Category Archives: Young Adult

Review: Suffocate by S.R. Johannes (@srjohannes)

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I won a digital copy of Suffocate, Book 1 in The Breathless Novelette series by S.R. Johannes, in a giveaway (fancy that, me winning a giveaway)! I read it one lazy Sunday afternoon when I wanted something quick and exciting to occupy my brain. I hadn’t ventured much into the world of novelettes prior to this, but this one sounded like a lot of fun.

Since I’m bad at writing summaries that are short, and since this is a review of a novelette and I don’t want my review to be longer than the book itself, I’m copying the blurb from Goodreads:

The Plot

“For centuries, the world outside the Biome has been unlivable. Today, marks the first time anyone will attempt to leave the suffocating ecosphere. Eria is not worried because her scientist father has successfully tested the new Bio-Suit many times. It’s a celebratory day until something goes horribly wrong. In the midst of tragedy, Eria uncovers a deep conspiracy in her perfect bubble. If those responsible find out what she knows, they won’t stop hunting her until she takes her last breath.”

My Thoughts

If novels are like a television series or mini-series, a novelette is like a single episode. Suffocate didn’t waste any time in getting to the heart of the story: a terrible accident, and Eria’s frantic search to discover what went wrong, accompanied by her father’s intern, Ash. As they search through the mysterious innards of the Biome for the truth, they are pursued by mysterious baddies, and lots of crazy sci-fi discoveries are made amidst nonstop action. There’s even a brief moment of romance squeezed in. And then it winds up with a great twist ending that I kind of suspected (but not really).

This book was fun, fast and furious. I liked reading about the world of the Biome, and even though the book is short, the world-building was decent and the pacing was good. I never felt like I was being rushed or that the story was being crammed into a too-small space; this is just one of those stories that didn’t need 100,000 words to tell it properly.

If you’re looking for a quick, exciting sci-fi read to fill a couple hours by the pool or on a rainy day, I’d recommend picking this one up!

Content Guide: Contains violence, death

Review: A Spy Like Me by Laura Pauling (@LauraPauling)

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Not too long after I started this blog, I had the privilege of being approached by the very first author to request a review from me: Laura Pauling, author of A Spy Like Me. I was kind of torn. On the one hand, an author was contacting me with a request to review her book! What an honor!

On the other hand, I hadn’t yet ventured into the world of indie books. Doesn’t “indie” = bad? Plus, although I adore Alias so much it makes me forgive Bradley Cooper for all of his dubious career decisions since then, I wasn’t entirely sure that a spy novel was up my alley.

But, after an internal debate with myself, I decided to at least give it a shot. After all, it’s not every day an author asks you to review her book (or at least, not every day for me. Yet). And the reviews on Amazon seemed positive. How bad could it be?

The Plot 

17-year-old Savvy Bent is working to adjust to life in Paris with her dad, following the abrupt and unexplained departure of her mother a year ago. Life consists of pastries and lattes at a neighborhood bakery with her best friend Aimee, working at her father’s theater-of-life company Spy Games, and most recently, a date with cute neighborhood waiter, Malcolm.

But everything Savvy knows goes topsy-turvy when her romantic date with Malcolm ends in gunshots and Savvy running for her life.

Soon, Savvy finds that her pretend spying has morphed into the real thing as she struggles to separate spy from friend and client from killer, all while she races through Paris’ most famous tourist attractions in an effort to find the truth.

My Thoughts

I was honestly completely surprised by my reaction to this book. I was winding down from a bad day, and decided to just take a peek at the first chapter, to see if I was in for an okay read or a big stinker (I was in a bit of a pessimistic mood at the time).

Next thing I knew, it was past midnight and I had torn through half the book. The only reason I forced myself to put it down then was because I have small children who WILL be up at 7 am, no matter how late I stay up, and they don’t let me stay in bed if they’re awake.

Savvy was funny and sassy, and I liked her immediately. My heart went out to her poor fumbling spy-wannabe father, and I was guessing about the other characters right along with Savvy for most of the book. And the Parisian setting was a lot of fun, even though all the pastries made me ridiculously hungry.

The pacing of this book was very quick, and the chapters felt like they were just flying by. Each time I’d reach the end of a chapter, I couldn’t just stop there, so I’d read “just one more.” There is a good amount of action, escapes and intrigue, and while I predicted some of the plot twists, some of them definitely took me be surprise.

I did have a few issues with the book. The first (and I have this problem with YA heroines a lot) is Savvy’s willingness to just let things go, or not ask about them out of spite. Without getting into spoiler territory, I’ll just say that something shocking and potentially catastrophic will happen, Savvy will be consumed by curiosity…and then someone with the power to clue her into what’s going on will annoy her, then offer her the missing information. And she will pass, because she’s being spiteful. I kind of wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her. Doesn’t the knowledge of why someone is trying to kill you trump your bruised ego? Apparently not.

Also, I found Savvy’s reactions to the romantic story line far-fetched. One minute she’s cowering in fear, afraid that her discovery could lead to her torture or death, and the next minute she’s…kissing? I could buy it if it was done in a spy-like way, using her feminine wiles to get herself out of a tricky situation, but that’s not the way it happens. Instead, she seems totally at the mercy of her hormones, which are utterly oblivious and independent of her fear and anger.

I’m sorry, but even as a teenager, if I was afraid the boy in the next room kidnapped my friend and was trying to kill me, I am pretty sure my hormones would be dormant, if not completely extinct. I don’t care how cute he is.

And I was a fan of the crazy roller coaster plot right up until the end. A couple new elements were introduced to the story line close to the end of the book that I felt muddled the plot rather than helped resolve it. I would have been happy just learning who was trying to kill who and why, without bringing in new characters and associations.

But despite my complaints, they really didn’t do much to detract from my enjoyment of this book. I could overlook them because I was enjoying the pacing and the characters so much. This was a fun, witty, fast-paced book that I’m thrilled I agreed to review. Thank you, Laura Pauling, for having faith in a new blogger. I’ve now read enough great indie titles to know that indie does not = bad, and I’m glad I overcame my unfounded misconceptions to read this book. I enjoyed it immensely, and am excited to read about more of Savvy’s adventures.

Content Guide: Spy violence, amorous activity

Review: Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (@HMHkids)

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I’ve been intrigued by the premise of Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer since I first heard of it. It’s another “what if” book, but unlike dystopians and sci-fi, this book is set in current times, with the technology of today. What would happen to our lives if we were suddenly faced with an unexpected global disaster? How would it change our families, our friendships, our communities? These are the questions posed in Life as We Knew It.

The Plot

Life as We Knew It is written as the diary of 16-year-old Miranda. As it begins, Miranda has the same concerns of most 16-year-old girls: grades, friends, extracurricular activities, finding a date for the prom. There’s an event that her teachers and local news anchors seem excited about: an asteroid is predicted to collide with the moon, and it’s supposed to be visible to the naked eye. But Miranda doesn’t see what all the fuss is about; it’s not like the moon has never been hit by an asteroid before.

But on the night of the anticipated collision, Miranda dutifully joins her family and neighbors outside to watch this once-in-a-lifetime event. And the world’s excitement turns to horror when something completely unexpected happens.

The asteroid was denser than astronomers believed, and instead of the harmless impact they were anticipating, a quarter of the moon is destroyed. The moon is also knocked much closer to the Earth, and suddenly looms huge and menacing in the sky.

Soon, the altered gravitational force of the moon begins to cause relentless and catastrophic natural disasters all over the world: tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes. Electricity becomes a luxury, then a memory. Communications with other states and countries fail.

Through it all, Miranda diligently keeps her diary, chronicling her family’s struggle to keep the lifestyle they once had, which turns into their struggle to simply survive.

My Thoughts

I was totally captivated by this book. Everything that Miranda’s family went through seemed feasible in our current world, and I found myself wondering how my family would cope in a similar situation. It was chilling and frightening, because her family doesn’t react to their new circumstances like heroes in a story; they react like a regular family.

Miranda was an excellent narrator. Somehow, Susan Beth Pfeffer was able to really crawl inside the mind of a 16-year-old girl. She had the invincibility syndrome that so many teenagers have, convincing herself time and time again that nothing was going to change, that everything would soon return to normal, that things couldn’t possibly get any worse. I found myself infuriated with her when she argued against her mother’s rationing of their food, or her brother’s stockpiling of firewood. I groaned inwardly every time she mentioned that she couldn’t imagine how things could get worse, since obviously, they could. But she reacted the way I expect many teenagers would react — she resisted the magnitude of the situation, and opted instead to focus on whether or not there would still be a prom, or how her favorite figure skater was doing. But my frustrations with her character are actually a testament to the strength of the writing — I believed I was listening to a 16-year-old.

On the flip side, I loved Miranda’s mother. She was level-headed, forward-thinking, and did a marvelous job of looking out for her family. Yes, she made mistakes, had her moments of selfishness, and there were occasions where Miranda’s conflicts with her were perfectly justified. But no matter how bad things got, Miranda’s mother continued to display the kind of sacrifice and perseverance that I feel exemplifies a parent’s love for her child.

I also enjoyed the development of Miranda’s brothers, Jonny and Matt, and their neighbor, Mrs. Nesbitt. I came away from the book feeling like I really knew and understood these characters.

As for the progression of the story itself, I found it mostly believable. Miranda’s family found themselves situated in the best possible scenario in the case of global disaster: their house had oil heat, a gas stove, a wood-burning stove in a separate room, and well water. Convenient, yes, but not unrealistic — these houses do exist, after all. There were parts of the story I found far-fetched, such as being able to immediately hop onto the Internet and surf fan sites every time the electricity turned back on for 10 minutes, but those irritations were minor in the grand scheme of things. There was also a bit of propaganda the author wove into the story that I thought felt a bit awkward and out of place, but again, it didn’t really lessen my enjoyment of the overall tale.

The way the world slowly crumbled around Miranda and her family seemed disturbingly accurate. Humanity didn’t simply plunge into chaos; it descended in increments. Businesses stayed open. Currency still held value. Schools held classes. It was only as the weeks and months progressed that the direness of their situation is truly revealed. I found myself holding my breath as I wondered what could possibly happen next.

Overall, I found this to be a sad yet hopeful look at family, society, and friendship. It was a story of strength, survival and triumph, but also loss and regret. The story progressed in a quiet manner, with very little action or fanfare, and was more pensive than nail-biting. Its strengths were the characters, the relationships, and the incredibly well though-out progression from life as we know it to the world that Miranda’s family unwillingly finds themselves in.

Note: While this book does have two sequels, The Dead and the Gone and This World We Live In, I felt the ending was satisfying enough for this to have been a standalone novel. I do intend on reading the sequels, but if they didn’t exist, I still would have been satisfied.

Content Guide: Survivalist scenarios in post-apocalyptic modern world, starvation, death of several characters

Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness)

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I picked up The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness because some poor misinformed soul somewhere had labeled it a dystopian, and I was endeavoring to read ALL THE DYSTOPIANS for Dystopiaganza (P.S. If you would like to read the guest post that prompted all the research, it’s posted here). But as far as I understand the definition of a dystopian, this is not one. Or it is, but only by the slimmest margin. But by the time I figured this out, I was already well into it, and I wanted to finish.

I’m not going to lie. This book wreaked havoc with my emotions. Partly because of the writing style. Partly because of the premise. Partly because it was just so different from any other book I’ve ever read. And partly because it made me feel like throwing things. And then the end…

Don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil it. Just let me say, there’s a reason this book was in my Top 10 Jaw-Dropping Endings post.

The urge to throw things was never quite so strong. Fortunately, I was in bed next to my sleeping husband, so I didn’t throw it. Which is good, because it was a borrowed copy, and I had promised my friend I wouldn’t so much as dogear a page, much less hurl the book against the wall.

So. Let’s get down to it.

The Plot

Todd Hewitt lives in Prentisstown with his guardians, Ben and Cillian, and his dog, Manchee. But life in New World is different from what we know. First, there is the Noise. All the men and animals on New World project their thoughts involuntarily to all those around them. Second, whatever infected the men and animals with the Noise has killed all the women. So the men and Todd (the last remaining boy in Prentisstown) live their lives surrounded by Noise, knowing that without any women, they will eventually die out and Prentisstown will become a ghost town.

Todd was the last child born in Prentisstown, so all he has ever known is a womanless and Noisy life. He’s a month away from his 13th birthday, when he will become a man, and looks forward to no longer being the only boy in town. But one day, he and Manchee discover something disturbing in the swamp – an area in the bushes with no Noise.

Todd has never known any area to be completely absent of Noise, so he tells Ben and Cillian about it, thinking it is a curiosity. But much to Todd’s surprise, Ben and Cillian are afraid, and immediately start packing up so that Todd and Manchee can flee Prentisstown. Confused and hurt, Todd reluctantly leaves the only family he has ever known behind, to venture out into the world beyond Prentisstown. And what Todd and Manchee discover will change everything.

But even as Todd and Manchee search for answers, danger follows them. For the men of Prentisstown are not willing to let Todd go so easily.

My Thoughts 

The first thing that hit me about this book was the writing style. It takes some getting used to. Todd is the narrator, and he is uneducated and mostly illiterate, so the narrative is full of improper grammar and syntax, misspellings, and run-on sentences galore. If that’s going to bother you, this is not the book for you, because it doesn’t improve a bit throughout the entire book. It’s not like Todd goes to college while trekking through the swamp.

As for Todd, he also had to grow on me a bit. I had to keep in mind that he was a 13-year-old boy (although he is about to turn 13 in Prentisstown, he says that a New World year is 13 months, which means that in our time, Todd is nearly 14), and therefore he wasn’t going to be the wisest or quickest or most sensitive character. He’s fairly bull-headed and slow on the uptake in the beginning, plus his treatment of Manchee is horrid. But after they flee Prentisstown, Todd begins to mature and grow, and his relationship with Manchee actually became one of my favorite parts of the book.

Speaking of Manchee, he quickly became one of my favorite literary animal characters. Even with the limited vocabulary and intellect of a dog, Manchee was fiercely loyal and protective of Todd, and I found him incredibly endearing.

Then we get to the villains. And there are a lot of villains. One in particular, Aaron, is so freakishly creepy that I’m surprised I didn’t have nightmares about him. The only complaint I have (because really, a super-creepy villain is not a complaint for me) is that he’s still supposed to be human, even though he’s crazy and evil and lives on an alien world. And several of the things Aaron manages to pull off throughout the course of the book seem decidedly inhuman.

Maybe he was a Cylon. Maybe that’s a twist in the next book. I don’t know. I haven’t read it yet.

As for the plot in this book, the action and suspense never lets up. Todd barely has a moment’s peace from the moment he flees Prentisstown until the end of the book. The danger is constant and terrifying. And with each twist and turn of the plot, the situation just seems to become more dire and bleak. A constant theme running through the book is that hope is necessary for survival, but it seems that every time Todd scrapes together a sliver of hope, it is snatched away from him and replaced with heartbreak and horror.

It’s kind of hard to deal with.

But. Todd was able to rally just enough each time for me to want to keep reading. And interspersed in this incredibly dark story were moments of innocent joy and humor that would pop up at completely unexpected times.

And then there was that ending. Ugh. Don’t start this book if you need things resolved by the end. It doesn’t happen.

So now I have many feelings about this book. I loved the story, loved Todd and Manchee, loved the incredibly unique world that Patrick Ness created. But it also made me feel so sad and frustrated and disappointed so many times — not because the book was disappointing, but because Todd was disappointed. It’s hard to mesh all those feelings together into a coherent opinion.

Overall, I would say that The Knife of Never Letting Go is a different type of Young Adult book; it’s darker, it’s scarier, and it’s grittier than most of the YA sci-fi out there. It will not appeal to you if you’re squeamish about violence or yearn for neat and happy endings. But it features wonderfully developed characters in a brilliant new world (no pun untended) that I’m excited to keep exploring — even if it drives me crazy.

Content Guide: Contains extensive violence and suspense, profanity, and some very upsetting deaths.

Feature & Follow Giveaway Hop!

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Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Feature and Follow Hop, hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read!

This week is a little different than usual, because this is the 100th week of Feature & Follow! Huzzah! So to celebrate, the rules have been changed up a bit. First, all the participants will be doing our own features, picking a blog that we want to highlight.

I’m featuring Sarah at Breaking the Binding, because she is awesome and we’re pretty sure we would be best friends if we ever actually met.

Sarah is new to the Feature & Follow, so she wasn’t entirely sure what she was getting into when she agreed to be featured. I decided to ask her the typical F&F questions, so that you can all get to know her a bit!

1. When did you start blogging?

I started blogging in late 2010 (but I think I lost the posts prior to starting my WordPress blog in January 2011). I was finishing up my Children’s and Young Adult lit class for my Masters degree and I had been driving my boyfriend and roommates crazy rambling on about all of the books I was reading. So, after a while of rambling to my boyfriends rather deaf ears, I decided to start a blog as a way to share my thoughts with people who may actually care! I think that boyfriend was rather relieved, as he was not a fan of fiction and didn’t really care to listen to me go on and on about the characters and the authors I adored.

2. What is your favorite part of book blogging?

My favorite part is simply sharing my thoughts, reactions, and emotions from the books that I read. I mean, it’s so incredible to know that there are people out there who are interested to know why I think Neville Longbottom is the true hero of Harry Potter or why I’m confused by all of the Instalove in YA. Even more so to know that have their own opinions to share on the same topic and it starts a discussion or debate! It’s also so great to know I’m not the only adult who gets lost in a YA novel and wants to gush about how fantastic the characters are.

3. What is your favorite book(s)?

Oh there are so many that it’s so hard to choose! So here are the top few that come to mind when I think of children’s or YA books. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley has long been one of my favorite fantasy novels, I’ve read it so many times that I’ve lost count. The Harry Potter series is definitely up there as well and I’ve long been a fan of the Little House on the Prairie series. If there’s on book that defines my childhood that’s it.

4. What has been the best thing that has happened to you because of book blogging?

Honestly, I think the best thing has come from Armchair BEA! For the first year and a half of my blogging life I’ve been kinda hovering on the fringes and haven’t really gotten too involved. But participating in this event this really pushed me to meet more bloggers and become more active with commenting on the blogs that I do read regularly. Hopefully these connections will continue on beyond this week and ‘ll have made some new blogging buddies to keep in touch with!

So everyone wave hi to Sarah! Be sure to go check out her blog and let her know you’re following.

And last but not least, what’s a birthday without presents?

So this week is a giveaway hop! All of the feature host blogs will also be hosting giveaways. And mine is two SIGNED bookmarks from Amy Plum, author of Die For Me and Until I Die. One winner will win BOTH bookmarks, which will come in handy if you find yourself reading more than one book at once, like I always end up doing.

Just fill out the Rafflecopter below! Since this is the Feature & Follow, you will be required to follow my blog and Breaking the Binding to enter this giveaway.

Both bookmarks are signed, although for some reason I only flipped one over to show you. I’m a bit of a flake.

Giveaway will run through June 13. U.S. only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway