YA

Dig Too Deep

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by Amy Allgeyer
Reviewed by SA

I didn’t know what to expect from this book when I picked it up, but i was quickly thrown into a world of corruption and lies that was impossible to put down. I was thrilled to find a fantastic YA with compelling characters and an engrossing plot. Just how much corruption can a community take?

Summary23502052

With her mother facing prison time for a violent political protest, seventeen-year-old Liberty Briscoe has no choice but to leave her Washington, DC, apartment and take a bus to Ebbottsville, Kentucky, to live with her granny. There she can finish high school and put some distance between herself and her mother– her ‘former’ mother, as she calls her. But Ebbottsville isn’t the same as Liberty remembers, and it’s not just because the top of Tanner’s Peak has been blown away to mine for coal. Half the county is out of work, an awful lot of people in town seem to be sick, and the tap water is bright orange–the same water that officials claim is safe to drink. When Granny’s lingering cold turns out to be something much worse, Liberty is convinced the mine is to blame, and starts an investigation that quickly plunges her into a world of secrets, lies, threats, and danger. Liberty isn’t deterred by any of it, but as all her searches turn into dead ends, she comes to a difficult decision: turn to violence like her former mother or give up her quest for good.

Liberty returns to rural Kentucky to live with her grandmother, pushing thoughts of her absent mother out of her mind. But it’s not too long until she realizes that something is amiss with the town of her childhood: her grandmother is sick, though she won’t admit it, and half of the mountain is just missing, replaced by trucks and drills and a large pool of weird looking water. That same water which seems to be running through the pipes in her home: is is possible that the water has something to do with her grandmother’s illness?

Our protagonist is smart, and she’s determined: her grandmother’s life is on the line, for goodness sake! Interestingly enough, it’s Granny who quickly became my favorite character: plucky and vivacious, she won’t let anything get her down. She’s a force of nature: albeit a small, frail one. I loved granny so much, with her wit, with her determination, she reminded me so much of some of my own relatives.

The characters had depth and a real personality. Admittedly, I didn’t like Cole from the start, but I quickly came around to Dobber, a young man you wouldn’t expect to be so smart and compelling. It was interesting how Liberty’s first impressions were both spot on and completely off, though I won’t spoil any of that for you.

While some events a found a little unrealistic, I was deeply engrossed with the main plot. It reminded me at times of a teenage Erin Brockovich, though admittedly Liberty has much less power and credibility. That’s why I wasn’t so taken in by the ending: It didn’t seem all that plausible to me, even if it was a great fit.  In any case, i enjoyed the book from start to finish.

If you want a book with spunk, and a determined teenager trying to fight for justice in a place where her voice is ignored, then this is just the book for you. It will be published onApril 1st 2016 by Albert Whitman.

Not If I See You First

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by Eric Lindstrom

Reviewed by SA

There’s something fantastic in reading a book that opens your eyes (no pun intended). It’s something different from your everyday reading, and for me, the reason I read books in the first place. Not If I See You First is a fascinating novel, that relies more on character growth than plot to tell a story. It was a story with true depth and dimension which I was glad to have a chance to read.

Summary22701879

Everyone has secrets. Everyone is a secret.
Parker Grant is a junior in high school who loves to run, has great friends, and isn’t afraid to speak her mind–especially when it comes to how stupid some people can be around a blind person like her. The only topic to avoid is how Parker feels about the boy who broke her heart in eighth grade… who has just transferred to her school. And as long as she can keep giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn’t cried since her dad’s death three months ago, she’ll be just fine. Right?

Parker Grant has a few rules you must never break around her: Don’t help me unless I ask. Otherwise you’re just getting in my way or bothering me; Don’t be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I’m just like you only smarter; and the most important one of all, Don’t deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public. Break the rules, and you will never regain her trust.

Now Scott, the only boy to ever deceive her, is back in her life after their two high schools have merged. As if Parker’s life isn’t difficult enough to begin with, what with her family moving into her home after her father’s death, and the fact that wants to join the track team, which means she’s going to need to find a running partner. And what if she wants to start dating, too?

The great thing I love about Parker is that she’s flawed. She can be a complete a**hole sometimes, if you pardon my language. The fact she can’t see people flinch means she’s usually more direct with what she says, and never sugarcoats anything, with means she can come off as being incredibly bitchy. But she’s also smart, insightful, and cares deeply about her friends.

The weird thing about this novel was I felt like it had no real plot or direction until I reached the end. Everything revolved around her character growth,  around her realizing that just because she hears everything doesn’t mean she actually listens. And that’s key: because when she learns to actually listen to the people around her, she discovers she can be really blind about somethings, that have nothing to do with the loss of her sight.

It was cool to be int he head of a blind person for a while. To have description of all the senses except sight. To know how things feel and how people sound. What it’s like to run when you can’t see where you’re going. I was wondering why I still made a physical image in my head of how everything looked, when no description was given. Heck, Parker doesn’t know her friends skin color, what they wear, or anything else physical about them:  so why did I fill in the blanks?

What hit me was just how relatable Parker was even under the layers of harsh exterior. She’s the kind of person you don’t see often in modern YA: she’s not afraid to admit she loves her friends, she’s intense and flawed and has difficulty relating to others.She’s too quick to jump to conclusions and that gets her in trouble. She’s no special snowflake, she’s a girl like us going through high school.

This unique and hard hitting novel is something that has me still thinking about it well after the last page was turned. I want to know what happens next, and yet, I’m happy with where the author left us, the small window he’s letting us see into Parker’s life. Well worth the read.

Not If I See You First comes out today, December 1st, from Little Brown Books.

 

The Casquette Girls

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by Alys Arden

Reviewed by SA

Having read nothing but fast books these days, I wanted a novel I could really ‘sink my teeth into’ (as my grandmother says). I didn’t know what to expect from The Casquette Girls, as I was first drawn in by the gorgeous cover rather than the blurb, but I was amazingly surprised. This novel is a simmering pot of mystery and magic in a setting that will blow you away.

25917801Summary

Seven girls tied by time.
Five powers that bind.
One curse to lock the horror away.
One attic to keep the monsters at bay.

After the storm of the century rips apart New Orleans, sixteen-year-old Adele Le Moyne wants nothing more than her now silent city to return to normal. But with home resembling a war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal needs a new definition.

As the city murder rate soars, Adele finds herself tangled in a web of magic that weaves back to her own ancestors. Caught in a hurricane of myths and monsters, who can she trust when everyone has a secret and keeping them can mean life or death? Unless . . . you’re immortal.

Adele returns to New Orleans after its quasi-total destruction by a hurricane without equal. Nothing is the same: her city looks like something out of an apocalypse film, the people are almost all gone, her best friend moved away and seems to have no plans to ever return, and strange things are happening all around her. Is it possible that she can do… things?

This novel started slow, and yet I was captured all the same. The writing is beautiful and unique: the destroyed New Orleans setting gives it all an eerie, isolated feeling, and I was blown away by its depth. It’s a place of mystery and magic, but also of growing romance, which blossoms from its destruction. That juxtaposition really worked for me.

Adele herself isn’t just kind of sticker character: she’s got a depth that I rarely see in YA novels. She loves her father, her city; she’s smart and sophisticated in many ways, but also still learning, still trying, in others. She’s always caught between two worlds, the sophisticated french side of her mother, and of her new school,  and the down to earth, honest side of her, with comes from her father, and the city where she was raised. And that side is pretty badass.

The other characters are just as interesting. Admittedly, though, at first I had a bit of trouble keeping all their names straight. There definitely are  a whole slew of possible love interest characters.

When I first saw the word Vampires, though, I groaned and almost put the book down. I am not a fan. But I am more than glad I hung in there. The story that arrises is spooky, and takes you back in time to when the city was only just beginning, to the 18th century, and to ancestors with dark secrets.

Magic, mystery, and a twist on an amazing city. What else could you possibly want from a novel? I highly recommend picking it up!

The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever

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By Jeff Strand

Reviewed by SA

Halloween may have come and gone, but it’s never not time to be talking about Zombies. Though, as the author will warn you before you start reading, this isn’t exactly a book about Zombies: it’s a book about a zombie movie, and the making of one of the worst movies of the genre. And it’s incredibly fun.

Summary

After producing three horror films that went mostly ignored on YouTube, Justin and his filmmaking buddies decide it’s time to make something epic. In fact, they’re going to make The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever. They may not have money or a script, but they have passion. And, after a rash text message, they also have the beautiful Alicia Howtz as the lead.

Hemmed in by a one-month timeline and a cast of uncooperative extras, but aching to fulfill Alicia’s dreams, Justin must face the sad, sad truth: he may, in actuality, be producing The Worst Zombie Movie Ever.

This may be The Greatest – book about the worst attempt to make a – Zombie Movie Ever. Anything that could go wrong does go wrong in this wholly hilarious book. From odd pastel clowns to shady grandmothers, along with a hoard of zombie problems, Justin’s plan to make the greatest zombie movie ever – not just a good movie, the greatest movie – seems like an uphill battle, an impossible feat. It’s enough to give up home, but he is determined to make it all work, no matter what obstacles come in his way.  Which means he’s in for the worst weeks of his life.

While the characters read a little younger than fifteen year olds, and some plot points were a little predictable, this novel still managed to make me laugh out loud and hold on for more. It was a fast read, and I devoured it in a mere two hours, but it was a fantastic two hours that were very well spent, and in good company, too.

Because for all their faults, these characters are so darn lovable. Justin with his dogged determination to get this movie done. Alicia’s wavering emotions about her hair. Spork’s obsession with filming every behind the scene detail. Weird Uncle Clyde’s problems with money, and vaping. Bobby and Gabe, the kind of friends you want by your side when the zombie apocalypse comes knocking, even if it is an apocalypse you put together yourself in an attempt to create a fantastic movie. And I’m still quite worried about Justin’s Grandma.

It hit me right in the nostalgia-gut: I was obsessed with film making when I was fifteen, and thought I could do anything on a budget of twenty bucks, so long as I had good friends and a reliable camera. Though I never faced the kinds of problems that Justin had to deal with! There was a moment – and I’m going to remain vague, so I won’t spoil anything here – when he has to face the absolute worst nightmare an amateur director can face, and it made me actually cringe in my seat. I related way too much with this character, and not only felt for him, but was really rooting for him to succeed.

While the ending is a little predictable, it’s the fun finish this novel deserves. I came out of this read feeling excited and content, wishing that this could get made into a movie itself. A fantastic, hilarious novel well worth the read.

Release Date: March 1, 2016 by SourceBooks Fire 

Pre-Order The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever:

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About Jeff Strand:

Jeff Strand has written more than twenty books, and is a four-time nominee (and four-time non-winner) of the Bram Stoker Award. Two of his young adult novels, A Bad Day For Voodoo and I Have A Bad Feeling About This, were Junior Library Guild picks. Publishers Weekly called his work “wickedly funny.” He lives in Tampa, Florida.

Website

@JeffStrand

Excerpt from The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever:

The vampire, whose fangs were too big for his mouth, turned to the camera and hissed.

“Don’t look at the camera,” said Justin Hollow, the director.

“I keep poking my lip on these things,” said Harold, spitting the plastic fangs out onto the ground. He hadn’t been a very frightening example of the undead before, and he was even less scary with no fangs and a thick line of drool running down his chin.

“Cut!” shouted Justin, loud enough to be sure that the command was heard by his production crew of two. “C’mon, Harold. Stay in character. We’re three hours behind schedule.”

“I don’t care. I hate this. You promised that I’d get all the girls I wanted. So where are all of the girls I want?”

Justin let out his thirty-ninth exasperated sigh of the night. “The movie has to come out first.”

“It’s not even a real movie.”

Justin bristled. It was a full body bristle, head to toe, which he hadn’t even realized was physically possible. Bobby, who handled sound recording, and Gabe, who handled everything else, both stepped back a couple of feet. Neither of them truly believed that they were about to witness a murder, but they wanted to get out of the splash zone, just in case.

Had this been one of Justin’s movies, he would have very slowly lowered his camera, stared directly into Harold’s eyes with a steel gaze, and then after an extremely dramatic pause asked “What…did…you…just…say?”

His actual response, delivered in a squeakier voice than he would have allowed from his actors, was: “Huh?”

“I said it’s not a real movie.” Harold started to wipe the fake blood off his mouth. It didn’t come off, and probably wouldn’t for several days. Justin had planned to feel guilty about this later, but now he wouldn’t bother. “Nobody’s ever going to see it. You probably won’t even finish it.”

“I finished my last three movies!” Justin insisted. “I got hundreds of hits on YouTube!”

That statement was technically accurate, though it was the lowest possible number of hits you could get and still use “hundred” in its plural form. The only comment anybody posted about his latest film had been “This twelve year-old filmmaker sort of shows promise,” which really frustrated Justin since he was fifteen.

Harold shrugged. “This is a waste of time. I’ve got better things to do on a Friday night.”

“Nobody ever said this was going to be easy,” said Justin, who had indeed said that it was going to be easy when luring Harold into the role. “You can quit now, but what are you going to think about your decision ten years from now?”

“I’m going to think, wow, it sure is nice to be such a well-paid dentist.”

Harold walked off the set. It wasn’t an actual set, but rather a small park near Justin’s home, where they were filming without a permit. Justin knew he should shout something after his ex-actor. Something vicious. Something devastating. He thought about shouting “You’ll never work in this town again!” but, no, it had to be something that Harold would consider a bad thing.

“Fine!” Justin shouted. “But when we record the audio commentary track for the Blu-Ray, I’m going to talk about how you abandoned us, and how much happier everybody was with the new actor who took your role, and how we all agreed that he should have been cast in the first place, and how he had so many girlfriends that he couldn’t even keep track of them, and how they all found out about each other and had a great big awesome catfight in his front yard! And I’ll pronounce your name wrong!”

Harold continued walking, apparently not heartbroken.

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Self-Help

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by Miranda Sings
Review by KM

I realized that, while we are giving away a copy of Miranda Sing’s Self-Help, we have yet to review it. What an oversight! Many of you will recognize Miranda Sings from her Youtube channel, but if you don’t, check her out here.

Summary

In this decidedly unhelpful, candid, hilarious “how-to” guide, YouTube personality Miranda Sings offers life lessons and tutorials with her signature sassy attitude.

Over six million social media fans can’t be wrong: Miranda Sings is one of the funniest faces on YouTube. As a bumbling, ironically talentless, self-absorbed personality (a young Gilda Radner, if you will), she offers up a vlog of helpful advice every week on her widely popular YouTube channel. For the first time ever, Miranda is putting her advice to paper in this easy-to-follow guide, illustrated by Miranda herself. In it, you’ll find instructions on everything: how to get a boyfriend (wear all black and carry a fishing net), to dressing for a date (sequins and an orange tutu), to performing magic (“Magic is Lying”), and much, much more! Miranda-isms abound in these self-declared lifesaving pages, and if you don’t like it…well, as Miranda would say…“Haters, back off!”

Musings

This isn’t a standard book — there is no plot line to follow. It reminds me a lot like the Amelia’s Notebook books that were always checked out from the library in elementary school — but meant for young adults.

The entire book is supposed to look like a scrap book, with taped items and scribbly handwriting. The grammar and spelling are awful, but intentional, and made it a bit hard for me to read. The disclaimer says to buy two books, since there are suggestions to color or cut out pages of the original copy (and you always want a perfect one, right?)

Miranda offers awesome advice on dancing moves, how to apply make up, and even wedding vows (which were a lot more fun than the ones I said at my wedding). It had me cracking up throughout and only took a little while to read.

All in all, fans of her videos will get a kick out of this book. It’s fun and something to enjoy flipping through when you’re not craving a serious read.

Dumplin’

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by Julie Murphy

Reviewed by SA

Dumplin‘ has been a book I’ve been wanting to read for ages. Friends have been recommending it to me since before it even came out. I finally caved and bought myself a copy – taking a risk (if you can call it that!) and getting a nice, lovely hardcover copy. I think I kind of had a designer crush on the cover. After finishing the book, there are a few things I can be certain of:

  1. This was not at all what I expected;
  2. It was way better, amazing, and unforgettable;
  3. I am so glad I have a gorgeous hardcover!

Summary

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.
Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.
With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

I’m always slightly wary of books that deal with body image: they can sway one way, and end up telling you that as soon as you start feeling better for yourself, you’ll start loosing weight and turning ‘hot’, or they can swing to the other side of the spectrum, and bring on a landslide of skinny shaming. Dumplin’ does none of those things. While at first, Willowdean points out the imperfections in those around her, she grows over the course of the novel.  Will stops herself from skinny shaming others, loves her body even if she is insecure in it sometimes. I found it to be the perfect book dealing with teenagers and body image issues.

What really impressed me was how secondary the pageant seemed. What took center stage was Willowdean’s own life, her own crushes and friendships, her worries and loves, her own life. And her life is so much more than the pageant, even if we only get this small glimpse into it. Yes, there is a love triangle, and yes, there is some friendship drama: but all of these seem to be part of the fabric which makes up her life, instead of being barriers. They give depth and dimension to the story, and to her character, which made me really get pulled into the book.

Will is a fantastic protagonist. And I mean fantastic. She’s flawed, she’s self conscious, but she’s also brave and outspoken and incredibly insightful. There were some quotes of hers that I want to write on my wall so I can never stop thinking about them. She’s someone you can really relate to, that you can really understand.

But my favorite aspect of this novel was the relationships. The friendship between Will and Ellen is the real story, in my opinion. The pageant just offers framework. It’s a love story, in a way. The more I think about it, the more I’m sure of it. It’s the love between two best friends who hit a rough patch and have to deal with growing up and growing apart. It’s so rare to see friends actually tell each other that they do love each other, and really mean it. I loved their story.

If you haven’t read Dumplin’ yet, then I strongly suggest you do. It’s a book I 100% recommend with all my heart. It’s got everything you want in a book – including some Dolly Parton adoration – and I want to lend it to everyone I know.

Fair warning – I’ve had Jolene stuck in my head for days now!

How to Be Brave

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by E. Katherine Kottaras

Reviewed by SA

This book is the actual definition of heartwarming. It left me feeling all warm inside, feeling so good about what I had just read. It’s a book about bullying, about insecurities, about experimenting, and loss: it brought back a whole mountains of feelings I hadn’t felt since high school, and had me more emotional than i could have ever anticipated.

Summary

Reeling from her mother’s death, Georgia has a choice: become lost in her own pain, or enjoy life right now, while she still can. She decides to start really living for the first time and makes a list of fifteen ways to be brave – all the things she’s wanted to do but never had the courage to try. As she begins doing the things she’s always been afraid to do – including pursuing her secret crush, she discovers that life doesn’t always go according to plan. Sometimes friendships fall apart and love breaks your heart. But once in a while, the right person shows up just when you need them most – and you learn that you’re stronger and braver than you ever imagined.

Georgia, our main protagonist, is one of the most down to earth, relatable characters I have ever read in contemporary YA. She’s slightly overweight, self conscious, she struggles in chemistry, she’s got a crush on a boy in her art class, and she has no idea what she wants to do after high school. Not to mention that she has just lost her mother, her best friend, her strongest support. I can’t imagine going through what she goes through.

This leads her to write a bucket-list-but-not-really: she writes down 15 things she has always wanted to do, but never had the courage to. To honor her mom, she wants to be brave and try new things. Some of them seem a little daunting: like sky diving, or trapeze… while others, well, they’re a little more down to earth, but terrifying as well: try tribal dancing, or learnt to draw, ditch school or even ask out her crush. Spurred on by her friend Liss, she decides to go for it. From here on, it’s a story of growth: it’s a story of a young woman who throws herself into life, and pushes herself to be the person she has always wanted to be.

I loved the growth of her character in this novel. She thinks positive thoughts through the day, and slowly begins to really believe them.  The last few chapters are amazing: Georgia stands up for herself, revealing some rather heartbreaking truths, she becomes more honest, for self assured. She slowly finds direction and allows herself to be her own person. It’s a fantastic story, one I think teens need to hear. Being brave isn’t just about doing dangerous things: here, being brave is about being honest and true to yourself, and the ones you love.

Speaking of the ones you love, there are some amazing characters in this novel. Liss is one of those friends you need to have in your life. Evelyn is one of those people who just doesn’t seem to fit in, and yet she needs friendship more than anyone can imagine. Daniel, her crush, isn’t some paper-cut-out love interest: he’s got depth, struggles, and shortcomings. I loved how this romance wasn’t the main focus of the novel at all, and instead it was Georgia’s growth that takes center stage.

This book is unique int he way it ties prose to verse. The poems are generally about her mother, focusing on what she was like when she was alive, as well as her days suffering in a hospital. It’s a beautiful way to remember her mother, while it might be a way to dissociate from the pain of those last days. I loved how these poems become a part of the narrative, without once saying ‘hey, I wrote a poem, read it.’ They were simply there, showing us more about Georgia’s perception of the world than we could learn from prose.

You know you really loved a book when you don’t know where to stop with the review. I want to talk about Georgia’s mother; I want to talk about her relationship with her father, or with her art teacher; I want to talk with someone on whether they thought Georgia was body positive or skinny shaming; or on whether weight loss was the result or the cause of a confidence boost; I want to talk about Evelyn, about when the signs started to appear.

This book has some very important, difficult themes, such as loss, depression, drug use, bullying, which is surprising seeing as how light hearted it seemed at first. This book somehow managed to be both fun, and deep, and is a definite must read for any high school student, or anyone who wants to learn how to really be brave.

The novel comes out on November 3rd, from St Martin’s press.

I Crawl Through It

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by A.S. King

Reviewed by S.A.

As fall comes around again, a lot of us make our way back to school. It’s time for a high school YA, but a novel unlike any other. It’s almost indescribable, so I’ll try to do my best with this review, but I doubt I’ll capture it perfectly. It’s another novel that I find hard to place in any category: a surrealist YA for anybody and everybody to enjoy.

Summary

Four talented teenagers are traumatized-coping with grief, surviving trauma, facing the anxiety of standardized tests and the neglect of self-absorbed adults—and they’ll do anything to escape the pressure. They’ll even build an invisible helicopter, to fly far away to a place where everyone will understand them… until they learn the only way to escape reality is to fly right into it.

Reading this book was like staring too long at a Dali painting: it almost began to make sense, but the significance of it all just flew over your head. I was caught between what was real, what wasn’t, and if it really mattered if it as real or not. I crawl through it is a book that teeters between reality and nonsense, but still managed to be captivating and engrossing.

Stanzi is a young woman who never goes without her lab coat. Her best friend, whose parents have a ‘dungeon’ in the basement, has swallowed herself whole, . Her crush, Gustav, is building a helicopter in his garage, which she can only see on Tuesdays: any other day, and it’s invisible. She’s friends with a girl whose hair grows every time she lies, and hangs well below her knees. Between her house and Gustav lives the dangerous bush man, who, for a kiss, will give you a beautiful letter to decorate your life. He’ll also give you the answers if you know how to ask. Their school keeps getting bomb threats, and every day there’s a drill. And that is their life.

Only there’s a whole lot more to it. This book had so much depth, it took me a while to ‘get’ it. These teenagers have complicated, complex lives, which leads to their – ahem – ‘unusual’ traits. As a reader, you wonder at every page if these are real traits, or something they have imagined up, so as to better understand their world. But does reality even matter, when all this is fiction anyways?

These characters have real depth, they are so much more than what they are on the surface. The author really manages to convey the difficulty Stanzi has relating with others, as she feels somewhat distant, even to us, who are allowed to see her perspective. The growing relationship between Gustav and her, which seems natural, unexaggerated. While I was very uncomfortable with the dangerous bush man at first, I’m very glad to have seen him develop as a person alongside our protagonists. It’s impressive how immersed in these young peoples’ lives you become, if you give this book a chance.

When you reach the ending, you really wonder what truly happened over the course of the novel. What did others see? Again, what is real, and what is not? I had many questions. I admit, my first reaction when I closed the book was What on earth was that? Somehow, however, the characters stuck to me. Their story meant something. As you start to understand the trauma they’re dealing with, you find yourself relating in ways you might not expect.

This is a fantastic book for people keep asking questions. It may not have the answers, but it has a string of them: ABDECBACDBABA… might not be what you’re expecting, but you’ll definitely enjoy your reading experience.

Fair warning: it is surreal. And weird. And there are many feelings to be had. I Crawl Through It comes out today, September 22nd. Enjoy!

State of Grace

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by Hilary Badger

Reviewed by SA

Oh my Dot this book is good.

Fair warning: this book is very different from what you’ve ever read before, but in the greatest way possible. It’s one of those books that tries to defy definition, definitely already defying labeling (is it utopian? Dystopian? Science Fiction? WHAT IS IT) and still making my mind spin. Think Margret Atwood meets Brave New World, with some Drugs thrown in. It is strange, it is beautiful, and it is amazing.

Summary

Ever since she was created, Wren has lived in an idyllic garden with her friends. Wren’s deity Dot ensures the trees are laden with fruit and the water in the lagoon is crystal clear. Wren and her friends have everything they could possibly need right there, in Dot’s Paradise.
If only Wren could stop the strange, disturbing visions she’s started having. Do these visions make her less worthy of Dot’s love? And what does Blaze, the most beautiful and mysterious of Dot’s creations, know about what’s going on in Wren’s head?
Wren is desperate to feel Dot’s love, just like everyone else. But that’s harder than ever when a creation she’s never met before arrives in the garden. He claims to be from outside and brings with him words and ideas that make Wren’s brain hurt.

First of all: I got this summary from Goodreads, as I always do, but I cut it short. Do not read the full Goodreads summary! It spoils a major plot twist that is in the last one hundred or even fifty pages, so to avoid the spoilers, avoid the full summary. It’s under the cut so you should all be ok. This has been a public service announcement.

The first chapter had me rolling on the floor laughing, sending IMs to my boyfriend about how “ridiculous my new book is”. It seems as though you’re thrown into a nudist colony, or a hippie retreat, with ideas of free love and bathing nude with infantile names for genitalia. I was ready to put it down right there – what possible drama can you have in a nudist colony? (Note to self – write nudist colony rom com). But then, things started to change. My IMs stopped, and I became fully engrossed in the novel.

What changed? Wren did. Our main character, a lovely young lady who loves her creator, Dot, and her friends, and her idyllic life, begins to have doubts. She slowly starts to see through it all, and she begins to see the world differently. As she does, our opinion of her world changes too, and we see the utopia  less and less as the perfect, tiny world it claims to be. It’s slow and gradual, not an immediate transition, which really allows the reader to follow Wren down the rabbit hole, so to speak.

If you take the religious plot, the one that takes place outside of Wren’s head, it seems like a strange concept for a YA indeed: a loving deity named Dot dropped her creations off, brand new and fresh and fully grown, inside a small beautiful universe, along with the books that guide their belief, and a new language that removes all negativity (prelight for dark, precalm for scared). Every day, her creations will sing to her in the gazebo, pick the newfruit (the only one they shouldn’t eat, I see Eden in here somewhere) and give it as an offering to their loving goddess, then they ride horseback, swim in the lagoon, hook up freely. It’s now almost one year later, and the excitement grows for “Completion Night”, the night where Dot will chose her favorite creations. But as this time draws near, tensions rise: Gil claims to be Dot’s mouthpiece, and believes their world is infected with unholy things, and leads a witch hunt to purify it all before the big night.

But Wren is changing: she begins with a certain belief in Dot, but slowly, this belief is getting cracked and crumbling. When Dennis, an outsider, accidentally gets stuck inside their perfect world, she is sure he is a test from Dot… but Blaze, the only other person who seems to be ‘waking up’ around her, has other theories. Slowly the paradise fades: the songs become more annoying, the hooking up more ridiculous. I was amazed at how the author really started to pull us away from the perfection she created: It was skillful writing, and probably why I liked this book so much.

It’s slowly paces, but in the best way possible. It allows the intrigue to develop, and allows the ready to grow anxious over what’s going to happen next. What is this world? If it’s not Eden, then what is it? Why are they really there? And why is it that Wren and Blaze don’t see it like anybody else?

The ending will leave you breathless. The entire last hundred pages or so cut a sharp contract with the rest of the book, speeding up, answering questions, even breaking your heart. What an amazing book, it’s something completely new that no one is soon to forget.

State of Grace comes out today, September 1st. It would be presmart not to read it.

The Fixer

seanderson1 Comment

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!