Review: ' Pilgrim's wilderness ' by Tom Kizzia

 Parts of this post originally appeared on book Riot.

In 2002 bought Papa Pilgrim, a retired, Ultra religious family man, a 420-acre mining area in the middle of a park of the State of Alaska. Ignoring the warning of the local park officials, bulldozers Pilgrim the way of a 13-mile through the park to the small town of McCarthy so that his wife and 14 children could get to their house.

At first, many of its rural neighbors-sided with Pilgrim when the National Park Service came down on his small improvement project. As time passed, however, it became clear that life at the compound Pilgrim family not as rosy as it turned out. In Pilgrim's wilderness reveals the story of a charismatic outlaw journalist Tom Kizza and his final feud with its neighbours, the Government and his own family.

The blurb for Pilgrim's wilderness described the book as a mix between Into the Wild and Helter Skelter, which were comparisons I could not ignore it — I'm a total sucker for eccentric true crime books, especially those written by journalists. The setting of the book, the edge of one of the final frontiers of America, was another attractive piece of this story.

Although the ultimate reveal of Pilgrim as a physical, mental and sexual abuse psychopath is what makes this book outrageous, there is also a ton of interesting back and forth over property rights and life on the edge of the border. I was fascinated by the tensions that have arisen between the Government and the citizens of McCarthy on issues of resources and private property. In some ways I wish that the Central antagonist, Papa Pilgrim, had not turned out to be such a crazy dude because it distracts from that conflict. But I'm a nerd, so of course I think that Government would.

The story of how Pilgrim's children, especially his eldest daughter, finally got to him escape is incredibly courageous. I can not even imagine their lives, although Kizzia does a great job setting the stage and tell their stories sympathetic and honest. If you true crime and can handle a story about a large sociopath, then is Pilgrim's wilderness a book you will want to pick up.

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Review: ‘Slow Getting Up’ by Nate Jackson

 If you’ve been paying attention to my recent “Currently” posts, you know that one of my favorite things about fall is football season. I really only got into football in the last few years. As a kid, I used to hate sitting through Sunday afternoon Vikings games. But it’s something my family, in particular my dad, loves, and watching games together is something we’ve bonded over.

Part of my growing understanding of the game is finding books that get inside the huddle, so to speak, and address the economics and social impact of the game on owners, players and fans. Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile by Nate Jackson is a look at the NFL from what could be considered an “average” player’s perspective:

This is not a celebrity tell-all of professional sports. Slow Getting Up is a survivor’s real-time account of playing six seasons (twice as long as the average NFL career) for the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos. As an unsigned free agent who rose through the practice squad to the starting lineup, Nate Jackson is the talented embodiment of the everyday freak athlete in professional football, one of thousands whose names go unmentioned in the daily press. Through his story recounted here — from scouting combines to preseason cuts to byzantine film studies to glorious touchdown catches — even knowledgeable football fans will glean a new, starkly humanized understanding of the daily rigors and unceasing violence of quotidian life in the NFL. Slow Getting Up is a look at the real lives of America’s best twenty-year-old athletes putting their bodies and minds through hell.

Commentators and news organizations spend a lot of time profiling and featuring and praising the franchise players on a team, but an NFL team is a lot more than the star quarterback. In this book, Jackson represents all of those unnamed players, the guys who have to play through the preseason to just make the team and who can be let go or traded with nearly no notice. These are the majority of the players in the league, and their experience is important. Jackson is an entertaining and honest spokesperson, even if I don’t think he’d consider himself a spokesperson, as such.

This is certainly not a book to read if you enjoy the unvarnished, tv-produced story that most sports journalism and game commentary puts on the game. Life in the NFL for most players is simultaneously brutal, boring and brief. Few get the chance at stardom, and in the league’s pursuit of good entertainment, you get a bunch of young men who are overpaid without enough to do during the off season. Jackson doesn’t give a particularly flattering view of that side of football.

But he also captures the pure joy that he and other players have getting the chance to keep playing the game they love into early adulthood. There’s something amazing about the fact that some little boys get to grow up into young men that get to spend every week in pursuit of the thing they love most. Jackson captures the exhilaration of getting the call to play, of starting the first game, of catching the first touchdown. There’s something really wonderful about those fleeting moments that sports fans will understand and appreciate.

I enjoyed the heck out of this book. It’s a quick read, but well written and extremely entertaining. Jackson certainly strips some of the glossy finish off the whole football thing, but I think knowing what goes on behind-the-scenes makes success and failure on the field mean more.

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Review: ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ by Cheryl Strayed

 I like to think (and hope) that every person has at least one other person in their life who will tell them what is what. For me, those people are usually my mother and my sister. I know they love me unconditionally, but I also know that they don’t put up with my nonsense. If I’ve gone off the rails in some small or large way, they get me back on the track in the most kind and generous way possible. I’m so lucky to have that.

I tell you that because I think the voice that Cheryl Strayed adopts as Sugar, an advice columnist for the online age, has a lot in common with a family member who loves you but doesn’t let you get away with anything. In her columns, collected together in Tiny Beautiful Things, Strayed practiced what Steve Almond called radical empathy:

Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can’t pay the bills — and it can be great: you’ve had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the courage to write your novel. Sugar — the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild — is the person thousands turn to for advice. Tiny Beautiful Things brings the best of Dear Sugar in one place and includes never-before-published columns and a new introduction by Steve Almond. Rich with humor, insight, compassion — and absolute honesty — this book is a balm for everything life throws our way.=

The first thing to know about this book is that Cheryl Strayed can write. If you don’t believe me, stop reading this post and go read these two columns: The Baby Bird and Write Like a Motherfucker. I’ll wait.

…

…

…

Finished? Holy shit, right? Cheryl Strayed can write like a motherfucker, and that talent is on display in every one of her lovely, profane, honest and frustrated columns collected in this book. I just can’t even quite articulate just how great each and every single one of them is to read.

If you haven’t read these essays yet, I highly encourage you to pick them up. But, I think this is a book that is better read slowly, a few pieces at a time over a month or two. When you read them back-to-back, you start to see a little bit of repetitiveness in the way that Strayed approaches each problem. That’s not to say her answers aren’t surprising or wonderful to read, just that they have a little less impact taken all together than I think they do taken at a slightly slower pace.

This is a book I will be holding on to, dipping back in and out in those moments when I just need to hear someone kindly and generously tell me to get my shit together.

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REVIEW: The She-Hulk Diaries by Marta Acosta

The She-Hulk Diaries by Marta Acosta
Publication: Hyperion Book CH (first published 2013), Paperback, 328pg
Genres: Adult, Fiction, Romance, Sci-fi
Source: Library
Purchase at Amazon or BookDepository (affiliate info) or add it to your Goodreads shelf

Saying there are two sides to Jennifer Walters's personality is an understatement. When she hasn't morphed into a 650-pound, crime-fighting, hard-partying superhero, she's a single lawyer trying to get her act together. Hilarious and action-packed, The She-Hulk Diaries tells her story, as she juggles her intense legal career by day with battling villains and saving the world by night. Maybe bad guys will stop trying to destroy the planet so she can have a real social life and even meet a guy who isn't trying to take over the universe. (from Goodreads)

She-Hulk is probably my FAVORITE Marvel heroine (besides Spider-girl), mostly because she’s upbeat and funny and can kick everybody’s ass. I found The She-Hulk Diaries
on the shelf at my library and immediately grabbed it. I was a little worried it’d be more Sex and the City and less “adventures of a superhero”– and I wanted the superhero story. However, it actually has a chunk of She-Hulk superhero comic stuff along with the more mundane Jennifer-has-a-life stuff.
The best part, I think, is that it’s not just a story about mundane Jennifer and super She-Hulk. It’s a story about Jennifer accepting that she is, in fact, mundane Jennifer AND super She-Hulk. She spends a lot of time denying that she has anything to do with She-Hulk’s actions/decisions/wardrobe choices, and so it’s very satisfying when she finally acknowledges that she is She-Hulk and She-Hulk is her. (Though the actual development into that revelation could have been more explicit. As in, it happened
.)
It’s kind of a weird book, though. I was never sure where I stood with it: I liked it (because She-Hulk! ?), but I was also extremely frustrated. Part of my frustration is that it tried to please everyone, both old fan and new. There’s tons of insider comic fan sidebits, little things like certain characters getting a name drop, or Jennifer mentioning some aspect of her solo title. But it’s ALSO still pretty newbie-friendly, so even people who haven’t read the comics could supposedly pick it up and enjoy it.

The book’s balancing act between hardcore comics fan stuff and general everybody-join-in stuff made me feel very unsatisfied, because I haven’t actually read a She-Hulk comic– or even a comic with She-Hulk IN it– for years and years, so I didn’t get a lot of the insider stuff. BUT the more general life things weren’t all that exciting to me, either: I mean, Jennifer gets a new job. Woohoo? I wanted more meaty storylines, I guess.

Part of my problem was that I was EXTREMELY miffed that She-Hulk got kicked out of the Avengers, and that everyone hated her and nobody wanted her around. She’s a superhero! Superheroes should stick together! True, it let Jennifer spread her wings as a non-hero person, but still. It felt more like a convenient plot device to force Jennifer into going out on her own, instead of an actual thing that would happen in the comic world.

But maybe it is a thing! Maybe it actually happened in the comics and so I’m complaining about nothing. The problem with not having READ the comics is that I don’t have a good idea of the overall political/social environment of the current She-Hulk franchise. But on the other hand, I shouldn’t need to because this book is like a sideline thing and thus not overly dependent on previous comic stories, right? But it never felt that way! It very much felt like it was building on previous stories and that, by not knowing those stories, I missed out on a good amount of plot. But then it tried to console me by pretending to be friendly to everyone, including those who haven’t read the comics? It was VERY CONFUSING, okay, and I’m still not sure how I feel about that whole thing.

Maybe other people wouldn’t be bothered as much by not being in the “insider club” as I was– they can focus on the romance and the Jennifer-getting-a-job story instead of the defeating-the-super-villain story. But for me, the Jennifer-getting-a-job story wasn’t as compelling as it should have been. Jennifer searches for a new apartment! Jennifer runs into her old boyfriend! Jennifer makes new friends at work! It SHOULD have been interesting, or at least humorous, but it was neither. The writing didn’t add anything to the story, and it didn’t cover up the boring bits with witticism or whatever; in fact, if this book had been a comic, I’d probably have liked it more! Art can make a mundane story extraordinary, and I think that’s probably what The She-Hulk Diaries
needed. (Or maybe it just needed a better story.)
Anyway, I finished the danged book. It wasn’t terrible and I don’t (overly) regret reading it. But I wasn’t interested in the romance plotline and I wanted way more She-Hulk than what was in there.

Read: August 28-30, 2013

Okay, so: I understand that not every thing can cater to newbies and I don’t think they HAVE to, but at the same time you can’t be so far into your meta-history or whatever that people have no idea wtf you’re talking about. For example! Look at the Iron Man movies! It includes things from the comics in such a way that those in the know feel cool for knowing it, but those NOT in the know still understand it and/or think it’s cool and/or don’t notice anyway AND they aren’t made to feel stupid for not noticing/knowing/etc. Everyone’s happy. What this book needed was an Iron Man kick in the butt.

Footnotes

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REVIEW: Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett
Series: Discworld #15
Publication: Harper (first published 1993), Paperback, 352pg
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor
Source: Bought
Purchase at Amazon or BookDepository (affiliate info) or add it to your Goodreads shelf

Fate is a word that springs to the lips when to call something coincidence seems mealy mouthed. Destiny is another such. But the problem with destiny is, of course, that she is not always careful where she points her finger. One minute you might be minding your own business on a normal if not spectacular career path, the next you might be in the frame for the big job, like saving the world... (from Goodreads)

Men at Arms
has got a super mystery, one of the most twisty mysteries I’ve ever read in a Discworld book. Some of the other Night Watch books focus more on the characters and the surrounding political climate, but this one was a real police procedural. I liked it! One of my favorite things about the Night Watch books is the mystery aspect, so having a whole book with the mystery as the overarching plot was great.
Regarding characters: Carrot and the other Watch officers get fleshed out some more from the first book. Since I’m reading this series out of order, it’s hard sometimes for me to remember that, yeah, Carrot wasn’t the fully 3-dimensional person he is in some other (later) books. Same thing for Vimes, actually. He’s still working out how to be a leader and a force to be reckoned with, and so he does things a bit differently in here than he would in, say, Snuff. Which is great, actually! I love character development, and it’s lovely to see people grow and change as they become more self-confident and get more experience.

Also interesting is the difference in the way people THINK of Vimes. For example! Some of the newer recruits think he’s a stupid booze hound who can’t even tie his shoes properly. Massive difference from later books, when everyone knows he’s competent and dangerous! Again: this is more character development in action, which means yay!

My favorite part was, of course, the developing positive relationships between races who previously killed each other on sight. It’s heart-warming and lovely, and though all the other Night Watch books talk about “what makes a person” and immigration and whatever, in Men at Arms
it was especially poignant because of the tight focus on two specific characters. And then the ending happened and I nearly cried.
It’s technically not my favorite
Night Watch books, but it’s definitely one I’ll reread every year, if not more often.
Read: August 24, 2013

Footnotes

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Review: Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Hardcover, 336 pages
Released: September 20, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

Taken from Goodreads.com:
“It seemed so right. Danny was mine, I was his, and that wasn’t going to work if he was dead. So I would make him not dead, not anymore. I didn’t think any further than what it would feel like to kiss him again, to wrap my arms around him and bury my head against his shoulder.
That was my first mistake. It also turned out to be the biggest.”
When her boyfriend, Danny, is killed in a car accident, Wren can’t imagine living without him. Wild with grief, she uses the untamed powers she’s inherited to bring him back. But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy she once loved.

Wren has spent four months keeping Danny hidden, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school and somehow, inexplicably, he can sense her secret. Wren finds herself drawn to Gabriel, who is so much more alive than the ghost of the boy she loved. But Wren can’t turn her back on Danny or the choice she made for him—and she realizes she must find a way to make things right, even if it means breaking her own heart.

Amy Garvey’s transcendent teen debut is perfect for fans of Shiver and Beautiful Creatures. Wren’s unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

My Rating: 3.5 / 5
My Thoughts:

Wren has seen her mother do some magical things and has noticed that she has unique powers herself, but they don't talk about it. Danny was the perfect boyfriend, he was so sweet and Wren and Danny did everything together. When Wren gets a call to say that Danny died in a car crash, she is heart broken. Faced with losing the love her life forever, she decided to try out her powers and brings Danny back to life, she can't lose him. Keeping him hidden and a secret is hard, even harder when Gabriel comes on scene and 'knows' what Wren has done.

I think everyone can relate to the premise of this book... if one could keep the one you love with you forever, I'm sure many would try and find a way. The problem is, that the person you love may not be the same as the one you have now and this is the dilemma Wren faces. This was a cute story about love, loss and regrets...oh and zombies! Well sort of, the zombie aspect is quite different here. We are not talking the brain eating kind, rather an empty person version. I just wish there was more substance to the story, it felt like there was so much more to tell and we were only given a glimpse. Wren has powers! Where did both Wren and Gabriel's dad go and why? Who is Gabriel? I was left curious but not super eager and in my search I can't see any mention of there being a book two.


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Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Hardcover, 342 pages
Released: November 15, 2011

Publisher: HarperCollins

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

My Rating: 5 / 5
My Thoughts:

Dystopian's are hit or miss for me, this one nailed it. Blown away, this is going to be in my Top 10 for 2010 for sure, maybe even #1!

Shatter Me is a book you will consume in one sitting. I read a lot on my commute to work and stop at the end of a chapter but not with this one, I needed to read as much as I could and didn't waste one minute! Juliette is a strong character who just happens to have a natural ability that people would love to have power over. She is in demand, so to speak, but has her morals and knows that what she can do is not something to play around with. I loved seeing her defy Warner, who stole her to use as a weapon. But what I think makes this book stand out so much for me is that in Warner,Tahereh Mafi created a bad character that you also feel sympathy for! But wait, she doesn't stop there...she also gives us Adam, and the chemistry between Juliette and him is perfectly played out. Full of non-stop action & intrigue, this debut is not to be missed.

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Review: Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Paperback, 320 pages
Released: October 11, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

First I find out that my boyfriend is cheating on me. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And now he’s depending on me to clear his name. Seriously?
As much as I wouldn’t mind watching him squirm, I know that he’s innocent. So I’m brushing off my previously untapped detective skills and getting down to business. But I keep tripping over dead bodies and I’m still no closer to figuring out who did it. And what’s worse: all signs seem to point to me as the killer’s next victim.

I really need to pick a better boyfriend next time.

My Rating: 4.5 / 5
My Thoughts:
Hartley hasn't had a good day. She just found out her long time boyfriend, Josh, was cheating on her and with the president of the Chastity Club of all people! She decides to call him on it but when he isn't at practise after school, she grabs her best friend and heads over to his place. With his Jeep out front but no answer at the door, that doesn't stop her. She is on a mission so climbs into his bedroom window, searches for him, only to discover he wasn't home after all and there's a dead body in is room! Josh goes into hiding, more bodies are found but Hartley trusts her gut that Josh isn't the perpetrator. Playing detective with the help of her best friend and the guy next door, she wants to solve this crime  ...at the risk of becoming the next victim.

After reading a few pages of Deadly Cool, my first thought was "I need to check out all of Gemma Halliday's books". Just like Bumped by Megan McCafferty, her witty writing style has me smiling and giggling even though this premise of the book is not a laughing matter. Some of the time Hartley's actions are frustrating, but that is what makes this serious situation fun. Hartley is a character you wish you could hang out with, someone you feel comfortable wanting to smack upside the head :D Part mystery, part high school drama, Deadly Cool was a hilarious read.

On a side note: This was not what I was expecting, it was even better. For me, the shocking blue eyes on the cover lead me to believe there was some paranormal element when there was none! The fonts used in the title are perfect, the use of iPod headphones ingenious really, but alas, read the synopsis and don't look at this cover to get the feel for this book. This is the start of a series and there is not a year long wait for book two! Here's the Goodreads.com link for Social Suicide.

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Review: Everything We Ever Wanted by Sara Shepard

Paperback, 352 pages
Released: October 11, 2011

Publisher: Harper Paperback

How do you choose between your family and your history?
Emotional and compelling storytelling from Sara Shepard, author of All the Things We Didn't Say.

A late-night phone call on a Sunday evening rarely brings good news. So when Sylvie, a recently-widowed mother of two, receives a call from the head teacher of the school she's on the board of, she knows it won't be something she wants to hear. The school was founded by her grandfather, and she's inherited everything he strived to build up - a reputation, a heritage, the school and the grand old family house. And with this inheritance comes responsibility.So when her son Scott is whispered to be involved in a scandal that led to the death of one of the boys he coaches at the school, it throws the family into chaos: Sylvie has to decide between her loyalty to the school that has been part of her family legacy for years and her son who she feels wants nothing to do with her. She starts spying on the dead boy's father, making an unlikely connection.Sara Shepard's compelling new novel tells how hard it can be to really, truly connect to people, how making quick, easy judgments can come back to haunt you, and how the life you always planned for - and always dreamed of - often doesn't always turn out the way you imagined at all...

My Rating: 4 / 5
My Thoughts:
Yes, this is a book written by THE Sara Shepard, but no it's nothing like Pretty Little Liars. It is an adult book and one where life experiences come in handy.

Mrs. Bates-McAllister comes from old money but we soon learn that when you dig deeper under the surface, money does not mean pure bliss. She recently lost her husband, and quite suddenly. Her two, grown sons have their own issues as well. Charles is married and Scott is the wild one, but both are dealing with issues of belonging. Charles and his father never clicked and he never understood why. Scott, the adopted son, always felt out of place and that people never expected anything from him. It was a phone call that sparks a new beginning for everyone and sets the tone of the book.

While I didn't necessarily feel a connection to any one particular character, I found the arc of the story and what the characters learn, enjoyable. I think everyone can relate to parts of each character here: doing things for ones family instead of what you want, believing the grass is always greener on the other side, feeling trapped, to name a few. Part of growing up is listening to what you're told, but there comes a time when one has to take control of their life, it just takes some time and bumps along the way to figure that out.

A story of assumptions, expectations, and regrets, it moves slow but with purpose. This is a realistic look at life and living. Life is short so the earlier you lose that layer of resentment or weight that bogs you down and is doing you no good, the better your chance of finding happiness. Sometimes life puts you in a funk, but as Sara shows us, there is hope after all.

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Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Hardcover, 432 pages
Released: September 20, 2011

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who needs her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

My Rating:  4.5 / 5
My Thoughts:


I've noticed myself enjoying more and more fantasy this year where you are pretty much guaranteed strong characters, secrets and battles over power. The Girl of Fire and Thorns was fantastic!

From the first line I was drawn into the world Rae Carson created, you would never guess this is a debut. Her strong prose thoughout the story stand outs as impressive, I was captivated, eager to know what the Godstone meant and Elisa's chosen role. As pieces of her past are woven into the story, Elisa discovers more about who she is and the sheltered life she had lead.

On her sixteenth birthday. Elisa is married off to King Alejandro of Orovalle, unsure why it's not her beautiful sister that he chose.When they arrive at her new home though, there is no announcement, in fact it is a secret. Soon enough, she  realizes there is more to this marriage then meets the eye. Kidnapped while asleep in the castle, this is where her true journey begins. This wasn't just another 'chosen one' story,  it is about self-discovery as well. Elisa's journey changes her, making her a powerful force to be reckoned with. I enjoyed her more when she was with her captors (they were not out to harm her) and this is when we learn the Godstone's history. It is also where we meet Humberto ;) I have to say I was surprised at the lack of action on the part of some characters, but then again this is told from Elisa's perspective, limiting us to what we know. There was only one thing that bothered me a little during the story, which I should have known considering she is the carrier of a Godstone. Although I believe in a higher power, I am not religious so I found the repetitive use of 'God's will' a little tiring.

Knowing this was book one of a trilogy when I started, I anticipated being left with a cliffhanger. I am happy to report that, although the journey has just begun, the ending was satisfying, leaving you curious to know what comes next for Elisa. One of the strongest debuts I've read, if you love a story rich with lore, I think you'll love Girl of Fire and Thorns too.

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Review: Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

Hardcover, 568 pages
Released: November 1, 2011

Publisher: William Morrow

The marvelous land of Oz is knotted with social unrest: The Emerald City is mounting an invasion of Munchkinland, Glinda is under house arrest, and the Cowardly Lion is on the run from the law. And look who’s knocking at the door. It’s none other than Dorothy. Yes, that Dorothy.
Amid all this chaos, Elphaba’s granddaughter, the tiny green baby born at the close of Son of a Witch, has come of age. Now, Rain will take up her broom in an Oz wracked by war.

The stirring, long-awaited conclusion to the extraordinary bestselling series begun with Wicked, Out of Oz is a magical journey rife with revelations and reversals, reprisals and surprises — the hallmarks of the brilliant and unique imagination of Gregory Maguire.

My Rating: 3.5 / 5
My Thoughts:

As someone who absolutely loved Wicked, I HAD to know how Maguire would end it. For me, the first book in this series was so magical. By giving Elphaba a backstory, Maguire made me feel sympathy for a character I had always known to hate, the evil Wicked Witch of the West. Knowing his writing style and the fact the the two previous books in this series did not go over too well, I was hesitant but curiosity got the better of me. For those who have not read the entire series so far, the book begins with a brief refresher of the story so far as well as family charts and maps.

The focus of this book is Rain, the granddaughter of the Wicked Witch of the West, daughter of Lir and Candle. Rain, nor anyone around her, knows who she is as her green skin has been hidden by a charm. It is her journey, along with the protection of the Grimmerie, that we follow and to be honest, it was long and drawn out. Many characters make an appearance, including Glinda (who employed Rain, not realizing she was her best friends daughter), Brrr, Liir, Candle, the Time Clock Dragon, nasty Cherrystone and Dorothy! Oh Dorothy, I really wish her comic relief lasted longer. I wasn't left completely disappointed, with a strong ending the last 50 pages were devoured like there was no tomorrow. There were a few more questions I had hoped to have answered though. Although the entire series didn't win me over, I highly recommend checking out Wicked, a book that still sticks with me years later.

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Review: Variant by Robison Wells

Hardcover, 356 pages
Released: October 4, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.
He was wrong.

Now he’s trapped in a school that’s surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.

Where breaking the rules equals death.

But when Benson stumbles upon the school’s real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape—his only real hope for survival—may be impossible.

My Rating: 5 / 5
My Thoughts:
Not your typical boarding school book, Variant takes the idea of school as a prison to a whole new level.

Benson receives a scholarship to Maxfield Academy and having been through many foster families he's used to new schools. Only given an envelope and a contact name for inside, he is driven to the school and dropped off at the gate. It's odd to see a school surrounded by wire razors and with many cameras. As soon as he arrives, kids are running, hanging signs in windows and he begins to wonder just what he has gotten himself into....and he should. This is not your average school. Benson discovers that there are only three rules to follow, no teachers or adults, there are tests but you never see your score and detention means you may never come back!

 The 'students' have learned that to avoid a fate similar to the kids of Lord of the Files, they must work together. Three groups are formed: Society (the rule followers), Havoc (want to rule) and the Variant (everyone else) and contracts are made so work can be done and rewards earned. The kids are put through stressful situations, many that are strategy based games. Paintball plays a big role in this book and I loved it! As a mom to boys, I am ecstatic when I come across a book that appeals to both girls and boys. Full of action and intrigue, Variant was a wild ride as we follow Benson on his mission to bust out. It keeps you guessing and trusting no one!

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REVIEW: For Love of Mother-Not by Alan Dean Foster

For Love of Mother-Not by Alan Dean Foster
Series: Pip & Flinx Adventures #0
Publication: Del Rey (first published 1987), eBook, 256pg
Genres: Adult, Adventure, Fiction, Sci-fi, Young Adult
Source: Freebie
Purchase at Amazon or BookDepository (affiliate info) or add it to your Goodreads shelf

He was just a freckle-faced, redheaded kid with green eyes and a strangely campelling stare when Mather Mastiff first saw him an the auctioneer's block. One hundred credits and he was hers.
For years the old woman was his only family. She loved him, fed him, taught him everything she knew -- even let him keep the deadly flying snake he called Pip.

Then Mother Mastiff mysteriously disappeared and Flinx took Pip to tail her kidnappers. Across the forests and swamps of the winged world called Moth, their only weapons were Pip's venom . . . and Flinx's unusual Talents. (from Goodreads)

This is one of those rereads where I sort of remember the overall story, but not the details. For instance, I remembered that it was about a kid going after his kidnapped (adopted) mother, and there’s a space-dragon and scifi stuff and things with powers of the mind. I did NOT, on the other hand, remember the strange vocabulary choices– like describing the descended-from-people-who-on-Earth-are-called-Asians evil scientist-doctor lady as “Oriental.” Multiple times. Like, EVERY time she showed up.
All together now: rugs are Oriental, not people.

It’s little things like that that kept me from fulling enjoying the experience of the first(?) Pip and Flinx book. What should have been an exciting space adventure with a weird (but lovable) kid and his pet space-dragon instead became something somewhat frustrating.

However! Ignore those little annoyances, and it’s a good scifi story. I like aliens and humans living on non-Earth planets, and a story about a kid rescuing his mother is pretty danged heart-warming. I can also appreciate the variety of characters better not than the first time I read it– there’s a good mix of heroes and villains, and Pip the space-dragon is really adorable.

I said back in 2009 (when I first reviewed it) that I’d continue reading the series– I never did, but I still have that compulsion. Especially since the later books are apparently better than this one! (Which means no “Oriental” people, right? Let’s hope so.) For Love of Mother-Not is more like a prequel than a proper “first” book, which makes sense because a lot of the time I got the idea that I was supposed to be finding certain things more shocking and/or exciting than I did. Like if I’d read the other books first, and THEN this one, the revelations of villains and whatever would have had more of an impact.

So I guess I wouldn’t recommend reading this book first! I mean, I mostly enjoyed myself while reading it (I finished it, after all), but I can’t help but think that maybe starting with another book would be better. Even if I haven’t actually READ another book yet.

Read: August 12-14, 2013

Do you like space-dragons? You may want to check out Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn, the first book of another series I meant to continue reading. It suffers from lack of women characters (something that For Love of Mother-Not has a-plenty, luckily), but it’s still a good adventure story.

Are there other space-dragons are out there? Give me recs!

Footnotes


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Review: Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Hardcover, 273 pages
Released: September 5, 2011

Publisher: Little Brown/Poppy

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part, Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention.
Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: she and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. And Lissa never sees her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling, coming.
Inspired by Aristophanes' play Lysistrata, critically acclaimed author of The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) Kody Keplinger adds her own trademark humor in this fresh take on modern teenage romance, rivalry and sexuality.

My Rating: 3.5 / 5
My Thoughts:

If you've followed my blog you will know that I absolutely LOVED Kody's debut, The DUFF! I have been eagerly awaiting Shut Out since I heard it was coming out, but guys I didn't feel this one :(

The DUFF for me was so unexpected, it took the topic of sex in YA to a whole different level, pushing the boundries, and I loved that about it. Now you are probably saying "but this book is about sex too" and yes, it is but it didn't work for me this time. I know that sex in high school happens, yet I think the story would have worked better in a college setting. I would hope that young high school couples aren't so focused on sex that they think holding it back could create change. Even the plot driver that leads Lissa to start this club was weak for me - she's sick of being interrupted when making out? Not all players were very sexually active as you soon find out, but for a while it is assumed so. I loved this addition to the storyline, I think it's important to know that it's OK to do what you want to do and not let peer pressure lead you astray. Both Shut Out and The DUFF carry the message of being yourself and loving who you are, something we all need a reminder of now and then.

I normally love stories that are character driven. Unfortunately, the main character, Lissa, was not very relateable for me. She was a control freak to the max and there wasn't much to make you care or feel support for her cause. I did find her best friend Chloe a hoot though. (Bianca from The DUFF totally won me over, she was full of spunk.)  Cash is the boy who every girl likes but is unattainable and while I did really like the guy, I wish there was more background into WHY he was that way. Being elusive and hot was not enough for me to fall for him. (Now Wesley from The DUFF, *fans self*)

A tight ending wraps the story up nicely, I just wish there was more of a character connection for me.

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