Review: If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Published: January 1, 2009/April 1, 2011
Pages: 201/264
Source: Gifted
Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis for If I Stay:

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

In short: If I Stay and Where She Went are beautifully poignant reads with many great character building moments thanks to Gayle Forman's expert handling of emotionally intense situations.

Due to the imminent movie adaptation release, If I Stay and its sequel Where She Went by Gayle Forman were bumped up my insanely long TBR list, though they have both been on my radar for many years now after receiving a ton of praise in the book blogging community. Now I'm sure you all know by now that contemporary isn't usually my thing, but I have been known to enjoy books in the genre from time to time and thankfully this was the case with this Gayle Forman duology.

Of course, "enjoy" may not be the right word choice for a book that ripped your guts out. Perhaps "appreciate" is more apt. If I Stay tells the story of Mia, whom, after a critical car accident with her family, ends up in a coma with a choice. Either she can stay in a world where she's lost nearly everything or she can go to the next great beyond. Where She Went then tells Mia's boyfriend Adam's side of the story in the aftermath of Mia's decision. Neither book deals with easy subject matters, but in both the emotional repercussions are dealt with remarkably well. The drama is genuine, not forced, and I absolutely appreciated Gayle Forman's expert handling of tough situations and questions.

There is not much in the way of plot in either If I Stay or Where She Went as the bulk of the story line in both novels takes place in the form of flashbacks. In this case, the plot is the sacrifice paid for the many excellent character building moments spread throughout. We barely see Mia's family before the accident and yet Gayle Forman is somehow able to forge not only a believable bond between family members, but also a connection between the family and the reader, making the read that much more poignant. I felt like I knew what made these characters tick and yet they weren't entirely predictable either. They were complex and real and absolutely my favourite thing about Gayle Forman's writing.

My second favourite thing about Gayle Forman's writing is her clear appreciation and understanding of music and the effect that it has on people. Music plays a huge part in the If I Stay duology as both the driving force behind Mia and Adam's connection and their division. It occurs to me that I don't get to read many books in which music is such a key component and I would like to do so more often because I really loved that. I think the music and poignancy and thoughtful questions behind If I Stay have the potential to make a truly beautiful movie, but the jury's still out on whether it will play out as I hope. I really hope the movie doesn't disappoint!

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Waiting On Wednesday: Penguin Fall 2014 Catalog

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which upcoming, eagerly anticipated releases are highlighted on the blog.

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the Penguin Fall 2014 Catalog:

I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson
Date: September 16, 2014

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Jude and her brother, Noah, are incredibly close twins. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude surfs and cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and divisive ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as an unpredictable new mentor. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

I'll Give You The Sun is not my usual kind of read at all, but people have been buzzing about this one since BEA and about author Jandy Nelson for quite a few years now so I feel like I just HAVE to see what all the fuss is about. Jandy Nelson sounds like a very talented lady!

Schizo by Nic Sheff
Date: September 30, 2014

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Miles is the ultimate unreliable narrator—a teen recovering from a schizophrenic breakdown who believes he is getting better . . . when in reality he is growing worse.

Driven to the point of obsession to find his missing younger brother, Teddy, and wrapped up in a romance that may or may not be the real thing, Miles is forever chasing shadows. As Miles feels his world closing around him, he struggles to keep it open, but what you think you know about his world is actually a blur of gray, and the sharp focus of reality proves startling.

I loved the cover for Schizo as soon as I saw it and when I read that it was the story of a teen's downward spiral into mental illness making said teen an unreliable narrator, I was definitely intrigued. My hope is that this one is enigmatic, trippy, and interesting!

The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Date: October 7, 2014

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Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.
Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

So I haven't actually read anything by Marie Lu yet (I know, I know!), but after consistently hearing great things about her Legend Trilogy, she has been on my radar for a long while now. The Young Elites sounds like a promising start to a new dystopian series from her and I'm curious to find out what all the buzz is about!

Atlantia by Ally Condie
Date: October 28, 2014

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For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

I remember I adored Matched by Ally Condie when it was first released years ago and I was completely swept up in Ally's beautiful poetic writing. Well now, I wasn't a huge fan of the Matched sequels, but that doesn't mean that I'm not still very interested in this new book from Ally, Atlantia. And this one is about Atlantis, which is cool!


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Penguin Fall 2014 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Penguin Fall 2014 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

The Great John Green Read of 2014

Some background: I've been a fan of the vlogbrothers since 2007 (a nerdfighter, if you will), and yet somehow in all that time I have never read any of John Green's books. I don't think I even have a good reason why not. It's true that I am not a massive fan of contemporary, but I have been known to read it and enjoy it from time to time, so that's not it. I guess I just... never got around to it. But finally FINALLY I was able to make the time in my reading schedule. And I knew I wanted to read them back-to-back, in chronological order, to get the full John Green Experience. Thus became what I have dubbed, The Great John Green Read of 2014.

I read all five of John Green's novels (Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, Will Grayson, Will Grayson [with David Levithan], and The Fault in Our Stars) in a two week period (I have not read the short story that he wrote for the anthology, Let It Snow; maybe another time). First thoughts? I loved them all!! Was there any doubt? Maybe a little bit because as I mentioned earlier, contemporary isn't my strong suit. But I really and truly did enjoy his books and the experience of reading them back-to-back on the whole. They were all very memorable and meaningful in their own way.

None of his novels stand out in my mind as head over heels better than the others. I had been sort of expecting John Green's writing to get better and better with each book, but I thought his writing was strong since the beginning and I thought all five novels were pretty on par with each other. If pressed, I would probably say The Fault in Our Stars was my favourite though. I adored many of John Green's characters and many will endure in my memory, but I would say Hazel and Augustus were my favourites of the lot (with maybe the exception of Tiny Cooper from Will Grayson, Will Grayson) and so that is why The Fault in Our Stars edges out the rest.

Besides his characters, the other main strength of John Green's novels has got to be their thoughtfulness, as illuminated by some truly brilliant quotes and passages. It's not very often that I read books that make me THINK like these novels did. Actually, I really cannot think of the last time I read a book that was so thought-provoking. A book that had me stuck in my head for hours, pondering profoundly these truths that were laid out so prudently. Normally, I read to escape. But in this experience I learned the value in reading for meditation. It was enlightening and I liked it.

I guess the only slight issue that I had with John Green's writing is that the characters weren't always believably adolescent. Real life teenagers do not talk like they do in John Green's books. The vast majority of adults don't talk like that either, for that matter. But I guess if you're going to be writing a novel in which the characters contemplate the meaning of life and have existential crises and whatnot, then you're going to need to have some pretty intellectual and enlightened characters. So I can let it slide mostly.

Overall, The Great John Green Read of 2014 was a complete success and my only regret is that it was over too quickly and who knows when we'll get the next novel from John Green. Though I have always claimed to be a fan of John Green, I feel like I can now say that I am a legit fan of his books, his writing, his characters, and his thoughtfulness. I'm also super stoked to see The Fault in Our Stars movie, which I am cautiously hopeful will be a good adaptation! So I'm curious: how many of John Green's books have you read and which is your favourite?

Waiting On Wednesday: Penguin Summer 2014 Catalog

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which upcoming, eagerly anticipated releases are highlighted on the blog.

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the Penguin Summer 2014 Catalog:

Conversion by Katherine Howe
Date: July 1, 2014

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It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can’t.
First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.
Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago . . .
Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell. With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?

I'm very intrigued by the premise of Conversion. The mystery seems to revolve around a modern day Salem witch epidemic and that's pretty cool as I've always loved learning about that time in history. I really hope this one is as good as it sounds!

Dove Arising by Karen Bao
Date: August 1, 2014

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Phaet Theta has lived her whole life in a colony on the Moon. She’s barely spoken since her father died in an accident nine years ago. She cultivates the plants in Greenhouse 22, lets her best friend talk for her, and stays off the government’s radar.
Then her mother is arrested.
The only way to save her younger siblings from the degrading Shelter is by enlisting in the Militia, the faceless army that polices the Lunar bases and protects them from attacks by desperate Earth-dwellers. Training is brutal, but it’s where Phaet forms an uneasy but meaningful alliance with the preternaturally accomplished Wes, a fellow outsider.
Rank high, save her siblings, free her mom:  that’s the plan. Until Phaet’s logically ordered world begins to crumble...

I'm always keen on new sci fi reads, but when I saw the cover for Dove Arising, I was completely captivated! That, and this one has one intense premise so it should be good!

Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff
Date: August 14, 2014

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Clementine DeVore spent ten years trapped in a cellar, pinned down by willow roots, silenced and forgotten.
Now she’s out and determined to uncover who put her in that cellar and why.
When Clementine was a child, dangerous and inexplicable things started happening in New South Bend. The townsfolk blamed the fiendish people out in the Willows and burned their homes to the ground. But magic kept Clementine alive, walled up in the cellar for ten years, until a boy named Fisher sets her free. Back in the world, Clementine sets out to discover what happened all those years ago. But the truth gets muddled in her dangerous attraction to Fisher, the politics of New South Bend, and the Hollow, a fickle and terrifying place that seems increasingly temperamental ever since Clementine reemerged.

I have yet to read any of Brenna Yovanoff's books, but they always sound and look so exquisitely creepy that I'm thinking I need to try out her stuff. Fiendish sounds most eerie so maybe I'll start there!

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Date: September 2, 2014

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Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.
While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

Want. BADLY! I really need more Celaena and Chaol PLEASE! And now some early reviews for Heir of Fire are coming out and it sounds like the best thing ever. Can't wait for September!! (Note: in Canada, Bloomsbury books are distributed by Penguin Canada).


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Penguin Summer 2014 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Penguin Summer 2014 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

Waiting On Wednesday: Penguin Spring 2014 Catalog

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which upcoming, eagerly anticipated releases are highlighted on the blog.

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the Penguin Spring 2014 Catalog:

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
Date: April 8, 2014

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Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him--and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

I wouldn't say Rebel Belle is my typical read, but it caught my interest because it reminded me of one of my favourite TV shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Plus, I always hear great things about Rachel Hawkins' sense of humour and her ability to write witty banter!

Curiosity by Gary Blackwood
Date: April 10, 2014

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Philadelphia, PA, 1835. Rufus, a twelve-year-old chess prodigy, is recruited by a shady showman named Maelzel to secretly operate a mechanical chess player called the Turk. The Turk wows ticket-paying audience members and players, who do not realize that Rufus, the true chess master, is hidden inside the contraption. But Rufus’s job working the automaton must be kept secret, and he fears he may never be able to escape his unscrupulous master. And what has happened to the previous operators of the Turk, who seem to disappear as soon as Maelzel no longer needs them? Creeping suspense, plenty of mystery, and cameos from Edgar Allan Poe and P. T. Barnum mark Gary Blackwood’s triumphant return to middle grade fiction.

Curiosity, a steampunk-ish historical middle grade novel, reminds me of a lot of another book I enjoyed of the same genre, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, so I'm thinking I would enjoy Curiosity as well. And I'm totally in love with the idea of a featured cameo from Edgar Allan Poe!

The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer
Date: April 22, 2014

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Sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow refugees have scraped out an existence on the edge of Britain’s industrial empire. Though they live by the skin of their teeth they have their health (at least when they can find enough food and avoid the Imperial Labor Gatherers) and each other. When a new exile with no memory of his escape from the coastal cities or even his own name seeks shelter in their camp he brings new dangers with him and secrets about the terrible future that awaits all those who have struggled has to live free of the bonds of the empire’s Machineworks.

The Inventor’s Secret is the first book of a YA steampunk series set in an alternate nineteenth-century North America where the Revolutionary War never took place and the British Empire has expanded into a global juggernaut propelled by marvelous and horrible machinery.

I always find alternate histories fascinating. Combine that with steampunk and I'm good to read! I've not yet read anything by Andrea Cremer, but I've been curious about many of her books in the past. The Inventor's Secret definitely sounds right up my alley so I'm excited for it!

Inland by Kat Rosenfield
Date: June 12, 2014

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After nine years spent suffocating in the arid expanses of the Midwest, far from the sea where her mother drowned, Callie Morgan and her estranged father are returning to the coast. And miraculously, Callie can finally breathe easily. No more sudden, clawing attacks and week-long hospital stays. No more wary, pitying glances from classmates and teachers. She can be more than a sickly freak, coughing her way between nondescript inland towns every year.
But something waits for Callie in the water. Just as her life begins to feel like her own, with an almost-family and a first love and a circle of loud-mouthed friends, her body starts to rebel in new ways. She finds herself fighting the intoxicating pull of the black waters right outside her window. Her dreams turn wild and real, and she wakes up with salt water in her hair. Family secrets and whispering doubts flood her brain as she leads herself and those around her into danger, jeopardizing everything she once longed for. Is it madness, or is there a voice, beckoning her to come to the sea’s deepest heart; to come home?

Oooh, I love the premise for Inland and I think it has so much potential! Having always lived inland myself, I've always longed to live by the sea. Never before has that translated to waking up with salt water in my hair and the sea beckoning to me though! Very intriguing.


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Penguin Spring 2014 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Penguin Spring 2014 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

Review: This Wicked Game by Michelle Zink

Publisher: Dial
Published: November 14, 2013
Pages: 368
Source: For Review from Penguin Canada
Rating: 2 Stars

Claire Kincaid’s family has been in business for over fifty years.
The voodoo business.
Part of the International Guild of High Priests and Priestesses, a secret society that have practiced voodoo for generations, the Kincaid’s run an underground supply house for authentic voodoo supplies. Claire plays along, filling orders for powders, oils and other bizarre ingredients in the family store, but she has a secret.
She doesn’t believe.
Struggling to reconcile her modern sensibilities with a completely unscientific craft based on suspicion, Claire can’t wait to escape New Orleans – and voodoo – when she goes to college, a desire that creates almost constant conflict in her secret affair with Xander Toussaint, son of the Guild’s powerful founding family.
But when a mysterious customer places an order for a deadly ingredient, Claire begins to realize that there’s more to voodoo – and the families that make up the Guild – than meets the eye.
Including her own.
As she bands together with the other firstborns of the Guild, she comes face to face with a deadly enemy – and the disbelief that may very well kill her.

In short: This Wicked Game by Michelle Zink had the potential to be original and special, but instead was an insipid, whitewashed version of what it could have been.

One mention of voodoo was all it took to have me chomping at the bit for This Wicked Game. The history and culture of voodoo is SO intriguing to me and I was curious to read a YA story revolving around it. To say I was disappointed with This Wicked Game is a bit of an understatement. As far as I can tell, the subject of voodoo is wide open in YA and thus so much can be done with it to create an original and provocative story. This potential was squandered in This Wicked Game.

The protagonist, Claire, somehow managed to be both a Mary Sue and TSTL. She decides to play teen detective without approaching her parents or any of the other higher-ups in the Guild and miraculously and inexplicably makes it through dangerous circumstances she never thinks through. The other characters are similarly two-dimensional and bland. There is nothing in This Wicked Game for romance-lovers either: Claire's relationship with Xander develops before the start of the story and is completely lacking in tension or passion.

But even the flat characters and romance were not as hard to take as the lifeless plot and setting. I was excited to read a book set in New Orleans, but very little effort was put into bringing such a unique and rich cultural centre to life. It could have been any other city. And I'm frankly at a loss as to how the traditional African voodoo culture could have possibly been translated to rich, white families in control of the "voodoo business." Way to take away all the culture and essence out of voodoo! I wanted to see traditional raw and gritty voodoo, not this whitewashed, insipid counterpart.

Though I found fault with much of This Wicked Game, it is to Michelle Zink's credit that she at least wrote a fast-paced plot with easy language that made the reading experience fly by. Without that, the dull story surely would have bored me to tears long before the ending. But even then the plot was far beyond saving. By far the biggest issue I have with This Wicked Game was that it had the potential to be fresh and special, but instead was a dummed-down, whitewashed version of what it could have been. Very disappointed.

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Waiting On Wednesday: Penguin Winter 2014 Catalog

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which upcoming, eagerly anticipated releases are highlighted on the blog.

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the Penguin Winter 2014 Catalog:

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Date: January 7, 2014

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For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.
Will being back home help Andy’s PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down.

Laurie Halse Anderson is one of those authors that I have been meaning to read for a long time, but I have been putting off because I need to be in a very particular mood to read her intense issue books. The Impossible Knife of Memory is the latest issue book of Anderson's and it promises to be a good one.

A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller
Date: January 23, 2014

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Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.
After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?

I have been obsessed with the early 1900s ever since blowing through the first few seasons of Downton Abbey this summer. A Mad, Wicked Folly sounds like it would satisfy my hunger for early 1900s historical fiction. And with quite the scandalous premise, too!

Minders by Michele Jaffe
Date: January 30, 2014

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Q: If the boy you love commits a crime, would you turn him in?
Sadie Ames is a type-A teenager from the wealthy suburbs. She's been accepted to the prestigious Mind Corps Fellowship program, where she'll spend six weeks as an observer inside the head of Ford, a troubled boy with a passion for the crumbling architecture of the inner city. There's just one problem: Sadie's fallen in love with him.

Q: What if the crime is murder?
Ford Winters is haunted by the murder of his older brother, James. As Sadie falls deeper into his world, dazzled by the shimmering pinpricks of color that form images in his mind, she begins to think she knows him. Then Ford does something unthinkable.

Q: What if you saw it happen from inside his mind?
Back in her own body, Sadie is faced with the ultimate dilemma. With Ford's life in her hands, she must decide what is right and what is wrong. And how well she can really ever know someone, even someone she loves.

There's a lot to love about Minders: first, the cool cover; second, the cool premise written up in a creative blurb. I only hope the romance doesn't end up being as insta-love-y as it comes across in the synopsis!

Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick
Date: March 4, 2014

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Natalya knows a secret.

A magical Faberge egg glows within the walls of Russia's Winter Palace.

It holds a power rooted in the land and stolen from the mystics.

A power that promises a life of love for her and Alexei Romanov.

Power, that, in the right hands, can save her way of life.

But it's not in the right hands.

Absolutely gorgeous cover. J. Nelle Patrick is a pseudonym for Jackson Pierce, an author I have never read, but have always wanted to. And out of all her novels, I'm probably most eager to read the incredibly intriguing Tsarina!


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Penguin Winter 2014 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Penguin Winter 2014 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

Review: Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron

Publisher: Viking Penguin
Published: October 3, 2013
Pages: 368
Source: For Review from Penguin Canada
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Love can be a real monster.
Sixteen-year-old Boy’s never left home. When you’re the son of Frankenstein’s monster and the Bride, it’s tough to go out in public, unless you want to draw the attention of a torch-wielding mob. And since Boy and his family live in a secret enclave of monsters hidden under Times Square, it’s important they maintain a low profile.
Boy’s only interactions with the world are through the Internet, where he’s a hacker extraordinaire who can hide his hulking body and stitched-together face behind a layer of code. When conflict erupts at home, Boy runs away and embarks on a cross-country road trip with the granddaughters of Jekyll and Hyde, who introduce him to malls and diners, love and heartbreak. But no matter how far Boy runs, he can’t escape his demons—both literal and figurative—until he faces his family once more.

In short: Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron is an original and endearingly humorous story.

It is so rare these days that I get to read a book that has a completely original plot. Read enough dystopians and they all seem to blend together; ditto with fantasies and paranormal. Now how about a story of the teenage son of Frankenstein's monster who sets out on a road trip with the granddaughters of Jekyll and Hyde? Nope, definitely haven't heard that one before. So Man Made Boy deserves major props for having a unique idea in fiction.

Man Made Boy is not a book that is meant to be examined too critically because there is a lot about the world Jon Skovron has created that makes very little sense. Instead, it is a book that is meant to amuse and that it did. The idea that there might be an underground community of monsters that makes their living putting on the most popular show on Broadway is an amusingly refreshing one. And amongst the unreality of all these monsters and ghouls lied a very technological plot that grounded the unreal-ness nicely.

I think my main issue with Man Made Boy was that the plot was a bit unfocused. There were long stretches of plot in which nothing much happens, punctuated by quick, easily solved instances of conflict now and then. It felt like the story was written on the spot, without an initial plan in place, and I personally prefer plots that have more direction. The writing wasn't my favourite either: it was very dialogue-heavy with just bare bones descriptions.

I can't say Man Made Boy was laugh-out-loud funny like I was expecting. But I was plenty amused while reading it as the story was very endearing at times, and that counts for something. I also adored Man Made Boy's very sweet and charming underlying message as it related to its very sweet and charming protagonist, Boy. Even though I had some issues with the execution of the plot, I enjoyed Man Made Boy overall and would recommend it to anyone looking for a humorous and easy read that doesn't take itself too seriously.

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Review: Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead

Publisher: Razorbill
Published: August 16, 2007
Pages: 332
Source: Bought
Rating: 3 Stars

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...
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

In short: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead ain't nothing special.

Vampire Academy is the kind of book that, had I read it as a young teen, I would have loved it. Unfortunately, I feel like my tastes have changed greatly and have perhaps matured beyond what Vampire Academy had to offer me. It doesn't help that at this point, the market has become way over-saturated with teen paranormal romance and - even if Vampire Academy was actually at the beginning of that trend - me reading it so late in the game didn't do it any favours, as it came across as incredibly cliched and overdone.

I will say though that I was quite impressed with Richelle Mead's take on vampires and the guardian system, as it was completely new to me. I always say that I am burnt out on vampires and am entirely bored by how repetitive vampire mythology seems to be these days, but Richelle Mead has created an entirely original concept and a very intriguing one, at that. That's not to say that the set-up of the concept was executed well though: the first section of Vampire Academy was info-dump-central and not at all subtle.

Actually, I was all around disappointed with the amateurish writing and execution of the plot. The exposition was clumsy and the plot was largely fruitless. Here we have a really cool concept and the introduction to these intriguing Strigoi beings. And for what? Almost the entirety of the story was spent on high school drama with characters I could not care less about. I can only assume the sequels will introduce story lines that are more directed and less trivial, but Vampire Academy left much to be desired, with only the very ending piquing my interest.

And I'm afraid I wasn't entirely taken with Rose's character. I found her a bit too obnoxious to be likeable. I do at least appreciate that she wasn't your typical clumsy and modest paranormal romance heroine though. And I have a feeling Rose will grow on me more and more as the books progress. And the romance: now THAT is the one thing in which I can totally understand the squeals and swoons of readers. It excites me to think about how that enticing chemistry between Rose and Dimitry is going to play out.

So overall, Vampire Academy ain't nothing special. But I had been warned by several people that that would be the case, so I wasn't disappointed. As I understand it, it is the sequels to Vampire Academy that really shine, so never fear: I will be reading them all! If nothing else, Vampire Academy was a somewhat entertaining read, despite its amateurish writing, poor execution, and trivial plot.


The trailer was released recently! What do you think?

Other Reviews:
Alison Can Read
The Perpetual Page-Turner
Vamps, Weres, and Cassay

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Waiting On Wednesday: Penguin Fall 2013 Catalog

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which upcoming, eagerly anticipated releases are highlighted on the blog.

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the Penguin Fall 2013 Catalog:

Atlantis Rising by T.A. Barron
Date: September 26, 2013

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In a magical land called Ellegandia, a young boy named Promi scrapes by, stealing pies, cakes and sweets to survive. But little does he know that his country is a pawn in an ages-old war between good and evil, battled both in the spirit realm and in the human world. Harboring secrets of his own, Promi teams up with a courageous girl named Atlanta and the two vow to save their land—and each other—no matter the cost. But their vow has greater repercussions than they ever could imagine—in fact, it may just bring about the creation of Atlantis, an island cut off from the rest of the world, where magic reigns supreme.

Atlantis Rising will undoubtedly draw comparisons to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as it is a Middle Grade book with mythology. It sounds like it's original enough to hold its own though!

Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron
Date: October 3, 2013

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Love can be a real monster.
Sixteen-year-old Boy’s never left home. When you’re the son of Frankenstein’s monster and the Bride, it’s tough to go out in public, unless you want to draw the attention of a torch-wielding mob. And since Boy and his family live in a secret enclave of monsters hidden under Times Square, it’s important they maintain a low profile.
Boy’s only interactions with the world are through the Internet, where he’s a hacker extraordinaire who can hide his hulking body and stitched-together face behind a layer of code. When conflict erupts at home, Boy runs away and embarks on a cross-country road trip with the granddaughters of Jekyll and Hyde, who introduce him to malls and diners, love and heartbreak. But no matter how far Boy runs, he can’t escape his demons—both literal and figurative—until he faces his family once more.

Man Made Boy sounds like a book that is not meant to be taken too seriously. I think it has the potential to be a hilarious and fun read! I'm so curious about this one - can't wait to read some early reviews!

This Wicked Game by Michelle Zink
Date: November 14, 2013

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Claire Kincaid’s family has been in business for over fifty years.
The voodoo business.
Part of the International Guild of High Priests and Priestesses, a secret society that have practiced voodoo for generations, the Kincaid’s run an underground supply house for authentic voodoo supplies. Claire plays along, filling orders for powders, oils and other bizarre ingredients in the family store, but she has a secret.
She doesn’t believe.
Struggling to reconcile her modern sensibilities with a completely unscientific craft based on suspicion, Claire can’t wait to escape New Orleans – and voodoo – when she goes to college, a desire that creates almost constant conflict in her secret affair with Xander Toussaint, son of the Guild’s powerful founding family.
But when a mysterious customer places an order for a deadly ingredient, Claire begins to realize that there’s more to voodoo – and the families that make up the Guild – than meets the eye.
Including her own.
As she bands together with the other firstborns of the Guild, she comes face to face with a deadly enemy – and the disbelief that may very well kill her.

Ooh, I think there is so much potential when it comes to voodoo! So hopefully This Wicked Game will utilize it to its full potential. It certainly sounds like it will, with the mentions of mysteries, Guilds, and deadly ingredients.

The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell
Date: November 19, 2013

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When a mysterious parcel arrives at her family’s new home, eleven-year-old Lin Rosenquist has a curious feeling she’s meant to discover what’s inside.
Much to Lin’s surprise, the ornate key contained in the parcel unlocks a spellbinding world called Sylver, hidden behind the cellar door. Sylver is an enchanting land of eternal winter, inhabited by animals that shared a special connection with children in the real world, either as beloved pets or tamed wild animals. In death, they are delivered to Sylver, where they take on a curiously human-like form and still watch over the children they cherish. While Lin is overjoyed to be reunited with her beloved pet, Rufus, she soon learns that the magic of the Petlings and Wilders is failing, and snow trolls want to claim Sylver for themselves. Lin must discover a way to stop them and save this enchanted world.

Oh my. The Twistrose Key sounds like it was made for me! I mean, an enchanted world in which our beloved pets live on after their death to watch over us? Aww, that premise is making me ALL KINDS of sentimental. How lovely. The concept also reminds me a bit of Narnia and The Golden Compass, so that's a plus in my eyes.


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Penguin Fall 2013 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Penguin Fall 2013 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?