My Review of Tomorrow, When The War Begins, by John Marsden

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


(Actual rating, 4.5 stars)


When Ellie and her friends go camping, they have no idea they're leaving their old lives behind forever. Despite a less-than-tragic food shortage and a secret crush or two, everything goes as planned. But a week later, they return home to find their houses empty and their pets starving. Something has gone wrong--horribly wrong. Before long, they realize the country has been invaded, and the entire town has been captured--including their families and all their friends. Ellie and the other survivors face an impossible decision: They can flee for the mountains or surrender. Or they can fight.

On Friday afternoon, I read an article on io9.com about a movie which was "Australia's answer to the Hunger Games." That sure as hell piqued my interest.

Even though the article wasn't terribly complementary, I was intrigued by the synopsis, and, since it was based on a book series, potentially opening up new reading territory for me...yeah.

So, I watched the movie (which, for interested parties, is only available on VOD at this point)with my husband. And we were both. Blown. Away.

(I should also mention that I'm highly suspicious of Australian film; the few Australian movies I've seen all seem to have been based on the bad acid trip someone experienced after reading about a significant event in Australian history.)

I immediately downloaded the book afterward and, well--let's just say that this was one movie adaptation which lost nothing in translation.

What I Liked: This book has earned a lot of well-deserved comparisons to The Hunger Games--but, if anything, it's grittier and more realistic. The whole book is like a Hunger Games situation which could actually happen. And that's what makes it so scary.

It was slow at times, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing--it contributed to the real-life feel of the book. The world, even a post-invasion world, isn't all explosions and gunfights. A lot of the time, it's sitting somewhere trying to catch your breath and process it all. And the pacing sort of added to the tension--when things were quiet, you, along with the characters, were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Characters in novels are always talking about how much they're changed by events, or, rather, the author's always trying to point out to you how much they've been changed. No big red blinking arrows necessary here. The change is as apparent in Ellie's voice as it is in the choices they make.

What I Didn't: Though, as far as I can see books #2 and #4 are available on Kindle, book #3 isn't. And it's out of print, so it's semi-impossible to get ahold of without plunking down brand-new-Stephen-King-hardcover kind of money. However, I liked the first book enough that I'm actually bidding on a set of the next two on eBay, since that's the only place I can find them at a reasonable price.

The other thing--and this is why I'm recommending you read the book first--is that, in my opinion, the movie was actually a little better than the book. That meant that, at a few points, I had moments of mild disappointment when things weren't as spectacularly dramatic as they were in the movie. But I got over those moments pretty quickly.

Overall: A satisfying dose of literary methadone for those suffering from Hunger Games/Divergent-type withdrawal.



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My Review of Born Wicked, by Jessica Spotswood

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Blessed with a gift..."cursed" with a secret."
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.
What I Liked: Born Wicked has an incredible atmospheric presence that sucks you right in and holds you under its spell. Some of the other reviewers complain that it's a little slow in the beginning, and it's true, but it was almost like being in a beautiful museum--there might not be much going on to start off, but the architecture is so striking you barely notice the time pass.

Going back to the slow start--YA as a genre has trained us to have a short attention span, always beginning by dropping us in the middle of a war or a plague, but Spotswood is just taking her time to set up the layers which will really, REALLY matter later on. Trust me, it's worth taking your time to read.

On the subject of those layers, the conflict is deliciously multi-faceted. Cate isn't just stuck between a rock and a hard place--she's stuck between a rock, a hard place, the frying pan, the fire...she can make no choice without tremendous sacrifice. I didn't even realize how completely involved I was until she finally did make her choice, and I jumped up out of my chair and walked away, clutching my head.

What I Didn't: The Sisterhood could have used a little fleshing out. I understood the obvious influence and power of the Brotherhood, but I could have used a few more examples of the malevolency of the Sisterhood, so their threats didn't fall so flat in my mind.

Overall: A solid, beautiful book. I'll be continuing with this series for sure.

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My Review of AMC's The Walking Dead, Season I

When TWD first started, I was so ready to hop on that train. I had the premiere date stored in my phone’s calendar for months. I checked my DVR about sixteen times to make sure the recording would go off without a hitch (I wasn’t home at the time of the premiere). I was ready. Ready for zombies.

The following Saturday, I sat down in front of the TV with some Cheez-its, pressed Play…and was so disappointed I promptly deleted the series recording from my DVR.

But I watched as the buzz grew on Twitter and Facebook. My husband told me his friends at work couldn’t stop talking about it. My cousin expressed sheer horror that I’d thought TWD was boring.

I decided to see if I’d been wrong about the show. A few weekends ago, my husband and I watched all six episodes of Season I on Netflix. And I found out…that I wasn’t entirely wrong. Granted, the show did get better. But the issues which originally made me turn it off never completely went away.

First: It’s boring. Which you would think is difficult to achieve, what with all the zombies, and the screaming. The problem I found is that this isn’t just a zombie apocalypse—it’s the same damn one I’ve been watching in movies and reading about for years, only on television. In places, they don’t even pretend like they’re not completely ripping off other film and written works. The stalwart man of authority, on a quest to reunite with his son, the father unable to find the heart to kill his zombified wife, the violent, bigoted redneck with a lust for power, the last scientist who has given up all hope and tries to take the hope of others…not only have I seen all these storylines before, but in terms of the apocalypse, zombie or otherwise, they have been beaten to death. Unfortunately, though, they clearly weren’t shot in the head. And yes, I know…supposedly, there are no new stories. The fix for that, though, is to tell the old stories in new ways. And there’s very little new in the plotlines of TWD.

Also contributing to the boring is the pacing. My husband says they’re taking the time to set up, since they have more time as a TV show as opposed to film, but I say that time can be better used. Anyone who’s a writer or even an avid reader knows that you have to hook ‘em early. Hook ‘em, give them the Cliff’s Notes, and then sprinkle explanation evenly throughout.

Second: The people, they are stupid. And if I want to watch stupid people for an hour, I can go outside and sit on my front steps. They make ridiculous choices I doubt even my dumb-ass neighbors would make. One of the biggest problems I have with that show is the so-called gun shortage.

Oookay. Number one: you live in Georgia. Not Rhode Island. This is a state where most pickups come standard with a gun rack. Number two: you have passed enough dead soldiers to outfit yourself and your stupid friends sixteen times over. Number three: Where do guns come from? From the gun store! Get a brick, break into one, fill your purses, pockets and backpacks. If I, as a female living in Pennsylvania, know the whereabouts of four gun stores within a thirty mile radius of my house, well, guess what? I bet you have a few, too. Check the yellow pages. Number four: If, for some inexplicable reason, you are unable to find a gun store…or a Walmart…break into a house with a pickup truck in the driveway and take their likely vast collection of firearms. You live in Georgia, remember? Leave a note, if it makes you feel better. 

Also, random pet peeve…they call them Walkers, and Geeks. People, you are clearly dealing with zombies. Call a spade an effing spade, will you?

So, yeah, TWD got better, but not enough to make me say, “Wow…this is a good show.” It has potential, though, and for that reason I’m going to keep an eye on it and catch up on Season II this Sunday. “Potential” in this context, though, simply means there are a lot of things that could and should be happening which aren’t. I expect them to start.

My Review of Dead To You, by Lisa McMann

Dead to You by Lisa McMann

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

What I Liked: From page one, I was engrossed. Any time I had to step away from the book—to drive, to shower, etc—I was thinking about it. The story was electrified with suppressed chaos. And I had no idea where it was going. Well, no, that’s a lie. But I ignored the arrows, because the author wouldn’t do that, would she? No way.

What I Didn’t: Except she did. She totally went there. Which, by itself, isn’t a bad thing. There are few things I love more than staring open-mouthed at a book, gasping and clutching my chest in complete shock. It’s pretty hard to surprise me. But you can’t drop a bombshell like that and then just walk away. Which is exactly what McMann did. The bomb hasn’t even finished exploding, and the book ends. And I’m sorry, but if I’ve walked along with you all this way in the story, you can’t end the book in the middle of the climax and leave me to wonder about what happens to the people you’ve made me care about.

Overall: The book was great. Except for the last five pages, or, rather, the fact that the last five pages were the last five pages. I originally had this book as a four-star, but lowered it to a three after a night of thinking about how the abrupt ending spoiled the entire book. Which is sad, because the first 19/20ths of it was stellar. I wouldn’t recommend that people not read Dead To You…I’m just saying Buyer Beware.

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Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.


Some riders live.


Others die.


At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.


Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

This is my first Stiefvater book. I don't know why I didn't read her werewolf series; maybe because the market was a bit saturated with werewolf/vampire stuff at the time. After The Scorpio Races, though, I'll definitely be checking them out.

What I Liked: Lord, what didn't I like? The characters, to start. Sean, Puck and the supporting cast were beautifully done, both rugged and independent, which fits the setting and the story. Especially Puck, who rode the knife's edge between vulnerable and tough throughout.

I loved the water horses, too. I don't know if Stiefvater is a "horse person" in real life, but the water horses' authenticity is going to hit home for anyone who knows horses. Because real horses do have that sort of wildness and unpredictability in them; Stiefvater just magnifies it to make a truly terrifying creature.

Authentic is a word which keeps popping up when I try to describe this book. Even though it contains supernatural creatures, the world is so real, so well-crafted, that you fall right in and lose yourself.

What I Didn't: There was only one thing that stuck in my craw on this book, and it's a tiny, nitpicky thing--the use of the term capaill uisce for the water horses. Even though there was a pronunciation slipped in early in the book, I forgot it, which meant I couldn't pronounce it in my head, which distracted me.

Overall: Loved it. A new favorite I will definitely go back and read again.



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Review: A Million Suns, by Beth Revis

A Million Suns by Beth Revis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos.

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

 

What I Liked: Revis brought the atmosphere of inescapable unrest and hostility to life so well that I actually felt claustrophobic. I also really liked that she asked some extremely hard questions about freedom of will, right to rule, democracy versus autocracy...and never really answers them. Honestly (and it's been two months since I read the ARC) I think back on some of the moral crossroads in the story, and...I'm still not sure what the right answers are.

What I Didn't: Forgive my being cryptic here, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers...the, er, "method" in which Amy is fed the clues seems very contrived. I found it to be distracting, because it was so out of place, so out of character. It's honestly what kept my review from being five stars.

One More Thing: I wasn't really sure whether to put this under pros or cons, because part of me loves that she did it because it makes me SO excited for the next book, and part of me wants to grab Revis by the shoulders and shake her and scream WHYYYYYYYYY???????...the book ends on one of the worst cliffhangers I can think of. Right on par with Clare's City of Fallen Angels. For realz. It's killer. You've been warned.



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Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

 

What I Liked: This book is unlike anything I'm aware of on the market. The world, the twists on mythology...all completely unique. And I have a serious girl-crush on Karou. I want to BE her.

One of the most surprising things I liked about the book, though, were the "human" moments; mainly, the banter between Karou and Zuzanna. Real but zingy--think dialogue on Buffy or Veronica Mars. It endeared me to her, and made her three-dimensional, so by the time the real, honest-to-goodness scat starts hitting the fan, you really, truly care what happens to her.

What I Didn't: I only have one dislike, and it's less of a dislike and more of a concern. In the last quarter of the book, when the storyline moves to flashbacks (sorry for the vagueness, but I try to keep it spoiler-free!) the story loses some focus and starts flailing a bit, which is noticeable after Taylor's tight-as-a-drumskin narrative up to that point. It's a concern, but a minor one, because I'm sorry, but there is no danger of anyone putting the book down at that point.

Overall: All I have to say is, this is the best book I've read since I finished Anna Dressed In Blood back in August. It's been a long, thirsty dry spell...but Smoke and Bone finally broke it.



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