Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Following in her mother’s footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be "advanced" into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve.

Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.

A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

I am ashamed that it took a Cybils nomination of the third book in this series to get me to go back and read the first one.  I am so glad I did though!  I immediately fell in love with Gaia and her crazy messed up world!  The first thing I noticed about this book is the language.  It is so beautiful!  It's not long or prosey, but it does have a lyrical feel to it, as if the book is really an old epic poem.  My next favorite was the character Gaia.  She is so realistically painted!  I loved her obsession with her burn, even though I saw the twist with it a mile away.  I also liked her determination and her caring and dedication to the women around her and the principles her mother instilled in her.  Grey is a great foil and the romance in the book is subtle verging on barely existing, which is nice because Gaia really doesn't have much time for romance with the breakneck plot that she's embroiled in.  That was the third thing I liked: the mystery.  This book has a great unknown and the pacing in revealing the details is genius.  I had to keep reading because we were always on the verge of discovering something new and very important!  Those discoveries always led to more questions than they answered, though, which keeps the plot rolling.  And this breakneck pace keeps the reader on the edge of their seat right up until the ending which, while not a cliffhanger, definitely leaves room for sequels and doesn't try to tie up the questions asked in a pretty bow.  I read the book in one setting and immediately ordered the next it was so good, I highly recommend you try this book.

Stacking the Shelves: Nov 4-11

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.


From Pyr for the Cybils:

 From the Library:

 Purchased E-Book:

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

I'm off on a trip to Canada, so no Follow Friday today!  Instead you get an extra review from my Cybils readings:

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

Blake is back, and so are her wonderful characters.  Cas is really the star in this book, he grows up a lot and we learn a lot about who he is and what he stands for.  He also retains his snark, which brings just enough lightness to some pretty heavy scenes.  Thomas and Carmel are along for the ride, and it was sweet to see their relationship morph as they tried to find their way in it and around Cas.  There's also this great new character named Jestine who I totally loved.  That's good, because you really have to love the characters to love this book because most of it is all about them.  Plot-wise the first half of the book just didn't work for me.  It was very slow, very angsty, and not quite put together, the pacing a total mess.  The book really hits its stride about halfway through and gets better from there, but I don't know if it's enough to excuse the first part.  The first half of the book really felt like "middle book syndrome", while the last part of the book scared the crap out of me.  The other issue I have with this book is that it's definately a series book.  You can't read it without having read Anna Dressed in Blood or it makes little sense. 

Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta

Blood sings to blood, Froi . . .Those born last will make the first . . . For Charyn will be barren no more.

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home... Or so he believes...

Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been trained roughly and lovingly by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds. Here he encounters a damaged people who are not who they seem, and must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad Princess.

And in this barren and mysterious place, he will discover that there is a song sleeping in his blood, and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.

Gripping and intense, complex and richly imagined, Froi of the Exiles is a dazzling sequel to Finnikin of the Rock, from the internationally best-selling and multi-award-winning author of Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca, On the Jellicoe Road and The Piper's Son.

I think I'm going to dub the Finnikin books "YA Game of Thrones".  There are a lot of similarities between the two, and the epic fantasy political intrigue feels similar, too.  Froi of the Exiles is incredibly complicated.  I had the Game-of-Thrones problem of not being able to keep characters and plot lines straight as we switched back and forth between Froi and Lucian.  However, when I read carefully I was able to untangle the threads and find a plot that sparkled.  Marchetta has a unique ability to take a character that did some thoroughly dispicable things (attempted rape) and make him someone a reader wants to identify with.  Froi also had a great foil with Quintana, showing them as two people linked by fate and also in similar situations fighting to survive and make sense of a crazy world.  The pacing was a little strange due to the switching points of view, but it still had some real high points and the lulls were well placed.  The real gem was in the worldbuilding.  I loved being able to see yet another country in Marchetta's world, and I can't wait to see more!

Waiting on Wednesday: Luminosity by Stephanie Thomas

    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!       

Luminosity by Stephanie Thomas

November 13th 2012

Beatrice, whose Visions are clearer than those of the other Seers, trains to defend the Institution and the City from the Dreamcatchers. As the City prepares for an invasion, a Dreamcatcher named Echo tells Beatrice that war is imminent, and they must save each other in order to survive. Beatrice keeps this information from her best friend, Gabe, jeopardizing her allegiance to him and the Seers. Now, threatened by both the Seers and the Dreamcatchers, Beatrice must learn who she can trust, and make decisions that may cause her to lose Gabe or Echo forever.

This book sounds like a mix between magic fantasy and dystopian sf, which really intrigues me.  I'll be watching for this book!