Future Release Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

Title: The Diviners

Author: Libba Bray site

Format: ARC, 578 pages

Release Date: 9/18/2012

Publisher: Little, Brown BYR

Source: Borrowed from a librarian

“Do you believe there are ghosts and demons and diviners among us?

Evie O’Neil has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, Broadway plays, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfeld girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will, curator of the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult—also known as the Museum of Creepy Crawlies.

Will is haunted by the occult, and Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And they will soon discover something dark and evil has awakened… ”

-Book Jacket

Characters:

In The Diviners, in its many chapters we see from the point of view of many characters. Too many to write about. So I’m going to focus on the two most featured characters, Evie and Memphis.

Evie is a modern girl in a modern world. She’s no stranger to a drink, and loves to party late into the night like any flapper. She loves attention, and will go to just about any means to get it, many of them selfish. Though she has good intentions, things never quite seem to work out the way she plans. Evie starts out as not very likable. But she did grow on me. It’s not that she get less selfish/attention getting, but it gets to be more understandable. I still wouldn’t want her to be my best friend, but she does have good intentions.

Memphis is a black number runner for the local numbers game (local lottery), and writes poetry by moonlight in the local cemetery. Both of his parents are out of the picture and he’s just trying to take care of his younger brother who, like Evie, is developing supernatural powers. Memphis actually didn’t leave a huge impression on me. I liked him well enough, but I’m not  sure how I feel about him yet in the series.

And just something else I wanted to mention, I loved that there are some LGBT characters thrown in the mix of characters. It’s unfortunately rare in historical fiction. (Although it should be said that Libba Bray’s other historical fiction/fantasy series “A Great and Terrible Beauty” also had an LGBT character. Go Libba!)

Plot:

This book should not be mistaken for a murder mystery. It’s not a story about a spunky girl with supernatural powers solving crimes as the book jacket suggests. As the reader, it made pretty clear for the start who/what the murderer is. The book is much darker than that. The parts with the killer are just downright spooky and creepy. Real goose bump and heebie jeebie producers. The Diviners is of a slower pace than I’m used to and its about 600 pages, so it felt and read like a long book.

Another adjective I would use to describe The Diviners is “introductory”. Even though there is a lot of book here and there was definitely a plot and plenty of suspense, it feels like we only get a glimpse of the characters and of what is to come in the series. It’s almost like a “calm before the storm” or “here it comes” kind of feeling.

Overall:

I just love Libba Bray. She’s not only one of my author gods, she always weaves a damn good story. I know my review is already very long so I’ll keep it short and sweet. I give The Diviners 4.5 of 5 stars. If you like historical fiction or just good fantasy, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.

Review: Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Title: Shut Out

Author: Kody Keplinger site

Format: Audiobook, 6 discs

Narrator: Kate Reinders

Published: 9/07/2011

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Source: Library

Challenges: Standalone Reading Challenge (hosted by Icey Books), and the Completely Contemp Challenge (hosted by Chick Loves Lit)

“Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part, Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling...”

-Goodreads

Basic Synopsis:

Somehow, a rivalry started between the football team and the soccer team of Hamilton High. Lissa’s boyfriend Randy is the quarterback and therefore very involved in the rivalry. Lissa is tired of being put second to a stupid feud. Her plan to break up the rivalry: get all of the girlfriends of both the football and soccer team to go on a sex strike. And, surprise, it stirs up a whole lot of trouble…

Characters:

Lissa is very organized and neat, controlling and over protective. She puts herself in charge of everyone she holds dear. Lissa is kind of a shrew, but she definitely knows it. I’m not sure why, but that makes her more likable. She also kind of has a reason for being an over protective. Anyway, I warmed up to her. Not exactly a surprise since I have a thing for imperfect protagonists.

I’m also a sucker for hilarious best friends, which is why I loved the character Chloe. She’s extremely confident and funny, and I wish I had a real live Chloe in my life. She is also often the unexpected voice of reason.  

Plot and Story:

I like the whole message/conversation about sex that happens throughout the book. The way the characters converse about sex is very honest and frank and informative in a very non-invasive way. It isn’t about using protection or STDs, but about how different individuals feel about it. Those who like it and those who don’t, those that are scared of sex and those that want to wait. Since I’m not a big “contemporary romp” fan, the informative conversation was its saving grace for me.

Overall:

Last fall, around the time Shut Out came out, it was the book everyone and their mother were reading in YA. And though the buzz has gone down, I finally got the chance to pick it up and I’m so glad I did. Shut Out is funny and meaningful. It’s definitely one of the best contemporary YA novels I’ve read. It definitely lived up to the hype. I give it 4.5 of 5 stars. I would highly recommend it!

Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Title: Monument 14

Author: Emmy Laybourne site

Format: eARC, 294 pages

Release Date: 6/05/2012

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillian)

Source: Netgalley

Challenges: Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted by Workaday Reads)

“Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.

But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

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

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.”

-Goodreads

Basic Synopsis:

In the year 2024, Dean and his younger brother Alex get on the school bus in Monument, Colorado. Suddenly huge hail rains down on their town and kills many. After a near death experience escaping the bus, the14 surviving kids and their bus driver, Ms. Wooly, flee to a nearby super store. But when Ms. Wooly goes to find help, they end up on their own. Can they survive earthquakes, toxic chemicals, and just plain isolation?

Characters:

I liked Dean. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something very authentic and human about him that I liked. He just wants to keep his brother safe and get Astrid to notice him. He’s also kind of an underdog of the group, and I’m a sucker for underdogs.

Plot and Story:

There is something indescribably fresh and real about Laybourne’s writing. It was good on the eyes if you know what I mean.  It was very fast paced, the story was always moving. And that’s a good thing for me. I was on the edge of my seat and my heart was actually beating with excitement at all the right parts. Oh, and that action packed, cliff hanger ending. I’m still buzzing about it. I need the sequel, like, NOW! I know I’m kind of all over the place, but there are s many things to like about this book.

Overall:

I was worried it would be, but Monument 14 isn’t your run of the mill post-apocalyptic. The premise isn’t the most original idea, but it is very well written and the story is quite a ride. If you’re into post-apocalyptic YA, I would definitely recommend Monument 14. I’m giving it 4.5 of 5 stars.

Future Release Review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Born Wicked

Author: Jessica Spotswood site

Format: ARC, 326 pages

Release Date: 2/07/2012

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Source: Received from the publisher

** I personally think that parts of this synopsis give too much away. Reader beware**

“A Great and Terrible Beauty meets Cassandra Clare in this spellbinding fantasy 

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave. 

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. 

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.”

-Goodreads

How it starts:

Set in an altered past, run by a dystopian society where men are in charge and women are oppressed at every opportunity, Cate Cahill has six months before she is forced to declare her intentions to the Brotherhood, the male organization that overthrew the witches 20 years ago. Women are only given two options, join the Sisters or get married. The decision tortures her, how can she keep her promise to her late mother, to look after her sisters. She must protect their secret, lest Cate and her sisters be discovered as witches. The situation is made worse when their nosey neighbor, Mrs. Corbett, convinces their too absent father to get them a governess. When she arrives, Cate can’t shake the feeling that Lena (the governess) is up to something besides teaching French. What are her real motives?

Characters:

I loved pretty much all of the characters in Born Wicked. There was a very well balanced cast. My only hesitation was for Finn, who may have a little PCD* though I haven’t seen enough of him to really tell.

Plot and Story:

“A Great and Terrible Beauty meets Cassandra Clare” really does perfectly describe this book. I love the concept of witchery set in the nineteenth century, and the altered past gave the story an extra twist that made Born Wicked irresistible. It was a really hard book to put down. You’re always left wondering who can really be trusted, what are the characters true motives. All of the twists and turns were timed perfectly. And there are always unanswered questions that will leave you on the edge of your seat in anticipation.  My only complaint is that the timing of Cate and Finn expressing feelings for each other didn’t really make sense to me. It seemed a little forced by the author.

Overall:

Born Wicked is one of the few books that is deserving of it’s hype. All the different aspects from the characters to the plot just meshed together so well. I could see myself recommending Born Wicked to fans of lots of different genres. (i.e. fans of historical fiction, fantasy, dystopians, ect.) I ate it up, and can’t wait for the sequel. I foresee this series is destined for greatness. May it rise up the Bestseller’s list! I give it 4.5 of 5 stars! I can’t wait to see more from this debut author.

Emma-isms:

*PCD stands for Perfect Character Disorder. I usually use this term when a character is portrayed as unrealistically perfect. (i.e. always understanding, handsome/beautiful, without fault, ect.)

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder

Author: Marissa Meyer site

Format: ARC, 387 pages

Release Date: 1/03/2012

Publisher: Feiwel &Friends

Source: ARC received from publisher for review
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge (hosted by The Story Siren)

“Even in the future, the story begins with once upon a time…

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows the Earth’s fate hinges on one girl…

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

In this thrilling young adult debut novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer’s rebooted fairy tale introduces readers to a heroine and a masterfully crafted world that isn’t the Cinderella you remember—but it’s one you won’t forget.”

-Cover

How it starts:

Cinder starts out with lots of ups and downs. Up, Cinder is an extremely gifted mechanic. Down, she is also a cyborg and is considered owned by her not very nice stepmother. Up, the legendary Prince Kai came to her small both in the marketplace to have her fix his droid. Down, her one kind stepsister, Peony, got infected with the deadly plague, letumosis, and it might be Cinder’s fault. Up, Cinder gets the chance to see the prince again. Down, but only because she’s involuntarily in the palace, being the research scientist’s guinea pig. Up, Cinder turns out to be immune to letumosis, and might be able to help find a cure for Peony.

Plot:

All I had to hear about Cinder was that it was Cinderella with cyborgs. But there is a lot more to this story than a simple retelling. There’s a deadly plague going around without an antidote (you know how much I love deadly plagues), and the constant threat of war between an alien race from the moon. I was really glad that this story turned out so original. More and more often I find that retellings just seem to glide around within the pre set plot lines. Marissa Meyer really made Cinder her own. The only fault I found was that I was disappointed that Cinder’s “mysterious past” was pretty easy to guess.

POV:

The main point of view throughout the book is Cinder, with some chapters devoted to other characters points of view such as Prince Kai, and Dr. Erland.

Overall:

I was surprised by how much I liked Cinder. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical after the last few retellings I’d read were less than satisfactory. I loved how original it was and I’m really excited to see where this series goes. I’m giving Cinder 4.5 of 5 stars.

Review: Burnout by Adrienne Maria Vrettos

Title: Burnout

Author: Adrienne Maria Vrettos site

Format: Hardcover, 193 pages

Published: 9/13/2011

Publisher: McElderry Books

Source: Library

“On the day after Halloween, Nan wakes up in a subway car. She is not dreaming. She doesn’t know where she’s been or what she’s done. She’s missing a whole day from her life. And she’s wearing skeleton makeup and a too small Halloween costume.

Nan is not supposed to wake up in places like this anymore. She’s different now, far from that dangerously drunk girl who hit bottom in the Nanapocalypse. She needs to find out what happened to her, and fast. As she tries to put together the pieces of the last twenty-four hours, she flashes back to memories of her previous life. But she would never go back to her old friends and her old way. Would she?

The deeper Nan digs, the more disturbing things get. This time, she may have gone one step too far. This time, she may be a walking ghost.”

-cover

How it starts:

Nan wakes up on the subway. She is disoriented, not sure how she got there. She’s wearing a too small plastic dress and skeleton makeup she can’t remember putting on. What happened? She’s hasn’t had a drink since rehab. She didn’t go back on her promises, did she?

Characters:

I really liked Nan for the most part. Obviously she made some bad decisions, but she really grows throughout the book. Perhaps her most admirable trait is how she begins to take charge of her life, even though it means leaving friends behind. She starts out as kind of desperate for friends, which leads her to making some bad choices to keep the few friends she does have. Just going with the flow for kinship. I think this something most people can understand and relate to. I know I can.  Nan goes from being the person others want her to be, into her own person. She makes a very strong and believable protagonist.

Plot:

I loved the beginning. The “Prologue” reads only this, “This is a ghost story. I am the ghost”. Those first sentences really drew me in. It’s a great attention getter.  Burnout is very well paced. It never left me bored. It was almost a thriller, with Nan putting together the pieces of the night before. Wondering where her friend is.  Is she even still alive?

Burnout alternates between “Remembering” and “Today” in its chapters. “Today” being the present, and “Remembering” which fills in the past for readers. Although alternating between past and present isn’t anything new, I really like that it was made clear which was which. In other books, I get frustrated when I can’t figure out what’s going on.  I also wanted to point out that even though this book is under 200 pages, it doesn’t feel too long or like a short story. In most shorter books, the story feels too rushed. I’m glad to report that this wasn’t the case in Burnout.

Overall:

I had originally checked this book out by mistake. (I thought it was Shut Out by Kody Keplinger) It turned out to be a happy mistake. I really enjoyed Burnout. From the characters to the plot, I was fully entertained.  I don’t understand why I haven’t heard about this book anywhere else. I found it to be an interesting and thrilling portrayal of a girl struggling to find the strength to look into her past.  I give it 4.5/5 stars and recommend it to fans of contemporary fiction. It’s also a great liter Halloween read, as it takes place the day after Halloween. 

This is the part where I get down on my hands and knees and beg you to leave a comment. Come on, it'll only take a minute. Got a post of Burnout?  Be sure to leave a link so I can check it out!