book review

The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss

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by Max Wirestone
Review by KM

I walked into yesterday with a huge grin on my face. There was no containing my excitement. “Guild Wars 2: Game of Thorns has a release date,” I said to my coworker with glee, “October 23. It’s right before my birthday. I’m pumped!”

None of my coworkers are geeks, but they all know I am. I’ve never been mocked for it and I wave my geek flag proudly. It’s really no surprise that I leaped on a book like The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss. With a d20 on the cover and a summary that referenced some of my favorite videos and shows, I was elated to get approved for the eARC. I couldn’t wait to bust in and poor SA had to listen to be ramble on about how much I loved the beginning.

 Summary

For fans of The Guild, New Girl, Scott Pilgrim, Big Bang Theory, Veronica Mars, or anyone who has ever geeked out about something.

The odds of Dahlia successfully navigating adulthood are 3,720 to 1. But never tell her the odds.

Meet Dahlia Moss, the reigning queen of unfortunate decision-making in the St. Louis area. Unemployed broke, and on her last bowl of ramen, she’s not living her best life. But that’s all about to change.

Before Dahlia can make her life any messier on her own she’s offered a job. A job that she’s woefully under-qualified for. A job that will lead her to a murder, an MMORPG, and possibly a fella (or two?).

Turns out unfortunate decisions abound, and she’s just the girl to deal with them.

Musings

I had to take a full day off to review this book. I spent the last day reviewing my own expectations, analyzing what exactly I liked and what exactly I didn’t. I polled others, both geeks and non-geeks, to get a reference for this review. So, here it goes:
My unfortunate decision was assuming that since they mentioned my favorite shows, they were going to cater to the geek market. They did, somewhat.I felt vaguely insulted and primarily let down. It was like Diet Geek, similar to how the Big Bang Theory makes fun of the geekiness.

I think I felt this way because Dahlia Moss was always offended when people assumed she was a geek. She didn’t want to be labeled as such and tried to pretend she wasn’t. And while this felt annoying by itself, the way people determined her geekiness were so friggin’ fake. The two examples that came up multiple times: Star Wars and Pokemon. Pretty much everyone you encounter in life is going to know where the line, “Use the Force, Luke,”  came from. They’re going to be able to identify Pikachu and, yes, most of them can identify Jigglypuff. This is even more so since the 90s generation that spent their childhoods with Pokemon are now adults.

I do think there is a legitimate language barrier between geeks and non-geeks (in this specific case: gamer geeks. There are like 1 million different species of geek, but for the sake of the book, let’s stick to the gamers). I don’t expect everyone to know what I mean when I say, “Yeah, I was peeved when the Queensdale zerg was nerfed in the last patch.”  It’s slang, a dialect specific to the internet. This book did use some terms that it kindly defined for those unfamiliar, like AFK (away from keyboard) and Vent (short for Ventrillo, a voice chat software). But then it’d go back to Star Wars and Pokemon.

I can’t tell you how many times the same examples of Pokemon and Star Wars were used. I can tell you there was *one* reference to Magic the Gathering (despite the d20 on the cover and the chapter notices, which are used in tabletop and MtG, neither of which were featured in this book). I can tell you that I didn’t notice any Doctor Who references. There may have been one superhero one, but if there was, I missed it. There was a DOTA reference around page 50, which was the first remark of Dahlia doing anything that could be considered geeky on her own.

Then came the question: Am I being an elitist geek? How does one define geek? And, no, I don’t think I am. Because I think you’re a geek if *you* consider yourself to be a geek. But if you don’t consider yourself to be a geek and the only two things that could identify you are Star Wars and Pokemon, I’m really thinking you’re just an average 90s kid.
I think I would’ve been satisfied with this book back in 2010 before I watched The Guild or Scott Pilgrim. I think this book could be entirely satisfying for someone unfamiliar with the gaming world, which I don’t believe is a bad choice. For marketing, this book is easily consumed by the masses. But for the niche that it appealed to in that first sentence of the summary? Nah. It took the top layer of our world and ignored anything deeper than that.

Whippoorwill

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by Joseph Monninger

Reviewed by SA

I reviewed this book on Saturday on our Tumblr, but the truth is I liked it so freaking much that I had to put it on our main blog. This book is fantastic, and I still can’t put my finger on the reason why: it just was. It was heartfelt, truthful, and the first book to bring me to tears this year.

Summary

Sixteen-year-old Clair Taylor has neighbors who are what locals call whippoorwills, the kind of people who fill their yards with rusty junk. Clair tries to ignore her surroundings, choosing instead to dream of a future beyond her rural New Hampshire town. But, when a black dog named Wally is chained up to a pole next door, Clair can’t look the other way. Clair decides to save Wally, and the immediate connection she has with the lovable dog catches her off-guard, but even more surprising is her bond with eighteen-year-old Danny Stewart, the boy next door.
I picked up this book thinking nothing of it: not expecting it to affect me the way it did. It looked like some kind of romance (maybe?) with a dog (super cute, that cover gets to me) set in a more rural community. Now I am amazingly glad I read this amazing book: I’m still emotional over how it ended. There were tears. Even if the summary doesn’t appeal to you, please pick it up anyways, I am sure it will surprise you.

Whippoorwill is a term for people who hang onto their junk – just like Clair’s neighbors, the Stewards, whose yard is crammed full of trash. One really shouldn’t be called junk, though, even if he’s treated as such: Wally, the labrador/great dane mutt who wants nothing more than to play. Clair has decided to take action: she’s going to treat the dog right, save Wally. But she didn’t expect Danny, the boy-next-door, to be something different.

It’s amazing how the author brings us to see how quickly we judge, see things as junk, while to others they can be treasures. How some see Wally as junk, and others will see him as the perfect dog. How some people will throw out what others will use to create art, like Clair’s mom does. How people will quickly judge others as being worthless, or not worth their time, when they can be golden. I was impressed by how much this theme of trash and treasure really spoke to me.

What struck me as well was how realistic and honest this novel felt. It didn’t seem pulled out of hat, or as if it relied on coincidences to drive the plot forward. Everything felt as if it could actually happen, as if it was happening. Even the somewhat magical ending seemed plausible and perfect – proof of a love a father has for his daughter.

It was amazing how quickly I was drawn into Clair’s story, connecting with her. She’s a relatable young woman, smart, caring, but not an idiot. She doesn’t throw herself into rash actions. I liked being a part of her life, as she seemed like someone I really could get to know through the pages of this book.

The relationship with Danny is also something incredibly realistic. You don’t have the usual tropes you see in novels these days, no grand immediate crush, but a slow, growing connection that blossoms from a genuine respect for each other. And as some of Danny’s actions seem odd, Clair is quick to notice them as well, and the ending wraps them up well. All the points I found strange – or somewhat creepy – made sense when we reached the end.

The ending was both perfect and horrible – horrible in the way it left me inside. I have so many questions! I want to know what happens to them all next, and I felt such a loss as Clair – well I’m not going to spoil that for you. We only get closure on a few points, though possibly the only one that really matters. Once you know this character is safe and settled, everything else can be left int he air, however much it hurts.

What really blew me away though was Wally. A lot of books have people connecting over dogs (Marley and Me for example, which also brings you to tears) but Wally seemed more real for me. I cannot stand for animal abuse, and maybe that’s what related me to Clair so quickly: she takes action against this kind of thing. Over the course of the novel, she buys a book written by a priest who loves dogs (which reminds me, any dog lovers out there, How to be your dog’s best friend was written by monks and it’s possibly the best guide to owning a dog you will ever read.) and used it to train Wally to be the best dog he can be. This helps her bond with Danny, but also allows her to share some important life lessons: about finding your pack, about effective communication, about caring. It’s amazing how much you learn about people through learning about dogs.

Whippoorwill will leave you emotionally in need of ice cream for the soul. It comes out September 1st.

All the Rage

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by Courtney Summers

Review by KM

Okay, we have to start here: there’s rape in this novel. It’s not something you can skip; it’s not a singular scene that can be ignored. It’s harsh and unforgiving; it’s not going to sugarcoat anything. This is your warning.

Courtney Summers is one of my favorite authors. If you haven’t read This is Not a Test, I totally suggest you run to your nearest bookshop or library and take it out now. And then get this one. It’s not a sequel or anything, but the other one has zombies. Zombie books always come first.

Summary (thanks, Amazon!)
The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything-friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time-and they certainly won’t now-but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.

Musings

If I could have as much writing talent as Courtney Summers does in her left pinkie nail, I would be elated. Her style is just remarkable; I’ve never seen anything similar. All the Rage doesn’t deviate from this trend and the ending of this novel is probably my favorite of hers.

In fact, let’s talk about endings. Endings that wrap everything up into tight little bows like Christmas presents are great, but life doesn’t work that way. Stories and situations end abruptly, just like a Courtney Summers novel and that’s marvelous.

Now that one of my author crushes has been exposed to all of you, let’s get into the beef of the novel:

All the Rage is hard to read. It’s hurtful and it’s aching and it’s desperation and feelings of worthlessness. It embraces what it feels like to be a girl and how some of us live in fear. It shows girls putting other girls down, girls defending each other when they aren’t friends, and just the way misogyny can be internalized after traumatic events.

It was a hyper realistic novel, one that I could unfortunately pull out many news stories in the past year that would sound eerily similar. It discusses how worth is defined in both a biological sex point of view, as well as a social hierarchy point of view. Women are just valued less in the small town presented; they’re expected to take the fall for men’s mistakes and keep each other quiet.

My absolutely favorite choice in this novel was the fact Summers chose to use the word slit instead of slut. I hadn’t realized until today how desensitized we are to the word slut. Teenage boys scream it down halls, girls use it as insults and then call their best friends sluts with affection in their tone. It has lost its sharpness. Slit, however? That just felt dirty and degrading and oh my gosh. It was the impact that slut should be getting.

Overall, I’d recommend this book so highly, in my top 10 that have come out in 2015. I want everyone to go into this with wide-eyes though because 1 in 6 American women has been the victim of attempted or successful rape.

Another Day

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by David Levithan

Reviewed by S.A.

I’m always one to jump for a David Levithan book when it comes up for grabs. However, I only realized after I had picked this one up that it was actually the companion piece (no, not sequel) to another one of his novels, Every Day, which I had not read… oops. But a very good friend of mine absolutely loved Every Day, and has been recommending it to me for ages; AND in the forward of Another Day, the author states he has newbies in mind too when writing his new novel; so I jumped in head first.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Summary – Curtesy of Goodreads

Every day is the same for Rhiannon. She has accepted her life, convinced herself that she deserves her distant, temperamental boyfriend, Justin, even established guidelines by which to live: Don’t be too needy. Avoid upsetting him. Never get your hopes up.

Until the morning everything changes. Justin seems to see her, to want to be with her for the first time, and they share a perfect day—a perfect day Justin doesn’t remember the next morning. Confused, depressed, and desperate for another day as great as that one, Rhiannon starts questioning everything. Then, one day, a stranger tells her that the Justin she spent that day with, the one who made her feel like a real person . . . wasn’t Justin at all. 

This is a fascinating concept: what if you had no body of your own? If every morning you woke up and were in someone else, but were still you? That’s the concept of Every Day, the novel this one is the companion of. How would you function? How would you build relationships? Could you build relationships?

Another Day is taken from Rhiannon’s perspective, as she slowly falls for A, a person with this particular predicament. Her life seemingly revolves around Justin, who, I admit, looks like a terrible person to have as a boyfriend. What’s interesting, however, is that this novel starts off on the day she meets A – so we think we are meeting Justin, without meeting him at all. Which makes his introduction an introduction through negatives: he never does this, he never does that. When we meet him in person, we see how he is the polar opposite of the person Rhiannon spends the day with, and it makes you feel the tension in their relationship even more.

It’s interesting how you can love a character while hating them as a person. Hate may be a strong word in this case, but I just did not like Rhiannon as a person, as a opposed to how much I enjoyed reading this novel and seeing her character grow. I find her too passive, too much of a pushover. It made me ache to see her in such an awful relationship, I wanted to grab her shoulder and shake her out of it. However, her growth within the span of two weeks is remarkable. It’s amazing how you can feel her isolation at the beginning, but slowly her friends are introduced – or re-introduced – into her life until she can finally breathe again.

It made me so mad how she acted around Justin, it kind of made me want to put the book down. Many things she did I really found myself annoyed at, especially once she started growing closer to A. There are just some things you don’t do when you’re in a committed relationship, no matter how much of a jerk the other one is – at least have the decency to tell the truth, to end it. There again is another reason I did not like her as a person, though admittedly it made for an interesting story.

Her inner monologue could be dull at times, and admittedly, the plot did not have much going for it. It’s very relationship oriented, and it really did feel like a companion piece: I was more interested in A’s life, what was happening in their life, than I was in Rhiannon’s. I could not understand what A found to like in her and wished I could follow A around for a while – this probably means I’m going to be picking Every Day up very soon.

However, some of Rhiannon’s thoughts were very compelling, especially when she was questioning what attraction means, or personhood, or the connection between body and soul. At those moments, I found the author to be very insightful.

All in all, it’s an enjoyable read. I’m going to read Every Day next, probably, and see if it makes me feel any differently after that.

Another Day comes out next week, on August 25th. Don’t miss it!

Zero World

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by Jason M. Hough

Reviewed by SA

I didn’t think I’d find another thrilling science fiction book this summer, but I was proven wrong the second I picked up this amazing novel. Thrilling, intriguing, smart and most of all, fun, this novel rocketed up high on the list of my favorite books of 2015. There’s so much to love about this novel, and if you’re looking for one last book to read this summer, make sure it’s Zero World.

Summary – From Goodreads

Technologically enhanced superspy Peter Caswell has been dispatched on a top-secret assignment unlike any he’s ever faced. A spaceship that vanished years ago has been found, along with the bodies of its murdered crew—save one. Peter’s mission is to find the missing crew member, who fled through what appears to be a tear in the fabric of space. Beyond this mysterious doorway lies an even more confounding reality: a world that seems to be Earth’s twin.
 
Peter discovers that this mirrored world is indeed different from his home, and far more dangerous. Cut off from all support, and with only days to complete his operation, Peter must track his quarry alone on an alien world. But he’s unprepared for what awaits on the planet’s surface, where his skills will be put to the ultimate test—and everything he knows about the universe will be challenged in ways he never could have imagined.

The basic premise of the novel – if it can even be called basic – is what really got me. I hadn’t read the blurb before picking up the book, so it started off as a particularly well written novel about an assassin whose memories are wiped after every mission. Already pretty cool. But only a chapter or two in, they send you into space. Then the author ads the extra dimension of a TWIN EARTH. And then… then it becomes much more. I was, in a word, captivated.

I seriously could not put this book down: I wanted to know everything, about this new world, about the mission. So much happens in such a small amount of time! There’s no time for the novel to slow down, it keeps going strong, against the clock, forcing Peter to push himself to his limits. It’s so fast paced you’ll need running shoes to keep up.

It’s amazing that in such a fast, action packed novel, there is still room for character development. Peter begins as a hardened assassin, but as details of his mission start to change, he does too. It’s almost as if he is an entirely different man from one minute to the next, and the man at the end of the novel is not the man we met at the very start.

Melni, the woman from the alternate earth, is an amazing woman, and develops alongside Peter during the course of this story. She too begins hardened and focused, and in the end, her focus has shifted to a much larger scope than she had started with… though I won’t give you any spoilers there. She is an outcast in this world, but also a talented spy, with firm conviction and amazing skill. I liked moving to her perspective, have her view of Peter to balance with Peter’s view of her world. It was fantastic writing, as you would really tell the difference between whose mind you were in.

The relationship between the two of them just works. There’s a chemistry there – nothing sexual – just a great match and great teamwork. While Peter and Melni didn’t always see eye to eye, they managed to plan (which Peter hates) and get the job done. I am so glad to have read a great book without a weird love story to set it off balance: their relationship only served to add balance to the novel.

But my favorite thins about Zero World isn’t the plot or the characters – as awesome as they are – but the world building. My gosh! Creating this alternate Earth, a new history, with depth, huge events, small events, thinking all the way down to clothes and architecture, even considering the ethnic diversity of the population, and the discrimination! A work of art. The language, however bugged me – why are “shoes” now called “Treadmellows” but “boots” are still boots? It probably shouldn’t bother me, it’s such a small detail. But with all the attention everywhere else, it made me laugh just a little bit.

Now this book also comes with an entire novella, which is awesome as well. But reading on kindle, I was at 75% when the novel ended – I was shocked! I thought it had more to go! I think i even yelled at the book for ending too soon. I may be greedy, but I was more! I’m very excited for the sequel, which I hope comes out soon.

Zero World comes out August 18th. Be sure to pick it up – though I know you’ll never put it down.

On another note, the reason we didn’t write last week was because we both decided to take a week off and spend time with out families. Happy summer everyone!

Circle Unbroken

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By M.A. Kropp

Reviewed by SA

When I picked up this book, I admittedly had no idea what to expect. But I was quickly hooked:  Science Fiction AND magic? I’m being spoiled here! Circle Unbroken is an awesome mix of two genres, masterfully woven together into a strong story. Intrigue, plots, and schemes? Sign me up!

Circle UnbrokenBook Blub

When your family runs the mining operation on a planet that supplies a long-depleted Earth with needed resources, there are bound to be those who would like to see you fail After five years away with the Interstellar Security Corps, Kaili is coming home after the death of her grandmother as a key participant in the ceremony to install her sister as head of the company and the ruling planetary council. She and her partner land in the middle of old resentments and new threats.

Like all of her people, Kaili is gifted with psi abilities developed over generations living in close harmony with their world- what outsiders see as magic. The ceremony investing her sister with her new positions will be a formal ritual, and Kaili, as her sister’s closest relative, will complete the binding Circle.

Accidents and unrest are growing in the mine operations, and Kaili and her partner, Jeff, uncover evidence that her sister will be formally challenged at the ceremony. When Kaili goes missing right before the ceremony, and returns with no apparent memory of the past few days, Jeff  knows something is not right. He will need to use a little magic of his own to make sure Kaili is ready to face the family’s enemies. If not, it could mean both sisters’ lives.

I really loved bringing magic into the mix of a science-fiction driven universe. It somehow doesn’t seem out of place: we know little about where these abilities come from, just as the characters still haven’t solved this mystery. Jeff, the captain of the Slingshot and Kaili’s ISC partner, is awkward in a magic-driven society, but he doesn’t write it off as hocus-pocus when he sees what people can do. And for the people of Geb, living with magic on the one hand and a thriving mining industry on the other is just everyday life for them. It was interesting to see what an advanced, space faring civilization could do with magic on their side.

Kaili is caught between two worlds, the world she was brought up in, with magic and ceremonies, and the world she has chosen to live in, the world of the ISC, where things are driven by technology and work. She’s smart and determined, even working on scientific research to try and figure out why the psi abilities of her planet will not work in hyperspace. Even when worse comes to worst, she keeps her head up and doesn’t stop fighting. A great protagonist in this universe.

I did really like the characters: Jeff and his space-captain attitude, Humfrid and his cheerful fatherly demeanor. The mystery revolving around who could be trying to sabotage the ceremony makes you watch everyone incredibly intently, and the depth that was shown demonstrated the author’s fantastic writing skills.

The mystery itself is slow growing – is there a plot, or are they paranoid? Who is involved if it is? I honestly did not see the ending coming, or at least, I didn’t see the full scope of it until very late. It was a great amount of suspense.

However, with the story revolving around this slow mystery, it made the plot a little slow itself. I was wondering when some great incident would come rippling through their lives, and was surprised then there wasn’t some huge intergalactic event. Not to say that the mystery wasn’t compelling, only that it threw the pacing a little off.

Circle Unbroken is a fun and enjoyable book, set in a universe I’d quite like to see more of. Hopefully we’ll get to hear more from Kaili and Jeff in the future!

The novel is set to come out on August 18th, but the author is hosting a pre-sale event: if you purchase the novel anytime between August 2nd and 17th, you will receive a free download of TWO other books by the same author!

Find it on Smashwords. Enjoy!

The Hollow People

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by Brian Keaney

Review by KM

Working in a library is fantastic fun, but there is one part that absolutely tears me to pieces: weeding our collection. I’m not put in charge of this job because it hurts me too much to see a cart and a half of novels head over to our sale section. A book getting weeded doesn’t mean it’s not good; it just means it hasn’t been checked out for a few years. I was shocked to see almost the entire Vampire Diaries series on the cart last week, as well as some of my favorite books from junior high.

The Hollow People was one of the books I grabbed off the cart this time. The cover is hauntingly compelling and I couldn’t take seeing it sitting on a shelf alone any longer.

Summary

ON THE SINISTER ISLAND where strict obedience to the laws of the mysterious Dr. Sigmundus holds sway, dreaming will get you locked up and branded a lunatic, a danger to society and to all who know you. In this doomed and repressive place, two teens that were never meant to meet or share their dreams, cross paths and set in motion that which rips them from the lives they were meant to lead. Together they join forces with a ragtag group of rebel forces bent on breaking the grip of lies and illusions their countrymen have accepted without question.

For fans of thoughtful science fiction and fantasy, The Hollow People opens a window on the unseen worlds that surround us.

Musings

It feels strange to say that this book felt like it both had a slow start, yet was a fast read. The first half of the book was all about gathering information as it came to Dante and Bea, but soon enough, you’re half way through the book and the action is really coming together. I wouldn’t say it’s a stand alone, though. When I got to the end, I knew without looking it up that there was a sequel — there just wasn’t a possible way that this was the absolute ending.

To me, it felt like a diet version of a lot of other books I’ve read. It had the typical dystopian trends of books like Divergent and Hunger Games, mixing it with science versus magic. A book perfect for a middle schooler transitioning from shorter books to the ones famous in our pop culture.

Suggested reading on Amazon puts the age group at seventh grade, but I’ve been seeing a lot of sixth graders taking out books from the Young Adult section. If you’re looking for something to interest a fifth grader during these last few weeks of Summer, this could be the book. Just make sure to grab it from your library, so it remains in the collection.

The Heart Goes Last

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by Margaret Atwood

Reviewed by SA

When I saw that this book was available, I jumped at it. Margaret Atwood? Heck yes! I was super excited to get to reading, and had no idea what to expect. And now, after having finished the novel, I still have no idea how to describe this book. It was pretty amazing, while being strange, unpredictable, and oh so weird. The premise itself is bizarre to begin with, and it just goes on from there.

Summary

(from the book, since I honestly have no idea how to summarize this novel without giving anything away.)

Stan and Charmaine are a married couple trying to stay afloat in the midst of an economic and social collapse. Job loss has forced them to live in their car, leaving them vulnerable to roving gangs. They desperately need to turn their situation around—and fast. The Positron Project in the town of Consilience seems to be the answer to their prayers. No one is unemployed and everyone gets a comfortable, clean house to live in . . . for six months out of the year. On alternating months, residents of Consilience must leave their homes and function as inmates in the Positron prison system. Once their month of service in the prison is completed, they can return to their “civilian” homes.
At first, this doesn’t seem like too much of a sacrifice to make in order to have a roof over one’s head and food to eat. But when Charmaine becomes romantically involved with the man who lives in their house during the months when she and Stan are in the prison, a series of troubling events unfolds, putting Stan’s life in danger. With each passing day, Positron looks less like a prayer answered and more like a chilling prophecy fulfilled.

From some online research, I’ve gathered that this novel is a reworking of Atwood’s epub series, “I’m Starved for You” , Part of the Positron series. Having not read this series myself, I can’t really comment on how it’s been altered: the changes the author has made, the things she has added or taken away, I don’t know. However, I do know that fans of the series must be pretty excited about this new release.

Set in a dystopian near-future, The Heart Goes Last  touches on the idea of obsession, power, and love. If this makes you uncomfortable, then I’m sorry to say this novel will have your skin crawling. There are characters inside so overcome with desire for others that they completely let go of rationality and step into the realm of science fiction. We have Stan’s obsession with Jasmine, the woman he believes is his alternate, and who appears to be the answer to his sexual fantasies. There’s Ed, and his obsession with Charmaine, going far beyond what is healthy. And then there’s the secret of Positron itself, and what it has to offer the outside world: a cash cow of Possibilibots (incredibly lifelike sexbots) and an operation that could give any person with the right price exactly what they’ve always wanted…

Atwood manages to make you cringe so many times in this novel. While the main plot is strange, in a very bizarre world, full of the oddest twists and surprises, it somehow comes off as comedic, with the ending like something out of Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, it is still incredibly dark. These things cannot be legal, and at many points creeped me out. Stalking, spying, lifelike sexbots – the lengths some people will go to get what, or who, they want, astounds me.

It’s odd how much I liked this book without liking many of the characters. Stan came off first as a bit of a creeper, but his character seemed kind of empty towards the end, which is understandable considering what he’s been through. Charmaine seemed at times resourceful and smart, but other times came off as a bit of an airhead. While I loved the plot of the novel, sometimes the wandering thoughts of our two protagonists slowed down the pace too much for me. I found that their idea repeated themselves a lot without much development, to the point where it made the novel feel slightly dull. It really picks up once Stan is told the truth and thrown out of the status quo.

The novel accelerates towards the end, or at least, increases in weirdness until the ending. The end itself seems still a little strange for me: as I said before, it reminds me a lot of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the way that everything comes together and love is set right – even if in some cases that love may be a little strange. But here I am, sitting and thinking about this novel and its bizarre ending, long after the book has been put down. It’s stuck with me.

I do really recommend this book, though. It’s a dark comedy very much in synch with what Atwood has written before. It’s strange, yes, but also thought provoking and memorable. Publishing date is expected to be September 29th.

The Fixer

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by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Reviewed by SA

A young adult political thriller. Do I have your attention yet? If that’s not enough to get you rushing to pick up this book, stick around, because I have so many reasons you will love The Fixer. It’s smart, exciting, intriguing, and, most importantly fun. It’s another one of those books that you can read quickly, but it somehow stays with you for a long while.

Summary 

Since her parents death, all Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has known has been her grandfather’s ranch. Her grandfather, however, is starting to forget things, and it’s becoming harder and harder for Tess to cover for him. She wants nothing more than to stay by his side, but her estranged sister, Ivy, a mysterious big-wig from D.C., has other plans for them. 

When Tess is uprooted and thrown into the capital, she’s tossed into a world of politics and power. Ivy is a fixer: when someone with a name wants a problem solved, the name on their lips is Ivy Kendrick. One of those problems is Tess; Ivy manages to enroll her, somehow, into Hardwicke Academy, home of the children of the biggest names in D.C.. And some of those children have bigger problems than their parents could ever imagine…

The rich and powerful have skeletons in their closets, and a conspiracy starts to take shape, one that Tess isn’t sure she can fix. Things are going to get… complicated.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first picked up this book. I saw it compared to “Scandal meets Veronica “Mars, though since I’ve never seen an episode of either, it wasn’t much of a reference. All I knew was “teenage girl solves political problems”…  so not much to go on. Which made the whole experience all the more awesome: I had nothing to compare it to, so everything was extremely new. But imagine you had a teenager who was onto everything going on in house of cards. A different perspective, making everything new.

Tess herself is one of those smart protagonists who proves she can be resourceful… and smart enough to talk to people with more experience when things get out of hand. Dealing with such intricate political schemes when having no experience in the political world means you need backup: and trusting in the people around you is not a trait many YA protagonists use. She never plans on becoming a fixer, but she has such a heart, and a hatred of bullies, that she can’t help but step in for others.

And Tess’s friends she makes at Hardwicke are awesome, and I mean awesome. Many main characters are POC and pretty badass. They have their own skills and talents, and support Tess, becoming a strong team. Just as Ivy has her own team, Tess somehow inadvertently builds one around herself. It’s fun to see those worlds collide: Ivy and her team, with Tess and her own.

The conspiracy starts as something you think could have a simple answer: but it quickly grows into something much, much larger. And it’s not something you can solve, or even theorize, by yourself. Almost like a Sherlock Holmes novel, you need to work out the problem using the few clues at your disposal, which you only uncover by following Tess’s own – at first reluctant – investigation. You won’t see the twists coming.

Some things seem a little unrealistic, however. For example, the first Lady who keeps showing up and showing an interest in Tess. Or the ease with which some of the mysteries are solved and resolved. Then again, this is meant to be a fun YA novel, so I’m going to let that slide: the book was fun all the same.

The Fixer seems like the beginning of something great. I an excited to read the sequel, and would love to see this turned into a show – a House of Cards crossed with Alex Rider and maybe Pretty Little Liars. It’s a fun, smart novel that keeps you hooked until the end.

Assorted Musings 

  • So there’s this HUGE twist at the end, which somehow I managed to see coming. All this because I read a book in middle school about this boys, his show chickens, and his sister, the exotic dancer named Dawn. So now every time I see characters with that kind of age difference I expect that twist. Dangit book-whose-name-I-can’t-remeber!
  • I totally imagine Ivy looking like Kristen Bell, for some reason. Why? No idea.
  • YESSSS for no forced Romance! I thought there would be but NOPE.
  • THAT ENDING. I really need a sequel STAT!

Go Set a Watchman

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by Harper Lee

Review by KM

Who doesn’t remember sitting in their English classroom and reading about Atticus Finch? I know a lot of us do and that To Kill a Mockingbird was one of our favorite required-reading books. Atticus gave us an idolized role model that used his privilege for the underdog; he was articulate, intelligent, and fair. I was so excited to see him in another book.

From the moment I knew there was a sequel coming out, I knew I was going to be getting it. I didn’t read the articles or listen to the hype. I probably should have.

Summary

Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—”Scout”—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can only be guided by one’s own conscience.

Musings 

I have a lot of feelings about this novel. I’m angry, betrayed, and relieved, in a sense. I think I feel the same way Jean Louise feels and I’m pretty sure that is intentional.

A lot of people are making a lot of noise about how Go Set a Watchman destroys Atticus’ character. Around a third into the book, when I slammed it down onto the counter and announced to my coworkers that I couldn’t go on, I would have agreed. There are reasons why it doesn’t. We were introduced to Atticus by an eight year old who idolized her father. I don’t believe she was meant to be an unreliable narrator, but anyone is going to have their bias. We trusted in that and we saw Atticus with no flaws. That’s why it was just as disturbing to me to see facets of his personality just as much as it disturbed Scout. Her personality evolves from the child we saw in Mockingbird to a strong young adult, making this her story rather than just her narration.

As a piece of literature, I think it’s a resounding success. I was transported directly to the town of Maycomb; Lee’s voice is so authentic that I’ve never found anything similar. It’s a slow, lazy climb to the plot, but it’s not noticeable. This is more a book of reflection than action. I’m pretty sure it’s being classified as an adult novel at the moment, but damn, I haven’t read a book that has totally defined New Adult for me until this one.

If you love Atticus or not, I suggest giving this a read. It will make you angry, but maybe we’re not meant  to idolize people without any faults. They’re just hiding them and they’re bound to topple from that pedestal eventually.