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Some survived, others didn’t.  Those who did survive have five things in common:   

The last thing thing remember is their age: 12 years old
They are all wearing the same uniform, now too short on their grown bodies
Today is their birthday
They only know their last name (because of a label on the caskets)
They are all branded with a unique circle on their foreheads.

Savage.  Spingate. Bello. O’Malley. Yong.  Aramovsky.

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Google link (if Youtube is filtered at your school:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-wHb5Nsjhy0eXZVOGRIZmNlTjQ/view?usp=sharing

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Egmont, 2014

Sarah is in a the Center, head clamped into a halo, waiting for the drilling to begin.  She knows is all part of the process for her and others in the hospital suffering from PTSD.  She takes her meds like she's supposed to, until one day an orderly hands her a note that reads:

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The Glass Casket. McCormick Templeman. 2014. Random House. 352 pages. [Source: Review copy]

The Glass Casket has a great opening line,

"One bleak morning in the eye of winter, five horses and five riders thundered into the remote mountain village of Nag's End." 

It caught my interest and kept me reading until the very, very end, without a single break. For the record, I do NOT like horror novels. I do NOT like thrillers. Witches. Monsters. Vampires. Not my thing AT ALL. Yet, for some reason, I found myself unable to walk away from this fantasy novel. In other words, I found myself LOVING it.

After these strange riders fail to return, several men go up into the woods and investigate. What they found shocks them to say the least. One man is bloodied and his eyes and tongue are missing. The remaining four were found NAKED and frozen. One could reason that wolves might have killed one of the five men. BUT what would lead four men to strip off their clothes, fold them up, and allow themselves to freeze to death?! And what was up with the last journal entry found in their belongings that reads: It's starting. Tom Parstle is, I believe, the one who finds that journal entry. And he also removes something else from the scene, something that any fan of Pirates of the Caribbean could warn him against, a coin or medallion. "It was a circle enclosing a smaller circle. They were linked by seven spokes, empty spaces between them. He was leaning in to examine it more closely when he found himself suddenly queasy, as if beset by a noxious force" (19). The men return with some answers but more questions.

Rowan Rose is our heroine. She is Tom's best friend. She's super smart. She doesn't only know how to read and write, she knows how to read and write in several languages. She assists her father in his translating work. In fact, she is BETTER at translating than her father is. She does not want to marry. She wants to be a scholar. She thinks her father is supportive of her plans for the future.

Jude Parstle is Tom's brother. Jude has long been thought to be the lesser of the brothers. No one expects much of him, Tom, well Tom is "the good brother." Jude, well, Jude is allowed to do whatever. Rowan and Jude have a tense relationship: they are ALWAYS bickering. Everyone thinks that Jude hates Rowan, that he perhaps hates her because she's so brainy, though that is more Tom's theory. (Tom thinks his brother is only interested in one thing from a woman.)

Those five riders weren't the ONLY strangers to come to town. There were three other strangers: a glassblower, his wife, and a young woman that is OH-SO-EXTRAORDINARILY-BEAUTIFUL. Her name is Fiona Eira. Not everyone is pleased with these strangers. Rowan's father, Henry, is the most opposed. He insists that Rowan have NOTHING AT ALL to do with Fiona.

So what is Rowan to do when her best friend, Tom, falls madly, deeply in instant-love with Fiona? He HAS to meet her. He just HAS to. He begs and pleads with her to be the go-between, to seek her out, to introduce herself, to speak well of Tom, to arrange a meeting for them the next day. Rowan is creeped out by Tom's obsession in all honesty. But. She dares to disobey her father. She'll do it for her friend. At the very least, her helping Tom may help him calm down a bit.

But this wouldn't be much of a horror novel if Tom and Fiona live happily ever after...

The Glass Casket is definitely packed with action and suspense. There is a big mystery to solve. It is intensely violent. The scenes depicting violence--murder--are very graphic. It is also graphic when it comes to passion. Yet despite the fact that this one is in many ways plot-driven, I feel Templeman did a good job with characterization. I definitely had favorite characters.

Rowan and Obsessed-Tom talking about LOVE:

"Rowan," he said, "do you think it possible to love someone upon first laying eyes on them?"
"Well, the poets certainly thought it so if they're to be believed, a woman's eyes can know a future lover upon seeing him, and if the man sees the fire in those eyes, sees himself there, then he can fall in love before they've even spoken a word."
"But what do you think? Do you think it's possible?"
"I don't know. I suppose I like the idea of some part of our bodies knowing and recognizing our futures even if our minds cannot. That appeals to me. But no, I don't think it possible."
"You don't? Really? If your future husband came riding into the village one day, you don't think you'd recognize him immediately?"
"I don't think that's how it works."
"How does it work, then?"
"I think in order to love someone, you must know their heart. You need to witness their goodness, and you can't know something like that unless you've known someone for a while. I think familiarity breeds love."
"That's not very romantic of you."
"Isn't it?"
"I'm talking about love, grand love--that thing that makes you feel like your knees are about to give way, that certainty that you've seen the essence of your future in a pair of red lips."
"Tom, beauty isn't the same thing as goodness; it isn't the same thing as love." (52, 53)

Rowan on Jude:

Staring at him, she felt rage burning in her chest. How was it that he could make her so angry? How was it that he always seemed to know how she felt without her saying a word? It was unfair. He had no right to her feelings. Her temper getting the better of her, she strode over to him, her hands clenched into fists, and took a single wretched swing at him. The force she'd put behind the blow was intense, but she never connected, for he caught her forearm gently in his hand, and looking deep into her eyes, he held her gaze. (75)

Sample of atmosphere:

The funeral should have been the next day. It ought to have been. The village ought to have gathered in Fiona Eira's home and the elders ought to have performed the rites. She should have been covered in the funerary shroud, hiding the sight of human flesh so as not to offend the Goddess. Her body laid up on Cairn Hill at the Mouth of the Goddess, stones carefully arranged atop her resting spot. These were the things that ought to have been done. But sometimes things don't go as planned. (117)

It was a coffin. A glass coffin, intricately carved, and set out in the yard for all to see. Inside it was the girl, her black hair splayed out around her, her lips like rotting cherries set against a newly ashen complexion. (129)

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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My advance bound copy of STAINED just arrived (it doesn’t release until Oct 1st)–and it is gorgeous! Absolutely beautiful. It felt so good to get in the mail today! (In STAINED, Sarah, a teen with a port-wine stain and body image issues, is abducted, and must find a way to rescue herself.)

There is so much excitement and joy in seeing (in person) the book you wrote–the finished copy–for the very first time. I admit that I was so excited to get STAINED that I ran and showed five different neighbors, and then a friendly teller at the bank who always loves to hear about my writing, and my hairdresser, and the clerk at the grocery store who’s always friendly with me. (Laughing) And they were all lovely about it, joining in with my excitement and enthusiasm.

And there is also SO much good feeling in holding your finished book in your hands for the first time. In running your hands over the cover, feeling the texture (or smoothness), breathing in the scent of the book, seeing your name on the cover, seeing the way your manuscript became an actual, finished book. Taking in the effect of the cover, the weight of the book, the color of the pages, the fonts used. Feeling proud of your hard work, your dream–and of the publishing team who helped you. My editor, Karen Grove, was fantastic, helping me make STAINED a stronger book, and everyone I worked with at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was lovely.

I think the book designer Liz Tardiff did an absolutely beautiful job. I love the purple dripping from the title on the cover–so fitting when Sarah has a purple port-wine stain on her cheek, and she feels stained by it and the way people judge her, as well as by the abduction and rape. I also love how easy it is to read the one-liner and my name on the cover. I really love the cover–it reminds me of Ellen Hopkins’ books–but I’d already seen the cover (in digital form). What I hadn’t seen and realized was how gorgeous the paper for the dust jacket is. It’s a lovely matte finish with a wonderful, almost grainy texture–a surprise and a delight to hold!

And then the end papers are a deep, rich purple–tying perfectly into the title (and into the port wine stain on Sarah’s cheek), and also the first line description on the inside flap, and my name and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s info on the back flap.

And then a nice surprise, to me, was to take off the dust jacket and see the title in that vivid, shiny purple, overlaid on top of black, along the spine.

I am so lucky to have a cover and a book design I love. I’m so happy! I had a lot of fun with the photos and STAINED; I hope you can tell. (grinning)

Here’s one of me reading STAINED. I know that books can save lives. Books helped save mine, and I still get reader letters every week from teens (and adults) telling me how SCARS helped save them. I hope that STAINED will also be a book that will save lives.

I didn’t used to be able to say or even feel that I was proud of myself…but I am, now. I know my books reach people who need it. I know I write emotional truths, break silences, and talk about abuse and trauma and healing, queer characters and strong girls and things that I care about deeply. I know I’m writing the books I needed as a teen and couldn’t find. So today–with the arrival of STAINED (out Oct 1st!) I feel proud.

Thank you for allowing me to share my excitement and happiness with you over STAINED. (smiling)

And (ahem) if you noticed the blue and orange fabric in the corner of my photos, that is a pair of Petal’s (my little dog’s) pjs. heh.

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The Book of Blood and Shadow. Robin Wasserman. 2012. Random House. 448 pages.

I thought this one started out with a lot of potential. The opening chapter was great, I thought. I definitely wanted to love this one, but, by the end, I had lost my enthusiasm. (I do think others may enjoy this one more than I did.) This unsolved mystery case, which spans several centuries, begins as a translation project for several college students, Max and Chris, and a high school student, our heroine, Nora. The guys are assigned one part of the project, Nora another. Her project includes translating the private letters of Elizabeth Weston. She's looking for clues as to what she has to say about her father's work, and/or her brother's work on this mystery book. Nora becomes involved in her project and Elizabeth's life starts to fascinate her. (Nora's friends aren't always excited to hear about it.) But Nora's "unimportant" private letters become extremely important, but it takes attempted murder (the professor), theft (of the letters), and murder (of her very very best friend) for it all to become clear to her. With each chapter things become more and more complicated. It has plenty of action and suspense plus secrets, lies, betrayals, etc.

If I had cared about the characters more, I think this one would have been a better read for me. The mystery with its dozens of clues wasn't enough to hold my interest. I do think it may work for others better.

Read The Book of Blood and Shadows

• If you like mystery/suspense/thriller novels with puzzles, mysteries, riddles, codes to solve, etc.
• If you are looking for a gothic/horror read
• If you have a special fondness for heroines and heroes that love Latin 

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Origin. Jessica Khoury. 2012. Penguin. 372 pages.

I'm told that the day I was born, Uncle Paolo held me against his white lab coat and whispered, "She is perfect." 

Origin has an interesting premise. Pia has grown up in the Amazon jungle almost completely unaware of the world outside the Little Cam research community. She is the result of five generations of experimentation and genetic engineering. The goal, the quest, immortality. And with Pia, at last, they've done it. But it has required great sacrifice. Pia is blind to just how much sacrifice, especially in the beginning. She is so excited to be PERFECT and so excited to be the first of her kind, so trusting, so loyal that she just can't wait to become a scientist too. To take her place alongside those who have almost manufactured her. But one night Pia becomes curious, and what she discovers in the jungle changes everything...

I liked this one. I found it an interesting, fast-paced read.

Read Origin

• If you like science fiction (genetic engineering; quest for immorality)
• If you like mysteries and thrillers
• If you enjoy YA with a little romance

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Monument 14. Emmy Laybourne. 2012. Feiwel & Friends. 294 pages.

Monument 14 was a quick and mostly compelling read. The book has an interesting premise, for the most part. Life as we know it has ended, at least for the near future, and a dozen (or so) students find themselves for better or worse "trapped" in a superstore. The students vary in age, of course, from kindergartners to seniors or juniors. They must find a way to work together to make the best of a very bad situation: the outside world has turned hostile and there is no guarantee that they'll be able to leave the store in the next few months. 

The narrator is one of the older students, a guy named Dean; he happens to be trapped with his brother, Alex. While there are plenty of characters, I didn't really feel connected to anyone. This one was not great at characterization or relationships. Dean happens to have a big, big crush on one of the girls he's trapped with...but she has a boyfriend, another one of the characters. And Dean is having to balance his "love" for her with his need to not make a bigger-than-him enemy.

For those who don't mind a premise-driven post-apocalyptic, this one may work well enough. It was definitely interesting in places, and intense too. But I didn't love it.

Read Monument 14

• If you like survival-catastrophe-thrillers 
• If you don't mind a little teen drama (high school stereotypes abound)

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Rootless. Chris Howard. 2012. Scholastic. 336 pages.

They figured me too young for a tree builder. I could see it in their eyes.

Rootless is a great example of a not-for-me book. I was not the right audience for this one, but you might be. If you enjoy dark horror stories, then this one may be just right for you. Banyan, our narrator, is a young man struggling to survive. Like his father before him, he is a tree builder; he builds artificial trees, artificial forests.

In this futuristic world, much has changed, and nothing has changed for the better. This is explored, to a certain degree, throughout the novel, as the mystery is revealed and readers come to learn about how the world is and how it came to be that way.

I would say this book is all about surviving, but, that wouldn't exactly be true. It isn't necessarily about avoiding all risks in order to survive. Banyan, our hero, even seeks out danger at times because he wants answers, he wants the truth. He has seen a picture of his father chained to a tree, a REAL tree, and he wants to know more. On his journey to "the truth" he'll meet a handful of characters, some he'll come to care about a lot. He even finds a love interest.

Rootless is incredibly dark and bleak. The world-building is strong, but it is so very haunting and violent. For some, this book may be a great read.

The back cover description: There aren't many books left. People burned most of them to keep warm during the Darkness. And after the Darkness, there were no new books because there was no more paper. The locusts had come. And there were no more trees.

Read Rootless

• If you enjoy post-apocalypse fiction
• If you enjoy survival/action/adventure stories
• If you like horror novels or thrillers

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Beautiful Lies. Jessica Warman. 2012. Walker. 422 pages.

It's one of those cool, crisp fall nights that make you feel like the air is ripe with possibility, like anything could happen. From where we stand on the jogging trail, my sister and I can see the whole city stretching out around us.

Rachel and Alice are identical twins. No one--not even their guardians--can tell these two apart, at least not without some help. One twin likes to wear make-up, the other not so much. There are also perhaps slight differences in wardrobe choices--but--for the most part the twins can at any given time switch places with one another and not get caught. Alice is the "bad" twin, the rebel, the artist, the rule-breaker. Rachel is the "good" twin, always trustworthy, honest, and good.

One night both twins go to a carnival in town. Only one twin makes it home...

Beautiful Lies is a dark novel. Think Lovely Bones. Think Living Dead Girl. The narration is by one of the twins--the one who is not missing. It's very personal, messy, frantic. I could say more, of course, but I don't want to spoil this one.

For readers who enjoy mystery and suspense novels, this one may be one to pick up.

Read Beautiful Lies

• If you like dark thrillers, suspense novels
• If you like mysteries (there are plenty of clues to help you solve this one)
• If you like unreliable narrators  

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Unwind. Neal Shusterman. 2007. Simon & Schuster. 336 pages.

The prologue:  The Second Civil War, also known as "The Heartland War," was a long and bloody conflict fought over a single issue. To end the war, a set of constitutional amendments known as "The Bill of Life" was passed. It satisfied both the Pro-life and the Pro-choice armies. The Bill of Life states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, a parent may choose to retroactively "abort" a child...on the condition that the child's life doesn't technically end. The process by which a child is both terminated and yet kept alive is called "unwinding." Unwinding is now a common and accepted practice in society. 

First sentence: "There are places you can go," Ariana tells him, "and a guy as smart as you has a decent chance of surviving to eighteen." Connor isn't so sure, but looking into Ariana's eyes makes his doubts go away, if only for a moment. 

Did you know there is going to be a sequel to Unwind?! I know!!!! It's very exciting news. As soon as I learned about Unwholly--which releases in late August 2012--I knew I just HAD to reread Unwind. It's been years since I read Unwind, and essentially I just remembered how great it was and how it was near impossible to put it down. It was just so intense, so compelling, so DIFFERENT from what I was used to reading--at least at the time.

And I am very glad I took the time to reread this one. It is just as great as I remembered.

Imagine living in a world where—if you're a teenager—your life is constantly in danger. If you anger your parents just one time too many, you could be on the next bus out of town heading to a Harvest camp or the "chop shop" as it's called in slang. Your organs—every single part of you (except maybe your appendix), stripped away and 'donated' to make someone else's life better. This scenario is about to become terrifyingly real to three teenagers.

Connor is a guy who hasn't always had the best temper or attitude. But he never thought his parents could be so cruel as to unwind him just because he's going through a "difficult" stage. After accidentally finding the papers that will end his life—at least as he knows it—he decides to run away. After all, if he can manage to survive for two or three years—until his eighteenth birthday—he'll be safe and legal.

Risa is a girl from the State Home. She is a musical prodigy, but after making a few mistakes at a concert, she's told she's reached her potential in life and that she can best serve society now as an Unwind. After all, they can only feed and house so many, and new babies arrive all the time. It's normal to eliminate at least 5% of the teen population every year.

 Lev is different from Connor and Risa. He's only thirteen. But the big difference? Lev has known all along that he was 'destined' to be unwound. He's a tithe. A baby set apart from birth—chosen from birth—to be sacrificed on his thirteenth birthday for the good of society. He is told that his is a holy service, a holy life. It's a "religious" and "spiritual" experience or gift. After all, there is no greater gift of love than when a man lays down his life, right? When these three meet for the first time, it is pure chaos. But their lives, their destinies, are woven together for better or worse. C

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The Lunatic's Curse. F.E. Higgins. 2011. Feiwel & Friends. 352 pages.

In nightshirt and robe, slippers and nightcap, Rex Grammaticus quietly entered the large dark-paneled dining room. On the far side of the room, lit in candle glow, he could see his stepmother, Acantha, and his father, Ambrose, at the table eating their evening meal. Rex had eaten earlier, at his stepmother's request, in the kitchen. One more change that she had made since marrying his father; one more way to push him out of the picture. It had only been eight weeks since the marriage, but Acantha moved about the house as if she had lived there all her life. It was Rex who felt like the newcomer. 

This review will contain spoilers. I will let you know exactly when to start expecting them.

While I've enjoyed the other books in F.E. Higgins' series, I cannot say the same for The Lunatic's Curse. For better or worse, I just can't bring myself to say anything good about a book this disturbing. While the other books have flirted with the dark side, they've been well-balanced. Equal parts charm, humor, and dark side. The descriptive writing and atmospheric writing have added to all of the above.

The Lunatic's Curse is set in the same strange world, for the most part. But not really. It is much, much, much, much darker. And there isn't one drop of humor in it. There isn't even a glimpse of lightness, of humor, of hope. And while the other books dependably showed justice being served, The Lunatic's Curse did NOT redeem itself by any stretch of the imagination. It is not only dark and depressing, it is EXCEEDINGLY dark and COMPLETELY depressing.

I don't know that I'd say The Lunatics Curse is as depressingly evil and pointless as say Animal Farm or Jude the Obscure. But. The very fact that they've come to mind, speaks volumes.

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While the rest of the series rests comfortably in the MG camp, I don't know that I'd say the same with The Lunatic's Curse. For it is ALL about cannibalism. Truly. And our narrator? Well, he's a cannibal-in-the-making. And the oh-so-depressing big six-year-later-reveal shows that he is indeed a cannibal. That he could not escape the "curse" brought upon him by his oh-so-incredibly wicked stepmother and his father who had succumbed to his wife's "stew" and unknowingly developed a taste for human flesh. And I HATED learning what happened to his companion. I mean SERIOUSLY. Was that even necessary? Although I guess I should be grateful that he didn't EAT her on his way out of the maze.

Anyway, if you love reading about insanity, lunatics, insane asylums run by cannibals, big scary underwater monsters who live on human flesh, and did I mention cannibals?, then maybe this one is for you.

Read The Lunatic's Curse

• If you LIKE to be disturbed; some people do like horror novels. I'm not one of them. But you may be.
• If you like dark-disturbing-creepy horror novels supposedly written for the MG/YA crowd
• If you're a fan of F.E. Higgins and are prepared to go to really dark places

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews Display Comments Add a Comment

Sharp North. Patrick Cave. 2004/2006. Simon & Schuster. 528 pages.

The girl nearly didn't find out who she was. What she was.

Sharp North is a perplexing YA novel. Part mystery. Part thriller. Part dystopian. It's set in a future world forever altered by global warming. A future world with a corrupt government. (How many fictional future worlds don't have a corrupt government?) A future world threatened by an underground movement, a revolution in the making. Our heroine, Mira, has a role to play in this world--for better or worse. And it's a role that mystifies Mira. For Mira's future is just as uncertain as her past.

Sharp North begins with a murder. Mira witnesses this murder, this hushed up murder, and it forever changes the way she sees the world, the way she sees her community. In part because she finds out that she is connected to the victim. She finds a piece of paper, a mere scrap, with a list of names. Her name is on the list. And so is the name of one of her friends, Gil Moore. He's listed as "her watcher." But why is he watching her? Is he her friend or her enemy? Is he out to see that she survives? Or is he in place to eliminate her? That's what Mira can't forget, can't erase. Are the people who murdered this mysterious woman, this mysterious stranger, out to get her? What led to this crime? For even if the whole world chooses to ignore it, Mira can't. Was it the woman's curiosity? Well, Mira can't help being curious now!

So Mira sets out on a journey to discover the truth, the truth about who she is, what she is. In a way she's running away from danger just as much as she's running straight into it. For Mira hasn't a real clue who her enemies are and who her friends may be. Is there a safe place for Mira? Or is she destined to upset the balance of those around her?

We meet a few interesting characters in Patrick Cave's Sharp North. Including several members of the Saint family, one of the "Great Families" that govern in this new world.

Maybe other readers can piece together this mystery. Maybe other readers can read it without being confused by the ending--as for me, well, I'm puzzled by how it ended. I still don't know what really happened.

So did I like it? Yes and no. I liked the idea of it. But. It felt like two or three stories pieced together. And it didn't always work for me.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Maze Runner. James Dashner. 2009. Random House. 384 pages.

He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air.

The Maze Runner is certainly compelling--very suspenseful. It's an action-packed dystopian novel. Thomas, our narrator, awakes to find his memory gone. He knows his first name. Nothing more. He's in a strange place. But he's not alone. There are others like him. Others his own age. Others whose memories have been erased--they call themselves the Gladers. They've got a system in place. A system that seems to be working. For the most part. Still there are plenty of creepy things about his new life. There are rules to learn. And while they are forthcoming with the rules--they're not always good at explaining to Thomas why these rules are in place. Can Thomas find the answers he so desperately wants?

I enjoyed The Maze Runner. It is very intense, very exciting, very mysterious. Readers--like Thomas--don't have all the answers by the end of the book. There is a second novel in this series, The Scorch Trials, which releases in October.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Bleeding Violet. Dia Reeves. 2010. January 2010. Simon & Schuster. 454 pages.

The truck driver let me off on Lamartine, on the odd side of the street. I felt odd too, standing in the town where my mother lived. For the first seven years of my life, we hadn't even lived on the same continent, and now she waited only a few houses away.

Fleeing her Dallas home (where she lived with her aunt), Hanna didn't know what to expect from her middle-of-the-night confrontation with Rosalee, the mother who'd abandoned her. Will her mother let her stay? Would her aunt even take her back? (To say she left on bad terms is an understatement!)

Rosalee reluctantly agrees that she can stay. For two weeks. And two weeks only. Unless Hanna can prove that she belongs in this anything-but-sleepy small town. Hanna thinks it will be easy. It might take a little effort on her part to make friends, but surely there's someone worth being friends with. Like Wyatt.

What she doesn't expect is that those two weeks will be filled with danger. Sure danger can be exciting, thrilling, intoxicating. But it can also be deadly. Is Hanna willing to risk it all for a chance at a future with her mom?

Hanna's mental health is questionable, but there were certain things Hanna did that I couldn't excuse away.

For those looking for a good paranormal read, I think this one could work well. While, Hanna isn't perfect--far from it--she has a bit more gumption than other heroines I could mention. (Cough, cough, Bella). But this one probably won't be for everyone. I think the casual sex and violence might be a bit too much for some readers.

This one actually reminded me a bit of the Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld.

Other reviews: Kids Lit, TheHappyNappyBookseller, Pure Imagination, Frenetic Reader,

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Turner, Max. 2009. Night Runner. St. Martin's Press. 288 pages.

My name is Daniel Zachariah Thomson. Everyone calls me Zack. I live in the Nicholls Ward of the Peterborough Civic Hospital, and this is the story of how I died, twice.

Zach is an orphan living in a mental institution. And he's got issues. As in allergic to the sun, and being intolerant to almost all food. He lives on "strawberry flavored" shakes. (I had issues with his naivety there.) One of the night nurses, Ophelia, takes care of him--treats him almost like a son. The only other person Zach would consider a friend--a good friend--is Charlie. (Remember that Zach sleeps all day. He doesn't even get out of bed until the sun goes down. So he doesn't get around to making many friends.)

The premise to this one is simple, Zach is a vampire and doesn't know it. Until one night when an old man riding a motorcycle crashes into the lobby and gives Zach a strange message or warning. Suddenly Zach finds himself hunted and not knowing who to trust. He's not even able to trust his memories because apparently his dear old dad was keeping some big secrets from him.

I had some problems with this one. And I'm not sure if it's me or if it's the book. I know a few things are just me.

I had a hard time connecting with Zach. I felt a little disconnected from him, from the action. I felt there was some distance--perhaps intentional distance???--or maybe I felt it was more tell and not enough show? Another problem I had with the book, and I think this is unavoidable in some ways, is that I found it very predictable. There were things that I was able to pick up very early on that poor old Zach remained clueless about for almost the entire book--minus the last chapter or two. I think it is this that despite the "action" that happened along the way kept the pacing off for me. The action didn't feel like action. So even though he was being chased and he was off running and fighting and killing, I felt bored. UNTIL the last fifty or sixty pages.

One reason I didn't like the book--and this is all me--is that it was a bit too bloody for me. Yes, he's a vampire. Yes, vampires drink blood. But the descriptions of him killing and feeding were too graphic for me. (I can't go into the specifics, but there are TWO scenes that really pushed me over. That made me know once and for all that Zach was a character I could never like.)

I'm not the ideal reader for Night Runner. It's not my type of book. But it could be your type of book. If you want to read about non-sparkling vampires, if you want vampires that do more than write lullabies and stare at young girls while they sleep, then this might be the one for you.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Larbalestier, Justine. 2009. (October Release). Liar. Bloomsbury. 388 pages.

I was born with a light covering of fur. After three days it had all fallen off, but the damage was done. My mother stopped trusting my father because it was a family condition he had not told her about. One of many omissions and lies. My father is a liar and so am I. But I'm going to stop. I have to stop. I will tell you my story and I will tell it straight. No lies, no omissions. That's my promise. This time I truly mean it.

Is Micah Wilkins, our narrator, a compulsive liar? Is she trustworthy? Is she sane? Divided into three parts, (Telling the Truth, Telling the True Truth, and The Actual Real Truth) Justine Larbalestier offers readers an always compelling, somewhat-unbelievable, but oh-so-thrilling read. When we first meet Micah, she's just learned something horrible: her boyfriend, Zach, is dead. Murdered. Everyone is stunned including Sarah, Zach's actual girlfriend, and Tayshawn, Zach's best friend. Who is Micah? Where does she fit in? Everywhere and Nowhere. As his after-hours girl--well, lover--she doesn't run in the same circles as Zach. She's little better than a freak at school. A girl with extremely short hair who doesn't wear makeup, who doesn't look or act like the other girls. A girl who once for a few days convinced everyone that she was a boy.

It's true that Micah feels out of sorts and all in-between. Not white enough to be white. Not black enough to be black. Not feminine enough to fit in with the popular girls, the gossipy girls. She doesn't feel pretty, that's for sure.

She is good at many things: lying, for one, biology, for another, and last but certainly not least, running. She is faster than fast. At least that is what she tells us. Why doesn't she have friends? Is it her appearance? The fact that she likes attention and tells outrageous lies?

What's her secret? Does that secret involve murder? What's the real story? Can we ever know the truth?

I liked this one mostly. It was definitely intense and suspenseful. It definitely made me think. It's a complex book, which is always nice to see. But I'm not sure I liked it, liked it. I'm not sure I want to hang out with Micah any time soon. I don't think we're meant to.

This is one of those books that could be easily spoiled for readers by too much description. So I'm purposefully keeping it short. The more I describe my thoughts (and reactions) about Micah, the more preconceived ideas and notions you might have to carry with you if you decide to pick it up on your own.

I am not quite sure I get the cover though. I'm not saying the US cover isn't attractive enough in its own little way. But it doesn't take the reader very long to discover that the main character, Micah, is black with very short, very cropped hair. True, the narrator is a compulsive liar, so maybe readers should doubt her when she says that she is black with short, cropped hair and can sometimes pass as a boy. But if this girl on the cover is meant to be Micah, well, there's nothing freaky or awkward about her. And even if you don't consider all that, I'm not sure that this cover matches the mood of the book. Do those eyes and that hair say it's a dark-mysterious-thriller?

The Australian cover.



© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Grant, Michael. 2008. Gone. HarperCollins. 558 pages.

One minute the teacher was talking about the Civil War. And the next minute he was gone. There. Gone. No "poof." No flash of light. No explosion.

I have mixed feelings on Gone by Michael Grant. On the one hand, it's an exciting thriller. A book based on an interesting premise--what if all adults (at least all adults that we know about within this one county at least) vanished. What remains are young adults under the age of 15 on down to the wee little newborns. Gone as well are all phone lines and Internet connections. And television. Effectively, these people are shut off from the world. They have no way of knowing--and neither does the reader--how widespread this vanishing is. If there is an outside world that can be reached or connected. It's a mad scramble to find food...and babies. (It's not always a happy picture. There were young children--babies and toddlers and preschoolers--left too long with horribly tragic results. I want to scream at them: Why didn't you think to look for the babies right away??? Why wait, can't you imagine that every hour counts?!)

But on the other hand, while the premise is intense and thrilling, I wasn't that impressed by the characterization. The characters themselves, their stories, their narratives, didn't impress me. The reader learns that a handful of these characters--over half of the ones we meet up close and personal--have superpowers. They have enhanced abilities--the power of healing, the power to shoot flames out of their hands, the power to transport themselves from room to room, the power to read minds, etc. Some of these characters are the "good" guys, others are the "bad" guys. And from the very start, the reader knows we're counting down until the Big Confrontation.

I'm honestly not sure if it was a personal disconnect or a more general one. Have you read this one? Am I missing something? Is it just my mood? Am I only supposed to care about the premise?

While the premise was intriguing and the plot was action-packed with a few thrilling reveals thrown in, I didn't really connect with any of the main characters. And because I didn't care about the characters, I had a hard time genuinely connecting with this one. It's not that I didn't "like" it. There was nothing about it that I could point at and say exactly what it was that didn't work for me. I think it will work for many--if not most--readers.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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Ness, Patrick. 2008. The Knife Of Never Letting Go.

The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say. About anything.

This book perhaps has one of the best first lines I've encountered recently. Unfortunately, at least as I see it, it only went downhill from there. Okay, that was NOT at all fair. I'll try to explain.

Todd Hewitt is our narrator. He is a boy on the verge of becoming a man. Except that he's no ordinary boy. He's the last boy in his town of Prentisstown. And that means much more than even he realizes. Prentisstown is one of many towns in New World (a planet far, far away). But it's an isolated town. Though Todd is unaware of its history and legacy.

This is no ordinary human settlement. No, the men can hear each others thoughts. Read each others minds. Take a settlement of a hundred or so men (and boys) and you've got a LOT of noise to live with in your head. Noise that can drive a man to do crazy, crazy things.

There are no women in Prentisstown. In fact, Todd thinks there are NO women left period. That his mother was one of the last to die. He's been raised by two men, Ben and Cillian, and it's been a hard but good life for the most part. Though the last few months have been rough. As the last boy, he's had no friends. Once boys become men, they can't play around like they used to. Can't associate with mere boys anymore.

But with less than a month away from his birthday, Todd discovers a handful of things that will change his life forever. One, he discovers a pocket of silence. This may not seem like much. But to him it means everything. But this discovery rushes another shocking fact: Ben and Cillian have been keeping secrets from him. And they're ready to send him out into the unknown...on the run...in an attempt to save his life...and in an attempt to prevent him from becoming "a man" according to the town's tradition.

On his own...but not really....Todd soon discovers that that eery pocket of silence was a girl. A girl named Viola. A girl who is out of this world. Her family (mom, dad, her) landed or crashed there recently. Their ship was a scout ship, there's another colony ship on the way seven months behind the scouting vessel. But Viola's parents are dead. And Viola is on her own...until she's discovered by Todd and his dog, Manchee. Now these three are on the run, and it's a mighty fierce, never-ending chase.

The book is 479 pages of adrenaline-pumping chase. Anything and everything can happen along the way as these runaways run to survive and run to hope. It's a hard struggle between life and death. It's emotionally draining and it pushes and challenges them physically. There are so many near-death scenes it's not even funny...

But here's the thing...after 479 pages...all we get is a big "to be continued" in the middle of it all. No closure. No satisfaction. Just one lousy ending.

Reading is subjective. And despite the fact that this one has two stars going for it, (starred reviews in journals) I just didn't like this one much. If I'm going to like this one...it needs a redemptive ending...an ending that may or may not eventually happen in the second book. (I guess that depends upon if there is a third book.)

Series books can be frustrating. I would *probably* suggest you pick this one up right before the release of the second book so that you can save yourself the angst of an unsatisfying and unfinished read. I would imagine it would be enjoyable then.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Sanders, Scott Loring. 2008. The Hanging Woods.

What can I say about this one? Really? Truly? It's dark. It's depressing. It's truly dreadful--dreadful in content, not style. It's disturbing, very disturbing. A difficult read, a discomforting read. Warped. Twisted. And oh-so-wrong.

First sentence: "In 1975, when I was thirteen, I killed a fox. It happened a few weeks after I'd snuck into my mother's room and read her diary. That diary told me a lot of things that I didn't want to know. Or maybe I did want to know them. I can't say for sure."

The good news is that you should be able to tell fairly early on whether or not The Hanging Woods is for you. In the first chapter alone we've got the slaughtering of a fox and a chicken. (And the two aren't connected. The fox wasn't after the chicken.) In the second chapter, we see many signs of unhealthy relationships. Relationships between friends. Relationships between families. And we see our first human death. Very bizarre. Not exactly murder. Not exactly calculated. But strange indeed. And in the third chapter, we learn that our narrator, Walter, committed arson. He burned a house down. So right from the start you know this is going to be one dark-and-weird book. It's not for everyone. The language. The violence. The subject matter. It just paints a very dark and unpleasant portrait of humanity. Not that I'm denying that humans can be ugly and cruel and tortured and demented and perverted and whatnot. But dismal, dismal, very dismal.

The Hanging Woods is about the breakdown of friends, of family, of the mind itself.

Personally, I don't like dark and edgy all that much. I prefer my narrators a bit more sane. HOWEVER I know that some readers will appreciate this one. It is well written. If it had been poorly written, I wouldn't have found the strength to keep reading.

Edited to add: I slept on this one. Given it some more thought. And I wanted to add that it was really well done. When characters are so thoroughly written, so powerfully drawn that you have to keep reading even if you personally hate where they are going...then that says something about the writing. So for skills in writing, in characterization this one gets my approval.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Dunkle, Clare B. 2008. The Sky Inside.

Where to start? Loved it, loved it, loved it. Not very descriptive though, is it? Enthusiasm only takes you so far I suppose. Why did I love it? Maybe this will clarify: Science fiction dystopian thriller. While I don't love all dystopian novels, chances are good that I'll at least give it a complete read through if you throw out the words dystopia or utopia. Listen to this description on the jacket and the back cover:

The ads had started running on midmorning television the summer after Martin's fourth birthday. "Wonder babies are here!" they announced...Never had the arrival of the stork brought such excitement. Overflowing with charm and intelligence, Wonder Babies were like nothing the suburb had seen before. But that didn't turn out to be a good thing. (back cover)

Martin lives in a perfect world. Every year a new generation of genetically-engineered children is shipped out to meet their parents. Every spring the residents of his town take down the snow they've stuck to their windows and put up flowers. Every morning his family gathers around their television and votes, like everyone else, for whatever matter of national importance the president has on the table. Today it is the color of his drapes. It's business as usual under the protective dome of suburb HM1.

And it's all about to come crashing down.

Because a stranger has come to take away all the little children, including Martin's sister, Cassie, and no one wants to talk about where she has gone. The way Martin sees it, he has a choice. He can remain in the dubious safety of HM1, with danger that no one wants to talk about lurking just beneath the surface, or he can actually break out of the suburb, into the mysterious land outside, rumored to be nothing but blowing sand for miles upon miles. (inside jacket)

Do you see why this one had to come home with me from the library? It just screamed out "read me, read me, read me NOW!" It had me hooked from the beginning. Martin and his sister Cassie and his "toy" dog Chip are characters that had me interested (or should I say invested???) almost immediately. Martin especially. It would have been really easy--almost expected--for the characters to take a back seat to the premise, but that isn't the case in The Sky Inside. Yes, the premise had me at hello. But I really and truly came to believe in Martin.

I don't want to spoil one minute of the book for you by describing the plot or the premise. Half the fun of novels like these is experiencing the unveiling slowly one page at a time as all the details come together to reveal the big picture. It is good, you should definitely read it.

The author has the prologue and first and second chapters of the novel on her site. Read them!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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