Review: Another Pan by Daniel & Dina Nayeri

I knew going in that this was a sequel of sorts to Another Faust, which I totally missed out on. However, I was interested enough in the Peter Pan aspect to want to give it a shot. Considering that the jacket makes no mention that this is part of a series, I figured I was in the clear. And in a way, I was: only one character returns here from Another Faust, and she seems to stand up well enough on her own. However, when it came to actually enjoying the book...

Another Pan is set at the exclusive Marlowe school in Manhattan, where largely discredited Egyptologist Professor Darling is a teacher who has just scored a great exhibit of Ancient Egyptian artifacts on loan from the British Museum. The artifacts relate to his life's work: uncovering a Death goddess that was an alternative to Anubis, and discovering the truth behind the legends in the Book of Gates - legends that are supposed to hold the key to immortality.

Roped into helping their father set up the exhibit, 16 year old Wendy and 13 year old John would rather be elsewhere - Wendy with her jock boyfriend and John developing his street cred. But when a charismatic new RA by the name of Peter shows up, who has an obsession of his own with the ancient book, Wendy and John eagerly join his quest. Wendy is drawn to the dangerous Peter, despite her boyfriend and her father's disapproval. John craves acceptance, and longs to be seen by Peter as being worthy of joining his Lost Boys gang. As the underworld begins to take hold of Marlowe, and a conniving assistant from the British Museum also closes in on the truth about the books, the two Darlings and Peter are in a race to complete their quest first - to find the secrets to immortality before death catches up with them, permanently.

Lurking at the periphery of most of the story is the new, decrepit school nurse, who was apparently the governess in Another Faust. It's clear that part of her story has been told elsewhere, but the lack of detail didn't seem to impede the story.

What did impede the story? The pacing and the characters. This was a slow, slow book. I wanted to give up several times, but forced myself to keep going, mostly because I have a huge weakness for Ancient Egypt (even though it seems the stories of the Book of Gates are totally new with no relation to myths that are currently known) and also because many of the nods back to Peter Pan were quite clever. The pacing felt off, and the overall writing felt stilted. The third person point of view wasn't used naturally, and there were weird line breaks within the chapters; instead of using a break to indicate a change in place or time, sometimes they would be used to denote a switch in POV character - but other times would be used traditionally. It pulled me out of the story every time.

Most of the characters were extremely flat. Simon Grin was practically a cartoon villain - I kept waiting for him to start muttering how he would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids. Wendy and John were easily manipulated, though a lot more time was invested in John and his motivations so he was slightly more sympathetic. Really the most intriguing character for me was Peter, and that was probably me trying to fit this slick and handsome young adult into the story of the perpetual child I know.

In any re-telling, I love finding the ties back to the original story, and here many of them were quite clever. There's the obvious Barrie Auditorium (which still gets cleverness points, because Peter Pan was originally a play), but then little things like Peter always hanging out by windows, or checking out his shadow. His Lost Boys gang is also constantly plying Peter with happy thoughts (often things relating to youth or staying young) whenever he starts to get grumpy, though the rationale behind it is never explained.

But ultimately, this was a frustrating read. There was just enough intrigue with the myths and the quest that kept me turning the page, but I was always thinking ahead, hoping the book would finally end so I could move on to something else. While part of me is curious about what connections this had to the previous book, I don't want to have to wade through a similarly tedious book to get there, so I think this is my first and only encounter with the "Another" series.

Review: The Turning: What Curiosity Kills by Helen Ellis

Found via: Forever Young Adult

When I was 12 years old, I received my first Animorphs book (#2, The Visitor) in my Easter basket. Did my mom choose it because it was excellently reviewed, popular science fiction with a diverse and engaging cast of characters?

No.

She picked it out because there was a girl turning into a cat on the cover, and I liked cats.

Since the Animorphs books aren't being re-printed until Spring 2011, I think 12-year-old-me would be getting The Turning: What Curiosity Kills for Christmas 2010. And the girls-turning-into-cats thing isn't even the only bit these two books have in common.

Having been adopted into an elite Manhattan family at a young age, all Mary wants to do is fit in. While her sister Octavia is outspoken and brash, Mary attempts to be normal and unassuming in every way possible - even if that means the boy she's crushing on hardly knows she exists. When she starts feeling tired all the time and having weird cravings, Mary can write that off as a growth spurt. But what about her sudden dislike of running water? And an amazing sense of smell? Oh, and the thick patch of orange hair that sprouted on her leg after a run in with the neighborhood stray?

Mary is far from normal, it turns out. Bit by bit, she's transforming into a cat, at a time when there's a bit of a power struggle happening between different cat factions in New York City - and each side wants Mary to join them, when all Mary wants is to return to her normal life. Enlisting the aid of Octavia, who has some excellent research skills on top of her sauciness, Mary desperately searches for a way to end her turning before there's no turning back.

So aside from turning into a cat, what does this book have in common with Animorphs? The length. This book goes at a ridiculously quick pace, and it's one of the few stories that I wish were a hundred pages longer just so everything can be slightly more fleshed out. There are lots of details that are glossed over - like there are bits where cats will speak to Mary, with their dialog indicated in italics. It's never explained whether these cats are psychic and are putting fully formed phrases in Mary's head, or if maybe Mary is just translating cat behaviors into human speech. The ending is also quite abrupt, which is no problem if the next installment is coming out in a month or two, but leaves us hanging in the worst way when the wait between titles is indefinite (Google revealed nothing about book 2 of The Turning and Helen Ellis' website isn't the easiest to navigate. I'm not a fan of video blogs). This isn't a book with a cliff hanger ending - the climax finishes and then...the end. No denouement, no closure, and no real indication of what could happen next.

Octavia has gotten some blogger love, as she well should. First of all, she's a debate geek, and while I technically didn't do debate, forensics was debate-adjacent, so I love that about her. At first she comes across as a horrible sassy-black-girl stereotype, but Ellis does an excellent job of revealing why Octavia presents herself the way she does. Very interesting.

Also thought it was interesting that both Mary and Octavia are adopted. At first it's totally random and seems like it's just a way to put two non-New-Yorker characters (Mary is originally from Alabama, Octavia from Nebraska) in the big city. So far it hasn't added a lot to Mary, but again it adds some real depth to Octavia's character, as the girl who appears to totally have it all together does in fact have some deep rooted insecurities tied to being adopted.

This is a fun, short read with an interesting twist to the ever-expanding genre of fantasy and paranormal creatures taking over YA. Not a book I'd necessarily run out to get, but certainly fun once you dive in.

Review: The Water Seeker by Kimberly Willis Holt

Found via: The Fourth Musketeer

Following up on my Nonfiction Monday post, here's another western-style book, this one set first on the frontier of Missouri, and then on the famed Oregon Trail - which is what made me want to pick up this book. And it didn't hurt that I received the book right around the time this bit of hilarity hit the internet:



I know they updated the game a few times, but you're seriously missing out if you never played the original game for the Apple II. Good times.

Amos Kincaid's life begins in tragedy - his young mother dies while giving birth to him, leaving him to be raised by his rough frontiersman father. Jake Kincaid doesn't think he'd be much of a father to an infant, especially since the only trades he knows - trapping and dowsing - require extensive traveling across wild parts of the country, so he drops baby Amos off with his brother in Missouri, promising to visit when he can.

Amos grows up with his aunt and uncle serving as the only family he knows. His father is a mysterious person who drops by once or twice a year for a few days before moving on again. About the only thing Amos knows about the man is that he's a dowser, someone who can find water beneath the ground, and the talent has been passed down to Amos, though he keeps it secret.

When he's a young teen, tragedy strikes his family again with the death of his beloved aunt. When Jake returns to find his sister-in-law dead and his brother a shell of his former self, he decides it's time to take Amos with him. Jake now has a wife, Blue Owl, and Jake has taken a job as a trail scout along the Oregon Trail. It's still a hard life, but with Blue Owl to help with the boy, Jake thinks it's time for the family to reunite and head West.

This book covers a long period of time, from Amos' birth until he's a young adult, which certainly lends the narrative a sort of epic scope. At the same time, the story is a very quiet one, focusing on Amos' growth as a boy and young man and his relationships on the frontier. It's a quiet and simple novel on one level, yet complex on another. Because of this, I imagine it's going to lose a lot of early readers who don't have some sort of vested interest in the story, as the real action in the story doesn't begin until over halfway through, when Amos heads out along the Oregon Trail.

This is another YA book that I can definitely see having a lot of adult appeal, not among genre fans like Twlight and Hunger Games and Harry Potter found, but among fans of so-called literary fiction. The writing style as a whole has more in common with that genre than most books written for younger readers. The third person narrative often jumps to the adults in the story, especially the women who care for Amos throughout his life. And then there's the subtle and unexpected supernatural element, as the spirit or ghost of Amos' mother appears to these same women as he grows.

Historical fiction fans will find a lot to love in this story, as the excitement and perils of life on the frontier and heading west are each given a fair amount of the story. The one potential for controversy that I can see is in the character of Blue Owl. While it was surprising and delightful to find a Native woman's perspective in the story, I fear she often fell into stereotypes about Native women: quiet, subservient, forever in wonder of "white people's" accomplishments. On the other hand, she's a sympathetic character and after Amos we probably spend the most time looking at the story from her perspective. I would absolutely love to hear the opinion of someone who knows more about Native American cultures (Blue Owl is Shoshone) and representation in lit (especially YA).

Review: The Wager by Donna Jo Napoli

Donna Jo Napoli's fairy/folk tale re-tellings have been favorites of mine since middle school. It's been ages since I actually read one, but even though I didn't know this particular folk tale, based on Napoli's past work, I decided to give it a chance.

Don Giovanni is rich and handsome, with a reputation for throwing lavish parties and being an excellent lover. All that changes the night that a tidal waves sweeps through, washing away everything Don Giovanni owned.

Now a penniless beggar, Don Giovanni is still determined to hold on to some of his dignity. He bathes and washes his clothes in the river. He uses proper table manners whenever he can get a bowl of food.

And then one day a man appears with a hell of an offer. He will give Don Giovanni a purse that will give him endless wealth - in return, all Don Giovanni must do is refrain from bathing or changing his clothes for three years, three months and three days. If Don Giovanni succeeds, he gets to keep the purse. If he fails, the Devil gets his soul.

Despite his misgivings of literally making a deal with the Devil, Don Giovanni agrees. After all, he's already a beggar and suffered the indignities of that lifestyle, surely having all the money he could want will make up for any faults in his appearance? And so Don Giovanni begins his task, determined to best the Devil, no matter the cost.

I actually read this at the beginning of July, but it has taken me awhile to figure out how to articulate my feelings about the book. I knew I liked it - not loved it, but certainly liked it - but the devil (haha, pun unintended) was in figuring out why. But I think I've finally got it.

This book takes its time. We follow Don Giovanni for over three years, first seeing something of his lavish lifestyle, then seeing it fall apart as he is forced to be a beggar and try to work for the first time, then the ordeal with the Devil. Because of the long time period covered, we get to see Don Giovanni's character change ever so slowly, making for an extremely interesting character arc that really doesn't become obvious until near the end when Don Giovanni is acting wildly different from the beginning. Because we get to watch him nearly every step of the way, some of the changes aren't obvious at first, so it's a real treat to watch the changes and then think back over what has led to such a dramatic evolution. Excellent, deft writing here!

Napoli's descriptions of Don Giovanni's descent into filth are absolutely disgusting - and I meant that in the most complimentary way possible! US society is obsessed with cleanliness, so in some ways it's hard to imagine what it means to truly be filthy, but Napoli brings the horrors to light. Don't read this while eating, unless you enjoy vivid descriptions of pustules and sores and the accompanying flies. Blech. I think I'm grossing myself out again.

This is far from an action packed story, but as the end of the wager approached, I found myself getting more and more tense. Don Giovanni has come so far - will he make it? If he makes it, will he still be sane at the end of it all? Will he truly change for the better, or is this a temporary improvement brought out by horrific circumstances? For such a quiet story, I was surprised by how invested I was getting in the outcome - and how even the end of a morality play could be surprising and satisfying.

Review: Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

I read Claire de Lune shortly after reading Sisters Red - talk about two totally different werewolf books. Books like Sisters Red are why I can't swear off the werewolf genre, because you never know when something surprising will pop up. Claire de Lune isn't surprising like Sisters Red, but for a paranormal werewolf romance, I've certainly found worse.

Claire's sixteenth birthday party is going perfectly - except for the weird rash on the back of her hands and ears that is driving her crazy. Luckily Matthew, Claire's crush, hasn't noticed anything weird about her - and even talked to her during her party!

Until word arrives that there's been a werewolf attack nearby. The party shuts down fast as everyone runs for the safety of their homes.

Werewolves are a fact of life - Matthew's dad even works with the Federal Human Protection Agency, and hopes his research into a cure for werewolves will net him a position with Lyconthropy Researchers International. A lot of his research, however, is bunk.

How does Claire know this? On the night of her 16th birthday, her mother reveals a family secret: they are werewolves, and over the next three months Claire will complete her transformation into a fully grown werewolf - that rash was the first symptom of her transformation.

As Claire is initiated into the all-female local pack, the loup-garou find themselves dealing with another major issue: the rogue werewolf attacking innocent humans. As Matthew's father leads the hunt on the human side, Claire's mother is leading the pack's hunt, and Claire is left in the middle. Her mother tells her she's too young to know everything about her werewolf powers, and she is also expected to keep her newfound knowledge totally to herself - certainly she can't tell Matthew, and keeping such a major secret is putting a strain on their budding relationship. Forbidden or not, Claire is sure she can help the pack track down the rogue wolf - and just maybe trust Matthew enough to let him into her inner secrets.

The basics of the story are strong and interesting - I like Johnson's take on the loup-garou legends and the matriarchal pack structure (all werewolves are female in this world), and the mystery of the lone werewolf had me guessing up until the big reveal. Like in The Body Finder, the tension is ratcheted up as we see brief glimpses from the killer wolf's point of view - usually right before she sinks her teeth into the throat of some hapless human.

Less-strong is the storyline between Claire and her best friend Emily. Emily's sole contribution to the novel is giving Claire and excuse to talk awkwardly and very briefly about her growing relationship with Matthew - the girls literally talk about nothing else.

I also didn't like the relationship between Claire and her mother a lot of the time. I hate parent-child relationships where the parent refuses to tell her child something on the basis that the kid isn't old enough. It's exacerbated here because Claire's mother acknowledges there is a lot for Claire to learn, but puts an apparently arbitrary deadline on when she will actually talk to Claire about it. Until then, Claire should just sit back and be quiet, even as the rogue wolf puts everyone she loves in danger.

I also wish more background had been given about the history of the world. Werewolves are a fact of life in this story - but when did that begin? Have werewolves always been part of the human world, never becoming mere myths as they have in ours? Or is like the dragons in Voices of Dragons that appeared after World War II? It looks like this is going to be a trilogy, like so many paranormal stories are these days, with the sequel Nocturne coming out in May next year, and hopefully we'll get more background then.

Since this is a paranormal romance I should probably comment about that, too, huh? The good news is the romance is one of the strong points in the novel. It's nothing groundbreaking, but Claire and Matthew have a fairly normal relationship - as normal as you can have when one partner is secretly a werewolf, at least. It's nice to see this normalcy contrasted with the craziness that Claire's life is quickly becoming.

Review: Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown

Found via: Publisher's Weekly 5/17

The Civil War is the perfect era for a ghost story, especially considering the country's fascination with spiritualism - the belief that the spirits of the dead can communicate with the living, often when appearing in the then-new photographic pictures. Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown capture the fear and uncertainty of the period in both text and illustrations in Picture the Dead.

An orphan, Jennie Lovell has long lived with her twin and her two cousins at the home of her aunt and uncle.  After the three boys go off to fight in the war, Jennie is left to fend for herself against her aunt who has never much cared for her. Jennie's position in the family becomes even more precarious after the family is hit by tragedy - not only does Jennie's twin die of illness, but Will, her aunt's favorite son and Jennie's fiancé, dies in battle and Quinn comes home wounded. With no imminent marriage to cement her place in the household, Jennie knows she could be tossed out at any time, family ties be damned. Jennie tries to make herself useful, helping to nurse the bitter Quinn,  but takes on a role more akin to a maid than a family member.

Knowing her parents had ties to the spiritualist movement, Jennie's uncle asks Jennie to put them in contact with a photographer known to be a medium. While some of the family is skeptical of the results, Jennie is sure Will is now trying to contact her - how else to explain how she found a missing locket, or a letter Will left with a comrade before he died? Encouraged by the supernatural contact, Jennie is determined to discover the truth behind Will's death, no matter how Quinn tries to stand in her way.

Brown's illustrations really add to the story, giving us glimpses into the scrapbook that Jennie keeps throughout the story. My one complaint is that the writing in the illustrations, as Jennie keeps many letters and writes captions, is only readable if you're sitting on a couch in a well-lit room. I do most of my reading on the subway, so my books are constantly bouncing around, making reading the small, cramped letters almost impossible at times.

There's lots of interesting information on the period included in the book, and it was interesting to have a Civil War story that isn't actually about the war or its causes. Of course, the realities of war are inescapable, and without giving too much away I can say that we get a glimpse at life in Camp Sumter, aka Andersonville Prison. Readers curious about this part of the story should check out The Horrors of Andersonville Prison, which I reviewed for Nonfiction Monday last week.

Review: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Oh, suuuuuuuuuuure. Mere days after I say I'm not doing paranormal romance anymore, I pick up a book that ends up being just that - and I like it. I just can't win, can I?

In my defense, I didn't see The Body Finder advertised as a paranormal romance - I wasn't looking to set myself up for disappointment or anything. Okay, now that I look at the cover I see the blurb says "You'll be drawn in by the love story," but I wasn't looking at the blurb! I thought this was a more straightforward paranormal mystery, but ends up being a delightful mix of paranormal, mystery and romance.

Ever since she was a little girl, Violet Ambrose has had the ability to sense the bodies of murder victims. Usually it's just dead squirrels and rats - there's a sound or scent or taste that draws her to the body, and a matching one attached to whoever or whatever killed it.

Now a junior in high school, Violet is mildly bothered by her "talent," but is able to mostly ignore it - until a day out at the lake, when an oily sheen on the water catches her attention. When she goes to investigate, she's horrified to find the body of a dead girl.

Soon more girls start disappearing, and the community begins to panic. Violet knows that she's the only one who might be able to track down the killer, hoping to find him in a public place where the echoes of the dead girls are clinging to him.

Her best friend Jay, suddenly hot after a summer growth spurt, is fiercely protective of Violet and thinks her plan is a terrible idea - but knowing she's determined, he promises to stick by her to help keep her safe. Violet chafes under his watchful eye, as she's determined to not ruin their friendship by mixing it up with romance. But Jay sure isn't making that vow easy. Even as she's falling harder and harder for Jay, Violet knows she's getting closer and closer to finding the killer. But the question is, will she be able to find him before he finds her?

This book immediately throws you into the deep end of creepy. The prologue shows Violet finding her first human body - at the tender age of 8! And then just two chapters later, we get a glimpse at the REAL creepy strength of the book - glimpses into the killer's mind. He shows up periodically throughout the book, showing us what's happening on the other side of the coin. I always got jumpy during his short chapters - because while it's creepy to follow Violet as she's tracking an imprint, it's even creepier to be following the killer as he's tracking his next victim. So Derting gets HUGE points there, and I hope she keeps writing mystery thrillers!!!

Other great point: love, love, LOVE that Violet has a group of girlfriends which makes this book easily pass the Bechdel Test. We actually see the girls out having a good time, shopping for shoes and then later on at the Homecoming dance. Sometimes we're told that girls are friends, but we never see them actually doing anything together. Here there was no problem. So more bonus points!

For once, I didn't mind the romance. Jay isn't a creepy stalker boyfriend. Sometimes he's comes across as a little possessive, but usually Violet shoots back at him, standing up for herself. Violet is rarely the damsel in distress for long - and sometimes Jay is the dude in distress. All in all, very equitable.

My only minor quibble, and this probably comes from my background as a science fiction rather than a fantasy fan, is I either wanted an explanation for why Violet could find bodies or I wanted it completely handwaved as a mystery. There's a brief mention or two of her grandmother having a similar ability - but that's it. I'd rather have had a full explanation, or just ask us to go with it, no questions asked.

Okay, I guess there are actually two minor quibbles - it seemed weird that Violet considered animals killed as prey for other animals "murder." She makes it clear that she can only feel the echoes of people or animals that have been murdered - she can't find someone that died of natural causes. But the food chain is murder? That felt a little off. I mentioned this to my husband, who suggested that saying Violet could sense those who'd died violently would have been a better description, but it's intimated later that Violet can tell if a doctor or nurse has essentially committed euthanasia by administering too much pain medication or sedatives. So there doesn't seem to be an easy way to define exactly what bodies Violet senses, but "murder" doesn't feel like the right term to me.

But seriously - that's it. My only nitpicks. I really enjoyed this one - so much so that I considered staying on the train past my stop since I reached home EXACTLY when Violet had found the killer. I was really hungry so I didn't do that, but I practically ran home (yes, in the oppressive NYC humidity we're suffering right now), grabbed a snack, then sat on the couch to read the last bit. Definitely a "couldn't put it down" book!

Review: Possessed by Kate Cann

Found via: Lynn Rutan at Bookends

I like Lynn's warning on this one - clear your schedule because you're not going to want to put this one down. A gripping paranormal mystery, spooky villagers, and romance with just the right amount of danger.

Rayne Peters feels trapped. She lives in a tiny apartment in noisy London with her mom who constantly relies upon her to babysit her little brother. She spends her few free moments with her boyfriend, who is increasingly controlling and pressuring Rayne to have sex. Just as it's all getting to be too much, and with a long summer about to begin, Rayne sees a job posting for a waitressing position in a remote country manor house. When Rayne visits for her interview, she's a little creeped out by the old house and the staff, but its blessedly quiet. She takes the job.

The more time she spends at Morton's Keep, however, the creepier it gets. The manor has a dark history, with periodic outbreaks of sadism and violence, and Rayne can feel a dark and foreboding presence that seems to be increasing. Her one distraction from her work and sense of dread is St. John, a local boy who is so unlike her controlling ex-boyfriend, and his group of friends, all of whom are interested in the dark hidden history of Morton's Keep.

This novel had two huge pluses for me right off the bat: first, Rayne recognizes that her first boyfriend is a total controlling creep and she needs to kick him to the curb. Second, Rayne is bi-racial, making this the first paranormal romance I've read with a non-white protagonist. I don't believe Rayne's ethnicities are ever specifically named, but there are multiple references to her dark skin and she openly identifies as bi-racial, even if she never goes into more detail. Both points we need waaaaaaaaaaaaay more of in YA. I loved St. John as the new boyfriend because he was a perfect example of having a dark and edgy "bad boy" love interest without actually making him into an abusive guy (and a lot of the danger just comes from the reader being genre savvy - at this point most of us have read enough paranormal and horror stories to recognize when someone is acting strangely).

In addition to Rayne and the romance, the atmosphere of this book is palpably creepy. The old manor house filled with ancient trinkets, including a pair of gloves embroidered with tortured human faces and the comb Anne Boleyn wore to her execution, and the surrounding woods are described in chilling detail. If you stay up past midnight finishing this one, you might find that you won't be sleeping any time soon!

Review: Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

This book pretty much has everything I love in it: a culturally diverse cast, myths and legends (with major bonus points because they are Māori myths, which I knew nothing about prior to reading this), casual talk of feminism, passes the Bechdel test, and no creepy co-dependent/stalker-y romance. Karen Healey may be my new hero.

When her mom's cancer goes into remission, Ellie's parents go on an around-the-world vacation, leaving Ellie in a strict private boarding school. Ellie is slow to make friends, but quickly bonds with Kevin - who she develops a crush on despite his asexual identity. After Kevin convinces her to put her tae kwon do skills to work choreographing epic fights for the local college's Māori-tinged production of Midsummer Night's Dream (there I go, reading another book with Midsummer in it), she quickly starts making friends inside and out of the play: Iris the underclassman director (no senior wanted to take on a play close to exams) and Mark, a quiet day student at her boarding school who is dreamy and handsome - and seems to be able to literally hypnotize her. Kevin also makes new friends - namely the mysterious Reka, playing the fairy queen Titania, who freaks Ellie out. Probably because her pupils have a habit of disappearing.

But Ellie has a few tricks up her sleeve as well, even if she doesn't know it at first. As Mark repeatedly tries to use his mystical powers to keep Ellie safe, she finds ways to break, or at least weaken, his spells - proving that she has some latent magical ability herself. And once this latent ability is revealed, she suddenly becomes a much more inviting target for the Eyeslasher Killer - a serial killer targeting those who have connections to magic and mysticism and takes their eyes as trophies.

Ellie is skeptical of her newfound abilities, but can't deny the evidence right in front of her. And after she and Mark learn of a plot to magically inspire an epic disaster, Ellie knows she has to at least try to stop it - or die trying.

Okay, there's so much to love here that I'm going to resort to bullet points, because otherwise this post will never be finished:

• Diverse cast: Ellie is pretty much the only white, European-descendant character in the whole book. Kevin and Mark have Māori ancestry (though descriptions of them do read as more "white" than anything else), Ellie's favorite teacher is Eritrean (and has lived all around the world), Iris is Asian, and even descriptions of random people in crowd scenes are written to ensure we know that Ellie's world is incredibly diverse. No token ethnic folks here.
  
• Māori myths: I knew nothing of Māori mythology before picking up this book. An authors note at the end explains what is based on true mythology and what Healey made up or adapted for dramatic purposes, which just piques my interest more!
  
• Casual feminism: Feminism pops up all over the place here. Myths are called out as sexist for lack of female participants or blatant female subjugation. And here is something that just shocked me: a relationship is described as rape because one party wasn't fully aware of the identity of the other party. Magical person seduces human person without revealing the magical identity and Iris flat out calls that rape, since the human didn't consent to having sex with a magical person. This is the sort of conversation I never see outside of hardcore feminist arenas, so I was shocked that it just appeared in the middle of my urban fantasy YA book. Thus officially making Karen Healey my hero.
  
• Passes the Bechdel Test: Ellie does spend most of her time hanging out with dudes, but there are two important female supporting characters: Iris and Professor Garibaldi, the Eritrean teacher. Ellie has numerous conversations with them that are not about boys (and it should be noted that neither character is white!)
  
• Non-creepy romance: Well, okay, there is creepy romance in this book, but Ellie isn't part of it. When Mark starts using his magical skills on her, Ellie instantly forgets whatever conversation they had had, but because of her latent abilities she has a lingering sensation that despite how handsome and nice he seems, there's something weird about Mark, and rather than continuing to moon over him, she gets pissed until she gets some answers. The creepy relationship is between Reka and Kevin, where for once it's the woman who is the creepy stalker type and the boy who is going along with it (not that I'm condoning creepy relationships of any kind). However, everyone aside from Kevin recognizes there's something wrong and work to get to the bottom of it.
  
• One more that I forgot at the top of this post: not just heterosexuals here! As mentioned above, before Reka shows up, Kevin identifies as asexual. Which is kind of awesome, because when was the last time you saw an asexual character in any book? It's one of the ways Ellie and Iris are sure that something weird is going on with Reka, because even though they both have a crush on Kevin they recognize that he is serious about his asexual identity - they don't think it's a phase or a lie so that he could get close to hot girls. Ellie's sister off in Australia is gay, which is part of the reason she's at boarding school while her parents are away - the implication is they were worried about Ellie catching "the gay" if she stayed with her sister for a year.
  

There's only one downside here: despite the feminism, Ellie has some major body image issues going on. Did we really need to be constantly reminded that she hates her body? Any time she has to change clothes she starts going off on how much she hates the rolls of fat around her belly. Considering how physically active she is in other parts of the book, it seems unlikely that she's actually significantly overweight. It was really disappointing to see that brought up multiple times for absolutely no purpose.

Okay, I'm putting an end to my list-making here. I think I've covered all of the main awesome points. To summarize: this is an awesome fantasy book with excellent progressive elements and I highly recommend it!

Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Found via: Rachel in the comments to my review of Devil's Kiss

Holy crap this book is popular. I put it on hold at the library in mid-January and I was the 50th hold request. I only got it a week ago. So...people like this book. Angsty supernatural romance doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Luce has been sent to the Sword & Cross boarding school after a mysterious fire at her last boarding school left a boy burned to death. On her first day at her new school, Luce meets the usual sort of characters one runs across at reform schools: mildly-psychotic girls that want to be BFFs, girls that appear to be total goody two-shoes and make you wonder why they're in reform school, and, of course, darkly handsome brooding young men. Luce actually gets two of that last category: Cameron Briel and Daniel Grigori.

Cameron is charming and handsome and latches onto Luce as soon as he can. Luce likes him well enough, but the real focus of her attention is Daniel, who alternates between giving her smoldering looks across the library and flipping her off. But Luce is determined to get closer to Daniel - she feels an immediate connection to him, like they've known each other before arriving at Sword & Cross. Luce is determined to find out more about him, and recruits her new friend Penn, the lone sane-person in the school, as an accomplice, while trying to avoid the attention of Arriane (an all-around trouble maker, Luce's guide on her first day and the closest thing she has to a friend at Stone & Cross before Penn) and Mary (whose sole purpose in life appears to be making Luce miserable).

As if adjusting to a new reform school and juggling boys and friends weren't enough for poor Luce, she also seems to have hallucinations. Since she was a child she's seen apparitions of threatening shadows, but until she arrived at Sword & Cross that's all they've been: hallucinations. Now the shadows are getting a lot bolder, and might even be able to hurt her, or her new-found friends.

There is a huuuuuuuuuuge Twilight vibe throughout this book, even though Rachel described this as one of the less-Twilight-esque angel stories out there. From the creepy atmosphere (perpetually overcast Forks vs. humid and creepy southern US reform school) to the plain Jane but irresistible main girl. She's even clumsy like Bella! The prime candidate for being a not-human cute boy saves her from a lethal accident! Aside from cuteness, Luce's continued attraction to Daniel is only slightly better than Bella's to Edward; at least Luce is convinced she knows Daniel from somewhere else.

Over at Teacozy, Liz suggests that this is the sort of book where you're not supposed to think too hard about the story. Just accept that it's a rather fluffy and angsty romance and roll with it. I can see her argument on the one hand, but that doesn't quite work for me with this one. I can overlook many of the small questions, like why the hell is there such an emphasis on the black uniforms? Co-ed dorms at a reform school notorious for being strict? Easily-evaded cameras in lieu of supervision from actual adults? (Okay, I really want an answer on the black uniforms thing. It's seriously emphasized so much that I was waiting for the big reveal as a Chekhov's gun) But Luce is kind of a passive protagonist. Stuff happens to her, but she doesn't cause anything to actually happen. And after the big reveal that angels exist, Luce is treated a lot like Thomas was in The Maze Runner when he first arrived in the Glade: don't ask stupid questions (even if the audience is wondering the same thing) because we're not telling you anything until the next book.

Unfortunately, because I appear to be missing the gene that makes me love straight-up romances, I don't think I'm going to be sticking around for the next book. Unless someone promises me the black clothes are explained.

As for this whole angel trend? Unless it starts popping up in non-romance stories (like Once Dead Twice Shy, I think I'm done. I can see their appeal in some ways (Fallen is a more chaste love story than even Twilight), but they hold zero for me.

Review: A Taste for Red by Lewis Harris

Found via: A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Svetlana (formerly known as Stephanie) Grimm is a vampire. Or, that's her self-diagnosis. After moving with her family and forced to start attending Sunny Hill Middle School (after a lifetime of homeschooling), she changes her name, starts wearing all black, will only eat red foods (blood is impractical, but red foods are the color of blood, so it makes sense a modern vampire would adapt) and sleeps under her bed (a coffin would attract too much attention and wouldn't allow her to roll over in her sleep). Oh, she can also sometimes read people's thoughts - extra sensory powers are a classic symptom of vampire-ness.

Svetlana's diagnosis seems to be confirmed on the first day of school, when her science teacher, Ms. Larch, talks to Svetlana inside her head. However, when Svetlana tentatively asks for confirmation that they're both vampires, all Ms. Larch can do is laugh.

In addition to Ms. Larch's strange behavior, there's also Ms. Bones, the ancient next door neighbor, who's been spying on Svetlana. It turns out, Ms. Bones is a vampire hunter - and Svetlana is one, too. Ms. Bones is a member of a vampire (and other supernatural creatures) hunting group - but everyone else is too sick, injured, or possibly dead, to help destroy Ms. Larch. When three of Svetlana's classmates disappear, it's up to Svetlana to destroy the local vampire and save the day.

More than anything else, I loved Svetlana's dry wit and unique perspective throughout the story. For example, when at the carnival she observes:

Another booth sported a lazy-looking chicken locked inside a glass case. The chicken did math. Honestly it was the cruelest thing I'd ever seen. Why would anybody force a chicken to do math? Why was this allowed?

I feel the same way, Svetlana.

I was hoping this would end up being a little more girl-power-y than it ended up. It's set up that Svetlana and Ms. Bones are going to team up to take down Ms. Larch - but then Ms. Bones breaks her leg, leaving Svetlana to recruit two boys from her class to assist her. Svetlana does do all of the heavy lifting in rescuing her missing classmates, however - the boys think she's nuts but tag along anyway.

This isn't a reinvention of the vampire story, but it's certainly a great addition to the genre for younger readers.

Review: Once Dead Twice Shy by Kim Harrison

Found via: Meg in the comments of my review of Devil's Kiss

Because I know my mom reads my blog from time to time, let me preface what I'm about to say with a reminder that I really do in fact love her and think she's all around awesome.

But sometimes I seriously question her taste in books.

Seriously, she'll be all "oh, I read this great paranormal romance! Vampires! Werewolves! Awesome!" And I roll my eyes and say that, no, an awesome book is something like The Hunger Games and she stares at me, aghast that I could find children killing each other to be entertaining, and then I wonder if maybe I was actually adopted from a family of dystopian-fiction lovers, and that family has some mysterious paranormal-romance-loving child in my place.

So when, in the comments to my review of Devil's Kiss, Meg mentioned that my "angels are dicks" refrain reminded her of Kim Harrison's Once Dead Twice Shy...I was hesitant to pick it up. Because the author's name was familiar and once I Googled I saw that this is one of the authors my mom loves.

But then I read more about this actual book and saw that the protagonist, Madison, has purple hair, and we've already discussed my fondness for multi-colored hair. So I had to pick this one up, Mom's taste be damned.

Madison Avery's story actually began in the short story collection Prom Nights from Hell, but it seems like most of the back story is filled in here for new readers (I haven't read the original story, but I'm pretty sure I followed everything). On prom night, in order to get out of a date with Josh, who only asked Madison out as a favor to her dad, Madison runs off with Kairos, a tall dark and handsome stranger. However it turns out that the old adage of you shouldn't talk to strangers is true, because Kairos is actually a type of reaper, as in grim reaper, who was determined to kill Madison.

But Madison is a tricksy girl and manages to steal Kairos' amulet, which grants him his powers, and by claiming the amulet she's able to retain a tenuous hold on her life. Tenuous because she actually is dead - the amulet she now possesses is the only thing giving her the illusion of a body.

Madison is assigned to work with Barnabas, a light reaper, while it's decided what should be done with her. No human has ever taken an amulet before - touching it should have shattered her soul on contact. In the meantime, she hangs out with Barnabas and tries to help him in his work. As a light reaper, his job is to counteract the chaos the dark reapers, like Kairos, try to encourage. Light reapers believe humans have free choice, while dark reapers believe in fate and will preemptively reap a soul if they believe that person is going to do something terrible in the future.

Madison's a bit of a trouble maker, but she certainly doesn't have any evil plans for the future, so she has no idea why a dark reaper might target her.

It's been a few months since prom, and Madison hasn't made any progress on learning the reaper-tips that would help protect her should Kairos come looking for her - and it's certainly only a matter of time before he does. Also back in her life is Josh, who isn't so terrible despite being in cahoots with her dad for a date. But being involved with a dead girl isn't the safest position, so Madison finds herself using all of her wits and burgeoning supernatural abilities, plus a feisty guardian angel sidekick, to keep herself and Josh safe until someone "upstairs" is finally willing to explain to her what this new existence means.

Unlike Meg, I didn't come away from this with a huge "angels are dicks" feeling - there actually are some different personalities here and while some are dickish, others are just as confused as poor Madison.

Madison herself I'm kind of torn on. Overall I like her as a character, but I think Harrison was trying too hard to be witty with her teenspeak, because she'll say things like "son of a dead puppy" or "puppy presents" instead of actually cursing (I swear all of her phrases didn't involve canines, but those are the two that stuck in my mind). It's just a little too cutesy for my taste.

On the other hand, kudos for this clearly not being a paranormal romance title. The burgeoning romance with Josh is clearly secondary here, though it's also pretty clear that future stories in the series are going to build up that relationship. Madison has much bigger things to worry about than boys, so while she spends a lot of time with Josh, most of her thoughts are "how can I keep him safe?" rather than "how well does he kiss?"

Also, I totally love Grace, the guardian angel, and Nakita, a badass dark reaper that Madison tangles with. Through her supernatural characters, Harrison weaves in some very interesting musings on what it is to be human. Aside from the usual commentary on free will that angels often blather on about, there was also fear, which totally caught me off guard in a very fun way.

Cover thoughts:

I wanted to give HarperCollins some recognition here for not lopping off Madison's head here. The headless girl cover is almost as irritating as whitewashed covers. Madison's purple hair isn't present, but at least the monochromatic cover is tinged with purple. Very goth and cool.

On a final note: I told my mom I had read this book. She told me she had beaten me to it - but hadn't mentioned it to me because she figured that would turn me off completely! Sometimes we think way too much alike. Maybe I really am related to her after all.

Review: Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda

Found via: BBYA 2010 nominations

My friend Rachel once predicted in a conversation that once vampires ran their course as the supernatural creatures of note, they would be followed by werewolves and finally angels. Personally, I haven't seen any surge in werewolves, but over the past year or so, the TV show Supernatural has been overrun by angels, there's a movie coming out later this month, and Devil's Kiss is at least the second YA book to prominently feature angels.

Billi is a modern member of the ancient order of the Knights Templar. While popular mythology says the order was wiped out after the Crusades, in truth they have survived, turning their focus from protecting Christianity to protecting humankind from a variety of supernatural terrors, including werewolves, vampires, and rogue angels. Today the Knights are composed of 9 members, including young Billi, who was recruited by her father.

As the Templars make more and more demands on Billi's time, interfering with her schoolwork and her sleep, she finds herself wanting to rebel. She never asked for this life, after all - it was thrust upon her by her cold and ruthless father. So when a chance encounter introduces her to Mike, a mysterious boy who seems to understand Billi better than anyone else, she's tempted to reorganize her priorities. Of course she wants to save the children, but does that mean she's not allowed to have any sort of social life?

Shortly after being officially initiated into the order, a strange variety of illnesses begin affecting the children of London. Parents are terrified, bringing ill children into the hospitals, but the doctors can't find a cause for the various symptoms, and before long the children die. Billi and her friend Kay, an Oracle with psychic powers who works with the Knights, discover that the deaths are connected by supernatural means. These deaths aren't random, but rather are the Tenth Plague: the death of the firstborn, as was done in Egypt in the time of Moses. The return of the Tenth Plague can mean only one thing: the Angel of Death has returned to Earth, and only the Knights Templar, including Billi, have any chance of stopping him.

With all due respect to Rachel, I don't know if angels are ever going to be able to get the foothold into popular culture that vampires have. The angel narrative seems rather one note: angels are far from cute and cuddly; they're actually kind of dicks. I don't know how long that's going to be able to hold its appeal. I for one have mostly stopped watching Supernatural and their angels vs. demons storyline, partly because I prefer the monster hunting story lines and partly because the angels are all jerks and that's not the most interesting attempt at character development.

I also don't know how I feel about Billi being the token female member of the Knights Templar. On the one hand, woo hoo girl power, teenage girl proving she can kick ass just as the men do. On the other hand, we know from real life that a woman stepping into a role traditionally held by men faces all sorts of backlash. I'm sure Billi would be protected from some because her father is the leader of the Templars and apparently the only thing the Devil fears, but the only backlash Billi seems to face is due mostly to her age, followed by her apparent lack of commitment to the Templars, and then finally her sex.

I did, however, enjoy Billi as a character and found her multi-faceted. What I thought was particularly interesting is she's a bi-racial character in a story that isn't about racial identity - it's mentioned several times that her mother is Pakistani and in fact Billi is short for her Muslim name, Bilqis. Just as I want there to be more gay characters in stories that aren't about being gay, characters of color should be present in a variety of stories that aren't just about their racial or cultural identity.

I also enjoyed how much the London setting was woven into the story - Chadda is obviously a London resident, as the British setting and slang is a fully realized part of the story. Too often stories that are set in places other than the US feel like the setting is simply slapped on top of the story - definitely not the case here!

Review: Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Found via: BBYA 2010 nominations

Hope everyone's been having a happy holiday season so far! Christmas week was off to a rough start for me last week, knocking me off my feet with a cold that left me too tired to read. That's just cruel, right?

But I'm back on my feet, and I have a light week at work, so reviews are back!

Lia and Alice Milthorpe's family has been touched by tragedy far too often. Their mother died of mysterious circumstances years ago and as the novel opens the girls and their little brother are burying their father. Lia's anxiety is hightened by the small symbol that has appeared on her wrist since her father's death, and the bizarre book containing a dangerous-sounding prophecy that the boy she likes found in her father's library.

Intrigued by the prophecy and trying to understand what it means, Lia discovers that the prophecy that speaks of two sisters, one who shall be the guardian of Earth and the other who is the gate that shall let the devil back onto earth, is actually about her and Alice, and they are merely the latest in a long line of twins (including their mother and the aunt who now serves as their guardian) to be bound to the prophecy.

Terrified of her place in the prophecy, and the ends her sister will go to in order to ensure the prophecy comes true, Lia sets out to learn all she can, and hopefully put an end to the prophecy once and for all.

Zink has created a very moody atmosphere for her story, which works great as a background. Unfortunately, the characters didn't grab and hold me - Alice feels far too two-dimensional and Lia, our narrator, is only a bit more interesting. While Lia has an epic task in front of her, far too many pieces seem to fall into place easily for her, hampering any real feeling of drama.

This is the first book in a trilogy (because what fantasy stories don't come as trilogies these days?), but I think this may be one trilogy that I'm going to sit out.

Review: Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill

Oh, man, this was a fun book.

I love gripping adventure stories, protagonists in peril and deep character dramas, but while all of those are often gripping and intriguing, they can rarely be described as "fun" (example: I love The Hunger Games and Catching Fire more than is probably healthy, but I am EXHAUSTED by the time I'm finished reading them because of the emotional ups and downs throughout. Entertaining and satisfying describe both books, but "fun"? Not unless you're Machiavelli).

Soul Enchilada, however, is fun, despite the literal life-or-death circumstances Bug finds herself in when she finds out her grandfather put her soul and beloved car up for collateral in a literal deal with the devil.

Bug hasn't had an easy life - her mother died in a house fire when she was young and she and her grandfather have bounced from one crappy apartment to another. But Bug doesn't wallow in self pity - instead these hardships have given her an admirable backbone and a bit of an attitude. That attitude gets her into lots of trouble throughout the book, but it's also the source of her strength and what keeps her determined to stay one step ahead of Lucifer and Beelzebub - the Devil's repo man.

There's a wide variety of supporting characters, each more colorful and entertaining than the last. I loved Bug's strength - and also loved that she wasn't the only female character with spunk in the book. Strong female characters can exist in a vacuum - they are the soul woman who can stand among men. But Bug not only has Pesto, an easy on the eyes demon hunter, in her court, but Pesto's (good) witch of a mother plus the mysterious E. Figg, the only attorney not on the devil's payroll on her side. Both women play small but influential parts in Bug's story - it's safe to say that Bug probably wouldn't have had a snowball's chance against Mr. Beals and Lucifer without their help.

On a side note, I also loved the cameo appearances of my college friends in twenty years: the middle aged guys that work with Pesto whom we first meet during an epic Halo battle that involved tea bagging. I know several guys who could turn out like that (minus the demon-hunting; outside of D&D, anyway).