WORD for Teens

Thoughts On: Love triangles and DNF books

2012-01-28T09:00:00.004-05:00

I've realized something lately.

The last few books I haven't finished haven't been because I didn't like the characters. Actually, in the case of Glow's Waverly and Fracture's Delaney, I actually really liked the characters.

And yes, yes, yes, before all you Fracture lovers start jumping on me that it's NOT A LOVE TRIANGLE!!1!!111!!eleven!!!, I understand that it doesn't end up being a love triangle, that Delaney understands she has a weird connection based on whatever happened to her brain, and ends up with Decker. That doesn't stop the first 157 pages (a good half of the book) of it being a love triangle.

With Glow, I don't even know if it ends up being a love triangle; I only got 48 pages into it before I gave up. But given that the summary is about "two young lovers on a ship bound for New Earth" and the first 48 pages gives us Waverly contemplating her love of Kiernan and thinking about what a potential relationship with Seth would have been like, I can only presume that's where it's heading.

I don't like love triangles. I've been over this before; I devoted an entire thoughts on post to that alone. It's not because I don't think they can work - I love me some Iron Fey, and give me Lancelot/Guinevere/Arthur any day.

But often times, they're there for unnecessary reasons.

And I realized that's what making me put this book down.

Why can't Kiernan and Waverly just be in love? Why can't Seth just be an old friend of Waverly's who was pulled away by his father, and that's why their relationship is weird?

Why can't Delaney fight the feelings she has for creepy-new-guy-with-the-same-powers-who-is-following-her-around (Troy) and focus on her semi-relationship with Decker? Why can't Troy feel a connection to her because of their abilities and use it to teach her rather than try to stick his tongue down her throat?

Why am I being given this silly love triangle that doesn't make sense in terms of the larger plot and the character development instead of focusing on what's actually important to the story?!

And that's why I keep putting these books down. Because the love triangles make the story bad - not because love triangles themselves are badly written, but because they're so unnecessary to the plot of some of these stories that it takes away from what could be an interesting story.

What makes you stop reading a book?

Feature Friday: Bookcase (63)

2012-01-27T15:00:00.001-05:00

Who said storage had to be boring?

Claudia Bignoli designed this. I think it's awesome because I like curvy furniture that stands out and is awesome and yeah. I like that it can store a lot of books but hide what them simultaneously depending on the angle. It gets rid of that cluttered look! Haha.

What do you think?

Friday Fronts - For Darkness Shows The Stars

2012-01-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

Everybody and their mother seems to love this cover. I don't understand it. I mean, it's certainly pretty. It's not a bad cover. But I just don't think it stands out.

Maybe it's the weird face and pose of the girl, or the font that is pretty but doesn't seem to mesh with the girl itself. I'm not sure. I think it's the girl that puts me off the most; she doesn't seem to fit. (Her ridiculous skinniness doesn't help, either.)

Lament: The Fairy Queen's Deception

2012-01-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: Books of Faerie (#1)
Publisher: Flux
How Received: bought

Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmatic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin. An equally hunky—and equally dangerous—dark faerie soldier named Aodhan is also stalking Deirdre. Sworn enemies, Luke and Aodhan each have a deadly assignment from the Faerie Queen. Namely, kill Deirdre before her music captures the attention of the Fae and threatens the Queen's sovereignty. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend. Deirdre had been wishing her life weren't so dull, but getting trapped in the middle of a centuries-old faerie war isn't exactly what she had in mind...

I'm under the impression that you can't go wrong with homicidal fairies.

Stiefvater's Lament doesn't have the same lyrical prose that her later novels do; however, the world is just as original and brilliantly created as all of her others. She once again manages to capture the essence of a mythology and twist it just a bit to make it new again.

I loved the way the fey were presented in this novel. Some are deadly and some are evil and some really aren't evil and some don't know any better but none of them are the innocent frolicking folk that you find in some other retellings. Una and Brendan were absolutely fantastic to read about. They're definitley my favorite characters from the entire story.

Though I normally dislike love triangles, the one in Lament is set up in such a way that it was unavoidable. (The parallels between Diedre and another character seem to twist and bind the fate of Diedre, so in the end, she really couldn't escape falling for Luke.) I can only hope that James get a chance in Ballad, the sequel.

At the beginning of the book, I kept getting distracted by parallels of this and The Iron King - Puck and James are awfully similar, as are Ash and James. Luckily, it veered off in another direction very quickly a few chapters in, so I didn't have to worry about that for too long. But fans of The Iron King should definitley pick this up.

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 8/10. I loved the fey and the world, though I missed the beauty of the prose that I find in Stiefvater's later novels. Though I won't forget the fey and the world, I don't think I'll be rereading it, either.
Stiefvater's Lament or Kagawa's The Iron King?: My vote depends on what you're in the mood for. Lament is darker and I love the fey. The Iron King is a bit more fun and dramatic (and you get Grimalkin!), but focuses much more on the love triangle.

Has anybody else read Lament? What do you think of it compared to other Stiefvater books?

Waiting on Wednesday: Timeless

2012-01-25T09:00:00.002-05:00

Because we all have something we're waiting for.

Timeless
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Parasol Protectorate (#5)
Release Date: 1 March 2012

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

My love of this series knows no bounds. Are the plots a bit easy to figure out? Of course. Should Alexia have put up more of a fight after Maccon's treatment of her in the last book? Of course, but let's also remember that it IS Maccon, and as far as werewolf alphas go, he's definitley the most honest. AND the sexiest.

Long story short: I can't have enough of Alexia Tarabotti in my life, silly plots and all.

Top Ten Authors I Wish Would Write Another Book

2012-01-24T09:00:00.006-05:00

I missed this one a few weeks back and just couldn't resist picking it up on a freebie day! (You know, for Top Ten Tuesday.)

If I know an author I love has another novel coming out, I didn't include them on the list. It doesn't mean I don't want their book any less! (That's why Gail Carriger, Libba Bray, T.A. Barron, Laurie Halse Anderson and Alexandra Bracken haven't made the list! ... consider them honorable mentions.)

10. J.K. Rowling
Rowling made nearly every blogger's list. Now that Harry Potter's over (and Pottermore's a bore), we're clinging onto the edge of our seats waiting for the next book of hers to come out. She did say she was writing something, after all. Let's face it: if she released a collection of her grocery lists, we'd probably read it.

09. Suzanne Collins
Another author who made nearly every list, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games left a lot of people craving more of her writing. To be fair, I've been craving more of her writing ever since I finished the first Gregor the Overlander book - I've eaten up her work since the beginning; I can't get enough! It would be lovely if she would publish something new. Or just get a new website layout. One of the two.

08. Maggie Stiefvater
I have full confidence in Maggie releasing another book at some point eventually in her life. I don't know when it will be or what it will be about, but I can guarantee you that after loving the romantic werewolves that was Shiver, the tear-trading fairies in Lament, or the homicidal horses in The Scorpio Races, I'll probably love whatever she puts out next just as much.

07. Eilis O'Neal
Eilis O'Neal has exactly one book published at the moment: The False Princess. Which I loved. The world and the characters and the plot were all absolutely fantastic, and I have no idea if she plans on writing another book or if it's being set in the same world or what. But I'd really like another one by her!

06. Anne McCaffrey
Sadly, this one will never happen as Anne passed away earlier in the year. And though she has written dozens upon dozens of books, most of her work focused on her Pern series - I would love to have seen at least one new world come from her on top of the world of Petaybee and the worlds in the Rowan series and all of her other brilliant worlds. Maybe I'm just greedy, though.

05. L.A. Meyer
L.A. Meyer IS writing another book, so technically he shouldn't be on the list - Jacky Faber isn't done yet! - but I really want him to write something once the Bloody Jack series is over. I want something new from him, some other new brilliant character maybe in some other new brilliant world.

04. Clive Barker
Clive Barker is amazing. His Abarat series is one of the most well-hidden and best written fantasies in the YA world. (though, I do admit, completely twisted. And also completely awesome.) The last one in the trilogy (I think) just came out a while ago. But I don't know if he plans on writing more, because he's also a director-producer-scriptwriter-painter and is fantastic at ALL of those things. A girl can hope, right?

03. Eoin Colfer
The last Artemis Fowl book is about to come out, and I have NO IDEA what else Eoin is writing. Not at all. To be fair, he is probably writing another book about something somewhere, but I have no idea what it is. I can only hope it's another awesome fantasy series or another fantasmagorical stand-alone like The Supernaturalist.

02. Lisa Mantchev
Since I have the absolute honor of being Facebook friends with Lisa, I know she's writing another novel - with steampunk and awesomeness, which makes me want it - but I have no idea if it's been picked up or anything. Besides, Lisa will always be on my list of writers I need more books from. After the fabulousness that is the Theatre Illuminata series, she's made my must-read list!

01. David Clement-Davies
Nobody seems to have read David's books, which are a shame, as they are all FABULOUS. I've read nearly every one (I'm only missing The Telling Pool, which I own, and the one that was only published in Britain) and they're all absolutely fantastic. I keep craving more of his work and I wish he had a bigger fanbase - perhaps we would get some that way!

On an unrelated note, I hadn't seen a picture of him until I looked it up for this post. He's cute, too. I regret nothing about this observation.

Who would make your top ten?

Giveaway: In Darkness

2012-01-23T09:00:00.011-05:00

What do I have up for grabs today? Only In Darkness, a new book by Nick Lake!

"Shorty" is a Haitian boy trapped in the ruins of a hospital when the earth explodes around him. Surrounded by lifeless bodies and growing desperately weak from lack of food and water, death seems imminent. Yet as Shorty waits in darkness for a rescue that may never come, he becomes aware of another presence, one reaching out to him across two hundred years of history. It is the presence of slave and revolutionary leader Toussaint L'Ouverture, whose life was marred by violence, and whose own end came in darkness. What unites a child of the slums with the man who would shake a troubled country out of slavery? Is it the darkness they share . . . or is it hope?

And it's super easy to win!

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Quick Recap:
[1] copy of Nick Lake's In Darkness up for grabs
[1] winner in the U.S. or Canada
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Poison Study

2012-01-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

Poison Study
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Series: Study (#1)
Publisher: Luna
How Received: bought

Choose: A quick death… or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear…

Ever since I read Snyder's Inside Out, I've been overly curious to dive into her other fantasy. I got a copy of Poison Study and... it sat on my shelf for months.

Luckily, in a fit of being unable to sleep the other day, I started reading it. Eight chapters in the fatigue started to hit me, but I picked it up the next morning and bammed it out in one shot.

Poison Study is fantastic; though I loved Inside Out, and I still have a soft spot for the characters when they're brought up, the story itself hasn't stuck with me very long. I didn't want to reread it right away, I didn't feel any sort of longing to keep it on my shelf - I actually ended up giving my copy away to a friend. I haven't read the sequel, either.

Poison Study, though? Amazon giftcard, here I come. (Unless it's in my local indie book store, which I'll be visiting soon.) I need the sequels in my hands now.

Not because Poison Study leaves some ridiculous cliffhanger - actually, it wraps up the main plot points for the story rather nicely, leaving a livable gap between the two books. But because the characters and the story and the world were so bloody brilliant.

[SPOILER ALERT] My only problem with this book was the predictability at how the scheme with Butterfly's Dust was going to end up. It wasn't that hard to figure out that there was no such thing, especially as early on in the book, Yelena goes days without the antidote in her "My Love" stupor; an observant reader could easily figure it out, so I was surprised when Yelena didn't. Alas. Nobody's perfect, and she did have other things on her mind. So I can look past it. I can't be surprised every time, right? [END SPOILER ALERT]

Speaking of our lovely main character: Yelena seems to be made of pure awesome. She's got a history and she's flawed but she does her best to learn everything she can and train and she's not just insta-good! at everything she does. She has to learn, and she's still not better than some people. (And when she is, well, she deserves it, or there are reasons for it.)

And Valek! Oh, be still my heart! One of the things I loved about this story was that, though I was hoping Yelena and Valek would get together from the moment he offers her the position of poison taster, any potential romance between them wasn't the biggest part of the plot. (How could it be? The Commander might be killed at any moment!) But it was still bloody awesome.

Speaking of awesome things, I want Janco and Ari as my best friends.

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 10/10. I'm planning on picking up the second book soon; loved the characters, loved the world, loved the plot. A must read for fantasy lovers.

Snyder's Poison Study or Inside Out?: Inside Out reads more like a "typical" YA novel, whereas Yelena (though only eighteen) doesn't act like a teenager; she acts more like an adult. However, I loved Poison Study much more than I did Inside Out, in terms of both plot and characters. That might just be my love of fantasy coming out full force, though.

Feature Friday: Bookcase (62)

2012-01-20T15:00:00.001-05:00

Who said storage had to be boring?

This is designed by Membure Oral, and I think it's really adorable. Granted, it would never work for a bibliophile as intense as I am - I own too many books! - but it would be awesome to have in a living room or a bedroom of regular reader. Or, hey, maybe I could use it to keep books in the kitchen or something...

What do you think?

Friday Fronts - The Selection

2012-01-20T09:00:00.001-05:00

The biggest of dresses.

The most anorexic looking of girls.

Book Trailers (10)

2012-01-19T09:00:00.005-05:00

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Now, I didn't like Cinder as a book, as much as I loved the world and most of the characters. I like the book trailer for the most part. I can't help but think that it would have done so much better with just the visuals and maybe some epic music rather than explaining the whole plot in a voice-over. It would still make me want to go look up the book and read it, but the voice-over adds a bit of a cheesy affect to it all.

The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

Normally I'm not a fan of book trailers that heavily feature text; this one manages to incorporate it really well, and I liked it. It made me curious enough to look up he book (though I still have little interest in reading it at the moment). I wish there had been more dynamic images near the end, though.

Harbringer by Sara Wilson Etienne

Not gonna lie - I LOVE this trailer. It's a lot longer than most trailers, but it's nearly flawless; the music, the voice-over, the images, the opening scene, it's all done right.

The ONLY thing I wish they had done was leave out the bit about Cal - it seemed off compared to the rest of the trailer and it was a jarring jump from dynamic action to romantic moment to dynamic action. It would have been just as epic, maybe more so, without that moment. Even the voice-over at that part seems out of context.

Which one do you like best? What would you change?

Interview: Megan Miranda (Fracture) & Giveaway

2012-01-18T09:00:00.004-05:00

This giveaway is over.
I reviewed Megan Miranda's Fracture a couple of weeks ago, and it's no secret that I didn't really love it. (I know, I know i- it's not an ACTUAL love triangle!) However, plenty of my other bloggers have loved it - and just because it wasn't my thing doesn't mean y'all won't love it! Besides, I love giving you all a chance to win. No hating here!

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine - despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

But before that, Megan Miranda herself offered to answer a few questions for you lovely people!

Nicole: Welcome to WORD, Miranda! Now, I've already read Fracture, and though I love the premise, I didn't really like the love triangle. (Or how important the summary of the novel makes the love triangle seem!) What made you write that into the story?
MM: Interesting question. Mostly because, at the core, the relationships weren’t written into a pre-existing plot. I started off with a premise and characters, but there was nothing that held it all together. so the external plot was developed around something very essential in the relationships. Well, around one of them...

Anyway, that’s not to say that there isn’t a triangle in the story, though it definitely isn’t necessarily about love. There are two guys, and they are both interested in Delaney, in varying degrees. And she in them, in varying degrees. The why is pretty much essential to the plot—both internal and external. Why are they drawn to her, and her to them? For the internal plot, it goes to love, yes, but, externally, it goes to the entire crux of the plot, as well. Part of which has a fairly distinct lack of love.

N: Which one of the boys would you pick?
MM: I promise I’m not trying to be evasive (I don’t want to spoil anything!), but, like I alluded to in the last question, there aren’t necessarily two viable options for Delaney in the story. I will say this: I assure you that there will be absolutely zero doubt in your mind which I would pick after you read it. Promise.

N: I have a feeling it's the same person I would pick - though I'm certain that there are some who might argue for the other side! Do you think your reaction would be similar to Delaney's if you woke up from a coma with the ability to sense when people will die?
MM: Well, I’m... out-spoken. I understand Delaney, but if it were me, I’d be shouting about it to anyone who would listen. But I do think it would affect me in the way that it comes to affect her: are you doing what you want to be doing? Are you living your life? What will you do with the time you have?

N: What are some of the other debut novels you're looking forward to this year?
MM: I’ve already read some fantastic ones! Slide by Jill Hathaway, Tempest by Julie Cross, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, Ditched by Robin Mellom, just to name a few.

And I know, I know - I had four copies up for givaway during Debut December, and now I'm giving away another one!? Don't worry, it's not just me - the lovely people over at Bloomsbury just really like you guys!

How To Win:
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[mandatory] fill out the form below

Quick Recap:
[1] copy of Megan Miranda's Fracture up for grabs
[1] winner in the U.S. or Canada
ends on January 25 at midnight

Guest Post: Jessie Harrell (DESTINED)

2012-01-17T09:00:00.001-05:00

Mythology in YA: Making the Old New Again

If you’re big into YA lit, you’ve probably noticed the surge in mythological retellings lately. The Percy Jackson series got the ball rolling, much in the same way that Harry Potter got kids (and adults) reading in record numbers. Whereas Percy Jackson is more middle grade, however, Tara Lynn Childs saw early success with her YA myth-based novels, Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Bootcamp.

But for me, the surest sign that mythology was about to be huge in YA, was when Publisher’s Weekly announced that Harper Collins paid SEVEN FIGURES for a mythological trilogy pitched as “Percy Jackson for girls.” The opening novel, of course, is Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed, which is a modern-day re-imagining of the myth of Helen and Paris of Troy. 2011 also brought us The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter, Asphodel by Lauren Hammond, and Abandon by Meg Cabot, all three of which offer a modern take on the Hades and Persephone myth. [I would be remiss if I did not also mention my own novel, Destined, which tells the myth of Eros & Psyche - still in ancient times, but with a modern perspective.] In just a few more days, we will see the debut of Everneath by Brodi Ashton, also an apparent take on the Hades and Persephone story, although I’ve also heard it likened to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

So what’s up with all the ancient mythology in YA lately? Don’t teens get enough mythology shoved down their throats in tenth grade lit? The answer is simple... No. And here’s why: YA authors are breathing new life into myths, finding romance and beauty in stories that might fall flat in the classroom. It’s just like when we all read Romeo and Juliet and probably only understood half of what we were reading surrounded by all the “where for art thous” and “she doths.” For me, at least, reading it was difficult and cold. But then I really got down to the heart of the story - a young couple in love against all odds, willing to forsake their families, who find the perfect scheme to run away together, only to meet failure in the form of death at the moment of their triumph. It’s heartbreaking and painfully ironic and poignancy of it is probably one of the reasons the story has remained the most well-known of Shakespeare's plays.

Well, there’s no reason not to extract this same beauty from Greek myths. Why just focus on the psuedo-history we get in The Odyssey? Why not tell the story of the love affair that develops between Odysseus and the witch, Circe, while the sailor is trying to find his way home? Could there not be real intrigue and honest love - rather than an arranged marriage - in that tale? Of course, the author would need to find a way to bend it to YA (which probably explains the use of the Hades/Persephone myth so frequently), but you get my point.

There are so many fantastical elements in the Greek myth, so many monsters and heros and gods, that the stories lend themselves perfectly to being retold for fans of paranormal romance. Just like we’ve seen the rise and fall of vampires, weres, and fae, Greek myths will eventually burn themselves out. But until then, I for one am thrilled to see some really awesome stories made even better. After all, isn’t a hunky god (ahem, Eros) just as enticing as a vampire?

By day, Jessie Harrel an appellate lawyer. By night, she's a wife, mother of two, and author/lover of all things Greek mythology. She's a native Floridian, frustrated world traveler, unrepentant dreamer, lover of acoustic music and not-so-closet geek. Destined, being released November 17, 2011, is her first novel. Stay tuned for Beneath the Surface, co-written with the amazing Nikki Katz.

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.

Cinder

2012-01-16T09:00:00.037-05:00

Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles (#1)
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
How Received: publisher ARC

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

I have a lot of feelings about this book, and most of them aren't ones that are going to send you raving to read it. So I'll start with the positive.

The characters - well, most of them - were absolutely fantastic and fun to read about. With the exception of our villain, they were all fleshed out and thoughtful and they had their quirks and they seemed real. Even when I was frustrated with Cinder's decisions, I understood that she was confused and didn't know who to trust. When Iko made a snarky comment, I couldn't help but laugh. When Kai tried to make a move on Cinder, I was legitimately torn that she wouldn't tell him that she was a cyborg.

And I thought the setting was really cool. I love the futuristic world, the marketplace, how the androids and cyborgs are integrated into the culture.

But the plot. The plot. First, the overall plot points are ridiculously transparent. Not just because it's a retelling of Cinderella (it's obvious who will end up with who), but the additions to the story are easy to figure out.

Not only that, but in a world presented as straight up sci-fi, you have people with 'magical' abilities that border on fantasy. If you're going to present them like that, explain how they ended up that way; don't just say it's because they live on the moon. I want details. I want to know why they are the way they are and how they're able to hide among normal people and how their abilities don't go unnoticed and why people aren't able to resist when they know people have the ability.

And I understand that the Lunar people wanting a war was an important part of the plot, but really, it could have been done in a much less 'magic-y' way. Not only are you making them seemingly impossible to defeat, but you're making them impossible to resist? If, among the Lunar people, there are people AGAINST the queen, couldn't you just turn it into religious fantatisicm? More realistic in a world of technology; they'd need something to cling to.

And come to think of it, that would make the villain more realistic. If they plan on revealing her true intentions and thoughts later, it's already too late; she's tried to murder people for a power play. I don't care if she wants power. I want something that can make me root for her if I wanted to. Take a look at Morgana Penderagon in BBC's Merlin; I don't agree with a single thing she does. But I pity her or I root for her anyway despite her evilness. I want strong villains who I CAN root for even if they're doing it for stupid and silly reasons. This one just does nothing for me. She seems flat and one dimensional.

I wish this was a standalone, or that each part of the chronicles took a different fairy tale and set it on the same world. (Thanks to the way the book ends, I don't see that happening.) I feel like the same story could have been told without all the drama and the fantasy-esque. Things could have been handled a lot differently and been so much more awesome.

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 4/10. I really wanted to love this. I love the main characters and I love the idea and I love the world. But the plot is predictable or silly, and the villains are flat and unbelievable. A lot of people are loving it, but I just don't feel it.

Have you guys read it? What do you think?

The Faerie Path (DNF)

2012-01-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

The Faerie Path
Author: Frewin Jones
Series: The Faerie Path (#1)
Publisher: Eos
How Received: bought

Swept away into a court of magic and beauty, Anita discovers she is Tania, the lost princess of Faerie. Since Tania's mysterious disappearance five hundred years before, Faerie has been sunk in darkness and gloom. With her return, Faerie comes alive again as a land of winged children, glittering balls, and fantastic delights. But Tania can't forget Anita's world, or the boy she loved there.

Torn between two loves and between two worlds, Tania slowly remembers why she disappeared, and realizes that she is the only one who can stop a sinister plan that threatens the entire world of Faerie.

Got to page: 143

I can hear you now. "Two weeks into the year and you're already on your second did not finish book of the year?! Shame on you!" To be fair, I read this last year. I just like stating why I didn't like something, because I believe that all books are worth discussing, not just ones I zomg-loved.

And the problem with The Faerie Path was that it had so much potential for me to love it. I had already bought the next two in the series under the ideology that I would like this enough to keep reading. After all, the plot is one of my favorites; I love lost-Fey-princess-returns-home-and-has-to-save-the-world. (Hello, Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series? Love it.)

But. But but but.

There was so much set up to get to that point. I got 143 pages in and Tania was just about to figure out that she really did belong in the faerie world. Which would have been fine, if other things had been happening before then than just dancing and reacquainting and fun things. There was no set up, no drama, no reason why she should be there.

And oh, world continuity! Why do you not exist? If one character says they haven't aged because Oberon froze time in the faerie world, you can't have dogs getting pregnant and giving birth and having the puppies grow up. You need time to move for that, silly. You're not in a TARDIS.

I'm sure plenty of people love this series - after all, the books do well enough! - but I just couldn't get into it.

The Faerie Path or The Iron King?: The Iron King, definitley. I might want to strangle the love triangle in it every now and then, but the plot is dynamic and keeps you on your toes - and the world stays consistent!

Feature Friday: Bookcase (61)

2012-01-13T15:00:00.002-05:00

Who said storage had to be boring?

I want this in my future house so badly. It's simple, it's gorgeous, it's stunning.

If anybody knows where it's from, please tell me - I saw it on Tumblr and just HAD to share!

Friday Fronts - Mister Death's Blue-Eyed Girls

2012-01-13T09:00:00.002-05:00

That title, though.

I don't care for the cover that much, though I love it's simplicity; too much is focused on the author's name and the cover itself isn't that dynamic. But the name - the simplicity that the title itself is designed on the cover, and the epicness of the title itself - makes me love it.

Nicole's Bookcase Tour

2012-01-12T15:00:00.000-05:00

I asked, and y'all wanted a bookcase tour, so here it is! I borrowed my sister's camera rather than try and do it with my crappy webcam/cell camera, so it's actually a decent quality!

For those of you too lazy to watch the video - or who did and want to creep better on all of my bookcases - here are some pics:

Brown bookcase:

Other brown bookcase:

Big white bookcase:

Pretend bookcase:

Now, for somebody that has 3.5 bookcases, I don't seem to own a lot of books, especially compared to other bloggers. (I own roughly 300 books.) I'm a big fan of purging my bookshelves - if I finish a book and I don't think I'll reread it, I put it to the side and try to find it a new home. I'd rather have my books loved than sitting and collecting dust, ya know? Some I give to my sister/my friends/my sister's friends. Some end up at the local exchange bookstore (you can trade in books for credit to buy other books!) and some end up being donated to the library. Some I just give away, like the giant box of ARCs I just got rid of or the 100 or so books I got rid of this past summer. It also helps keep my room clean.

Do you like my organization system? (I hate doublestacking!) How do you keep your books organized?

The Fault In Our Stars (Or, the first book to ever make me cry.)

2012-01-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

The Fault In Our Stars
Author: John Green
Series: ---
Publisher: Penguin
How Received: bought

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

This was going to be one of those books I read and didn't talk about, because I knew everybody would be talking about it and there wasn't going to be much I could add to the conversation. I couldn't compare it to other contemporary fiction, which I don't often read; I couldn't compare it against John's other works, which I haven't read; I've never been a blog to talk aimlessly about a book and how much I loved it.

I knew it would be brilliant - I am a Nerdfighter, after all, even if I haven't had a chance to pick up John's other books. I knew the passion he put into it. I heard the brilliant first chapter and was already in love with Hazel's voice.

But I didn't expect it to be that brilliant.

I didn't expect it to dig into my heart and my soul and make me cry. And boy, did I cry. I sobbed. I sobbed uncontrollably for ten minutes. Then my sister came into the room to tell me a joke and just stared at me for a moment and gave me a hug and asked me what was wrong and I was unable to tell her because I didn't want to spoil the story for her.

Do not read The Fault In Our Stars in a public place if you do not like crying and laughing and screaming and more crying in public. Do not start reading The Fault In Our Stars before you go to bed, thinking you'll read a chapter and keep reading more the next day, because you will stay up the entire night and go about your day the next morning bleary-eyed and discontent (because, let's face it, the only way you can go about after finishing a brilliant book is discontent).

But do read The Fault In Our Stars.

If you have ever picked up one book from this blog, let it be The Fault In Our Stars.

Because, I promise you this - you will not regret it.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Immortal Rules

2012-01-11T09:00:00.002-05:00

Because we all have something we're waiting for.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden (#1)
Release Date: 24 April 2012

You will kill. The only question is when.

In the dark days since the insidious Red Lung virus decimated the human population, vampires have risen to rule the crumbling cities and suburbs. Uncontested Princes hold sway over diminished ranks of humans: their "pets." In exchange for their labor, loyalty and of course, their blood, these pets are registered, given food and shelter, permitted to survive.

Unregistered humans cling to fringes, scavenging for survival. Allison Sekemoto and her fellow Unregistereds are hunted, not only by vampires, but by rabids, the unholy result of Red Lung-infected vampires feeding on unwary humans. One night, Allie is attacked by a pack of rabids, saved by an unlikely hero...and turned vampire.

Uncomfortable in her undead skin, Allie falls in with a ragtag crew of humans seeking a cure, or cures: for Rabidism and for Vampirism. She's passing for human...for now. But the hunger is growing and will not be denied. Not for friendship—not even for love.

What, a new book by Julie Kagawa and you expect me not to want it? I don't care that I'm on a paranormal overload; it's JULIE KAGAWA, guys. Besides, it sounds bloody awesome!

I mean, literally, bloody awesome. She's bleeding on the cover. I dislike the cover, but it'll do for now.

What about you guys?

The Humming Room

2012-01-10T09:00:00.003-05:00

The Humming Room
Author: Ellen Potter
Series: ---
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
How Received: publisher ARC

Release Date: 28 February 2012

Hiding is Roo Fanshaw's special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment's notice. When her parents are murdered, it's her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life.

As it turns out, Roo, much to her surprise, has a wealthy if eccentric uncle, who has agreed to take her into his home on Cough Rock Island. Once a tuberculosis sanitarium for children of the rich, the strange house is teeming with ghost stories and secrets. Roo doesn't believe in ghosts or fairy stories, but what are those eerie noises she keeps hearing? And who is that strange wild boy who lives on the river? People are lying to her, and Roo becomes determined to find the truth.

Despite the best efforts of her uncle's assistants, Roo discovers the house's hidden room--a garden with a tragic secret.

Every now and then I pick up a middle grade book. I haven't been blown away by any in a long time. (It's hard when my basis for middle grade comparison is Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl and Erin Hunter's Warriors series.) But they're nice when I want a short, quick romp through a book.

The Humming Room provided just that; full of interesting characters and a fun setting, it managed to distract me for the quick hour it took to read. (At 182 pages, it's not very long.) It was cute and fun and, really, everything it should have been.

I did have problems with Roo's character at the beginning, only because she licks a glass snake and I couldn't think of anybody really who did that and it seemed kind of out of character for Roo because she may have been wild but she was also smart and smart people just don't go around licking things, ya know? But besides that one moment, I really liked her and her adoration of nature.

The other characters were interesting and fun, I suppose; I didn't really have any sort of fondness for any of them outside of Roo and, perhaps, Jack. (You'll find out who he is if you read it. Spoiler free!)

Final Comments: A cute middle grade story. It's based on The Secret Garden, so if you like that, you can take a peek at this, I suppose - I've never read it! (I know, I know - I'll read it eventually.)
Cover Notes: Eek, I love it! I love art covers that depict a scene from a book, though, and the font is just awesome.

Anybody else looking forward to it? Who's read The Secret Garden and thinks I need to read that, too?

I'm taking a class on young adult literature.

2012-01-09T09:00:00.003-05:00

I know; it shouldn't really count as a class for me, right? It should just be me sitting there nodding and giggling when people say stupid things.

But hey: it's being taught by the same teacher who did my Jane Austen class (and my English Literature II class) and I absolutely love her, so why not take it? I can't even say it'll be an easy A either, because Jackie - my teacher - has really high standards for my writing.

It should be fun, though!

She's taking it from a "history of young adult literature" perspective, so there's not a lot of modern things in there - I kept trying to convince her to put in Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, but alas - but it does look like fun. I've read most of them already, too, so the reading isn't all that bad.

Here's what we're reading. The * are the ones I've read

Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger*
The Chocolate War by Robert Corimer
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton*
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Skellig by David Almond
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins*
Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block
Monster by Walter Dean Myers*
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson*

I'm really excited for whatever discussion will come up for The Hunger Games! I was kind of disappointed that she went with the traditional Speak instead of Anderson's Wintergirls, but since she's taking it from a historical point of view, I suppose I understand why that one made the list. The only one I'm not looking forward to is Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. I don't like her writing style. Just... ick. And after seeing the reviews for Seventeenth Summer on Goodreads, I'm not that excited for that one, either.

Have any of you guys taken a class in YA lit? Do you want to?

Fracture (DNF)

2012-01-07T09:00:00.004-05:00

Fracture
Author: Megan Miranda
Series: ---
Publisher: Walker Books
How Received: BookExpo America

Release Date: 17 January 2012

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine - despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

Got to page: 157

Here's the thing: I love the plot of Fracture. I think it's an interesting concept, especially as Delaney isn't all gung-ho about it. She has a hard time dealing with it, she tries to figure out how it happened; she's a very realistic character, and I love that.

And Miranda has a fabulous writing style; she really managed to capture Delaney's voice in a very distinct way. She's sassy and smart and confused and conflicted.

But damn it all if the downfall of this book was a love triangle.

I've ranted before about how much I hate love triangles. And this was a prime example as to why I hate them so much.

Delaney is set up in a love triangle with Decker, her next door neighbor, and Troy, the older guy with the same mysterious power. Now, I don't know how it ends - I stopped reading as the love triangle started - but damn it all if it was unnecessary. There was plenty of set up for Decker and Delaney, but Troy had met Miranda all of one time. It would have been a lot more interesting to see Troy take on the role of mentor or friend rather than the unnecessary and cliche love triangle.

It seems like all of the publishing companies haven't just been jumping on the paranormal bandwagon; they're jumping on the love triangle bandwagon. I wish they would stop.

Final Comments: If you can stand poorly set up love triangles, you could try it. But I'd pass.

Has anybody else read Fracture? Got a different opinion than me?

Feature Friday: Bookcase (60)

2012-01-06T15:00:00.002-05:00

Who said storage had to be boring?

It's a bear.

That holds books.

I LIKE IT.

Maybe not for $2000, but it's still pretty awesome.

Friday Fronts - Tangled

2012-01-06T09:00:00.001-05:00

I'll be flat out: there's nothing I really like this cover. The photo, the font, the coloring; all of it make me wrinkle my nose and back slowly away from it.

And I try to stay away from look-a-like posts: I've been reamed for them in the past for "copying other people." (Really, Anons, get a life.) But I couldn't help it. It reminds me SO MUCH of this proshot for BBC's MERLIN with Angel Coulby as Guinevere.