Lauren Kate is back with a new book, and it looks and sounds magical!
Never, ever cry. . . . Eureka Boudreaux’s mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn’t, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.
But Ander doesn’t know Eureka’s darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth . . . and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined.
From Lauren Kate comes an epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic . . . a world where everything you love can be washed away.
Publication Date: 22 October 2013
Eureka’s name should have been Alice…who went to Wonderland and cried a lake into existence. (^_^)
Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) Author:Tahereh Mafi Read Date: 27 February 2013 Goodreads Reading Status Updates:click! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. But only because of Warner, who’s worth maybe a whole star, maybe more. (What?! The rest of the book was only mildly interesting.)
tick
tick
tick
tick
tick
it’s almost
time for war.
Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.
She’s finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.
Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.
In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam’s life.
*SPOILER WARNING FOR PRETTY MUCH ALL THE MATERIAL IN THIS SERIES*
So I thought that life-changing decision they were talking about in the synopsis will be something really epic, but as it turns out, it’s just Juliette finally succumbing to Noble Idiocy.
I first encountered the term when I got into Korean dramas, and perhaps one of the best examples is illustrated here: Noble Idiotic Cancer-afflicted Characters. If you’ve read “Unravel Me” and that scenario sounds familiar, well…now you have a term for it.
I was annoyed with Juliette for most of this book, and to be honest, I really wanted to punch her in the face. If only she weren’t so powerful and so…fictional.
First, there’s that noble idiocy. (I am a monster, I can kill you, therefore, we cannot be together. *gives Adam torturous looks for the rest of the book*) I do understand her plight and her genuine fears, but I was disappointed that she didn’t even give herself or Adam a chance to at least be trained or to even actively find a solution.
Juliette: ‘I can’t help but wonder what my life would’ve been like if someone had taken a chance on me.’
Me: Well, sister, you will keep wondering if you aren’t even willing to take a chance on yourself.
I liked, though, that Adam wasn’t willing to take all this bullshit from Juliette and kept insisting that he wanted to make things work. (Although sometimes, I think he’s just sexually frustrated. Sorry. I mean…right?) At least he redeemed himself after making the mistake of not telling Juliette that he wasn’t as immune to her as they thought.
Second, she was just so emo. It’s the book’s saving grace that Tahereh Mafi got Kenji and Castle to call Juliette out on being a selfish, whiny, anti-social brat. I really, really appreciate Mafi hanging a lantern on that. It’s a pity because you would’ve thought she’d be a bit more optimistic and proactive now that she has a Professor X in her life. You know, just a bit? Not to mention an awesome awesome friend in Kenji. If Kenji dies in the next book, I will seriously cut a bitch.
Also, I do think Mafi writes beautifully, and sometimes the similes and metaphors are so pretty they touch my heart, which is proven by the many tabs now sticking out of my copy of the book. But there are times, too, when it all gets cheesy and overbearing. Emo Juliette + Juliette’s voice in melancholic prose = a particularly trying time inside the character’s head. I do get that this is part of the character’s DNA, but I just wish there was some semblance of evolution in this aspect now. It was acceptable to see her so introspective and defeated only when she was locked up in an asylum. I don’t expect her to stop being this way entirely because then, she wouldn’t be Juliette. But maybe just…a little more positive? A little more willing to change her circumstances and to fight back? I loved when she was being funny and light-hearted and even sarcastic—those are some ray-of-sunshine moments!
The character who I did not expect to be such a fancy thinker was Warner (omo, he reads Shakespeare!), although reading “Destroy Me” changed that perception. Oh, Warner Warner Warner. There’s some hate for him out there as a love interest, especially post-”Shatter Me”, and I understand that. In fact, I approve. I felt the same way!
But I, like Juliette, find something compelling about him that I cannot name. He’s been described by other readers as a psycho, a warfreak, a megalomaniac. Well, he does own up to being a murderer and a troubled, unforgivable person, but people give him too much credit.
Anyway, that doesn’t mean he can’t make you swoon. After all, bad boys are attractive, right? And Warner is a very bad boy who you just might want to do bad things with. CHAPTER SIXTY TWO. ‘Nuff said.
Juliette: ‘I don’t know why my heart is losing its mind.’
Me: Damn. My heart lost it too. But I know why.
I don’t know why she keeps giving Warner flack about going Darth Vader on her Luke Skywalker, by the way. (*in Darth Vader voice* Join me, and together, we will rule the galaxy…) Warner wants her to realize the true potential of her powers. Sure he wants to do it for World Domination (or so he says), but what about Castle? Castle wants her on their side so they can overthrow the Re-establishment, but he also admits that they will do it when they’re ready to rule. So both sides want Juliette on their side so they can gain power. Castle may have more noble intentions, but sometimes, when it comes to Warner, I think Juliette doth protest too much. It’s a good thing she’s not a hypocrite about her other feelings for him.
‘Warner is the one person I can be completely honest with. I always feel like I have to protect Adam from me, from the horror story that is my life…But with Warner, there’s nothing to hide.’
I am not yet too hopelessly romantic to think that Juliette will end up with Warner just because I like him, of course. Author Kate Evangelista once said that there seems to be an unspoken rule that the heroine must end up with the one who saved her first, and that was Adam.
Actually, I’m still not convinced that Warner will be good for Juliette in the first place. As of this book, he does have his own agenda despite his feelings for her, and nothing can erase his past, his crimes, and his family background. Basically, if Juliette was still living with her family, her mother would tell her to stay as far away from Warner as she can. And until things change in the third book, I’d have to agree with her.
I personally like him because he has more potential as a character, he has more depth, and he’s been brutally honest about what he’s really like so far, and I appreciate that. And also, yes, that compelling something I still cannot name. And the feels. But being on Team Warner/Team 62 doesn’t mean being on board the Juliette/Warner ‘ship entirely. In this book, for me, it just means I’m rooting for the character.
It’s telling, though, that the times when I liked Juliette in this book were when she was with either James or Kenji.
I also like that in the love configuration, it’s Juliette who is the more powerful entity. In most YA love triangles, it’s often the girl who’s the normal or weaker one—the human—and it is often the boys who have power or wealth or who are supernatural beings. This is a nice variation to the trope. I hope that she lives up to the hype when we get to the last book.
I should probably stop talking about the romance now. I just couldn’t help it because the plot didn’t really move forward as much as could be expected from such a thick book, and the romance constitutes a good chunk of it. You can’t even really argue for character development taking up a lot of space because there wasn’t much growth or change in Juliette.
Okay, let’s talk about abilities. The gist: the series has gone all dystopian X-Men on us.
Yes, I did expect to see a lot of mutants because the story is now set in Omega Point, but I didn’t want EVERYONE to be a mutant! Sure, I was willing to accept that maybe Adam was, and I kinda saw the Warner revelation coming after that. But even James?! Being Adam’s brother is not an excuse.
The only normal major character in this is Supreme Commander Anderson. And who knows, maybe he’ll also find out later that he’s a mutant, especially considering how his kids turned out. Statistical probability just got thrown out the window. It’s all just so…to quote James himself, convenient.
Sometimes I feel like the Omega Point and mutant rebel action plot thread belongs to a different story. I think it’s because of Juliette’s voice, which is so personal, internal, and emotional; it fits the romance aspect more than the action and secret mutant rebellion scenes which are best narrated in a more straightforward voice to be better appreciated. I’m hoping that Mafi will be able to more smoothly intertwine internal Juliette with heroine Juliette and the outside world.
I also hope that Juliette will live up to her potential, not necessarily as a powerful being, but as a proper heroine in the next book. Nothing like almost-death to get you motivated, huh?
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And now to Score The Book. This has everything to do with Warner and Chapter Sixty Two. Sorry, Juliette.
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Read this book:
Only if you’ve read “Shatter Me.” Reading “Destroy Me” is optional, but recommended.
Destroy Me (Shatter Me #1.5) Author:Tahereh Mafi Read Date: 26 February 2013 Goodreads Reading Status Updates:click! Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .
Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.
Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me, Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.
*SPOILER WARNING FOR BOTH THIS NOVELLA AND “SHATTER ME”*
It’s great that we now know more about Warner and why he did the things he did in “Shatter Me”, even though he turns out to pretty much be your usual villain who dons a mask of cruelty to hide a troubled past (and present) to the point of driving the love of his life away. It’s a little too cliché, actually, but there’s something compelling about Warner that I am gravitating toward—especially compared to Adam—so I will just have to accept this.
Also, he picked up a dog and happily fed it, so now it’s gonna take something truly devastating to make me hate him after that. Gorgeous, emotionally compromised men who are nice to women (when they’re not possessed by bouts of noble idiocy or necessary pretense), children, and dogs: there you have it, ladies and gents, my literary male character kryptonite.
The passages from Juliette’s notebook are a great addition here, by the way, as there really isn’t much of the actual content of the notebook in “Shatter Me”. They shed a little more light on Juliette’s captivity (pre-Adam) and how she dealt with her isolation.
“Destroy Me” seems like such an apt title for this novella because, dude, Warner was just crumbling right before my eyes. He falls apart so many times that it’s painful to read. I personally don’t think it’s necessary to paint him this way—in a level of pain that is almost close to Juliette’s—when he didn’t suffer as much as she did. And this difference is magnified even more when the revelations in Juliette’s notebook entries are put parallel to Warner’s trials and tribulations. Sure, he empathizes with her, especially with how they were both treated by their parents. But when you consider how he is in a position of power and privilege, he comes off as too emo, no matter how helpless he actually is when it comes to Juliette. I can still sympathize with him as a reader and understand his motivations as a character even if he were written just a little less emotionally than this.
I wrote about how the portrayal of love can still be epic and thrilling and intense without being suffocating, as Laini Taylor pulled off so well in “Daughter of Smoke and Bone”, and Maggie Stiefvater also did in “The Scorpio Races”. I loved how measured but still swoon-worthy the romance there is, and I wish there was a little of that kind of calculated restraint here and in “Shatter Me”. But the intensity and heightened emotions seem to be part of the style and the theme of the series, and it certainly isn’t something alien in dystopian YA, so I suppose it all comes down to personal preferences, but I just had to say it.
And I thought it was just Juliette, but is thinking in very dramatic similes all the rage in this world? (Loved them at first, but they can get exasperating.) I dread to hear what Adam is thinking.
But…okay, I’ll bite, because I’m a sucker for this tortured love thing sometimes. I’m on board for “Unravel Me”, but the payoff better be something that will rock my world.
Read this novella if:
You’ve read “Shatter Me”.
You’re curious about Warner.
You were waiting for a Warner shower/bath scene. (What?! It’s his turn.)
✻ ✻ ✻ Share Your Story in the Pensieve: What is your literary character kryptonite? (What kind of characters do you most gravitate toward?)
An Abundance of Katherines Author:John Green Read Date: 16 January 2013 Goodreads Reading Status Updates:click! Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washedup child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun–but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.
Okay, so, yay, I survived this book and actually understood the math! If I didn’t, I’d probably be ashamed for my university degree. It did bring up some horrible memories of Math 17, Math 53, Math 54, Math 54 (Take 2), Math 54 (Take…nevermind)…and Math 55, which I’d rather do without, but…yay for being able to understand the math! I know that shouldn’t be the thing that I take away from this book, but I’m just so relieved that I got it.
But hey, understanding the math isn’t a requirement for enjoying the book. Green wrote this in a way that is easy for math haters to get the gist of Colin’s Theorem, and also easy for math lovers to geek-out over all the graphs, equations, and proofs.
Anyway. This is the first full-length novel of John Green’s that I’ve read (I read his story on “Geektastic”), and I can tell why so many people like him. His writing style is very engaging, and he has a way with words that makes him so quotable.
“An Abundance of Katherines” has a cool premise, although, in keeping with the theme, you probably have to wonder at the statistical probability of someone falling in love (or some form of it) with 18 different girls named Katherine (not Catherine but KATHERINE), and getting into a relationship (or some form of it) with one of those twice. But hey, Green managed to suspend my disbelief, so…good job!
It took me a while to get into the narrative rhythm of the book for some reason; I guess I didn’t care too much about the incidental happenings and characters compared to Colin’s trials and tribulations. On hindsight, this was weird of me because while I ended up liking Colin, I had a difficult time, in the beginning, trying to empathize with his character. He was too quirky, and I hovered over my computer monitor being all judgmental, mentally chiding Colin “maybe this is why you were dumped by 19 girls.” I also found the footnotes and anagrams and the math just a little too gimmicky, but later on, when I got used to the narrative style, they didn’t bother me anymore. When I got that out of the way, I was able to power through the latter half of the book because the character interactions also became more interesting by then.
The plot was infinitely simpler than the math and was a little too predictable–no equations necessary–but that’s not a deal-breaker here because the story really is more about the characters’ metaphorical rather than their literal journeys.
I think one of the reasons why this book works on the character level is because of Green’s uncanny ability to capture the thoughts and emotions of young people and to express those in highlight-worthy words.
“I just want to do something that matters. Or be something that matters. I just want to matter.”
:
“I think we’re opposites, you and me,” she said finally. “Because personally I think mattering is a piss-poor idea. I just want to fly under the radar, because when you start to make yourself into a big deal, that’s when you get shot down. The bigger a deal you are, the worse your life is. Look at, like, the miserable lives of famous people.”
I also loved Green’s little shout-outs to books and storytelling.
That’s how I remember things, anyway. I remember stories. I connect the dots and then out of that comes a story. And the dots that don’t fit into the story just slide away, maybe. Like when you spot a constellation. You look up and you don’t see all the stars. All the stars just look like the big fugging random mess that they are. But you want to see shapes; you want to see stories, so you pick them out of the sky. Hassan told me once you think like that, too—that you see connections everywhere—so you’re a natural born storyteller, it turns out.
Books are the ultimate Dumpees: put them down and they’ll wait for you forever; pay attention to them and they always love you back.
Friends who’ve read many of Green’s books tell me this is actually his “happiest”. Well, this did end happily, although (SPOILER ALERT!) the next question is: how will Colin fare in a long-distance relationship?
Pick up this book if:
You like math and anagrams.
You don’t necessarily love math or anagrams but you want to read something that showcases a different perspective on relationships.
Your name is Katherine.
You have been dumped before.
✻ ✻ ✻ Share Your Story in the Pensieve: Do you want to matter or do you prefer flying under the radar?
Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?
This book’s premise is one of those that make me go “why didn’t I think of that?!” But I don’t think my brain is wired for writing novels, so I’m just thankful that a skilled author actually thought of it and wrote it.
“Unspoken” is my first Sarah Rees Brennan book, and I’m happy to discover that I like her writing style. She’s easy to read, helps me conjure up great mental images of her story and characters, and she’s sassy and witty in a way that reminds me of Libba Bray.
“I knew we should not have brought you,” Mom said. “The Lynburns built this town on their blood and bones.”
“That was their first mistake,” Jared said. “They should’ve built a city on rock and roll.”
Brennan describes the book as “Sassy Gothic,” which is an apt label. “Unspoken” definitely exudes gothic vibes complete with old creepy mansions and a lot of…ummm…murder, and the writing style and humor take care of the sassy part. The only thing that was iffy for me with regard to the sass is it seems most of the characters are that way. I’m okay with Kami bringing it on, but even Jared, Ash, and Angela have that same kind of humor. It’s not necessarily a bad thing–and hey, we get more punch lines!–but it diminishes Kami’s uniqueness as a character by several notches.
“That’s true,” Kami said. “What I would think of you, I do not know. So what does brown leather mean, then?”
“I’m going for manly,” Jared said. “Maybe a little rugged.”
“It’s bits of dead cow; don’t ask it to perform miracles.”
—
“I am fascinated by gardening,” Kami agreed solemnly. “Tell me about fertilizer, Ash.”
“I dunno, we haven’t known each other that long, that’s kind of racy talk,” said Ash.
—
Holly was laughing. “Jared told her he used to be an exotic dancer in San Francisco.”
“My body is a gift from God,” Jared said gravely. “Except for my hips, which are clearly a gift from the devil.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t call the police,” Ash muttered. “I would have.”
I won’t talk about the mechanics of how the “imaginary friend” thing works, but the conflict that arises when Kami and Jared finally meet sure is fascinating. It’s akin to meeting a long-time pen pal or Twitter friend or blog / message board correspondent face-to-face for the very first time, except that this other person was privy to your innermost thoughts, feelings, and fears. It was fine when you can pretend he was just “imaginary”, but finding out he’s real and realizing just how much he knows and how much power he actually has over you because of that gives an even more dangerous meaning to the phrase “blackmail material.”
All the words she knew to describe what he was to her were from love stories and love songs, but those were not words anyone truly meant. They were like Jared, in a way. If they were real, they would be terrifying.
On hindsight, I think this is also how Ginny Weasley must have felt in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” after pouring her heart out to Diary!Tom Riddle and learning later on that he was just using her to become more corporeal and to get revenge on Harry.
The fantasy element of the novel is interesting as well. Brennan built a magic system that really suits the setting of the book and complements the whodunit story line. For a while there I thought she was going to go in the “normal heroine discovers she is supernatural” direction, which would have made for interesting character interactions considering what everyone else was, but she subverted that nicely and went for what I thought was a more satisfying arc, especially when one considers the ending.
The characters are fleshed out well. Each one has enough back story and a significant role, although most are cast to type, especially the two lead boys (Jared: Emo, bad boy object of romance; Ash: Talented, nice guy, love triangle material). A couple of the secondary characters became pawns in some late-stage plot developments, which is generally okay, except that these had that slight contrived feel to them. But maybe it’s just me.
Kami is a little too Luna Lovegood-quirky for my personal taste, but I like that she has courage and wasn’t willing to just sit around and wait while blood continues to be shed in some isolated shed deep in the forest. I also like that she can be insecure (about her looks), but is confident in other aspects of her personality, like her Elizabeth Wakefield-esque journalistic sense.
Her exploits with the rest of the gang reminded me too much of “Get a Clue”, though. It was fun when they went on their Scooby Gang mission the first time, but the “investigations” happened a little too often (again, for my personal taste) to account for Kami finding various pieces of the mystery. I prefer more event and plot-driven revelations, especially since there are a lot of opportunities for those in the narrative. This doesn’t cripple the story, though, so it’s not really a problem, and maybe the Scooby vibe really is what Brennan was going for; for the third time, I guess this is just a matter of personal taste.
One other remarkable thing about Kami is before the story started, she’s practically normal–with a complete, loving family and a normal school life–except for her imaginary friend and her tendency to space out. In that, she’s rather different from most YA protagonists who tend to carry more emotional baggage into the story with their broken families, heartbreak, attitude problems, criminal records, and the like. It’s refreshing to read about such a character and to witness how Brennan managed her development.
“Unspoken” is paced well, it has fascinating conflicts and relationships, an atmospheric setting, and a magic system that has a lot of potential to develop more in the sequels. The characters are likable enough that I root for them, although they don’t particularly evoke enough emotion from me to be more scared or happy or thrilled along with them. Nevertheless, I am now invested in the series and I will continue reading the sequels because I feel like Brennan has more great, fun stuff up her sleeves, and I really want to know what happens after that cliffhanger of an ending.
If you liked the “Beautiful Creatures” series by Kami Garcia (namesake!) and Margaret Stohl, then you’ll probably appreciate this one as well.
✿ ✿ ✿
Sarah Rees Brennan wrote a prequel short story for “Unspoken” entitled “The Summer Before I Met You,” which gives us more details about certain things that happened in the past to Kami and Angela that were referenced in “Unspoken”. It’s free, and can be read here: click! (You don’t need to read “Unspoken” before reading this, I think, though the references will have more impact if you did.)
Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia to be raised in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles. “The best of all the Greeks”—strong, beautiful, and the child of a goddess—Achilles is everything the shamed Patroclus is not. Yet despite their differences, the boys become steadfast companions. Their bond deepens as they grow into young men and become skilled in the arts of war and medicine—much to the displeasure and the fury of Achilles’ mother, Thetis, a cruel sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.
When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece, bound by blood and oath, must lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.
Built on the groundwork of the Iliad, Madeline Miller’s page-turning, profoundly moving, and blisteringly paced retelling of the epic Trojan War marks the launch of a dazzling career.
Caution: Today, I am prepared to sacrifice virgins on the altar of literature. So beware, Song of Achilles Virgins and Iliad Virgins! This could get spoilery. Continue reading →
The book trailer for Marissa Meyer’s “Scarlet,” the sequel to “Cinder,” is now live online as exclusive content on Entertainment Weekly’s Shelf Life section. Click HERE to view the trailer.
“Cinder” is a science-fiction re-imagining of the “Cinderella” fairy tale, while “Scarlet” will integrate elements from “Little Red Riding Hood.”
Tor.com also posted “The Queen’s Army,” a short story set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles. The hero of this short story, Ze’ev, will probably make an appearance in “Scarlet”. We know from the end of “Cinder” that the Queen of Luna is already preparing for a war against Earth. I just hope Meyer won’t go the predictable route again–I hope Ze’ev doesn’t turn out to be “Wolf” because I really want to be surprised. Click HERE to read “The Queen’s Army.”
I wish I can draw because the Lunar Queen is seriously giving me some “Final Fantasy VIII” Ultimecia/Artemisia vibes, and that vision is reinforced by Meyer naming the Lunar capital Artemisia. This world lends itself very well to a visual medium that I wouldn’t be surprised if Meyer lands a graphic novel adaptation deal or something; they’re already shopping around the film rights.
So anyway, I’ve said in a previous post that I really liked “Cinder” even though it was a little predictable, so I look forward to reading what happens next. Just surprise me this time, okay? The world is rich and well-conceived, and there is a lot of room to play around with the plot and characters and to exercise more subtlety or authorial sleight-of-hand.
Cinder returns trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world in Paris, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own. As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, and ignore their growing attraction to one another, they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana who will do anything to win Cinder’s beloved Prince Kai.
Title:The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) Author:Maggie Stiefvater Read Date: 16 September 2012 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Goodreads Status Updates:click! Review Preview: Lyrical, atmospheric, and an attention-stealing introduction to a new series.
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“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
[ Disclosure: I (loved)x102 Maggie Stiefvater's "The Scorpio Races," and have since decided that I would read all of her new books despite being only ambivalent towards her "The Wolves of Mercy Falls" trilogy. ]
My immediate reaction after finishing The Raven Boys was “it was not what I was expecting.” I suppose I can be forgiven for envisioning a dark world inhabited by malevolent spirits after the synopsis promised me “a strange and sinister world.” But hey, I like what I read more than what I had envisioned, so it’s cool.
Most of the elements that I loved about The Scorpio Races were present in The Raven Boys. And forgive me for all the comparisons, but The Scorpio Races is my Stiefvater benchmark right now.
The World – Despite being set in America, Blue Sargent’s hometown had this Scottish Highlands feel to it. It’s a place that is steeped in magic, and Stiefvater’s prose really makes you feel that. We don’t get to see the sights as much because of the focus on the characters and their present quest, but I hope to explore more of the town in the next books in the Cycle.
The Mythology – The Scorpio Races’ mythology was very simple but it was the centerpiece around which Stiefvater built her story and the device which she used very effectively to create conflict between her characters. The mythology of The Raven Boys is based on Welsh myths and legends; it’s a little more complex and it spans different continents and cultures. This was another of those unexpected things for me, because you certainly don’t get an inkling of the Welsh aspect from the beginning of the story. The book feels more magical and fantastical than even The Wolves of Mercy Falls, and it’s fun seeing the characters encounter magic when they are afraid to believe in it.
Magic existed, and Adam didn’t know how much that changed the world.
The Slow-burning Romance – The subtle, slow-burning romance in The Scorpio Races thrilled me more than some of the epic love stories that I’ve read. What romance there is in The Raven Boys is certainly subtle and…let’s just say that my One True Pairing will take at least one more book to get to where I want them to be. Strangely, I am okay with this, and that should probably clue you in on my feelings about The Raven Boys because I often demand good romantic pay-offs.
I am highlighting the romance here only because the character hook for Blue in the book teasers is readings of her future say that she will kill her true love if she ever kisses him, and that the lone ghost she sees is either her true love or someone she killed. But I think the romance is only the icing on top of a wonderfully layered, and more complex story.
…if you get to know him– You’d better guard your heart.
Interesting Characters – A seemingly ordinary girl who comes from a family of psychics. A rich boy with an obsession with a dead king. A bunch of side characters who each have a painful past and who are dependent on one person to keep them together. They’re all interesting to me.
I like Blue despite finding her a little too quirky sometimes. I appreciate that she is the type who is willing to take control of her life despite Fate wanting to intervene with her all the time.
She wasn’t interested in telling other people’s futures. She was interested in going out and finding her own.
I haven’t warmed up to Gansey much yet, but I already like him enough. You see, I have a weakness for guys who like books and questing for dead kings. Indiana Jones? Yes, I love him.
And everywhere, everywhere, there were books. Not the tidy stacks of an intellectual attempting to impress, but the slumping piles of a scholar obsessed.
Blue and the Raven Boys also have a very interesting dynamic that I would like to see more of. And more psychic relatives, please.
One other aspect of this book that I liked is that Stiefvater opted NOT to use the first person point-of-view. (Thank you, Maggie!) I appreciated that style in The Scorpio Races, but in The Wolves of Mercy Falls, not so much. It’s a welcome change, and she tells just as good a story using this style.
Stiefvater’s lyrical prose and subtle humor introduces us to a lush and magical world that is brimming with the promise of a fantastical story. This is the first in a series, and it is understandably burdened with a lot of exposition and world- and character-building, but there are a lot of great set-pieces, character moments, and chilling events. While there may not be many satisfying pay-offs by the end of the book, there are plot lines that were satisfactorily resolved, and more interesting ones that have unraveled for the next installment.
You’ve stolen my attention, Maggie. I’m definitely on board for this series.
——-
This review is based on an advance reading copy provided by Scholastic Philippines.
Filipino author Kate Evangelista’s follow-up to her debut novel, Taste, is yet another YA paranormal romance with an interesting premise.
Ever since a near-death-experience on the operating table, seventeen-year-old Arianne Wilson can see dead people. Just as she’s learned to accept her new-found talents, she discovers that the boy she’s had a crush on since freshman year, Niko Clark, is a Reaper.
At last they have something in common, but that doesn’t mean life is getting any easier. All while facing merciless bullying from the most powerful girl in school, Arianne’s world is turned upside down after Niko accidentally reaps the soul of someone she loves. This sends them both into a spiral that threatens to end Arianne’s life. But will Niko break his own Reaper’s code to save her? And what would the consequences be if he did?
Publication Date: 30 October 2012
Wow, this is yet another exquisite work by artist Liliana Sanches, who also created the cover of “Taste”. I like that the aesthetic consistency with “Taste” despite the different publishers gives Evangelista’s books a signature look and feel.
But what’s with guys named Niko and themes of death/the Underworld? (See also: Nico di Angelo)
Nominations are now open for the 1st Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards. Initiated by Filipino Book Bloggers (of which I’m a member), the RCA aims to “develop awareness and appreciation of Philippine literature; recognize the reader’s role in creating the meaning and experience of a literary work; and give the readers a voice in the Philippine book industry.” The awards will be handed out during the 2nd Filipino ReaderCon on August 18th.
Click here to make a nomination. You can send them in until July 22nd.
And on July 21st, the awesome folks behind the equally awesome local YA magazine, Kwentillion, will hold the 1st Kwentillion Young Adult Readers Carnival.
Whether you’re an actual young adult or someone who just feels like it but who appreciates the genre, this is going to be a super fun event! For more information, click here.
I recently finished reading Cinder, the first book in Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles. The series re-imagines fairy tales into a sci-fi world with cyborgs and aliens from the Moon.
Cinder is a re-telling of Cinderella in which our princess turns out to be a cyborg who’s making a living as a mechanic. I enjoyed reading Cinder a lot, so I’m in for the rest of the series.
The cover for the second book was recently revealed along with a summary and an excerpt.
Book two, Scarlet, is based on Little Red Riding Hood. It continues Cinder’s story as she attempts to escape Queen Levana’s vengeance and learn more about her past. The story also introduces readers to Scarlet, a girl living in southern France whose grandmother has mysteriously disappeared. In order to find her, Scarlet seeks the help of Wolf, a street fighter with more than a few mysteries of his own.
Publication Date: 2013
There are two more books planned after Scarlet : Cress (based on Rapunzel), which is due in 2014, and Winter (based on Snow White), due in 2015.
Read the excerpt from Scarlet along with an interview with Meyer here: click! There’s also a non-spoilery prequel short story to Cinder entitled Glitches, which you can read for free here: click!
Title:Fallen In Love Author:Lauren Kate Read Date: March 2012 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Review Preview: Something fun to read while waiting for “Rapture” (no, not the doomsday thingy.)
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Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story.
And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine’s Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding—and losing—love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first—and last—time, Daniel and Luce will spend a night together like none other.
Unexpected. I wouldn’t say Shelby and Miles’ romance was entirely unexpected. Okay, let’s just say that a good number of Fallen fans have been shipping them since Torment, but of course only Lauren Kate had the power to make them a couple or just have them remain good Luce-chasing time-traveling buddies. But I really like that Lauren went there because this series needs an uncomplicated romance—something sweet and fun and affirming amid all the doom-and-gloom surrounding everyone else. Hurrah for Miles’ Rogue Cap!
Unrequited. I still cannot shake the images of Roland going all tower-climbing Romeo on us (and falling), or of him being so clumsy while attempting to kiss a girl, or of him being a failure at poetry. It’s different from the confident Roland of the present, but then again, it seems like the common theme with Roland, Arianne, and Cam is that their great loves have had such a profound effect on them and we can see how much it changed them.
I like that even though I am conditioned to believe—because of religious prejudice, I think—that Roland is “evil” because he’s a demon, Lauren still managed to convince me that he is capable of acting honorably, and that it’s an integral part of his character.
Throughout the series, the portrayal of the “demons” often surprised me. They don’t seem inherently “evil,” they’re just beings who chose the other side in an epic if-you’re-not-with-me-you’re-against-me battle, and Roland’s story here attests to that.
Forbidden. Arianne’s story has got to be the most heartbreaking one in this book.
Tess tempted Arianne, challenged her, and questioned who she was and what she really believed in. And if it were possible, Tess would have died for her. Theirs is a love that began before they made The Choice, so really, if you’re keeping track, their relationship is marred by big double heartbreaks.
The forbidden aspect of their relationship—Tess is a demon—mirrors Luce and Daniel’s romance, so it’s telling that when Arianne walks away from Tess, scarred, she goes to find Daniel and Luce “to fight for the kind of love I believe in.” Arianne believes that Daniel and Luce’s love does not “require the other to betray her nature,” but in a way, Daniel already made that choice and committed that betrayal, and if we take all the hints seriously, soon, Luce would also have to make a choice that may just be as important as the one that Tess wanted Arianne to make.
And yes, I was surprised that Arianne’s great love was portrayed as a woman. I’m sure there are strong reactions to this revelation, ranging from “Lauren is just pandering to the call of character diversity” or “yay!” or “ugh!” But I do remember from my interviews with her that the angels in the Fallen-verse are more like souls who take up whatever form they fancy (“Passion” Spoiler Alert! – come on, The Evil One took up gargoyle form).
…their physical traits don’t really matter that much—they matter to the readers, they matter to me as a writer, to be able to visualize them—but literally, they don’t matter. Their bodies are sort of just shells—they can change it anytime and look like something different, like when we see Daniel in China, he’s Chinese. It’s really what their soul looks like, which is a hard thing to describe. And so I think that it manifests itself in their physical characteristics so that I can paint a picture for the readers and for myself. I think probably the closest that I get to who they really are is when I describe what they look like. I think that’s how I get closest to what their souls look like, if that makes sense.
So whether it’s all deliberate or contrived or Arianne whispered to her that this is how it has to be, I’m excited to ask her about this, and I hope to be given the chance to do so if she ever comes back here.
Eternal. Of course the Daniel and Luce story here was sweet, but forgive me when I say that it didn’t make much of an impact after those first 3 stories, especially Arianne’s. *hangs head in shame*
The novelty of Fallen In Love is that we experience these stories within the same backdrop of Medieval Valentine’s Day, and they are structured in such a way that the transition from one story to the next is natural and continuous, it almost feels like we’re reading a single tale if not for the story divisions.
If you absolutely can’t wait for Rapture, then this is a good way to pass the time without leaving the Fallen-verse.
For those who keep landing here on my blog after googling “lauren kate rapture excerpt,” here’s some Search Term Indulgence. Of course I can’t post the excerpt which was included in Fallen In Love, but I’ll give you an idea.
It’s the prologue and the first chapter of Rapture, which is exactly where Passion left off, in that little cabin near Sword and Cross. The angels, Shelby, and Miles helped smuggle Luce back to her home so that her parents didn’t notice she was even gone. The next day, everyone’s gathered at the Sword and Cross library to figure out their next move when an earthquake happens. Oh wait, no, according to Cam, it’s a “seismic shift in time,” which could only mean that The Great Evil Gargoyle (sorry, can’t help it) is getting closer and that their time is running out.
♥ ♥ ♥
Special thanks to Leia, who loaned me her copy of the book.
Gorgeous, emotionally compromised men who are nice to women (when they’re not possessed by bouts of noble idiocy or necessary pretense), children, and dogs: there you have it, ladies and gents, my literary male character kryptonite. 
Title: 
Sarah Rees Brennan wrote a prequel short story for “Unspoken” entitled “The Summer Before I Met You,” which gives us more details about certain things that happened in the past to Kami and Angela that were referenced in “Unspoken”. It’s free, and can be read here: 
Title: 
The book trailer for 
Nominations are now open for the 1st Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards. Initiated by 
Book two, Scarlet, is based on Little Red Riding Hood. It continues Cinder’s story as she attempts to escape Queen Levana’s vengeance and learn more about her past. The story also introduces readers to Scarlet, a girl living in southern France whose grandmother has mysteriously disappeared. In order to find her, Scarlet seeks the help of Wolf, a street fighter with more than a few mysteries of his own.
