Young Adult Anonymous

YAA Soundtrack: Chaos Walking

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

By Noelle

If you scroll through my favorite books on Goodreads, chances are I have a soundtrack for them on my iPod. For any other playlist aficionados out there who enjoy making and listening to book-themed soundtracks, you've come to the right place! We will occasionally be posting links to playlists from my personal soundtrack collection.

This week I'm posting my soundtrack for the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness...or as I affectionately call it, Chaos Crying. I went full-on twangy with lots of duets for the dual protagonists and (I'm helpless to resist!) several Noise nods. There will be a lot of no comments in the liner notes in an effort to not spoil anything but if you think I'm referring to something I probably am. (Nice blanket statement to make me sound like a genius too, so win/win really.)

You can listen to the playlist on Grooveshark or read the tracklisting with liner notes below:

1. Goin' Against Your Mind - Built to Spill: Starting my playlist with an 8 minute song--bold choice or most skipped song on the playlist? Time will tell!
2. Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes
3. Rattlin' Bones - Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicolson
4. Orphan Girl (cover) - Crooked Still
5. Coal War - Joshua James: If we don't walk free with hand in heart, it's time. / If we cannot see all we destroy, we're blind. / It's not the hand that cuts, it's the heart we left behind / It's not the hand that cuts, it's the hatred deep inside.
6. Blackbird (cover) - Evan Rachel Wood
7. Walking - The Dodos
8. Bartholomew - The Silent Comedy: Saw the darkest hearts of men / And I saw myself staring back again
9. David - Noah Gunderson: This one is for you, Davy.
10. Oh, Death! - Pearl and the Beard
11. Nothing Else Matters (cover) - Lissie
12. Come Away to the Water - Glen Hansard
13. Voice in My Throat - Pearl and the Beard: My Todd and Viola song. Don't ask me how many times I played this in a row after finishing Monsters of Men. No matter what you guess you'll guess low.
14. The Lost Boy - Greg Holden: I'm sort of convinced this song is about this series.
15. Early One Morning - Nana Mouskouri: Because I'm eviiiiiil.

As always, thanks for listening!

Series Review: Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:15:00 +0000

The Chaos Walking Series by Patrick Ness
The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, Monsters of Men
Reviewed by Noelle: May 23, 2013
Published by Walker Books, Ltd
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository

I won't go into specific detail in this review as I want it to be safe as possible to read at any point in this series, but just know this: the less you know beforehand, the better. I urge you just to try it out and experience the crazy beautifulness of the series for yourself.

To put it in the most mundane way possible, I prepare for Patrick Ness books by making sure I'm stocked up on anguish and crying GIFS for my Goodreads status updates. Pick a page and any of these could be an accurate representation of my emotional state:

Yup.

Bask in the pain.

Let it all out.

It might seem over the top but it is true. Reading Chaos Walking is a catharsis, and will leave you feeling raw, but OH is it so worth it. To try and put it more seriously---

Chaos Walking is set on a planet other than Earth and Ness describes the indigenous species' method of communicating like this:

“I find I am swimming in a river of voices reaching out and touching mine"

“And I realize he ain’t telling me with words. [...] he’s surrounding me with it, letting me sit in the middle of it, knowing it to be true.”

And honestly, that is what reading this series was like for me, complete emotional immersion. Ness continually challenges the reader with his exploration of the moral ambiguity and hypocrisy of human nature. He has readers questioning the characters, their motives, their decisions, and examining their own belief system. He asks the hard questions and demands truthful answers (whether you agree with him or not). It results in a level of emotional investment that in my personal experience, is just about unparalleled.

Each book in the series multiplies in complexity. The first is action-packed, the second is a grind of mind games and moral quandaries and the final is a combination of both---cranked to a million. Each book also adds an additional point of view that fills out the world wonderfully. In Chaos Walking, high-stake dilemmas aren't merely used for suspense value. When Ness puts his characters (and by proxy the readers) in horrific situations and forces them to make impossible choices, those decisions have real consequences and cause actual, sometimes irreparable damage. The repercussions don't just disappear, they alter the world of the characters.

Nearly every character is a complex, three-dimensional person. Both heroes and villains are shown to be capable of good and evil. Not only did I come up with a curse word in honor of the protagonist (TODDAMMIT), I count the antagonist as one of my favorite characters of all time.

The themes of the series are explored in devastatingly beautiful and honest ways. Vengeance vs. forgiveness. The power of love to save and destroy. Trust, truth and openness vs. suppression, misdirection and lies. Questioning yourself vs. blind certainty. The meaning of redemption.

It’s not how we fall. It’s how we get back up again.

I'm so glad I stumbled across Patrick Ness and Chaos Walking. I cannot recommend this series enough. The beauty and emotions Ness can convey in a phrase, scene and story is breath-taking. I know it will stay with me for a long time.

Chaos Walking:

I've linked to my individual Goodreads reviews below. Be forewarned, the reviews will contain small spoilers.

The Knife of Never Letting Go: 4.5/5 stars (review)

The Ask and the Answer: 5/5 stars (review)

Monsters of Men: 5/5 stars (review)

YAA Confessions: Our Biggest I CAN'T EVENs

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:34:00 +0000

In life, there are just some things that make you say, I CAN'T EVEN. I can't even can be used for both good and evil. For example, Tom Hardy and a puppy? I CAN'T EVEN good. Joe Manganiello trying to emote? I CAN'T EVEN bad. Sometimes something is so I CAN'T EVEN bad it's good, and sometimes it can be a little bit of both.

Case in point: There are some books we love, but that doesn't mean they don't contain an element of I can't even.

Maggie: There's a reason why I didn't read Harry Potter until two years ago. Cho Chang. I CAN'T EVEN. The first time I heard her name, I remember thinking, Was Ching Chong too obvious, JK?? I steadfastly refused to read the books and only went to the first movie because my friend paid for my ticket. And then I fell asleep in the theater. It wasn't until Noelle wore me down with her book pressure over months and months that I decided to give Sorcerer's Stone a try. Yeah, I ended up mainlining them in a row and talking like I lived at Hogwarts for a month. However, whenever I see that name... It's not even a valid name. They are two last names! Two Korean last names! Okay, Chang can be both Korean and Chinese but still. I can't with that name.

Noelle: At this point I feel like I'm picking on a clearly repentant Gayle Forman, but I CAN'T EVEN with Adam's band name in Where She Went. Adam, charming, irresistible, pluck-you-like-the-stringed-instrument-of-your-choice Adam forms a band that is supposedly the game changing accolade acquiring Grammy winning heir to Nirvana and calls it....Shooting Star? Shooting Star?!!? Reader, there isn't a record scratch sound effect loud enough.

NOW FOR THE GOOD...

Maggie: I can't even with... sweatpants. Specifically, sweatpants no shirt. Before you judge, I would like to refer to Exhibit A: The Beast Lord of Atlanta. What can Curran be found in when not in his warrior form? ...Sweatpants. Exhibit B: Rites of Spring (Break), Chapter 14. "[Redacted] was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and nothing else." I'll let the turning point speak for itself. There is an art to wearing the sweatpant -- if you're hot, boom, art. And a million I can't evens. Followed by please and thank you.

Noelle: I thought long and hard about this one and thought of my well documented love for Buddy Cops of Convenience and basically the Ruby Oliver series as a whole but settled on a more broad choice. You know when you're reading a book and then all of a sudden the author writes something that resonates so personally it sends you into a what-the-hell-were-you-there?! flashback? Yeah, I CAN'T EVEN. Whether it is the thrill of a note in your locker, the gut punch of seeing your ex in a new relationship, seeing your parent from a new perspective, the power of a mixtape or you know, just about anything Melina Marchetta writes...the feeling is just THE best. I think that kind of connection is what makes YA so powerful. And so, well, I CAN'T EVEN.

What makes you say I CAN'T EVEN these days?

YA in LA: Summer Lovin' Tour, Part Deux

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Thu, 16 May 2013 06:45:00 +0000

Almost exactly a year ago, I went to my first author event, the Summer Lovin' Tour with Jenny Han, Jessi Kirby, and Morgan Matson. When I found out it was coming back again this year with even more authors, I knew I had to go. Of course, like last year, there was the little matter of the NBA PLAYOFFS delaying me, but I was only 15 minutes late!

The Summer Lovin' Tour 2013 is back and bigger than before. (Missed you, Jenny Han! I should have made a "For Jenny" shirt, a la Lori and Coral in the Real World/Road Rules Challenge.) This year, the authors were:

Jessi Kirby, Golden (released this week)
Sarah Ockler, The Book of Broken Hearts (released next week)
Suzanne Young, The Program
Morgan Matson, Second Chance Summer
Kimberly Derting, Dead Silence
Shannon Messenger, Let the Sky Fall

By the time I got there, the authors were each introducing their books. After that, Sarah Ockler read passages selected by each other and the audience guessed who had written it. The turnout was small this time, but really, there were two potential elimination games going on. I almost didn't make it. However, this didn't deter the authors and they gamely participated in discussions. One great thing about smaller crowds is that discussion is more relaxed, which leads to unexpected topics, like embarrassing moments. If you're going to any of the other dates on this tour, ask Jessi Kirby about the time she was in charge of the boys basketball team. Or Kimberly Derting about the email meant for her husband. Or Shannon Messenger about the time she met Arthur Levine.

One audience member asked which character the authors would be in each other's books. Sarah Ockler immediately answered that she would be Honor from Jessi Kirby's In Honor. If you've read In Honor and/or watched Friday Night Lights, you know why: Rusty/Tim Riggins. There was also a fun discussion about who the authors stalk/fangirl over. Sarah said she couldn't breathe when she met Sarah Dessen. Jessi mentioned how, when she was writing Moonglass (her debut novel) before she had a publishing deal, she saw Sarah's Twenty Boy Summer in the library and stopped dead because her story featured a beach and red sandglass. She immediately got the book and started reading it. Even more of a coincidence, her character was named Anna Ryan and the main character in Twenty Boy Summer is Anna Reiley. After she finished reading the book, Jessi emailed Sarah with the subject heading, "We are literary soulmates." Sarah remembered the email and they met for the first time at a writers retreat last year.

Sarah also got a great email from another fan of Twenty Boy Summer who actually wrote a song about the book. Her name was Jude Hernandez and she mentioned how people had trouble pronouncing her name so she went by Jude Henderson at times. That stuck with Sarah and the name of the main character in The Book of Broken Hearts is... Jude Hernandez. How cool is that? BRB. (Dear Melina...)

Another question was what the authors are working on now.

Sarah Ockler: Sarah is working on a book that was called Love and Other Internet Disasters. The name is going to changed. It's a contemporary story about a girl named Lucy who is in love with her best friend's boyfriend. Her best friend ends up getting sick and asks Lucy to take her boyfriend to the prom. Even worse, the boyfriend kisses Lucy at the after party. Even worse than that, someone takes a picture and uses Lucy's phone to post the picture onto Lucy's Facebook page. The pictures go viral and Lucy is branded a slut.
Suzanne Young: Suzanne is working on copy edits of The Treatment, which comes out next year. She's also working with Cat Patrick on a contemporary book, Just Like Fate, which comes out in August.
Shannon Messenger: Shannon is working on the Let the Sky Fall series, as well as her Keeper of the Lost Cities series. The Keeper is much longer with at least 60 characters, so it takes up much more of her time.
Jessi Kirby: Jessi's next book doesn't have a title yet but it's a contemporary. The main character is a girl whose boyfriend tragically died. His family donates all his organs. She starts to write letters to all the recipients and they all write her back except one -- the person who received his heart. She goes outside all the regulations because she becomes obsessed with who got the heart since that's the most important one to her. She just wants to see him but they end up meeting and he falls for her and she wonders if it's him or the heart. She also has to deal with whether to tell him the truth about how she found it. This will be released in 2015.
Morgan Matson: Morgan just turned in her book. It's about a girl named Emily and her best friend, Sloan. Sloan moves away and doesn't tell her. Two weeks later, she gets a list of 13 things that relate to things that are in their history. She starts going through the list and doing the things listed, like stealing something, because she thinks it will bring her back to Sloan. Morgan also has another series coming out in 2016 about four friends who spend every summer together on an island. Everything changes when they turn 16. Right now there are 3 books planned in the series, but it may turn into 4.
Kimberly Derting: Kimberly finished revisions on the third Pledge book, which will come out in January. It's her fave. She couldn't reveal the title yet but she said that somebody dies. She also sold a new trilogy to Harper Collins -- a contemporary sci-fi. It's about a girl who vanishes when she's 16 and is gone for 5 years. She has no memory of where she's been but when she comes back 5 years later, her life is completely different but she is still 16. She's trying to fit into her new world. Her dad saw her disappear but people didn't believe him so he's an alcoholic now and her parents are divorced. The title of this series is The Taking.

That's it for me. I'm passing the recap baton to Flannery from The Readventurer because I know she's going to the Seattle event. The other dates for the tour are:

Review: Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:40:00 +0000

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks
Reviewed by Maggie: May 15, 2013
Published May 7, 2013 by First Second
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Shop Indie

Nerds. Jocks. Cheerleaders. Epic battle. Sounds like your typical high school story, right? Enter the killer robots!*

I knew there was a high propinquity** that I would like this because I loved Faith Erin Hicks' Friends with Boys (my review / Noelle's review) and Prudence Shen's /report podcast is a must listen in my book club.*** After flying through the first 50 or so pages on the official website, I ended up breaking my months-long NetGalley ban to request it. And it was totally worth it.

Charlie is the popular captain of the basketball team. Nate is the much less popular president of the robotics team. They're neighbors and best friends though they are on opposite sides of the social spectrum. Nate is usually worked up about something while Charlie is laid back. The latest outrage in Nate's life: the school has decided to let the student council determine which extracurricular club gets money. The science club was going to get it so they could enter the national robotics competition, but then the cheerleaders said they needed new uniforms. Enter Holly, head cheerleader and Charlie's ex-girlfriend. Nate's solution is simple: run for student body president and make sure the science club gets the money. Yeah, that idea doesn't fly with the other members of the club either. As Ben disbelievingly tells Nate, "You're literally trying to win a popularity contest!" Holly counteracts Nate's move by entering Charlie into the race. Even though Charlie is an unwitting challenger, it's game on for Nate. Friendships, loyalties, and robots are tested.

To begin with, this book has my favorite depiction of cheerleaders ever. I mean, look at Holly's entrance in the book:

Image from the Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong website.

She enters the story like freaking Beyonce! And she has the attitude to back it up. These aren't your stereotypical cheerleaders. Nate calls them the "Pom Pom Gestapo" for a reason. They are fierce, ruthless, smart, and organized. Holly is a formidable opponent, but she is by no means a villain in the story, which I loved.

Charlie, oh Charlie. Do you remember Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles? Jake was one of the first boys my heart Teen Beated for, and he will always hold a special place there. Well, Charlie reminded me of him. When the basketball team finds out Charlie's dad is out of town and decide to invite half the school over to his place, Nate finds Charlie hiding under his bed reading a book. Nate tells him, "You really are the worst cool kid ever." Also, since this is a graphic novel, we don't just have to imagine Charlie shirtless. Ahem, shoulders.

Before you think this is just about the popular kids, remember that Prudence Shen wrote this book. In her /report bio, it says:

"She has written, much to her chagrin, hundreds of thousands of pages of bad-to-slightly-less-bad fanfic in everything from anime to Smallville to shows that lasted three episodes to children's books."

The nerd voice is well represented. And it's not just nerd boys. Joanna is a key member of the robotics team. I love that one added touch to the KILLER ROBOT is a little, stenciled bow.

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong combines a fun story with clever illustrations, or maybe it's a clever story with fun illustrations. The result is a book that will appeal to even those who don't consider themselves graphic novel fans. I think this was even better than Friends with Boys, and I can't wait to see what Faith Erin Hicks and Prudence Shen come up with next.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

--
*Okay, so they're not technically killer robots in the Michael Bay sense. But really, do you want to live in a world where Michael Bay makes sense?
**Quinto/Pine Challenge: To use one of the words that made Chris Pine's head hurt.
***Confession: I've only listened to the episode about Korean dramas. But it was hilarious.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher.

Jaclyn Moriarty Came to LA & I Almost Forgot to Breathe: My Recap of the LA Times Festival of Books

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Remember when I found out Jaclyn Moriarty was coming to LA for the Festival of Books and I almost passed out? That about sums up what happened when I actually did meet her.

I ended up only going on Saturday (April 20) because the Spurs were starting their series against the Lakers on Sunday. (The Spurs won so it was worth it.) Saturday was the day I cared about anyway since Jaclyn Moriarty and Elizabeth Wein were both on panels that day. I had a bit of a Sophie's Choice moment because Jaclyn's appearance at the Once Upon a Time Bookstore booth was at the same time as Elizabeth's panel, Young Adult Fiction: Danger & Determination. My friend, Vickie, and I decided to stake out the booth early and then hightail it over to the panel afterward.

Let me tell you how excited I was that day: I got up at 6am. And I am NOT a morning person. I'm also perpetually late to everything. This time, though, Vickie and I met up for coffee at 9 and then carpooled over to USC. We got to the booth 30 minutes early and looked around. I wasn't sure which books they would have in stock, so I brought a stack with me. I know from Nomes (Inkcrush) that Jaclyn doesn't do many events even in Australia so while I had this opportunity, I wanted to get some books signed for other fans as well. I knew they would have Corner of White in stock, but I was pleasantly surprised that they had The Year of Secret Assignments. There was only one copy in all the LA area B&Ns -- and I bought that one to gift the day before.

When Jaclyn finally showed up, I Wiig-ed out. I let the other people in line go before me so there would be less witnesses. Vickie actually went first. She's been a Moriarty fan ever since she first picked up Secret Assignments while in library school. It's the book she always recommends to her teens. When it was my turn, Lord help me, I don't know what I said. All I know is that I couldn't stop talking. I like to think that her smile was of bemusement and not, you know, fear. Once I got somewhat coherent, she noticed that I had a copy of the Australian edition of Secret Assignments, Finding Cassie Crazy. I think I blurted out "Frying pan!" before explaining that Nomes mentioned her favorite line of the book, which I didn't recognize because it had been edited in the US version. She said she doesn't do many events but it was lovely that she had so many fans in the States. I asked her about the sequel to A Corner of White because THAT ENDING, and she said the second book is already written and she thinks it will be published in Australia at the end of this year or early next year. It's all up to the publisher. (This year please, Pan Macmillan Australia!)

After talking her ear off while grinning like a fool, Vickie and I dashed off to Elizabeth Wein's panel. Well, first I dropped my Fuji Instax camera because my bag was overflowing with books and someone from Scholastic very kindly stopped me. This is when I remembered that I needed to breathe between bouts of verbal diarrhea and fangirling, so we took a minute to stop in the shade. After that, we were off again.

The Danger & Determination panel consisted of Elizabeth Wein, A.S. King and Martine Leavitt. I had never heard of Leavitt before but Vickie is a huge fan of her books, especially Keturah and Lord Death. Another of Leavitt's books, My Book of Life by Angel, was nominated for the LA Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature. Code Name Verity and Ask the Passengers were also nominated, with Ask the Passengers winning the prize. We missed a lot of the panel but got there in time for the Q&A.

Wein said she knew she wanted to be a writer after reading Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary when she was 7 years old.
When King was asked whether she had any advice for aspiring writers, her response was, "Pack a lunch." It took her 15 years to get published.
Someone asked what their superpowers were and Leavitt answered, "I'm a really good list maker... That might be an illness, not a super power." Wein answered, "As a writer, my power is foreshadowing."

After the panel, there was a signing outside. If you look through this thread, you'll see that I was tasked with getting a book signed from Elizabeth "Queen of My Shattered Heart" Wein. Warning for BEA attendees: Elizabeth's line was jam packed. There were at least 20 people in front of me and more people kept showing up. We were told to stick a post-it on the title page and one on page 68. Verity fans, you know why. I saw someone in line who had first editions of her Lion Hunters series and let me tell you, I was tempted to grab and run. When my turn came up, I was much calmer than an hour earlier, having learned my lesson. Elizabeth, like Jaclyn, was wonderful. There's always that fear when you meet an author you love that the experience won't live up to the one you've imagined in your mind. My expectations that day were met and exceeded. Elizabeth remembered our Twitter conversation and signed the books accordingly. She also immediately recognized Chachic's name, as Chachic (Chachic's Book Nook) was an early fan and bibliovangelist of her books. Mandee (Vegan YA Nerds), Anna (I Am Here for This), and I had joked about buying these bracelets for one another, so I noticed that Elizabeth also had a similar bracelet. She said her best friend surprised her with it... after she had already bought one for herself.

We had a thirty minute break and decided to rest a bit before heading to Jaclyn's panel, Writing for Teens & Tweens: Sagas & Series.

Have I mentioned how wonderful Jaclyn is already? I love that the moderator knew it too. As she went through Jaclyn's CV (Yale, Cambridge), everyone was a bit awestruck, but Jaclyn demurred that it was all an excuse to put off actually having to practice law. While attending Cambridge, she wrote Feeling Sorry for Celia and made a secret pact with herself to get published before she left London. She sent Celia out to a bunch of publishers but was rejected each time. When her visa ran out and she still hadn't been published, it turned out that "a secret pact with yourself isn't a valid reason to extend your visa." She returned to Sydney and started working in a law firm. She decided to try finding a publisher one last time. She sent her manuscript off and it ended up in the hands of Garth Nix, author of Sabriel. This led to her finding a publisher. The Ashbury/Brookfield books were "an accidental series." After she wrote Finding Cassie Crazy, her sister was the one who wanted to know more about one of the minor characters, Bindy. This led to The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie.

Speaking of her sisters, when Jaclyn was 8, she used to write stories. Her younger sister asked her how she came up with them, and Jaclyn told her that there were little fairies under her pillow who told her the stories. When her sister said that she didn't have any fairies, Jaclyn replied that it was because her sister had dark hair whereas she was a blonde. Haha!

When asked about writing YA, Jaclyn said that she loves children's books for "the imaginative freedom and the imaginative range." She likes adult books because they deal with serious issues. Young adult is a good mix of both. On writing fantasy, Jaclyn said, "What's important is for us (authors) to believe what we're writing."

She discussed A Corner of White and how she started writing in wintry Montreal, Canada. She said, "Being from Sydney, snow is the most magical thing." On naming the kingdom of Cello, she said that in her research, she found out that the cello is the instrument closest to the human voice. As part of her research, she also bought a cello off eBay and started taking lessons with a "beautiful Polish cellist."

There were some other great topics and Ridley Pearson was also an interesting panelist, but unfortunately, the panel was nearly overshadowed by another participant whose behavior was boorish, disrespectful, and unprofessional. I won't name names because I don't want my fantastic experience with one of my favorite authors to be about someone who is neither. Jaclyn Moriarty, the person who I came to see, was delightful, intelligent, and charming. I'm glad I went to see her earlier in the day because after the panel, I was LIVID.

I will say this: If you're an author on a panel, it's not just about you. Not only are there other authors, there are people in the audience who specifically want to hear those authors. Give them some respect and don't interrupt or YELL OVER THEM. I wish I was kidding.

Anyway, these are the books I was lucky to get signed for myself.

If you ever have the opportunity to hear or meet Jaclyn Moriarty or Elizabeth Wein, RUN. And don't forget to breathe.

Reveal Yo Self: Friday Never Leaving by Vikki Wakefield

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

If you've been on YAA for any length of time, you may have seen us mention Vikki Wakefield. All I Ever Wanted, her debut novel, was one of the first reviews we posted. (Third, to be exact.) In our second podcast, we talked about how in a literary landscape riddled with Lyla Garritys, Mim from All I Ever Wanted is the closest to Tyra Collette. Friday Brown, Vikki's second novel, was the first book we gave away -- not because we had an extra copy from the publisher, but because it was THAT good and we were willing to put our money where our mouths were and have it shipped from Australia. She was on both of our Favorite Books of 2012 lists.

We were so excited when it was announced that Friday Brown was going to be published in the US as Friday Never Leaving on September 10. We saw the UK cover a few weeks ago. And now, we have a US cover. Vikki revealed the cover on her Twitter account.

We love it. It's so eerie and perfect. For those of you who have read the book already, what do you think? For those of you who haven't, get your preorders in! Here are all the editions together. Which one is your favorite?

Editions from left to right: US, AUS, UK

Friday Brown (AUS) available now at Fishpond • Text Publishing (free worldwide shipping)

Friday Brown (UK) available on July 4 at Fishpond • Book Depository

Friday Never Leaving available on September 10 at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository

Lunch Table Rankings: May 3

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:30:00 +0000

Everyone knows the biggest honor you can bestow on someone is an invite to your lunch table, but an invite doesn't get passed around to just ANYONE....

Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:40:00 +0000

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
Reviewed by Maggie: April 25, 2013
Published June 12, 2012 by Balzer + Bray
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Shop Indie

I first heard about this book a year ago through Catie's fantastic review. As a fan of Persuasion, I figured this was an automatic skip. I mean, come on, Wentforth? And why is Coco Rocha modeling a dress on the cover? In space? Fast forward a year later, I saw this was available at my e-library and thought, Why not? Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the DNF Shelf. I loved it. And the thing is, objectively, I still agree with the points Catie made -- but sometimes, you have to go with your gut. In my case, my stomach was doing backflips as I read the scenes between Wentforth and Elliot.

In Persuasion, Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth are kept apart by class differences and societal expectations. I thought Peterfreund's approach of creating a feudalistic dystopia was brilliant. It's a modern take that makes the antiquated values that kept Anne Elliot in her place relevant. In For Darkness Shows the Stars, the world as we know it was destroyed by people who tried to go too far with scientific and technological advancements. In trying to unlock the secrets to the genetic code, people began experimenting on one another. The ERV procedure was given to babies to make them better, faster, stronger. However, the procedure resulted in generations of people being "reduced," their brains turned to mush. This became known as the Reduction. The people who refused ERV, called Luddites, ended up rebuilding in the aftermath of the Reduction and taking power. They blamed the reduced for trying to play God. The Norths are a prestigious old Luddite family. The Wentforths are CORs who live on the North estate. CORs are the children of the reduced, people who have finally escaped the effects of ERV generations later.

Diana Peterfreund knows her source material. Rather than try to compete with THE LETTER from Persuasion, she gives us a bunch of letters from the time Elliot and Kai are young. The Luddite baron's daughter and the COR mechanic's son can't be seen socializing so they leave letters for each in a knot in the barn wall. The absence of these letters once Kai leaves the North estate is felt as much as the absence of Kai himself. Elliot always glances at the knot when she enters the barn even though Kai has been gone for years. It's a detail I love so much. It's a longing for something that's long gone combined with a tiny hope of maybe.

One other significant change that I thought worked really well for a modern YA audience is the character of Elliot. There were things Anne Elliot couldn't do or be because of the times, her station, and her family. Elliot North is still under the thumb of her father but she has some independence from running the farm. She also chooses to stay behind, though it hurts her, because the responsibility she feels to the farm and everyone living on it. However, that's not to say she doesn't feel the loss of Kai acutely.

"His shadow fell across her lap, and she traces its edges with her hands."

That's all she allows herself. It's such a heartbreaking gesture.

A few years ago when Noelle was trying to get me to read Persuasion, she called Wentworth "a secret handshake." Diana Peterfreund goes one step further and makes him sleek and modern.

For Darkness Shows the Stars surprised me with its creative retelling of a classic. It's the remake I didn't know I wanted but now I can't wait for the next one. I am half agony, half hope.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Review: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:30:00 +0000

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
Reviewed by Maggie: April 22, 2013
Published March 27, 2002 by Viking Juvenile
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Indie Bound

It feels almost sacrilegious to run a Young Adult blog without having read Sarah Dessen. She's one of the biggest names in YA with a massive, devoted following. I wasn't sure where to start but when Anna suggested This Lullaby and threw in Veronica Mars as a selling point, I couldn't resist.

This book definitely surprised me. I expected Dessen to be light and fluffy. However, instead of The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, I got The Sisterhood of the Traveling Diet Zip and Cigarettes. I know it's chic to be geek right now, but I love that Remy, the main character, drinks, smokes, cusses and has sex. And she still got into Stanford! She's not the girl standing in the corner hoping that the boy will notice her. She's the girl guys crash into hoping she will notice them. Believe me, I was not that girl, but there were other elements of her personality I related to, like when she says,

"The only I can't stand more than seeing something done wrong is seeing it done slowly."

Preach! She also does her crosswords in ink. Basically, she's a Type A personality. This is what got her into Stanford while her mother flitted from husband to husband. She also has Chloe, Jess, and Lissa, her core group of friends. Though they are all friends, they don't necessarily all get along.

This Lullaby starts right after Remy graduates from high school and right before her mother's fifth wedding. While waiting at her soon-to-be stepfather's car dealership, a guy named Dexter clumsily enters her life.

I really liked Dessen's portrayal of family and friendship, but with all the dramatic exits and declarations and breakups, it felt more like a romance book. It was like a YA version of a Kristan Higgins book, aka Type A Bitches Deserve Love Too. (Not that there's anything wrong with being Type A. Or a bitch.) There's even a dog! Dexter was so sweet and rumpled and lovable and his dog, Monkey, just killed me, but there was such a quick turnaround from first meeting to True Love. A lot of issues are brought up and not really explored. It was all very dramatic -- and very high school. Sometimes, like with Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty, it works for me. Sometimes it doesn't. In the case of Sarah Dessen, I liked This Lullaby and can see her appeal, but I'm okay with being one and done.

Rating: 3/5 stars.

Review: 17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:30:00 +0000

17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma
Reviewed by Maggie: April 17, 2013
Published March 21, 2013 by Dutton Juvenile
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Indie Bound

I spent most of this book confused. Like the main character, I wasn't sure what was going on or what was going to happen next. And then it all came together. It's unfortunate that discussing how it all came together is a huge spoiler because it's such an important topic, but luckily, Nova Ren Suma addresses more than one worthwhile issue.

17 & Gone is about in-between girls at that in-between age. They're not legally adults but they left the protection of childhood long ago. If these girls disappear, it's noted but not particularly noteworthy. Expected even. Lauren isn't one of those girls. She lives with her mother, goes to school, and has a boyfriend. Yet one day, she finds herself drawn to a flyer of a missing girl, Abigail Sinclair. She knows without a doubt that Abigail actually went by "Abby." She knows this because Abby is talking to her.

This is a book that could've easily turned into a public service announcement or after school special, but instead Nova Ren Suma weaves her message into a taut thriller. Even when I was confused, I couldn't put it down. The first part, where Lauren obsessively tracks down details of missing girl after missing girl, was heartbreaking and staggering. There's a "ripped from the headlines" feel because they probably were. At one point, Lauren wonders,

I was 17.
I was a girl.
Didn't we matter?

The second part deals with a topic I wish was explored more. I'm being purposefully vague but wanting more is just a testament to the quality of the writing. I expected a straight criminal procedural, but 17 & Gone surprised me with its creative depiction of relevant and serious issues.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Extracurricular Review: Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews
(Kate Daniels World #1 / Kate Daniels #5.5)
Reviewed by Maggie: April 12, 2013
Published July 31, 2012 by Ace
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Indie Bound

Do you remember that episode of Arrested Development where GOB goes to work for Stan Sitwell (Season 2, Episode 7: Switch Hitter)? While trying to impress Sitwell, GOB runs through the entire backlog of Michael's ideas in one meeting and then goes back to Michael and asks for more.

Michael: There were 34 proposals in there.
GOB: You'd be amazed how fast they come out when you read them all in a row.
Michael: That was 6 months worth of work. You can't just blurt them all out at once.

Well, Ilona Andrews, I'm sorry I blurted through 6 years worth of Kate Daniels novels back to back ... to back to back. And thank you for knowing we'd ask for more after Gunmetal Magic and throwing in the Magic Gifts novella (and setting some of it in a Korean restaurant!).

I kind of wish I had read Magic Gifts first. Both stories take place at the same time, Magic Gifts from Kate's perspective and Gunmetal from Andrea's, but since Gunmetal is full length, it goes beyond the events of the novella and references some of it. When I was reading Gunmetal, I thought I had missed a story or my brain had finally turned to mush after a week of choosing Curran over sleep.

Gunmetal Magic shifts the focus of the story over to Kate's partner-in-crime, Andrea Nash. Andrea was always such an interesting character to me because she's a lethal weapon who constantly allows herself to be sheathed by the Order and Ted Moynohan. Her loyalty to the Order is unflinching and it costs her in Magic Bleeds. She lives by a code that revolves around the Order first, herself second, her beastly self last -- at all costs last. Who she is without the Order?

Girl. You slapped Aunt B once and survived. You're an ass kicker!

I felt for Andrea so much in this because after learning more about her childhood, I understood how much the badge meant to her. For a girl who was abused by people bigger and stronger than her for the first 11 years of her life, the Order badge was a sign that declared, "You will not fuck with me. You will not touch me." The badge was a symbol that demanded respect. The Order was also a place she could feel at home. It was her pack, no boudas allowed. She always knew the Order was only her home so long as she hid who she really was, but it still hurts to be proven right.

I liked this book a lot but some of the Andrea-Raphael scenes reminded me of the Alpha & Omega series, ie super romancey and drawn out. And I hate, HATE to say this, but the Kate and Curran scenes made me think of Anna and Etienne in Lola and the Boy Next Door. Perfect couple is perfect! Kate would GAG at that. I missed hearing Kate gag at that or mentally threatening to punch Curran in the face. I loved Andrea's scenes with Ascanio the teenage heartthrob, and Ascanio and Julie. Ascanio and Julie -- I'm calling it now! I loved seeing a more serious side to Raphael, although he most definitely could've used a punch in the face too. The characters in this more than held their own without Kate calling the shots... but I can't wait until Kate is back.

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Extracurricular Review: Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000

One week ago, I fell into the world of Kate Daniels. 5 books and 3 novellas later, I'm finally resurfacing -- and only because there aren't any more books until July 30. This series has completely wrapped me up in its magic, its world, and its characters. Kate redefines badass. She is woman, hear her make Curran roar. Smart and smart-ass, this series is everything I could have asked for.

My review for Magic Bites (Kate Daniels #1) can be found here.

Magic Burns
(Kate Daniels #2)
Read from April 4-5, 2013
Published April 1, 2008 by Ace
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Indie Bound

For the first quarter of the book, I thought this was heading toward 3 stars. I liked it and it explained the world much better than Magic Bites, but there were more new characters and creatures when I'd barely managed to wrap my head around the ones already introduced. But then, but then, there was the soup and the please and the thank you and AH. And then Noelle sent me this gif for Curran:

...and well, I was walking around murmuring Curran all day.

Starbucks barista: May I have a name for this drink?
Me: Curran.
Barista: Karen?
Me: CURRAN. Wait, what are we talking about?

I haven't been this wrapped up in a world since last year when I zoomed through all the Mercy Thompson books. Full review to come.

Psych. I'm getting some coffee (coffee) and reading the next book. And if you like The Princess Bride, you need to read this.

Rating: 4 stars.

• • •

Magic Strikes
(Kate Daniels #3)
Read from April 6-7, 2013
Published March 31, 2009 by Ace
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Indie Bound

5 SIGNS THAT YOU'VE BEEN INFECTED WITH THE KATE DANIELS VIRUS

1. That knife you used to butter your toast? It now has a name.

2. You relate everything in the real world back to the Kate Daniels world and start making the cheesiest jokes.

3. You said "Katelanta." Even once.

4. Lions. How hot are they?! --> This is a legitimate thought.

5. You're panicked that your Kindle battery will run out mid book because you usually charge it while sleeping but you haven't been sleeping because of this series!

There is so much MORE in Magic Strikes. We get more of Kate's back story, more of Curran's back story, more of Kate and Curran's present story... Hold on while I go back and reread EVERY scene with them.

Derek has quickly emerged as a favorite character as well. He's like a mix of Warren and Ben from Mercy Thompson wrapped up in a pretty package. And Doolittle! Who doesn't love Doolittle!

As in the previous books, the word/foreplay in this is off the charts. It's a slow, simmering burn and yet the effect is scorching.

Rating: 4.5 stars.

Okay, on to Book 4. Curran is a hell of a drug.

• • •

Magic Bleeds
(Kate Daniels #4)
Read from April 7-8, 2013
Published May 25, 2010 by Ace
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Indie Bound

I have zero clue what's been going on in the world the past 3 days. However, I now know the real reason Snoop changed his name from Dogg to Lion. Curran.

How is this series just getting better and better with every book? As if I didn't love Katelanta (Curran County? I need to talk to Jermaine Dupri about this) enough already, Ilona Andrews throws in a POODLE and more Princess Bride. That's in addition to the standard A+ banter and toe curling chemistry.

In this book, we learn more about what motivates Kate and Curran to be who they are -- and why these reasons keep them apart. Someone from Kate's past comes back to wreak havoc and destruction. The shit hits the fan in the Order, the Guild, and the Pack. Kate is as badass as she wants to be.

"But know this: if you come to remove me, come in force because ... I will kill every single one of you. My hand won't shake. My aim won't falter. My face will be the last thing you'll see before you die."

You come at the queen, you best not miss. Bitches.

I'm already mourning the fact that there's only one more after this that I haven't read. I'm going to drown my sorrows at book club tonight while pleading Curran for not having read either book club book. Maybe I'll have some Boone's in Kate's honor (and try not to get laughed out of the bar).

Rating: 5 stars.

• • •

Magic Dreams
(Kate Daniels #4.5)
Read on April 9, 2013
Published June 26, 2012 by Ace
Goodreads • Buy on Kindle

Dali, you adorable scene stealer. In this novella, the half-blind nerd girl gets center stage. Dali, the vegetarian white tiger shapeshifter who crashed into the story in Magic Strikes, is everything Kate Daniels isn't. She doesn't fight, doesn't kill, but that doesn't mean Dali isn't badass in her own right. She can write out a curse in calligraphy like no one else.

Jim: "You want me to go back into that house protected by a magic sticky note?"

We saw a hint of possibly something between Dali and Jim, Alpha of the Cats and Curran's Chief of Security, in Magic Bleeds. Okay, Kate was just mouthing off as per usual but she may have actually touched on something. However, Dali knows she's not that girl. She knows guys see her as a brain with glasses. Now she has to use that brain when something goes wrong in one of the Pack houses and affects Jim.

This was so cute, SO CUTE. You can't not love Dali but throw in her equally feisty mother and hijinks ensue. Who else but an Asian mother could or would greet an Alpha with "He is dark. Very, very dark", and THEN bop him over the head with a rolled up newspaper? But Jim has some tricks of his own and seriously, my heart melted. I won't spoil it even though it's not a huge part of the story but it's a HUGE deal to me! Oh, and there is an appearance by a Korean woman and even though it's only to say hello, it was just icing on an already perfect cake.

Basically, if you haven't read any Kate Daniels yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??

Rating: 5 stars.

• • •

Magic Slays
(Kate Daniels #5)
Read on April 9-10, 2013
Published May 31, 2011 by Ace
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Indie Bound

I feel I should warn you: Ilona is actually a power word that means read. After 5 books, 3 novellas and 1000 squeals in 6 days, you would think the novelty would wear off. NOPE. There is still such a freshness to the story and so many more storylines to be explored. Derek? More please. Jim and Dali? More please. Kate and Curran? I WILL SAY PLEASE BEFORE AND THANK YOU AFTER.

Basically, I can't get enough and it's a great feeling. Book slump? What is that?

The stakes are raised even more in this book because as Voron repeatedly told Kate, caring about people makes you vulnerable. And for the first time in her life, Kate has people she truly cares about and vice versa. In Magic Slays, there is a mysterious device that puts them all at risk.

I love that Kate and Curran are so evenly matched. This is one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"You're free to leave. Go home, kiss your wives, hug your children, and put your affairs in order, because tomorrow I will burn your neighborhood to the ground. We will kill you, your families, your neighbors, your pets, and anyone who will stand in our path. An attack on my family will not go unpunished."

It was said by Curran, Beast Lord of Atlanta and BAMF, but it could just as well have been said by Kate, former mercenary and all around BAMF.

In a week, I've gone from silently mocking the cover (a lion?!) to wanting to start a Fuck Yeah Curran tumblr. Yes, it's that serious. Kate Daniels has quickly established itself as one of my favorite series and I can't wait to see what the next book brings.

Rating: 5 stars.

Early Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:29:00 +0000

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
The 5th Wave #1
Reviewed by Noelle: April 10, 2013
(YAA received an ARC of this book from the publishers)
(Will be) Published May 7, 2013 by Putnam Juvenile
Goodreads • Preorder on Amazon • Kindle

Aliens are coming and everyone knows it. They've been hanging out in orbit for a week or so now, observing Earth. Waiting. Watching. And they like what they see. They like it a lot. Except here's the thing: they don't really do sharing, so nothing against us humanoids, but we've gotta go.

Earth's eviction notice comes in five waves:

Wave #1: Say buh-bye to electricity.
Wave #2: Hope you live above sea-level.
Wave #3: You thought lil' ol' bird-flu was scary? That's cute.
Wave #4: Shhh...what you can't see might kill you.

By the fourth wave, 95% of the human population is dead and those who remain aren't even sure who the real enemy is--or what they look like. The fifth wave is coming, battle lines have been drawn and Earth's greatest weapon is up for grabs: humanity itself.

The 5th Wave is a taut, extremely well-written, psychological sci-fi thriller that is destined to be a huge hit and deservedly so. The suspense is well-crafted and the characters' voices, particularly Cassie's, feel alive and three dimensional.

Cassie, a "normal" teenager who suddenly might actually be the last human on Earth, is my favorite. She is isolated and on the run but desperately driven by the chance of reuniting with her younger brother--at much physical, psychological and emotional pain to herself. I loved reading about her struggle to stay pragmatic in the face of paranoia and her moral balancing act with the ever evolving rules of survival in the post-invasion world.

I wasn't as engaged with Zombie's POV but I rather enjoyed the character when he was depicted by others. The strength of his character voice wasn't as dominant as Cassie's and while that made sense with his character's story line, Zombie's guilt (and other extenuating circumstances) gave his voice a muted quality in comparison. I enjoyed the psychological suspense the most and wished those aspects of Zombie's story had been cranked all the way up to the Ness-ian levels they flirted with. (I couldn't help but also wonder what it'd be like with a dual female protagonist POV pair of Cassie and Ringer as well...) There are several other intriguing smaller POVs that have room to grow in future installments of the series and one in particular I would have SO much to talk about if not for pesky spoilers.

The POVs expertly enrich the depth and scope of the invasion and the story is such that even though you'll figure some twists out before the characters, it does nothing to diminish the suspense or emotional rewards. Sure there are some questions that surface when you think too much about certain plot points (the age demographic of the squads for one), but the overall result is so entertaining and well-written that the questions are easy to brush aside. The more the different POVs come together, the stronger the story grows with surprisingly moving results.

I love backing characters into corners to see what they are capable of--and an alien invasion has a lot of corners. Let's face it. Humanity is freaking weird and that will always be our secret weapon. How strong we can be with our weaknesses. How unpredictable we are in our predictability. Humanity has a fluidity than cannot be fully foreseen or contained. You can back humans into a corner and you're never quite sure what you're going to get. The results can at turns disgust or delight, but something will always prevail.

Whether that is to the benefit of Earth's surviving humans or the new invaders, is yet to be seen. But I'll definitely be reading to find out! Rating: 4/5 stars

Read the first 70 pages for free!

*I got a sort of sick relief that Florida (aka me) would get wiped out by the second wave and miss the whole bleeding-from-every-orifice third wave, but that's why I'm a lowly blogger and not the star of an amazing sci-fi action adventure I guess.

**Bonus points for mentioning tampons in a dystopia! What's next--actually acknowledging body hair when all the razors are gone?

***This is going to be a great movie.

Our Bookstagram Life: April 5, 2013

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:30:00 +0000

Now online: http://instagram.com/ya_anonymous

Extracurricular Review: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Kate Daniels #1
Reviewed by Maggie: April 4, 2013
Published March 27, 2007 by Ace
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository

When your entire blogroll recommends a book and your co-blogger threatens public shaming until you read said book, what do you do? Well, you fall asleep the first two times you try to read the book. I mean, the main character was drinking Boone's Farm Hard Lemonade. FFS. How am I supposed to take a mercenary seriously when she drinks something that high schoolers barely get drunk off of? Not only that, it takes place in a future Atlanta where people are driving buggies with horses? Because of magic? What in Boone's Farm hell?

However.

Noelle, I never doubted you. For too long. The third time was a charm. Remember the dynamic between Veronica and Logan in Season 1 of Veronica Mars? Now instead of a tiny blonde, picture all that tension and animosity in these two:

Source: Celebitchy

Kate Daniels is Veronica Mars in the body of former MMA fighter Gina Carano. And Curran... RAWR... Curran is Logan Echolls in the body of Superman Henry Cavill.

I usually complain about all the world building in fantasies, but in this one, we're just dropped into a world of vampires and shapeshifters and ley lines without much explanation. Despite feeling kind of lost in the beginning, what kept me engaged was the dialogue. Kate is snarky as hell. After she finds out that her guardian has been killed, she tries to get involved in the investigation. When asked whether she knows anything about investigative work, she replies,

"Sure. Annoy the people involved until the guilty party tries to make you go away."

Annoy like the wind, Kate! In the course of her investigation, she has to meet with the Master of the Dead and the Beast Lord. While the world and the rules of magic were kind of vague to me, I really liked Ilona Andrews' take on the supernatural. Vampires are mindless, hairless, glitterless bodies that are piloted by necromancers. Shapeshifters aren't limited to the usual werewolves, but there are 337 different varieties, including were-rats, were-bobcats, and were-bears. Fingers crossed that there is a cameo from Magenta the were-hamster from Sky High at some point in the series. There are strict rules in the pack and clear consequences for breaking those rules.

Kate is such a compelling character. She's tough and physically fit -- she has to be since she fights for a living. Whenever she's feeling vulnerable or outmatched, she hides behind a smart-ass bravado. She acknowledges she is not the feminine ideal, but she left any wallowing about her appearance behind when she was 14. Why?

"Survival took precedence over fashion."

Bravo. She's not entirely certain about how she's handling the investigation, but she's determined to bring her guardian's killer to justice.

The verbal sparring between Kate and Curran, the Beast Lord, is fantastic. Curran is someone who demands instantaneous respect. Kate chafes at authority figures. Put them in a room together and you don't get any insta-love. I highlighted at least one line from each of their interactions and cracked up over the rest.

Magic Bites is a supernatural version of Criminal Minds meets Veronica Mars. There are a lot of dead bodies and a lot of snark. I finally found an urban fantasy series to challenge Mercy Thompson. Round one goes to Mercy, but I can't wait to start round two.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

Review: Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:09:00 +0000

Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
Reviewed by Maggie: April 3, 2013
Published May 9, 2006 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Originally published Oct 5, 1992 by Puffin/Penguin Australia
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository

The first Marchetta. The only one I hadn't read. It was as precious to me as a last born in Charyn and I kept it hidden away for as long as I could. And then Carla declared that it was time to break the emergency glass on this book.

Josephine Alibrandi had me from the beginning. I knew I was dealing with a kindred spirit when on page 5 she says,

"Believe me, I could write a book about problems. Yet my mother says that as long as we have a roof over our head we have nothing to worry about. Her naivete really scares me."

Josie is whip smart, a scholarship student at a fancy private school who dreams about being a lawyer. She's been raised in the loving bosom of her single mother, Christina, who got pregnant at 16, and the suffocating bosom of her grandmother, Nonna Katia, who moved to Australia from Italy at 17. She knows her father is Michael Andretti, the boy next door, but she's never met him. Then one day, Michael Andretti shows up to visit her grandmother. Suddenly, the HSC (High School Certificate), mean girls, and her overbearing Nonna are the least of her problems. And then there's Jacob Coote, the boy from Cook High who caught her attention with a speech about voting and who dances pretty well too.

Guys, I never realized I was Italian-Australian. Okay, all joking aside, I know it's Marchetta and she speaks to me as few authors do, but still, imagine my surprise that as an ethnic Korean born and raised in the US, Josie Alibrandi is a character I related to on such a personal level. I can't even think of another character who comes close. Growing up, I remember thinking how much easier it would be if my family was European instead of Asian. It's not that I disliked who I was, but oh, to not have to prove my Americanness or my ability to speak English, to not have to worry about people pulling their eyes back and telling me to "go back to my country." I knew other immigrants and minorities dealt with their own prejudices, but I was convinced that Europeans, who didn't look so obviously foreign, had an easier time. Actually, scratch that. I was convinced they had an easy time, period. Josie's opinion of rich students like Ivy Lloyd and John Barton reminded me of that. She was sure their privilege cocooned them from her harsh reality. As a young girl, she was ostracized for being a bastard child by other Italians. As a student, she was called out for being on scholarship by other wealthy students. However, when someone says they would hate to be Italian after listening to her, she says,

"No. You can't hate what you're part of. What you are. I resent it most of the time, curse it always, but it'll be part of me till the day I die."

This. A thousand times this. I don't think you can sum up the immigrant experience in a few words, but this is pretty damn close.

I know I'm making it sound like an issue book because I was so impressed with Marchetta's portrayal of it, but it's not -- or it's not just that. I'm not surprised it's considered a modern classic in Australia and studied in school. Josie actually reminded me of another classic character. Remember when I was talking about gumption?

"I'm not ready for heaven yet and I don't think heaven is ready for me."

Josie, the spitfire, reminded me so much of Anne Shirley. They're both dreamers who won't settle for the status quo. Or personal attacks. Slates are nothing compared to modern science books. Jacob Coote, though, is no Gilbert Blythe. Still, Josie's interactions with Jacob, and her decision whether or not to sleep with him, and her regret at said decision, and her regret at her regret were so honest.

I don't think this is the best Marchetta (that honor goes to The Piper's Son and Froi of the Exiles), but it's the one closest to my heart.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Review: The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:25:00 +0000

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
The Ashfield/Brookfield Series #2
Reviewed by Maggie: April 1, 2013
Published February 1, 2004 by Arthur A. Levine Books
Originally published as Finding Cassie Crazy on
November 1, 2003 by Pan Macmillan Australia
Goodreads • Available at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository

Every four years, I turn into this crazed figure skating fan. I remember the 2002 Winter Olympics in particular because I lived and died with Michelle Kwan four years earlier and 2002 was going to be HER year. In the long program, Sarah Hughes (aka Sarah Who?) skated first and threw down a flawless performance. Triple toe loop-triple loop, triple salchow-triple loop -- technically and stylistically, it was pretty damn perfect. However, with Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya still waiting to skate, I figured Hughes's performance was just the beginning and I was waiting to be blown away by something even greater.

I read The Year of Secret Assignments, aka Finding Cassie Crazy, last year and immediately placed it on my I Have Just Read You and I Love You shelf. This was before Noelle and I started blogging so I rated it 4 stars and moved on to my next read. However, after revisiting Feeling Sorry for Celia last week, I decided to reread and review Secret Assignments. Well, knock me over with a Sarah Hughes triple salchow because not only did it hold up on reread, it was even better than I remembered. I knew it was good, but after a year of blogging and reading too many Sasha Cohens, this time I let myself be blown away by the skill and artistry of Jaclyn Moriarty's writing.

As with Celia, Secret Assignments is written in epistolary form. Mr. Botherit is back spreading the Joy of the Envelope between rival schools Ashbury and Brookfield. Emily, Lydia, and Cassie are Ashfield girls and best friends. Emily, daughter of two lawyers, wants to be a lawyer herself even though she regularly butchers the English language. I nearly spit out my coffee when she wrote, in all seriousness, that something was "non d' scrip." Lydia wants to be a writer and often uses her creative energy on her friends. She's the instigator behind their secret assignments, tasks that they must complete no matter the peril or potential for punishment. Cassie wants to sing, though her stage fright prevents her from singing in front of anyone other than Em and Lyd. She also lost her father last year and she doesn't know why people keep saying "lost" as if he's been misplaced. Em, Lyd, and Cass have been best friends since elementary school and it shows -- learning about one means learning about them all.

I'll get to the Brookfield boys in a minute but first, how much do you love that the girls are characterized by their goals?? The book starts off with an entry from Lydia's notebook. The Notebook™ is supposed to help aspiring writers achieve their dreams. It is so patronizing and ridiculous. It reminded me of all the mind-numbingly tedious assignments I had to do in high school that were supposed to either get me into a good college or prepare me for adult blah blah blah. Lydia gives The Notebook™ the respect it deserves.

Second, I adored the portrayal of the parents, especially Emily's dad and Cassie's mom. The girls all have at least one lawyer parent who is friendly with the others because they attended law school together. Emily's dad routinely calls her down to dinner via a summons delivered by her younger brother. Em's parents are away a lot for work, which she resents, but whenever they are present, they are so clueless but with good intentions that they never fail to crack me up. The memories of Cassie's dad though will squeeze your heart. ("Now you're cooking with gas!")

Are you ready to meet Charlie Taylor and Seb Mantegna? I love good banter and the letters between Charlie and Emily and Seb and Lydia are so witty and fun. The chapters are set up perfectly so you get some scenes with Charlie and Em, then Seb and Lydia, and then Matthew Dunlop and Cass. I put the Charlie and Seb section of my notes on the left. Considering the notes I usually take, it shows how much I loved them. They are both such decent guys. There's no brooding loner bullshit with them. You will be charmed before you can say VERSHOOM.

There are six different letter writers and six different points of view and each one has an individual voice. I could always tell who was doing the talking/writing without having to flip back. On technical merit, Moriarty is solid.

Presentation is where Moriarty really shines. The letters are such an original and fun way to tell this story. There's so much energy in the story and the characters. She captures the indignities that come with being underaged as well as all the potential for mischief. There is a lot of humor in this book but like the relationship between Emily, Lydia, and Cassie, it is based on heart. You don't need to read Feeling Sorry for Celia to read this book, although Celia is worth a read. The Year of Secret Assignments, though, is a perfectly executed triple-triple combination.

Rating: Sarah Hughes. 5 stars.

Lunch Table Rankings: March 29

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Everyone knows the biggest honor you can bestow on someone is an invite to your lunch table, but an invite doesn't get passed around to just ANYONE....

What can I say? Bad boys for life! Take it away, Alexandra.

Review: Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 05:41:00 +0000

Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty
The Ashbury/Brookfield Series #1
Reviewed by Maggie: March 28, 2013
Originally reviewed on February 10, 2012
Published January 10, 2002 by St. Martin's Griffin
Originally published May 1, 2000 by Pan Macmillan Australia
Goodreads • Amazon • Book Depository • Book Closeouts

The screech you heard on Monday was me finding out JACLYN MORIARTY is coming to LA. She's one of the most unique, creative, and hilarious voices in YA. I read her debut, Feeling Sorry for Celia, last year and immediately had to get my hands on the rest of her books. I loved her latest, A Corner of White, but Celia will always hold a special place in my heart. If you're in the mood to read about friendships instead of love triangles, give this a try. And then if you decide you want some boys thrown in with those friendships, give The Year of Secret Assignments a try. Get ready to discover the Joy of the Envelope -- and Moriarty!

• • •

Dear US readers,

Do not be alarmed by how accessible this book is to people living in the States. This does not diminish the awesomeness that we've come to expect from Australian authors. Nor do you have to jump through hoops or swim through the rings of Fishpond hell to get it!

This book is a series of letters to and from Elizabeth Clarry. Her new English teacher decides to revive the Lost Art of Letter Writing and has his students write letters to the rival high school. Elizabeth's penpal ends up being Christina Kratovac. Through the letters between Elizabeth and Christina, Elizabeth and her mum (THE HILARIOUS ALL CAPS OVER-EXCLAMATION POINTER!!!!), and various unsolicited letters, we get a look into the lives of our characters. The Celia in the title refers to Elizabeth's lifelong best friend and potential missing person -- potential because she often chooses to go missing.

This book was first published in 2000 so there are some dated references, like Walkmans. Remember those? But in this age of Twitter, Goodreads, and blogs, where we (or at least I) spend a good portion of my day chatting, tweeting, and emailing people I've never met but formed solid relationships with, this book is actually rather timely. I totally related to how Elizabeth and Christina's friendship began and grew, how you can feel like you know someone without being able to recognize them on the street. Sometimes I find it's easier to share things with someone you don't have to see everyday. You can also find people who share your very specific interests (Melina Marchetta + San Antonio Spurs + Friday Night Lights + Graffiti Moon + GIFs of waving bears + Tom Hardy's ass), which is an instant basis for friendship.

Basically, I really enjoyed this book. And you can too! Really available, not Fishpond available, at IndieBound, B&N, and Amazon.

Yours sincerely,
A dues-paying member of the We ♥ Aussie YA Association

YA in LA: YA Guide to the LA Times Festival of Books

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Jaclyn Moriarty. Elizabeth Wein. Gayle Forman. Sarah Dessen. Veronica Roth. Jaclyn Moriarty. And that's just to name a few. Someone call Zack Morris because like Noelle, I am having a Jessie Spano-level meltdown.

The LA Times released their Festival of Books schedule today and I thought I'd highlight the most important events -- the YA ones, of course! The Festival runs from Saturday, April 20 to Sunday, April 21 at USC. It's free but all indoor events require a ticket, which are limited and have a $1 service charge per ticket. You also have the option of buying a $30 Festival Pass which gives you 8 tickets for indoor events before they're open to the public, as well as tickets to the LA Times Book Prize ceremony.

Relevant Dates:

Thursday, March 28 at 10 am: $30 Festival Pass goes on sale. Individual tickets for Book Prize ceremony also on sale. (I don't see the price of this ticket listed.)
Sunday, April 14 at 9 am: Tickets for indoor events available to the general public. Cost: $1 service fee per ticket.
Friday, April 19 at 7:30 pm: Los Angeles Times Book Prize ceremony in the Bovard Auditorium (YA finalists listed below).
Saturday, April 20 at 10 am: Festival of Books begins!

Book Prize Honorees for Young Adult Literature:

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi
Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt
Boy 21 by Matthew Quick
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Schedule for Saturday, April 20:

Schedule for Sunday, April 21:

I'm going to try to hit as many events as possible. I can't wait to find out if Veronica Roth is really so tall that her height is one of her Frequently Asked Questions, or if Gayle Forman dresses like a hipster adult, or if Tahereh Mafi wears her homemade Shatter Me shoes. I'm so excited (I'm SO excited!) about Elizabeth Wein and Jaclyn Moriarty. Code Name Verity and A Corner of White were two of my favorite books of 2012. Is anyone else planning on going? Which author would you Jessie Spano over?

For more information, check out the official website. All screenshots were taken from the Schedule page.

Bookmark Binge: March 25, 2013

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:09:00 +0000

Haven't gotten enough of...

...The Madman's Daughter?
The series will be a trilogy. The first book was based on The Island of Doctor Moreau, the second book will be based on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the third will be based on Frankenstein.
The book has been optioned for film by Paramount Pictures.
Love the design of the Australian/NZ cover.
Listen to the Official Playlist including liner notes from the author.

...The Archived?
Sneak a peek at the sequel's title and cover design.
The author talks about her inspiration for The Archived and more in this twitter chat.
Watch her Making History with Victoria Schwab vlog tour.

...Written in Red?
Okay, first of all, the Australian cover is so much cooler.
Read an excerpt over at Tor.

...Anne of Green Gables?
I'm not sure, but I think spamming Maggie with the art of Hanoul was the tipping point that finally made her pick up Anne. Or maybe I just want an excuse to post it all again here: Look at these gorgeous illustrations.
My sister posted the cover featured in this link to facebook with the caption: TRAGICAL. But we loved the internet reaction.
Take a virtual tour of Green Gables and if I am ever near Prince Edward Island I am totally visiting Green Gables Heritage Place complete with recreated village, Haunted Woods and Lovers Lane.

Upcoming Reads and Reviews:

Noelle:

Maggie:

Lunch Table Rankings: March 22

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Everyone knows the biggest honor you can bestow on someone is an invite to your lunch table, but an invite doesn't get passed around to just ANYONE....

Back to the Future: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 06:30:00 +0000

Welcome to Back to the Future, a newer feature at YAA where we revisit young adult books from back when we were well, young adults. Sometimes we'll be reading these books for the first time, sometimes we'll be rereading to compare how our adult selves interpret the book and sometimes, we'll be doing a bit of both.

Noelle read Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery about 100 times during her youth. (Her mom laminated the paperbacks in a futile effort for book preservation to give you an idea). Maggie just read it for the first time last month. Did Maggie appreciate it enough that Noelle is able to remain on speaking terms with her? Only one way to find out---To the DeLorean!

Goodreads • Buy the book (heck, buy the whole set!) • 99¢ Kindle edition (includes all 8 Anne books, 3 more books and 1 books of poetry by Lucy Maud!)

Book Description:

As soon as Anne Shirley arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever...but would the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected—a skinny girl with decidedly red hair and a temper to match. If only she could convince them to let her stay, she'd try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes or blurt out the very first thing she had to say. Anne was not like anybody else, everyone at Green Gables agreed; she was special—a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreamed of the day when she could call herself Anne of Green Gables.

Foreword by Noelle: I could write a million word ode to Anne Shirley (is that a challenge? IS IT?) but I'll try to keep this short and sweet. Basically, Anne is a bright shining memory from my childhood, a personal hero, a lifetime lunch table place of honor holder and one of my favorite heroines of all-time. I probably would have blog-divorced Maggie (grounds: irreconcilable differences) if she hadn't immediately promised to read Anne of Green Gables after I discovered she somehow never had! So no pressure, Maggie (heh) but what did you think of Ms. Shirley?

DRAMATIS PERSONAE ...................................... Anne Shirley

It's not often that a book lives up to its public-shaming-if-you-haven't-read hype. This book lives up to its 104 YEAR HYPE. I almost divorced my childhood for not reading this then. So many of the words that describe Anne are ones that too many girls are running away from today -- imaginative, impertinent, outspoken, smart, driven. If you have a problem with them, you can take it up with the slate being cracked over your head. She's a scrappy little hustler who convinces Marilla Cuthbert to keep her at Green Gables, changing both of their lives.

I absolutely loved this now and would've adored it back in the day. Like Judy Abbott, another feisty orphan, Anne has so much gumption. Gumption seems like such an old-fashioned word... Is it an out-of-date characteristic? Why don't modern characters have more gumption?! Be the badass you wish to see in the world, girls!

One of the reasons Anne grows up to be badass and not just an ass is Marilla. Marilla was old school 100 years ago. Her strict parenting style would probably be crucified along with Liz Lemon's on Urban Baby, but Marilla Cuthbert does. not. care. I admit, my appreciation for Marilla, like my own mother, came in hindsight. While reading, I sympathized with Anne and her non-puffed sleeves. However, Marilla was as fair as she was tough, and her devotion to Anne was unwavering.

This brings me to another favorite character with unwavering affection for Anne -- Matthew Cuthbert. Matthew, who knew nothing of fashion or puffed sleeves but knew how important they were to Anne, was soft where Marilla was rigid. His kind and gentle manner brought tears to my eyes.

Now about Gilbert Blythe. Ah, Gilbert. If only you were my boy next door. A love interest isn't someone who completes you or who you have to change yourself for -- it's someone who challenges you and makes you better and, here's the important part, VICE VERSA. Gilbert is Anne's pace car. Whenever she finds herself slacking in her studies, she mentally checks herself against Gilbert to push herself to work harder. I like that though Gilbert isn't in every scene or even a majority of the scenes, he sneaks in through Anne's subconscious.

"But, oh, Matthew, I'm so sleepy. I can't go to school. I just know I couldn't keep my eyes open and I'd be so stupid. But I hate to stay home for Gil--some of the others will get head of the class..."

Gilbert's scenes made me grin so much, and not just because I was picturing Henry Cavill.

I was worried when I started this book because it seemed, well, old timey and nothing makes my attention drift faster.* I ended up picking up the audio version from the library and put it on while I was stuck in traffic. This worked out really well because I could zone out through some slower parts early on and by the time I was home, I couldn't flip through the pages fast enough. I can't wait to follow Anne to Avonlea and beyond. I'm in complete agreement with Miss Barry when she says,

"That Anne-girl improves all the time. I get tired of other girls -- there is such a provoking and eternal sameness about them. Anne has as many shades as a rainbow and every shade is the prettiest while it lasts. I don't know that she is as amusing as she was when she was a child, but she makes me love her and I like people who make me love them. It saves me so much trouble in making myself love them."

If you haven't ventured to Prince Edward Island yet, just open this book. Anne will do the rest.

Rating: 5/5 stars.

--
*That is until I started Infinite Jest.

Two Mini-Reviews and a Not-So Rory Curtain Review

noreply@blogger.com (YA Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:13:00 +0000

By Noelle

Ever finish a book and not have much to say? Talk about a blogger's worst nightmare. But somehow, even when I don't have much to say, I always have something to say so here are a few words on some books I've finished lately. Rambling, engaged!

Mini-Review: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
The Madman's Daughter #1
Reviewed by Noelle: March 19, 2013
Published January 20, 2013 by Balzer & Bray
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository

Okay first of all, a warning---the animal cruelty in this one is hard to take. Do you know what a vivisection is? You will after reading this book.

This is a reimagining of the classic The Island of Doctor Moreau (spoilers in link!) and while I haven't read the original I knew enough to expect science experiments gone horribly wrong, an intense, claustrophobic stuck on an island with god knows what atmosphere and hopefully a lot of suspense and intrigue. And while I got those things for the most part, I also got...a Love Triangle.

I guess if there is only one female of marriageable age on an island there's bound to be some competition for her affection but the amount of thought Juliet spends on her love interests really bummed me out. After years of scrapping by with just her wits and survival instincts, Juliet manages to finally reunite with her estranged father (who disappeared under shady circumstances and horrible rumors). Now she's stuck with him on a remote island with a LOT of weird things going on including secret experiments and someTHING killing everyone in the woods but she somehow has time for hourly inner debates over which boy is her number one crush? I get being swept away by hormones but to me the fear of disembowelment proves to be one of the most effective cold showers of all time.

Credit where credit is due, Juliet can be pretty entertainingly ruthless within the love triangle. For example: she and Bachelor #2 are racing through the jungle running away from a horrible monster who claws people's hearts out of their chest. Suddenly, she finds herself separated from Bachelor #2 and has the epiphany that if she runs in the water there will be only one trail for the monster to follow--Bachelor #2's trail. I laughed out loud.

Unfortunately, Juliet's ruthlessness gets hypocritical at times, especially at the end. There are parts of the story I really did enjoy such as the exploration of what was really going on with her father and the island and I actually really liked the ending--including surprisingly enough, how the love triangle resolved itself. Though now that I know this is a series, I might take that part back. I'll probably consider this as a standalone novel and leave it at that. Rating: 3/5 stars

Mini-Review: The Archived by Victoria Schwab
The Archived #1
Reviewed by Noelle: March 19, 2013
Published January 22, 2013 by Hyperion
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository

I'm going to let Goodreads explain this one:

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

Sounds awesome, right? But despite the really creative concept and setting, I just couldn't get fully invested in this one. I had to return it to the library 200 pages in and almost didn't pick it up again two weeks later when it became reavailable. I get easily frustrated with stories where the plot necessitates that no one talk to each other about what they know and there were a lot of holes in the whole history of Histories and why things are the way they are in the Archive (which granted might be purposeful for suspense but left me pretty irritated and confused at times).

Plus, another love triangle? This time it's with Bachelor #1 constantly talking about how attractive he was (seriously it got as bad as 3 times in a page and a half) and Bachelor #2 being unavailable in every sense of the word but alas, super hot. Granted, if I had realized that Bachelor #1 was more of a love interest with a question mark than a Love Interest all capital letters I would probably have given him more of a break but still--the dude wears guyliner. I did appreciate that (non-triangle) Roland was basically David Tennant's Dr. Who, so points for that!

Entertaining at times but didn't grab me by the Goodreads, know what I mean? This is another first in a series that can mostly be treated as a standalone and for now, I plan to do just that. Rating: 3/5 stars.

~~Rory Curtain~~ Extracurricular Review: Written in Red by Anne Bishop
The Others #1
Reviewed by Noelle: March 19, 2013
Published March 5, 2013 by NAL Hardcover
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository

Not so fast Taylor Doose--put away that Rory Curtain. What, you say? An urban fantasy without smut? Is that even allowed?! Yes, readers, it is and I for one really liked the results. Now before you boo hiss your way stage left, let me assure you, there is a smut foundation built in this one and I feel pretty confident that smut construction will start in the sequel (at the very least romance permits have been filed) and I am definitely going to stick around to find out.

This is an urban fantasy that feels and reads more like a high fantasy. The world building is very complicated and there is a lot of info to digest about the world and character dynamics. In short, I'm not even going to try to explain it all here. Just know it involves a highly advanced species (The Others) that can shape-shift and in the process have begun to take on the characteristics of certain species that are their go-to shifts. The author really nails the animal mannerisms with some charming and hysterical results.

The heroine is a blood prophet that's on the run and has to take shelter with the Others, as scary as they may be. At first, the heroine had a few personality traits from her sheltered existence that were pretty frustrating but as she learns the ins and outs of her new situation she really came into her own.

I loved how the Others were actually scary and appreciated the unpredictability of their interactions with the humans. Rating: 3.5/5 stars (rounded up on Goodreads for GRUMPY PONIES--and for being the only series of these three I'm definitely continuing.)