Book Review | SHADOW STUDY by Maria V. Snyder

  

Mira, February 24, 2015

Once, only her own life hung in the balance.

Oddly enough, when Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. But she'd survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia. Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands and protect her relationship with Valek. 

Suddenly, though, they are beset on all sides by those vying for power through politics and intrigue. Valek's job - and his life - are in danger. As Yelena tries to uncover the scope of these plots, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked. She must keep that a secret - or her enemies will discover just how vulnerable she really is - while searching for who or what is responsible for neutralizing her powers. 

Yes, the days of tasting poisons were much simpler. And certainly not as dangerous.

A week ago, I browsed through Netgalley and found this available for early viewing. I dropped everything I was reading and immediately started on this. I was that excited. I read the three previous books from the Study series, including the three novellas.  To find out that Maria V. Snyder wrote three more books to add to Yelena’s stories is beyond happy for me.

This installment is alternately from Yelena, Valek, and Janco’s point of view. A lot has happened since the third book, but Ms. Snyder still managed to draw her readers back into the magical world of Ixia and Sitia that she created since Poison Study through a seamless plot. In spite of the long gap, she’s still able to keep the fast-moving narrative, romance, and action. It is wonderful reading previous characters are back, along with some very interesting new ones.

Huge twists are being maneuvered for these next three books. I am sure that readers will be kept guessing for what will happen next. The cliffhanger at the end of this installment is a great indication of that.

I highly recommend SHADOW STUDY. If you haven’t started on this series yet, you still have ample days to pick up the last three books before this comes out on February 24.

Book details:

Title:  Shadow Study
Series:  Study Series #4

Author:  Maria V. Snyder

Publication:  Mira, February 24, 2015

Genre:  Fiction, Fantasy

Rating:  ★★★★★

* The same review appears on Goodreads, Shelfari, and Tumblr.

Thank you, Mira and Netgalley for lending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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ROOFTOPPERS by Katherine Rundell

Books crowbar the world open for you.

It is great books such as this that make it so difficult to write my thoughts. It is full to bursting; I don’t know where to start. And when I do, will I want to stop?

Sophie is an orphan. Everybody believes she is, except for Sophie herself. Charles rescued her from a floating cello case when the ship sunk. Nobody else was there. But Sophie knows her mother is still out there, somewhere, not giving up on her. And so, she must find her.

Let me introduce you.

Sophie, this is Miss Eliot, from the National Childcare Agency.

Miss Eliot, this is Sophie, from the ocean.

Charles Maxim took the baby girl and reared her as his ward the best way he could. He took charge of her education, her basic needs, and received all the love a child should have. Charles, being scholarly, read enough poetry to understand that love is vital in rearing up a child properly. At twelve, Sophie is wearing trousers, instead of dresses; she eats from atlases and books, not with plates and cutlery; and her hair is a tangle of knots. But she is well-read, can speak French, plays the cello wonderfully, and has a profound belief in possibilities.

Perhaps, she thought, that’s what love does. It’s not there to make you feel special.

It’s to make you brave. It was like a ration pack in the desert, she thought,

like a box of matches in a dark wood.

Love and courage, thought Sophie—two words for the same thing.

Charles is the perfect father any girl could have. He doesn't care about the social norm if it limits Sophie’s growth and education. He doesn't give weight to what people wear, for as long they hold themselves with respect and confidence. He doesn't give a hoot to luxury when it is not what makes Sophie happy and content. But some forces do not agree with Charles, and they meant to take Sophie away.

They ran away to France, with the hope of finding Sophie’s mother. Sophie is not an orphan, and they will prove it. There, they found no help from the authorities. While Charles prowls the streets, Sophie scaled the rooftops, where she met a whole new society waiting up there.

I could easily consider ROOFTOPERS as a Children’s Classic. I missed stories such as this, it’s very rare nowadays. It pushed all the right buttons for me.  The book is written with delectable prose and language. The characters are well-developed and really convincing; you cannot help but believe in the goodness of people once again. The message it carries is actually simple but very relevant; something we almost skip every day.

I have told her not to ignore life’s possibles.

Only skepticism can stop you from liking this book.

Book details:
Title: Rooftoppers
Author: Katherin Rundell
Publication:  Faber and Faber (February 26th, 2013)
Genre: Children’s Fiction / Adventure
Rating:  ★★★★★

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Book Review| The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

      

March 24, 2015

Algonquin Young Readers

Nova Ren Suma tells a supernatural tale of guilt and innocence, and what happens when one is mistaken for the other.

This is an intriguing book. The story is told by two alternating narrators. Amber is an inmate at a juvenile detention center, and Violet is a promising ballerina on her way to Julliard. At the core, they are both talking about Ori, and how this girl moved both their lives.

Ori's dead because of what happened out behind the theater,

in the tunnel made out of trees.

She’s dead because she got sent to that place upstate locked up with those monsters.

And she got sent there because of me.

This story vividly shows that some teenage girls are not exactly made of ‘sugar and spice and everything nice’. They can be downright cruel, manipulative and abusive. And you don’t have to cage them to prove that. But this story also tells us that circumstances happen and forces us to react. Our actions define us; we make certain choices, and suffer the consequences. The question of guilt, starvation for freedom, or the lack of it –these are themes relevant in the story.

There are plenty of good reasons to look forward to this book. The feeling of wrongness was maintained throughout the story. The thrill of getting to the conclusion is evident. Both narrators were given their independent voices; the reader can weigh them both apart. Yet, despite their independence, they both connect the dots.  They both complete a picture, a revelation, and a conclusion.  The language adapted suited both the theme and setting for the story, but well-minded.  Aside from the minimal violence, there is nothing too graphic. So it’s basically clean for early teen consumption.

Nova Ren Suma took a risk here with structure and style, which she pulled well together. But I wouldn't mind a finer version, wherein the narrators have more depth other than just storytellers; it feels like they are looking from the outside. I guess I was looking for those raw emotions usually vivid in this setting.  All the girls have varying layers, it was a challenge to attach to anyone in particular, which I find vital in any children or YA books.  I also prefer a much sharper conclusion; the event seemed too subtle for me compared to the hype of the first scene.

Regardless, I still say this is interesting and worth a look.

Book details:

Title: The Walls Around Us

Author: Nova Ren Suma

Publication: Algonquin Young Readers, March 24, 2015

Genre: Fiction, Paranormal, YA

Rating:  ★★★

*This book review is also posted via Goodreads, Shelfari, and Tumblr.

Thank you Algonquin Young Readers and Netgalley for lending me a copy.

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CLOSE TO FAMOUS by Joan Bauer

Love 'Em Cupcakes.

Foster and her mom, Rayka, just moved from Memphis to Culpepper. It was more like a shoot-for-the-moon move since they are actually running away from someone. It was the kindness that got them settled in that place…and some very good cupcakes.

Foster can bake cupcakes like they were made from heaven. Everyone who nipped a bite never stops biting. Soon, Foster is making good cash and good friends. But Foster is keeping a secret from people because she doesn’t want to be called stupid or anything like that. She wants to have her own baking show, she wants to be famous. What she didn’t understand is that revealing her secret is the key to her success. She can run, but she cannot hide.

I'll tell you something about tough times.

They just about kill you, but if you decide to keep working at them,
you'll find your way through.

After reading Hope Was Here, I knew I’d be reading another book(s) by Joan Bauer. I love the issues she brings, and the possibilities they show. It’s no shame crying and laughing with her characters. It always gets at me when kids are given the chance to stand up for themselves when kids were able to cross their limits through help and compassion from others, and allow them to be extraordinary in spite of all the terrible circumstances.

There's nothing wrong with having a different way of learning.
What's wrong is when people blame you for it.

And, btw, you might want to try Foster's cupcake recipes.

Book details:

Title: Close to Famous

Author: Joan Bauer

Publication: Puffin (February 3, 2011)

Genre: Fiction / YA

Rating: ★★★★

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Book Review | DOLL BONES by Holly Black

No Baby Talk, No Play, No Toys.

   

Zach, Poppy, and Alice are playmates for the longest time. They love making up stories out of their action figures. Their latest story involves the pirate William the Blade and the thief Lady Jaye, on a quest for the Queen, an old china doll that resides in a display cabinet. But like any good story, unfortunate things happen.  Zach's father threw away all his action figures, insisting that Zach is too old to play with them, and it’s time to grow up.

He was too angry and too ashamed to admit this event to his friends; Zach pretended that he doesn't want to play with Poppy and Alice anymore. He did everything to keep them off. Then, one night Poppy and Alice sneaked out to seek Zach’s help. They have to complete a final quest for the Queen –they need to bury her for her soul to rest in peace.

He wondered whether growing up was learning that most stories turned out to be lies.

The story is not exactly creepy as far as a ghost story is concerned, but it is enough to keep the quest going. The story focuses more on the friendship, their accountability for each other, and that confusing journey between childhood and adolescence.  It was very interesting how Holly Black skillfully handled the conflict brought about by situations when adults decide to tell kids that they can no longer act like kids, that their childish imaginations are no longer tolerable. Equally, between  Zach, Poppy, and Alice, the tension of growing up and making different choices are beginning to get to them. Each of them is growing up separately and in different stages.

I hate that you can do what you're supposed to do and I can't. I hate that you're going to leave me behind. I hate that everyone calls it growing up, but it seems like dying. It feels like each one of you is being possessed and I'm next.

I like how these kids came from different family settings to show that each child’s family is vital in their quest in the outside world. Kids need to know that no matter how inevitable changes are, no matter how different, they have a family to go back to and understand them. I like how it showed how important imagination and creativity are for adults, as much as they are for kids.  In a nutshell, this ghost story is creepy on the edges but soft, gooey, and thoughtful at the center.

Book details:

Title:  Doll Bones

Author:  Holly Black

Publication: Margaret K. McElderry Books (May 7, 2013)

Genre:  Fiction / Adventure

Rating:  ★★★

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BEST BOOKS of 2014

July to December

Hello. We are well into our January now, but I need you to know that I didn't forget about posting this. 

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REST AREA by Clay McLeod Chapman

Monologues.

     

Reading about Mr. Chapman across the web, he started his career as a playwright since he was twelve. No wonder he chose to write his debut collection in monologue-form. The collection is composed of 20 stories crammed with dark, nightmarish drama. 

REST AREA leads us through a chain of horrific domestic circumstances experienced by ordinary characters. Each story is brittle and shocking; honestly labored with unflinching reality. The prose is a fusion of rugged language and irony.

My favorite story is entitled, And The Mothers Stepped Over Their Sons. This is a passionate monologue of a mother searching for his lost soldier son amidst the debris of his dismembered comrades. She calls out to her son Michael like she expects the dead to reply. And no one is stopping her from berating these fallen soldiers for taking her son with them despite his delicate lungs.

"Michael? No point in hiding from me. Pouting like this only keeps you from your coffin.
I'm not leaving this field without you, and that's a promise.
You come home, let me bury you where you belong. I don't care if I have to drag you back by the boots, young man.
And believe me, I'll do it. Most of us mothers will have no choice."
The best irony about this collection is that it gives the reader no rest, no reprieve, from the nightmares. And since the stories are in monologue-form, I am sure they are best told live on stage or through an audiobook.

Book details:
Title: Rest Area
Author: Clay McLeod Chapman
Publication: Theia, 2002
Genre: Domestic Fiction
Rating: ★★★★

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