By: tanita davis,
on 5/7/2013
This has all the earmarks of a great series: an engaging, realistically flawed main character, stupendously detailed world-building, and tons of new-things-per-page. It's got adventure and heart -- but felt uneven. I wasn't aware this novel would... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 5/1/2013
First Wednesday of the Month, kids! Once upon a time we at Wonderland dubbed these find days Wicked Cool Wednesday! In the name of full disclosure, that these things come together in this posting is a total accident, but hey: it's the first... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 4/26/2013
I frequently complain about the plethora of authors switching tracks from adult books to YA novels, and not bringing their best game. This is not one of those complaints. Sophronia took a deep breath. " What, precisely, will I be expected to learn... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 4/24/2013
In the world of judging a book by its cover, I'll admit, I caved. I was interested in this novel solely because of its cover, and because it was put out by a Canadian press. I find that I enjoy historical fiction from Canada, because it's generally... Read the rest of this post
By: Uniquely Moi Books,
on 4/23/2013
By: tanita davis,
on 4/17/2013
All hail the cooperative! I know I'm always on my soapbox for the Little Guy, but seriously, many readers never see books that aren't put out by the Big Five publishing houses (it used to be Big Six, before the Random Penguin House thing). Curiosity... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 4/10/2013
The adventures I have, when I randomly buy, pick up, or otherwise gank books! Once again, I am SUPER EXCITED because I've found another Cybils contender so early in the year. I'm a Luddite at heart, and I have had access to ereaders for years, but... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 4/10/2013
ALL RIGHT. I know I say this every time, but I ♥ Tu Books. It's just the kind of publishing company so many people were waiting for - because where else can you tell your crazy YA tales of monsters, the Malleus Maleficarum - the Spanish... Read the rest of this post
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By: fishgirl182,
on 4/9/2013
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/3/2013
Geoff Johns’ final storyline as Green Lantern Chief is ‘Wrath of the First Lantern’, a storyline which will conclude with issue #20 of the main book. The event has brought in, as is always the case, the other three Lantern titles as a crossover, and tells the story of a new/old threat to the Lantern Corps. And while it’s a solid storyline, it’s also a very strange one for Johns to bring to the table at this point…
Wrath of the First Lantern sees the very first Green Lantern ever, Volthoom (get used to hearing some very silly names, guys), escape a prison he was put in and subsequently go on a rampage around the Universe. He moves from one lantern to another at a time, therefore creating the crossover, and goes on the offensive. The strange thing about the storyline is that each time he catches up to one – be it John Stewart, Atrocitus, Kyle Rayner, or whoever – he effectively recaps their origin to them, making this one of the best stories to jump onto in a while.
Yes – the very last storyline from Geoff Johns is also essentially a series of origin stories for every single one of the main characters in the Green Lantern franchise. It’s rather strange. Volthoom’s power appears to be that he can rewrite timestreams, going backwards and forwards in time to change the lives of other people. So he can create a world where Hal Jordan’s father doesn’t die, or he can maintain the status quo and keep Poppa Jordan dead. For the last few weeks, Volthoom has gone over to a series of different characters, shown them alternate lives they could’ve lived, and then refused to change them – every week that’s happened. Readers get a potted history of whomever Volthoom has caught now, and by the end of the issue Volthoom has refused to change the origin, and also captured the hero.
This does allow Johns access to a reset button should he choose to take it. The last ten years have been one of change for the franchise, with grand sweeping gestures and smaller character-focused moments all built up on each other for a series of pretty successful storylines. Some of the stories have been better than others, but for the most part the Geoff Johns era of Green Lantern has been a pretty amazing success, creatively. Not only does Green Lantern now support four titles simultaneously, but it also tells stories which change the sweep of the DC Universe – from Sinestro Corps War to Blackest Night. There’s a clear vision for the characters, who have all been developed fairly well for ten consecutive years.
That can all be reset and cleared away if Geoff Johns wants to, via Volthoom. I’m hoping he doesn’t choose to take this route, because Volthoom hasn’t really worked as a villain so far. As a character, the villain has mainly existed as a fountain of exposition, narrating the lives of Guy Gardner or Carol Ferris like some kind of malevolent David Attenborough. He hasn’t had a particularly visible goal as a villain, and his progress has been very repetitive indeed. The saving grace has been that his powers offer artists a chance to try out some fantastically experimental page layouts, as they pull apart the lives of characters and arrange the important moments into spider-webs, and tapestries.
The story has served to underline the strength of the main characters. There are now around 20 characters in the Green Lantern franchise who could be used as the lead for one of the books, which speaks to how well the writers have managed to pick out underused, well-conceived characters already floating around in the DC Universe. There are several characters who had fallen into obscurity over the years, and writers like Peter Tomasi have done brilliant work in repurposing them. If nothing else, Wrath of the First Lantern has proven to be an excellent showcase for the franchise itself, and the directions new writers and artists could choose to take it in. Hopefully they won’t choose to, y’know, murder half of them.
Wrath of the Green Lanterns isn’t finished yet – Green Lantern #20 is the finale for the storyline, and for Geoff Johns’ run as a whole. It’s been very strange to take this moment in the run and start retelling everybody’s origin storyline – but it’s been a nice little showcase for the characters, and given the various creative teams a chance to experiment a bit with their storytelling. Fun, if a little unnecessary.
By: tanita davis,
on 4/2/2013
Okay, so, here's the thing.This isn't the sort of book that you can review. You can only... respond. Reader Gut Reaction: First of all, if this is your first Jaclyn Moriarty book, I might suggest you start with a different one. NOT because there's... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 3/27/2013
Everyone from Forbes Magazine to individual authors are selling the "thar's gold in them there backlists!" schtick. But, is there really? Are book which were first published in the seventies or eighties best kept there? A book which goes out of... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita davis,
on 3/26/2013
It was amusingly ridiculous, the trouble it took to get a copy of this book. First, I thought I'd already reviewed it, years ago. Turns out I'd reviewed another of the author's novels (and hadn't even labeled that one properly, so almost didn't find... Read the rest of this post
By: Jennifer Wylie,
on 3/23/2013
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I bought this book, which is saying a lot right there. I don’t buy a lot of books these days. However, a great friend on facebook recommended this one and the cover and blurb immediately caught my eye.
I sat down in the evening planning on reading a few pages before bed…and didn’t stop. Yes, it’s one of THOSE books.
There isn’t anything I didn’t like about it. The characters are all well defined and unique, and likable. Ari and Shane had a growing relationship.. not a OMGyouaremysoulmateandIloveyouevenifIjustmetyou love. Awesome battle scenes, strong female lead, wonderful supporting characters, great plot and story. Overall a very engaging and fun read.
My only problem is that it ended and there are more books in the series. I rather want to timewarp ahead to the future so I can read them now!
Go give it a try. 2.99 at Amazon
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By: Julie,
on 3/13/2013
  |
Title: A Risk Worth Taking Author: Victoria James |
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
Interior designer Holly Carrington worked hard for her success. Then tragedy struck, leaving Holly the sole guardian of her infant niece. Now she’s swapped her designer purse for a diaper bag, and is going ahead with plans to renovate—and sell—her childhood home in Red River. But facing her past also means coming face-to-face with Quinn Manning all over again…Quinn was the object of her girlhood crush—and heartbreak— and is more gorgeous than ever. He’s also the only person qualified to oversee the renovation. Now they’re butting heads every step of the way… and their attraction is more electrifying than ever! But once the house is sold, Holly needs to return to her real life. And falling for Quinn all over again is one risk she can’t take…
Review:
This book had me invested in Holly’s life by the end of the first chapter. It was heart-breaking. It’s her big day at work, and she has worked the last ten years for this moment. Her wardrobe was carefully picked out, and she is glowing with happiness. She is finally going to be made a partner at the prestigious design firm where she’s employed when she gets the call that makes her realize how pointless her achievement really is. Her sister and brother-in-law have been killed in an accident, and now she’s left reeling, the guardian of her infant niece. How can she raise a child alone? How will she recover from yet another loss? Everyone she has loved has died – her parents, the grandparents who raised her and her sister, and now her sister’s gone, too. It’s just too much, and Holly is devastated.
Returning to her rural hometown to renovate and then flip her grandparents’ house, she is confronted with painful memories of her past. She has loved Quinn for a lifetime, but he rejected her when she was eighteen. Now she has to put on a brave front and face him, and all of her childhood memories. All she wants to do is get the house finished and get out of town, and back to her life in the city where she’s so busy she doesn’t have time to dwell on the emptiness of her life.
I enjoyed A Risk Worth Taking very much. I loved the interactions between Holly and Quinn, and even enjoyed Emma, Holly’s little niece. I usually am not a big fan of babies in romances, but Emma wasn’t just window-dressing here. She was central to the storyline, and she helped both Holly and Quinn’s hearts to heal. Despite her best efforts to not get caught up in her feelings for Quinn, which still burned bright, Holly’s resolve crumbled as he became an important addition to her new family. And Quinn, though he didn’t feel worthy of Emma’s love or trust, was able to put his painful past behind him with the baby and Holly’s help.
A Risk Worth Taking is a feel good read. You’ll get caught up in Quinn and Holly’s romance, and cheer along as they both learn to trust again. As Holly puts aside her sadness, she begins to remember all of the happiness she has turned her back on. As she remembers what is really important in life, she is willing to face the risks, and the rewards, of loving Quinn.
Grade: B+
Review copy provided by publisher
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/12/2013
I was sent the first issue of this miniseries from Art Heroes a few months ago, where it seemed like a fun, all-ages series about a superhero duo. But then the story suddenly went off in a radically unexpected direction, and proved itself to be a thorough and startling deconstruction of superhero comics as a whole. There’s a really sharp edge of satire to this book, woven so tightly into the narrative that it never feels forced or blatant. It quietly gets a point across about the state of mainstream superheroes, before offering a pair of contemporary, likeable, NICE superheroes to rejuvenate the genre. And it does it within an all-ages setting, creating a comic for anybody. It’s a reconstruction job for the superhero genre, and a welcome reminder of just why the characters proved so popular to begin with.
Now, I’ll settle this quickly before I move on – since getting sent the first issue a few months ago, I’ve now met writer Daniel Clifford and artist Lee Robinson. So I do know the creative team now, as a result of following them up from that first email. I’m going to give an objective review, but I like to be upfront about reviewing comics from people I’m friendly with. TRANSPARENCY, guys!
The final issue of the miniseries came out yesterday, completing a storyline which genuinely caught me off-guard. Halcyon & Tenderfoot are a father-and-son superhero team who are just setting out together for the first time. Halcyon is set up like a Superman-style hero (or like Mr Incredible from The Incredibles, actually), who quit the superhero business after realising that most of the heroes he inspired have now turned into villains themselves. There’s no moral code anymore, and the heroes have resorted to murder and violence just as much as the villains have. Already, you’re probably seeing a little bit of the subtext rise through in the story. Halcyon is eventually persuaded to return to heroism, and decides to start a new era of heroic heroes – starting by bringing his son, Tenderfoot, into the business.
And the series essentially just moves along from that point, exploring the mindset of these two heroes whilst also creating a bigger world as well. The other heroes feel shamed – but don’t change their minds about this whole ‘darker and edgier’ business, whilst the villains decide to poke at the heroes, to see if they can’t be made to deviate from their moral code. It’s a story working out if heroes can still be heroes, in a world where heroism has become diluted and harder to pick out, and Clifford does a great job in establishing and working on that idea. The narrative is held in place tight, allowing the characters space to have fun without slowing the momentum of the story.
Some of the characters are tighter than others, however. While the central pairing both have narrative arcs which play out carefully and smartly, the villain of the story is a little more difficult to place. The character seems to have wild mood swings from one moment to the next, apologising for his crimes whilst gleefully committing them – he doesn’t really get established as being so variable in mood, and so his sections in the comic come off rather strangely. He appears to be following one narrative path, before veering off into another, before changing his mind again. His final moments put him on the better of the two narratives, but it’s hard to keep track of him at times.
Similarly, a young hero called Jenny Wren shows up, and brings a rather daring storyline into play for the series. Although things with her are wrapped up a little too neatly, it’s interesting to see just how much friction and tension the creative team can put into an all-ages comic, without resorting to conspiracies or violence or adult material. In a sense, this reads a lot like a Pixar film on paper, in that the storyline can become dark without alienating a young audience. There’s no shying away from more adult storylines, but they’re presented in a way which seems realistic and difficult, rather than simplified for the readers. The tone of the book is brilliantly conceived.
It’s a black and white series, which perhaps doesn’t show off Lee Robinson’s bright, bouncy character designs and layouts as strongly as possible. His characters look different and stand apart from one another, even as the cast grows. Colours would possibly help to better establish a few of the twists towards the end, but the design and tone still stand out on the page, and give this a cartoony style. The storytelling gets better as the series goes along, with issue #1 having a few difficult sequences, but issue #4 nailing both conversational and action scenes. Robinson’s art manages to be very expressive, allowing Clifford to try a few different stylistic twists as the story goes along. I would say that some of the lettering at the start is a bit hard to read, but this also seems to be resolved by the time the book reaches the end.
All in all, Halcyon & Tenderfoot was a massive surprise for me. I thought it was going to be a fun, throwaway superhero comic with not much to it, but it suddenly shifts remarkably into a rather powerful, moving piece of work. The art is fantastically conceived and designed really nicely, whilst the characters and dialogue feel fresh and realistic. It’s a story which tries to set the superhero genre back on track – and accomplishes it. I hope more people try it, because it’s a genuine breath of fresh air. You can get it in print, or buy it at a discounted digital price over at the Art Heroes website. And I really, really recommend that you do!
By: Julie,
on 3/11/2013
  |
Title: Me, Him, Them, and It Author: Caela Carter |
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
ME is Evelyn Jones, 16, a valedictorian hopeful who’s been playing bad girl to piss off THEM, her cold, distant parents. HIM is Todd, Evelyn’s secret un-boyfriend, who she thought she was just using for sex – until she accidentally fell in love with him. But before Evelyn gets a chance to tell Todd how she feels, something much more important comes up. IT. IT is a fetus. Evelyn is pregnant – and when Todd turns his back on her, Evelyn has no idea who to turn to. Can a cheating father, a stiff, cold mother, a pissed-off BFF, and a (thankfully!) loving aunt with adopted girls of her own help Evelyn make the heart-wrenching decisions that follow?
Review:
Wow, at times Me, Him, Them, And It is a hard book to read. Evelyn is a self-destructive teen, who is crying out for attention from her parents. Because her home life is so dysfunctional, nothing she does makes them bat an eye. Her mother is emotionally stunted, unable to communicate her feelings, and her father has been caught cheating, so he is struggling with guilt. He leaves for a time, but then comes back home, and everything is changed. The house is silent, nobody talks, and Evelyn is spiraling in a black depression she can’t escape. She is like her mother; unable to adequately communicate her feelings, even to her best friend. The words she longs to speak stick in her throat, trapped and suffocating her. There are times I was so frustrated with her, because if she would only SAY something, anything, she wouldn’t have to feel as though she’s carrying the burden of the world on her shoulders.
Evelyn has set a high bar for herself. She wants to be the class valedictorian, and she wants to attend an Ivy League university. It is so sad that neither of her parents has any clue how well she’s doing in school, or what her college ambitions are. Then she decides to punish her parents. She doesn’t want to be Good Evelyn anymore, and who can blame her. She received no credit at all from her distant parents, and she desperately wants their attention. Any kind of attention. The sad thing is, even as she begins indulging in dangerous behavior, they still don’t acknowledge her desperate cries for help. Then she discovers that the risks she has been taking have come home to roost. She’s pregnant, and she doesn’t know what to do.
This book is all about consequences. Evelyn has made a mistake, and now she has to face it. She has to decide what to do about the bean growing in her belly. Todd, the father, turns his back on her, and no matter how hard she tries, she just can’t tell her BFF what’s wrong with her. The only compassionate adult in her life is Mary, a counselor at the local planned parenthood. Because she can’t have a discussion with her mother, Evelyn makes Mary tell her mom that she’s pregnant. Ouch!
I didn’t want to like any of the characters in this book. Everyone is so absorbed in their own drama and agendas that nobody seems to care about anybody else. Evelyn irritated me at times, but then I stopped and realized that there were so many grown up decisions that she had to make, without much input from the adults in her life, and that she had every reason to be confused, angry, and hurt. Overwhelmed. Few of the adults in her life gave her any credit, yet they all demanded that she make a plan. Now. It’s not even like she had a good example of what a real family should be like to base her decisions on.
When she’s sent to live with her Aunt Linda and her family in Chicago, Evelyn is understandably upset. In her hour of need, her parents send her away. Once she falls into a routine at Linda’s, though, she does start to feel like she belongs. She slowly begins to learn how to express herself, though it is a painful and awkward process. And just when I think she is beginning to heal, and she will make a rational decision about what to do about the bean that she blames for ruining her life, she makes yet another impulsive, life altering choice. While the ending is upbeat, Me, Him, Them, and It had me feeling a bit out of sorts. The magnitude of Evelyn’s problem is staggering and her rage at her parents is all-consuming. The choice she must make will alter the lives of almost everyone she knows, and yet all of them leave her to make it on her own. The thought of an angry, resentful, and scared teen making of decision like this on her own just left me depressed.
Grade: B/B+
Check back later today for a chance to win a copy of Me, Him, Them, and It!
Review copy provided by publisher
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By: tanita davis,
on 3/8/2013
- Know all the Questions, but not the Answers - Look for the Different instead of the Same - Never Walk when there's room for Running - - Don't do anything that can't be a Game."The Never Grown-Up Spell, from The Changeling I have a lot of respect... Read the rest of this post
By: Julie,
on 2/26/2013
  |
Title: What’s Left of Me Author: Kat Zhang |
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
I should not exist. But I do.
Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t. . . .
For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable—hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.
Review:
Wow, wow, wow! This is one of the most original YA books I’ve read in a long time. The narrative is tense and compelling, and the setting, which is revealed in small, teasing snippets, is thought-provoking. I admit that when I first picked this up, I was skeptical about it holding my interest. Eva, the narrator, is the less dominate soul, and she shares her body with Addie. Addie has complete control of their body, and Eva, at first, just seems to be along for the ride. As they make two new friends, however, Eva is given the hope that someday she might have some control back over the limbs and voice she shares with Addie. Once the government discovers that Eva still exists, however, she and Addie are imprisoned in a medical facility where the evil Mr Conivent promises their parents that Addie will be “cured.” Using their ill brother’s medical treatments as the bait to take custody of the girls, Eva and Addie discover a sinister plot to cut one of the forbidden souls from the hybrids the scientists are experimenting on.
Addie and Eva are deviants in their society. Everyone is born with two souls, and by the age of ten, most of the lesser souls have “settled,” leaving only the dominant soul behind. Eva and Addie never settled, but after being shuttled from doctor to doctor, they have learned to keep Eva’s continued existence at secret. They pretend that they have settled because they realize how important it is to be considered “normal.” They are tired of doctors, tests, and examinations, and they are afraid of what will happen if it’s discovered that Eva’s soul still very much entwined with Addie’s.
When Addie and Eva form an uneasy friendship with Hally, their secret is exposed, and they are confined to Nornand, a government institution. They discover the terrible truth about the fate of the children who they have been told have gone home. With their lives on the line, they desperately seek a way to escape the institution.
I liked both Addie and Eva. They are scared to death, but they take frightening risks to find a way to freedom, not just for themselves, but for all of the hybrids at Nornand. In order to learn more about what’s going on, they do some things that had my heart pounding. Sneaking around and learning the secrets of Nornand, when it’s obvious that the doctors and nurses, and later, the review board, don’t care about their health, safety, or well-being, had me on the edge of my seat. I hated having to put the book down to go to work!
I’m going to keep this review short because I don’t want to give away any spoilers. I loved the main protagonists and the the secondary characters, and I completely bought into the plot. I found What’s Left of Me to be a suspenseful, exciting read. This book lived up to, and even exceeded, all of my expectations. I enjoyed the time I spent with Addie, Eva, Hally, and Devon, and hope to spend more time with them in the future.
Grade: B+/A-
Review copy obtained from my local library
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By: tanita davis,
on 2/26/2013
Technically? This is a WCOB - one of those wicked cool, overlooked books. The technicality surfaces when you realize this anthology is made up of previously-published pieces by author Ruth Nestvold. Asimov’s Science Fiction mag, Realms of Fantasy,... Read the rest of this post
By: Michelle,
on 2/28/2013
Looking for reviews of our recent titles? The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature, published by the University of Alberta, has reviewed six of our latest titles in its Winter Reading special issue. You’ll find reviews of Agent Angus (Orca Currents) by K.L. Denman, Dead Run (Orca Soundings) by Sean Rodman, Disconnect (Orca Currents) by Lois Peterson, Living Rough (Orca Currents) by Cristy Watson, Maxed Out (Orca Currents) by Daphne Greer and Pyro (Orca Currents) by Monique Polak.
You can find the Deakin Review (and read it online) here: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/deakinreview/issue/view/1394/
By: tanita davis,
on 3/5/2013
Well, you know what they say about middle books.No? You don't? Well, "they" usually say that in any trilogy, the middle book is awful - that it doesn't give you any new information, and that it doesn't do anything but take up space. Sometimes this... Read the rest of this post
Some time last year, Erica Wagner, Publisher at Allen and Unwin, is reported as having said that there was a lot to be gained by having a text already illustrated [not that Allen & Unwin published picture books]. This is seemingly a change in direction.
Some writers/illustrators I know have recently signed contracts for ‘print ready’ books. This is not self-publishing, but submission to a royalty paying publisher of a book that is ‘ready to go’ in publishing terms.
What constitutes a ‘print ready’ book? It is a book that has been -
This is a great way to go for authors who are able to pay illustrators and book designers up front. Most authors are not able to do this. This then means all creators involved in a book project agreeing to royalty share and working between paid projects to collaborate on their book.
What have I gleaned about such ‘print ready’ deals? One company, smaller and reasonably new, offered a small advance and a good contract, by industry standards, with higher than regular royalty share for creators. An offer of help with promotion was also part of the deal. Another company, medium sized and established, offered no advance but better than average royalty shares for creators and help with promotion and marketing of the book.
How does this stack up against what is generally on offer now?
What’s the down side for author, illustrator, book designer, [often the illustrator], to go down the ‘print ready’ publishing path?
Are the rewards worth the effort?
The first company mentioned does small print runs, sells out their print runs, reprints and even sells out reprints and so it seems to be gradually snowballing.
It is too early to know in the second instance. [I’ll keep you posted!]
My feeling is that, if Erica Wagner was sensing a ‘trend’ and if these companies make a success of it, we will see more such deals. It’s something to think about!
To be launched end of June – “Toofs!” a collaboration between J.R. and Estelle A.Poulter an illustrators Monica Rondino and Andrea Pucci. More to come on what was a ‘print ready’ deal.
TOOFS by J.R.Poulter & Estelle A. Poulter, illustrated by Monica Rondino & Andrea Pucci
By: Julie,
on 3/6/2013
  |
Title: Blaze Author: Laurie Boyle Crompton |
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She’s desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark’s feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her "sext" photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now…
Review:
I have mixed feelings about Blaze. I loved the protagonist’s voice, but, man, could Blaze do some stupid things. She frustrated me several times during the narrative, because she was smarter than she acted. She is so desperate to escape her boring soccer mom life that she builds up a non-existent romance with her brother’s soccer coach. The reality of their relationship is much more shallow; they have a hookup in the back of Blaze’s van, and once that’s over, Mark’s interest in Blaze is extinguished.
Blaze is the rock of her family. Her father has abandoned them to pursue an acting career in New York and her mother works long hours as a nurse, so Blaze is the primary caregiver for her younger brother Josh. She shuttles him and his friends back forth to soccer games, attempts to cook, and takes care of most of the household chores. She has two close friends, and not much of a social life. And a boyfriend? Nope, her love life is sadly lacking.
Then one fateful day, Mark, Josh’s soccer coach, asks for a ride home. Blaze has been lusting after Mark from afar all season, and she can’t believe that he’s going to be sitting in her car! Wait, no, her vehicle is the color of crap and it smells like stinky boys. Ugh! Still, she’s not going to let this opportunity go to waste. Awkwardly flirting with him, she is quickly smitten. He’s hot, after all. Mark even makes her laugh and good-naturedly goes along with the silly games she and her young charges play to pass the time during the long drives rides to the soccer games.
After giving him a few more rides to games, Blaze has built up their relationship in her mind, and she starts to think that it’s a lot more than it really is. This frustrated me, because she is not a stupid girl. She is an intelligent young woman with hopes and dreams who can debate the nuances of the Marvel Universe with the best of them, but because her family is so dysfunctional, she is looking for something to break the monotony of her rural life. There has to be something more than being invisible and going to school, and with Mark’s help she’s going to find out what it is.
It’s obvious to the reader that Mark is all wrong for her and that Blaze is in for nothing but heartache. He’s a class A jerk, and I wanted to shake some common sense into her every time Blaze obsessed about the lack of communication from him. When they are together, it’s like they aren’t even speaking the same language. When Mark does her wrong, and Blaze strikes back at him, her life is torn to shreds when he reposts a picture of her that her friend texted to him. Let’s just say that the fallout makes being a boring soccer mom stand-in seem like the best job in the world.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, with a few reservations. Blaze is a comic nerd, more specifically, a Marvel comic nerd, and there is a lot of comic chatter going on in her head. An aspiring comic creator herself, she thinks, eats, and breathe comics. Because I am a comic geek, too, and I’m familiar with the Marvel Universe (and even the Superman issue that she disses), I felt right at home here. If you don’t like comics, have never heard of Comicon, and can’t imagine hanging out in a comic shop, you might be a little bored here.
The other thing that irritated me and made me want to fling the book at the nearest wall was the hookup scene with Blaze and Mark. Blaze, as I have already stated, seems like a smart girl. She should know that having unprotected sex can lead to pregnancy or a life-threatening disease. She hardly knows Mark. By this time in the story, I thought he had proven himself to be a stuck-up, self-centered dirtbag, but my opinion of him certainly does not matter. Nary a protest is made about the lack of a condom, and in this day and age, that’s inexcusable. I don’t care how old you are or how badly you want to keep your boyfriend happy. Ugh!!
Grade: B/B-
Review copy provided by publisher
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By: Michelle,
on 3/8/2013
In recognition of International Women’s Day, we’re excited to share the cooperative efforts of some of our wonderful women writers! They’ve decided to review each other’s new spring titles in the spirit of collaboration. Here, Karen Krossing showcases four new YA titles from fellow authors Leanne Lieberman, Shelley Hrdlitschka and Robin Stevenson!
Check out Karen’s reviews on her website.
This is on my wish list, especially when I discovered that the author wrote for Batman: The Animated Series. Plus, I love the premise.