Review: The Here and Now

Author: Ann Brashares
Series: Standalone
Released: January 1st 2015
Publisher: Hodder Children's
Length: 303 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

Thrilling, exhilarating, haunting and heartbreaking, The Here and Now is a twenty-first-century take of an impossible romance. 

There are rules.

Never reveal where you’re from.Never be intimate with anyone outside the community.And never interfere with history. 

Seventeen-year-old Prenna James emigrated to New York when she was twelve. But Prenna didn't come from a different country, she came from a different time - a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins. 

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules. Prenna does as she's told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth and take the lives of her younger brothers. But everything changes when she falls for Ethan. 

She might be able to save the world ... if she lets go of the one thing she's found to hold on to. 

Having read several negative reviews back when The Here and Now was first released, I nevertheless decided to give it a fair chance hoping I would feel differently, as I sometimes do. The opening part seemed very promising, which allowed me to think my stubbornness would be rewarded, but it quickly became clear that my opinion would align with those of several trusted friends. The Here and Now is not a bad book as such, but I found it lacking in characterization, scientific background and sometimes, unfortunately, even common sense.

Review: The Mission

Author: Allen Zadoff
Series: Boy Nobody, #2
Released: September 4th 2014
Publisher: Orchard
Length: 430 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

He was the perfect assassin. No name. No past. No remorse. Perfect, that is, until he began to ask questions and challenge his orders. Now The Program is worried that their valuable soldier has become a liability. And so begins a new mission. A test of sorts. A chance to prove his loyalty. But nothing about this mission is as it seems: not The Program, his allegiances, nor the truth. More thrilling action-adventure from Allen Zadoff in the breathtaking sequel to The Hit (previously Boy Nobody).

Allen Zadoff just proved to us once again that he’s excellent at what he does. (I Am) The Mission is, if possible, even more exciting than its predecessor. There is no end to secrets and betrayals in this book and our Boy Nobody, highly trained but still merely a 16-year-old, has to face them all and somehow manage to stay alive.

Review: Savage Drift

Author: Emmy Laybourne
Series: Monument 14, #3
Released: May 1st 2014
Publisher: Hodder Children's
Lenght: 320 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy:Amazon

The stunningly fierce conclusion to Emmy Laybourne's Monument 14 trilogy.

The survivors of the Monument 14 have finally made it to the safety of a Canadian refugee camp. Dean and Alex are cautiously starting to hope that a happy ending might be possible.

But for Josie, separated from the group and trapped in a brutal prison camp for exposed Type Os, things have gone from bad to worse. Traumatized by her experiences, she has given up all hope of rescue or safety.

Meanwhile, scared by the government's unusual interest in her pregnancy, Astrid (with her two protectors, Dean and Jake in tow) joins Niko on his desperate quest to be reunited with his lost love Josie.

Author Emmy Laybourne reaches new heights of tension and romance in this action-packed conclusion to the Monument 14 trilogy.

As hard as it is to say goodbye to a beloved trilogy (and it seems we’ve been doing it quite often lately) the Monument kids have certainly earned their happy ending. Although it’s not without its problems, Savage Drift is a worthy conclusion to Laybourne’s post-apocalyptic work, a book that inspires both admiration and a healthy dose of introspection.

Review: Impostor (Variants, #1)

Author: Susanne Winnacker
Series: Variants, #1
Published: January 2nd 2014
Publisher: Hodder Children's
Format: Paperback, 320 pgs
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

Tessa is a Variant with extraordinary abilities. She could be a hero, but all she wants to do is fall in love ...

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she's spent the last two years with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. There she trains with other Variants, such as long-term crush Alec, who each have their own extraordinary ability.

When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. Tessa hates everything about being an impostor - the stress, the danger, the deceit - but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she'd do anything to keep.

Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

If Veronica Mars was in X-men… the world would rejoice… and the world has every reason to because that description, taken from the back cover of the UK edition of Impostor, is actually pretty accurate.

Tessa is a Variant, a human with the ability to become anyone she’s ever touched. She was taken in by a secret branch of the FBI and trained to use this power in a way that benefits the government. So when a serial killer’s victim doesn’t die right away, Tessa has to become her, become a bait for this sadistic murderer.

For Tessa, who’s never known the warmth of a family, becoming Madison even for a short time was exceptionally difficult. Experiencing a parent’s unconditional love, all the hope and kindness Madison’s parents gave her when they thought she was their miraculously recovered daughter, made her want to abandon her cold life and become Madison forever. The pain she experienced while she was Madison and when she was forced to turn her back on Madison’s life was came across very clearly. While all the other characters were somewhat underdeveloped, Tessa was extraordinarily well done.

Although I’m quite fond of this book as a whole, romance is by far my least favorite part. Alec is your typical overbearing love interest. He tends to suffocate Tessa with his overprotectiveness, but at the same time, he wishes to keep her at arm’s length, for reasons seemingly known to everyone but Tessa herself. He seems to genuinely care for Tessa, yet he refuses to treat her like an equal, which makes him less than desirable in my eyes.

I’m very excited about the upcoming sequel. I don’t trust Alec in the least – it’s quite obvious that he’s hiding something big, and discovering what might just break poor Tessa. In fact, there’s not a single trustworthy person around her, except maybe Madison’s twin brother. One thing is certain: I’ll be following Tessa’s adventures very closely.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.

Review: Sky on Fire (Monument 14, #2)

Author:  Emmy Laybourne
Series: Monument 14, #2
Published: November 7th 2013
Publisher: Hodder Children's
Format: Paperback, 288 pgs
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

Trapped in a superstore by a series of escalating disasters, including a monster hailstorm and terrifying chemical weapons spill, brothers Dean and Alex learned how to survive and worked together with twelve other kids to build a refuge from the chaos. But then strangers appeared, destroying their fragile peace, and bringing both fresh disaster and a glimmer of hope.

Knowing that the chemical weapons saturating the air outside will turn him into a bloodthirsty rage monster, Dean decides to stay in the safety of the store with Astrid and some of the younger kids. But their sanctuary has already been breached once. . . .

Meanwhile, Alex, determined to find their parents, heads out into the darkness and devastation with Niko and some others in a recently repaired school bus. If they can get to Denver International Airport, they might be evacuated to safety. But the outside world is even worse than they expected. . .

There really aren’t that many post-apocalyptic trilogies I truly enjoy, but the raw realism of Laybourne’s apocalyptic vision, the sheer probability of it all, is what makes her series stand out in the sea of post-apocalyptic reads out there. The point of these books, I think, is to convince the readers they’re entirely possible, and with Monument 14, my mind was free of doubts from the start.

In Sky of Fire, our small group of young survivors split into two groups. The larger group, lead by Niko, decided to try to reach Denver International Airport by bus. The second group stayed behind, mostly because of their blood type and the danger they can easily become to others. The two brothers we’ve been following from the beginning, Alex and Dean, got separated, with Dean staying in the Monument shopping mall, and Alex leaving to seek help.

Things did not get easier for our group in this installment. If anything, Sky on Fire is darker and more violent than its predecessor – not that Laybourne ever shied away from harsh realities of a world in shambles. The difference is that by now, our teen survivors learned what they must do to survive, and their hands aren’t clean anymore. They are ready to threaten, drug or kill people in order to save themselves and their friends. In other words, they have adapted, even if they hate themselves for it.

While the addition of Alex’s point of view was absolutely necessary, being inside Dean’s head was far more enjoyable. There’s just something about Dean’s simple honesty that would melt even the hardest of hearts, and his love for Astrid, open and undemanding, no matter the circumstances, endeared him to me even further. Those who have read Monument 14 will remember that Astrid, Dean’s long-time crush, is pregnant with another boy’s baby, but our Dean takes it all in stride, willing to accept this and anything else she might throw his way, just to be with her.

Emmy Laybourne still excels at building characters, but her skill is somewhat less pronounced in this sequel, probably because of the rapid pacing. With so many things going on, it’s hard to focus on anyone except the POV characters. But while I felt a tiny bit detached from some of the secondary characters’ issues, I did get to know Dean even better and learned to appreciate him a lot more.

Sky on Fire has a nice, satisfactory ending with just enough issues left open to make me more than interested in reading the next book. Not every middle book has to end with a cliffhanger, and in fact, if it were up to me, I’d ban them from existence altogether. Thankfully, things like cliffhanger endings and middle book syndrome aren’t part of Emmy Laybourne’s repertoire.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.

Review: Antigoddess (The Goddess War, #1)

Author: Kendare Blake
Series: The Goddess War, #1
Released: September 10th 2013
Publisher: Orhcard Books
Paperback, 384 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

The acclaimed author of ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD returns with an incredible story about ancient gods, modern love and an epic fight for survival

He was Apollo, the sun, and he'd burn down anything that tried to hurt her... Cassandra and Aidan are just your average high-school couple. Or so Cassandra believes. Blissfully unaware that she was once a powerful prophetess, Cassandra doesn't even know thats god exist... Until now.

Because the gods are dying - and Cassandra could hold the answer to their survival. But Aidan has a secret of his own. He is really Apollo, god of the sun, and he will do anything to protect the girl he loves from the danger that's coming for her. Even if it means war against his immortal family...

Sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; relentless action and suspense - ANTIGODDESS is the YA novel you've been waiting for.

I wish every book could be described using the words dark and twisted, that would make me ridiculously happy. However, since I clearly can’t have that, at least there are some that fit the description, and when they come my way, I am seriously overjoyed. Antigoddess is one of those books. With characters like Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Poseidon and the cursed prophetess Cassandra of Troy, what could possibly go wrong?

Very little, as it turns out. Blake’s version of the Greek gods is very modern. Olympus is no more and they’ve been living among us for so long that they resemble us in every way. But Blake still found a way to give a touch of the ancient to her novel by incorporating well known stories from the Greek mythology, mostly through Athena’s reminiscence. . While I found some of these stories wholly unnecessary, and even slightly burdensome, others like The Judgement of Paris were told in such a way that helped me understand these ageless characters just a little better.

There is a war brewing between the gods. They are dying, every single one of them, and in their fear and their panic, they’re doing what they do best, turning on one another, going up against each other for the last remnants of power. Poseidon, Aphrodite and Hera, crazed and diseased, plot against the others. Athena and Hermes on the other side are weak and practically powerless, with nothing but their wisdom and several reluctant allies to help them through the war.

While his brothers and sisters are fighting amongst themselves, Apollo is busy atoning for his past sins. He has his own priorities and his own obsessions, and he wishes not to be found, as impossible as that may be.

Those of you who are familiar with Kendare Blake’s previous work know how talented she is in creating vivid imagery that is equal parts fascinating and disgusting. While Antigoddess cannot be compared to Anna Dressed in Blood in that regard (nothing really can), it still left me with some images I’m not likely to forget.

The red warning on the cover that Antigoddess isn’t for younger readers drew my attention right away, and while I’m not quite ready to agree with that limitation (it sounds very patronizing), I have to agree that the amount of violence Blake describes is pretty unusual for YA, as is her matter-of-fact approach to it. But Kendare Blake isn’t one to allow her intended audience to limit her in any way, and I’m generally fond of authors who don’t treat teens with kid gloves.

Antigoddess isn’t without problems, that much is clear, but it is still a well-rounded, skillfully told novel, and undoubtedly worthy of your time.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.

Review: Night Witches

Author: L.J. Adlington
Release date: September 5th 2013
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Paperback, 336 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

A supernatural thriller-romance set in an all-girl teenage bomber-pilot regiment, combining witchcraft and legend.

TWO NATIONS AT WAR. ONE GIRL CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE.

Rain Aranoza is a teenage bomber-pilot from Rodina, a nation of science and fact ruled by the all knowing Aura, where the belief in witches or any type of superstition is outlawed. Rain's regiment is made up of only teenage girls and their role is vital to the war effort against the Crux, a nation of faith and belief, where nature and God are celebrated and worshipped.

But Rain is struggling with another battle. She's always had a sense that her nature is different from everyone else's, and that a dormant power threatens to burst out of her.

When she encounters a young Scrutiner she falls in love with him, but is torn between what she has been taught is right, and what feels right. As her understanding of her latent power grows, the enemy threatens both her friends and her love. She can no longer ignore the power but she must choose how she uses it ...

But what will she lose in the process?

Teenage fighter pilots. Did you read what I just wrote? Because I’m not kidding here: Teenage. Fighter. Pilots.

Can I end my review here?

Because really, those three words should be enough to make any living soul desperate to read Night Witches. Teenagers are flying planes and fighting wars, people, facing enemies both human and supernatural. For those of you who don’t know, night witches were Soviet female military aviators in World War II. L.J. Adlington, inspired by their story, created a whole new world in which teenage girls fly military airplanes against a dangerous enemy.

Rodina is a nation willingly lead by an artificial intelligence, Aura. It is the source of all knowledge and the only real decision maker in the country. Not connected, the citizens are lost since they rely on Aura for everything. They are proud of themselves for shedding the confines of religious beliefs and turning entirely to technology. But at night, when no one is listening, there are whispers of witches just beyond Rodina’s borders. There, the Crux reside, a far more primitive, superstitious nation, and the war between the two is brewing.

Rain Aranoza is a girl who is constantly underestimated – by her parents, her cousin and everyone else who matters – until she is invited to take part in a new fighter pilot program. Suddenly, Rain is flying Crux airplanes and discovering new and shocking truths about herself. During this time, she meets Reef, a silent and competent Scrutiner (kind of a law enforcement) and even though he’s dangerous for her on many levels, she finds herself unable to stay away.

It’s easy enough to draw a parallel between Rodinians and their connection to Aura and our own dependence on the internet. The world Adlington created is a great analogy for our world, and the advantages and flaws she skillfully pointed out can easily be applied to us. The paranormal element, which I won’t go into for fear of spoiling things, is just as fascinating.

Night Witches is elegantly written and gorgeously atmospheric. Adlington’s descriptions are minimal, yet vivid and strong and beautiful. She is prone to stringing very short sentences that give her narrative a staccato rhythm, which, instead of making her prose seem choppy, makes it fluid, distinctive and unique.

I strongly recommend this for those of you who occasionally like to step away from tropes and expectations. Night Witches is a gorgeous story and one I’m sure you won’t regret reading.
L.J. Adlington will stop by The Nocturnal Library in October to talk about the dark Russian mythology she researched for her novel.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.

Review: Love Is a Number

Author: Lee Monroe
Series: Standalone
Release date: July 4th 2013
Publisher: Hodder
Paperback, 400 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

When her beloved boyfriend Huck dies, Eloise is wrecked. All she has left of him are the texts that he sent: short, succinct - but full of love.

They keep Huck alive. And so Eloise texts him back as if he can receive her messages from beyond the grave. She never expected to get a reply ....

Dan is travelling South America in one last hurrah before university and real life kick in.

He's ready for love, but not of the casual kind. He's not met a girl that's set his world alight. But he's ready for her when she decides to make an appearance. One night on his travels, Dan discovers an abandoned phone.

He pockets it, then forgets about it. He never expected it to ring ...

Despite the cutesy cover (and title), Love Is a Number is actually a pretty serious read that deals with loss, numbness and different stages of grief. Although I was prepared for some seriousness, having read the description in advance, I didn’t expect such an emotionally mature read. Lee Monroe is the author of the Dark Heart YA paranormal romance series so this foray into contemporary was pretty unexpected, but I do hope this is what she’ll keep doing. Anything else would be a pretty serious loss for teen readers.

Huck, Eloise’s boyfriend of four years died suddenly while vacationing in Spain. The two of them always seemed to be the perfect couple: gorgeous, ambitious and very rich. With the loss of Huck, Eloise lost her entire future. Everything she had planned, be it in Uni or after, was centered around him. But as she goes through the stages of grief, she slowly comes to realize that there was a whole side of Huck she didn’t know at all and her own insignificance in his life strikes her as the betrayal of the worst kind.

In Spain, Daniel is feeling the loss himself. His path and Huck’s crossed very briefly and they didn’t like each other at all, but seeing a young life disappear so suddenly is bound to leave some consequences. Dan is a bit awkward, a bit nerdy, smart and genuinely nice, and most of all, very lonely.

When Huck’s phone accidentally ends up in Daniel’s hands, both Daniel and Eliose find something they sorely lack – comfort and closeness to another human being. At first, Daniel is reluctant to respond or give up the phone, but as they finally start communicating, they both experience radical changes.

Despite the grimness of the beginning, Love is a Number carries a strong underlying message of hope that becomes more and more pronounced as Eliose goes through her emotional awakening and self-discovery. It’s hard not to pity her at the beginning, not only for the loss of her boyfriend, but for the numbness and discomfort she always feels, the estrangement from her parents and her (rather dishonest) friends. It is because of that that we cheer even more loudly when she decides to become more self-assured and assertive.

All things considered, Love is a Number is a lovely, emotionally charged novel, perhaps a bit too heavy for hot summer days, but worthy of your time nevertheless.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have inflluenced this review.

Review: Boy Nobody

Author: Allen Zadoff

Release date: May 23rd 2013

Publisher: Orchard

Paperback, 368 pages
Source: Publisher for review

Pre-order: The Book Depository

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new name, makes few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's family to die -- of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next target. 

When his own parents died of not-so-natural causes at the age of eleven, Boy Nobody found himself under the control of The Program, a shadowy government organization that uses brainwashed kids as counter-espionage operatives. But somewhere, deep inside Boy Nobody, is somebody: the boy he once was, the boy who wants normal things (like a real home, his parents back), a boy who wants out. And he just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's next mission.

Here’s a fair warning for you guys: don’t start reading Boy Nobody just before bedtime, especially if you have something important to do the next day. It will not end well, learn from my mistake. I thought I’d just read a few chapters and go to sleep, but somehow I ended up with a can of Red Bull at three in the morning, desperate to keep myself awake long enough to finish that last part. 

Zadoff was very careful not to reveal our protagonist’s name for most of the book, giving him an alias only when the narrative would have suffered otherwise, and always emphasizing the fact that his name, or anything else about him, doesn’t matter. His alias, Benjamin, was also used sparingly in the attempt to make him seem less like a person, and more like a well-oiled machine, completely stripped of personality, a weapon you aim at any given target and wait for it to go off. I'm happy to report that this attempt was very successful.

Our protagonist – I’ll call him Ben to avoid confusion although it’s not his real name - is emotionless, but not cruel; well-trained, but not bloodthirsty; competent, but not overly ambitious. The Program killed his parents and recruited him when he was no more than twelve, and his life has been just one mission after the other ever since. He has no friends, no family, just two bosses (or handlers) he calls Mother and Father. 

While Ben’s story is undoubtedly sad and one can understand why he made some of his choices, make no mistake – he is a killer. He is no would-be assassin; he is an agent with six successful missions behind him. He is the new boy in school who will use his training and expertise to worm his way into your life, kill your parents at first available opportunity and then disappear forever. 

Zadoff’s story seems to be Young Adult by accident, not by design, by which I mean that his protagonist’s age seems to be determined by the effect it has the story, and not the publishers or the market. This means that he didn’t pull any punches: the violence in Boy Nobody is not graphic, but it's constantly present. In many ways, this is a story better suited for older, more mature readers, although there's nothing to prevent me for recommending it to younger audience as well.. 

I loved that the author never tried to redeem his character. He never made excuses for him, never tried to turn him into something he’s not. In that, Boy Nobody is unlike any other YA book before it. Yes, Ben asks himself questions about morality, right and wrong, love and duty, but those questions aren’t the center of this story, nor is there some life-altering lesson hidden between the lines. 

Let me put it this way: try to imagine Jason Bourne in his formative years. If you like what you come up with, it means you’ll probably like Boy Nobody as well. Just make sure to start reading when you know you have time to finish it in one sitting.

Review: Quicksilver (Ultraviolet, #2)

Author: R.J. Anderson
Series: Ultraviolet, #2
Published: May 2nd 2013
Publisher: Orchard
Paperback, 384 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

Back in her hometown, Tori Beaugrand had everything a teenaged girl could want—popularity, money, beauty. But she also had a secret. A secret that could change her life in an instant, or destroy it.

Now she’s left everything from her old life behind, including her real name and Alison, the one friend who truly understood her. She can’t escape who and what she is. But if she wants to have anything like a normal life, she has to blend in and hide her unusual... talents.

Plans change when the enigmatic Sebastian Faraday reappears and gives Tori some bad news: she hasn’t escaped her past. In fact, she’s attracted new interest in the form of an obsessed ex-cop turned investigator for a genetics lab.

She has one last shot at getting her enemies off her trail and winning the security and independence she’s always longed for. But saving herself will take every ounce of Tori’s incredible electronics and engineering skills—and even then, she may need to sacrifice more than she could possibly imagine if she wants to be free.

When Quicksilver was first announced, it was said to be a companion novel to Ultraviolet, R.J. Anderson’s unforgettably original novel about a girl with synesthesia. Knowing that, I didn’t expect the two to be so closely connected, but imagine my joy when I realized how wrong I was. Quicksilver is more of a sequel – a continuation of the same story told from a different perspective. I struggled a bit at first because Anderson doesn’t waste precious time on recaps, but I caught up fairly quickly and my emotional attachments were soon reestablished.

Tori’s voice is radically different from Alison’s. For one, she doesn’t have synesthesia so her narration is less colorful and far more composed. She is a very down-to-earth kind of person, which is perhaps an odd thing to say about an alien. Tori is a very competent mechanic and her personality reflects this – she is calm, collected and precise in every situation she gets thrown into.

Now that the chip has been removed from her arm and she can leave town without getting seazures, Tori and her parents are on the run: from detective Deckard, from GeneSystem Laboratories and from the crazy alien scientist Mathis. Desperate to keep Tori safe, they change their names and move to a small Canadian town. But Tori’s past isn’t far behind, and when Sebastian Faraday comes to her with an unlikely solution, she knows she has no choice but to help him.

Despite her loving parents and several other people who care deeply about her, Tori’s loneliness is overwhelming. Hers is a self-imposed isolation, born out of fear of rejections and a strong sense of not belonging, and it was almost unbearable at times. Walls after walls after walls appear, and in many ways, Tori’s existence is even sadder and more solitary than Alison’s.

There is a boy, of course – a loyal, intelligent Korean boy – a friend, pretend boyfriend and quite a few things in between. He is impossible not to like, so Tori decides to do something she’s never done before – be (partially) honest and not give him false hope. She tells him she’s never been attracted to another person in her life, that she’s basically asexual. I loved Anderson’s approach to this. Loved! She never wrote about Tori’s condition as something that needed to be cured or changed, but simply as a fact of life that may or may not be bypassed in the future. Not altered, just worked around. For the millionth time, Anderson did something that’s never been done before, and I applaud her for it.

Alison’s role in Quicksilver is minor, but vital. I’d like to say I missed her the entire time, but the truth is that Tori, Milo and Faraday occupied my every thought and I barely even noticed her absence. When she did join the group, she brought with her the open emotionality Tori sorely lacks, and it was then I realized how different these two books really are.

Enough loose threads were left to make a third book possible, but even if it doesn’t come, I’m happy with where we left things. Once again, Anderson wrote a book that defies all expectations and if we’re lucky, she’ll choose to write another one. If not, we’ll always have Ultraviolet and Quicksilver to remind us that originality isn’t gone, it just hides very well from most authors.

Boy Nobody Promo Post

Author: Allen Zadoff

Release date: May 23rd 2013

Publisher: Orchard

Paperback, 368 pages

Pre-order: The Book Depository

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new name, makes few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's family to die -- of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next target. 

When his own parents died of not-so-natural causes at the age of eleven, Boy Nobody found himself under the control of The Program, a shadowy government organization that uses brainwashed kids as counter-espionage operatives. But somewhere, deep inside Boy Nobody, is somebody: the boy he once was, the boy who wants normal things (like a real home, his parents back), a boy who wants out. And he just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's next mission.

Trailer:

Excerpt.

BN Extract 1.PDF

I am not really a fan of book trailers, but this one is so exciting! I've been looking forward to this book for months, and now it's finally time to read and discuss with you guys.

Review: Monument 14 (Monument 14, #1)

Author: Emmy Laybourne
Series: Monument 14, #1
Release date: April 4th 2013
Publisher: Hachette Children's
Paperback, 352 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong ...

Fourteen kids stranded inside a superstore. Inside they have everything they could ever need. There's junk food and clothes, computer games and books, drugs and alcohol ... and without adult supervision they can do whatever they want.

Sounds like fun?

But outside the world is being ripped apart by violent storms and chemicals leaking into the atmosphere that, depending on blood type, leave victims paranoid, violent or dead.

The kids must remain inside, forced to create their own community, unsure if they'll ever be able to leave. Can they stop the world they've created inside from self-destructing too?

Lately, I’ve been growing increasingly tired of all the apocalypse scenarios we’re being bombarded with. Getting me to read one without whining too hard is no small feat, my friends. But even though Monument 14 has been getting some very mixed reviews, I felt weirdly drawn to it from the start and surprisingly enough, ended up enjoying it. We’ll call this intuition, although dumb luck might be more accurate.

Emmy Laybourne’s version of the apocalypse is what makes Monument 14 work. None of it is too hard to imagine: the chemical disaster, weather gone mad, people affected according to their blood type, child predators using the opportunity to do their absolute worst. Really, this could all happen tomorrow! When Dean and Alex woke up that morning, they didn’t even dream that they wouldn’t be coming home that day, that there would be no home to come back to. Who could have predicted that they wouldn't be going to school at all, but that they would end up in a superstore with twelve other terrified kids and with raging weather outside.

In such claustrophobic environment, characters become extremely important. Worldbuilding itself, while convincing and terrifying, didn’t do much to show Laybourne’s skill. Characters, on the other hand, showed how great a writer she is, despite this being her debut. She did more than just flesh out Dean and Alex, she breathed life into all 14 of her characters equally. Each name came with a complete person with opinions, backgrounds, traumas, and more importantly, coping mechanisms. We get a clear picture of each of them, even though we only see them trough Dean’s eyes.

Each of these kids reacts differently and Laybourne is an excellent psychologists. Everything her characters did made perfect sense in those circumstances, and she showed rather excellently how people deal with grief and fear in so many different ways. Some kids fight to be in charge and organize the others to increase their chances of survival, while the others raid the pharmacy for prescription drugs. Some even attempt to do both. Adding the smaller kids into the mix was a risky, but extremely smart move. It was them, or the need to take care of them, that kept the older ones from losing it.

For the most part, our Dean is no hero. He is not one of the popular kids, he is not smart like his younger brother, he has no talent for sports and his people skills need work. But there was something about his sardonic voice I found very easy to identify with and while he kept doing stupid and embarrassing things, I couldn’t help but sympathize. His thoughts and comments were often unintentionally hilarious, which only made me like him even more.

The almost-cliffhanger Laybourne left us with didn’t bother me as much as these things usually do. There was at least some closure, not an ending, but a new beginning, a change in the circumstances that promises a brilliant and thrilling sequel.

Review: Fractured (Slated, #2)

Author: Teri Terry
Series: Slated, #2
Release date: April 4th 2013
Publisher: Orchard Books
Paperback, 432 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

How do you know where to go when you don't remember where you came from?

Kyla's memory has been erased,

her personality wiped blank,

her memories lost for ever.

Or so she thought.

Kyla shouldn't be able to remember anything. But she can - and she's beginning to realise that there are a lot of dark secrets locked away in her memories. When a mysterious man from her past comes back into her life, she thinks she's on her way to finding the truth. But the more she learns about her history, the more confusing her future becomes...

Set in a disturbing future world, FRACTURED is an engrossing, fast-paced read that establishes Teri Terry as a master thriller writer.

Fractured doesn’t suffer from the dreaded middle book syndrome, not in the least. If anything, the stakes are higher, the plot more complicated and the characters better developed. It is a tense read, a thrill ride from start to finish. There were times when I was genuinely afraid for Kyla, even though the rational part of me insisted that nothing too terrible could happen to her.

Most of the anxiety I experienced was caused by Nico, an important person from Kyla’s past. Even when she didn’t know who or what she was, due to being slated, she knew he was no ordinary teacher. His presence brought forth some very strong emotions, but she didn’t quite know what to make of him. As her memories started returning in Fractured, her feelings toward him became even more complicated. For the most part, he was kind and supportive, and Kyla kept getting this urge to please him, to gain his approval. But even when he was smiling at her, there was a feeling of wrongness she couldn’t shake. As the story progressed and her past with Nico came to light, I as a reader understood that what Kyla was experiencing was some form of Stockholm syndrome, but her confusion and constant changes were done excellently. The nuances of their relationship, the creepy undertones, were impossible to ignore.

Thanks to Nico and his many forms of tough love, Kyla is actually three different persons in Fractured: Kyla, the slated girl; Rain, a Free UK fighter under Nico’s command; and Lucy, the little girl who was taken and broken by Nico, only to be rebuilt into a terrorist. Handling an MC with a multiple personality disorder of sorts on top of Stockholm syndrome would probably prove challenging for most authors, but Terry dealt with it beautifully. I was (although it seems a bit rude to admit it) more than a little surprised.

Ben was mostly absent in Fractured, but he was always present in Kyla’s mind and a great many of her actions were in some way motivated by her desire to protect him and reunite with him. He was, in his absence, perhaps more important to the story than he would have been had he actually been there. Through him, Terry showed that a feeling as strong as love can work against any kind of conditioning.

Some old secondary characters were given more important roles, and some exciting new ones were introduced. Tori, Ben’s supposedly re-slated old girlfriend played an essential part and caused some emotional conflicts, and then there was Katran, another Free UK fighter and Rain’s (Kyla’s) greatest rival for Nico’s affection and approval.

All in all, I thought Terry did an outstanding job with this sequel and I simply can’t wait for the final installment in the Slated trilogy.

Review: Frost (Mist, #2)

Author: Kathryn James
Series: Mist, #2
Release date: January 1st 2013
Publisher: Hodder Children's
Paperback, 323 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository


I honestly never thought I’d say this, but Frost is even better than Mist. The stakes are higher, the romance is more intense (although still appropriate for MG readers), and the action is far more exciting.

After spending two months far north, trying to open the iron camps and release their elders, Evan had to return to help the other Elven children, but he is not the lighthearted boy he once was. Watching his parents and hundreds of other Elven waste away in the iron camps changed him, made him mistrustful of all humans, including Nell. During those two months, Nell tried to go back to her usual, everyday life, but a part of her remained with the Elven and especially with Evan. When Star comes to her for help, terrified and panicky, Nell is ready to do anything to save Evan’s world.

She saw shadows start to move on his face, like last time when he’d told her about his family in the iron camp. This time, as he’d told her how cold they’d become, and how they’d walked for days, hardly sleeping, snow formed on his eyelashes and frost on his face.

The harps that are keeping the Elven world alive are slowly going quiet. Without them, there will be no more forest behind the mist, no place the Elven kids can call their own. They would be forced to come to the human world, where they would surely be hunted down by the Watchers and forced into iron camps. There are no adults they can turn to, only Nell and Evan.

This time, the sweetest almost-couple had more than just prejudice and fear to fight – they had to join forces against the cold-hearted ice Elven. A brother and a sister, Loki and Laki, showed up in Nell’s little town and turned Nell’s older sister and her friends into mindless servants. While immune to their powers, Nell was still desperate to protect her sister Gwen.

In Frost, the world around Evan and Nell expanded even more and Kathryn James was really able to let her imagination run wild. When she combined that with her beautiful writing, what resulted was a book that was rich and magical, gentle and more satisfying than any fairy tale.

Nell was even more fierce and daring in this book, and rightfully so. She did achieve the impossible last time after all. Evan, while wounded and traumatized, still kept showing his sweet side, especially around Nell.

All the loose ends were tied in Frost so I don’t think there’ll be another book, but I can hope, right? For someone who doesn’t even read Middle Grade, I’m enjoying this series more than I can put into words.

Review: Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society, #3)

Author: Ally Carter
Series: Heist Society, #3
Release date: February 7th 2013
Publisher: Orchard
Paperback, 352 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository



Perfect Scoundrels was my Waiting on Wednesday pick just over a month ago, and no wonder; I’ve been looking forward to it for months. I loved Heist Society and I loved Uncommon Criminals (although maybe just a tiny bit less), but Perfect Scoundrels exceeded all my expectations. It was by far the best of the series, exciting and virtually unputdownable.

Finally (finally!) things moved forward between Kat and Hale, but just as Kat recovered from the panic attack their new girlfriend-boyfriend status caused her, the news came that Hale’s grandmother is dead and that he inherited his family’s billion dollar company.

In Perfect Scoundrels, Kat and her crew faced the most cunning enemy yet, and the stakes were even higher because they’re defending one of their own. W.W. Hale the Fifth may be an heir and a billionaire, but he is also the most loyal, wonderful person any of them has ever met. Kat’s entire family (and it’s a very large family) had to work together to fix the mess and steal back the boy that has become irreplaceable to them all. As difficult as that sounds, it's still easier said than done. Kat’s usual crew – Gabrielle, Nick, Simon and the Bagshaw brothers – needed help from their elders to outsmart Hale’s enemies and save his company.

It was exactly what Kat would have done – what she had done on a number of occasions – and she felt the sting that comes from knowing that turnabout is absolutely not fair play.

In this emotionally difficult situation, Kat shone brighter than ever. I’ve always admired her, but here she showed the presence of mind and astounding maturity one simply doesn’t expect from a 16-year-old, not even an accomplished thief. Hale always seemed more mature to me, but that was not the case in Perfect Scoundrels. While he was busy mourning and showing us his more vulnerable side, Kat was fighting everyone (including him at times) to steal back the boy she just wasn’t ready to let go.

Once again, Ally Carter’s trademark sense of humor was present on every page, but in this book, she showed a different side of her characters as well – a frightened, more vulnerable side that gave them more credibility. I’ve complained in my earlier reviews that this series lacks emotional depth, but that’s not the case anymore. Finally these characters are three-dimensional. I just hope this won’t be the last time we get to see them.

I think my overall enjoyment of this series is largely due to my love for W.W. Hale the Fifth. He is the perfect love interest (and possibly a hero in his own right) , good looking and genuinely nice, but mysterious enough to keep me on my toes the entire time. He still didn’t share what W.W. stands for, although he came very close in one heartbreaking scene, but we did get to learn the nickname his family uses for him, and let me tell you, it’s not one you’re likely to forget. *g*

Objectively speaking, this isn’t a 4.5-star book, but I gave it the extra half just because it made me happy – and objectivity be damned. It’s my party after all, and I fervently wish there were more books like Perfect Scoundrels out there. I’d read them all. And then I’d re-read them.

Review: The Obsidian Mirror (Chronoptika, #1)

Author: Catherine Fisher
Series: Chronoptika
Publication: October 4th 2012
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Paperback, 400 pages
Buy: The Book Depository


I knew very little about Catherine Fisher before reading The Obsidian Mirror, only that she wrote Incarceron, which I have yet to read, so it’s safe to say I went into this with no expectations whatsoever, just the usual excitement over a pretty cover. In a nutshell, The Obsidian Mirror is a Middle Grade adventure that combines Science Fiction elements (time travel, to be exact), with fairy lore. Had I realized this in time, I doubt I would have requested it since I normally avoid MG like the plague, but it would have been my loss. Fisher is an excellent writer with a good sense of pacing and wonderful imagination.

Time travel always confuses me a bit, but Fisher didn’t make it too complicated. Many questions were left unanswered, but enough was revealed for me to enjoy the story. The obsidian mirror itself, a time portal of sorts, remains a mystery, but one that will surely be resolved in the next installment. The only piece that simply refuses to fit are the fairies. They might be colorful and deliciously creepy, but they contribute nothing to the story and I can’t for the life of me understand their purpose. Perhaps it will be clearer in the second book, but for now, they’re nothing more than a decoration. (Not for me, though, I’m so scared of them.)

I am not a fan of multiple points of view and I think I would have liked this book more if it were told from Jake’s perspective alone, preferably in first person. Third person, multiple points of view is my least favorite narrative choice as it often prevents me from creating emotional bonds with the characters and the entire experience can somehow seem cold and clinical. Switching from Jake to Sarah and back, with a few short chapters with other narrative voices broke the natural flow, and all the diary entries by the mirror’s original owner, although essential, certainly didn’t help.

I did like Fisher’s writing a lot, although it’s nothing like what I usually enjoy. Her sentences are short and clear, her style refreshingly concise, and yet she somehow avoids making it seem stilted. It worked well for The Obsidian Mirror, mostly because it’s a Middle Grade adventure and not very emotional at all, but I’m curious to see how it worked in Incarceron.

The Obsidian Mirror left so many questions unanswered and I simply can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel. I will also read Incarceron and Sapphique as soon as I can. Great job, Ms. Fisher!

The Repossession + The Hunting Giveaway

Hi, everyone!

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The first rule of Fight Club is: We do not talk about Fight Club.

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Review: Heaven by Cristoph Marzi

Author: Christoph Marzi
Publication date: February 2nd 2012
Publisher: Orchard Books

The night that Heaven lost her heart was cold and moonless. But the blade that sliced it out was warm with her dark blood. Forlorn, bewildered and throbbing fearfully, the heart was mirrored in the curved, silvery knife.

Heaven by Cristoph Marzi is a very unusual and refreshing modern day fairy tale. It was originally published in German in 2009, then translated to English and published by Orchard Books in 2012. If there’s one thing I love about Orchard, it’s that they’re not afraid to publish strange, risky titles that are clearly not for everyone (case in point: Ultraviolet). Heaven is a perfect example of precisely that – it is a beautiful, but unsettling story with a deeper allegorical significance. It can be taken at face value, or dug into for as many layers as any individual reader sees fit.

For seventeen-year-old David Pettyfer, life in Cardiff with his family became almost impossible when he was fifteen years old, so he ran away to London where he pushed drugs to survive. A year later, he got a job at a small bookstore and a tiny room above it and managed to turn his life around. He works for an old widow with a gift for finding rare books. One night, while running across the rooftops in Kensington, he nearly falls over a beautiful girl crouching in the dark. Her name is Heaven and she claims her heart has been cut out from her chest by two evil men. Naturally, David assumes she’s drunk or on drugs, but when they get to the emergency room, her lack of heartbeat confirms her story. Pretty soon both David and Heaven are being chased by these two evil men all over London. In order to survive, they need to find a way to get Heaven’s heart back.

For what’s basically an urban fairy tale, Heaven is extremely fast-paced. Remember Run Lola Run with Franka Potente? That’s how it felt to me. David and Heaven were constantly moving, changing, running from one life-threatening situation into another. Still, David wasn’t too quick to believe Heaven’s story. After all, no one can lose a heart and live to tell the tale. It wasn’t until the ER doctor frowned and went to make a mysterious phone call that David realized Heaven was telling the truth. Although David felt immediately attracted to this dark-skinned girl, their romance didn’t develop instantly. They took the time to get to know one another as much as the circumstances allowed before falling in love.

There were two things that disappointed and made me lower my rating. Villains were the first. They too were straight out of a fairy tale, but pure, unrestrained evil isn’t nearly as frightening as subtle evil. Instead, it can be almost ridiculous at times, and with these two, Marzi walked a very thin line. Secondary characters were also neglected, especially in the first half. Interludes, small chapters from their points of view helped, but there were some I wanted to know more about.

Regardless of its few flaws, Heaven deserves far more attention than it’s been getting, if for nothing else, then for the novelty it brings to the Young Adult genre.

Review: Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society, #2)

Author: by Ally Carter
Publisher: Orchard
Publication date: July 5th 2012 
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



If there was ever a Young Adult book written almost exclusively for actual young adults, it’s Uncommon Criminals. In fact, with its light tone, overly simplified plot, short chapters, third person narrative and extremely subtle romance, it is at times more appropriate for younger young adults or even middle grade readers and should be judged/rated as such.

After successfully stealing (back) four paintings from the seemingly impenetrable Henley museum and returning them to their rightful owners, Kat has acquired a Robin Hood-like reputation. Therefore, she is only mildly surprised when an old lady, the rightful owner of the Kleopatra emerald, asks her to steal the supposedly cursed stone and return it to her family. Still feeling lucky after several well-done jobs, Kat shuts down her instincts and accepts the job. Hale is the voice of reason, very much against it, but as always, he goes where Kat goes, regardless of the consequences.
If Heist Society reminded me a lot of Ocean’s Eleven, Uncommon Criminals is an oversimplified version of Ocean’s Twelve. The crew gets conned by a better thief and they must find a way to outsmart that thief and retrieve what they lost. (Though the thief here isn’t as hot as Vincent Cassel, that’s for sure.)

As much as I like Hale (and he’s one swoon-worthy boy, believe me), his wealth and status seem awfully convenient at times. His contacts open all doors, the crew travels in private jets, and if they need a yacht near Monte Carlo, well of course he has one ready! I loved how devoted he was to Kat in Heist Society, but in Uncommon Criminals, he went from being devoted to being a doormat at times. Kat too seems to have changed for the worst. After the Henley job, she developed not just a reputation, but an overabundance of ego as well. She had reason to, up to a point, but she went a bit too far by taking sole credit for something that was a team effort.

Keeping in mind what I mentioned at the beginning, I won’t lower my rating because the heists themselves seemed far too simple. I look at this book the same way I’d look at The Famous Five – I would have adored it when I was twelve, loved it still when I was 14. At 28, I found it entertaining, but I really can’t take it seriously.

I’ll read the third book mostly because it focuses on Hale, and from all the characters, he’s the one I haven’t managed to figure out.

Review: Heist Society (Heist Society, #1)

Author: Ally Carter
Publication date: September 1st 2011
Publisher: Orchard Books
Paperback, 332 pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I love tales about thieves and con artists, book series like The Curse Workers and movies like Ocean’s Eleven. I love it when seemingly random events come together neatly and cleverly in the end. Therefore, I loved Heist Society. It is admittedly not as clever as White Cat, for example, but I had a hard time putting it down and that’s a big deal these days.

Fifteen-year-old Katarina Bishop is a very experienced con artist. She may be ridiculously young, but in her line of work, she’s one of the best. Descended from a long line of skilled con men and educated by her own father, Kat knows every trick in the book. But the kind of life she’s been leading for as long as she can remember can be very tiresome so she’s decided to try something different – get a proper education.
At the beginning of Heist Society, Kat is being expelled from a very prestigious boarding school she’d conned her way into. Her best friend and fellow con artist, W.W. Hale the Fifth, set her up and had her expelled, all because her father’s in trouble and needs help. Someone has stolen five absurdly expensive paintings from Arturo Taccone, a very rich and unscrupulous man who is convinced that Kat’s dad is responsible and is ready to do anything at all to get them back. He doesn’t care that her father has an alibi and that he’s being watched by the Interpol. He just wants his property back, and to give it back to him, Kat and her friends have to steal them from a place no one has ever broken into – the Henley museum in London.

I’m not sure why I waited so long to read Heist Society – it’s exactly the kind of book I usually can’t resist – light, fast and utterly unputdownable. Once I started thinking about flaws, I realized it is also a bit too short. There was room for a few more plot twists, and although I’m not normally a fan of watered down plots, I did feel that things were happening far too fast.

The characters were all interesting, colorful and full of quirks. I loved getting to know them and figuring them out, enjoyed trying to understand their motives and loyalties. Although Kat is the main character, I feel that I’ve learned more about the others than I did about her, but some things were made clearer towards the end and I can’t wait to discover more in Uncommon Criminals. Although there are two gorgeous boys in Kat’s world, Heist Society is really romance-free. There are hints of a relationship and some scenes did feel a bit love triangle-ish, but it is quite clear who Kat belongs with, and I’m pretty confident that’s who she’ll end up with.

To make the long story short (*gasp* Yes, I do that occasionally!), I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick summer read.