We Were Liars [Review]

Title: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
What They Say:
A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 

What I Say:
I finished reading this book at about 4 a.m. in an absolute puddle of tears, and almost got right online to start this review before I realized how exhausted I was. I picked up this book with no idea of its premise and was pleasantly surprised at first to see that it falls into one of my favorite YA subgenres - books about classy rich kids. But this book is so much more than just that; so much crisper and quicker, so much lovelier, and so much more devastating. This book had an old money family, amnesia, and a love that spans both years and universes. That said:

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Plot: wow

Cadence is a Sinclair. The Sinclairs are an old money family that dates back to the Mayflower. Sinclairs are beautiful, they're tall, they're white. None of them are flawed, none of them are failures, none are criminals. To the outside world, at least. Cadence's grandfather owns a small island off of Massachusetts, a gorgeous idyll where Cadence, her mother, and her aunts' families have spent every summer since she was little. It's a place where Cadence, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat - the Liars - have been free and have been silly and have grown together, these three cousins and Johnny's best friend, who Cadence falls more in love with day by day. Except, after her accident during her 15th summer, Gat doesn't contact her once. Cady spends two years plagued by crippling migraines from the head trauma of this accident - the details of which she can't even remember, along with that whole summer - without even a word from him. Her should-be perfect life has mostly unravelled by the time she finds herself on Beechwood Island for her seventeenth summer. She is determined to find out how her accident occurred and what happened during summer fifteen that no one is willing to tell her. But maybe it's best she doesn't know.

Reading stories about “Classy Rich Kids” adds another layer to the fantasy of YA escapism. Books like this aren’t the kind where you connect to the main character and go on a journey with her; in this sub genre, you accept that you’re reading about complete strangers, and you’re constantly peeking curiously in on them through a window. This story flows so smoothly and hazily between past and present, a mystery in which each puzzle piece will click into place if only you are patient. Despite disconnecting with the lifestyle of the characters, you really feel Cady's veiled frustration at her own lack of memory and mental strength in the wake of her migraines and being heavily medicated - and as the underside of the perfect Sinclair family is slowly revealed, you find that you actually do connect with each of the four Liars. And suddenly you find yourself feeling for these strangers who at first you thought shouldn't complain so much. More cynical readers will claim they knew what the big final secret was all along, but although I thought I did early on, I truly did not. And it will hit you like a ton of bricks, trust. 

Characters: wow

Cadence was a wonderful protagonist. While of course she embodies the "teen girl crushed by family's expectations" trope, I didn't mind a bit. Because of her accident, she's been caught in this state of arrested development, trapped reliving (or not reliving) a summer when she was fifteen until she can finally move past it. Maybe I was too absorbed in the mystery to notice any glaring issues with her narration, but I enjoyed it a great deal. It was light and flowery at times, like the lines in the fairy tales she so often rewrites throughout the book. She works through the issues of her life through these little interval legends, because her life is meant to resemble one.

This book needs a character like Gat - the tenchically-outsider who dares to whisper that, you know, not every family has a private summer island off Massachusetts, and that people out there have it much worse than they do, to which the three others lightheartedly reply: "Stop talking, now", "Stop talking, forever", "I'll give you more chocolate if you shut up"- a simple moment that perfectly illustrates that inability/unwillingness to process certain ideas and truths that are uncomfortable - a theme that rears its head again later in a much more devastating way. In a way, clever, poor Gat is the undoing of the Sinclair family's life of splendor and almost almost-Aryan purity, in an entirely necessary way.

Mirren and Johnny started off as stock-beautiful and carefree cousins. And to be fair, for the most part they are. They help to add, however, to the calm and beautiful atmosphere of the book (if a book can have an "atmosphere"). Reading about them was like reading about the surf rising on a cool beach, these two cousins who spend schoolyears being successful and friendly and who come back each year to the island to spend months lying in the sand and wading in cool water. Sometimes, I was suspicious of how neither character has much motivation - in that they didn't seem to "want" anything, the way every character in a story must - but in that they resemble the kids they are, in the summer at least. Whatever they want in life can always wait for another, less-sunny day.

Relationships: ooh
Gat and Cadence remind me a lot of how summer-camp infatuations go - they're together in the vacuum that is Beechwood Island for a summer, and then suddenly they're apart and Cady doesn't hear from him a single time for two years. And then, as soon as she's back on the island, there he is as if no time has passed at all. Gat's worldly mindset and high empathy for others slowly pulls the three cousins - but Cady in particular - out of their fantasy-world of privilege and splendor, and I appreciate him for that.

Special Features: ooh
This feature isn't exactly special, but I liked the interconnecting family structure of this story, which even starts out with an illustrated Sinclair family tree. There's Cadence and her mother Penny, then her mother's two sisters Bess and Carrie (Mirren's and Johnny's mothers, respectively), then of course Cady's grandfather Harris. Gat is Johnny's mother's boyfriend's nephew, who is part Indian, which makes him stand out easily against the all-white background of the Sinclairs. Then there are the "littles" who are Bess and Carrie's other children, who are mostly background noise save important moments of clarity throughout the story. I have a very small family myself, so I like to see the complex dynamics that arise between so many people stuck on such a small island for three months a year.

Parting Quote:

    "Someone once wrote that a novel should deliver a series of small astonishments. I get the same thing spending an hour with you. Also, here is a green toothbrush tied in a ribbon. It expresses my feelings inadequately." 

So many of Gat's lines made me do a little goofy smile

Never Fade [Review]

Title: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
Series: The Darkest Minds #2
Genre: Science-Fiction
What They Say:
Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her.

What I Say:
I was worried that the first book in Bracken's Darkest Minds series had been too good to follow up, but I was quickly proved wrong. This book had underground organizations, a new gang of kick-ass kids, and a feeling of constant and fatigued angst That said:

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot: wow

When we last saw Ruby, she was joining the Children's League a group of freedom fighters/terrorists hell-bent on tearing down President Gray's regime through violence and subterfuge, but with good intentions (maybe). Liam has been let go in exchange for Ruby's loyalty - but in her hysteria and sudden angst, she's erased his memories of her, in hopes that he can move on and be safe without coming back for her. However, she doesn't take into account that Liam Stewart sprints towards danger by nature, so her sacrifice is quickly rendered pointless - to her great dismay. While she's been doing top secret spy-type missions with her teammates - the bitchy Vida and the hyperactive Jude - Liam's unwitting found himself in possession of a Super Important Flashdrive after switching coats with his brother, a top-level agent of the CL who'll be royally screwed if he doesn't get it back. In fact - the info on the drive is so important that they'll all be screwed if they don't find him before the corrupt agents of the CL do. So of course, despite the high emotional/angsty toll it will no-doubt have, volunteers gladly for this highly dangerous mission. After a series of coincidences and close calls with capture, her solo mission grows to a team effort: Ruby, Vida, Jude, and Chubs vs. The World. The task: Find Liam, get the flash drive, bring both back to California. Simple. (Not.)

This book doesn't stray too far from the formula of the first, but considering the high volume of new information and unanswered questions, I was glad for that small gift of familiarity. I enjoyed the balance of old characters and new ones, popping up at unexpected points in the journey and sending them on completely pointless side-journeys, for the most part. The constant close calls with death or capture got a bit tiring, but it was probably an honest depiction of their dystopian world - danger hides around literally every corner. Their chances of success were very slim and it actually felt that way. Well done. Unlike the ending of the first book, this ending was highly satisfying. Of course there are unanswered questions, but I don't feel - as a reader - like I'm groping around in the dark, desperately trying to understand what the hell is going on. Also, considering how crap Ruby's life has become, I'm glad she gets one tiny victory in the end.

Characters: ooh

Ruby has grown and hardened when we meet her again. She's essentially miserable from start to end. Even when relatively good things are happening. It's very clearly explained why things are so horrible for her, but I can't help but feel like a lot of it is in her head. Like, at one point she uses her power to hurt someone who's trying to hurt her, and her internal anguish over it spans pages, fueled by a fear of being similar to Clancy Gray - who uses his abilities solely for his own personal gain. But, like, she isn't using her abilities for personal gain, and unless she's systematically brainwashing everyone she meets to get her way, she's nothing like Clancy! I assume this is one of those realizations that will strike Ruby on the last page of the last book, but I'm willing to wait for her to get her shit together in the meantime.

Vida and Jude are introduced in this book as Ruby's co-agents in the CL. I really didn't see the point of either of them. Vida is so constantly unpleasant that I kept waiting for some clear moment of redemption - where she reveals that she's not actually a rude and unlikeable person. But that doesn't happen. Yes, she helps the team throughout their journey, and she doesn't do anything to hinder them, but her constant jerkass commentary was like a loud buzzing in the background of the story. Another loud buzzing in the background was Jude, who seemed to exist solely to get them into danger by making noise, or to ask questions as the Audience-Insert but only in the most obnoxious way/at the most inappropriate time, or to just be blatantly naive about their whole experience. Over time, he became the book equivalent of an injured puppy, and I felt like his story was played mostly to add some easy tragedy/guilt to the ending, which he didn't really deserve, as a character.

Relationships: wow
Ruby and Liam - Considering the events at the end of Book 1, these two don't interact much in this one, at least not the way they did before. Liam's upset, with reason, that his brain has been addled against his will, and not even well (considering his memories are gone, but his feelings are intact - making him essentially go mad). Ruby feels that she's done the right thing at first, which makes her miserable that she has to give Liam up. Then, Ruby realizes she's done the wrong things, making her miserable and guilty at the damage she's caused. I said in my last review that these two would have one hell of a hard time surviving this series, and I was right. That said, I'm rooting for these two in Book 3.

Special Features: ooh
The Children's League are described from many different viewpoints throughout the series so far, which leads to a bit of cognitive dissonance when it comes to the reader, and a nice topping of moral ambiguity to go along with it. Like, yes they're trying to change things in the world by deposing President Gray, but despite their name, they don't really have the children's best interest in mind. Now, at first I thought this was completely heinous, much like Liam did, but at one point Ruby learns that there are only like 20,000 children left out there. In that case, it makes a teeny bit of sense that they're focusing on the well-being of the millions of adults still alive. That said, it's completely misleading and exploitative to call themselves The Children's League just to snare Psi kids into thinking they've found a safe haven when they're actually just being used for their abilities. If you're going to take advantage of the kids, at least be honest about it. Interested to see what becomes of TCL in the last book, after the events at the end of Never Fade. Fingers crossed Cate's still around!

Parting Quote:

  “I was just an okay person."

This is the highest that Ruby's self-esteem ever gets, to be honest.

Perfect Chemistry [Review]

Title: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
Series: Perfect Chemistry #1
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
What They Say:
When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

What I Say:
I've known vaguely about this book for a while now. I'd heard mildly positive things about it and the book trailer was pretty brilliant (haha), but the premise was so cliche that I couldn't bring myself to pick it up. But with exams coming up, I was looking for something short and simple to read, so I decided to give this Romeo and Juliet reboot a chance. While on the surface it was the same-old-story I expected, deeper down it was refreshing and unpredicatable and I set it down feeling oddly impressed. That said...

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Plot: ooh

Brittany is perfect. Really, she says so maybe thirty times in the first chapter. She's has money, clothes, friends, everything. Her life, however, is not so perfect. Her sister has cerebral palsy, her mother's always critiquing her, and her dad's never around, and her boyfriend's gotten pushy over the summer. Oh the horror! Alex is far from perfect. He's in a gang, his grades are terrible, and did he mention he's in a gang? But it's all an act, really. Alex only joined the gang to protect his little brothers after his father died, he's working hard to be the first in his family to graduate high school. Brittany would never even go near to a thug from the south side of town, and Alex wouldn't be caught dead with a preppy north side princess. When they step into their senior Chemistry class, however, all that changes. Assigned to sit together for the whole year, these sworn enemies will have to get along if they want to pass. Falling in love, though, was never part of the plan.

Yeah, it's one of those books, haha. The first hundred-or-so pages had me on auto-cringe. Alex and Brittany play caricatures of themselves for the longest time, until they finally drop their defensive walls and actually get to know each other. The alternating POV chapters added to the ABC Family flick feel, but it smooths out as it goes. Because this is one of those books, I knew how it would end before it even started, but I was not disappointed by the path from point A to point B. I was actually surprised a few times. To touch on the ending, I mean, sure I knew how it would end, but Elkeles really cranks up the cheese dial in the last few pages. The crazy this is that it didn't even bother me! At that point, the crazy-happy ending was totally welcome.

Characters: ooh

I get that Brittany was a "real girl" and had "real problems", but she was pretty whiny and waify nonetheless. Not always - she had some pretty hardass moments - but most of the time, yeah. Oddly enough, much like the cheesy ending, she kind of made me roll my eyes and smile at the same time. She's not going to win Protag of the Year, and she isn't doing feminists any favors, but she definitely played her part well.

Alex didn't ellicit any eye-rolls, but he went from I'm-such-a-hardass to I'm-so-overly-serious a little too often to make him totally likeable. Luckily, his internal prize wheel finally slows down near the end, landing on - I don't know - one of the good prizes. I'm working on my metaphors, so bear with me, haha.

Relationships: ooh
Brittany and Collin - Because this was one of those books, I knew right away that this relationship would appear perfect but actually suck beneath the surface and that they'd eventually have one of those messy breakups that'd drive her into Alex's arms. I was right about that. Crept into Afterschool Special territory with the whole pressuring-boyfriend storyline, but ah well. At least it ended fast.

Brittany and Alex - After the drawn out Darcy Phase, this relationship really drove the story. Outside of the drama etc caused by it, though, it wasn't terribly interesting. I mean, yeah I get that he's a Montague and you're a Capulet, but do you have to be so tragic about it? No, ya don't.

Special Features: ooh
When I say one of those books, I'm referring to one of those new-twist-on-an-old-tale books. This one's Romeo and Juliet at the heart, but it's more West Side Story than "Palm to palm is holy palmer's kiss". I can't say I'm a big fan of this kind of book, but I can't deny that life imitates art from time to time, and some themes are universal and therefore doomed to show up in every other YA novel, haha.

Parting Quote:

"Makin' mistakes ain't a crime, you know. What's the use of having a reputation if you can't ruin it every now and then?"

Yeah...one of those books. 

Matched [Review]

Title: Matched by Ally Condie
Series: Matched, #1
Genre: Science-fiction
What They Say:
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate...until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

What I Say:
I have been waiting to get my hands on this book for quite a while. The premise was extremely intriguing, and finally getting to sit down an dive into Condie's brave new world was v exciting for a u/dystopia-lover like me. Matched did not disappoint - it had a lot of chances to, but it didn't. I am sitting on thumbtacks waiting for the sequel. That said:

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot: wow
Welcome to the Society, where every aspect of life is controlled by the government. It's kind of like summer camp: you choose the activities you want to do, but the staff decide what you eat and when you do everything and if you live or die (kidding). Anyway, a big part of growing up in the society is the Matching. Every month, the government puts all eligible seventeen-year-olds' names into a big old sorting machine and draws names until every girl has a Match, the man she will marry. Cassia has just been Matched to none other than her best friend Xander. Cassia is psyched to start planning the rest of her life around marrying Xander, but when she checks her Match info card and sees a different boy's name: shy, mysterious Ky Markham. Seeing his name was just a fluke, she is told later. Ky is not her Match, in fact, he will never have a Match because of his (mysterious) social status. Cassia ought to just forget him, but she can't stay away. Ky is from another province in the Society, about which she slowly begins to learn as she grows closer to this boy who is not meant for her, a breach is protocol which is pretty much taboo in their case. The more she learns about the Society and the truth about where Ky grew up, she uncovers some dark secrets and finds herself falling into danger. Well, of course she does. This is a sci-fi utopian love story. Duhh.

It's common knowledge at this point that you can create the lamest utopian society ever and it'll still probably fascinate me. Condie's Society has all the aspects of a good one: lots of citizen obliviousness; complete control by ever-watchful, cheery-but-creepy government officials; and a good amount of scorn and smugness in the face of past societies (usually ours today) which were crazy-stupid and almost ruined everything. And, of course, lotsa propaganda! The problem with these kinds of books is that I'm usually stressed out by all the danger and running and betrayal and stuff, so I was glad to find that this book is pretty low on that kind of drama. I'm especially glad that it doesn't end in a frustrating, mind-bending cliffhanger. Sure there's a cliff, but I didn't close the book feeling like I was about to fall off it. I deeply appreciate when a writer takes time to cushion the blow of the Big Twist or Shocking Revelation, so thanks Condie. You saved me from at least one sleepless night.

Characters: ooh
I can respect Cassia as a leading lady. She's logical and straightforward like the Society itself, but also tries to think in the abstract like her grandfather with his forbidden poetry and "not going gentle". She's not exactly sympathetic - I'm never all that worried if she'll be okay, which is an odd change that I can't determine the cause of - but she is an easily believable member of her Society, all rooted in probability and efficiency. As the series progresses, we'll hopefully see her start to develop into her own person. Then I'll be more worried if she lives or dies.

I plain old liked Ky Markham from the start, but when I tried to think of reasons before I wrote this review I realized I didn't have any. I like the idea of Ky: how he's mysterious and an outsider and the only one who can write and how he tells his life story in fragments on the back of napkins. He knew all the secrets, so I wanted to know him. Much like Cassia did. And gahh I love the name Ky Markham. I really hope we see this guy again.

I don't get how Xander is supposed to be Cassia's best friend. Sure, their friendship is established at the beginning, but I never really saw it. They don't even seem to know each other or really like each other or have anything to talk about, at least not the way "best friends" do. Xander doesn't really get a chance to shine until the very end, I think. Much like Ky, once I found out Xander had a secret of his own, I really wanted to see more of him. I'm awful, haha.

Relationships: ooh
Cassia and Xander - I love how this book defies Rule #1 of YA (The First Guy always gets the girl), but that's only because of Rule #2 (Under no circumstances can best friends end up together) and Rule 2 Subsection A (This realization must always cause irreparable damage to said best friendship). Honestly, Caxander never stood a chance. I've already touched on how they were pretty lame besties, but they were an awkward couple, too. Glad Condie didn't try to smush these two together at the last minute, because things would have gotten ugly real fast.

Cassia and Ky - Despite the fact that these two are textbook Starcrossed Lovers, I can deal with reading about these two for a whole trilogy. Cassia's characters unfolds when she's around Ky - she's less numbers and rules and more ambition and rambunctiousness (yeah, I just used 'rambunctiousness' wihout irony). Ky is the quiet, subtle, boyish type of flirt, which is lovely to read about, especially when compared to Xander: the awkward, tenth-grade-boyfriend-type.

Special Features: ooh
So this books references the poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas often, usually as a catalyst for non-conforming behavior. I'd never read this one before (I'm guilty of not being all that big on poetry), but I really loved how it worked with this story. That and I'm a sucker for a good line - you know, those lines that just make you close your eyes and you swear you can feel them - and this one has quite a few.

Parting Quote:

"Is falling in love with someone's story the same thing as falling in love with the person himself?"

Yeah...the one downside about this book is it isn't terribly quoteable. Major snark-drought in this one. But think on these words for awhile.

My Heartbeat [Review]

Title: My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
What They Say:
As she tries to understand the closeness between her older brother and his best friend, fourteen-year-old Ellen finds her relationship with each of them changing.  

What I Say:
I don't entirely understand why, but I have loved this book since forever. Literally. Like, if West Virginia would go ahead and legalize interspecies marriage, I would soo be making my case that books are living creatures and lobbying at Congress and moving to West Virginia and all that just so I could be eternally bonded to the teenage dream that is My Heartbeat. I re-read it every year around Christmas because I suddenly remember that it's been a year since I last read it. It's that good. The weird thing, though, is that if I took a step back and really analyzed the quality of Freymann's writing the way I do with other books, I could probably find something to criticize. But I just can't bring myself to do that. That's how much I love this book. It's pretty much the ultimate young adult New York City-in-the-winter Like story with a happy ending. Swoon. That said...

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

Plot: wow
I was so surprised that Goodreads only had a one-sentence summary for this book. It sounds so blah when you put it that way. There is, like, zero mention of James's gorgeousness. Sigh. Let me put it straight for you. Meet Ellen. She's about to be a freshman in high school. Link is Ellen's older brother. He and his best friend James are about to be seniors. Ellen is totally madly in love with James. They are all, these three, very classy kids. At school, Ellen starts to realize that the girls are all either in love with James or her brother. Ellen doesn't see the fuss, as she has had exclusive access to both boys as long as she can remember. Link has always been her brother. Ellen has always loved James. James has always loved her, in his way. But after a passing comment from a classmate ("They're like a couple, aren't they?"), she begins to wonder if it's possible that Link and James might love each other as well.

This story can be taken two ways, which is nice. When I first read it, I was happy to see James and Ellen together, because she is the main character and I love a good non-gooey Like story. But when I re-read it now, I'm just sad that he isn't with Link, which is the real point of the book: things fall apart and people are complicated and all that. Bittersweet is the word. Also, characters with daddy issues (Jace Wayland, Percy Jackson, Oscar Banks, etc) are always especially snarky, I find. And ohh boy, there are daddy issues everywhere in this one.

Characters: wow
Ellen reminds me a bit of Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Sometimes she seems to be mature beyond her years, and other times I'm surprised by how naive she is. I feel like every use of the word totally was like Freymann remembering Oh, right, Ellen's only fourteen. It's alright, Freymann, I liked her narration. Even if it's probably given me an unrealistic idea of New York City and its love magic.

I hate to call Link McConnell a drama queen, but in retrospect he kind of is. Albeit a brooding, resentful, oddly appealing, hyperintelligent one. The guy can teach himself fractions at age nine but can't think of non-spiteful ways to deal with his father. In that way, he is very much like James. Like I said, daddy issues abound. Though I seriously approve of his taste in films.

Now James is like a puppy who's been abandoned, but not so recently that he needs a hug or anything. He has this way with words (though I suppose it's really Freymann's way with words) that just kills you. Gahh, it's lovely as hell. Like, put-down-the-book-and-sigh lovely. Like, tea-on-Easter lovely. Anyway. He's a lot like Link, which is probably why they're best friends, but where Link is allergic to confrontation (much like Ellen) and therefore passive-aggressive to the max, James may be the chillest thing there ever was. He doesn't need to fret about the unwritten rules of society because they don't necessarily apply to him, being rich and beautiful and endlessly fascinating. Moral of this story: money solves everything. Nahhh, kidding. Wouldn't that be awful?

Relationships: wow
Link and James - Hmm, does it count as a relationship if it largely rooted in denial and resentment and jealousy and fear? Why yes it does. True Like is complicated, my friends.

Ellen and James - This relationship is much, much simpler by comparison. While Link and James only kept Ellen around to prevent awkward moments and crossed boundaries, at some point James realized Ellen was totally madly in love with him and well, girls have interesting qualities too, right? To be fair, Ellen and James are perfect for each other. They're both sooo classy. Seriously. Oh my god, it's insane.

Special Features: ooh
The city! Again! You can never read too many novels about the city. Fact. Or new money families who live in the city, high on cash but low on love for their kids. And everyone likes a nice little tale about sexual identity and finding your place in the world and getting your daddy to love you (haha, well sort of!). Ugh, but I hate the cover. I don't know, Keith Haring's art doesn't impress me much.

Parting Quotes:

   "I don't want to sleep with a girl," I say. "I love James."
   This is why no one in my family ever says anything. Look at the way private - totally and irrevocably private - things just slip out.
   "I mean, not really," I amend hastily. "I just think so."
   "This vacillating affection appears to run in the family," Dad says, signaling for the check.

 Sigh... I just want to lie in a bed of money and dream of tea and romance and That Hamilton Woman.

Crescendo [Review]

Title: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Series: Hush, Hush #2

Genre: Urban Fantasy

What They Say:

Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch, and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

What I Say:

Despite my early skepticism about yet another girl-falls-for-supernatural-stalker series, Hush, Hush was a lovely escape from the norm: mixing cringe-worthy cliché with fresh new plot devices and a mysterious badass who is actually a little bit badass. Knowing what I was getting into with the second book, I was pleased to see Fitzpatrick's Fiction Formula has not changed. That said:

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot: wow
So Nora and Patch should be hamming it up now that they're all together and stuff, but noo. In the face of some minor obstacles, their Like fizzles, and Nora spends a good fifty pages in a jealous huff while crawling out of peoples' windows and touching their stuff. (I'm guessing Patch gave her stalking lessons sometime before their breakup). Meanwhile, best-friend-Vee is suddenly dating Patch's best friend Rixon, who is Irish, even though that point was only mentioned once in the first book and was completely ignored thereafter. Mean-meanwhile, there's a new guy in town (Scott). A childhood friend-turned-bad-boy-and-possible-love-interest, Nora could be getting herself into trouble with this one! So, after the first hundred pages of plot-setting, Nora must sit down and solve the following mysteries: Why are Patch and Marcie spending so much time together? Why does Marcie hate her so much? What's up with Scott's mysterious past? Who is the Black Hand and why did he kill her father? Why does she keep seeing her father's ghost (Yeah...)? What's up with her mom and why has she been parked in a certain someone's father's driveway? (Lots of mystery, as per usual). If Nora doesn't watch out, she might find herself in grave danger! ...again.

The thing about the Becca Fitzpatrick Fiction Formula is: at first, I hate it. The first hundred pages of Hush, Hush made me cringe, and this one was no different, but somehow Fitzpatrick always manages to pull a sixth- and eleventh-hour plot twist that throws me in such a way that I am actually forced to keep reading. She has also proven herself to be an author who can be trusted to set up a helluva lot of mystery and solve it by the last page. Assuming her Formula doesn't change anytime soon, I'll be willing to trudge through the first hundred pages of the next book, no matter how predictable or tedious it may seem. Though, if Nora wakes up pregnant with a demon baby, I'll drop it off a bridge.

Characters: ooh
It's good to see that Nora's hasn't changed too much from the first book. Well, maybe good isn't the right word, but you know what I mean. She's still easily-offended and kind of neurotic, but I must say I'm impressed with how steady on her feet she is. I mean, sure she and Patch split and sure it's because she's too proud and jealous, but at least she's doing the dumping and she's standing up for her full-disclosure rights as a girlfriend, dammit! And she didn't even have to slap him like a certain kind of waify-damsel I hate...

I was very sad to see how Patch loses all his snark in this book. I guess once he's convinced Nora of his greatness, he doesn't think he needs it anymore. But I needed it. His snark is one of his few redeeming qualities! Again, I noticed how he also has stayed much the same throughout this series. Gasp! you may say. But character development is key to a good novel! While I agree that static characters are mostly boring, I also think (what? More than one opinion?) that it's unrealistic for a character's personality to drastically change just because they fall in Like or gain some Special New Powers. In real life, you are who you are no matter how much you grow up or fall in love. Shouldn't it be the same in literature?

I was so proud of Vee if only for the sole reason that she doesn't need to be saved at the end. What? A silly, funny character not getting into dumb shenanigans all the time? Oh Fitzpatrick, you revolutionary, you. In fact, Vee seems to become Nora's conscience in this book, trying to talk her out of the crazy, jealousy-driven stunts she plans. Whoa! A previously-daffy character can mature over time into a reliable friend with a moral compass? Yeah, so proud of Vee.

Relationships: ooh
Nora and Patch - Like many a second book in a series, these two are split up through most of it. While I know I was supposed to take Nora's side in this one, I couldn't help but favor Patch. I mean, let's face it: Patch is a player, and Nora should have taken that fact into account before pointing her jealous fingers all over the place.

Special Features: wow
The first books focused on Patch and the angels; this one sheds a certain light on the Nephilim (who are half-human, half-angel) and their descendents. They're kind of peeved about being possessed by angels two weeks each year, and are getting ready to fight back. (Who knew?) Sure, the Nephilim are techinically the villains of this series, but it's interesting when your villain sort of has a point. Hard to side with the good guys when you can't tell if there even are any.

Parting Quotes:

Patch leaned back against the booth and arched his eyebrows at me. The gesture said it all: Pay up.
“You got lucky,” I said.
“I’m about to get lucky."

Why can't Patch maintain this level of snark at all times?

Vampire Academy #4-5 [Review]

For the review of Vampire Academy books 1-3, click here.

Title: Blood Promise and Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
Series: Vampire Academy #4 and  5
Genre: Urban Fantasy
What They Say:

How far will Rose go to keep her promise?

The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir’s Academy was the deadliest ever in the school’s history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them. . . including Dimitri.

He’d rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa—the one she has sworn to protect no matter what—and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago. But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves most?

What I Say:
You know how they say “The plot thickens” as a series continues? Well, in this case I feel like the plot thins out as the series progresses. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good thing. The fourth and fifth books in the Vampire Academy series (well, at least the fifth) were more enjoyable because they had straight-forward stories. Here, our pool of characters tightens to around five main guys rather than the million being introduced every other page in the first two, and we continue the Darkening and Edgifying that began in book three. That said…

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Plot: wow
Book 3 - Oh nooo, Dimitri’s been turned into a Strigoi vampire and it’s up to Rose to stake his ass out of love. So off to Russia we go for three-hundred-or-so pages. Rose lurks around bars until she meets an Alchemist (kind of like a supernatural janitor?) who leads her to Dimitri’s family in Siberia (because for some reason, she thought that after becoming an Evil Demon of the Night, Dimitri would want to visit his mommy). So after an irrelevant fifty pages, by some crazy coincidence she finds Dimitri! But (big surprise), things don’t turn out the way she planned. Meanwhile, back at school a completely different - but equally irrelevant to the series - story is unfolding. Lissa has a new party-girl friend. Could it be that this binge-drinking risk taker is a bad influence?

Book 4 - So Rose is back at school and the last book becomes nothing more than a sad, boring nightmare. Forget about the fact that Rose dropped out of school, she gets to graduate anyway! She’s finally getting over her evil lost love and starting anew with Adrian the alcoholic angel. Except that she’s totally still obsessed with Dimitri and pulls a slew of crazy stunts in order to ohspoilershmmmhuh? (You’ll see.) Some very powerful people get royally pissed (see what I did there, "royally"? Ha!), and while her tomfoolery gets her the miracle she wanted, she’s going to need an actual-grownup-problem-fixing miracle to get out of the trouble she’s in now!

So, while I didn’t love book four, book five made up for it. I’m sort of proud of how this series has progressed (or maybe I just like it because the Royal Court reminds me of Alicante in the Cassie Clare’s City of Glass). Also, ever see I Am Legend? Strigoi-Dimitri reminds me of this guy. Also, in book five Richelle Mead finally learns the value of having relevant information throughout the whole book! No more nothing-matters-but-the-climax storylines! So proud!

Characters: wow
Oh Rose. While book four put me to sleep from time to time, I was so happy that Jerkass Rose was gone. So happy. Then she goes back home and leaves her maturity in Russia. That said, I have to admire her spunk. At least she means well these days and doesn’t randomly hate people anymore. Baby steps, Rose. Baby steps.

Adrian! I’m so glad he’s a main character now! You can tell because I’m using exclamation points!! In a nearly-hilarious case of irony, he becomes Rose's voice of reason in these books. Also, he’s bleeding money out of his ears and omgheissototallycute. Honestly, I think Mead wrote him into the story just as a personal favor to me.

I would talk about Lissa and Christian, but they haven’t changed much from the first three books. Still cool, just static.

Relationships: wow
Rose and Adrian - Giggle-squeak. These two are what Rose and Dimitri could be if they weren’t angsting it up all the time (and if Dimitri were cleverer). Poor Adrian has to deal with Rose pining over her lost lover all the time. He’s too good for her. Despite the fact that, being a YA book series, Rose is doomed to end up with the First Guy She Liked, I still have hope that she and Adrian will grow old together and have a whole litter of “Little dhampirs”.

Special features: ooh
I like me a royal court, at least when it isn’t full of Queen’s English-speaking assholes. Lissa being the Dragomir princess and Rose being a pawn (let’s face it, she’s a pawn), we get to see both sides of the system, and how people with power like to screw with people; or do they? (see Mysterious Motives).

Parting Quote:

"Yeah, that's exactly what I want. To help my girlfriend get her old boyfriend back." He turned away again, and I heard him [Adrian] mutter, "I need two drinks."

If Adrian took a drink every time Rose was a little brat or spat on his feelings, he’d die of alcohol poisoning. True fact.

Vampire Academy #1-3 [Review]

Title: Vampire Academy, Frostbite, and Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
Series: Vampire Academy
Genre: Urban Fantasy
What They Say:
St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human t ...more

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .

What I Say:
It could get confusing and wordy, trying to fit three books into one review, but we’ll see how this goes (no big high-quality-review guarantees, haha). I guess you can say the reason I've only just started reading this series is because I was avoiding it. Like, actively avoiding it. Why? After Twilight spawned a billion other vampire novels, TV shows, etc, the idea of reading another vampire series became a bit of a turnoff. A few days ago, however, I opted to try it. I was impressed by some things, and it didn’t put me to sleep or make me gag or overuse synonyms of the word beautiful. That said…

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Plot: wow
So there’s this girl, Rose, and her best friend Lissa. They’ve just been caught by school officials for a serious case of truancy (two years, count 'em) and are back at St. Vladimir’s Academy for their senior year. What’s weird about that? Lissa (short for Vasilisa) is a Moroi princess, Moroi being vampires in that they drink blood and sleep during the day, but different in that they’re alive and can use elemental magic. Yeah. Rose is a Dhampir, or guardian to a Moroi, and she’s pretty much human if you discount her superior strength and battle training. At the academy, misadventures ensue, Rose is getting all up close with her mentor (Dimitri), and Lissa has a thing for mysterious bad boy Christian - whose parents were evil Strigoi vampires before they were killed.

Huh. There must be a simpler way to do this. Let’s go one book at a time:

Book 1 - So everything’s dandy at the academy, except there’s this snotty girl trying to ruin Rose’s life, Lissa’s beginning to use her mysterious power and it’s making her emo and crazy, and someone out there wants that power for his/herself. Oh noes!

Book 2 - Moroi royal families are being killed left and right by Strigoi (the big-bad-actual-vampires), so the academy is holding Christmas vacation at a ski lodge and everyone’s invited! Really. Rose is still all over her mentor, but he’s (gasp!) possibly all over someone else? There’s also a Christian-being-jealous-of-Lissa-talking-to-a-hotter-guy storyline, but that doesn’t matter because when Mason (Rose’s boyfriend?) runs off to kill Strigoi - and Rose and Christian follow - all kinds of shit goes down and everything before that becomes obsolete.

Book 3 - So the first two-thirds of this book pass and then are rendered obsolete by the shit-going-down part. (Seeing a pattern here?) Main idea: Rose is seeing ghosts and going insane, or is she? Also, a new elite cult club is starting up at school, and they want Lissa to submit her will join. Also, the vampire queen (there’s a vampire queen) is stirring up trouble for our unlikely lovers.

Okay. That’s done. Re-reading this, it was hard to summarize seriously, but not because it wasn’t good. It was pretty good, interesting stuff, trust me! But when you go back and try to remember everything happened, you realize that a lot of stuff happens, some of which has nothing to do with the “big picture” and ends up sounding silly. I did like that I never got bored by details, didn’t have to suspend my belief that much (there weren’t any What? No way is that possible! moments). I just plain enjoyed it. Maybe not on a deep, dark, serious level (though it does get darker and edgier in book three), but it was fun to read. If I have to note anything in particular, it’s that there seems to be a One Character Dies Per Book rule in place here. Also, a First Two Hundred Pages Are Filler rule. Not bad rules, per se, but they don’t help the unpredictability thing.

Characters: meh
So I used to think I thought Bella Swan was annoying, but I think I actually hate Rose. At first I thought, Nice, an edgy character for once! but (at times) she can be so whiny, bratty, needy, immature, hating-people-for-no-reason and getting-in-people’s-faces-at-inappropriate-times that I wanted to hit her in the face. Repeatedly. How can Dimitri stand her? Sure, there are whole chapters where she’s pretty cool, level-headed, and badass, but god, she’s one of the most obnoxious characters (not in a parody or satire) that I ever read.

Lissa was better. Not painfully interesting, but more down-to-earth than Rose. Being part of the Hoi Moroi (haha, I’m clever), she’s reasonable and calm and all that. A bit dramatic and angsty, but with good reason (see Magic Crazy-Making Powers).

From here, there are many sub-characters, and it’s difficult to tell which are most important. Christian may not be the most crucial to the plot, but he’s my favorite. He was my main source of non-bratty snark, which was refreshing. He’s the black sheep of the Moroi, despite being one of the royals, because of the parents-going-evil thing. It makes him the most grounded of all of them, the least clueless, and who can resist a black sheep? I mean, seriously. He’s Christian the atheist. I love it. How can Rose hate him? I have no idea.

Or is Adrian my favorite? Not sure where he came from, but he’s the college-aged Moroi who just shows up at random times during the second and third books. All he does is smoke and drink because of those Magic Crazy-Making Powers, and he’s only more snarky than Christian because he’s a little lady-killer, too. Why can’t this be the Christian and Adrian series? How can Rose hate him? I have no idea. (Seeing a pattern here?)

Relationships: ooh
Do random hookups count as relationships?

Rose and Dimitri - I don’t entirely understand how this relationship works. Sure, I get the whole forbidden love thing, but why choose Rose? Really, Dimitri? Sometimes, it’s fun to read about (especially around book three, hehe) but it’s mostly Nooo-this-is-wrong! Or Nooo-you’re-too-young! Or Nooo-it’s-unprofessional! See, kids? Grown-ups can be whiny and angsty, too.

Lissa and Christian - I actually like this couple. Mostly because of Christian, but Lissa actually grows a little spine around him. The reader doesn’t see much of these two, because Rose is the main character and the universe revolves around her, but (so far) they’re the most normal part of the series. And who doesn’t love that couple everyone disapproves of? Power couple, indeed.

Special Features: ooh
I really was interested by the vampires in this series. The different groups, the social structure, the royal families, the Romanian thing: nothing I’d heard a million times before. Though some of the Dhampir mentality seemed a bit brainwashy at times, which I was glad got some mention in book three. Vampires aren't my big thing, so I was glad it didn't, like, suck. One feature which I felt needed to be addressed are this series’ covers. They’re kind of gag-inducing. I see them and think, Bad bad bad paperback novel, which is sad. They deserve better.

Well, isn’t this the longest post ever? Phew. I pulled an all-nighter reading book three, so you’re welcome, haha. The rest of the series to follow next week (or the week after, we'll see).

For the review of Vampire Academy books 4-5, click here.