Elitist Book Reviews

Stranded on an alien space station when she's left behind by her colony ship, Tula is never able to contact them again. She must now learn to survive as a lone human among less than friendly aliens. Tula prepares for the day when she can have her revenge on Brother Blue, the man who left her behind, and who was responsible for the disappearance of the colony ship.

She begins to think she will never get off the station until one day, three years after being stranded, three humans arrive and are stranded themselves.

TIN STAR is easy to read, the prose smooth and surprisingly gentle for the subject matter. We are introduced to the station, the aliens, and the politics in an almost off-hand way. Not like they're unimportant, but that Tula's real attention is somewhere else--so explaining the details of the world she lives in and those who populate it take second fiddle. As a result the world-building feels incomplete and at times it's hard to truly visualize Tula's surroundings as the story progresses.

Tula is clever, but also isolated. Stranded as a girl, she spends her teenage years having to depend on her own self for survival. She learns how to communicate with the aliens in ways that they understand--even becoming friends with a few of them--and how to use trade to get what she needs. Since the book is told from her PoV we're limited to understanding the secondary characters, especially the aliens, and as a result their actions don't make sense until explained after the fact. This makes character interactions sometimes feel contrived, and it's those very interactions upon which a credible conclusion rely. (Hint: the ending, while exciting, wasn't exactly credible.)

The prose and forward movement of the story hides deeper problems. I found the same issue in THE 5TH WAVE (EBR review): the narration was so smooth and confident it was easy to accept the events and behaviors as real. Until you stopped to think about them, that is. The one thing THE 5TH WAVE did well that TIN STAR doesn't is the emotion. Tula talks about events so blandly that it gives readers too much distance. For example we know she wants revenge on Brother Blue...but do we ever really feel her rage?

I didn't hate this book. It was still an interesting read, and YA readers who are new to Sci Fi may find TIN STAR a good introduction to the genre without being overwhelmed. But just warn them that not all Sci Fi is this bland.

Recommended Age: 14+
Language: None
Violence: One vague fight
Sex: None

Find this book here:

TIN STAR

Kestrel is the teenage daughter of a general in the Valoria army, the equivalent of the ancient Roman Empire. He helps the provincial governor in the Herrani territory, where they have enslaved the invaded locals. As a Valorian she must soon decide to join the military or be married. But despite a knack for strategy her combat skills are lacking--her true talent lies in the piano.

Arin is Harrani, and like all his people he is a slave. But he has a secret, and when Kestrel buys him spontaneously at an auction, even she doesn't guess his intentions until it's too late.

You can pretty much guess where the story goes from here: two star-crossed youth from different worlds who, over time, come to realize their feelings for each other. Cue mushy, wide-eyed, and contrived scenes. Still, it was fun and I'm sure a lot of YA female readers will love it.

Not only will they enjoy the romance, they'll find the main character Kestrel a typical teenage girl, with her own strengths and weaknesses. Her love of music is inherited from her mother, but it's a skill usually only Harrani have. Her knack for strategy gets her out of more than one tight spot (as well as causing problems), and while this adult's discerning eye sees the obvious set-up, I know that the target audience will find her talents pretty cool.

Arin is the brooding yet clever slave whose blacksmith training is a valuable skill (convenient, no?). He's handsome, although Kestrel doesn't ever seem to notice(???). He thinks that Valorians are a ruthless and corrupt people, but as a result of his direct observation of the tender-hearted Kestrel, he discovers his belief may be wrong. Unfortunately he discovers this too late and must attempt to mitigate the potential fall-out with the woman he's fallen in love with.

The story is told in third person PoV between Kestrel and Arin in a way that highlights their personalities yet also gives us a view of this alternate world Rutkoski is creating. There are parallels with ancient Rome and its conquered territories--but that's as far as the fantasy-side gets, there is no magic/mystical here. It was interesting to see how invaders and the conquered would have lived side-by-side, how the different cultures clash. There are descriptions about the land and the people and their interactions, but it could have been so much more. However, while more world-building could have created more depth, alas there wasn't enough time.

The story starts off well enough, but the middle is circular as the main characters interact with each other, until the plot finally takes off in the last quarter and everything turns upside-down. It didn't end the way I expected. THE WINNER'S CURSE is the first book in a trilogy so I have no idea where the story is headed, but with that ending (even if it was rather deus ex machina) I think I might want to find out what happens next, just to see how Rutkoski tries to unravel the mess she's made.

Recommended Age: 14+
Language: None
Violence: Several scenes, but not particularly graphic
Sex: Vague references

Find the start to this new series here:

THE WINNER'S CURSE

HALF A KING by Joe Abercrombie is one of the most hyped novels of the year. Check out some of the author blurbs and you'll see what I mean. Patrick Rothfuss, Rick Riordan, Robin Hobb, and Brent Weeks are among the fantasy heavyweights heaping praise on the novel. When Abercrombie first announced HALF A KING I was anxious. He's my second favorite author and my very reason for returning to the fantasy genre, but I couldn't see how well his brutal wit and grim perspective would translate to a YA novel. You'll no doubt notice that this review has been filed under "Books We Love," but it didn't start out that way.

HALF A KING is the story of Yarvi, the younger son of the king of Gettland. With only one good hand Yarvi has chosen to embrace the path of a minister rather than that of a warrior. The murder of his father (the king) and brother (the natural heir) sees Yarvi ascend to the throne. He is looked upon with contempt by his people for a perceived weakness, but he takes an oath to avenge his family regardless. Betrayed in his quest for vengeance Yarvi must use the greatest and only asset at his disposal (his mind) in order to defeat his enemies and reclaim what is rightfully his.

Because I read this on my Amazon Kindle I was able to track my progress through the novel in percentages. It was also in percentages that I noticed HALF A KING gradually improve. I will openly admit that I was underwhelmed by the first 20-25% of the novel. Yarvi had all the makings of a true Abercrombie hero. He was unconventional and bore a physical handicap and he had suffered as a result. Still, Yarvi had a vanilla flavor that matched the rest of the beginning of the book. The setting of HALF A KING, the Shattered Sea, is has the trappings of a "Viking saga" (as author Myke Cole points out in his blurb) but there's little to differentiate this world from any other generic Norse-inspired fiction, save for the religion. The beginning fifth of the novel is too YA for my liking, it's like HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON without dragons. It doesn't read like Abercrombie. It reminded me why I was reading books like THE BLADE ITSELF when other kids my age were still carrying around the latest Charlie Bone book. And yet...

"What can you think about a cause," muttered Jaud, "when all the decent folk stand on the other side?"

And yet it gets better. I continued reading because Abercrombie has never failed me before. The further I got into the novel the easier it became to forgive the bland opening. With each new conflict Yarvi encounters he became more and more compelling. It got to the point where I started thinking of him as Yarvi Sevenfingers or The Bloody-Seven (no small compliment given I consider Logen of The First Law Trilogy my all time favorite character). In Yarvi exists the literary-DNA of Abercrombie's former protagonists, and still he manages to stand on his own merits. He may not be a great warrior but he is a formidable thinker and the lessons he learnt from his mother (the queen and treasurer) and the king's minister (his mentor) frequently pop up over the course of the novel. Yarvi matures over the course of HALF A KING, growing from naive boy to wise man in a short amount of time. It is an extremely satisfying character arc, one of Abercrombie's best.

"What is the world coming to when an honest man cannot burn corpses with suspicion?" asked Nothing.

The other characters come to distinguish themselves as Abercrombie characters as well, especially Sumael, Shadikshirram, and the man they call Nothing. Sumael channels two of Abercrombie's extremely strong female characters, Ferro (The First Law Trilogy) and Shy South (RED COUNTRY). Shadikshirram brought to mind the fan favorite mercenary captain Nicomo Cosca (BEST SERVED COLD). And then Nothing...well I won't ruin that for anyone. Yarvi forms strong bonds throughout the book, assembling quite a band of misfits on his quest. The cast is colorful and tinged with the sadness that permeates Abercrombie's work and makes for such believable characters.

The plot is largely reactive throughout the novel but once the final third kicks HALF A KING is impossible to put down. Updating my companions as I read the novel I went from "not impressed" to "getting interested" to "not bad" to "hooked" and finally "bravo!" There are a series of twists and betrayals -- the first is predictable but the rest will shock you. The violence so common in Abercrombie novels is toned down. Combat takes a backseat to cunning and negotiation, though it is by no means absent. As always the case when he writes fighting, the edges are sharp and there are no winners...only survivors. Losses present new opportunities and victories are generally Pyrrhic. There are consequences for each and every action and it is this that Abercrombie expresses so well above all other genre writers. Even his YA novel has elements of Greek tragedy and moral ambiguity, understated though they may be in the midst of his other work. This and humor. The wit on display is as dark and sharp as ever, and this is what finally won my affection.

Starting out I was not a fan of HALF A KING. I saw my worst fears for the book realized but I stuck with it and my patience paid off. I wish that the book had been written twice the length as some scenes seem to end abruptly and I would have appreciated more world building. But HALF A KING isn't a novel about setting so much as it is about character, and character is something it has an abundance of. It is also perhaps the most film-friendly Abercrombie book to date. Given the current popularity of movie adaptations of YA books I can see this one getting the big screen treatment (and what a breath of fresh air that would be in the midst of all these yawn-inducing dystopias). I would hesitate to call HALF A KING a masterpiece (and it's still not my favorite Abercrombie novel) but I love it anyway. It starts out like a typical YA novel but transforms into something much greater. I can see this being a gateway drug for new readers. And who knows, HALF A KING is but the first in a trilogy and the end of the novel sees some interesting developments on the horizon.

Recommended Age: 14+
Language: Nothing worse than you get on prime time television.
Violence: The level of detail in the violence is on par with THE HUNGER GAMES though there is considerably less of it and the consequences are far greater.
Sex: There's some hand holding, that's about it.

Want HALF A KING? Order it here.

Have you ever had a secret?  I mean a delicious, wonderful secret?  The kind you want to tell the whole world about and at the same time keep only for yourself?  Something sweet and wonderful, something that would change other people lives if they only knew, yet at the same time you wanted to keep it all to yourself?  Have you ever had one of those?

I do.  And it’s called THE GIRL WHO SOARED OVER FAIRYLAND AND CUT THE MOON IN TWO by Catherynne Valente. 

I’ve gushed over Valente’s writing on here before.  It’s no secret that I’m a big fan, yet each time I get a new Valente book she manages to sneak past any defenses I may have and surprise me yet again. I started reading this latest fairyland book and at the beginning it started to feel very episodic.  September manages somehow to get back to fairyland after a year of waiting.  She wants very badly to get back there and see her friends again.  She has adventures and meets strange wonderful characters (of the kind only Valente could come up with).  But it felt like I had read it before (there are two other fairyland books, both of which are wonderful).

And then Valente did it again.

It wasn’t that I realized a greater plot around the whole series buried in the subtext.  It wasn’t that some strange and unexpected revelation came changing the way I thought about everything in this fairy world.  It was the writing, and it was the characters.  The writing was beautiful.  I would reread paragraphs just to enjoy the word play and the metaphor.  I would think about the characters and concepts.  The characters started to grow and learn and make decisions.  Before I knew it the book had nuzzled in next to my heart and I wanted to hug it and have it warm me up.  It’s that kind of book.

I was reading it at the gym and I wanted to lean over to the person next to me and show them this delicious thing I had just experienced.  I wanted to look around and me and tell everyone how what I had read had just changed me profoundly even if only for a moment.  And yet at the same time I didn’t.  I smiled knowing that I knew a wonderful secret that these people did not.  This is that type of book.

Is the book perfect?  No.  Like I said, it took a little while to really get into it.  It was fun but didn’t grab me right away.  The other problem (if you can call it that) is the language.  Not offensive language or anything of that nature.  The language is dense and beautiful and thick like syrup.  I LOVE THAT!  But it’s harder for my daughter to get into.  Things that make me giggle they are so well told are a bit hard for my 9 year old to grasp.  She just wants dialogue and action and whimsy.  The exquisite way Valente has with words is a bit tougher for my own younger audience to swallow.  And that is hard because I want to share this world with her SO MUCH!  We’re reading it and we’re enjoying it and I’m hoping that this book will have her appreciate this type of language and how it really is meant to be used. 

So it seems that I have decided to share my wonderful secret after all.  This is a secret that needs to be shared and loved and hugged by many many more people.  Enjoy.

Recommended Age:  12+ for comprehension
Language: One or two words and not one of the REALLY bad ones
Violence: Nothing gory
Sex: None

Find this delicious book here:
THE GIRL WHO SOARED OVER FAIRYLAND AND CUT THE MOON IN TWO

And here are the first two books in this terrific series:

THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING
THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH FAIRYLAND AND LED THE REVELS THERE

John Dixon's PHOENIX ISLAND first came to my attention when I heard that a Young Adult novel has inspired a new CBS television series starring Josh Holloway (LOST) and Marg Helgenberger (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)-- before the book had even released. It seems that with the recent success of THE HUNGER GAMES series, studios have been aggressively pursuing the next big YA property. Of all the YA novels that have been optioned PHOENIX ISLAND is the first I've heard of to get picked up for TV--and before it has had a chance to gain a fanbase no less! It's enough to get a reader excited, that's for sure.

PHOENIX ISLAND is the story of Carl, an orphan with a history of violence. He's a fighter and he only targets bullies, but in a "civilized" society his talents are frowned upon. After the most recent in a long list of assault charges Carl is shipped off to Phoenix Island, a hardcore bootcamp for society's rejects. Bootcamp beats the alternative, an adult penitentiary, and Carl is eager to get a fresh start on life. Shortly Carl realizes that Phoenix Island is far more sinister than he could have ever expected. If the vicious drill sergeants don't do him in, Carl's fellow orphans might. The island holds a fair share of secrets, none of them too pleasant. Carl's only hope is to keep his head down and avoid attention but after a lifetime of fighting injustice this is easier said than done and soon he becomes embroiled in a madman's plot for global domination.

It didn't take long to warm up to PHOENIX ISLAND's protagonist Carl. His life has been transformed and surrounded by violence from a young age. He has found himself in trouble for meeting bullies head on. This overwhelming need of his drives everything he does, but when he gets to bootcamp he tries to turn over a new leaf. Unfortunately Carl finds himself thrust into conflict regardless of his desire to leave violence behind. Dixon's knowledge of boxing separates Carl from a lot of other YA heroes: he has a talent and it makes him special. He's not The Chosen One as you'll frequently find in the genre. His skills can only be gained through practice. Carl undergoes a bit of self discovery behind his own motivations and never once does he devolve into angst despite the odds stacked against him. It's refreshing. He is both competent and likable, making smart decisions throughout.

I was slightly less impressed with the other characters. I liked Carl's joker buddy Ross, but felt he was underdeveloped. David and Campbell could have also benefitted from more depth. Brief segments of the story are told from the perspective of Octavia, a female orphan and Carl's love interest. Because she gets her own POV Octavia doesn't feel as flat at some of the other characters. As for the relationship between Carl and Octavia--I'd suggest that it develops a little too quickly but it never devolves into the irritating hot mess you're likely to find in other YA stories. Drill Sergeant Parker makes for a great antagonist, readers will just love to hate him. The Old Man is also a good villain with his unique philosophy and warrior's code.

PHOENIX ISLAND is YA fiction without the kid gloves. It can be a brutal book. The bootcamp training is every bit as hardcore as you might find in the real world. The instructors are wicked, turning the kids against each other in order to weed out the weakest links. There is fighting--real, actual fighting. There is blood and death and depravity. It's nowhere near as heavy as the material found in Paolo Bacigalupi's THE DROWNED CITIES but it is present. What I truly appreciated is that Dixon was able to depict violence and yet manage to give it the appropriate level of consideration. One of my greatest complaints about THE HUNGER GAMES is how very shallow its representation of death is. PHOENIX ISLAND sidesteps this and manages to tell an impactful story of bullying, institutional violence, and child soldiers. Still, some of the deaths lack the appropriate impact because the characters aren't as three dimensional as they could be.

Those without a stomach for martial fiction may want to think twice before dipping a toe into the waters of PHOENIX ISLAND. The novel doesn't celebrate (or condemn) the military, but a good portion of the novel revolves around training for combat. The purpose of the island is to create an army of super soldiers. I personally enjoy this but I think it's worth making aware to potential readers.

I was most impressed with how the novel ends. I tore through the book in two days and the conclusion of the novel left me feeling fulfilled despite the fact that it opens the door for a sequel or series of sequels. There are still mysteries to reveal and themes to explore. PHOENIX ISLAND is an impressive debut novel. It's up there with VARIANT by Robison Wells and THE DIVINERS by Libba Bray as some of the best YA fiction to come out in recent years. Judging by the trailers I have seen for CBS's Intelligence, I'm not sure how much the two properties will have in common but I am excited to find out. Congratulations to Dixon for such a stunning accomplishment and best of luck to the studio behind the show.

Recommended Age: 14+
Profanity: No foul language that I picked up on
Violence: Definitely - mostly fist fighting
Sex: Nope

Want it? Get it here.

It's been a long time since I've read a book in three days.  (You have to understand that I work two jobs and have four kids, one of which is a two month old, so reading a book in three days is kind of like reading it in one sitting for me.)  From the prologue STEELHEART, by Brandon Sanderson, hooked me in and never let me go.  This is the type of book that begged me to slip away from family and read for just a few minutes more; to let the dishes sit in the sink for just a bit longer so I could read another chapter; to stay up late, no matter that I had work early the next day. I just had to know what was coming next.

STEELHEART is set on Earth after an event called the Calamity has appeared in the sky and started turning some people into superheroes.  I say super heroes because of their powers, but in reality every one of them (they're called Epics in the book) has in fact turned into a super villain instead. Steelheart is one of them, and one of the most powerful.  David was present when Steelheart claimed the city of Chicago as his own fiefdom and took over.  That was the day that Steelheart killed David's father. That was the only time that Steelheart had ever been hurt in a fight and David is the only witness to it.  The tagline for the book is (as far as I can tell) "I've seen Steelheart bleed, and I'll see it again."

The setting is really fantastic. By setting the book in a present day earth Sanderson can really get down to what it is these Epics do and how they work.  He can highlight the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) changes in society as a result of these super beings.  I love the idea of a being as powerful as Steelheart claiming the city as his own.  No one can harm him so how can anyone stop him.

It's also fun to get this view of the world through David, a regular human in a strange world.  The book is written in first person so we get a very personal view of that world and David's thoughts.  A running theme throughout the book is David's inability to make a good metaphor.  He's about as bad at it as a cat with chopsticks trying to play dominoes (see what I did there?).  I wish I had written a few of them down for example here, but you get the point.  Reading the book is just alot of fun.

The thing that had me turning the pages though was the pacing.  This book moves along smoothly from one scene to the next.  There's plenty of action, but then even the interpersonal scenes are gripping.  As David helps plan to take Steelheart down you just race through the words wanting to see what happens next.  Also, I'm kind of a sucker for a cliffhanger at the end of chapters.  I love it. When you get to the end of a chapter and the last line is "And then I turned around and her sword was at my throat," you just HAVE to flip the next page and see what happened next. (That's just an example by the way that I made up.  As far as I can remember, which is pretty well, there are no swords at people's throats at the end of chapters.) Some may dislike method for keeping the reader reading, but I'm not one of them.

Guys, STEELHEART is a good book.  This is a book that my wife and I were fighting over to read (I won, by the way).  If you're a fan of Sanderson's work, go buy it.  If you're a fan of super heroes, go buy it.  If you're a fan of good books that you don't want to put down and keep you up late in the night turning pages to finish reading and then you're sad when it's over because you have to wait for the next book in the series and that's going to take so long and I don't think I can wait that long, then go buy it.  If you're a fan of slow boring books with no characterization and little plot, then I'd advise against it.

Age Recommendation: As soon as they can
Language: I think two words in the whole book and not major ones at that.
Violence: A few action scenes, nothing too gory, but it is there.
Sex: None

Want to buy the novel? Here's your link:

STEELHEART

Jarra lives on Earth. But what sounds normal to us doesn't to those who live in 2788, when man has since left Earth for other worlds, thanks to the invention of portals. Unfortunately, not every human's immune system can handle what the universe has to offer. One in every thousand born can't survive on other planets and must return to Earth within hours of birth or they die. Jarra's parents sent her to Earth right after she was born and haven't been a part of her life since.

The year Jarra turns 18, she decides to do something risky: apply for a non-Earth university's archeology program. The first year requires time spent on Earth for practical history studies, during which Jarra plants to fool the class into thinking she's normal--it's hard to not be resentful when the rest of humanity thinks you're a Handicapped 'ape.'  In the process she unexpectedly learns that norms aren't so bad after all...and that she could even come to love one of them.

Right from the start of EARTH GIRL, you're struck by Jarra's first person PoV voice--smart, young, and maybe a little crazy. Most obvious of all is her issue with being stuck on Earth in a day and age when it's considered a freak of genetics. She's tired of it and just crazy enough to pull a stunt in a bid to vent her frustrations.

In the meantime, we watch her interactions between her diverse set of classmates. It's obvious from the start that she loves history and it's no accident she choose this area of study. There are a lot of details about the way the class's archeology digs work--in particular here it's the abandoned New York City--it's not uninteresting and shows a lot about Jarra and her classmates. It can get infodump-y at times because there's a lot Edwards wants to tell you about this bright future for humanity, but she does her best to be concise and interesting.

Jarra felt believable as an 18-year-old young woman trying to find her way and struggling to understand her own identity. She can be a know-it-all (maybe a little too smart), silly, a show off, shy--and she even withdraws into a make-believe reality (this part is a little contrived). Her relationship with potential love interest Fian is sweet and even a tad complicated (the best kind). The other characters are a little shallow, but recognizable.

The plot is very straightforward, if sometimes bumpy as Jarra causes trouble that has to be worked around. The end felt a little rushed, but was still satisfying. Despite its problems, EARTH GIRL's themes of prejudice is handled with finesse, making it accessible to a YA audience.

Recommended age: 15+ for sexual innuendo
Language: None
Violence: Non-human caused peril
Sex: Referred to mostly as innuendo; implied

If you're tired of dystopia, this would be a fun diversion. Find it here:

EARTH GIRL

The aliens have arrived.

Now mankind is on the verge of extinction, and Cassie is alone, having lost her family and escaped to the forests outside Dayton, Ohio. She can't trust anyone, even other humans, because she's convinced that some of them work for the aliens.

But Cassie has a purpose beyond simple survival: her five-year-old brother Sam was taken to a camp where he'd supposedly be safe. She wasn't allowed to go with him, but promises she'll find him no matter what.

From the start of THE 5TH WAVE, the author Rick Yancey creates a tone of lingering terror as he builds the setting and Cassie's story with vivid detail. She's camped out in the forest outside of town, but is afraid of lighting a fire and being seen, she sleeps with an M16 and her brother Sam's teddy bear, and has learned that staying away from other people is what will keep her alive.

We learn bit by bit about the waves of destruction: a worldwide EMP, coastal flooding, a plague, and then being hunted by drones. We also learn about how Caseei's life has irrevocably changed from the awkward high school girl she was mere months ago. She's is a great heroine with an engaging voice, who somehow retains her humanity despite the horrors she's faced. We also see Sam's PoV, which, while interesting to see the apocalypse from a child's perspective, he is really only a kid and as a result lacks depth. Then there's Zombie, the third PoV, another high-schooler who is rounded up with other youth and taken to a military training camp to teach the children how to fight back. We learn his tragic backstory and find him endearing by how he can be kind-hearted despite his situation.

Yancey's prose is fantastic, especially compared to most YA novels I've read. The imagery and emotions draw readers into the immediacy of the story. The pacing is excellent despite several flashbacks at the beginning of the book, Yancey handling them quite seamlessly. We're carried along from event to event as Cassie tries to find her brother, as Zombie struggles with boot camp, as Sam attempts to adjust to his new life--and we want to know what's going to happen to these people we've become attached to.

After I finished THE 5TH WAVE I set it aside and thought about it. It was a compelling read with an exciting conclusion and I finished it quickly. But there was something holding me back from giving it a love rating and unfortunately it wasn't a small problem:

The plot is highly contrived.

I'm guessing that the main reason why is because we're limited to human PoVs and therefore we aren't able to learn much about the aliens. Except we do learn a little, like how they've been watching us for thousands of years and know everything about us...so they decide to take over Earth with gimmicky "waves" that don't make much logical sense. The events are random and ineffective methods of destruction, especially considering that the aliens are an advanced race. So what's the point of the waves then? Maybe the aliens have a flair for the dramatic. Heck if I know.

Also, while I'm a girl who digs a love story, Cassie's relationship with Evan was strange and really creepy. The vibe was just off. It was sometimes sweet and at first I liked it, but as things progressed I had a hard time understanding Evan's motivations and Cassie's willingness to put up with his odd behavior. The whole thing felt pointless other than Cassie having a helper to find and save Sam. Again, contrived.

Plot holes galore, an impossible climax, unbelievable aliens, a bizarre love story...it was all too much. Despite compelling characters and excellent prose, too many questions were left unanswered, making the story feel forced and incomplete. Perhaps your teen will like it anyway.

Recommended Age: Similar in tone and reading level to THE HUNGER GAMES, but more violence is on screen, so 13+
Language: A fair amount of all varieties from euphemisms to a handful of the stronger variety
Violence: Teens shooting people, blood, some gore
Sex: Teenage hormones and innuendo, but no scenes

Find this book here:

THE 5TH WAVE

If you like THE 5TH WAVE and want to try some classic (and more logical) alien invasion books try CHILDHOOD'S END (EBR review here) and WAR OF THE WORLDS. They may not have Yancey's finesse with words, but at least they had the right idea.

I don't get as much time to read books these days as I'd like to, so I've widened my available reading time by opening up to the wonderful world of audiobooks. I found myself with a long drive ahead of me and nothing picked out to read, so I went to my library and checked out a digital audiobook. Time was short, so I didn't have much of a chance to research what I wanted to read.

Which is a long way of saying I wasn't quite sure of what I was going to get when I picked out Maggie Stiefvater's THE RAVEN BOYS.

Going into it, details were sketchy. I knew it had a 4.05 on Goodreads--with over 22,000 reviews--so clearly it had some appeal. I knew it was about a girl and some boys, and that's all I really had time for before I downloaded it and started listening.

I didn't love this book, but if I'd started a relationship with it, I would have given it the "It's not you, it's me" talk. Because I'm not the target audience, I soon discovered. This is very much a teen fantasy romance novel, and . . . I'm far from a teen fantasy romance reader. Despite this fact, I still finished the book, mainly because there were some fantasy elements in it that were strong enough to get me through the lovey-dovey stuff.

Blue Sargent comes from a family of psychics, and for as long as she can remember, her family has been telling her that if she ever kisses her true love, he'll die. Interesting premise. Add to that a plot of a rich teenage boy hunting the grave of a long lost Welch king, some cool fantasy world building, and well-drawn characters, and you've got a recipe for success on your hands.

Just not a book that I'm going to love.

There were long swathes of girls and boys thinking and yearning and debating who to kiss. Intense descriptions of hand holding and whispers that tickle ears and touches filled with electricity and desire. If that sounds like something you'd like, allow me to point you in the direction of this fine novel. If not, then you're probably better served looking elsewhere.

Even for you romance fans out there, I have a few caveats. First up is the fact that this is very much the first book in a series. I'm not going to spoil anything in this review, but be aware that there are some major plot points that aren't going to be tied up by the final page. Disappointingly so. I like my main plots taken care of, and I felt like Stiefvater promised some things that weren't followed through on. It's a literary bait and switch, and I don't like the technique.

Then again, maybe if I were a big romance fantasy fan, I'd be all aflutter with the thought of more pages with Blue and the Raven Boys. I have the ARC for the second book, but I don't think I'll be reading it.

In the end, it's a great book for what it's trying to be. Just not a great book for me.

Recommended Age: 16+ (with caveats about the language)
Language: Yes. A few f-bombs peppered throughout the text
Sex: Nope
Violence: A brawl here or there, but nothing beyond punching and some pointed guns.

Still want to give this a try? Here's your link:

THE RAVEN BOYS

I first met Eff Rothmer in THIRTEENTH CHILD, where she lives in the frontier border town of Mill City with her family. She's the thirteenth child of a seventh son, and her twin brother Lan is the seventh son of a seventh son, making him a naturally strong magician. Some consider a thirteenth child as unlucky. Stir those expectations around and the result is that poor Eff has trouble learning the magic that comes naturally to her family. But despite her rocky start, Eff discovers that how you use your magic is often more important than how strong your magic is.

In the sequel, ACROSS THE GREAT BARRIER, Eff grows into a young woman, whose experiences with magic, working with the animals at the college menagerie, and finding the right mentors all lead her on an unexpected path to an adventure in the Far West.

In the final book of the trilogy, THE FAR WEST, Eff's experiences from the first two books prepare her for the dangerous wilderness beyond Mill City and the Great Barrier.

Patricia C. Wrede is no newcomer to fantasy or YA. In her Frontier Magic trilogy she explores a new and exciting world called Columbia (mid-1800s U.S.) where magic is a part of everyday life and as a result the settling of the continent looks much different than what we're familiar with: mammoths still walk the earth, ice dragons must be fought off from the towns by magicians, and many other untold dangers in unsettled territory.

Told from Eff's pragmatic PoV, we watch as she learns about the different kinds of magic in the world, along with her observations of that magic in action. It was enlightening to watch her knowledge of magic build from each book to finally reach a critical understanding by the climax of THE FAR WEST. She stumbles as she learns because her understanding of magic isn't the result of university study like her brother Lan, but she learns by observing and then contemplating. Eff often thinks before she acts, which means she finds solutions to problems that don't occur to others. I liked seeing this different approach in a YA main character, especially considering our current school culture that seems to reward outgoing/extroverted girls. There will be plenty of book-loving YA readers who will relate to Eff.

We also grow to love the people surrounding Eff. Of course Lan plays a big part of it, but there's also her best friend William, her teacher Miss Ochiba, her mentors Wash Morris and Professor Torgeson, and others. Wrede paints a varied and complex cast who move in and out of Eff's life. Eff understands these people and their foibles and loves them as they are. They see in her a reliable, level-headed, intelligent young woman.

As a result of the setting/plot the pacing can feel slow. But a bigger reason why the pace is slow is because of the PoV character's personality and the growth and learning required from the passage of time--she starts as a young teen in book one and is 22 by book three. So many things have to happen before there can be action  (i.e., the practicality of frontier life, politics, an era of limited technology), and even then the action is infrequent and brief. Do not let this deter you. Fortunately Wrede's prose is succinct in its detail, and every scene has meaning to the greater story as a whole.

If you or your YA readers like Shannon Hale or Mercedes Lackey, don't miss out on Patricia C. Wrede.

Recommended Age: 10+
Language: None
Violence: Peril and fighting with wild animals, scientific study of dead animals
Sex: None

Find this wonderful series here:

THIRTEENTH CHILD

ACROSS THE GREAT BARRIER

THE FAR WEST

Many years ago monstrous sun flares changed everything, and humanity was thrust back into the Dark Ages. For the natives of an island in the South Pacific and passengers on a beached cruise ship, they are the last known survivors of the subsequent apocalypse.
THE CROSSING starts out on the idyllic island of Onewere, where the teenage Maryam has been living with other girls who were Chosen from among the native population to live with the Apostles when they reach womanhood. Her whole life she's been taught the Rules, religious teachings that are supposed to protect the people of Onewere from suffering the same fate that destroyed the rest of the world.

Maryam goes to the Holy City anticipating a Blessed life with the Apostles. Instead she finds her older 'sisters' from the island pregnant and unmarried working as servants for the Apostles; most of the natives subdued with a mind-numbing drink called toddy; and the main Apsotle's son using the girls for his own pleasure--willing or not. The horrors don't end there and Maryam begins to fear for her life.

I can tell you with certainty that I'm not the target audience for this series. For the entirety of the book I was disturbed (this coming from a woman who immensely enjoyed I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU) and almost didn't finish it. THE CROSSING is dark and deals with unpleasant themes--in fact I had a hard time seeing it as the YA book it's billed as.

In a strange coincidence, during the week I was reading this book I met a witnesses for one of the Warren Jeffs trials. It was a fascinating conversation. She was open to discussing what it was like to live in a cult-like sect, where men use religion to control women for their own self-gratification. It's disturbing stuff. Certainly being disturbing doesn't mean it's a topic that shouldn't be addressed. From jail Jeffs still directs his minions to perpetuate his teachings, and women and girls continue to stuffer today--this makes the topic absolutely pertinent. So I get what Hager is trying to do and I can imagine that THE CROSSING must have been a hard story to write because of its themes. I just wish Hager could have presented the story with the finesse it deserves, instead of a contrived and clunky mess.

For starters Hager only vaguely explains how the whole thing started. I was able to suspend belief of the situation, but only until it was explained: the white people on the cruise ship set themselves up to the Onewere natives as teachers sent from God to bring the remainder of humanity back from the brink. Then I spent the rest of the book stewing on that, which pretty much ruined the story for me. I don't understand how it could have happened. The natives have their own religion, why would they listen to foreigners on a stranded boat with no way to contact the outside world and prove their situation? Brainwashing doesn't happen overnight.

There are other problems with the writing, in particular the prose itself, which is awkward and stiffly formal, which doesn't make sense considering how it's from the PoV of a sixteen-year-old girl.  The prose is slowed down by heavy-handed metaphors and adjectives--cleaning up those alone would have helped the flow considerably. While the imagery was nice, it went overboard and draws too much attention to the flowery prose and takes away from the story itself.

The plot moves forward well enough (despite some stumbles and circular events) through Maryam's eyes as she witnesses first-hand the hypocrisy of the Apostles and the other whites on the ship. The reality of her situation unfolds and we can feel her horror: how can Apostles who teach from the bible of the Lamb's love and goodness condone such wicked behavior?

Via Maryam we become attached to other characters, such as the Apostle's sick yet good-hearted nephew Joseph, the blind but wise Hushai, the faithful Mother Elizabeth. They are all familiar characters, archetypes really, and shallow in comparison to Maryam. But I admit, I was so stuck on the darkness of the story and the contrivances (i.e., Maryam feels her life is in danger but we never see a guard until the end of the book?) that it was impossible for me to become attached to the characters and the obvious horror of their plight.

THE CROSSING was first published in New Zealand in 2010 and even won awards and accolades. While it's a relevant topic, for me Hager's execution makes it hard to recommend.

Recommended Age: 16+ for themes and drug use
Language: None
Violence: Not much, mostly just a sense of peril
Sex: Teenage pregnancy; on-screen attempted rapes; details of nudity

If you can't get enough of the recent influx of dystopian YA novels, this is for you (I'm not sure I'd recommend it for your kids, though):

THE CROSSING

I enjoyed John Hornor Jacobs' THIS DARK EARTH so much that I had to read more of his work. Fortunately Jacobs has two other published books on shelves - the southern gothic, Lovecraftian horror of SOUTHERN GODS (read the EBR review here), and the YA Horror THE TWELVE-FINGERED BOY. I'm eager to start SOUTHERN GODS but I couldn't pass the opportunity to read a Young Adult book about a kid with twelve fingers that has a form of telekinesis.

Shreveport Cannon has lived a hard life, at fifteen years old he's suffered more than his fair share. He's learned to look out for himself, and he's used his street smarts to keep his skin intact during his stint at Casimir Pulaski Juvenile Detention Center for Boys. When Jack Graves is introduced to the eco-system of Casimir Pulaski things get...weird. Jack has twelve fingers and twelve toes, but that's not the strangest thing about him. When he gets mad or feels threatened Jack explodes with telekinetic force. And there are those that seek to acquire Jack and his ability, nasty customers like the menacing Mr. Quincrux.

THE TWELVE-FINGERED BOY is told in the first person by juvenile delinquent Shreveport "Shreve" Cannon. Shreve's voice is highly unique. He's likable with an edged wisdom that bespeaks his difficult lot in life. For a fifteen year old he's had the majority of his naivety burned away by circumstance but what remains is intelligence and a surprising compassion. Shreve quickly takes to Jack, despite his reluctance to being saddled with fresh blood. Looking back I'm surprised at how little is learned about Jack over the course of the novel. He too, is likable, and the relationship that matures between the two boys is convincing.

It's a relationship that grows and changes as the boys grow and change. Half of the book is spent in Casimir Pulaski, as Shreve helps Jack adjust to life in juvenile correction. Things get much more complicated as Shreve learns about Jack's special ability and Mr. Quincrux is introduced to the equation. Mr. Quincrux is a creepy-bad-dude though perhaps a little shallow on the characterization and slightly cliche. He's dark and mysterious with a (seemingly) malevolent agenda, but never develops beyond that. Eventually Shreve and Jack break out of Casimir Pulaski and the rest of the book is spent fleeing Mr. Quincrux.

This is where things start to get (even more) interesting, as Shreve and Jack learn to survive and test the limits of their powers. Oh, did I not mention? Shreve ends up acquiring a power of his own due to his involvement with Jack and Quincrux. It's cool to follow Shreve and Jack as they learn how to use their abilities. In a lot of ways THE TWELVE-FINGERED BOY is like the indie flick Chronicle, an origin story of a couple not-quite-superheroes. Shreve's telepathy and Jack's telekinesis can be just as dangerous to the user as to the target. Shreve realizes that his telepathy is invasive and wrong but he uses it to provide and protect. Jack's telekinesis on the other hand requires anger to utilize and holding onto that much anger could prove to be damaging.

THE TWELVE-FINGERED BOY is a fast read, packed full of action and humor and a splash of darkness. It's not an average YA novel. Shreve and Jack aren't average YA protagonists. The plot is an effective mashup of Louis Sachar's HOLES and Chronicle. The ending suggests more novels to come, a prospect that I find greatly exciting. I'd love to see how Shreve and Jack progress from here and I need to know what is in Maryland!

Recommended Age: 14+
Language: A few words here and there.
Violence: There's some graphic comic style violence.
Sex: None.

Want it? Buy it here.

Do you know where these are from? “Follow the yellow brick road”, “There’s no place like home” or even “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore Toto.” How about we try another one? If I were to talk to you about going down the rabbit hole would you know what I meant? What if I asked you about the Mad Hatter? You would wouldn’t you?

Why am I bringing these up at the beginning of this review? It’s simple. The story of the Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland have permeated our culture. There have been dozens of retellings of them in movies and cartoons and comic books. I can’t count how many different versions I’ve seen of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion marching merrily off to Oz. Heck there’s another movie about Oz coming out in just a few months. The reason I bring this up is that I think what Catherynne Valente is doing with her Fairyland books--of which THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH FAIRYLAND AND LED THE REVELS THERE is the second--are something special, something amazing, something that hopefully someday will permeate our culture to the extent that Oz and Wonderland have. We should be able to talk to anyone about a Wyverary named A through L. There should be version after version of September (our protagonist) available to look at and see as she goes through her merry (and sometimes not) adventures. These books are the modern fairytales that we should all share and have in common.

I have made no secret in the past of my love of Valente’s work. I’ve been reviewing it here on Elitist for a few years and even before that I would tell everyone I knew about her brilliant work The Orphan’s Tales (still my favorite of hers). And while I still prefer the Orphan’s Tales to her Fairyland books, I do think these are her most accessible books out there and they are so filled with magic and joy that to not read them is to deprive yourself of something wonderful. Why would you do that to yourself? I digress, let me tell you about the books.

This is the blurb from amazon:

September has longed to return to Fairyland after her first adventure there. And when she finally does, she learns that its inhabitants have been losing their shadows—and their magic—to the world of Fairyland Below. This underworld has a new ruler: Halloween, the Hollow Queen, who is September’s shadow. And Halloween does not want to give Fairyland’s shadows back.

But that doesn’t really do it justice. There are numerous characters that come in and out of the story. There are smaller sub plots that September has to deal with. I feel really awkward really, because I can’t do it justice here.

September as a character is fun to watch and read about. When she goes to fairyland she revels in the fact that she is in a fantastical world. Fairyland is amazing and she loves it and longs to return again and again. There are problems for sure, but it never gets in the way of the magic. The voice of the books is also a delight. The narrator frequently pulls back the curtain to talk to you, the reader, to either warn you of something ahead or lament a decision September has made. It feels like you are reading the book with a friend or rather that a friend is telling you this story. The magic in these books is second to none. It is bright and fantastical and weird and wonderful.

I could go on and on, but I’ll let you discover them for yourself. Or better yet, go find someone to read these with and share it.

If you haven't already, go pick up the first book THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING. You can read EBR's review of it here. These books are simply a delight to read, and are some of the best modern fairytales you can find.

Age Recommendation: As soon as you think they are ready
Language: Nothing I can recall
Sex: Nope
Violence: Nothing harsh, some mild peril

Here are you links to grab these novels:

THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING
THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH FAIRYLAND AND LED THE REVELS THERE

Michael Vey is not your average teenager. Ever since he was a kid, he could produce an electric shock. Kind of like a walking Taser. Only with hormones and acne.

His mom is paranoid about what would happen if people found out about his abilities. She gave up a good job at a California law firm to move them both to Idaho in order to keep him safe from anyone who might notice. But in high school Michael is noticed for other reasons: he's kinda scrawny, his best friend is the brainiac nerd at school, and he has Tourettes (the kind with tics when he's nervous, not the swearing kind). So of course the poor kid is bullied.

And this is where the story opens. The bullies have pushed Michael beyond his limit and he shocks them. The only problem is there's a witness: Taylor the cheerleader. After witnessing Michael using his talent, to his amazement she takes a sudden interest in him. When Ostin does some creative research about what happened when Michael was born, they suddenly discover that other, scarier people have an interest in him, as well.

Richard Paul Evans' writing is fairly straightforward and moves at a steady clip. MICHAEL VEY is definitely a departure from Evan's more sentimental stories (i.e., THE CHRISTMAS BOX), but like his other work the plot is predictable. The dialogue is frequently tedious (how many times do you have to include "Hello" and "Goodbye" and "How's it going?") and Evans tends toward the sappy/corny.

The villains--even the principal, who has some pretty odd dialogue--are stock characters without much meat to them beyond being an evil for Michael to overcome. Even the secondary child characters had more depth than the bad guys did. Michael himself is likable enough as the PoV character, with his goofy friend Ostin a convenient side-kick, and the beautiful Taylor as the potential romantic interest. Pretty standard fare.

Where the book redeems itself are the themes of friendship and doing what's right even when it's hard. The squeaky-clean style and the moral problems MICHAEL VEY addresses is what will appeal to parents; the kids will like seeing Michael save the day, not to mention the idea of kids with superpowers. My teenage daughter liked it and is eager to read the second, but I'm not a fan of Evans' writing style.

Recommended Age: 10+ (some scary scenes may bother more sensitive children)
Language: None
Violence: Kidnapping, torture, and even an on-scene murder (without detail)
Sex: None, it's mostly teenage crushes without being crass

Find the start of this new series here:

MICHAEL VEY: THE PRISONER OF CELL 25

A good while ago, I had my first run at buying sushi. I'd sampled it before with friends and such, but had never purchased any myself. Apart from initially mistaking the twirl of wasabi for some tasty guacamole (How? Looking at it from this side of things, I honestly have no idea) it was a great experience. When I was finished, I decided to try the other interesting-looking thing on the plate. The one that looked like marinated flower petals. I found that it was sweet and actually pretty good, but then arose the over-powering taste of...soap? Later, a good friend told me what I had actually ingested.

The connection? My impression of this book in two words: candied ginger.

CUTTLEFISH by Dave Freer is a young-adult story about a pair of kids that spend a good amount of time on a coal-powered submarine. Clara Calland is the daughter of a pair of intelligent scientists. Her father has recently been imprisoned and at the beginning of the tale, she and her mother are on the run from quite a few potentially violent parties that are all intent on acquiring Dr. Calland's recent discovery of a cheap way to make nitrates. (For those of a non-technical nature: nitrates = bombs and fertilizer.) The two of them find their way onto the Cuttlefish, the submarine of note, where Clara first meets Tim Barnabas, a young submariner. Though at first the two clash with each other quite fiercely, as the story progresses they do become quite cordial with one another. Would we expect it to happen any other way? Hardly.

And then it's run, run, run, run, run, run, run. Err. Swim, swim, swim... yeah, you get the picture.

The first portion of the book jumps between the POVs of Clara and Tim in the present, and Clara in the past. Clara's past portions catch us up from her being taken from school by her mother, through an escape or two, to finally arrive on the submarine. The switch between these three POVs was somewhat confusing at times, as it wasn't always readily apparent what part of the story I was reading. After this was over though, I really started to enjoy the story. The world-building was quite well-done. History and detail not only in the world, but in the lives of the characters of interest. There was a great sense of place and tension as the Cuttlefish made its way through first the canals of a drowned London, and then around the isle of England and out into the Pacific. Also, something that I don't think many writers get right, there was a great sense of the ignorant disregard that most young people have for very dangerous situations. I'm not sure what makes kids have this, but Mr. Freer nailed it.

And then came the soap.

Once out into open water, the story became incredibly boring. Tim does his jobs on the submarine, Clara starts to learn of being a submariner herself, and apart from a few forays that, quite frankly, felt rushed in every sense of the word, very little else happened until the end. Where it stopped. Without fanfare or applause. I'm told there's a sequel to this book. They probably should have been combined into one book, because there was absolutely no closure here.

This book is a great example of starting out with immense promise, but then instead of going anywhere interesting with the story or the characters, turning its head and taking a nose-dive back into the morass of mediocrity. A shame really. Those first scenes, with the Cuttlefish darting and hiding within the canals of drowned London were really a lot of fun.

Recommended Age: 14+
Sex: A few mild references
Violence: Very mild fights
Profanity: A few mild words

Still want it? Here's your link: CUTTLEFISH

PATHFINDER, the first book in Orson Scott Card’s Pathfinder series (of which RUINS is the second book), kind of blew me away (read my review here). I am a big fan of Card’s older work. ENDER’S GAME is a classic. I loved the rest of the Ender series, (the Shadow series not so much) and I loved both WYRMS and TREASON. But I have had a hard time getting into his work lately. This series however feels like a bit of that Old Card coming through.

The plot, for those of you who haven’t gotten on board, follows Rigg a boy who can see paths, the paths that humans have traveled in and how recently. To some extent it lets him see the past, who went where and when they did it. I’m gonna get all spoilery of the first book in a second so if you want you can just jump down to the bottom of the review where I will tell you if this is a good book or not (hint: it is).

The first book, PATHFINDER, ends with Rigg having found his sister, who can manipulate time as well, though in different ways, and together with her, his friend Umbo and two ex-soldiers Loaf and Olivenko have crossed the barrier between their land and the land bordering it. RUINS deals with Rigg and his pals exploring some of the other lands that make up the planet Garden. The scope of the series is almost immediately widened and a bigger view of where the series is going as a whole is brought to the forefront. I thought maybe Card would spend this book dealing with just the one one new place and the problems that the new Wallfold faces, but I was wrong. Card wastes no time moving from one place to the next, and indeed even one time to the next. It was difficult at times seeing the characters go back and forth in time. The group would travel forward and backward in time to see certain events or bypass various obstacles. There was a lot of it and at times I wasn’t sure WHEN the book was happening. It didn’t matter. The story unfolded pretty smoothly and was a fun quick read.

During the book as Rigg and his friends go from land to land (called Wallfolds in the book), the group would discover something new, something that those particular inhabitants had spent the last ten thousand years cultivating and exploring. As I was reading I had an uneasy sense that I’d read that before. Card is plagiarizing someone else’s idea I thought. Then I realized where I had read the idea before. It was in a previous Orson Scott Card book called TREASON (an excellent book, one of my favorites of Card’s writing). The idea is still cool here and going from place to place to see what each different set of people had created or discovered was one of the joys of the book.

That being said, I think I enjoyed the idea a bit more in TREASON. The book was shorter, more action packed and to the point. That’s not to say that RUINS wasn’t a lot of fun (it was). Just that particular idea seemed better used in that shorter work.

RUINS is still a lot of fun. At a time where I had almost given up on Card’s work he comes out with this Pathfinder series to remind us all of why we liked him in the first place. This series isn’t destined to be another ENDER’S GAME. But then what is? RUINS is still fun and worth your while.

Age Recommendation: I dunno, whenever they want to read it I guess. The time travel stuff can be a bit confusing and the two boys Rigg and Umbo, are immature and make a few rude jokes, but nothing really offensive here.
Language: Not really
Violence: Nothing I recall was too bad
Sex: Maybe mentioned but nothing to get upset about.

Want to give this series a try? Here are your links:
PATHFINDER
RUINS

It's too soon to be declaring any book as the best of the year in any category. But! It can be said that THE DIVINERS by Libba Bray is pos-i-tutely one of the most enjoyable and promising of 2012. This is an urban fantasy, historical fiction, mystery epic that accessible to young adults while still managing to be entertaining to an older audience. Finding the rare gem like this is the very reason I read.

Evie O'Neill has been shipped off to live with her uncle in New York City. The exile is intended to be a punishment but Evie sees only opportunity in the bright lights of the Big Apple. The city is full of potential and Evie's uncle is only concerned with managing the The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult - jokingly referred to as "The Museum of Creepy Crawlies." Life is good until the police seek Uncle Will's assistance with solving a series of occult-based murders. Evie has a very unique and unnatural gift that may enable her to help catch the crazed killer...if the killer doesn't catch her first.

THE DIVINERS is pretty mature for YA fiction. I never imagined it would be half as serious as it is. Sure there's the matter of a serial killer but I expected the supernatural aspect to overshadow much of the darker subject matter. That is far from the case. In terms of tone I found it very similar to Jonathan Stroud's THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND, one of my all time favorite YA books or I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER by Dan Wells. The suspense and horror is quite real. Slasher flicks have never bothered me, gore is gore, but the religious themed horror films have always found a way to get inside my head and THE DIVINERS is no different. There is no direct violence here but there are some grisly murder scenes (nothing worse than displayed on television). No, the real creepy ingredient here is the realistic portrayal of occultism.

For an urban fantasy novel THE DIVINERS is mostly grounded in the believable. Sure there is mysticism but it's pretty toned down. The serial killer and the cult that spawned him are a radical fragment of Christianity. History is full of stories of such End Times sects but this particular one really takes the sinister cake. You know what they say, "Don't drink the Kool-Aid." THE DIVINERS never reaches hide-under-your-blanket-with-teddy levels of dread but Bray does maintain an aura of menace throughout.

This perpetual menace takes root in the shadows cast by the dazzling bright setting. New York City in the 1920's is a happening place, buzzing with the energy of a post-war America. It is a modern age of industry, the flapper era, a time of hopes of fame and fortune. America is a young country, comprising all sorts of people with all sorts of beliefs. Bray takes all of this and weaves it into an imposing backdrop. From the attitudes of the era (good and bad), to the language THE DIVINERS comes off as authentic and sincere. After reading it I can't help but going around saying, "And how!" at every opportunity. Read it and you'll understand, 1920's slang is jake!

The characters are a perfect manifestation of the period. Evie O'Neill, "that awful O'Neill" is a modern girl. She never knows when to leave well enough alone. She is a party girl, a flapper with a devil-may-care attitude. She is a little spoiled and a bit selfish, but she's got heart. Evie sees opportunity and she isn't afraid to reach out and grasp it. The entire cast is as lively and varied. From the reserved and mysterious Jericho to the charming and daring Sam Lloyd, from the soulful poet Memphis to the sexy and resilient Theta. Each character has hopes and dreams, fears and secrets. Evie's perspective is the main arc of the novel but Bray does explore events from multiple threads. I almost feel as though Bray introduced too many characters, given that only a few take part in the finale but I can forgive this as laying foundation for a series of novels.

And maybe that's what impresses me most about THE DIVINERS. Sure this could be read as a standalone adventure. I just don't know why you'd want to. The search for the serial killer is intense and captivating, fraught with intrigue and peril. THE DIVINERS reminds me of Larry Correia's writing. Of course the protagonists of this novel aren't running around slaying monster (or spirits rather) but Bray writes urban fantasy historical fiction with the same attention to detail and scope of imagination. There is a storm coming, and the events of THE DIVINERS are just the beginning. I would wager there are more books to come, filling in the features of these characters that just now appear obscured.

THE DIVINERS is an A+ effort in every dimension, as urban fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, young adult, and thriller. This is an epic tale (a hardy 600 pages) and even though I was able to read this one as an eBook for free I will be purchasing a physical copy for my bookshelf. THE DIVINERS features the tone of I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER, the scope of the MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL series, and the heart of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. And how!

Recommended Age: 16+
Profanity: A few curses, very very minimal.
Violence: There's no fighting per se, but there are some gruesome murder scenes.
Sex: Kissing is the most that's described. As a YA novel it should be noted that there is suggestion of a rape and an abortion (very very brief and mostly vague but still).

Want urban fantasy that thrills? YA fiction that matters? Mystery that captures the mind? Buy it here.

Ephraim is your typical high school socially awkward guy. He doesn't much like school. He's got a goofy best friend, but not many other friends. There's a pretty girl he likes who doesn't know he exists. There's the bully who picks on him. Unfortunately his dad left years ago and his mom is a drunk. He really can't imagine life worse than it is now.

But that all changes when a quarter shows up in his his locker with the note: "Make a wish and flip the coin to make it come true." Only nothing goes as Ephraim plans.

When my children were younger I read HALF MAGIC to them. It's a sweet, old-fashioned book about four children who find a magic coin. The problem is the coin only grants half of a wish. It made for some hijinks and in the end the kids realized that wishes don't necessarily make your life better. At first I thought that E.C. Myers was going for the same theme with FAIR COIN, only with an older audience. Boy was I wrong. But in a good way.

Myers doesn't take the story where you think it will go. I don't want to spoil it for you, so all I'll say is that Myers twists and turns and reveals everything in an orderly and understandable fashion. The plot has great forward movement and is engaging. The climax fell a tad short with a too easy solution, but overall was exciting and a logical conclusion, if too tidy for the tone of the book.

Ephraim, our PoV hero, is easy to like. Life's been rough and he only wants to help others out and get the girl if he can. When things start going wrong he tries his best to fix things, but ultimately understands that maybe the coin isn't all it's cracked up to be. The story does get dark, and the people you thought you knew, they all seem to change and it gets confusing and...well, eventually we realize things aren't as they seem.

If your teen is bored with vampires and wizards, FAIR COIN is a smart and fun change from the current YA scene.

Recommended Age: 15+ for sexual references (between teens)
Language: Less than a handful of the harsher stuff
Violence: Some shootings and blood; references to abuse
Sex: References and innuendo

Want to check out this book? Find it here:
FAIR COIN

My first introduction to Tim Lebbon was in the SWORDS & DARK MAGIC anthology a while back. In a collection of stories full of absolute WIN, Tim Lebbon's "The Deification of Dal Bamore" was one of the best. After that I read ECHO CITY and was similarly impressed. Lebbon's ability to write Horror the way Miéville writes Weird Fiction is astounding.

And then I heard Lebbon was going to write a YA novel, and it would be published through Pyr SF&F. Holy anticipation, Batman!

LONDON EYE, Lebbon's YA novel, is the first in a series that follows a group of teens as they enter London in search of their families, and the truth about what really is happening in the city. You see, London isn't what it used to be. A terrorist attack poisons the city, killing a majority of the people there (just imagine the numbers) as the city is quarantined.

The setting is the the first thing that jumps out. I love the idea. I love that London has been quarantined, and the mystery surrounding it. The characters in the novel all wonder what really goes on in that poisoned city, and it sets up the mystery and suspense well.

This being a YA novel, the characters are the most important part of the novel. It is my opinion that all great YA novels have one thing in common: strong, likable characters. In the few works of Lebbon's that I have read, it usually took me a bit to warm up to the characters. LONDON EYE is no exception. For whatever reason I just couldn't make myself care too much about the teenagers. Jack, the main character, just didn't draw me in. Neither did his kid sister, or his girlfriend, Lucy Anne (who becomes ridiculously annoying in the last part of the novel). Two other friends round out the group, but I never really felt they mattered much.

Can you see why this is an issue to me? All of the characters are just...there. They are stuck reacting to every situation, and really never make any actual decisions on their own until the end of the book--literally, the very end. They begin making active decisions, and the book just ends. In a book that is so short, hardly anything happens. The teens go into the city, get attacked, meet a few of London's survivors, then the book ends. I wasn't left thinking about this book once I had finished it. I turned the last page, closed the book, and moved on to the next one. For me, this all comes down to the characters not holding my interest.

All this said, there is a lot to like in LONDON EYE. I've already mentioned the setting. Did I mention the paranormal elements? Yeah. See, this poison (or whatever it actually is) that caused untold numbers of people to to die also evolves a small number of humans. They develop powers that allow them to heal, seek out bloodlines, employ telekinesis, use voices as weapons, control animals...you name it, someone can do it. To go along with this is a group of people--Choppers--that hunt out these evolved survivors to capture and experiment on them. It's all very grim and horrific.

This leads me to my next criticism. I can't help but feel like Lebbon was holding back. He does the weird and horrible better than most authors. It is one of his greatest strengths as an author. In LONDON EYE it feels like he is just about to do something awesome...then remembers he is writing YA. The perception while reading is that Lebbon is worried about his ideas being too much for the readers. The novel is already for the upper end of YA--what the cool kids call New Adult--but it ends up in a sort of limbo. I do think that as Lebbon writes some more YA, he'll find his stride. I mean, he's freaking Tim Lebbon.

LONDON EYE, when you really look at the full body of work, feels like the first half of a novel. Right when things started to get interesting, the book ended. I was left wondering if my ARC was missing 150 pages. The setup is good, but by the time a sequel comes out, I worry that any small measure of interest I had in the characters will be lost. The setting and paranormal elements were enough to carry the story for me, but I feel like we are missing out on a huge amount of potential so far.

Will I read the sequel? Probably. I do want to see what happens next. I want to see Lebbon really grab this new type of novel (for him) by the horns. I trust Lebbon, so I'll give this series another chance. I just wish the "sequel" had been the second half of this novel so there was the tiniest bit of resolution.

Recommended Age: 15+.
Language: Fairly strong for a YA novel, but not frequent.
Violence: In some scenes, Lebbon goes absolutely crazy. He lets loose. Then in others he totally holds back. Inconsistently, insanely violent.
Sex: These are older teens in a dystopian future. They talk about sex, and have sex. Nothing detailed, but it's there.

Want to give this a shot? Here's the link:

LONDON EYE

Did you read VARIANT by Robison Wells? If you answer, "Yes" then by all means read on. If you answer, "No" then STOP. Just stop. Go on Amazon and buy a copy, read it, and then you can come back to browse this review. VARIANT is one of the best YA books of 2011, far superior to the YA fiction behemoth that is THE HUNGER GAMES in my not-so-humble opinion. Now here is the highly anticipated sequel, FEEDBACK. I'm going to try and give away as few spoilers as possible but if you haven't read the first book please check out our review of VARIANT here instead of continuing on.

Here's the Amazon book description (if you find this spoilerish send them your hate mail): 

Benson Fisher escaped from Maxfield Academy's deadly rules and brutal gangs. The worst was over. Or so he thought. But now he's trapped on the other side of the wall, in a different kind of prison. A town filled with familiar faces. People from Maxfield who Benson had seen die. Friends he was afraid he had killed. They are all pawns in the school's twisted experiment, held captive and controlled by an unseen force. And while Benson struggles to figure out who, if anyone, can be trusted, he discovers that Maxfield Academy's plans are darker than anything he imagined—and they may be impossible to stop.

VARIANT was like a beautiful thriller conglomeration of THE HUNGER GAMES (the ideas not the execution), LORD OF THE FLIES, and the psychological horror/thriller film CUBE. It was streamlined and focused and creepy and brilliant. Reading it brought to mind the controversial Stanford Prison Experiment, and even bits of ENDER'S GAME. Too much name dropping? Probably, but you'll live. The point is that VARIANT kicked serious butt and because of this my expectations going into FEEDBACK were incredibly high. By now you've probably noticed I do this thing where I build up expectations that can't possibly be met.

FEEDBACK starts off right where VARIANT left off. Benson and Becky have escaped the Academy but are surrounded by miles of forest. They are actively being pursued and have no idea where to go or what to do when they get there. Becky is badly injured. And then Benson discovers that some friends he thought dead are actually very much alive.

The sense of mystery and paranoia that permeated life at Maxfield Academy in VARIANT was the most compelling aspect. Student life at Maxfield was this strange mixture of clashing gangs, constant surveillance, and paintball. Yeah, I said it. Paintball. Benson and Becky have escaped all this and made it to a town inhabited by friends they previously thought lost. So Benson and Becky trade one kind of prison for another. In FEEDBACK there are no bars, no rules, and no gangs. And that is largely where the problem is. This newly introduced town just comes across as a sort of limbo, much like that long and tedious camping section of that last Harry Potter book. There are no gangs but the town is divided into two factions: those dedicated to escaping and those who have resigned themselves to their fate. Unfortunately the faction dynamics aren't explored to a great degree. The psychological themes of VARIANT that I found so absorbing (the banality of evil) are mostly missing in FEEDBACK. There is however one scene that really struck a chord with me, a sort of trial by mob that carries the same dark weight as the first book.

The same could be said of the characters. I was already a fan of Benson. Yes, when this series gets made into a huge blockbuster movie you will likely catch me wearing a "Team Benson" t-shirt. Don't judge. Benson struck me as a great YA character. He's not overly angsty. He's not a vampire/werewolf. He takes charge of his own fate. He's a troublemaker and he wants to be free. He's still great in FEEDBACK but he gets another degree of depth as he tries to cope with the guilt and responsibility that comes with the consequences of the end of VARIANT. The rest of the cast falls a little flat though in the sequel. So many of the characters have returned from the first book that there just isn't enough time spent developing or examining relationships. Returning characters feel vaguely like strangers and new characters feel even more indistinct.

The good news is that readers will gets answers. The ending feels rushed (and a bit contrived) after so long spent hiding in the town but Wells does provide an answer to the big question. Some readers are bound to take the reveal better than others, and I'm sure some already suspect what it may be. Those who took the twist of VARIANT in stride will be fine. Those who didn't probably won't. I'm still considering the implications of the finale.

I'm disappointed and it's not even because FEEDBACK is a bad novel. It's not a bad novel. I recognize the things I love about the first book in it. Benson is a great character and I was very invested in how his story turned out. I love the thriller elements of this setting Wells has created. FEEDBACK needs more. More character development, more exploration of the themes, and more time spent on the conclusion. Additionally, the clarity of writing just wasn't as clear in the sequel as it was in the original. VARIANT proves that Wells has the talent for all of this, FEEDBACK is just lacking. Then again it could just be my expectations tainting things. Regardless, if you haven't read VARIANT and chose to disregard my initial warning GO BUY IT and then you can decide whether or not to read the sequel.

Recommended Age: 14+
Language: Very, very little. Almost none.
Violence: Yes, some...sci-fi violence and some more disturbing violence.
Sex: Nope.

Buy VARIANT here.
Buy FEEDBACK here.