Waiting on Wednesday: Reached by Ally Condie

    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!       

Reached by Ally Condie

November 13th 2012

Cassia faces the ultimate choices in the long-anticipated conclusion to the "New York Times" bestselling Matched Trilogy.

After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising--and each other--Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again. 

In this gripping conclusion to the #1 "New York Times" bestselling Matched Trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without.

I wasn't so big into the second book of this trilogy, but there's enough promise in the plot that I'll be picking up the sequel to see if it can get better.

Books n' Nails

Sparkly nails for Halloween and a Hurricane Read-a-thon!

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

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

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

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

I can't believe it took the Cybils to get me to read this great book.  Thanks to all who nominated it!

The book is told from the point of view of Seraphina.  This is a great choice because Seraphina's voice is so clear and emotional.  She really draws the reader in to what she's experiencing, whether it's loneliness, fear, elation, or logic.  The language she uses is almost musical, which ties in to her character's musical talents.  The worldbuilding is small and rather insular to only the areas we see, but what is done is good and the creations of the dragons are solid and feel realistic.  The love interest and romance are organic and grow with the story in a logical way, and the love interest is well constructed and has some great stumbling blocks to their relationship that don't feel constructed or contrived.  The only discount I can think of is in the pacing.  It seemed as if the author had a hard time getting started and revealing Seraphina's secret, so the beginning is disjointed and confusing.  The end, too, seems abrupt and not quite right, as if the author wanted to keep right on going with the story but an editor told her it was time to end book 1 and start book 2.  Really, though, this complaint is slight and shouldn't keep you from powering through the beginning to find a great story.

Origin by Jessica Khoury

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home--and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin--a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when starting this book, but I ended up with my expectations completely blown out of the water.  There was a lot of good in this book.  I love the premise and the setting, they seem totally unique and fresh.  The author did a great job of painting the Amazon rainforest and the scientists' compound as places that I can visualize and seem realistic even though I've never been anywhere close to either of them.  Although I thought the scientific process of the immortality could be better explained I liked how it took time and planning and wasn't just instant.  Pia was a delightful character.  I like how she seemed just like a teenager: secure in her world and how she thinks things are, and a bit rebellious and starting to question things and rebel a bit.  I liked the characterization in many of the scientists, it is nice that there was a variety of people from the cold-hearted to the love of exploration types.  It was also a pleasant surprise to find that it's Pia's father that has an emotional attachment, not her mother. 

I think my biggest problem in this book is Eio.  It really irked me that Eio was half-white.  It didn't seem to add much to the story to make him the son of a scientist rather than just the protege.  He could have learned English and scientific knowledge and still formed an attachment to someone who had an excuse to visit the village a lot in their research.  To make him half white seemed too colonializing, especially with the long, lingering statements about his looks.  The comparison to the Ai'oa makes them seem connected with the land and yet dumb and trusting.  In other words, stereotypical "natives".  This stereotyping of Eio makes him fall a little flat, too, since it seems that all he is can be contained in his dichotomy.  He's not given any personality outside of his tribe or his age.  I also didn't really like how fast Eio and Pia fell in love.  I guess I'm just over the insta-love thing.  If you can get around these problems there is an enjoyable read, and I'm very happy that the ending is concise and closed and seems unable to spawn a trilogy.  It's nice to have a stand-alone every once in a while.

Waiting on Wednesday: Rebel Heart by Moira Young

    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!     

 

  Rebel Heart by Moira Young

October 30th 2012

Nothing is certain and no one is safe in the second book in the highly praised Dust Lands trilogy, which MTV's Hollywood Crush blog called "better than "The Hunger Games.""It seemed so simple: Defeat the Tonton, rescue her kidnapped brother, Lugh, and then order would be restored to Saba's world. Simplicity, however, has proved to be elusive. Now, Saba and her family travel west, headed for a better life and a longed-for reunion with Jack. But the fight for Lugh's freedom has unleashed a new power in the dust lands, and a formidable new enemy is on the rise.

What is the truth about Jack? And how far will Saba go to get what she wants? In this much-anticipated follow-up to the riveting Blood Red Road," a fierce heroine finds herself at the crossroads of"danger and destiny, betrayal and passion.

Saba's Back!  What more do you need?

Books n' Nails

Pumpkin colored nails for the holiday and Cybils reads!

Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

In one night, a strange explosion rocks the Empyrean—shooting them off course and delaying their pursuit of the New Horizon—and Seth is mysteriously released from the brig. Seth is the most obvious suspect for the explosion, and Waverly the most obvious suspect for releasing him. As the tension reaches a boiling point, will Seth be able to find the true culprit before Kieran locks them both away—or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? With the balance of power precarious and the clock ticking, every decision counts… every step brings them closer to a new beginning, or a sudden end...

If I had to pick one word to characterize this book, it would be "slow".  Everything in this book seemed to move slow.  Although I had difficulties with the first book, I would be the first to admit it had a great pacing and the ability to hook you into the plot.  This book . . . not so much.  Although Ryan deftly juggles three different character points of view, the characters are slow to grow and change, and the changes they make aren't good.  Kieran gets more suspicious and power-hungry, while Waverly gets more stubborn and defiant of any authority.  Seth . . . well, Seth gets kinda bland.  He seems to operate as the only plot device in the book, doing all the figuring, planning and thinking.  This use of a singular character to drive the plot makes for a lot more time watching the kids be kids, and not in a good way.  The Lord of the Flies -like infighting and subterfuge really slows down the pace of the book.  It also serves to make the few points the plot had seem insignificant at the time.  Add in the fact that the plot doesn't resolve itself and you get a rather unsatisfying book that suffers from middle syndrome.  However, even though the book also suffers from the first book's major problem (that the plot seems to have no resolution that is not "rocks fall, everyone dies") there is also still a glimmer of promise from the first book that may keep readers coming back for the third.

Feature and Follow: October 19

Q: When you step out of your USUAL genre, what do you like to read? Best books in that genre?

I really don't read much out of my genre at all.  I rarely read horror, so I guess Anna Dressed in Blood is the closest I come.  I do have Shine and The Fault in Our Stars on my TBR pile, but I dunno if I'll ever actually get to them.

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

I had a few problems with Girl of Fire and Thorns, so I was a bit hesitant to read this book.  It's hard to have such a good thing destroyed by a blatant prejudice.  Fortunately this book was much more enjoyable.  The issue of Elis being fat was hardly mentioned and never mocked like it seemed the author was doing in book 1.  In the absence of fat-phobia Elisa actually became a delightful character.  She started out a little unsure of herself, a backslide from the last book, but an understandable one.  As the book goes on she manages to grow into herself and her role.  Of course, she has a lot to experience to change her!  This book is a plot gem, with intrigue and diabolical plots, spies and double agents, action and adventure.  There is a cast of thousands who move around each other in a ballet of suberfuge and power plays.  I think if I had to come up with a problem in this book it lay in the cast of thousands.  So many people were introduced with such little description or significance that I sometimes could not keep them straight.  And, of course, underneath it all is Elisa's romance!  The romance in this book was perfect.  It felt like it really built on respect and familiarity, not animal attraction, and the two players really seem like they've got the other person's best interests at heart even when they do stumble and fumble.  Lovers of the romance beware, though, the stumbles and fumbles will come, Elisa does not have an easy path, especially when combined with the rest of the plot.  This all leads up to a climax that is breathtaking and a denouement that will rip your heart out and throw it in the dirt.  In a good way, though.  The ending leaves just enough open for the sequel without being a huge cliffhanger, and it wraps up the plot in a satisfying way that middle books rarely get. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Gravity by Melissa West

    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!     

 

  Gravity by Melissa West

October 16th 2012

In the future, only one rule will matter: Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed--arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know--especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

I'll admit it, I'm anxious for this book because it has such a stunning cover.  The inside sounds interesting too though!  Since it came out yesterday I've already got my copy and can't wait to dive in!

Books n' Nails

Bare nails today, I'm too busy reading to paint them!

Son by Lois Lowry

They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive?　 She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice. Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver,　as well as Gathering Blue　and　Messenger　where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil

The first thing I noticed about Son is that it is huge in comparison to the other books.  In fact, it could have been split into three books, one each the length and location of The Giver, Gathering Blue, and The Messenger.  In many places this book seems to serve as the answers to all the FAQs Lowry has received over the years about those three books.  As a result some things seem a little contrived, a little convenient, a little too carefully placed.  I really enjoyed the first part.  Seeing the events of The Giver from a different perspective was interesting.  It also helped to really get invested in Claire and why she was different from everyone else in the community.  I was not so big on the second part. 

****MANY SPOILERS****


I think that Claire's memory loss was unnecessary and took up too much time.  Claire could have just as easily skipped to her fight to climb out.  The reintroduction of Trademaster was chilling, but I hate how the point of view and action shifts from Claire to Gabe in the last part of the book.  Claire has been such a proactive, vivacious character that I don't see how something as simple as age can make her give up so easily.  I would have liked to see her take more ownership and more action in the scenes.  I didn't mind that Gabe was the ultimate victor, but him doing it without even talking to his mother made it seem kind of hollow, as if he was fighting for an archetype rather than a person.  In all I found the ending rather unsettling and unsatisfying, and not in the what-happens-next way that The Giver did.


****END SPOILERS****

Overall the book is good but not great, but any fan of The Giver series should read it to see how the story wraps up and to get to know Claire.

Cybils Nominations

There's just today left to nominate books for the Cybils!  A few books off my list have gotten nominations, and I've put in my last-minute nom, but there are still some really good books that deserve nominations that haven't gotten them yet!

Loss by Jackie Morse Kessler
The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze
Destined by Jessie Harrell
Liar's Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce


I hope that a blogger will put them in last-second or that their authors will consider putting them in!

Here is the nomination form!
Go forth and nominate!  Please make my job harder! 

Feature and Follow: October 12th

Q: What book do you think would make a great Halloween movie? Please explain in graphic detail of goriness...

I am not really a horror person, so I don't have a lot of books to go on, but I really thought Anna Dressed in Blood was chilling and would probably have more action than This is Not a Test or Forest of Hands and Teeth, which are really my only other choices.

UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

It’s finally here. The long-awaited sequel to the bestselling Unwind, which Publishers Weekly called a “gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller.”

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa—and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp—people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simltaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.

Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself.

Rife with action and suspense, this riveting companion to the perennially popular Unwind challenges assumptions about where life begins and ends—and what it means to live.

Shusterman's back with another masterful book on what life is and who people really are.  Like Unwind, this book is brilliantly plotted at a breakneck pace to keep the reader interested and involved in all the lives of the kids.  The characters are real people with flaws and dreams and decisions that make them seem like real teenagers.  In fact, there is a lot of this book that seems flawlessly designed to make you think about the issues the author is presenting.  I think if I had to find a fault with this book it would be that the plot lines are so fractured and tangled that, although it gives a satisfying read, I'm not sure it would be a satisfying stand-alone.  The Lev/Miracolina story line was probably my favorite, I like the idea of Lev having to defend himself and having to deal with the fact that the anti-unwinders may be using brainwashing just like the unwinders are.  The idea of Cam was really revolting to me, and I came to feel for him a bit while also being entirely conflicted over what he really was, which was exactly the type of discomfort the author intended.  Starkey is also a discomforting spot, because there were times when I could agree with him being unwound because he seems truly bad to the bone . . . and yet Shusterman seems to imply that the "badness" or life choices of a person are inherent in not only their brain but also in their other parts, like Connor's hand, which would mean that Starkey is the last person I would want to receive a donation from.   Interesting conundrums, all of them, and they really define a book that's more about thinking about where you really stand on splitting hairs.  Read this book when you really want to examine yourself, even if you might not like the results.

Waiting on Wednesday: Beta by Rachel Cohn

    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!     

 

  Beta by Rachel Cohn

October 16th 2012

In a world constructed to absolute perfection, imperfection is difficult to understand—and impossible to hide.

Elysia is a clone, created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen year old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of teenaged clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to be created.

Elysia's purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bioengineered for perfection. Even the air there induces a strange, euphoric high that only the island's workers—soulless clones like Elysia—are immune to.

At first, Elysia's new life on this island paradise is idyllic and pampered. But she soon sees that Demesne's human residents, the most privileged people in the world who should want for nothing, yearn. And, she comes to realize that beneath its flawless exterior, there is an undercurrent of discontent amongst Demesne's worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care—so why are overpowering sensations clouding Elysia's mind?

If anyone discovers that Elysia isn't the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When Elysia's one chance at happiness is ripped away from her with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she's always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive.

I think this will be a great thinking book to explore the boundaries of cloning and what results from it.

Books n' Nails

I'm going to turn in a job application today, so back to conservative neutrals.  Wish me luck!

Cybils Nominees

There's a week left to nominate books for the Cybils!  Right now, though, here's some YA SF/F books that I think really deserve to be up there but haven't gotten a nomination yet:

The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton
Loss by Jackie Morse Kessler
The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze
Destined by Jessie Harrell
Liar's Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce
A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Here is the nomination form!
Go forth and nominate!  Please make my job harder! 

Insignia by S.J. Kincaid

More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom's drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.

Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone's been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he's offered the incredible--a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom's instincts for combat will be put to the test and if he passes, he'll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War III. Finally, he'll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom's always wanted--friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters--but what will it cost him?

Gripping and provocative, S. J. Kincaid's futuristic thrill ride of a debut crackles with memorable characters, tremendous wit, and a vision of the future that asks startling, timely questions about the melding of humanity and technology.

If I had to pick an overlying theme for this book it would be something about corporate control.  At its roots there is some preaching about corporations and how they control the government and get away with murder (in this book: literally).  There's some really deep stuff for something that read like an MG SF book (probably because the protagonist is only 14, but also because the pacing is fast and furious like MG).  It's easy to forget how chilling this premise is, though, because Insignia is truly funny.  It's also technical, and although it does a really good job of breaking down neuroscience and cybernetic computer programming in spots the worldbuilding reads more like a technical manual.  The characterization is great, and all the kids have distinct personalities free of stereotypes that develop and mature as they experience things.  There are adults, too, who are shown to be not perfect and yet still working for the greater good.  Overall, though, the result is a great read.  I think it can be very hard to be both technical and funny, but Kincaid pulls it off beautifully.  I think anyone who is a fan of Human.4 and Little Brother will love this book.

Feature and Follow: October 5th

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Is it to one day become an author yourself, just for fun, maybe get some online attention, or maybe something very different?

I blog so that my opinion of books gets out there.  I love inflicting good books on people, so I like to get the word out there on what I think is good.  My main target when I created the blog was other adults who read sci-fi and fantasy and would like to read good YA sf/f without having to weed through the stuff that wouldn't interest them.

Waiting on Wednesday: Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson

    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!     

 

  Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson

October 9th 2012

Nothing ever happens in Norway. But at least Ellie knows what to expect when she visits her grandmother: a tranquil fishing village and long, slow summer days. And maybe she’ll finally get out from under the shadow of her way-too-perfect big brother, Graham, while she’s there.

What Ellie doesn’t anticipate is Graham’s infuriating best friend, Tuck, tagging along for the trip. Nor did she imagine boys going missing amid rumors of impossible kidnappings. Least of all does she expect something powerful and ancient to awaken in her and that strange whispers would urge Ellie to claim her place among mythological warriors. Instead of peace and quiet, there’s suddenly a lot for a girl from L.A. to handle on a summer sojourn in Norway! And when Graham vanishes, it’s up to Ellie—and the ever-sarcastic, if undeniably alluring Tuck—to uncover the truth about all the disappearances and thwart the nefarious plan behind them.

Deadly legends, hidden identities, and tentative romance swirl together in one girl’s unexpectedly-epic coming of age.

I love that fantasy seems to be bridging out into mythologies that are not the standard Greek/Roman pantheon.  This seems like it will be a great example: a strong girl and Norse gods.

Books n' Nails

I'm in the October mood!  Spooky reading and brown nail polish with gold and red glitter!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

This is a delightful book set in a industrial~ish, magical~ish Russia~ish.  Russia~ish is probably the best description of this book, because the truly beautiful parts are in the worldbuilding.  Bardugo takes some standard fantasy tropes: an orphan is discovered to have The One Power to save the world, Evil People want to use the power for bad, who to trust; and gives them some truly excellent packaging which transforms it into something that is truly delightful to read.  The other bright spot is the lead character, Alina.  Alina is stubborn, loyal, nit-picky, and not really pretty, and I really liked how all her traits became negatives and positives in turn, making her feel like a rounded character.  The cast of characters surrounding Alina was great, too.  I wasn't even bothered by the "love triangle" setup since Alina seemed so against one of the choices even if she was dazzled by power and beauty.  In the end, Shadow and Bone is about making your own choices and following your own path, which I heartily endorse, and I dare you to not get overwhelmed by the unique voice and come to love this book.