Category Archives: Review

Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

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I have had For Darkness Shows the Stars sitting on my shelf since summer, because as soon as I hear the magic words “sci-fi Jane Austen retelling,” I am SOLD. (Not that I hear those words often, which is sad). But life and procrastination and over-commitment being what they are, I didn’t actually read it until over Thanksgiving. All the while being berated by friends who had red it and liked to yell at me, “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?” And it was getting ridiculous, so I read it.

The Plot (from Goodreads)

It’s been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot’s estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth–an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret–one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she’s lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

My Thoughts

You know what Jane Austen does really, really well? Break my heart. She has this knack for making her characters suffer and suffer and suffer — all internally, where no one else can notice — and then, when you are pretty much ready to throw the book, she turns things around. In a way that is beautiful and immensely pleasing and redeems all the prior suffering.

This is what Diana Peterfreund does extremely well in For Darkness Shows the Stars. The childhood letters between Elliot and Kai, spanning all the years of their friendship, are an excellent illustration of what sort of relationship they had, and why Elliot is so heartbroken when he comes back cold and distant. I loved the character development, and Elliot’s struggle between loyalty to her family, her people, Kai, and the people under her care. All of the many ways she is pulled make sense, and there’s no obvious answer to what she should do. And of course, there’s the Austen-esque dilemmas of characters who are constantly trying to do what they think is best for another person, and of propriety and decorum keeping people from speaking their minds. Even though For Darkness Shows the Stars takes place in the future instead of Victorian times, the way the world is constructed makes the Austenian society work.

I also liked the premise of the world, and the back story of what happened with the Luddites and the Reduction. It was fascinating, and I actually wish the details had been more fully explored. All we ever got was a broad overview of what happened, and while it didn’t leave me with any confusion, I still had questions.

The only thing I had a problem with — which unfortunately kind of tainted my overall feelings of the book — is that Kai does something that Elliot has a huge ethical problem with. It’s a major conflict in the book, and there are extremely legitimate reasons why she SHOULD have a problem with what he did. And yet, by the end of the book, it’s like she’s decided this major thing — the thing that kept them apart four years ago, the thing that’s kept her from being able to trust him when he comes back — that thing suddenly is a non-issue. And it really shouldn’t be. I wish it had been addressed. Even a look into Elliot’s head at WHY this thing no longer mattered to her would have been helpful. As it was, I felt like a huge part of her character and the plot was left kind of unresolved, and that bothered me.

Did I still love the slow, torturous romance between Elliot and Kai? Absolutely. Did I cry reading Kai’s final letter? Buckets. The emotions were handled masterfully in this book, and again, the characters are wonderful. It’s just that pesky logic thing that kept me from absolutely LOVING this book. As it stands, I really, really enjoyed it.

Content guide: Contains mentions of physical and sexual abuse

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

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Review copy received from Scholastic

I have never read a purely werewolf book before. Werewolves as part of other stories, sure. But never a book that was only about werewolves. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it, but I’ve heard good things about Shiver and I knew I liked Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style from reading The Raven Boys. And then Scholastic was awesome enough to send me the entire trilogy to review, so while I was on vacation last week, I plunged into the first book.

The Plot (from Goodreads)

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf–her wolf–is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human–or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

My Thoughts

My impression on this first book was kind of a mixed bag. On the positive side, I still really like Maggie Stiefvater’s writing. She has a great way of pulling a reader into the story and describing things in ways that are almost tangible. Of course, a huge part of Shiver revolves around the highly unpleasant sensation of being cold, which I hate, so sometimes I kind of wish her writing had been a little less visceral…but that’s what I get for reading a book called Shiver. That’s really much more my problem than the book’s.

I liked Grace and Sam (Sam probably a bit more than Grace), and while the book alternated their first-person points-of-view, I never found their rotating voices confusing. Each had their own distinctive ways of thinking and reacting (Do emo rockers really make up spontaneous song lyrics all the time? Is that a thing?) and I actually found it a bit refreshing to not stay with the same character the whole way through the story. I think either of them on their own for the entire book would have been a bit much, as both of them are preeeetty intense and kind of obsessive. So switching was good.

I also liked the way the werewolf mythology was handled. It was an interesting take on the archetype, presented very straightforwardly without a lot of bells and whistles. The characters even say on several occasions that the transformation from human to wolf is scientific, not magical (although it never really does explore this supposed “science,” which kind of takes away from that argument). But I like that the origin story of the wolves was not the focus. They simply were werewolves, which they dealt with, then moved on.

Now the parts I wasn’t so sold on. First, Grace’s obsession with the wolves is creeeeepy. Seriously, the girl really should have been in therapy for most of her life. She had a crush on a wolf. A wolf she had no idea was human for several months out of the year. So basically, she has a romantic attraction to an animal and this is somehow okay because we know he’s a wolf. But she doesn’t.

Sam does the same thing. At one point, another character asks them how long they’ve been going out, and he answers “six years.” Grace muses, “Of course he would count the time that we’d been two entirely different species.” (p.282)

WHY ‘OF COURSE’? WHY WOULD YOU COUNT THE TIME WHEN YOU WERE DIFFERENT SPECIES AS ‘GOING OUT’? WHY IS THIS NOT EXTREMELY CREEPY?

And this leads to my other issue with the book, which is because they both are apparently under the impression that they were carrying on some sort of romantic relationship while Sam was a wolf — and Grace had no idea he could turn into a human — they plunge right into a super-serious relationship the second he turns human. Even though their entire scope of interaction until that point has been staring at each other across her backyard. WHILE HE WAS A WOLF. This is now something on which to base a deep, borderline-obsessive relationship, apparently. It seemed very instalovey to me, and I know it’s not supposed to because of the aforementioned wolfy staring, but I just can’t count that as the basis for any sort of healthy human relationship.

So. Obviously that bothered me. And their obsession with each other really was a significant portion of the book, which means a significant portion of the book bothered me.

However. I will read the rest of the series, and not just out of obligation. See, I’m pretty sure that I’ll only ever have to experience Grace and Sam “falling in love” (while he is a four-legged furry animal) in this first book. Hopefully subsequent books focus on other parts of the story, like the interesting secondary characters, and the aftermath of the end of this book (which is a pretty solid ending), and the other werewolves. And those are all things I’m interested in reading about.

Content guide: Contains violence and teen sexual activity

Review: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (@RutaSepetys)

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For months, people have been telling me how much I needed to read Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. And for months, I’ve been intending to read it, but putting it off. Then I discovered Ruta is another Nashville author, and I met her at a couple different book events. If you ever have a chance to meet her, she is just a fabulous individual. After meeting her, I went ahead and bought the book, since now I had many recommendations plus I knew I liked the author herself, but it still took me a little while to get around to reading it. And after devouring it, I can not only understand why so many people have recommended this book to me, but also add my voice to the throng of people insisting that others read it.

The Plot (from Goodreads)

It’s 1941 and fifteen-year-old artist Lina Vilkas is on Stalin’s extermination list. Deported to a prison camp in Siberia, Lina fights for her life, fearless, risking everything to save her family. It’s a long and harrowing journey and it is only their incredible strength, love, and hope that pull Lina and her family through each day. But will love be enough to keep them alive?

My Thoughts

Okay, first of all, I didn’t even know the Baltic deportations happened. And after reading the author’s note that follows the story, a lot of people don’t know it happened. But it did. Many of the events in this book are based on things that actually happened. So I’m glad I read this book not only for the beautiful writing and the moving story, but also because it opened my eyes to an extremely dark period in human history that has been largely ignored by the rest of the world.

As for the story itself, it is heartbreaking, but also encouraging. Lina and her little brother are forced to grow up fast in the labor camps, and their strength is inspiring. Probably one of my absolute favorite characters was their mother, and I found myself aching with what she must have gone through in order to try to make life bearable for her children. I also found the array of characters extremely interesting. Not all the prisoners are inspiring — one, in particular, drove me crazy every time he opened his mouth — and not all the guards are despicable. I always find it fascinating when stories will explore why good people may be pushed to do terrible things, and while this one doesn’t dive too deeply into that subject — since its narrator is a 15-year-old deportee — it touched on it in a thought-provoking way.

The events are extremely difficult to read about. From the moment the Vilkas family is pulled from their home, nothing that happens to them is easy or pleasant. Many of the things that happen are shocking and terrible, and all the more horrifying to know that humans once found this sort of treatment acceptable. Good and admirable characters wither and die, while abominable characters thrive. Much like reading about the Holocaust, reading about the Baltic deportations is not a pleasant experience.

At the same time, the writing is lovely. Ruta tells the story using sparse and simple prose that cut straight to the emotional core of what is happening. It took no time at all for me to be completely immersed in the story, and while the events it depicted were appalling, the way they were presented was beautiful. It made the small moments of love and kindness in the midst of an incredibly bleak time shine through that much more.

I think Between Shades of Gray is already on many school reading lists, as it should be. It’s both educational and moving, a fantastic example of both fine writing and important storytelling. I loved it even as it broke my heart again and again, and I’d recommend this book to anyone.

Content Guide: Contains terrible mistreatment of prisoners including starvation, verbal abuse, sexual exploitation, humiliation, and deprivation; disturbing deaths

Film Review: Breaking Dawn – Part 2

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Why yes, I did go see a Twilight Lexicon early screening of Breaking Dawn – Part 2. What about it?

So, much like with the books, I have a love-hate relationship with the movies. I honestly think I watch them with a different part of my brain than the part I use for all other movie viewing. Do I see the bad acting, low-budget effects, terrible hair and makeup, and giant oozing portions of cheese? Yes. Does it bother me? Weirdly, no.

Kind of like with the books. I see the poor writing and the absurd relationships and the infuriating characters, and they somehow don’t really bother me. It’s weird and I don’t understand it. Once again, I feel the need to compare Twilight to Twinkies. Nothing really good or substantial about it, and yet it’s tasty.

And also, I think they will both survive the zombie apocalypse.

So if you, like me, also enjoy the books and the movies while remaining totally cognizant of the fact that they are far from literary or cinematic gold, this review is for you.

As I did not marathon the other movies before watching this one, I can’t objectively say how I thought it stacked up to the others. I’m always left with the impression that each one improves on the last, but that may be just because it’s the one I saw most recently. All the typical Twilight movie complaints were still there. Robert Pattinson still makes a weirdly constipated Edward (which is something I still don’t understand, because I’ve seen him in other movies and he can act. It’s just like he has decided that Edward should be constipated. Maybe it’s something about the whole hard-as-granite thing). Kristen Stewart is still an almost painfully awkward Bella. And the combo of constipated+awkward still makes me kind of uncomfortable when they’re getting all hot-and-heavy with each other (which definitely happens at least once in the movie).

The effects were still meh (although the wolves have gotten better), and the hair and makeup people have still not figured out what to do with all the dark brunettes masquerading as blondes (ain’t no way Peter Facinelli, Jackson Rathbone, and Nikki Reed are believable as blondes. It takes away from buying them as the prettiest people ever when their hair is all dark-rooty and awkward. Sorry.) Also, it’s unfortunate that although the movie is pretty much entirely about pale-skinned vampires, they still weren’t able to make the pale skin attractive. Still just looks like caked-on white pancake makeup. Oh, and CGI-Renesmee was creepy. I know she was supposed to be cute, but no. Creepy.

But again, these are things I expect with Twilight movies. I noticed they were there, shrugged, and moved on.

So now on to what I liked.

I actually liked Taylor Lautner as Jacob a lot more in this movie than in others, probably because he wasn’t nearly so angsty (this is the beauty of splitting Breaking Dawn into two movies — all the angsty Jacob parts are in the first half). Billy Burke as Charlie has been a highlight of every movie to me, and this one is no exception. And while I still think most of the Cullens were miscast, I liked them anyway. It helped that my theater was very enthusiastic and cheered any time a Cullen was on screen. It’s hard to be cynical when everyone around you is beside themselves with glee.

I haven’t read the book in several years, but from what I remember, the movie followed the book pretty closely. Yes, some secondary characters were shoved to the background (although I think they all at least made an appearance). Yes, some very looooong sequences are shortened to just a couple scenes. But overall, it worked. Most of the best lines went to Charlie (as always) and Jacob (not as always — it was nice to see Jacob actually be funny and not all broody).

There is one major, major change…but there’s also not. You may have heard there was a big stink that the ending was changed from the book, and Stephenie Meyer was okay with it. Well, I’m guessing the reason she was okay with it is because it’s actually not changed from the book. Except that it is. Totally. But it’s not.

For the record, I loved the change-that-really-wasn’t-a-change. Best part of the movie, by far. It was exciting and awesome. It’s actually what I would like to talk about the most right now, but I’m not going to, because if you haven’t seen the movie yet, you’ll want to punch me for spoiling it. So I’m not gonna.

In a nutshell, it still had (many) flaws, but I still enjoyed it. Even though I still really don’t like Bella. Even though I’ve never, ever understood the appeal of Edward. Even though, basically, the moral of the Twilight universe is “massive age gaps in romantic relationships don’t actually matter so long as you look good together.” Even though when I compare it to other movies I did and didn’t like, I’m not actually sure why I liked it. Objectively, I shouldn’t like them. I really shouldn’t. And yet I do.

This is not the movie that’s going to convince Twi-haters to become Twi-hards. And really, nothing will. There are a million legitimate reasons to hate Twilight, and even though they are way less prevalent in this movie and there are a lot more enjoyable elements, you will probably still not see the merits of the franchise. But if you, like me, see those reasons as legitimate, yet have decided to like it anyway, I think you’ll like Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Embrace the cheese. Love it. Cheer it. It’s fun that way.

Oh, also, the thing they do with the credits? Yes. YES. All movie series should end that way. I would like to retroactively add that kind of ending to Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Pretty please?

Grade: B+ (qualified with all of the above caveats)

Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sensuality and partial nudity

Review: Origin by Jessica Khoury (@jkbibliophile @PenguinTeen)

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I was super excited when I won a contest hosted on Jessica Khoury’s blog to win an advance copy of her debut novel, Origin. Unfortunately, I was a dork and wasn’t able to actually read it before it was released, but I finally managed to squeeze it in over the weekend, and I’m glad I did!

The Plot (from Goodreads)

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home–and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin–a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

My Thoughts

Origin was a refreshingly new take on the YA immortality archetype. For one thing, the girl was the immortal one (for some reason, it always feels like it’s the other way around). And for another, there was nothing supernatural about it (unless you consider the flower that is the basis of the immortality compound to be supernatural…which I don’t). It’s all science. Although the book doesn’t have a big sci-fi feel; it feels more like a mystery/adventure/romance.

Pia was a great protagonist. The immortality and her extremely sheltered childhood, in addition to her super-fast reflexes and superhuman stamina, could have made her hard to relate to, but her emotions felt real and tangible. I really understood her inner struggle between wanting to stay in the scientific environment in which she was raised and wanting to run into the unknown of the jungle with Eio. Her relationship with Eio is a bit insta-lovey, and I wasn’t sure if I’d go for it, but given her cloistered upbringing, I think it was actually realistic. She’s never been around another kid her age before, much less an attractive boy who’s showing her all manner of new things. Of course she falls hard and fast.

As for the other characters, I liked how varied they were, and that there was no “evil for the sake of evil” bad guy. Even the villains had motivations that they felt were noble, and I found that fascinating. Yes, they do some things that I found terrible, but they thought they were doing the right thing. Stories are always more interesting when that happens. And I loved the “good” characters, particularly Harriet and Antonio. They were both heavily flawed and made some huge mistakes, but I really enjoyed how they were developed.

From about the middle of the book on, I couldn’t put it down. The pacing was great and kept me riveted all the way through to the end (which, by the way, is the end for real, as Origin is a standalone novel). And while I’ve read enough sci-fi in my life to have been able to predict the twists at the end, I still really enjoyed watching them unfold. The jungle setting was a great change of pace (I don’t think I’ve read a book set in the rainforest since Michael Crichton’s Congo, which I read in the early ’90s), and her descriptions of the plants and wildlife were lush and vivid.

The only complaint I have about the book is that the beginning was a little slow. While I was engrossed from the middle on, I wasn’t totally into it from the beginning. I was interested, and I found it enjoyable, but it wasn’t really a can’t-stop-reading book for the first several chapters.

But overall, I think Origin is an exciting, original book with great characters and a fabulous setting. The engaging plot kept me intrigued right up through the breathtaking, bittersweet ending. I’d recommend you check it out!

Content guide: Contains a couple instances of mild language, disturbing animal experimentation, some violence.