delved into a more serious, dark place. It seems to follow a murder mystery, but delves far deeper into the characters and setting than that. While I did like the direction it took from the first book in terms of plot . . . the main plot line of the book just seemed less refined and truly creepy than the last one. Don't worry though, you will still be terrified.

Bray's true talent seems to lie in balancing. Lair of Dreams's keeps its predecessor's mix of being deeply ingrained in the historical time-line, sneakily involved with the supernatural, hungry for suspense with the horror, yet light on its feet with the humor. On top of it all, Bray is able to analyse and break down the societal problems in the 20s: racism, ableism, poverty, and so on. I'm especially glad for the change in main characters, too, as it is far more intimate and subtle when it comes from Ling, the half-Chinese, half-Irish woman who must use leg braces and crutches to get around.

My only real fault with this book, and I can't believe I'm saying this, is that it's very long. Usually, I love that in a book, and I wish more books were this length. This nearly 700 page book is, like the first one, slow building, with myriad plot lines interwoven with each other. While that is a commitment I was totally willing to make . . . my reading style is more along the lines of "devour in one sitting." You can't do that to this book. There just isn't enough basic action going on, because the story is far more involved than that. Trust me. I tried . . . and I ended up reading over a whole section from Henry that I immediately forgot.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty awesome sequel to a book that seems impossible to follow up, and I think fans of the first will really enjoy it.

- Marlon

Do you like historical fiction?

Let us know in the comments!

ARC Review + Interview: The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts - K.C. Tansley

The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts
K.C. Tansley
Series: The Unbelievable #1
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Release Date: August 1st, 2015
Publisher: Beckett Publishing Group
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Because of scheduling, I'm posting this review after the book's been published. Since it's only been a couple of days, I hope I'll be forgiven. I received an uncorrected copy of this book for an honest review, and I want to thank K.C. Tansley and her publishing team for being so lovely and cooperative!

Anyway, this is not a ghost story.

I say this because I seriously thought this was going to be a ghost story. Which, usually, I'm skeptical about and don't read, but the blurb had me gripped from the first line. Instead, it's the sci-fi paranormal late 19th century murder mystery I didn't know I needed.

The novel starts off slow, easing the reader into Kat Preston's life at McTernan Academy. This put me off because nothing major happened during this period other than vignettes introducing us to the pieces of Kat's life that matter: having to be in public spaces to avoid ghosts (so, the library), Morgan, her best friend, and her academic life (specifically her coursework in history). The book is very focused on Kat's inner life that, while we see Kat preparing for the party, we never see her go to the party, and it's not until much later in the novel does it make sense why a scene like that would be cut after listening to Kat and Morgan discuss it for half a chapter. However, the book held me.

What kept me reading in the beginning, and what makes the book so special to me, are the quirks. The humor definitely adds a lot of relief necessary to relax the tension in the novel, and in the beginning, helped give space to digest the mythology that Kat was explaining. From remarks about tylonol-laced brownies to literally wearing a rock collection to fend off ghosts, this novel can be hilarious. While it definitely takes a couple of chapters to get comfortable with itself, it heats up, and by chapter seven, the narrative current pulled me under. I'll get to the mythology later on, but a significant portion was explained in this section, and it all felt fresh and interesting and very specific.

Another quirck I loved was the way Tansley chooses to describe eye color. Describing eye color has always been a challenge, it seems, because it is ubiquitously done, but rarely does it give much characterization. Smudged eyeliner, perfect eyebrows, wrinkles near the eye – these are all things that can give actual characterization over eye color. However, this novel not only makes it forgivable, but helps characterize the protagonist instead of another character. Every person Kat describes the eye color for has a certain rock to match it – hematite, turquoise, etc. Kat also believes that rocks can hold protective power from the Earth, which helps add a layer to the way she describes people. If you look into the supernatural myths about certain rocks and how they are important to some cultures, it gets even more bizarre and wonderful.

As it is an ARC, I won't spend too long discussing the language. From what I've read, the core of the language is straightforward. The only real flaw is its timing with breaks, as it can occasionally be choppy when transitioning from scene to scene when time has passed or when flashbacks are occurring. There are few other flaws, none that are glaring (the dialogue can be exceptionally good, but a couple of times slips into awkward adjectives). Overall, however, it gets the job done, mostly because the voice in it is honest and realistic. Since the book is in First Person narration, this is the voice of our MC, Kat. Kat doesn't linger on one thing for long periods of time, so her language is rarely flowery. Every so often though, there are gems like this: "Toria emerged from me like steam rising from a cup of tea." (Tansley, 5) In this way, the novel feels as though it is being relayed at a campfire late at night, like a ghost story (which is totally why I thought it was going to be a ghost story). It's that feeling that really helped bring the book alive, because it's pretty rare to find that voice – at once dramatic, personal, self-aware, and lighthearted.

There is a romance. And it is actually really good. Enough to hook me, and I approach book romances like they're bear traps. But not this one. No insta-love, no nonsense. In fact, the protagonists Kat and Evan, to whom most of the plot is dedicated to trying to kill, hate each other. He's her TA and doesn't like that he's been dragged into a summer project with high schoolers. Especially Kat. Kat hates him as well, because he's posh and grades her poorly. She's inquisitive and a believer, he's the hard scientific unbeliever. And slowly, like a real actual romance, they begin to like each other. In their case (like the case with many popular romances that flourish this way, like Percy and Annabeth), it is through trauma and force that they're stuck together. In the end, they've worked out their crap: he's still a jerk, and she's still a prat, but they're totally in love. (Also I'm not sure if it counts if only their souls have sex . . . but they totally had sex.)

But what it really comes down to is the plot and mythology. If this novel shines the most anywhere, it's here.The protagnist's-investigation-of-a-centuries-old-murder in a ghost-story may be critiqued as a clichéd sub-plot, but the author frames it perfectly so that it unfolds into the protagnist's life as if two stories are happening, rather than a sub-plot for dramatic effect. She does this by giving the protagonist a window to witness the events leading up to the murder 129 years ago. Kat and Evan time travel into other perople's bodies and have to live their lives, trying to find the killer. It's so . . . rad. After all, it isn't often that you have ghosts who were at the scene of the crime, and it's even rarer for you to trade places in time with that ghost and live the scene of the crime. And it's even rarer to have this awesome set of rules and mythology behind the plot. This is the major one, as noted by Kat:

"Death shattered souls. This is the first thing you need to know. The largest chunk of the soul moved on. I’m pretty sure it reincarnated, but the ghosts were kind of cagey about that part. The ghosts themselves were the biggest pieces of what was left behind. Then there were the shards from the ghost chunk that were called “spirits”. They were attached to a specific location and a particular event. They were mostly just a nuisance. They didn’t have any real thought processes or intentions. They just repeated a moment. Maybe it was the last thing they thought about before they died. Maybe it was the moment of death. Either way, I did my best to avoid spirits." (3)

But there's so much more. For example, only the living can do magic, so good generally need the living. My favorite part, though, is the fact that everything hinges on belief. If you don't believe in ghosts, they have no effect on you. You can even, to an extent, convince yourself that they're not there. Evan, a staunch skeptic about ghosts, was enough to deter them from Kat's life for a significant portion of their time in a definitely haunted house.

A reminder though. Because the plot includes time travelling through mirrors to discover the secrets of the 129 year old murder mystery that literally still haunts our protagonist for some reason, even the humor and witty dialogue is appropriated to help make the plot more seamless. This is done deftly, and I only noticed it after going back through my highlights (mostly everything Evan said was highlighted, because he's the bomb). Lines like these, while funny, also helped with scene transitions:

Now it was my turn to blush. “Stop flirting with underage girls,” Evan muttered. Morgan snorted. “That’s like asking him to stop breathing.” “Speaking of dangerous ages. How close is Joshua to twenty-three?” Seth asked. Morgan gazed at the landscape flashing by the train window. “His twenty-third birthday is July 30th,” she said softly. (pg 35)

Seriously though, I love the plot. I couldn't guess who committed the crime until really late in the novel, and even then I was shaky and thought I was pulling at straws.

That's it for my review . . . but below is a short interview I have with K.C. Tansley about the book, so stick around!

- Marlon

Interview with K.C. Tansley
Website | Twitter

Q: The novel is an intricate blend of ghost-story, murder mystery, and paranormal romance. Was it hard blending genres for this book? 

A: No in the drafting, but yes during revision. When I’m crafting the story, I don’t think about genre boxes. I focus on telling the best story I can. Sometimes something paranormal happens; sometimes it takes a thriller turn. I don’t decide on a genre and write to it. I tell a story and the story goes where it goes. The drafting is always fun and exciting. When I’m revising, that’s when it gets harder. I have to think about what the two main genres are and make sure I hit on the key things that readers expect and require in those genres. Mysteries require different elements than paranormals. Genre blending requires that I hit on the key elements of the genre, but that I don’t get bogged down in trying to play to every single genre expectation for every genre I’m blending into the story.

Q: I've read that you've traveled quite a bit. Were there any places you traveled to that influenced the Isle of Acacia?

A: When I was in prep school, we went to France for spring break. There was one place I will never forget: Mont St. Michel in Normandy. Back then, it sat on an island that was only connected to the mainland via a single road. I loved the idea of a storm cutting us off from the mainland. It spoke to the gothic part of my soul and it inspired the Isle of Acacia. Much closer to home, the Thimble Islands sit off the coast of Connecticut. I loved the idea of a family owning a private island. I melded these two places together to create the Isle of Acacia.

Q: The intricate universe behind your story has been with you since at least middle school. Were its concepts what enticed you to write?

A: Sadly, I let them sit for decades. It was J.K. Rowling who made me do it, actually. The ending of the Harry Potter series was what propelled me to finally write my own story world because I wanted to hang out with characters and not have someone else deciding when their story ended. I wanted characters I could be around for the rest of my life.

Q: What was your biggest hurdle getting this book out into the world?

A: The business side of things had some major hiccups. After the book sold to a big publisher, my agent and the publisher were in contract negotiations for a while. Then I got my editorial letter and things started moving. I made it through the editorial revisions and was headed into line edits when my imprint shut down. Everything was in limbo for a few months until my rights reverted back to me. I had a better book, but no home for it. It was incredibly difficult to go through. I’m lucky a small press picked me up.

 Q: Whose story did you find easier or more interesting: Toria's or Kat's?

A: Toria’s was definitely easier to write. She’s got such a strong sense of self. Plus with Toria, I got dropped into her world for a week. It’s easy to make it really exciting and fun when you are covering a short timespan with tons of action. Toria was a little older and so she’s more settled into who she is. In 1886, a nineteen year old was an adult. I think of Toria as Kat’s shadow. She’s everything Kat isn’t. I love the juxtaposition of them because Toria’s personality is so solid and Kat’s is still developing. Kat is quieter and she’s still finding herself, which means she has so much room to grow in the series.

So . . . ghosts? Real or not?

Let us know in the comments!

ARC Review: Pretty Baby - Mary Kubica

Pretty Baby
Mary Kubica
Series: N/A
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Release Date: July 28th, 2015
Publisher: MIRA Books
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Are you ready? This book is no walk in the park. It's a walk in the park with lots of death and really unhealthy emotions about small children. It's definitely over-the-top to admit, but it felt like less of a mystery and more of a gradual, precise series of explosions in the form of words.

I'm serious. This book takes some serious mental preparing, mostly because it leans more on what I'd consider psychological drama than thriller. While there are a lot of thriller aspects, most of the really juicy bits come from the obsessive desire, the PTSD, the grief, the distrust of romantic partners, the blurring of reality and fantasy, etc.

Set in Chicago, we center around three characters.

Heidi, a non-profit worker with the obsessive need to help others. She works those who are circumstantially less fortunate (refugees, for example). On the outside, it seems she has everything together, what with her beauty, friends, career, etc. Don't let her fool you, though. This woman has more tragedies than a Sophocles play: she's dealt with cervical cancer, the death of her father, etc. One day, she meets Willow, the second major character, a homeless teen who lost her parents to a car accident and then her sister to the foster system, and then her sense of trust to a bad foster home. Neither character knows the broken past of the other. They simply see the exteriors of the other. Heidi just sees someone who needs help. Someone who has a baby, Ruby. Something clicks within Heidi that prompts her to invite Willow and her child into Heidi's home. And it all goes to hell from there.

Chris is our outside eye, an investment banker always on business trips (and usually with an attractive and flirtatious colleague). He misses the beginning of his and Heidi's relationship, and is often strained to understand why Heidi seems to place her non-profit work, helping everyone else, above the needs of the family's stability. He provides a much needed palette cleanser and seemingly more objective, or at least more normal thoughts. The way these characters interact (and with other characters, like the very cliched angsty tween Zoe) is what really makes this book. While Chris worries about the family's safety, Heidi loses herself in obsessing over Ruby, and Willow . . . she's just on a level I can't describe.

The language is great. Though quite straightforward by its own right, it shines when discussing its variance between the three narrators: Kubica's ability to work in the different styles of thought (Chris's more solid to Willow's incredibly paranoid) while maintaining the narration from all three characters is powerful. It serves to bring out the heart of these characters and add another layer of realism. However . . . it's also a way to check for unreliability. I bring this up because it was just a little gem of an idea I found in the novel. Willow's narration seems the most formulated, with more frequent complete thoughts and sentences. Much of what she tells Heidi and Chris is a narrative she's constructed. For me, Willow has no reason to tell the truth anyway, and this brings her reliability into question.

The plot is dynamic, exciting, and downright fascinating. I loved the fact that the book played me. It played me like a cheap violin. Every other chapter, I thought I had figured it out. I thought I knew this book and I squealed in my own foolish delight . . . only to have the next chapter dash my thoughts. My only real issue with the plot was that, while I found the three character POV format awesome, I did get a sense of the novel dragging around the 200 mark trying to separately establish the background fro all of the characters. However, for me, the novel picks itself back up again quickly enough, and though it dragged, it never got boring, and because Kubica was able to always seamlessly switch characters, often at a cliffhanger, I'll let it slide.

I've seen a couple of people reference similarities to Gone Girl with this book; I'll have to agree with them that it is similar in narrative construction to Gone Girl. The way the plot unfolds and the secrets and characters become more clear is similar and definitely the emotions the novels both left me with are similar. However the subject matter for Pretty Baby is unique to itself (and the same goes for Gone Girl). While Gone Girl deals with the dangers of projecting one's needs, flaws, and desires onto a romantic partner in a selfish way (and from this, a lot of the novel centers on discussing sexism), Pretty Baby centers on a couple of separate questions: How much of a person is a lie? How far will a person go for another without ever knowing them deep down? How much can a person trust another? (There is a fair share of projecting in Pretty Baby, but it's . . . for a baby, so that's a different problem.)


*Special thanks to MIRA/Harlequinn exhibitors at BEA for the ARC!

- Marlon

Do you like children?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Written In the Stars - Aisha Saeed

Written in the Stars
Aisha Saeed
Series: N/A
Genre:Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Since I had a lot of feelings, I'll make a checklist first:

1) This book is spilling over with realistic, complex characters.

2) The romance is as much of a heart-wrenching tease as Game of Thrones: it will rot out your heart and you'll eat it right up.

3) The language is so beautiful. 

4) The We Need Diverse Books team is incredible! The work they are doing is pivotal and is literally changing the face of literature as we know it. 


Okay! Here goes:

1) The Cast

Meet Naila: a high school student set to attend med school under a pretty tight scholarship. Her best friend is your dream best friend. Her hot soccer boyfriend is your dream hot soccer boyfriend.

Her parents, on the other hand, are not your dream parents. Describing them as over-protective is like calling the sun a light bulb. The book opens with Naila asking to go to a soccer game, and her mom giving her one of these:

Naila's clever. She knows precisely where it her parent's paranoia stems from. While always aware of her boundaries, she nevertheless chooses to say what needs to be said:

"It's not you I'm worried about. it's all the boys that would be there. Besides, Auntie Lubna is having a party tonight. Did you forget already?"

"Is Imran going?" I bite my lip, knowing the answer. . . . "Why can Imran skip these parties but I never can?" 

"What has gotten into you today?" My mother glances at me. "If you don't go, people will wonder. You know how they talk. Besides, your brother gets bored . . . " (Saeed, 7) 

It stems from the traditionally inequality of genders in most South Asian communities. Don't get me wrong: her father knows she means business."Imran struggles with basic algebra, but Naila? She's brilliant. She's worked too hard to get there. She can wait and get married later." (10) Still, whether or not he can recognize this, in his community it's all about familial respect and honor, and therefore, what's best for upholding the family in the eyes of a community her parents need, are prioritized over the needs of a developing young woman. (Which is why often in the book, other women will be shamed: Naila's cousin, for example, chose her partner outside of the familial arrangements, and is now a divorced mother of young children and an example to Naila of what will go wrong if she makes a similar choice.) And still, he chooses to teach Imran, 15, to drive, while Naila, 17, is denied this because . . . because "boys and cars" . . . seriously?

But damn, just writing that above paragraph took some dissecting, because Saeed doesn't make it boringly cut-and-dry. While her parents and their decisions are antagonistic to Naila's needs and wants, and are openly misogynistic the characters are, at least, genuine and not two-dimensional.

Speaking of complexity, I love the distinction Saeed makes between forced and arranged marriages. You can read a bit more on her blog here, Simply put, all forced marriages are arranged, but, as Saeed points out, very few arranged marriages are forced. it's like how all squares are rectangles, but very few rectangles are squares. In the current cultural tradition, the norm is that parents of female children receive marriage proposals. They discuss these marriage proposals and both children involved are informed and accept or deny this, and so it goes. Sadly, there's still discussion of this book on places like goodreads that use the terms interchangeably.

And make no mistake, Naila is drugged, coerced, and totally stripped of autonomy. She is stripped of her friends, her home, everything. She is expected not only to preform her duty but to genuinely thank and praise her parents for taking her back to her roots, to who she truly is. Which, as a 17-year-old, is a psychological slaughterhouse of emotional damage, because that's exactly what 17-year-olds need: to feel comfortable in their skin. Her parents are doing things with the right language of what's best for her and the wrong actions of what's definitely not best for her.

If you're cringing already, this book is going to wreck you.

2) The Romance

Okay seriously Saif is so incredibly adorable. This is a photograph of him. The picture might be a little blurry though:

Naila and Saif go through a lot. After a couple of chapters, they become separated by thousands of miles. There are botched phone calls, a failed embassy trip, it's everything you didn't know your heart could feel. I won't say much more on this only that it will give you the feels. Few books start out with the romantic interest and the main character already in love. But this one does that and I LOVE it because it gets to skip all of the awkward beginning part and we get a real sense of people who actively care and want to be in each other's lives and not . . . insta-love.

Even the person Naila is forced into a marriage with is not horrible. Amin is generally quite kind to her, enough that Naila comments on that. Enough so, that, when everything is falling apart, he's pretty much the only person other than Saif to be on her side.

3) Beautiful Words

I watch the trees along the road fly by as we drive past. It's almost summertime. . . . Elsewhere there are seasons. Leaves bloom green and then turn gold and crimson as they fall to the earth, change coming to everything in its path. Not here. In my world, the leaves stay green, the same Florida heat beating down on us, day after day, year after year, unchanging. But not for long. Soon things will change. Soon they will have to. I've spent my entire life banking on this truth. (8) 

The end sentences are particularly poignant once everything does change. Instead of going to college though, Naila is taken to her parent's home in Pakistan.

Saeed's narration is a fascinating, difficult trip inside Naila's, and a true journey into the mind of a betrayed, paranoid, deeply sincere and loving individual. It definitely took me a couple of pages, because it takes a couple of pages for Naila's voice to start shining. But once it does, oh man it gets tragic real fast.

Other thoughts:

One thing that shocked me was the lack of religious discussion in the book. Naila is cast into a lot of isolated, dark places. She could have seeked solace in god/s here, as characters are wont to do in most contemporary works. However, I understand why religion may have been left out: so there won't be blame cast elsewhere but the parents. Even though none of the South Asian religions in this case are really to blame, it's always difficult creating a nuanced perspective of any culture when you're writing it for an American audience. This is again why I think Saeed stresses that this forced marriage is not the norm, but still a problem. That way, an entire people and culture are not dragged into the mud, and instead it personalizes Naila's struggle with her parents. I for one still think I've been cheated of having Naila either struggle with her faith, or show her understanding of it to depart from her parents, but I also think that the book is perfectly fine without it.

There are only two "bad" things to say about this book. First, the dialogue, while usually fine, can sometimes read as slightly off, either because the character or because of what the story demands. Like Naila's mother mentioning that they are going to a party, once her father closes the family's dry cleaning business for the day. Clearly Naila knows this business exists. Only the reader benefits from the dialogue-info-drop. It doesn't happen too often, but often enough. Second, I wish there was more time for nuance in the book, more time spent on the difference between types of marriage and differences inside the culture as well. At times, the South Asian culture Naila stems from can seem like a monolith.This especially in light of the fact that the book drags on a little: to make it to 300 pages, and to keep up with the fast pace the author sets, the ending is stretched out and gets repetitive thematically.  I almost knocked two stars out because of this, but decided the quality of the rest of the book made up for it in miles.

To close: this book was wonderful.

- Marlon

What kind of over-the-top over-protective things have your parents done?
Let us know in the comments!

Review: This is How You Lose Her - Junot Diaz

This is How You Lose Her
Junot Diaz
Series: N/A
Genre: Fiction, Short Stories, Contemporary, Adult Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Rarely is a book a scream.

Novels and short stories are often so precisely crafted, we can only describe them in terms of architecture. That is not the case for this collection of (quite interconnected) short stories. This is How You Lose Her is gorgeously raw, and right from the gut.

What I mean is that Diaz's voice, and the world that is dramatized in this book, are so engaging and fantastic. The narration style is the single most incredible part of this book.

Sure, you'll have these lines that mark all praise of the book:

"She's sensitive, too. Takes to hurt the way water takes to paper." 

"The half life of love is forever."

"Our relationship wasn't the sun, the moon, the stars, but it wasn't bullsh**, either."

And those are incredible lines. Diaz is an exceptionally intimate thinker. However, what is more powerful is Diaz's natural, well articulated prose that incorporates both a striking vision of the Dominican-American immigrant experience and the total confusion of growing up in New Jersey.

"We were real Jersey, too: malls, the parents, movies, and a lot of TV."

Don't know if you've spent much time in Jersey, but that is a pretty spot on description. Jersey is more or less lifeless in this respect, it's flat. It breeds contempt for itself and a love for other worlds, other places. Perhaps for Yunior, it bred the desire for other things a bit too much.

NOTE: a great deal of this book is heavily involved with sex or has sexual references. There are a few lines one might find vulgar, and a few words as well. This was the first time I'd read the n-word in relation to a non-African-American culture, and at first, I was opposed to its use because I didn't really understand, and then I figured it had to be part of the immigrant appropriating words used to describe them. Diaz has a great response for why he chose to have Yunior use that particular word. (Full press conference here.) It's a great read/watch, actually. On the question of why Diaz chose Yunior to use the n-word:

Diaz: So is it that the representation of that reality is problematic?

Plaid: It's -- I think there's some people who just feel like I don't understand why he uses the word at all.  

Diaz: So, because. 

Plaid: Because. 

Diaz: Yeah, I guess I don't get the question. I mean I guess like, I guess, yeah... I'm not sure I, I'm trying to get the question. Is it that certain people -- because -- I guess the thing, like, for example, I represent child rape in my books, so is the problem that some aspects of our reality should never be represented? So that the fact that I mean the way I grew up, certainly when I immigrated to the United States, I was called three kinds of 'nigger' growing up. So what would be my artistic relationship to a reality? The same thing, there was an enormous amount of sexual assault, sexual abuse, incest and rape in the community I grew up. So the question for me is always that what are we -- what is the resistance that folks have about representation? Because for me the question is, is the argument that this shouldn't be represented? So therefore, for example, certain folks are not permitted to represent well, well what? I mean having been, you know, spent my entire US childhood being called various forms of 'nigger,' the thing would be, does that mean somehow because my sort of African descent-ness is not phenotypically recognizable enough? Is that the problem?

He goes on to speak about the Haitian and Haitian-Dominican genocide and how this relates. It's fascinating.

Anyhow, let's just leave it at that: the writing is genuine, thoughtful, provoking, tender, and just damn good. Like just really refreshingly amazing. It is in our voice, with all of the mention of homegirls and throwbacks to Sci-Fi. And to top it off, it's layered with all of the hispanic slang you definitely tried to learn from the Spanish kids in your school. The Spanglish parts are my absolute favorite. There are relatively few authors who get to puncture the white veil of American literature, and Diaz certainly does so with many style points.

Unlike most people who are heading into this book, I have not read that much of Diaz's novel, The Brief and Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao. However, I can already say that much of the geek culture, the broad scope, and the wealth of historical references that make up the pages of that book are . . . not present here. It's a different kind of book, even though it shares a narrator.

The book has its faults. The most obvious being the lack of narrative closure. This might be due to the fact that I read much of it like a novel, because many of the stories revolve around Yunior in some way. It might also be due to the fact that the last story is called The Cheater's Guide to Love and yet, there is very little going on in terms of working on the shape of the message of the book. There is not much immediately to be taken away from the book: Yunior is seriously terrible at monogamous relationships.

Instead, the book often delves more into the complex realms of social and cultural realms that create the environment around Yunior. But if you really wanted a sketch of that environment, read Diaz's first book, Drown. It's a lot less funny but it'll break you to pieces. It might be a stretch, but as I understand it, the takeaway is that it's not immediately a guide to not cheat. But rather, it's a guide to help understand the mind of a person who happens to be terrible at monogamous relationships. However, this is a bit of a stretch and me just trying to understand the author. If there was a clear message written into the book, I did not receive it.

My last, and quite brief, little bit of hate I have for this book is the lack of female characters. They're often there only to serve as a lesson for Yunior which he does not learn. Diaz has admitted he has a hard time writing female characters. I expected at some point in the book to shift perspectives, to give the experience a more rounded edge and to understand more. But the book remains thin, and remains mostly Yunior, except for a single story in which the female narrator is somewhat stunted. This story would have helped, if it were connected to Yunior, but it's not in any immediate way. Don't get me wrong, the book highly praises certain women, and certain women show, for flickers of narration, a fascinating view of this particular world . . . but it's brief.

Wow, that was long. Sorry! This book is amazing! Read it!

The apocalypse happens, and after 7 books of building up to the flock saving the world, they hide in a cave while mass chaos occurs and most people die. It was a ridiculous way to end the series so that is why I looked forward to the next one, in which all of that was a bad dream and they actually woke up and saved the world. Unfortunately so, that was not the case. Also, romantic drama with Fang made me want to die, they were such a cute couple and were even the reason that I got into fanfiction, it's incredibly disappointing that books 6-9 were so obnoxious about FAX.

- Marlon

Do you also hate New Jersey? I do!

Let us know in the comments!

Review: The Immortal Rules - Julie Kagawa

The Immortal Rules
Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden
Genre: asdf
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Gritty
Goodreads | Amazon  | Book Depository

Yes! YES. YES.

I love the premise of this book, the characters, the writing -- just about everything.

If you don't know yet, this book is about a girl named Allison Sekemoto, who lives in a community of humans owned by vampires. She struggles to survive and eventually, while scavenging outside of the community's walls, she dies. And is brought back as her nightmare. She trains with the vampire who turned her and then runs off, meeting a group of humans and chasing the legend of a cure. Beautiful premise. So beautiful, it sets Kagawa up to explore both dystopian and fantasy aspects of contemporary literature, while criticising and enhance the tropes throughout her book.

The characters stood out to me the most. They were all so fleshed out. Allison's character stuck to me the most -- she was harsh, realistic, and determined to survive. I loved that there were no compromises with her.Allison is selfish. Full stop. There's no heart of gold to redeem this character, and as such I expect her to act like a person rather than a superhero. It's fairly rare and really refreshing to see a character that honestly represents people in fantastic and extreme settings. Even when she dies for Stick, it's more or less circumstantial.

Speaking of Stick, I hate him. It's hard for me to straightforwardly hate a character, so thank you Julie Kagawa, for creating such a weak, pining, worthless individual. He can never do anything for himself, and he abandons Allison immediately after she becomes a vampire. However, I loved hating him, because he's realistic as well. Stick is what most people would turn into. Scared, introverted, and terribly dependent.

I loved that Kanin's role wasn't overemphasised, both as Allison's mentor and as a love interest. His heart is in the right place yet there is danger about him, which is maintained throughout the book. I contrast this to Zeke, who is completely out in the open about himself and his love for Allison and being a leader. Their romance was devoid of the insta-love that often plagues both paranormal vampire and dystopian books.And there was no nonsensical love triangle formed out of the fact that Kanin turned her. He doesn't own Allison, he is her mentor. It's weird that this is so revolutionary. I think this contrast really highlights Kagawa's ability to form characters who fit in her setting properly and not to put pressure on something that is external to her message (i.e., not making a big deal out of the romance when the characters are being hunted constantly).

On that notion, Kagawa certainly has a great grip on world-building. From the wilds and the Vampire Principalities to the gleaming towers and the museum and the rest, there is so much packed into the world. The governing and social systems as well are very clear, and it's not hard to grasp why Allison, an Unregistered human being, is so oppressed.

The writing itself is beautiful, in form and diction, as usual for Kagawa, and the plot twists and turns with her welling tension throughout. There was quite a natural pace to the story and nothing feels quite forced.

All in all, read it!

- Marlon

Are Vampires still a thing for you? Or is the trend dead?
Let us know in the comments!

Triple ARC Review: Messenger of Fear - Michael Grant

Messenger of Fear
Michael Grant
Series: Messenger of Fear #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Release Date: September 23rd, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Word Rating: More or Less Traumatizing.
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Kayla sucks eggs.

This novel is just . . . wow. It blew my mind.

It's hard to describe something when it's so completely brisk and fresh.

As far as I can tell, Messenger of Fear is a meditation on the morality of just punishment wrapped in a loose narrative. For me it's hard to contain it in the word "novel" . . . it's more of an exploration.

What I mean by this is best described along with the book itself. The narrative is about Mara Todd, a girl who, in the first few pages has lost nearly all of her memories and meets an enigmatic stranger called Messenger. Mara must journey with the Messenger because of something that's happened to her, maybe something she's done, but she can't remember. She is taken to see people die in various ways, wrought from fear and mistake, meeting interesting characters like the sexy, disruptive Oriax and the even more mysterious Daniel. And all of this is written so naturally, so well, it seems as though it is meant to be completely secondary. Mara is written without memories and thus acts as a more or less regular human with predictable responses -- she is written to be an objective, detached narrator, at least at the start. And the other characters give us nothing about themselves. Oriax? Nothing, except that she works for a higher power and she knows Messenger. Daniel? Pretty much nothing at all, that guy is an enigma wrapped in enigmas. Even Messenger, who Mara spends nearly all of her time with, gives us only tiny fragments into his life and the mythology of the books: there was a girl in his life called Ariadne, he is repenting for some mistakes, etc.

That isn't to say the characters have no depth. Mara and Messenger are fleshed out emotionally and developmentally, but Grant does not give us a lot of time and concrete backstory to understand them -- indeed, the minor characters like Samantha Early are fleshed out than Mara. What I loved was the precision to which this was done -- it's much easier to try to write a full, rich character with lots of details. That's what most people are like in the real world. But Grant has to work almost entirely on the present events of the novel to provide an objective platform, and it works and that's just amazing, I've literally never seen anything like it in YA fiction.

If that's not enough, the humor, the wit, the beautiful descriptions, and the genuine terror and apprehension of Michael Grant books is readily available here!

SO JUST BUY THIS BOOK. READ IT. GODAMN.

- Marlon

Noor's Messenger of Fear Review
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Haunting 

After receiving a signed ARC of Messenger of Fear at BEA, I knew it was at the top of the list of books I wanted to read this summer. Now that I've read it, I can say that it definitely does not disappoint and is honestly such a new and fresh book that I can barely string together the words to describe how I feel about it.

Okay, I don't even know where to begin. The whole concept of the book was so interesting and I really enjoyed the way it was executed. The Messenger of Fear visits those who have done wicked things and offers them a game. If they win, they walk free. If they don't play or they lose, they face their biggest fear and then eventually do get to walk free because, you know, he's not a reaper or anything and can't go around killing people who bully classmates or hit animals with their cars. And Mara, the protagonist, wakes up in the field with no memories and finds out she is now his apprentice and is training to herself be the Messenger of Fear.

I just thought the whole idea of it was something that hadn't really been done, especially in this way before. And then Michael Grant introduced more characters from Messenger's world, such as Oriax, who is mysterious, sultry, seems pretty manipulative, and always appears at the most climactic moments of Mara's journey. There's also Daniel, who seems to know everything and generally be present when all the major stuff is happening. There's a very interesting dynamic between the "real" world and the one involving the mythology of the book and I liked how the characters all had their own stake in the situation and their own part to play in the outcome. I especially liked Oriax, she was honestly one of my favorite characters. I thought she was so entertaining and I loved the mystery that surrounded her, even at the end, when we came a bit closer to finding out who exactly the Messenger and his associates are. Although, I thought she'd try harder to get Mara to join her side, whatever exactly that encompasses. Messenger himself was done very well. He was very drawn into himself and stoic, and possessed quite a bit of mystery. From the fact that touching him is a huge no to the woman he's in love with and searching for, he is a puzzling character and one that I found myself wanting to explore more.

Mara was a very interesting character as well and it was fascinating to see her develop and to see which aspects of her personality would prevail when she had no memories of her life to base herself off of. As the book progresses, the Messenger slowly reveals more and more of her memories to her, eventually revealing everything by the end, which has this big twist that isn't rocket science or anything, but not, in my opinion, too plainly and obviously there for the reader to guess. It's hinted at in a few ways but they're pretty subtle and the impact of the revelation still gave me chills even though I had a pretty strong idea of what was to come. The big scene where it all comes crashing down on her was done so well that I don't think it matters whether or not you figured out the twist.

A lot of the appeal for this book has to do with Michael Grant's writing itself. His prose is so fluid and refined, it just made the words so digestible that I finished this book in one sitting even though I had told myself "Oh, I'm just going to read a few chapters and then go do something productive." Every description is done so well and when he writes about the way the Messenger feels the pain of every one of their "victims" I feel it too, and can feel sympathy and emotions towards a character whose identity I barely know and who has shown very few bits of himself.

I feel like there's a lot to say about this book that I can't encompass in a review and just need to tell you to read it. I love the writing and I love characterization, and I love the direction he plot goes and watching them take the people through the trials and would definitely recommend this book. My only qualm is that I wish some things were a little more elaborated on, and that the book just needed to be longer in general. For example, at the end, Grant tries to explain some more of the mythology behind the characters but it opens up all new questions and the book would generally just do better with more details and explanations. I know a lot of it is supposed to remain a mystery but some of it isn't and those parts could use a little more explanation. However, besides that one thing, I found everything else about this book to be phenomenal and I hope to read more of Michael Grant's works in the future.

                                                                                                -Noor

Amrutha's Messenger of Fear Review
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Enticing 

Before standing in line for Messenger of Fear at BEA 2014, I had never read a Michael Grant book, nor had I any idea of the premise of this novel. But, while standing in a crazy long line (only good/really famous authors have lines like this), I got really into the premise of this book, which Noor and Marlon have both explained, involves Mara and the Messenger. 

The concept and realm of the Messenger of Fear was so interesting to me, and I feel like it was executed phenomenally. Although I did not like how I didn't have a huge backstory on Mara, I did understand how it was necessary to the plot of her waking up in a field with no recollection of how she got there. It also upset me a little that there wasn't a lot of backstory about most of the characters, especially about the Messenger himself. As someone who is unendingly nosy and just incredibly curious about other people's lives, I really wanted to know the backstory of these characters. Mara, the Messenger, and the other major characters in the novel were incredibly rich in terms of description and emotional depth, which just made me want the back story that much more. 

I agree with Noor about Oriax, who also does not have any real backstory, but is super awesome and is probably my favorite character from the book altogether. Oriax is another reason I wish I could've known more about the background of her character other than job working under some higher power. She was, like Noor said, super intriguing with her mystery and I really wanted to continue reading the book for her.

Speaking of mystery, I just want to say the climax/mystery/twist part of this book was executed flawlessly. Sometimes, with a twist that is sometimes guessable (to the right reader) it is hard to pull off a twist ending that everyone will enjoy reading. The ending was easily the best part of this book, climaxing with an interesting bang that is a good read even if one guessed what was going to happen. 

Just a general note about the writing in this book: it's phenomenal and clever and all around provides for a great story. The real lack for me was just the lack of background description which I so crave. This book is a def. recommended novel for everyone who likes to read a book that is good from start to finish. 

-Amrutha

If you could keep one memory if you were in Mara's position, what would it be, and why?
Let us know in the comments!

ARC Review: False Future - Dan Krokos

False Future
Dan Krokos
Series: False Memory #3
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Release Date: August 19, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Rick Riordan x Veronica Roth
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

I have come full circle! Around a month ago, Disney Hyperion mailed me False Future and I promised to review it. I flew through False Memory, hooked but a little hesitant, and I was slightly shaky about False Sight, what with its insanely winding, borderline absurd plotline. Nevertheless, Dan Krokos has proven one thing: he knows how to end a series.

And oh my gods he ends it so well.

Plot-wise, the book begins as expected, with the our clone gang prepping for war. Noble, Sophia, Rhys, and Peter are the characters we have left. (Silent moment for Noah, Olivia, etc.)

Miranda's back! Within the first ten pages. It would have been a massive twist not to bring Miranda back, so this was expected. However, it doesn't feel cheap as, by now, death isn't a final in these novels. I liked the touch of guilt that the other characters express when they choose to bring her back, though, knowing the impact the newly war-torn world will have on her. It gives a kind of substance to death that is usually painfully absent from stories where characters are written back to life often(see Supernatural seasons six and onward). Even Miranda, whose been revived as she is twice, knows it's more complicated than it is often made out to be:

"Does it matter how many times I come back to life? It has to." (Krokos, 60). 

Then the book starts to delve into the heavier action material, where Krokos's grip on suspense, phraseology, and choreography shine.

When the action ebbs for a moment, I love that Krokos branches out, allowing humor and characterization, mainly through dialogue, to drive the story until another fight scene, like when Rhys and Miranda bring back a couple of invader clones and are pepping to interrogate them:

"We should let them wake up on -- " Rhys begins, but my slap across M-96's face interrupts him. "Or we could do that." (49) 

Krokos has stacked the odds so strongly against our protagonists that there is automatic tension and suspense in the novel, as readers try to cling on to the hope that is, at the beginning of the book, non-existent. This is mostly due to the insurmountable force of the villains, the Originals (or the Originals' Originals' Originals' etc) of "True Earth" and their army. Krokos knows how to write a crushing villain.

"Take heart citizens of New York. This is not your end." (35)

The invading army from True Earth is terrifyingly relaxed, almost clinical in their actions. A polite predator, like Hannibal.

But true to the first two novels, Krokos pours suspension and tension into this novel as if it were the last thing he could possibly do. There's so much tension that one of the driving forces of tension from the first novels (memory shots) is completely overshadowed by the hell-hole our characters are in now.

The narrative beelines through dramatic scenes and mini-climaxes until we get to the holy crap moment. Which, of course, happens within the first few chapters. Olivia, the original Olivia, reveals dark secrets to our Miranda, which fuels the novel. (And, dare I say, the reader, because I burned through these pages with reckless abandon). And then it happens again. And again. The plot unravels the mythology, or, for clarity, if Krokos's mythology was a house, he flung a tornado full of plot twists at it.

There are a few drawbacks to this, however, in that I felt overloaded with new information. Miranda and the director are what??? And then: Wait so the future is whaaaattt?? And CAN THEY REALLY BRING HER BACK?

Krokos does well to allow these twists to settle in, but I feel as though the velocity of the pulsing plot only allowed for brief moments to take in anything.

The end is undoubtedly controversial. Miranda still makes incredibly dark choices. Innocent people still die. Miranda's last line might even seem entirely selfish:

"Finally, we have the rest of our lives." 

At least, selfish was what I initially thought, until I considered the novel at a greater depth than its prequels.

Throughout False Future, though, Krokos gives attention to characterization that was slightly lacking in the second novel, and, to an extent, the first, and allows it to function as a secondary drive alongside the plot.

For instance, when Rhys and Miranda attack another pair of Roses early on (around chapter 5, they check to see if they'd accidentally killed them. Their humanity and empathy are kept intact throughout a gruelling war between universes when it would be so easy to be merciless. In this way, Krokos keeps our protagonists from being like their enemies, and justifying our sympathies for their plight. It's just damn good writing.

And one scene, which I'm sure few people can skim over, is just painful. After sneaking into the Verge (even buildings can be written back to life, I suppose) under the guises of the Roses they interrogated, they find themselves facing a Peter, Noah, and Olive, the members of their team that are missing. These are members of another team, but in this moment they are humanized. The enemy isn't the eyeless, or the spiders, which can do nothing but kill, but it's these people. In Miranda's words:

"It's so familiar it hurts." (71)

This focus on characterization often lends double meaning to words, especially these last lines. For me, "we have the rest of our lives" is not an invocation from the first novel's Miranda, who desperately wanted a normal life, it's from a Miranda who knows she can never wipe the slate clean for herself, who has been taught by the impossibly difficult decisions she's had to make. It's a shout to the dark that the final scene is a small, but beautiful, victory in itself.

But I can't explain it myself. That last chapter will thaw your freezing, broken heart (thanks Krokos) like Elsa's at the end of Frozen!

There are some errors with the science side of False Future. And no, this isn't a critique of the Sci-Fi aspect, because that would be nonsense in a Sci-Fi book. Rhys, trying to comfort Miranda early on, deals out the loveable "we are clones of ourselves" line. While the fact remains that most of our cells are replaced within ten years, the fact remains that it's only most cells. For examples, neurons in the cerebral cortex are never replaced, they simply die out. This doesn't affect the novel much because Krokos usually is correct on these points, and even so, one factual error is not enough to overturn a thrilling end to a series, especially when said from a character rather than from an authorial voice.

All in all, well done Mr. Krokos, and special thanks to Disney Hyperion for making this happen!

- Marlon

Do you believe in destiny?

Let us know in the comments!