Category Archives: Young Adult

Review: The False Price by Jennifer A. Nielsen (@nielsenwriter @Scholastic)

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Received from Scholastic for review.

The False Prince is the first book in a new mid-grade medieval fantasy trilogy from Jennifer A. Nielsen. I received it in my big box of awesome from Scholastic, and am so glad it was in there. This book is seriously fantastic.

The Plot

The False Prince is the story of Sage, a 14-year-old orphan struggling to survive in the fictional kingdom of Carthya. At the opening of the book, Sage is purchased by Conner, a wealthy nobleman. Conner also purchases three other boys similar in age and appearance to Sage. The boys aren’t sure of the reason for Conner rounding up orphans, but they know it’s probably not good.

Soon, Conner reveals his plot: he intends to groom them to impersonate Prince Jaron, lost prince of Carthya, so that one of them can take over the throne and save the kingdom. They will have two weeks to transform into Jaron. One of the will be selected for a future of luxury and power. The other three, Conner implies, will not have much of a future at all.

Through the two weeks leading up to Conner’s selection, Sage and the other boys struggle to learn all the skills and knowledge befitting a prince, from swordplay and horseback riding to reading, table manners, and the history of Carthya. Their competition is fueled by the knowledge that not being chosen by Conner will result in a fate worse than any they faced in their previous lives as orphans.

My Thoughts

This book was so much fun to read. It was a refreshing change of pace from many of the other books I’ve been reading lately. The False Prince is a witty and engrossing story that doesn’t have a ton of action or adventure, but has plenty of intrigue fueled by engaging characters.

Sage narrates the book in the first person, but he only ever lets us know as much as he wants us to know. So there were several surprises throughout the course of the narrative, when Sage finally decided to clue us into a past action or motivation.

I loved the characters in this book. Nearly all of them were nuanced, with no clear-cut bad guys or good guys (at least until the end). Even Conner, with his devious and treacherous plot, keeps you guessing as to his true motivations. And while Sage starts out disliking his fellow princes-in-training, he eventually forms a tenuous friendship with them as we understand that they, too, are just 14-year-old boys that are in over their heads.

As for Sage himself, he was clever, witty, and reckless. He was frustrating at times, but what 14-year-old boy isn’t? It was exciting to see the story unfold through his eyes. And although Sage is indisputably the hero of this story, he has definite weaknesses and flaws, which is kind of refreshing. Too often I think male protagonists are just good at everything, and it gets annoying. Sage can indeed be annoying, but it’s not because he’s The Awesomest Ever. It’s because he’s a kid, and kids can be kind of annoying. But he was also likable and charismatic, and I was completely rooting for him.

And the story…I just loved it. It’s a fairly simple story that takes place almost entirely in the same setting (Conner’s estate). But the challenges the boys face, the constant threat of what Conner will do with the boys who are not chosen, and the slow revealing of the nature of the royal court of Carthya, made this book hard to put down.

Actually, it was impossible to put down. I thought I was going to put it down and go bed, and then a huge twist completely woke me up. So I wound up reading the entire thing in one day.

Although this is the first book in a trilogy, the ending wraps up the events in this book neatly. So you won’t find yourself frustrated with a cliffhanger ending. I kind of hate when a book ends on a cliffhanger, then I have to wait months (or more) to find out what happens. This one is open to sequels, but doesn’t need a sequel for you to feel satisfied.

I’d recommend this book to anyone, be they young teens or adults, male or female. It’s easy to read, totally engrossing, and left me feeling utterly content and happy at the end. Needless to say, I am eagerly awaiting the sequel!

Content Guide: Contains violence

Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth (@VeronicaRoth @harperteen)

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Wow. Okay. I just finished Insurgent, the highly anticipated second book in Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy, and I’ve got to say…it’s good. It’s really good. In my opinion, better than Divergent. Let me try to get my thoughts in order and explain why.

The Story 

Insurgent picks up right where Divergent ends: on a train after the world has come crashing down around protagonist Tris Prior. The factions have turned on each other, and have taken massive casualties on all sides. Tris herself is reeling from the deaths of several close friends and family members, one of which was at her hands.

Tris and her boyfriend Tobias, a.k.a. “Four,” flee to the Amity headquarters, hoping to take refuge among the peaceful. But it quickly becomes clear that Amity and Dauntless don’t mix well.

As Tris, Four and their ragtag band of allies and enemies ping-pong around the different factions, a war breaks out. Sides are taken, lives are lost, and Tris and Four are right in the middle.

But Tris’ main concern isn’t with picking sides in the war. She just wants to know why they’re fighting a war in the first place.

My Thoughts

Like Divergent, Insurgent is a mile-a-minute roller coaster of a book. There is tons of edge-of-your-seat action and suspense that starts near the beginning of the book and doesn’t stop until the last page.

However, Insurgent takes what Divergent had going for it and takes it to a new level. The stakes are higher, the action is grander, and the payoff is bigger. In the first book, we watch as Tris discovers her inner Dauntless. She performs a lot of stunts that, from my boring-adult perspective, are reckless and stupid, and serve no purpose. However, that recklessness and fearlessness actually comes in handy in Insurgent, where her goals are far loftier than just making it into a horribly superficial faction and impressing a boy.

The love story between Tris and Four is definitely present throughout the book, but it’s not the main focus. It develops around the big events surrounding the characters, and does not usurp them, which is good. They’re both concerned with saving the world, and both realize that’s more important than their relationship drama. A good realization to have, especially when you remember that they are still both teenagers.

There are a lot of deaths in Insurgent. It’s like Deathly Hallows and Mockingjay all over again. No one is safe. On the one hand, I hate when authors kill off good characters (especially when the nasty ones survive), because it hurts my little reader feelings. On the other hand, it really helps me not to become complacent as a reader when I realize that any of these characters could die at any time. There’s not that feeling of, “well, this situation kinda sucks, but you know it’ll be okay because there’s no way she’d kill off that character.” Nope, she would kill off that character. She proved it in Divergent, and it’s even more prevalent in Insurgent.

As for Tris herself, I liked her a lot more in this book. She grew up a lot. She made more mature decisions, causing me to see for the first time that she really may have some aptitude for Abnegation (something I didn’t see at all in the first book). She still did some stupid things and made some poor choices, but it was nice to generally see her acting more reasonably and not just out of spite or anger or recklessness.

I also liked that she spent the entire book dealing with the consequences of her actions in the first book. I was concerned she would recover too quickly from the events in Divergent, but she dealt with them throughout the book. She had psychological trauma and battle scars. It made her seem a lot more real.

And remember all those questions I had about Divergent? How a lot of things weren’t explained and didn’t make sense and I hoped they would be explained in the next book? Well, they were. I didn’t even realize that we were going to get answers to those questions until I read the last chapter, and then boom, there they were. Not 100%, because this is book #2 in a trilogy and having all my questions answered would be an unreasonable expectation. But they were addressed, the answers were heavily hinted at, and I now have little doubt that we’ll get much more satisfying explanations in book #3.

All in all, I thought Insurgent was a great follow-up to Divergent. It was more thrilling, more mature, and generally more satisfying. I’m excited to see where it goes in what is sure to be an explosive finale.

Content Guide: Contains violence and numerous deaths, and mild sexual content.

Teaser Reviews: Glitch and Timepiece

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I recently finished reading the digital review copies of Glitch and Timepiece, and while I won’t be posting full reviews until closer to the release dates, I wanted to give you a taste of my thoughts.

First up, Glitch by Heather Anastasiu (release date: August 7, 2012):

Premise: In a futuristic society, humans have been purged of their emotions via technology implanted into their brain stems. Logic and duty reign supreme. However, when Zoe starts “glitching” — i.e. experiencing emotion — her world begins to fall apart. Does she turn herself into the Regulators to be “fixed?” Or does she attempt to break free of the orderly yet oppressive system, to lead a normal life and fall in love?

Why I liked it: Glitch is full of fun sci-fi action, superpowers, and crazy twists and turns. It’s a fun ride, kind of like an action movie or a roller coaster. You’re not going to come out having lots of Deep Thoughts after this one, but it kept me entertained for a couple nights, most of the characters were enjoyable, and I am always a fan of superpowers and futuristic technology.

Danger, Will Robinson: There is a love triangle in this one, and I hated — hated — one of the participants. So that’s always frustrating. Also, if you like your sci-fi served up with a hefty dose of it-could-kinda-maybe-happen scientific techno-talk, à la Michael Crichton, this is not the book for you. Disbelief must be suspended, and in a big way.

Next, Timepiece by Myra McEntire (release date June 12, 2012):

Premise: Timepiece picks up pretty much where Hourglass left off. (Haven’t read Hourglass yet? Go order it RIGHT NOW. Or pick it up from the library. You’ll be glad you did.) This time, the narrator is Kaleb Ballard, a minor player in Hourglass and Michael’s best friend. Kaleb is a charming but irresponsible womanizing drunk at the start of the book. However, when a new mysterious bad guy comes to demand that the Hourglass hand over the devious Jack Landers — or else — Kaleb finds himself swept up in ancient plots, legendary prizes, and the task of possibly saving the world.

Why I liked LOVED it: I need to be careful, or I will write an essay on how much I loved this book. And this is just supposed to be a teaser. So first off: Kaleb is awesome. He doesn’t start awesome. I wanted to punch him in the face. But he quickly becomes awesome. The secondary characters are fabulous. I was especially pleased that Lily, Emerson’s barista best friend from Hourglass, gets a lot more face time in Timepiece. Jack Landers is a deliciously horrible villain. And the time-slippy action and the twisty-turny plot is just incredible. There were several developments I just did not see coming, and that was a good thing. I can’t wait for the next book. Too bad this one’s not even out yet…

I’ll post full reviews when we’re closer to release, but if either of these pique your interest, go pre-order on Amazon, put them on hold at your library, or (if you’re a reviewer), go try to snatch them from NetGalley!

Teaser Tuesday (May 1): Timepiece

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser today comes from Timepiece by Myra McEntire. This is the sequel to the amazing Hourglass, which I loved.

“He glanced at Em and me as he listened to the caller on the other end, his fear more pronounced by the second.

Em’s anxiety crashed into mine. ‘I don’t feel good about this.'”

(54% of the way through digital galley version)

Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire (@MyraMcEntire @EgmontUSA)

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I found out this weekend that in about two weeks, a trio of authors will be doing a book signing in Nashville (I live right outside of Nashville), and that a bunch of book bloggers will be attending. I’m really excited to attend. Not only will this be my first signing and therefore my first opportunity to meet some of my fellow bloggers in person (which, I have to admit, kind of terrifies me. I’m only extroverted on the Internet. In real life, I tend to want to hide behind things and be socially awkward), but I actually really enjoy the authors.

The three authors are Amy Plum, Myra McEntire, and C.J. Redwine. So leading up to the event, I will be posting reviews for Hourglass, Timepiece, Die for Me, and (hopefully) Defiance and Until I Die. Still working on getting my hands on those last two, although I have high hopes for Defiance. I’ve been in communication with The C.J. Redwine herself, and awesomeness is in the works. Stay tuned.

I will also post other things in the coming two weeks. No fears. I may also post a review of The Wise Man’s Fear or a really old book that I just feel like reviewing. Maybe a Farseer book, since I keep referencing them as The Awesomest Ever. Maybe The Princess Bride, because it is mortifying to me that so many people don’t realize it’s a book. Maybe something else. I don’t know. I’m flighty. We’ll see. But there will be other stuff.

Anyway. Ahem. For today:

The Story

Hourglass is the story of Emerson Cole, just a typical 17-year-old girl, with the pesky exception that she sees dead people.

 No, not like that.

[Side note: Is the character’s name, Emerson Cole, after Haley Joel Osment’s character of Cole in The Sixth Sense? Questions for Ms. McEntire when I see her!]

Ever since her parents died in a tragic accident, Emerson has been going through life, minding her own business, when all of a sudden someone from the past will show up. A Scarlett O’Hara look-alike. A poodle-skirt-clad group of teenagers from the 1950s. An century-old baseball team. Only Emerson can see them, and if she tries to touch them, they pop like bubbles.

Under the care of her brother Thomas, Emerson has been to every form of therapist, ranging from Freudian men with glasses to bone-shaking witch doctors. No one has been able to help her.

Until one day, Thomas hires Michael, a mysterious young man representing a company called the Hourglass. Michael is certain he can help Emerson; but even more intriguingly, he believes she can help him.

Soon Emerson is introduced to a world she never knew existed. A world where normal people can have extraordinary powers. A world where time travel is possible. And a world where she is more powerful than she ever dreamed.

My Thoughts

I love me a good time travel story, and this had all the trappings of a great one. I liked Emerson. In spite of her 17-year-old-girl-ness (a plague among YA heroines, considering they are inevitably 17-year-old girls), she was likable. She was obviously attractive yet a bit insecure, but not one of those narrators who’s constantly lamenting her ugliness while every guy around her proceeds to walk into telephone poles as they are stunned by her beauty. She had a quick wit and dry sense of humor that I enjoyed. She actually used her brain a good chunk of the time (not all the time, but I dare you to name a main protagonist who always makes well-informed and fully considered decisions).

I also liked the sci-fi elements of the story. I liked the premise and the structure. I liked that a “scientific” explanation was given for how all their crazy abilities worked individually, and how they worked in tandem. And of course, a major sticking point for me is always if the “rules” of the world made sense. In this case, I think they did.

We drifted a bit into X-Men territory for a little while, but I forgive Ms. McEntire for those small similarities. I kind of think X-Men has such a large scope that it’s kind of hard not to call it to mind when writing anything about people with powers. Also, like with almost any time-travel book, there were scenes reminiscent of other time-travel stories (the one that came instantly to my mind was Back to the Future II). But again, it’s hard to have a time-travel story without talk of paradoxes and the space-time continuum. There was no mention of flux capacitors, so I’m good.

The love story between Emerson and Michael was a bit heavy-handed at parts. It was obvious that was where the story was headed from the first moment they laid eyes on each other. But I honestly mean it was only a bit heavy-handed, and only in parts. She talked about his superhuman gorgeousness a little too often for my liking (although it was probably toned down for what an actual teenage girl would have been thinking). Her descriptions of her reactions around him were occasionally a tad over the top. But overall, I enjoyed their chemistry and their interaction.

I will also give Emerson credit for not turning into a complete pile of mush, a la Bella Swan, every time he was around. He may be super-pretty and she may have a tummy full of butterflies, but at least she still spoke her mind and stuck to her guns. She even got annoyed with him on occasion. That was refreshing.

Buffy is hard-wired into my brain. It’s a sickness.

The secondary characters were mostly well-developed. I loved Thomas and his wife Dru, although throughout the entire book, I kept picturing Dru like this:

Emerson’s quintessential gorgeous BFF Lily was also fun. She wasn’t ridiculous and annoying like gorgeous BFFs so often are in YA lit. She was actually loyal and funny and I could understand why she and Emerson were friends. Plus, her character had some intriguing twists that I hope and expect to see developed in the sequel(s).

Michael also had a likable best friend, which is something I find a little rare in these types of books. Normally the male love interest either has no friends or his best friend is a jerk. But I really enjoyed Kaleb. He was charming and interesting, and the more I found out about him, the more intrigued I became.

I guess that’s a good thing, since Timepiece is all about Kaleb.

Another bonus: for once, there was a twist at the end that took me completely by surprise. I am very rarely taken by surprise in a YA book, and when I am, I even more rarely feel that the book really earned the ending. Sometimes I feel like a twist ending is dropped in simply for the sake of a twist, with nothing else in the book backing it up. It feels forced and awkward. This one I totally didn’t see coming, but it also didn’t feel random just for the sake of having a twist.

Anyway, this review has gone on long enough. Bottom line: I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun, exciting read that put its own spin on the special powers/time travel theme.

Content Guide: Contains descriptions of past violence, and teens being amorous.