Review: Winter Town

Winter Town
Stephen Emond
YA contemporary

Every winter, straight-laced, Ivy League bound Evan looks forward to a visit from Lucy, a childhood pal who moved away after her parent's divorce. But when Lucy arrives this year, she's changed. The former "girl next door" now has chopped dyed black hair, a nose stud, and a scowl. But Evan knows that somewhere beneath the Goth, "Old Lucy" still exists, and he's determined to find her... even if it means pissing her off. 
Can opposites attract? Or does growing up mean having to grow apart?

Told from two perspectives, this funny and honest novel by Stephen Emond (Happyface) is a unique combination of text, comic strips, and art. It's an indie movie in a book, perfect for the inner outcast and lovelorn nerd in us all.

Sounds like a win, right? Winter Town was a good read, but compared to my expectations for it it fell a little short. I liked the honesty of it- Lucy and Evan were the best of friends, in the most real sense of the word. Their hardships were real ones that real kids face, and the nerdiness between friends belonging to fandoms was something so relatable it had me cracking a smile at my friends' and I's similar antics. 

On the other hand, I felt the characters had a lot of depth that wasn't described. Lucy's story about her last year was told as an interlude, and in a kinda distant way. It could have been heart wrenching and painful for the characters but their feelings were a little muted. Like, you're told they're sad, but you're not shown it. 

It took me awhile to warm up to all the drawings and comics throughout the book, but as it progressed I started to see it's importance to the characters and their story. Regardless of that, they were kinda cute(;
Rating: 


Unrelated: Going to see Catching Fire tonight!! Who's excited??
Esty

Review: Crashing Into You

Crashing Into You
Katie McGarry
YA contemporary
Pub Date: November 26, 2013

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane 

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind. 

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look. 

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Ahh, Katie McGarry. Her writing, her pacing, her characters- there's no wonder she's the love of book bloggers' literary life. I absolutely ADORED every second of Dare You To- you can read my review here. HOWEVER, like most of the reviews I have read, I, too, didn't think Crashing Into You reached the perfect beauty of Ryan's and Beth's story. 

Isaiah was a character it was easy to sympathize with. Life has been tough for him, and you can see the lasting effects of that, yet with hard work and strength of character he retained his goodness and his will to make a future for himself. His mistakes are results of desperation. Rachel, on the other hand, seemed naive and childish to me. She often made seriously unwise and life-threatening choices, supposedly in the name of being brave. In addition to that, she had 17 years of life and no friends to show for it- for a girl often described as pretty, rich, and has talent that seems unrealistic. 

Also, Rachel's family contradicted themselves all the time. Her brothers were always overprotective, hated seeing her suffer and wanted to help her, but refuse to let her tell their mother and get help- and not only that, they encouraged her to do what they knew would bring more of her attacks to keep her mother happy. Likewise, her father obliges Rachel everything to keep her mother happy, yet recklessly endangers her life at one point. Whaaaaaa

The following nitpick was smaller than the above 2^^, but bothered me nonetheless- they got into the whole mess because these two random people stole from Eric and Eric blamed them... couldn't that have been worked out somehow? They caved to his demands entirely too easily in my opinion.

REGARDLESS OF ALL THAT, I loved the influence Rachel had on Isaiah, and how he made peace with his mother, social worker, Beth, and the effort he made to build his future. Not to mention the awesome side characters- I'd kill to hear more of Logan, Abby and Courtney. The setting of a racetrack was pretty cool, too. Also, I am now seriously salivating to read Pushing the Limits, which is Noah and Echo's story. 

On a different note, I'd like to bring to your attention the sheer awesomeness of the author- look what she sent me and other lucky participants of her giveaway!
Dare You To ribbon and Crashing Into You bookmark!













Sorry I wasn't around this week much- hopefully this weekend I'll bring you up to speed on what I've recieved. 
Love,
Esty

Review: Lioness Rampant

Lioness Rampant (Song of the Lioness #4)
Tamora Pierce
YA fantasy, adventure

"I'm not sure I want to be a hero anymore." 
Having achieved her dream of becoming the first female knight errant, Alanna of Trebond is not sure what to do next. Perhaps being a knight errant is not all that Alanna needs....But Alanna must push her uncertainty aside when a new challenge arises. She must recover the Dominion Jewel, a legendary gem with enormous power for good -- but only in the right hands. And she must work quickly. Tortall is in great danger, and Alanna's archenemy, Duke Roger, is back -- and more powerful than ever. In this final book of the Song of the Lioness quartet, Alanna discovers that she indeed has a future worthy of her mythic past -- both as a warrior and as a woman.

So I have library books to return and the Clean Out Your E-reader Challenge on my mind, urging me to read those books, and yet, on Saturday I was struck by a "Screw it all" attitude, "I wanna read Alanna". So I did.

This is the last book in the Song of the Lioness Quartet and I read the first one before I had a blog so I'm going to review this series as whole. You can read my review of book 2 here, and book 3 here.

As girls' adventure books go, there's no beating Alanna. Smart and headstrong, she leads the pack in heroines. Think Deryn from the Leviathan books, or Mulan. She longs to be a knight so she switches with her twin brother and trains in the palace as a boy. Over the years she makes powerful friends (Some may be a little more than friends:)) and accomplishes extraordinary feats.

Characters- ALL AWESOME. Jon, the boys, Sir Myles, George, Liam, Buri, Thayet, Coram, Thom... I could go on all day. Everyone has such personality! They're what make these books so much fun to read(:

Themes and ideas- this, I think, is the area where the quartet stands out the most. Aside from the girl-warrior-dressed-as-boy thing, the novels explore the ideas of believe it or not, your first love isn't necessarily your true love. Also, while I personally don't approve of this choice, Alanna sleeps with her lovers. Multiple ones. And wears a protective charm for pregnancy. Not only does she contest womens' right to fight, she also disproves all the things that would traditionally make her a respectable woman in her world, and I found that refreshing and inspiring. Also, her love life doesn't end in happily ever after marrying the prince- she loves him but contemplates her ability and will to rule, and ultimately makes a decision based on things other than what's expected of her but rather for her own and others' good.

Note: The first book centers around Alanna at ages 11-12, and is suitable for middle-grade readers. Book two has more mature content.

Another aspect of the series that I love is how you are with her over a period of almost 10 years, and really grow to love her world and friends.

And now, the REASON FOR GIVING BOOK #4 ONLY 4 STARS:
I'm not sure. Maybe it's that sometimes Jon has seriously out of character moments, something that I see as a flaw in the writing. Or maybe it's that Alanna kinda goes looking for trouble (though that's arguable- it's her job as a knight) I think it's mainly that the big plot point in  book #3 is resolved with little explanation in book #4, and that the big plot point in book #4 pops out with little explanation as to WHY it was allowed to happen in the first place.

Also, I was disappointed in Thayet's final decision , because I felt that so much could've been done with the loose end of her country, Sarain.

Rating:


overall note: I have been enjoying these books for years and will dearly miss Alanna. Really really recommended.

Review: Breaking Stalin's Nose

Breaking Stalin's Nose
Eugene Yelchin
middle grade, historical fiction

Sasha Zaichik has known the laws of the Soviet Young Pioneers since the age of six:

The Young Pioneer is devoted to Comrade Stalin, the Communist Party, and Communism.A Young Pioneer is a reliable comrade and always acts according to conscience.
A Young Pioneer has a right to criticize shortcomings.

But now that it is finally time to join the Young Pioneers, the day Sasha has awaited for so long, everything seems to go awry. He breaks a classmate's glasses with a snowball. He accidentally damages a bust of Stalin in the school hallway.  And worst of all, his father, the best Communist he knows, was arrested just last night.

Considering this book is both middle grade and historical fiction, I thought I'd love it. I was mostly disappointed. The story encompasses two days, and with such a short time there was no character development or fun anecdotes. Also, I felt Sasha had little depth- I didn't feel his heartbreak or confusion or any other feeling really. 

The plot was good- few twists I didn't see coming, and the novel apptly showed how Stalin and Communism was viewed by the people. I especially like the part where the teacher talked about how because Russia was the only real democracy, the students will now take a vote. Five minutes later, a student is punished for voting against the majority- this taken as being against the people. There were many examples of the brainwash that were presented well.

Setting obviously was beautiful- Russia <3 span="">
Writing- not to my taste. I wasn't pulled in at all. 

All in all? Not a satisfying read for me, might work for a younger kid though.
Rating:

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they have a different theme for bloggers to post their top tens about, and this week it's

Top Ten Sequels I Can't Wait to Get My Hands On

Ha. Only ten. Leggo

1. The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan- the fifth and final book of The Heroes of Olympus series. WHAT I am going to do when there's no Camp Half-Blood in my life anymore I don't know.

2. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare- the sixth and final book in The Mortal Instruments series. See above comment^^^

3. Allegiant by Veronica Roth - Lucky for me, this ones out and available. Hopefully I'll have read it by next week(:

4. United We Spy by Ally Carter- This too is out but I probably won't get it for a little while.

5.  Requiem by Maggie Stiefvater- the third (and I THINK the last) book in the Books of Faerie series. Everyone's kinda obsessed with The Raven Boys now but I'm still loving on these. No release date yet though...

6. Requiem by Lauren Oliver- One day I will order you. Really.

7. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor- I WANT YOU

8. Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr- *hangs head* I should have gotten you years ago.

9. Prodigy by Marie Lu

10. The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson - I will read you by New Year's, honest. 

So these are my top ten sequels that I can't wait to read- naturally, I could've gone on with this all day. What are yours?

Esty

Review: House of Hades

House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4)
Rick Riordan
Middle Grade Adventure, Greek Mythology

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

Usually I try to keep my blog spoiler free, because in my opinion if you can't read the review because you haven't read the book than what help am I? I want to help you choose your books. The exceptions are novels like Clockwork Princess and this, about which nothing can be said about the writing, character development, pacing, or feeling, because all that is obviously completely flawless. No, this won't be much of a review- more a rant discussion of the actual events. So, if you haven't read it, GET OFF YOUR DEVICE AND READ IT. If you have, please comment and help me sort through my feelings.

SPOILERS START HERE


OK, NICO IS GAY?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! WWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTTTT OMG.
I think my shock has less to do with the fact that he is gay rather than the fact that Rick Riordan put a gay character in his book. For a long time we've been trying to figure out what Nico's deal is, and while I had a lot of theories, I didn't think in that direction AT ALL. You just don't expect to encounter homosexuality in a kid's book! But when I got over the original heart attack, I appreciated what Riordan did there. He writes his books for kids, not white straight kids. If all his characters were what is considered default than in a way he'd be adding to the discrimination people face today.  In addition, I'd like to give him credit for not actually using the words 'gay' or 'homosexual' or 'attracted to boys'. It makes it not a political issue, rather a difference- and the kids read and are like, 'ok, Nico had a crush on Percy. That makes him different' . What a subtle and brilliant way to promote acceptance. Also, notice how the new series features Hazel- who is black, Frank- who is Chinese, and Leo- who is Hispanic. Refreshing. 

Guys: I FINALLY began to like Jason. Up until now he was given all the respect afforded to Percy but the readers didn't know him or love him, so it was like, STOP BEING AN EQUAL TO PERCY. I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU DO ANYTHING YET.  But in this book you do. He really becomes a leader- gets to know his team, relents when needed. I STILL think Piper is useless, though. Sue me. 

Me-when-I-found-out-Coach-Hedge-is-having-a-baby (it was obvious in the beginning if you've ever had a little sibling): AHAHAHAHAHA OMG EEEEEEHHHH

LEO AND CALYPSO- one word:FEEEELS
More than one word: I genuinely missed Calypso! It was such a disconnected incident in The Battle of Labyrinth (right  book?) that I didn't think about her very much after. I am so happy Leo found her- he deserves her the most. 

Dear Rick Riordan,
Can we get some Grover, Tyson, Thalia, Chiron or Rachel please? Or at least some more Reyna.
Sincerely,
Where-have-all-my-awesome-people-gone

PERCABETH
WOAH. I knew they would come out changed and a little scarred. It was kinda a beautiful process, actually. Also, it was nice to see them grow up and start planning their future, if a little heartbreaking. 
And the big surprise? We see an almost fatal mistake of Percy's-forgetting about Bob and Calypso. It showed that even the good guys can make bad mistakes. It was a little shocking, having worshipped Percy all my life, but a good wake up call. Nobody is perfect. Not even close.

Last two things: Anyone else catch the dedication? *gnashes teeth and growls*
THE TITLE OF BOOK FIVE: THE BLOOD OF OLYMPUS. MAKE OF THAT WHAT YOU WILL.

How will I live after next fall?