And All The Stars by Andrea K. Höst

Come for the apocalypse. Stay for cupcakes. Die for love.

Madeleine Cost is working to become the youngest person ever to win the Archibald Prize for portraiture. Her elusive cousin Tyler is the perfect subject: androgynous, beautiful, and famous. All she needs to do is pin him down for the sittings.

None of her plans factored in the Spires: featureless, impossible, spearing into the hearts of cities across the world – and spraying clouds of sparkling dust into the wind.

Is it an alien invasion? Germ warfare? They are questions everyone on Earth would like answered, but Madeleine has a more immediate problem. At Ground Zero of the Sydney Spire, beneath the collapsed ruin of St James Station, she must make it to the surface before she can hope to find out if the world is ending.

I'm not sure why, but I just didn't "get" this book. All the pieces were there, but they just didn't fit together somehow.  It wasn't the characterization, though.  I did enjoy Madeleine and getting to know her and watch her overcome some pretty steep odds.  There were other characters I liked, too, especially Noi.  However, at times I did have problems telling some of them apart, especially the gang of boys.  I also had problems with the nickname usage, there were times when the author would switch to using a nickname without telling you who was being addressed.  It took me a while to recognize Emily and Millie as the same person. 

I think my major problem was with the plot.  I don't want to spoil too much, but I found the plot very disjointed and random.  It starts with the obelisks that land in cities and spew dust everywhere that makes people sick and turns the survivors either green or blue.  Later on things happen to the spires, and other events, and it really doesn't connect much to the beginning.  There's little foreshadowing of events to come as well, so every plot twist seems very "deus ex machina" with no other purpose than to challenge the cast of characters yet again.  The pacing works well, the author has the timing down as to when major events need to happen, I just didn't feel like the events were plausible based on the knowledge given.  Too bad, I really wanted to like this book and did love its portrayal of a transsexual and a homosexual relationship.

Skylark by Meagan Spooner

Sixteen-year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.

Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.

Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret—but can she stay alive long enough to find them?

I had high hopes for this book.  The premise seemed very interesting and the cover was so pretty that I really wanted to like it.  I'm sad that the book didn't live up to my standards, although I think part of that is me building them up too high.  The book wasn't a complete disappointment, but it was not much more than average.  I think its major problem was in pacing.  There were some major lulls where not much happens or some very repetitious events happen for quite a while.  I wish they could have been broken up better with twists or some other event.  The plotting is bare bones and really could have been thought through a little more.  I did like the characterization.  Lark was easy to love, and Oren is realistic and consistent even if he is a little harder to identify with.  I loved Nix and her development (I dunno why, but Nix is a her).  The worldbuilding is solid and consistent, and unlike other reviewers I didn't mind that they never explained the magic or how it works.  I guess I'm such a fantasy fan that magic just is and doesn't need a why.  The dystopian society, though, was thoroughly realistic, and I felt that the best parts of the book were while Lark was trying to escape her fate there.  Afterwards things got rather hazy, and I got frustrated at the lack of direction.

Feature and Follow Friday: December 27

Q:  What book do you think everyone should read? If you could gift the entire population with one book?

That's easy, Tamora Pierce's first and greatest book:

I believe it would get them hooked on her world and all the other wonderful books she's written!  Oldie but Goldie!

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

In a desert world of sandstorms and sand-wolves, a teen girl must defy the gods to save her tribe in this mystical, atmospheric tale from the author of Drink, Slay, Love.

Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. The goddess will inhabit Liyana’s body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But Liyana’s goddess never comes. Abandoned by her angry tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.

Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. For the desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god’s help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god’s tale.

The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice: She must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate—or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.

I really cannot write enough good about this book.  It was amazing.  I was engrossed from the first page to the last.  Liyana is a great character, and I love how she grows and learns and develops her own viewpoint and uniqueness.  Her endpoint is a far cry from her start as a willing sacrifice for her clan, even if the same moral compass guides them both.  I also liked the development of Korbyn.  He was an interesting concept, a human shell being used to house a god, and he really is torn by the duality of it and how to help people best to make his shell's sacrifice worth it.  The plot of this book is great, always moving with just enough rest periods that you're not barreling through action the entire book.  It builds suspense well, and the romance is a tiny counterpoint (and although the villain is pretty obvious I love how I couldn't predict the end but once I saw it it totally made sense!).  The worldbuilding is where this book really shines, though.  From the magic of possession to the world of the gods to the small creatures living in the desert, Durst has filled her new world with a rich history and all the tiny details that make it really worth immersing in.  If I had to complain about anything it would be that there were secondary characters that felt underdeveloped, however, there really wasn't a lot of time to work with them either so I forgive it pretty easily.  Overall this book has become a favorite and will earn an honored spot on my shelf.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a non-biased review. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Prophecy by Ellen Oh

    This is Breaking the Spine's Waiting for Wednesday, where bloggers post about a book they just can't wait to get their hands on!       

Prophecy by Ellen Oh

January 2nd 2013

The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms… is a girl with yellow eyes.

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope…

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

I'm a sucker for a good high fantasy, and this one sounds like a good one, and with a kick-ass girl fighter to boot!

Waiting on Wednesday: Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep

    This is Breaking the Spine's Waiting for Wednesday, where bloggers post about a book they just can't wait to get their hands on!       

 

Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep

December 24th 2012

For a moment, a face flashed before my eyes—the most hideous face I’d ever seen. No matter how hard I tried to forget what had happened, I saw him everywhere I went. It was Loki—the evil god that I’d helped set free against my will.

I should have known that my first official date with Logan Quinn was destined to end in disaster. If we’d gotten into a swordfight, or been ambushed by Reapers, I’d have been more prepared. But getting arrested mid-sip at the local coffee hangout? I didn’t see that one coming.

I’ve been accused of purposely helping the Reapers free Loki from his prison—and the person leading the charge against me is Linus Quinn, Logan’s dad. The worst part is that pretty much everyone at Mythos Academy thinks I’m guilty. If I’m going to get out of this mess alive, I’ll have to do it myself…

It's pretty clear where I stand on this series (addicted, seriously addicted).  I can't wait to unwrap this one, it'll be my best present to myself!

Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal

Elvie Nara was doing just fine in the year 2074. She had a great best friend, a dad she adored, and bright future working on the Ares Project on Mars. But then she had to get involved with sweet, gorgeous, dumb-as-a-brick Cole--and now she’s pregnant.

Getting shipped off to the Hanover School for Expecting Teen Mothers was not how Elvie imagined spending her junior year, but she can go with the flow. That is, until a team of hot commandos hijacks the ship--and one of them turns out to be Cole. She hasn’t seen him since she told him she’s pregnant, and now he’s bursting into her new home to tell her that her teachers are aliens and want to use her unborn baby to repopulate their species? Nice try, buddy. You could have just called.

So fine, finding a way off this ship is priority number one, but first Elvie has to figure out how Cole ended up as a commando, work together with her arch-nemesis, and figure out if she even wants to be a mother--assuming they get back to Earth in one piece.

It's been a while since I read some comedic sf.  Usually SF takes itself much too seriously.  This book, however, is anything from serious and totally perfect.  The plot of this book is barely plausible.  Alien pregnancies multiplied to the nth is always kinda crazy.  The protagonist, however, injects a measure of seriousness and life to the plot while remaining a snarky teenager able to make us laugh.  It's a tenuous balance, but the authors walk it very well.  The beginning was full of flashbacks, so it was a little hard to keep track of where you were in the timeline, but as the book went on it really hit its stride.  The plot, though, is really secondary to the narrator.  Elvie really carries this book with her sarcastic wit and her drive to survive.  She has to deal with some very heavy stuff as the book goes on, but somehow her attitude and humor pull us past it.  If I had a complaint about the book it would be related to this: we see so many pregnant teenagers die in this book, but there is little emotional impact because the writing keeps things light a little too much.  Cole is a big part of this, and his dim-as-a-fireplace-poker intelligence takes us through many things with an amused atmosphere of "how will he screw up next?"  In all this is a great book, and I'd recommend it as a palate cleanser for some of those heavier, horror filled sf novels. 

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a non-biased review. 

Planesrunner by Ian McDonald

There is not one you. There are many yous. There is not one world. There are many worlds. Ours is one among billions of parallel earths.

When Everett Singh’s scientist father is kidnapped from the streets of London, he leaves young Everett a mysterious app on his computer. Suddenly, this teenager has become the owner of the most valuable object in the multiverse—the Infundibulum—the map of all the parallel earths, and there are dark forces in the Ten Known Worlds who will stop at nothing to get it. They’ve got power, authority, the might of ten planets—some of them more technologically advanced than our Earth—at their fingertips. He’s got wits, intelligence, and a knack for Indian cooking.

To keep the Infundibulum safe, Everett must trick his way through the Heisenberg Gate that his dad helped build and go on the run in a parallel Earth. But to rescue his dad from Charlotte Villiers and the sinister Order, this Planesrunner’s going to need friends. Friends like Captain Anastasia Sixsmyth, her adopted daughter, Sen, and the crew of the airship Everness.

Can they rescue Everett’s father and get the Infundibulum to safety? The game is afoot!

I'll be honest, Picacio's cover really made me want to read this book.  It's just a really catching, neat thing to look at.  Fortunately for me, I wasn't led astray.  This book is even better than the cover suggests.

The first thing that grabs is the characterization.  From the first page Everett comes to life, convincingly acting like a kid and yet also realistically solves one of the toughest mathematical problems in modern physics.  The next truly grabbing character is Sen.  She is the perfect foil to Everett, and proves to be a great tour guide to E3 and the new London we're introduced to.  The book starts up by immediately launching into Everett's problems, and the pacing is breakneck but clever and suspense-filled, never leaving enough time to turn into anything but brilliance.  The ideas are weighty, from the concept of infinite universes to understanding the infundibulum and the "knots" Everett uses to make it work, but McDonald has a great way of explaining things so that they never feel overwhelming.  The whole is a fun ride that makes me totally desperate for the next book in the series.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a non-biased review. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

    This is Breaking the Spine's Waiting for Wednesday, where bloggers post about a book they just can't wait to get their hands on!       

 

Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

December 18th 2012

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avery of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avery is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avery will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avery is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

I think Maria V. Snyder's books are really good, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in her Touch of Power series!

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

On Roanoke Island, the legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.

Miranda, a misfit girl from the island’s most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can’t dodge is each other.

Blackwood is a dark, witty coming of age story that combines America’s oldest mystery with a thoroughly contemporary romance.

I think the real hook in this book is its premise.  I loved the idea of the people of Roanoke disappearing again.  The thought of Miranda and Phillips having complimentary powers and needing to help each other intrigued me too.  In the end, though, this was really a love story with the rest of the mystical plot as complications and road blocks.  It was well done, though, so I didn't really care.  I think that's at least partially because the missing people plot goes off into strange and sometimes nonsensical directions.  There was little I could predict about it, but that's because it was completely unexpected at many turns and often things came out of nowhere, while other things were completely stereotypical.  I think the author did a little too much to maintain the mystery and didn't build a solid base for her plot twists.  It didn't matter much, though, because the book flowed really well and the romance plot served to really bind everything together.  I thought Miranda and Phillips were well written, and they grew into their romance pretty organically, even if it was a bit quickly.  There were logical progressions to their feelings and they didn't have any strange insta-love issues or nonsensical triangles.  In the end it really kept this book going, and I'd be happy to read a sequel or other book by Bond.

Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien

Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime. In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?

I read this right before Outpost by Ann Aguirre and the similarities made the books clash a lot.  Where Outpost was boring in its description of an overly-religious post-apocalyptic isolated society, Prized was full of action.  The interpersonal conflict and defiance really made the story clip along.  Gaia had a good bit of character development, and we meet a lot of great new people for her to interact with.  On the other hand, the romantic tension and issues between Gaia and Leon seemed a little contrived and was harder to get behind.  However, I was okay with the love triangle (square?  pentagon?) because in this case it seemed to make sense and worked out well and without the usual drama-angst.  The climax of the book is great, and the ending is closed but with enough promise that the next book will be amazing!  I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Stacking the Shelves: December 3 - 9

The Cybils judging has me on the list for a ton of books, so to help me keep track of them I'm joining in this Sunday meme for a while.  And seriously, tons of books.  There are books everywhere!


From Publishers for the Cybils:

Cybils Reading

I was very honored to be chosen as a judge for the 2012 Cybil awards in the SF/F category for round 1.  I've learned a lot of things this year, though, especially with how different round 1 is from round 2 (where I judged last year).  Here are three important things I've learned about the Cybils this year (spoiler free!):

3.  Free Books are only fun for a while:

*PART* of my Cybils reading

Of course it's fun to get free books in the mail.  It's especially exciting when a title you've been wanting to read for a while comes in.  Eventually, though, it just gets intimidating.  After all, you're getting all these books with the expectation that you READ them.  That's a lot of reading.  A whole lot.  And it should all get done by the end of December.  Excuse me while I quit blogging to go read . . .

2. There are only so many places you can put books:
I have books EVERYWHERE.  They're taking over my couch.  And behind my couch.  My bookcase is already full.  I even took four boxes of books from my shelves to the library donations to make room, and there's still NO ROOM.  The books are taking over!

And the #1 thing Cybils reading has taught me:

THIS IS HARD!!!  The books we're reading were all nominated by someone who thought they were the best book of the year.  While that makes for a lot of books, it's all good books.  It's so humbling to read a book critically yet keep in the back of your head "someone loved this book."  And it shows.  I'm starting to feel so spoiled reading one good book right after another.  I think my reviews are suffering because there's only a few ways to say OMG THIS BOOK IS AMAZING and I've got so many books I need to say it for!  It's also harder and harder to choose which books should be in contention because they're all so good and so different and yet I want to choose all of them!  Why is the short list so short?!?

The Kairos Mechanism by Kate Milford

September, 1913. The crossroads town of Arcane, Missouri, is a place where strange things happen, and lately those strange things have a habit of happening to thirteen year-old Natalie Minks. It's Natalie who first encounters the two boys who arrive in town seemingly out of nowhere, carrying a dead man between them. Odder still, a few of her older neighbors immediately recognize the dead man as a fellow citizen who's been missing for fifty years--and who doesn't appear to have aged in all that time. When another newcomer, a peddler called Trigemine, arrives in town, Natalie learns why the two boys and the peddler have really come to Arcane. And, of course, she realizes she has to stop them.

Like The Boneshaker and The Broken Lands, The Kairos Mechanism is a moderately frightening folklore-based fantasy. If you have read The Boneshaker, you'll find the novella full of clues as to what's coming and bits of history about characters you've already met. If you haven't read it, don't worry. You'll fall in love with Natalie and Arcane right away.

The paperback edition of The Kairos Mechanism is available directly from me (http://clockworkfoundry.com), from McNally Jackson Books (http://mcnallyjackson.com), and Word Books (http://wordbrooklyn.com). Digital editions are available from Vook.com, BN.com, iTunes, and Amazon.

This novella is apparently a connector book for Kate's other works.  Unfortunately it is the first work of hers that I've read.  It leaves me wanting more, but in both good and bad ways.  The character development is solid, especially for the length.  I liked Natalie's growth through the book and how she learned to deal with the situations around her.  Ben and Amory are also good, showing a good amount of historical attitudes as well as individuality.  The plot was tight, with some good twists and turns and a great enigma tying everything together.  Some of the turns, though, and especially the climax left me feeling somewhat confused.  There were lots of clues to things lying around, but since I haven't read Boneshaker or The Broken Lands I really couldn't pick them up and use them.  I felt like there was just something missing for the people who hadn't tuned in earlier.  I did, however, get a real desire to read more of Milford's work.  I just hope that Boneshaker isn't too spoiled for me now.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a non-biased review. 

Feature and Follow Friday: December 7

Q: Activity! Who do you want to be? If you could choose any character from a book. What do you think that character looks like and what do you have in common?

This is a hard one.  Generally, I'm pretty glad that my life is not nearly as exciting as the main characters in books because they go through some pretty harsh stuff and make some really hard decisions and live in some pretty gritty and not-so-nice worlds.  What makes for an interesting book doesn't necessarily make for happy living.  For the sake of sticking to the question, though, I won't cheat and pick a minor character, so my answer has to be an old favorite: Sandry from Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic books.

The one thing I think I could never give up no matter what world I live in is my sewing.  I love the craft and the challenge behind making something from a yard of cloth.  I think that Sandry gets this too: the simple joy of making something utilitarian, the thrill of doing something you've never done before, and the spark behind having something come out exactly like you expected.  I love the thought that there's magic in my sewing.  And yes, I'm working on the outfit above, someday soon I'll even cosplay as Sandry!

The Half-Blood by Janine K. Spendlove

~~~“Spring has something of mine; he knows what it is.” She smiled coldly. “I need you to bring it to me.”

“And why would I do that?” Story folded her arms over her chest.

A branch from the sidhe’s hair glided out in front of her, bearing a single, small acorn. “Because I poisoned Eírnin.”

One of the tattoos on her shoulder coalesced into a live oak leaf, and she plucked it before standing up and holding it out toward Story. “And if you want the antidote, you will bring me what I seek.”

Story lunged for the leaf, but the Autumn Princess was too quick and crushed it in her hand. “You have until winter’s first frost reaches him. Then, he dies.”

Without waiting for a response, Metirreonn disappeared in a scattering of red-gold leaves and sparks. ~~~

Six months after arriving in the world of Ailionora, Story finds herself once again on a quest; only this time it is not to save a dying race but the life of the elf she loves. Along the way, she must face the consequences of her previous choices and battle with enemies both old and new while she races against time.

“Engagingly demonstrates that readers of all ages can get drawn into a world of magic and adventure.” — Karen Lyon, The Hill Rag

Another great adventure for Story!  Just like the last book the Half-Blood was packed full of Tolkienisms, great worldbuilding, and some wonderful character development.  Although the story twisted a knife in my heart I ended up liking that Eirnin was out of the picture for most of the time because it really helped to develop some of the other characters.  Story especially shines without him, becoming even more independent and standing well on her own.  In Eirnin's absence Morrigann also develops a lot, becoming more of a sympathetic character rather than just a plot device and evil force.  Eachan also has some excellent scenes towards the end.  As to the plot, it is a continuation of the great adventure.  We get to see more of Ailionora, and we meet the Dwarves and Trolls as well as some new monsters.  We also learn a lot about the seasonal fairies and what their duties and powers are.  The scope of Ailionora continues to grow, and it is put together with great skill and shows few cracks.  If I had to complain about something it would be that the plot has its usual pacing issues, however, the slow gait makes the book read more like Tolkien and can also be viewed as a plus if you like the old-fashioned style of epic fantasy that lets you see the craft behind the plotting.  The pace also picks up more in this book than it did in the last, becoming closer to what modern sensibilities like towards the middle and end.  It's enough to make me hungry for more, even without a typical cliffhanger ending!

Waiting on Wednesday: Prophesy Of Oz by Megan Shan

    This is Breaking the Spine's Waiting for Wednesday, where bloggers post about a book they just can't wait to get their hands on!       

  Prophesy Of Oz by Megan Shan

August 5th 2013

Helena's Aunt Dorothy has told her stories of Oz from a young age. When she finds a trunk with some Ruby Red slippers she finds herself in an adventure that will give her life long friends and will break every thing that she has ever believed.

Coming from Kansas I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Oz books.  I've even read a few of them (yes, there is more than just The Wizard of Oz!).  I think this sounds like a delightful return to the world and I look forward to a new author's take on things.

Outpost by Ann Aguirre

Deuce’s whole world has changed. Down below, she was considered an adult. Now, topside in a town called Salvation, she’s a brat in need of training in the eyes of the townsfolk. She doesn’t fit in with the other girls: Deuce only knows how to fight.

To make matters worse, her Hunter partner, Fade, keeps Deuce at a distance. Her feelings for Fade haven’t changed, but he seems not to want her around anymore. Confused and lonely, she starts looking for a way out.

Deuce signs up to serve in the summer patrols—those who make sure the planters can work the fields without danger. It should be routine, but things have been changing on the surface, just as they did below ground. The Freaks have grown smarter. They’re watching. Waiting. Planning. The monsters don’t intend to let Salvation survive, and it may take a girl like Deuce to turn back the tide.

I really loved Enclave. This book, though, not so much.  Where Enclave was really a plot-driven adventure story Outpost turned into a more character-driven emotional roller coaster.  That's not necessarily bad, however it was really slow and much harder to get invested in things.  Deuce is still set on surviving, and that's really the arc of her character through the book: getting more stubborn and making the world around her something that protects her.  She has a few issues with growing up and trying to reconcile romance with her hunter nature, but that is not a very pressing issue.  Fade and stalker, on the other hand, really shine in this book.  Where they were both characters of little growth in Enclave they really made up time in this book.  I like how they both seem so similar and yet make such divergent choices.  The plot is incredibly predictable in the beginning, which isn't helped by the snail's pacing.  It gets better towards the end, and the plot twists near the climax worked well for me.  I wasn't as pleased with the big twist concerning the zombies or the cliffhanger ending, but it was not a total turn off.  In all I'd say that I'm not a fan of this book but the ending makes me hopeful that the next book in the series will be more like Enclave.

Stacking the Shelves: November 26- December 2

The Cybils judging has me on the list for a ton of books, so to help me keep track of them I'm joining in this Sunday meme for a while.  And seriously, tons of books.  There are books everywhere!


From Publishers for the Cybils:

  Purchased: