As you’ve probably noticed, the blog is no longer active. For the foreseeable future, it will remain that way. Thank you to everyone over the years who has helped make this blog as fun and wonderful as it is. Was. Whatever. Thank you to all of the authors and publishers that I partnered with to bring great content and help introduce new books to new people.

Why am I closing the blog? Because I no longer, unfortunately, have the time or energy to keep the blog up. I barely have time to read in the numbers that I was before. Therefore, I feel it is kinder to everyone involved (including myself) to close things down.

I might be back one day.

Thanks for the memories.

usagi

October 9, 2016

Author: Marie Rutkoski

Publication Date: March 3, 2015 (Macmillan Children’s – North America)

Genre: YA, high fantasy, AWESOME

Source: Publisher-provided ARC

Summary: The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

☆: 5/5 stars – a more internal approach compared to book 1, but still awesome.

Review: Oh boy. Where do I start? I loved book 1, “The Winner’s Curse”, in a way that I haven’t really loved Rutkoski’s books before. It felt like she’d evolved so much in all of the areas of technical novelship/novelcraft (is that a word? it’s a word now), and with book 2, while it did have a few slow areas, it was the quiet where the loud in book 1 was. This book is a more quiet, sinister book than book one – more quiet deception, less physical action, and more internal examination. And that’s what made it great (along with how it was used with all of our players). If you were a fan of “The Winner’s Curse”, you simply must move on to “The Winner’s Crime”.

I have to say, one thing that made me very happy (and to actually quantify WHAT it was took quite a bit of thought) was the fact that this particular book in the trilogy was not going to end well. Unless some magnificent trick was pulled off wherein a HEA suddenly appeared, I loved the simmering discontent, despair, and lack of romance going on. That lack of romance gave us a real look into what Kestrel’s life had become, what it was becoming, and how it was becoming by association with Arin and the Herrani.

It’s safe to say that in this book, we get to know Kestrel a whole lot better – especially when she’s been backed into a corner. And with the Valorian prince stalking her, the Herrani people and Arin nipping at her heels and heart…well, it’s a lot of corners. So we get this full-scope view through not only her perspective but that of the other characters as well. It seems like so many of our players have been backed into corners, for better or for worse, and watching them untangle themselves is like watching them trying to walk out of a minefield with all limbs intact. In this case, it would also be with all emotions and logical mind intact too, but I think you get the point – subterfuge is pretty much a mental minefield and with this book? It’s full of them. The mindgames are fantastic, as is the espionage.

The worldbuilding is expanded to the ruins of what was the Herrani Empire before/during the last war, and we get to see the sheer ruin that Kestrel’s father helped exact upon it’s people. We get a bigger view of the area map – though I did want to see a little more, Rutkoski’s definitely upped her game in this area as well, especially when it comes to getting visuals (sensory imagery). The sensory imagery Rutkoski provides in this book is one of the few “outside views” when compared to the interior processing of Kestrel, Arin, and the rest of the crew.

And that cliffhanger. I think I nearly threw the book across the room (but in a good way, I swear!), when I remembered it would be another year before the final book came out.

Final verdict? If you liked book 1, you’re going to LOVE book 2. “The Winner’s Crime” is out now from Macmillan Children’s in North America, so be sure to check it out when you get the chance!

The prompt is: “The ‘Winner’s Curse’ is an economics term that means you’ve gotten what you wanted – but at too high a price.  What would you pay too much for?”

My winner’s curse and price? I suppose I’ve already paid it.

I was hellbent in high school on getting into a good school, and going abroad to study in Japan for my major. The price? My health. My health started to decline in my junior year in high school – I’d been pushing and rarely had a break since summer 1999. I thought it was just stress, so I tried to slow down after I knew what schools I’d gotten into in senior year.

Alas, that wasn’t the case. Things continued to get worse, bit by bit. Again, I thought it was stress – having to adjust to a whole new city/environment/school/people is bad for a neurotypical person, but if you’re autistic? It’s probably the first or third circle of hell. I had to learn words in a foreign language for my condition which still carry a stigma in that culture, and I had to remember them, which even today I still need to look up when needed. Thankfully, I don’t need to look them up as much anymore.

I finally got what I wanted in 2005, when I studied at ICU in Tokyo. But my health continued to worsen, to the point where I had to go to a doctor with one of the UC Center gals (who I still thank to this day for looking after me – had they not been there, I probably would have ended up hospitalized and going home six months early), get an ultrasound, and navigate that entire nasty bit of business where I wasn’t entirely savvy on that speciality’s jargon. I literally had to go over what the words were to use, and how to describe my symptoms. It wasn’t just one illness slowing me down – PCOS, depression, anxiety, Asperger’s syndrome, fibromyalgia – so I had to sit down and figure out what was going on, and what was making me vulnerable on any given day.

It got so bad I had to fly home spring break, go to a PCOS specialist and get a six hour glucose tolerance test (amongst other things) done. If you’ve never had one of those, be thankful you haven’t. It’s not fun.

I was also grieving for the loss of my grandfather, who died a month and a half after I started on my overseas journey. I wasn’t even able to make it to his funeral, held three days after his death – the turn-around time was too quick, and my courseload was heavy as hell. My mother encouraged me to stay and study. The good part? I knew he was dying before I left, and I was able to say goodbye before leaving. A few years later, while still getting better, my mother revealed that my grandfather had wanted me to stay in Tokyo for the duration of the funeral, because he wanted me to succeed, and to remember him as he was.

But I got better enough to finish out the year, and I’m glad I did. It cost me a good chunk of my social life, my GPA, and my health, and that’s my winner’s curse. It cost me so many things – but now I’m fluent in a language most people back away from, I have a double/international BA, and I take on translating/interpretation when the opportunity comes up. It also made me reevaluate my priorities, and recalibrate my expectations for myself and my life. The start of the Great Recession didn’t exactly help (coinciding with my graduation and its quiet start in 2007), but it gave me time to heal, and time to really think about what I wanted to do with my life.

I have my answers now. And I have paid my price. But learning has always been my winner’s curse, and it probably will continue to be my entire life long. At least now, I know what the cost is, and can sensibly evaluate whether it’s worth it. I plan to re-take the JLPT this year for the fourth time. Here’s hoping I pass.

The first two books of “The Winner’s Trilogy” are out now – my review for “The Winner’s Crime” is going to be up soon, so you can read my take on that. Definitely check them both out, as they’re apart of my top picks for 2014 and 2015 respectively. You can get them now from Macmillan Children’s in North America, so don’t miss out!

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: YA, magical realism, contemporary, AWESOME

Source: ARC from publisher

Publication Date: October 21, 2014 (Scholastic – North America)

Summary: There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

☆: 5/5 stars – SO MANY FEELS YOU GUYS.

Review: Guys, I just…I can’t even with this series anymore. But in a good way. So much heartbreak, but it feels so good. This book (which I guess, is kind of a middle book? out of four?) just proves Stiefvater’s prowess and her unstoppability in terms of keeping a story going with no loss from when you put down the previous book and start the next. With the plot getting crazier, more puzzle pieces falling together, and more doom and gloom gathering, “Blue Lily” is an AWESOME addition to the series, and it makes me hanker for book four even more. Trust me. You want this book.

Where to start? There’s so much in this book that gets further developed – but I think the universal themes (humanizing the aloof character in the main cast, economic inequality) here get the best treatment aside of Stiefvater blowing my mind with the connections she makes between Blue, her family, the Boys, and Cabeswater. We get even deeper into character development (I didn’t think this was possible, but it happened), as well as a new character that’s not only hilarious, but scary as hell towards the end of this installment.

The relationships. This is also a big one – everyone seems to be losing someone else. Noah is disappearing (even more), Adam and Gansey are at odds, Adam and Ronan are suddenly bffs, and of course, Blue’s missing mother and how Blue is trying to cope with that. Gansey’s kind of the odd man out, and while Blue is trying to swim through her grief to be with him, it just kind of…doesn’t really happen. She tries, I’ll give you that, and the old maxim about killing one’s darlings to get the best possible emotional payoff in your story? Well, Stiefvater MURDERS those darlings repeatedly. And it just hurts so good. The monsters are more humanized, the humans are more monsterized, and it’s all beautifully rendered in a way that makes me really jealous.

There’s also the worldbuilding – it makes me want Cabeswater to be real, for all of the things and places that Ronan dreams up to be real, for me to be able to go to all of these places. Stiefvater seems to only be getting better at her external worldbuilding with each book and that’s something that brings me great joy. She’s always been good at it in her other works, but for some reason, this series really seems to be making her push herself to immerse the reader as much as possible. With the internal worldbuilding going on for pretty much all the characters going on all at once, she also keeps that neat and tidy, and I didn’t once have to re-read to figure out what was going on (see: relationships above). The internal worldbuilding was definitely at its best in this volume, and the tension is building for that last volume to see who goes against each other, and what happens with Cabeswater and our crew at the end.

The new characters? Awesome. I’m glad we finally get to see Gansey’s professor, and a certain new character that I talked about before that I have the feeling will play a significant part in the crescendo of this series. The inclusion of those two characters really helped filled out the world and fill in some answers we’d been searching for since book one. But with that, more questions still arise. Nicely played, Stiefvater.

Final verdict? “Blue Lily” was everything I’d been waiting and hoping for for in a third book for the “Raven Cycle”. For the Raven fans out there, I don’t think you’re going to be disappointed in the least. “Blue Lily” is out now from Scholastic in North America, and this is one release you definitely CANNOT miss.

Author: Victoria Scott

Publication Date: February 15, 2014 (Scholastic – North America)

Genre: YA, dystopia, contemporary

Source: Publisher-provided ARC

Summary: Time is slipping away….

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can’t determine what’s wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She’s lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she’s helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It’s an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother’s illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there’s no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can’t trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

☆: 4/5 stars – dystopia plus social commentary? yes please.

Review: It’s only taken me this long to figure out that the “Fire & Flood” series is really not just a dystopia piece (like so much of YA right now), but it’s also a huge social commentary on how big pharma/big biopharma is really starting to harm our lives. The proof? “The Brimstone Bleed”. A lot of reviewers have panned this book as being a “Hunger Games” ripoff, but only after this long (and starting to read the second book), have I really started to see this book as what it is. I’m not sure the actual YA age set will get it, but I hope they will. I really enjoyed this one, and am currently enjoying the second one. If you’re looking for something with grit and heart, and a little bit of finger-wagging at our current society, “Fire & Flood” is for you.

It’s rare that you get a YA book with dystopic social commentary. It’s rarer when that book is contemporary (or presumed contemporary, as that’s what I’m going with in this case) . “Fire & Flood” at first seems like “The Amazing Race” on steroids (and full of angry dystopic feels), but going deeper – there is that question – why are so many of the Contenders’ loved ones sick? And what’s with the genetically-engineered Pandoras?

What exactly is the motivation of having this “Bleed” in the first place?

Looking deeper, with the existence of the Pandoras, it feels like it’s not just Tella is the center of the story here. There are hidden questions of our society therein – why are people getting sick? Why is big pharma dangling cures over our heads for (in real life, what feels like) a race to the death to get the money to get them? What’s going on with genetic engineering? Why are we letting these things happen?

We see all of these questions through Tella’s eyes as the race gets hotter, and shiftier by the moment. We get bits and pieces of answers to this puzzle throughout the book, but only towards the end do we really get more solid answers that only leave us with more questions.

Enough commentary analyzing.

Tella’s character was good as a base to build on – her motives were the starkest of all, as well as her resolve to finish the first two ecosystems of the Bleed. But I wanted a little more on her past (aside of what’s attached to memories of her brother, both pre-and-post infection), and the past of her parents (which was really tantalizing and just out of reach – hopefully that will be addressed in book two) as relating to her as well.

The other main cast development needed some work as well, but again, it was just enough to get us started on this race. I did like the love/hate/I don’t even know what I feel for you romance building between Tella and Guy, and the “can I trust them?” intense paranoia-like atmosphere that Scott builds up slowly but surely throughout the book. Loved that.

Aside from the Bleed and the Ecosystems, I did want to know more about the general world. Are Pandoras common knowledge among the general public? Why is it that only some people know about the Bleed? Little hints would have been nice and would have helped better built the world, but I have the feeling those answers will be coming later. I hope.

This one, above all, is plot-driven. Definitely a page-turner. I can’t wait for book two. “Fire & Flood” is out now from Scholastic in North America, so be sure to check it out when you get the chance!

Author: Tricia Sterling

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Magical

Publication Date: February 24, 2015 (Scholastic – North America)

Source: Publisher-provided finished copy

Summary: “I used to be one of those girls. The kind who loved to deliver bad news. When I colored my hair, I imagined it seeping into my scalp, black dye pooling into my veins.

But that was the old Lacy. Now, when I cast spells, they are always for good.”

16-year-old Lacy believes that magic and science can work side by side. She’s a botanist who knows how to harness the healing power of plants. So when her father dies, Lacy tries to stay with her step-mother in Chico, where her magic is good and healing. She fears the darkness that her real mother, Cheyenne, brings out, stripping away everything that is light and kind.

Yet Cheyenne never stays away for long. Beautiful, bewitching, unstable Cheyenne who will stop at nothing, not even black magic, to keep control of her daughter’s heart. She forces Lacy to accompany her to Sacramento, and before long, the “old” Lacy starts to resurface.

But when Lacy survives a traumatic encounter, she finds herself faced with a choice. Will she use her powers to exact revenge and spiral into the darkness forever? Or will she find the strength to embrace the light?

☆: 4/5 stars – a great magical realism debut!

Review: This one was a pleasant surprise, though I wish it had been longer. “When My Heart Was Wicked” is a snapshot of what can happen to someone as a cause of an unstable, dangerous childhood trying to become an adult – but through the lens of Francesca Lia Block-esque magical realism. I loved this one, and it makes me feel like Stirling will be one awesome author to watch. If you’re looking for a little magical realism in your tough stuff YA issues book, “When My Heart Was Wicked” is definitely the one you want to pick up.

My biggest problem with this book – the lack of development with the antagonist of this book (or well, perhaps the most major one, as there were really two), Cheyenne. While we understand she’s a bad mom, kinda a bad person (though redemption seems possible in the end), we don’t really understand a lot of her. She feels like a shallower version of the mother in “White Oleander” (in fact, a lot of this book feels like that book, but with more magic and witchery instead) – maybe slightly mad, or a sociopath, but with love for her daughter that’s just been twisted up in all sorts of ways that psychologically “normal” people cannot understand. However, she is really pretty abusive, and does cause harm to others – both magically and normally. But I wanted more – we get slight flashes of her motives and her roots in this book, but we don’t quite get enough to go on for everything to feel really solid.

So for Cheyenne in general, I think we needed one good last edit.

But for Lacy? Her character development (which, was also used as worldbuilding in one of the most creative ways I’ve ever seen) was spectacular, and I felt as if I were right there with her. Using her astronomical sign (Gemini) to help develop her character was brilliant move on Sterling’s part – the good twin, and the bad twin. Also, the idea of her “bad self” as redeveloping in an egg was a great idea as well, and I felt like it fit very well. She was quite the sympathetic protagonist, with a little bit of unreliable narrator thrown in for good measure. All of the tricks of the trade were used for Lacy, and they all worked. I don’t think I’ve seen that in YA recently from debut authors – or if I have, it’s been only a handful. Bravo.

As for the general worldbuilding (outside of Lacy), I felt that Chico was far more developed compared to Sacramento. Or rather, if Chico was the “light”, Sacramento was the under-developed “Dark”. I feel like we could have had more details there about the neighborhood, about the school, about all the places Lacy was currently in and had been to in the past with her mother, etc. I wanted more details other than the Demeter’s Daughter shop and the house. I really wanted more there so that the “outer” world felt more complete.

Otherwise? One of my favorite debuts of 2015 so far. If you like Francesca Lia Block’s brand of magical realism (also echoed in Janet Fitch’s “White Oleander”), you’re going to want to pick up this book. “When My Heart Was Wicked” is out now from Scholastic in North America, so be sure to check it out when you get the chance!

Author: Tonya Hurley

Publication Date: January 7, 2014 (S&S – North America)

Genre: YA, retellings, AWESOME

Source: Publisher-provided finished copy

Summary: Agnes, Cecelia, and Lucy watched as Sebastian sacrificed himself for what he believed in. Will the girls trust that their destiny as saints and martyrs and perform the miracles as Sebastian instructed? Or lose faith in themselves and each other in his absence? Time is running out for them to make a decision, and the fate of the world lies in the balance.

☆: 4.5/5 stars – a great middle book to this trilogy!

Review: Man. If you guys liked book one, “Passionaries” is definitely going to knock your socks off. Going to places that I didn’t think Hurley would go in this retelling/modernization of the lives of three Catholic saints, “Passionaries” shows the lives of three girls forever changed and now with the weight of the world on their backs with all of the creepiness that I was hoping for. If there’s an awesome retelling middle trilogy book out there for the year, it’s definitely this one.

What I think I loved the most about this book was the very realness of fame being shoved into the faces of Lucy, Agnes, and Cecelia. They didn’t ask for it. All they did was fall in love with one boy, and religion kind of happened in the process. It begs the question -even  with religion (or magic, depending on how you look at it) involved, what happens when you suddenly give fame to three very vulnerable girls?

We get some very gritty (and ugly) answers. And I loved every single moment of it.

What continues to amaze me is how deftly Hurley weaves in and out of the original saint stories and makes them not strictly about religion, but more about  magical realism. Really, it’s the best of both worlds from a writing point of view – you can claim the religious, paranormal, or magical realism genres all at once without really having to seriously commit to any of them. And adding in the contemporary parts makes it all feel very real – that we do have these three girls that suddenly have been gifted with these abilities, and that this strange evil (and the media) like a pack of vultures, really do want to rip them apart for it.

So, I guess you could say that the worldbuilding got better in this installment. By leaps. Even though it was pretty damned good to begin with.

Hurley uses a lot of humor to keep us grounded, to keep us in the moment and not to go too far into the horrible gifts these girls have received (or what their futures may hold – will they end up like their namesakes?), and also as a general building block for these girls’ characters, and the bond that they share. It makes the contemporary work with this retelling really, really well, and not once did I raise an eyebrow or question whether or not these girls existed. Character building? Definitely a big leap in this department too.

But mostly, this book explores that aforementioned question – what does fame do to a couple of vulnerable teenage girls, who, up until now, have lead very ordinary (and depressing, in some cases) lives? Hurley shines in how she digs into that question with each character, and how it connects to Sebastian, book one, and each girl’s past; creating this swirling maelstrom of doom (yeah, I just said “doom” in a review) that you can’t help but feel when you read it. Will their namesakes’ fates take over their futures? Will they be eaten instead by the media, and the cycle of fame and the narcissism (which is a sad byproduct) of that cycle? I won’t tell you the answer (because it’s definitely a huge factor for the upcoming book three), but the results are very interesting. One way that Hurley looks at fame is as compared to quicksand – you don’t have long in the spotlight, and you’re being dragged down with each breath you take – which makes book three all that more appetizing.

Final verdict? I love how Hurley has grown as a writer, and I don’t think she could have done it without writing this trilogy. I can’t wait for book three. “Passionaries” is out now in North America from Simon and Schuster, so be sure to check it out when you get the chance!

I’m quite happy to be hosting this stop on the “Mortal Danger” tour – I LOVED the start of this new series from Aguirre, who’s already proven herself with the “Razorland” trilogy as a capable YA author (and her NA stuff, so far, ain’t too bad neither).

So, I asked Aguirre to write a guest post. She chose the topic of beauty. Let’s hear what she has to say on it after the jump!

Beauty: Privilege & Pitfall

“The research reviewed by Hamermesh* shows that attractive people, both men and women, earn an average of 3 or 4% more than people with below average looks, which adds up to a significant amount of money over a lifetime. Beautiful people are also hired sooner, get promotions more quickly, are higher-ranking in their companies (a study found the CEOs of larger and more successful companies are rated as being more physically attractive than the CEOs of smaller companies), and get all kinds of extra benefits and perks on the job including, perhaps, more free tickets to fly in F/B class. It turns out that more attractive people often bring more money to their companies and therefore are more valuable employees.”

–from an article by Dario Maestripieri, Ph.D., a professor of comparative human development, evolutionary biology, and neurobiology at the University of Chicago.

*Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful by Daniel Hamermesh, an economist at the University of Texas / Austin.

I’m starting here with a couple of references to establish that there’s sound academic research behind the idea that beauty does make life easier. Some readers may feel that Mortal Danger sends a shallow message—that beauty will solve your problems. That’s not the subtext, however; rather it’s the way of the world. Our society, particularly in post-modern American culture, has created a cult of youth and beauty. What happens to actresses past a certain age; do they find a wealth of rich, nuanced roles? No.

That’s why they go under the knife repeatedly, and then, the media lampoons them for looking like they’ve had multiple facelifts. We get before and after shots, and “Poor Miss X, she was so popular in the 90s. Now with that face, she’ll never work again.” If they refrain, then journalists mock them for the unpardonable sin of aging. There’s no way for an actress to win. In Hollywood, women are prized for smooth skin, thin, fit bodies, and pert breasts. We don’t value whatever wisdom they might have acquired in sixty years; rather, we demand that they be immortal, forever twenty-something, and pretty as a picture. That doesn’t mean I agree with any of these ideas. In fact, it enrages me that a woman should be considered important only because her face is symmetrical and her body curves into a pleasing line. That’s why I’m shining a light on the issue in Mortal Danger.

Beauty is one facet of existence, not the panacea that heals all wounds. But if you read the article above, attractive people do have an easier time, whether getting a job, applying for a loan, or simply receiving some perk they didn’t earn. Other humans are genetically programmed to respond this way to good-looking people. Why? Because they’re desirable mates.

That doesn’t mean beautiful people have no problems, however, as Edie learns in Mortal Danger. They can still suffer from the weight of familial expectation and they can be neglected emotionally. Beauty doesn’t mean they feel they’re living up to potential. Plus, there’s the additional attention that comes with exceptional looks. Sometimes, a woman wants to be left alone and yet strangers on public transportation feel entitled to her time and attention because they find her attractive. These situations can escalate rapidly and become frightening. In that vein, Edie will come to a number of conclusions about her appearance through the Immortal Game series, and it’s not all, Whee, now I’m pretty, life is perfect.

What about you, would you ever consider plastic surgery? Why or why not?

Definitely something to think about. Thanks, Ann! Remember, folks, that “Mortal Danger” is out from Macmillan Children’s in North America on August 5, 2014! It’s one of my favorites of 2014 so far, so definitely check it out when you get the chance.

• Learn more about Mortal Danger.
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Author: Mary E Pearson

Publication Date: July 8, 2014 (Macmillan – North America)

Genre: YA, high fantasy

Source: Publisher-provided ARC

Summary: In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.

On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.

☆: 4.5/5 stars – a really awesome new series has just begun!

Review: Definitely different fare from Pearson, whose Jenna Fox series is the only work I’d read from her so far. I’m happy to say that “The Kiss of Deception” blows all of her previous work (that I’ve read) totally out of the water, and adds some more wonderful content to the very small YA high fantasy canon. With Lia as a wonderfully dynamic character leading the charge, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t drooling over the next installment and wanting it right now. If you’re looking for some awesome new YA high fantasy with a great female MC (or even if you’re not), go ahead and give “The Kiss of Deception” a try.

The weakest area of the novel? The world. While the world itself was very rich in sensory imagery and language, the backstory of the world – the worldbuilding itself, essentially – had holes. What caused the events that lead to the Remnants themselves, and the creation of Morrighan and its neighboring nations? We’re given bits and pieces as apart of Lia’s own arc of diving into the mystery of her own heritage and translating the book she stole upon her flight from Morrighan, but I definitely think we needed more to really seal that foundation for the world. However, I did read an early ARC, so it could be that this has changed upon publication. I do hope it has. I also know that the mystery will be stretching out into future books, and I can’t wait to find out more about the world itself, and how it all connects to Lia.

Also, the magic part. More on the magic, please.

But I think one of my favorite parts of this book was the very relatable theme of finding oneself – especially in a world that has already decided who you are, and knows that version of you that they themselves invented. This is a variant on the “finding oneself” theme that’s so often rife within the YA genre, but the spin that Pearson puts on it makes it an incredible read, and makes oneself wonder – like Lia, on a smaller scale, has the world already decided who you are, and sees you a certain way? There’s so much in that question, and Pearson definitely makes the most of it with dragging us across a desert, making a life in a whole new city, giving us a pseudo love triangle, and more to helping us figure out who Lia is along with Lia herself.

Speaking of the pseudo love triangle – that’s what it really was. At first, I hated the idea that it would be there at all. And then how things unfolded -all I can say is good job, Pearson, for pulling a fast one on all of us there. And I’m so glad you did. The desert scenes were among the best in the novel, and really showed Pearson’s approach to the two love interests – as in, made them two paths Lia could take. And Pearson – through Lia – lets us know which paths there are to take. The reason she left, or the reason she might die? Her nearly forced upon future, or a free future as an outlaw? And between these two paths, further self-exploration takes place.

And finally, the most awesome part – the sensory language and imagery. This is what really drew me in, aside from Lia’s character. This is what the world rich, the main cast great, and generally, made me want to stick around. It was definitely quite a few steps up from the “Jenna Fox” series, and I felt this is where Pearson grew the most. It sucked me in, and I didn’t want to let go by that final page. Hands down.

Final verdict? If you want more awesome female-fueled YA high fantasy a la “The Winner’s Curse”? Go for “The Kiss of Deception”. It’s definitely one of my favorites of the year so far, and I hope it is for you guys, too. “The Kiss of Deception” is out now from Macmillan Children’s in North America, so go check it out when you get the chance!

And be sure to visit the rest of the stops on the blog tour:

The Kiss of Deception Blog Tour Schedule

Monday July 7

Icey Books (Review)

The Starry-Eyed Revue (Guest Post)

Tuesday July 8

Adventures of a Book Junkie (Review)

Cuddlebuggery (Guest Post)

Wednesday July 9

FicFare (Review)

Two Chicks on Books (Guest Post)

Thursday July 10

Winterhaven Books (Review)

Tales of a Ravenous Reader (Guest Post)

Friday July 11

MundieMoms (Review)

Alice Marvels (Guest Post)

Monday July 14

YA Bibliophile (Review)

Bewitched Bookworms (Guest Post)

Tuesday July 15

That Artsy Reader Girl (Review)

Jenna Does Books (Guest Post)

Wednesday July 16

ExLibris (Review)

My Friends are Fiction (Guest Post)

Thursday July 17

Birth of a New Witch (Review)

Good Books and Good Wine (Guest Post)

Friday July 18

Google Hangout with Mary Pearson hosted by Belle of the Literati

Author: Francesca Lia Block

Publication Date: February 4, 2014 (HarperTeen – North America)

Genre: YA, paranormal

Source: Publisher-provided finished copy

Summary: After Julie’s grandmother passes away, she is forced to move across town to the not-so-fancy end of Beverly Hills and start over at a new school. The only silver lining to the perpetual dark cloud that seems to be following her? Clark—a die-hard fan of Buffy and all things Joss Whedon, who is just as awkward and damaged as she is. Her kindred spirit.

When the two try to contact Julie’s grandmother with a Ouija board, they make contact with a different spirit altogether. The real kind. And this ghost will do whatever it takes to come back to the world of the living.

☆: 4/5 stars – a refreshing standalone that harkens back to the days of “Weetzie Bat”.

Review: This one was fun, guys. The writing style and light yet dark feeling to “Teen Spirit” left me with the feeling I first felt when I picked up the “Dangerous Angels/Weetzie Bat series” omnibus when I was 12. I fell in love – though it’s not to say I never fell out of love with my mentor’s writing style. “Teen Spirit” is very similar to “Weetzie” in that sense of light reading, yet heavier (and in this book), somewhat darker content for the reader adjusted for easy digestion. I think a lot of “Weetzie” fans dissatisfied with recent efforts might really like this one. Regardless of where you stand, Block’s newest effort is gorgeous, haunting (no pun intended), and will leave you with a sense of utter peace once you turn that last page.

Since the technical areas in this book were more or less flawless, I’m going to talk more about other issues I found more interesting and relevant than just plain ol’ analysis. Admittedly, I do have a bias when it comes to Block (she is my mentor, after all), but I still loved “Teen Spirit” anyway, for the following main reason:

Block always puts a lot of herself (and her current situations with which she’s trying to deal with in her real life) in her books. Within the last few years, nowhere has it become more apparent than this – “Pink Smog”, “The Elementals”, etc – and I love her for exposing herself so very thoroughly whilst cloaked in her characters and worlds. In the case of “Teen Spirit”, it’s the issue of loss – losing one’s house to bankruptcy, losing a loved one – that’s once again in the spotlight with Block and her characters. Using her current real life issues in YA lit is something important, and something I wish more YA authors did. There have been some that have been candid about their real lives and how that affects their processes (my favorite is still Stephanie Perkins and post about depression), but none have written so candidly about it than Block. And for that, she does a serious service to the YA community.

This book just isn’t about magic. Or ghosts. Or the possibility of a great beyond. It’s about the aftermath – what loss leaves in its path, and those who get caught up in it. It’s the grief of seeing your loved one’s urn of ashes on a table everyday and not knowing if or when they’ll be back. It’s the loss of your home, the one you grew up in, the one that gave you hope that there was still magic and good in the world. It’s the loss of innocence when you change schools, when you fall in love, and when you discover that that love isn’t what it seems. All of these issues get juggled about within the greater umbrella of “loss”, and the rebirth that follows all of that.

There’s a lot of soul searching that goes on in this book. Literally. It’s a lot of heavy subject matter, but Block has mastered her craft (or continues to do so) and makes it so that it doesn’t quite feel so weighty to the audience. It takes a lot of talent and care to be able to do so, but Block has done it, with the help of magical realism. And with Julie and Clark (and another character that I won’t mention due to spoilers), you get to go on this journey with them, to go through that path of loss and see what’s on the other side. Moreover, you get to see why you NEED to go on that journey through one’s loss to the other side. All of this is important in real life, and Block emphasizes this even more in this book.

Otherwise? This book is still fun even with the sad subject matter, and still magical. Block’s still got it, folks, and this book proves it. “Teen Spirit” is out now from HarperTeen in North America, so be sure to check it out when you get the chance. It’s definitely one of my picks of 2014, and for good reason.