Review - The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Bantam
Date: April 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-0345531704
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Sweetest Dark series
Source: eGalley through NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got a copy of this book to review through Netgalley(dot)com. Thanks to Bantam and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book. Previously I had read the first two books in Abe’s Drakon series (which is an adult series) and enjoyed them. This was a beautifully written and sweet story about a girl with a mysterious past, it is entwined with the events of World War I as well. The second book in this series, The Darkest Night, is due for a June 2013 release.

Lora has had a rough childhood, first orphaned and raised at a horrible orphange and then sent to a madhouse for the voices she hears, her summons to a remote boarding school is a blessing. When Lora arrives at Iverson, she is happy to have a warm place to sleep and food to eat. Of course the other girls hate her, but she can cope with that. What complicates things is the boy Jesse, who makes the voices sing louder and the darkly brooding Armand who for some reason has his sights set on Lora.

This is a very beautifully written book about a teenage girl who finds out she is one of the Drakon; as such she can turn into smoke or a Dragon. The whole book takes place during World War I. So Lora's time at the boarding school is woven with stories of war. This was a quick and easy read, with some beautiful imagery.

Lora is one of those characters who has gone through a lot but still seems to have a sort of tough grace about her. She seems delicate and almost lyrical in her actions, but has a core of steel when she has to. She is caring, and a survivor and makes the other more well-to-do girls around her look like young children.

Jesse and Armand are both fascinating characters as well. They both have a lot of depth and are mysterious. This isn’t really a love triangle since Lora is steadfast in her love of one boy.

There is a lot of romance in this book and not a lot of depth. It is a sweet and beautiful read, but nothing earthshattering. I did enjoy how the history of World War I in Britain was woven throughout the story. Lora’s world is apart from the War but still largely influenced by it at points. That was probably the most creative aspect of this book; including well-researched wartime scenes in with this paranormal love story.

If there are any adults reading this book who have read the Drakon series they will enjoy the letters from Rue. Rue was the heroine of the first Drakon book, The Smoke Thief.

Overall a sweet and beautiful read full of wonderful imagery. This isn’t a complex book, it’s more just a light fun read. It’s very beautiful and I enjoyed the World War I scenes and influence that were woven together with Lora’s story. The story was well paced and the characters easy to engage with. I am looking forward to reading the next book, The Darkest Night. I recommend this to those who love historical fantasies with a lot of romance and a bit of history in them. It really is a beautifully written book.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Debut Author Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - The Drowned Cities (Ship Breaker, Book 2) by Paolo Bacgalupi (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Post Apocalyptic
Size: 448 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0316056243
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Ship Breaker series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is the sequel to Ship Breaker, it’s set in the same world as Ship Breaker but with different main characters. I didn’t like this book quite as much as Ship Breaker...it was just too bleak and I had trouble engaging with the characters.

Mahlia and Mouse have fled the war torn Drowned Cities and live in a small town in the outskirts of a jungle. Mahlia works in the town helping the doctor there and does well, despite her lack of a hand. Mahlia dreams of a day when she will be able to escape these outskirts of the Drowned Cities and head North. When a dog man draws soldiers near their small town their lives change forever.

This book is set in an extremely bleak post-apocalyptic setting on the East Coast of the US. There are little hints throughout that eventually let the reader figure out what portion of the US this book is set in.

The is an incredibly violent and incredibly depressing read. So if you are offended by graphic torture and violence I recommend steering clear. It is even more violent and depressing than Ship Beaker was.

That being said it does a pretty darn good job of portraying the suffering of people living within a long and constant war. As to whether or not this is appropriate for young adults...I think it is okay but beware that the graphic violence in this book makes The Hunger Games look like a Disney Fairy Tale.

I had trouble relating to any of the characters. None of them are good and all of them make a large series of poor decisions. They are very human, but I mostly despised them. All of them kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. Mahlia comes off as incredibly selfish throughout. Mouse and others are incredibly naive despite their violent upbringing.

The most intriguing of the bunch is Tool, the dog-faced man. Tool is complex and simple at the same time; he is a tool of war yet he follows simple philosophies that make a surprising amount of sense. He was pretty much the only part of this book I found intriguing and enjoyable.

The world-building is absolutely fantastic. If you have read The Windup Girl or Ship Breaker, you know that this world is absolutely incredibly creative. The number one strength of this book is this fantastic, dreary world that Bacigalupi has created. The book is fast-paced and fairly engaging.

Overall this is a decent story. I just had trouble maintaining a lot of interest in these brutalized characters and I found the level of violence and bleak outlook depressing. Bacigalupi always has to take things just a bit too far for me, and it takes away a lot of the enjoyment of reading the story for me. I guess I would tentatively recommend to those who are interested in absolutely brutal post-apocalyptic reads of war torn lands.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: May 15, 2012
ISBN: 978-1423152194
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars


This was an absolutely wonderful book that gives an interesting viewpoint of World War II in a way that is engaging and absolutely engrossing.

The first part of the book is written as a confession/journal from a girl named Queenie’s point of view. She is being held hostage by Nazis as a British spy. As part of her “confession” she is relating the tale of her friendship with a female British pilot named Maddie.

The second part of the book is written as a journal from Maddie’s POV. I won’t say much more about that because it would spoil the story.

Both characters have very distinct voices. Queenie laughs in the face of danger and has an excellent sense of humor even in the face of torture. Maddie is more tentative but no less fierce.

I really enjoyed both perspectives. Queenie is fearless and can’t resist having a sense of humor about the strangest things. She occasionally plays pranks on the Nazis even knowing that they will punish her for it...just because she needs a good laugh. Despite the absolutely bleak setting of her story, she makes you laugh and as a reader I completely admired her.

Maddie is more timid. She admits to breaking into tears every time she hears gunfire, she admits to being terrified and at times hiding...but she is no less fierce. Despite her fears, she does what she has to. She is incredibly loyal and absolutely resolute. Her section of the book wasn’t as...dare I say given the subject matter...funny but it was still incredibly engaging.

You can tell Wein did a lot of research to write this book. It is a very interesting accounting of the roles of both female spies and female pilots in World War II. There are a lot of interesting facts in here and Wein states what is true and what is fiction in the Afterward. I really enjoyed learning about this aspect of World War II through the eyes of these two wonderful friends.

This book is also about friendship. It’s about how two women with completely different personalities can be best friends, about the loyalty of friendship, and the sacrifices that sometimes have to be made if you love your friend enough. It’s also about women first stepping into careers dominated by men and being darn good at what they do.

This book was impossible to put down. It had me laughing out loud at points. It also had me in tears at points, there are parts of the story that are absolutely heartbreaking... The story is uplifting in some ways, but I have yet to read a book about the Nazis that ends in a truly happy way. Honestly just thinking about what the women in this book go through upsets me even still.

So while not a comfortable read, it definitely makes an impact. It is targeted toward young adult audience. This is about war though; there is torture and there are horrible things described in this book. So just a warning to those who are sensitive to those things...but should you let that stop you from reading this book...absolutely not. These things really happened in Nazi occupied France and people should read about them.

Overall an absolutely wonderful read. I enjoyed that this book gives a different look at the history behind World War II. I loved learning more about women spies and pilots of that era. The two women who feature in this book are absolutely stunning and engaging to read about. I could not put this book down. Seriously everyone needs to read this. If you are particularly interested in World War II, another great book about the Nazis and how they affected the general non-Jewish German population is The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - Cascade (River of Time, Book 2) by Lisa T. Bergren (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook
Release Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1434764317
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the River of Time series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the second book in the River of Time Trilogy, the third book is Torrent. I didn’t like this book quite as much as Waterfall. It was still a very engaging book and made for a wonderful historical fantasy.

Gabi and Lia are back in modern times and trying to explain to their mother about the time portal and what happened. Gabi finally convinces Lia and her mother to return to 14th century Italy via the time portal. When they get there they find that weeks, not hours, have passed. Marcello is still waiting for Lia and Lia and Gabi are celebrated as heroes. The battle still rages between Florence and Siena. Gabi has a difficult question to answer, will she stay in the past and follow her heart by being with Marcello even if it means living a war torn life.

This story started a bit slow. Once they return to Siena there is a lot of lovey dovey going on between Gabi and Marcello. Marcello wants to keep Gabi safe and loves her. Gabi loves Marcello but doesn’t want to be stifled by him. They both love each other and adore each other and we hear about it constantly for quite awhile. I don’t mind the romance, it is sweet, but there was just too much gazing and longing in the first part.

After that things really pick up and the second part of the book is filled with intrigue, battles, and lots of action. This was an excellent part of the book.

You have to love the characters in this series; they are noble and good, but also have good senses of humor. I love the historical setting and enjoyed the beautiful style of writing. The book is so easy to read and moves quickly.

There is another thing about the story that bothered me. At one point the characters are exposed to the black plague and one of them actually catches it. The story makes a huge deal about this, the characters isolate themselves so as not to spread the plague etc. As the story continues and war ensues, this is brushed aside. We see the character in question later fully healed, but we don’t know how they healed. We also don’t learn if any of the other people in the party got the plague. The whole thing, which is so important for a large portion of the story, is just brushed aside with minimal resolution.

The book ends with another kind of cliffhanger. I am eager to see how all of this resolves in the third, and final, book Torrent.

Overall a good continuation of this series. Gabi and Marcello’s need to constantly profess their love bothered me in the beginning of the story and the topic of the black plague been brought up and then dropped was another issue for me. The writing style was very beautiful, the characters are engaging and have a good sense of humor, the setting is fascinating, and the action scenes are very well done. I definitely recommend this series to fans of historical fantasy with a large dash of romance.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Review - Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Size: 288 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 3, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0316129282
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

I loved King’s The Dust of 100 Dogs and was excited to read this newest book. This is one of those books that combines a lot of interesting topics into a book that is impossible to put down; it will make you think, make you cry, and make you laugh. It was awesome!

Lucky Linderman has issues and they are mostly caused by the people surrounding him. His father never got over his grandfather never returning from the Vietnam war and his mother is trying to pretend everything is fine; both neglect parenting to escape the realities of their lives (his father through cooking, his mother through swimming). Lucky also never asked to be continual beat up and abused by the school bully Nader. His one source of escape are his too real dreams where he and his grandfather survive in the war ridden jungles of Laos.

This was a crazy, very funny and heartfelt book. I read the whole thing in one night, it was impossible to put down. It really discussed a breadth of topics; suicide, bullying, bad parenting, life in general, feminism, prescription drug abuse, infidelity, and POWs. It did this all in a way that made you laugh at one point and fight tears the next. It also had little crazy unexplained goings on as well.

This is one of those books that makes you really think as a parent and as a kid. Lucky is severely bullied; his parents aren’t bad people they just aren’t all that present at times. His dad tells him to ignore the kid and the bullying will stop, but this technique hasn’t worked for years. His mother tries to do what his dad wants and has no backbone of her own. Lucky finds himself in a position where he has to figure out how to deal with this all.

When the bullying goes to far Lucky’s mom takes him for a “vacation” with her crazy brother and his even crazier wife. Lucky meets some feminist ninjas, Lucky learns to life weights, and Lucky learns to understand the people around him better.

There is a little magic in here as well. When Lucky visits his grandfather in his dreams in the jungle he not only gets to talk out his issues, but things there are a bit too real. Lucky wakes up in the morning with real injuries and with real tokens of history. It’s a bit ambiguous but incredibly interesting too.

Seriously this book had me laughing my butt off one moment and had me nearly in tears the next. It sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down. It is crazy and unpredictable but absolutely engrossing. I am beginning to learn to not have any expectations regarding King’s writing outside of the fact that it will be awesome and absolutely unpredictable.

Overall this was an absolutely stellar book. Everyone should read it. Kids should read and learn both how bullying affects people and how to combat against it. Adults should read it so they remember how important they are to the kids in their lives. There is something in here for everyone...and it is truly entertaining. Highly recommended for everyone.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge