Rating: 3/5 stars
Pages: 352 pages

Summary:  Bianca wants to escape. She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him. But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

Thoughts: Let me start off by saying there was a point, just about half way through the book, when I was ready to write a five star review.  ( read the rest of my review here )

Title: The Dark Divine
Author: Bree Despain
Page Count: 384
Summary: Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared--the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood--but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it--her soul.

Full review at (Read Sam, Read)

First - happy new year!

Second - to feed my love of YA books, I'm looking for books featuring sexual abuse, especially for males. Any suggestions would be great.

Liar (2009)
Written by: Justine Larbalestier
Genre: YA/Fiction
Pages: 371 (Hardcover)

The premise: ganked from BN.com: Micah will freely admit she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s fooled everyone: her classmates, her teachers, even her parents. And she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as easily as breathing?

Taking listeners deep into the psyche of a young woman who will say just about anything to convince them — and herself — that she’s finally come clean, Liar is a bone-chilling thriller that will have listeners seesawing between truths and lies right up to the end. Honestly.

My Rating

Keeper Shelf: there are very, very, VERY few books that I want to keep around to re-read over and over and over, but this is definitely one of them. The book engaged me on so many levels that I can't wait to read it again and see how the story changes. And because of the book's deliberate yet delightful ambiguity, this is a book I can enjoy over and over and come away with a different interpretation every time. If you're a reader who absolutely MUST HAVE a DEFINITE ENDING with DEFINITE ANSWERS, you may want to shy away from this one. But oh, that'd be a shame. This book is so well-crafted that you'd be missing out on a really great story. Like I said, whether you read YA or not, if you only ever read ONE novel in your life that's targeted to YA, you should read this one. Because it transcends age. It transcends genre. It's a memorable book that I won't soon forget, and once you read it, you won't either.

Review style: short and sweet and ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS. You will RUIN this book if you spoil it for yourself, even if you spoil yourself a little bit. The full review just lists five reasons why you should give this book a shot, so if you're interested, feel free to click the link below to my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: Justine Larbalestier's LIAR

Happy Reading! :)

Skinned (2008)
Written by: Robin Wasserman
Genre: YA/Science Fiction
Pages: 361 (Trade Paperback)

The premise: snatched for BN.com, which is also the backcover blurb: Lia Kahn was perfect: rich, beautiful, popular — until the accident that nearly killed her. Now she has been downloaded into a new body that only looks human. Lia will never feel pain again, she will never age, and she can't ever truly die. But she is also rejected by her friends, betrayed by her boyfriend, and alienated from her old life.

Forced to the fringes of society, Lia joins others like her. But they are looked at as freaks. They are hated...and feared. They are everything but human, and according to most people, this is the ultimate crime — for which they must pay the ultimate price.

My Rating

Must Have: but with one warning: this is not a plot-driven or action-driven book. If you like character-centric books, particularly those with more of an existential theme, and you love the themes behind the updated Battlestar Galactica (focusing on the cylons), then you're going to have fun with this. It's a good book, and even when I didn't agree with our heroine, never once did I not at least sympathize and understand where she was coming from. Wasserman really gets into the heart of the matter and makes you really THINK about how you'd feel if you were in Lia's shoes. The science fictional elements and social reaction to those elements are also very strong, which surprised me, though I don't know why: for whatever, unfair reason, I expect the science in YA SF to be light and fluffy and non-existent, not explained in detail (which isn't to say the science used in Skinned is accurate or not, but it makes you wonder about how such an process could take place in the future). At any rate, it's a pretty strong start of a series, and I'll definitely be picking up the next installment, Crashed, once it's released in trade paperback. :)

Review style: spoilers, because this isn't the kind of heavily plot-driven book the premise makes it out to be. It's actually very, very character-driven, and it's hard NOT to spoil such books. So if you want to avoid said spoilers, there's no need to click the link below to my LJ. Otherwise, click away! Comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: Robin Wasserman's SKINNED

Happy Reading!

Title: Devilish
Author: Maureen Johnson
Pages Count: 272
Summary: This is the story of high-school senior Jane Jarvis, who gets in over her head--which isn't difficult because she's very short. She's also very smart, and when her best friend, Allison, starts acting oddly, it doesn't take Jane long to figure out that there's some unholy connection between Ally and mysterious Lanalee, a new girl at their Catholic school. Connection, indeed. As it turns out, Ally has sold her soul to junior devil Lanalee in exchange for popularity; however, Jane doesn't buy Ally's tearful confession. Boldly, she informs Lanalee that she will take Ally's place (she really thinks the whole thing is bunk). Bunk it is not, and soon enough Jane finds herself in the fight of (and for) her life. Johnson does a very clever thing here. She takes a typical high-school story about popularity (amusing enough in Jane's snarky voice) and turns it on its head when evil comes on the scene.

(Review here at Read Sam, Read)

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company 2009
Genre: Horror/Romance
Sub-genre: YA; Gothic horror; Paranormal romance
Rating: 3 pints of blood


This is another book I bought for the pretty cover, and was ultimately disappointed by. I try not to think of star ratings while I'm reading a book, but with this one I would oscillate between being 2-stars-annoyed and 4-stars-entertained, all within the space of a couple of pages. It took me a long time to read - there was a gap in the middle where I put it down for a week or so and then struggled to pick it back up again (and not just because it's heavy!). If we have to compare, though, this is a better written book than the other recently released paranormal YA with a gorgeous cover and a similar setting, Fallen.




Read the full, spoiler-free review at genrereviews!

The Declaration (2007)
Written by: Gemma Malley
Genre: YA/Science Fiction
Pages: 301 (Trade Paperback)

The premise: ganked from BN.com: It’s the year 2140 and Longevity drugs have all but eradicated old age. A never-aging society can’t sustain population growth, however…which means Anna should never have been born. Nor should any of the children she lives with at Grange Hall. The facility is full of boys and girls whose parents chose to have kids—called surpluses—despite a law forbidding them from doing so. These children are raised as servants, and brought up to believe they must atone for their very existence. Then one day a boy named Peter appears at the Hall, bringing with him news of the world outside, a place where people are starting to say that Longevity is bad, and that maybe people shouldn’t live forever. Peter begs Anna to escape with him, but Anna’s not sure who to trust: the strange new boy whose version of life sounds like a dangerous fairy tale, or the familiar walls of Grange Hall and the head mistress who has controlled her every waking thought?

My Rating

Give It Away: the premise is stellar, I grant that, but it's execution is just too simple for my taste, and I've seen the premise before in a Bacigalupi short story, which is much darker and a lot scarier. It also didn't help that I kept flipping to the back of the book to see how it ended, which pretty much spoiled any surprise the book had in store for me. So, don't be like me: don't do that. I can't help but wonder if I would've enjoyed this book more if I were much younger, because this book, according to Amazon, is geared towards Grade 5 and up, which might explain just how simply-written and black/white everything is. It's not to say that adults can't enjoy the book (when they've not already seen this premise played out and they haven't spoiled themselves), but it is worth noting that it seems geared for a younger audience, younger than your usual teen reader. That's not something I usually note, but I feel in this case, potential readers should be aware--YA tends to be written in such a way that doesn't cater to its young audience, and this is a book that caters. As far as the story goes, the premise, great as it is, doesn't feel lived up to, but then again, this is the first book of a duology (or series?), so it's easy to imagine (especially given the ending), that we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg. That said, I'm not sure I see myself continuing. Sure, it's a great premise that I'd like to see explored more, but if the sequel, The Resistance, is written like The Declaration is, I'm not sure I want to continue.

Review style: WARNING!! THERE BE SPOILERS!!! Why the all-caps? Because if you haven't yet read this book and you want to, THEN DO NOT READ THE SPOILERS. I did, and I regret it, because it sucked a LOT of the tension out of the book for me. So please, take my advice and DO NOT READ SPOILERS if you want to read and enjoy this book, which means there's no need to click the link below. However, if you've read the book and want to discuss, then feel free to click the link to my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome! :)

REVIEW: Gemma Malley's THE DECLARATION

Happy Reading!

Book club selections @ calico_reaction. Hop on over! We'd love to have you!

December: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
January: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
February: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Page Count: 384
Summary: When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stoneoors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind. 

(Read the review here at Read Sam Read)

Singing the Dogstar Blues (1998)
Written by: Alison Goodman
Genre: YA/Science Fiction
Pages: 261 (Mass Market Paperback)

The premise: ganked from BN.com: Seventeen-year-old Joss is a rebel, and a student of time travel at the prestigious Centre for Neo-Historical Studies. This year, for the first time, the Centre has an alien student— Mavkel, from the planet Choria. And Mavkel has chosen Joss, of all people, as his roommate and study partner. Then Mavkel gets sick. Joss quickly realizes that his will to live is draining away. The only way she can help Mavkel is by breaking the Centre's strictest rules . . . and that means going back in time to change history.

My Rating

Worth the Cash: but close to a must-have. The only reason it's not is because it does take a little while for the plot to get moving, and once it does, the book reads at warp speed instead of its previously fast pace. Still, it's a fun read with characters you can really sympathize with. I enjoyed the world-building of near-future Australia, and the time travel parts of the story misled me at first, and then once I settled into them, I found myself having lots of fun at guessing what would happen next and how it would affect CURRENT TIME and being right. It's a fun read, and one I'm really glad I sank my teeth into. I wish music had played a bigger role, especially given the fantastic title, but that's more of a personal preference than anything. At any rate, this book is highly recommended to fans of 1) time travel stories and/or 2) readers looking for science fiction in the YA genre. This was very enjoyable, and I can easily see myself picking up more from this author in the future.

Review style: definite spoilers. It's a short book, and simple for what it is (I mean that in a good way), but I want to be able to talk about specific plot points, and I can't do that without spoiling this thing. If you want to be surprised (and trust me, if you're interested in this book, you'll WANT to be surprised), skip to the "My Rating" section at the end of the review.

If spoilers don't bother you, or if you've read the book, then feel free to click the link below, which goes to my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome!

REVIEW: Alison Goodman's SINGING THE DOGSTAR BLUES

Happy Reading!

Book club selections @ calico_reaction. Hop on over! We'd love to have you!

December: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
January: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
February: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Title: Suite Scarlett
Author: Maureen Johnson
Page Count: 353
Summary: Scarlett has grown up in a most unusual way.

Her family owns the Hopewell, a small hotel in the heart of New York City. Her nineteen-year-old brother, Spencer, is an out-of-work actor facing a family deadline to get his career in order. Eighteen-year-old Lola has the delicate looks of a model, the practical nature of a nurse, and a wealthy society boyfriend. Eleven-year-old Marlene is the family terror with a tragic past.

When the Martins turn fifteen, they are each expected to take over the care of a suite in the once elegant, now shabby Art Deco Hotel. For Scarlett's fifteenth birthday, she gets both the room called the Empire Suite, and a permanent guest named Mrs. Amberson. Scarlett doesn't quite know what to make of this C-list starlet, world traveler, and aspiring autobiographer who wants to take over her life. And when she meets Eric, an astonishingly gorgeous actor who just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpected turn.

With Mrs. Amberson calling the shots, Spencer's career to save, Lola's love life to navigate around, and Marlene's prying eyes everywhere, things won't be easy. Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of thievery, Broadway glamour, romantic missteps, and theatrical deception.

The show, as they say, must always go on... (Summary from inside flap)

(Review here at Read Sam, Read)

Massie Block believes her life is perfect until her father's friend Jay Lyons moves his family from Orlando, Florida to Westchester, New York. Her father allows Jay, along with his wife, Judi, their son Todd, and their daughter, Claire, to move into their guest house while they search for a new home. When Massie and Claire first meet, Massie is rude for Claire wears very "un-stylish" clothing. Massie doesn't believe she is "clique" material, but Claire continues to attempt to become friendly with Massie and her friends: Alicia, Dylan, and Kristen.

My Review:

The Clique is a stereotypical look at life for rich girls. The looks, the money, the boys, power, etc. I was taught in 5th grade that Money = Power, and No Money = No Power. This is taught to be true in this book. Massie is pretty, is rich, has boys, had most of all, power. Her sidekicks have all of this too, except in a lesser way. And then there's Claire, the one with no looks, no money, no boys, and definitely NO power. The Clique teaches a lesson that being mean is good, and therefore you will have power. That is it's downpoint. However, it juxtaposes life between rich girls and poor girls, which is its bright point.

Rating: 2/5

Series: Fallen #1
Publisher: Delacorte Press 2009
Genre: Romance/Horror
Sub-genre: YA; Paranormal
Rating: 3 1/2 pints of blood

Hands up who loves this cover.

Hands up who bought, borrowed, stole or connived this book just because of the cover.

Hands up who knows nothing about the story and couldn't care less.

I admit, unashamedly, that I bought this book for its cover (please, click on the image to get a better view, it's worth it). 2009 has been a very, very good year for YA covers, and this is easily in the top 5 (don't ask me what other books are in the top 5, because it's like the Tardis: bigger on the inside). It's gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Composition, typeface, colour, atmosphere - it has it all.

Since I got it for the cover, and on the vague assumption that it would be some kind of paranormal romance book (they usually are, with covers like this), I came to it with virtually no expectations. This turned out to be a great advantage for the novel, because the prose isn't its strong suit. "But what is it actually about?" I hear you asking. Let's not rush into these things. I'm still gawking at the cover ...

Read the full, spoiler-free review at genrereviews

Give Up the Ghost (2009)
Written by: Megan Crewe
Genre: YA/Paranormal
Pages: 244 (Hardcover)

The premise: from BN.com: Cass McKenna much prefers ghosts over “breathers.” Ghosts are uncomplicated and dependable, and they know the dirt on everybody…and Cass loves dirt. She’s on a mission to expose the dirty secrets of the poseurs in her school.

But when the vice president of the student council discovers her secret, Cass’s whole scheme hangs in the balance. Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees.

As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim’s life, she’s surprised to realize he’s not so bad—and he needs help more desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it’s time to give the living another chance . . .

My Rating

Worth the Cash: which isn't bad for a hardcover. Crewe has a tendency to twist expectations a bit, and every time I thought something major was resolved in the book, Crewe turned that resolution n its head and let it lead into more interesting territory. It's a good story for anyone who's ever felt out of place, especially in high school, because Cass's story is about not just finding her place (and trust me when I say it's NOT about finding her place in the normative social cliques), but about Cass finding a way to interact with the real world again, instead of just the world of ghosts. I personally would like to see Cass's story continue, because while she grows and changes in this book, I feel like it's time for her to make a change in her world, and her ability to interact with ghosts is just the way to do it. This is an incredibly fast, fast read. I finished it in less than a day, and I'll be very happy to pick up Crewe's next offering, whatever it might be. As a writer, Crewe shows a lot of promise, so it'll be exciting to see what she does next.

Review style: expect spoilers, simply because it's a short book and the things I want to talk about are directly related to the more spoilerific aspects of the book. If you want to remain clean, there's no need to click the link below. But if spoilers don't bother you, or you want to chat about the book, the come on over! Comments and discussion are always welcome.

REVIEW: Megan Crewe's GIVE UP THE GHOST

Happy Reading!

Book club selections @ calico_reaction. Hop on over! We'd love to have you!

December: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
January: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

So.. I need a help deciding what book to read next out of the ones I own!

These are the books I've read:
"Aimee" by Mary Beth Miller
"Crank" by Ellen Hopkins
"Cut" by Patricia McCormick
"Dark Secrets: Don't Tell" by Elizabeth Chandler
"Dreamland" by Sarah Dessen
"Go Ask Alice" by Anonymous
"It Happened to Nancy" by Beatrice Sparks
"Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
"Malka" by Mirjam Pressler
"Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy, Vol. 1" by S. D. Perry
"Resident Evil: Nemesis, Vol. 5" by S. D. Perry
"Resident Evil: Genesis" by Keith R. A. DeCandido
"Smack" by Melvin Burgess
"The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
"Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
"You Don't Know Me" by David Klass

And this is what I'm currently reading:
"Suicide Notes" by Michael Thomas Ford


What do you think I should read next? Here's a list of unread books that I own. :)
"Bloodletting: A Memoir of Secrets, Self-Harm and Survival" by Victoria Leatham
"Burned" by Ellen Hopkins
"Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
"Ghostgirl" by Tonya Hurley
"Girl, Interrupted" by Susanna Kaysen
"Glass" by Ellen Hopkins
"I Don't Want to Be Crazy" by Samantha Schutz
"I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" by Joanne Greenberg
"Impulse" by Ellen Hopkins
"Jay's Journal" by Beatrice Sparks
"Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
"Lucky" by Alice Sebold
"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden
"Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America" by Elizabeth Wurtzel
"Resident Evil: Caliban Cove, Vol. 2" by S. D. Perry
"Resident Evil: City of the Dead, Vol. 3" by S. D. Perry
"Resident Evil: Underworld, Vol. 4" by S. D. Perry
"Resident Evil: Code: Veronica, Vol. 6" by S. D. Perry
"Resident Evil: Zero Hour, Vol. 7" by S. D. Perry
"Resident Evil: Apocalypse" by Keith R. A. DeCandido
"Resident Evil: Extinction" by Keith R. A. DeCandido
"Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
"Sybil" by Flora Rheta Schreiber
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
"The Truth about Forever" by Sarah Dessen
"The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides
"This Lullaby" by Sarah Dessen
"White Oleander" by Janet Fitch
"Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
"Witch Child" by Celia Rees

Any help is appreciated! ^^

Racing the Dark (2007)
Written by: Alaya Dawn Johnson
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Pages: 368 (Trade Paperback)

The premise: this one's a doozy, so we're going to BN.com: Racing the Dark is set in a land of volcanoes and earthquakes, plagues and typhoons, of island nations bound by fear of the spirits they imprisoned to control their volatile environment. Lana, a teenaged girl on a nameless backwater island, finds an ominous blood-red jewel that marks her as someone with power, setting in motion events that drive her away from her family and into an apprenticeship with a mysterious one-armed witch. Lana begins to learn the spells and incantations, each of which requires some form of sacrifice from the person who employs it. As Lana becomes more powerful, she is deceived into a sacrifice she is unwilling to make — the life of her own mother. When Lana dares to use a dark, ancient spell to save her mother's life, she is set onto a path toward becoming a creature beyond her wildest imaginings. This is an unforgettable coming-of-age story set in a world where wielding the power of magic requires understanding the true meaning of sacrifice.

Worth the Cash: even though Racing the Dark features a teenaged protagonist, it doesn't read like a YA novel. For starters, Johnson deals with some adult issues rather nicely. Also, the protagonist(s) grow, both physically and emotionally. Given the amount of time that passes in the course of this book alone, I suspect Lana and the other protagonists will be well into adulthood by time the trilogy draws to a close. Then there's the language issue: YA is sometimes said to have transparent writing styles that don't get in the way of the story and the characters, but while Johnson's writing isn't verbose or elaborate or dense, it's certainly NOT transparent. Readers who pick this book up not knowing it's YA will probably not figure it out by the time they finish reading. And that is an interesting thing. Not good or bad, but interesting. Personally, I was sucked in, especially at the beginning. This book is about the journey, and while the ending of the book is more like a pause in that journey rather than a completed one (this trilogy I suspect will tell ONE BIG STORY, so reading order is important), I felt pretty satisfied by time I put the book down. There's so much richness in the world Johnson's created, and there's so much to enjoy and relish. It's not often you get a fantasy that's not set in a medieval or modern world, and the island/Hawaiian/Japanese elements just really worked for the book, as well as keeping the fantasy world fresh. Johnson's debut doesn't read like a debut at all: it's deliberate and controlled and I'm really looking forward to seeing where this story goes, because it is complex and it is so much about the journey that I practically have no expectations. At least, not yet. Maybe by time I get my hands on the second book, The Burning City, I will. :)

Review Style: it's a pretty complex book, so I'm taking my time with this review. Expect spoilers, but in some cases, spoilers will ruin a book, and in others, they really don't. I think this is a case where spoilers don't ruin a book, but only YOU know how spoilers affect your reading experience, so if spoilers bother you beyond belief, there's no need to click the link below, which takes you to my LJ. You have everything you need right here.

However, the LJ does offer a reading list as well as cover commentary, so if the overall discussion doesn't bother you, hop on over! As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: Alaya Dawn Johnson's RACING THE DARK

Happy Reading!

Book club selections @ calico_reaction. Hop on over! We'd love to have you!

December: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
January: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Ash (2009)
Written by: Malinda Lo
Genre: YA/Fairy Tale/Fantasy
Pages: 264 (Hardcover)

The premise: in unfairly simple terms, Ash is a lesbian re-telling of Cinderella. But that's an unfairly simply description. Sure, you've got the Cinderella myth, but rather than falling for the typical Prince Charming, Ash finds herself attracted to the King's Huntress, and she'd do anything to stay with her. Even if it means bargaining with the fairy, a risk that could very well make her lose everything.

My Rating

Worth the Cash: note I'm giving this rating to a hardcover. I always feel that carries more weight than if the book were a paperback, for obvious reasons. At any rate, this is a very enjoyable read that I tore through in a day, but the prose isn't light so much as it reflects a certain fairy tale quality, perfect for a re-telling of the Cinderella story. Ash is a likable heroine you can empathize with, and even though she makes mistakes, the mistakes are her own and she works to fix things the best she can. The love story itself needed a little bit more development between the first meeting and the admission of love, but I did like the characters together, and I liked that Ash was attracted to a person instead of the wealth and power a partner could bring her, which signifies not only the difference between Kaisa the Huntress and Prince Charming, but also between Kaisa and Sidhean. One of the most important messages of the book: loves doesn't ask for anything in return, and love will love you for who you are, not who you aren't. What a simple lesson, and what an easy one to forget. Malinda Lo is definitely on my watch list, and I look forward to her next offering, whatever it may be and whenever it might arrive.

Review style: it's kind of a hard book to spoil, isn't it? I mean, anyone who knows the general Cinderella tale knows where the book is going, but the trick is, because it's a re-telling, you're on ground that's familiar but not, and you tend to forget it's a re-telling you're reading. At any rate, there's spoilers, but nothing that doesn't correlate to the actual fairy tale.

The full review, if you're interested, may be found at my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: Malinda Lo's ASH

Happy Reading!

DON'T FORGET: November's book challenge is drawing to a close, but you can still get your hands on Alaya Dawn Johnson's Racing the Dark. However, December's challenge has been announced, so if you want to get an early start on Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, we'd love to have you! Details on participation are here!

Wake (2008)
Written by: Lisa McMann
Genre: YA/Paranormal Romance
Pages: 210 (Trade Paperback)

The premise: Janie keeps getting sucked into other people's dreams. And by getting sucked in, I do mean sucked in. If someone falls asleep in study hall, Janie can't help it. She's there, in the dream, while to the outsider, it looks like she's having an epileptic fit. She's tired of her ability, tired of her helplessness, and tired of knowing the inmost desires of all of her classmates. Until one day she falls into a nightmare of terrifying violence, and that scares her more than anything she's ever experienced before, especially since the dreamer is the guy she might be falling in love with.

My Rating

Worth the Cash: I wouldn't go out and buy these books in hardcover, mind you, so obviously I'm waiting to get my hands on the sequel, Fade, until it comes out in trade, but I will pick it up. Wake was very enjoyable and I'm happy to read forward. The premise itself IS interesting and different, and I'm looking forward to seeing how McMann develops Janie and her abilities in the later books. It's an incredibly fast read, and while there are moments that'll induce eyebrow-raising, honestly, the story itself is so enjoyable you kind of end up not caring. At least, I didn't. I'm glad I grabbed it.

Review style: it's a short book and it'll be a short review. Stream-of-conscious, with spoilers, simply because the book's too short NOT to spoil, and there's a few points I want to discuss. If the spoilers don't bother you, you're welcome to read the full review, which is posted at my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: Lisa McMann's WAKE

Happy Reading! :)

DON'T FORGET: the November Book Club selection is Alaya Dawn Johnson's YA Fantasy Racing the Dark. We'd love to have you! For details on how to participate in this and future challenges, just click here.

So, I went ahead and saw New Moon and honestly, was very impressed. The acting and special effects improved tremendously and the layout was excellent. I give my props, let me know what you guys think!