Fantasy Friday: Sisters Red

Sisters Red, by Jackson Pearce

Publisher: Little, Brown
Pages: 324 (hardcover)
Reading Level: 14 and up
Enjoyment Level: mid-high

If you haven’t already, check out my interview with the lovely and talented Jackson Pearce from this year’s Austin Teen Book Festival: http://bit.ly/p1rDWY

From GoodReads:

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an axe and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

Of course I failed to read this one before ATBF and my interview with J.P. I didn’t actually finish it until about a week ago. Partly because I had a hard time finding time, and partly because it took me a while to get into the story. The beginning was slow for me, but I felt the action and plot pick up about midway through. So where the first ten or so chapters took me almost two weeks, I finished the rest of it within two days.

I had a really difficult time liking Scarlett March, one of the two sisters and voices in the novel. She was overbearing and extremely rigid for a main character, and I think she reminded me of someone I know who I consider a little insane and hard to get along with. However, as a character, she’s very rich in personality and history. I saw why she had developed her particular personality quirks and I understood, even though none of it made her a sympathetic character for me.

On the other side of that is Rosie March, and oddly enough I also didn’t like her much until about halfway through the story. I found her weak-willed and sappy. Again, she was very well-written. I just couldn’t seem to like her, and that made it difficult for me to really get into this tale.

I’ve put books down for less (Beautiful Creatures will never leave my to-be-finished pile!), but the premise of the story was too interesting, and I stuck it out to the halfway point before deciding my fate with the book. Luckily, Rosie became more interesting and J.P. added depth by moving the characters to a different city with new problems to overcome. The added tension caught my interest more, as well, and little details started coming in as mystery and intrigue for me.

And one huge detail had me on the edge of my seat – I thought I knew what would happen, but J.P. effortlessly turned my attention elsewhere, only to reveal that I was right in the first place! I love mysterious details like that.

So overall, I liked this one, and I would recommend it. Not everyone will feel the same way I did about the characters, and it wasn’t enough to stop me from reading. The ending was well worth the slow beginning.

Until next time, go read something!


~ Vilate

Fantastic Holiday Giveaway

Christmas is my favorite holiday, so in honor of that, I'm doing a supergiveaway. Many will play, many will win.

Some of the books will be simple comment/follow/win giveaways. Some will involve answering some trivia, or doing something in the holiday spirit and then commenting, etc. Some people will get gift cards or other bookish, fun, holiday items. One person will win a holiday basket filled with fun goodies. All the books will be kept secret until you get your package in the mail, all gift-wrapped for Christmas fun. Some books will be ARCs, and some signed copies of popular titles.

To win any of the prizes, you'll need to be a follower of the blog, so if you aren't already and you want to get a jump on it, take a moment to become a follower now. :) The giveaway event will start mid-November. It'll be one prize per person, in most cases.

And if anyone catches the Christmas spirit and would like to participate by donating books, gift cards, or anything else, let me know. The more, the merrier when it comes to Christmas. If you'd like to donate, but don't have anything specific, you can just go the monetary route by clicking our 'Donate' button in the sidebar. That will automatically enter you into all of the contests, no matter if you've already won something or not. If you donate $20 or more, you'll get a special gift, and a part of all monetary donations will go to kidsneedtoread.org. Please know that I don't want this to seem like I'm soliciting monetary or other donations - the giveaways are free to all followers of the blog. This is just an option for anyone who'd like bigger participation. :D

Other bloggers who'd like to participate on their own blogs are also more than welcome. Anyone who wants in on this will go on a list of participating bloggers and links will be posted here whenever someone posts a participating contest once my event starts.

So that's it! Check back here for updates on this event. If you have any questions and/or are a blogger who wants into the event, or if you want more info on donating, email me at podcast at yaliteraturereview.com. Happy Holidays, everyone!


~ Vilate

Sci-Fi Saturday: Human.4

Human.4, by Mike A Lancaster

Publisher: EgmontUSA
Pages: 240 (hardcover)
Reading Level: 12 and up
Enjoyment Level: High


Egmont has really been hitting home runs for me lately. This is no exception. I loved getting this one along with a few other ARCs from them. Not only did I get to read it, but my brother really liked it, as well, so that’s another plus for the book.

From GoodReads:

Kyle Straker volunteered to be hypnotized at the annual community talent show, expecting the same old lame amateur acts. But when he wakes up, his world will never be the same. Televisions and computers no longer work, but a strange language streams across their screens.

Everyone’s behaving oddly. It’s as if Kyle doesn’t exist.

Is this nightmare a result of the hypnosis? Will Kyle wake up with a snap of fingers to roars of laughter? Or is this something much more sinister?

Narrated on a set of found cassette tapes at an unspecified point in the future, Human.4 is an absolutely chilling look at technology gone too far.

The premise of this book grabbed my attention while at the same time giving me an eerie feeling, right from the start. The story is narrated by Kyle Straker, who has a nice but bold voice that I think can easily resonate with teen boys. He’s introduced to us as a normal kid who has a pretty normal life in his small town. And he’s strong enough to keep it together as events and people around him become more difficult to handle.

After the hypnotism, Kyle and the other characters who were under band together and try to deal with what happened as a sort of hodge podge team. They have their hard times, but I liked the dynamic of all the characters together, working towards their goal of figuring out what has suddenly happened to their world. They’re all interesting characters separately, as well, so that helps with their chemistry together.

Although there aren’t many big action scenes, I did feel the tension and suspense of the story. I kind of knew what was going on the whole time, but still found myself anxious as I read because the characters were so real to me that I worried for them. The book blurb promised me chills, and I found them, although this is not a horror story.

What a great book for boys. And it’s a great sci-fi read and should have you turning the page to make sure Kyle gets through safely on the other side.

Until next time, go read something!

~ Vilate

Austin Teen Book Festival - Review

This past weekend was the awesome Austin Teen Book Festival. I dragged a high school friend up there and we hung out on Friday night with a bunch of fabulous bloggers.

Threadgills is amazing! Great food and the waitress was patient with everyone. C and I walked 6th street, but had to call it quits because we were both sick and we had to get up early-ish on Saturday for the festival. Luckily, I booked us a room at the Hilton Garden Inn. I almost booked at the Homestead, which is where a lot of other bloggers and authors ended up staying. So glad I didn't! I love Austin, but the Homestead is one destination I'll never have to arrive at.

The festival started at 10am. I was late, as per usual, but I didn't miss much. The place was packed (The Palmer Events Center). Scott Westerfeld gave the keynote address and had the audience laughing a lot. He's a wonderful speaker and he really knows how to connect with a room full of teenagers. What a great choice for keynote speaker!

After the keynote, we had time to get to the first panel session (they had five panels to choose from and three time-slots). The Palmer has one main hall and a few meeting rooms upstairs. Unfortunately, the organizers of the Festival put three of the panels in the big meeting hall with just some curtains dividing the room. So the first hour downstairs was kind of a mess. I will give them credit for realizing their mistake and rearranging panels so only one at a time was going on in the main hall. I'm sure next year they'll make other arrangements.

I was very happy with the selection of authors and panels. It was really nice to see such a wide range of genres represented there. Last year was also good, but I definitely felt like this was better, although I really enjoyed having the festival at a high school. The big event center kind of made it feel a little impersonal.

I'd say the low point came with the signings at the end of the day. They packed in the panels and didn't allow enough time for the actual book signings, which disappointed a lot of kids. Not everyone got everything signed. I think the mistake came when the allowed about the same amount of time as last year, but they this year there were several more authors. It would have been nice to have a bit more time.

But I came away with several interviews to post on the podcast, and I'll get to each one along with reviews and possibly some giveaways. I had a great time, and my hat is off to the organizers of Austin Teen Book Festival. Not many people can get something like that together without too many hiccups, and these folks did a great job with such a huge gathering of fest-goers. I can't wait until next year!

Until next time, go read something!

~ Vilate

Fantasy Friday: Supernaturally

Supernaturally, by Kiersten White

Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 352
Reading Level: 12 and up

Paranormalcy was one of my absolute favorite books of last year, so I was super excited for Supernaturally.

From GoodReads:

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

So much for normal.

I'm a little torn with how I feel about Supernaturally. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but last year, Paranormalcy sucker punched me with its freshness and originality. It had that real "Wow" factor because it was so unique, not only in storyline, but in the way the story was told. Since I've already been exposed to it, I was less blown away by Supernaturally. That being said, Supernaturally still kept all the awesome elements I loved from Paranormalcy and advanced the story in a way I think will make Endlessly amazing.

Let's start with the voice. Bleeping amazing! Evie jumps right off the page and makes me jealous I don't have Kiersten White's genius. Even in the most dire of circumstances, the narrative is funny but not in a distracting way. Aaand, how cute are Evie and Lend? The book could've been entirely encompassed by their flirting and I still would've been pleased.

I'm a little surprised, but I didn't dislike Reth in this novel. I'll be honest, I hated him through most of Paranormalcy and only at the end did I start to hate him a little less (which, is due to his character, not any flaw on White's part). Reth's involvement in the story makes him more and more intriguing. I kind of want to go back and read Paranormalcy again, knowing what I know now, and see if I can like him a little more. Also, Neamh = lovely.

I think what I really enjoyed about Supernaturally--besides the amazing characters, voice, plot, and overall great writing--was the moral dilemmas. There were several of them in this book and they were examined with just the right amount of attention. They didn't overwhelm the story nor were they rushed over. I have a feeling the conclusions of these dilemmas are key for the last book and it makes me extremely excited.

If you haven't read Supernaturally (or *dies at the thought* Paranormalcy) you should go do that. Now. Even if you're not a fan of paranormal I think you'll like it.

Happy reading!

~Rose

MiddleGrade Monday: The Secret Language of Girls

The Secret Language of Girls, by Frances O’Roark Dowell

Publisher: Atheneum (Simon Schuster)
Pages: 256 (paperback)
Reading Level: 9-12 (middlegrade)
Enjoyment Level: Medium

This is another one from my good friends at Simon Schuster. And it’s another one I’d seen around and heard about, but didn’t read until I got my copy from the publisher.

From GoodReads:

In the old days, when Kate had no interest in romance, she never cared what other people thought. Now, it appeared, love was turning her into a rotten human being.

Eleven-year-old Kate Faber wishes she could talk to her best friend Marylin about this. But Marylin is no longer her best friend. Or is she? Kate and Marylin had always been the kind of best friends who lived on the same block for their entire lives and who could agree on the kind of boys worth kissing (only movie stars) or who should be invited to their sleepover (definitely not Mazie Calloway or Elinor Pritchard). The kind of best friends who didn't need words to talk, but who always just knew.

But lately Marylin has started to think that Kate can be a bit babyish. And Kate thinks that Marylin is acting like a big snob. And a lot of the time, well, it feels as though they just don't know each other anymore. Somehow nothing is the same, but secretly Kate and Marylin both wish that it could be....

I think I must be losing my touch with middlegrade books. I just wasn’t terribly impressed and I think part of it is just that I haven’t read many for this age range. I know what I liked and disliked about the book, but I might be behind in what’s the norm for MG books.

I liked the characters just fine. They seemed slightly young at times for being in sixth grade, but the personalities worked for me. The author did a wonderful job at building the girls and making them pop as real people in real situations, and all of the side characters were well-rounded. I don’t usually enjoy books where the point-of-view switches between characters, but it worked all right for this storyline. I did like getting both perspectives, since the book was about both of the girls.

The plot didn’t really work for me as well, though. It fell flat in several places and left me questioning the reasons behind various plot points. The writing was sort of simplistic, which, I think, led me in feeling like the girls were younger than sixth graders. I wanted a more mature writing style to really help drive the story and tie everything together. By the ending of the book, I still wasn’t quite sure where the plot was going, and it left me hanging, but not as though it was a cliffhanger.

In my mind, I’m comparing this to Princess for Hire, by Lindsey Leavitt and I much prefer that story and writing style to this one. That’s not to say others and MG girls won’t like this one. I just wouldn’t suggest it to reluctant readers, as it isn’t as fast-paced as other books. The characters are relatable for younger readers, so that’s a definite check in the pro column. Readers will be able to identify and others may have a better time enjoying the plot than I did. It’s worth checking out if you’ve got young girls in the house.

Until next time, go read something!

~ Vilate ~

Teen Fiction Tuesday: Across the Universe

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis

Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin)
Pages: 398 (hardcover)
Reading Level: 14 and up
Enjoyment Level: Highest


There was a movie a few years ago called Across the Universe, so when this one came out, I thought it hadn’t just come out – I thought it was a book of the movie. I couldn’t figure out why everyone was suddenly talking about it. Of course, I was set straight eventually, and put it in my to-read pile.

From GoodReads:

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

So many, many amazing books have been released lately! I feel like it’s impossible to read all of the good ones and do justice to them in reviews and interviews. Plus, I’ve been slacking in reviewing what I’ve read recently. It’s hard to know exactly what to say with a book like this one, though. It was just fabulous!

The story is dystopian, but it’s mystery, as well, with a lot of science fiction thrown in. I loved the plot – it kept me hooked. The intricacies of life on the spaceship got more and more interesting as the book moved on and mysteries were revealed. I felt like the writing was solid, and just enough information was given at any one time. It kept me turning pages (and staying up late).

Amy is a good character. I felt so sorry for her but cheered when she did what she had to. Her interactions with others on the ship drove home all the differences between what we know as modern life and what the characters knew on the ship. I can’t say that Amy was a stand-out character if she was compared to some others I’ve read recently, but for the story and her chemistry with Elder, the development is spot on. I believed the relationship between the two of them.

I did guess who the bad guy was early on. I don’t know if the author meant to be more subtle, but I was clued in at the introduction of this particular character, and the subsequent development of that storyline had me sure long before the mystery was solved. On the other side of that, the other “bad guy” character development did surprise me a little, so I felt that it was all balanced out in the end.

This is definitely a favorite for me this year, and I can’t wait to read the sequel. I’m so excited to keep reading about Amy, Elder, and the unusual lives people live on the ship. I highly recommend this one. You won’t be sorry if you read it.

Until next time, go read something!


~ Vilate ~