Starflight by Melissa Landers Book Review

Starflight by Melissa Landers
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: February 2, 2016

Life is hard in the outer realms, but Solara Brooks believes it is her only chance at a normal life. Just out of the orphanage and with fresh felony tattoos on her knuckles, Solara indenture's herself to the selfish prick Doran Spaulding who spent years making her life miserable. When he discovers her tattoos and wants to abandon her on a space station in the middle of nowhere, Solara does the only thing she can think of, she knocks out his memory, kidnaps him, and boards the first vessel heading towards the outer realms. Once Doran regains his memory, he is understandably angry, but it turns out he has a lot more to worry about than a tattooed runaway. In Doran's absence it seems he has been framed for conspiracy and Solara may have actually saved his life. As the months pass on the run, Solara and Doran go from enemies to friends and then something more. But neither are prepared for life as fugitives in space.

As far as plot goes, this book was fairly interesting. Two characters on the run,joining up with a run-down spaceship full of interesting characters who are willing to help for the right price. A run in with pirates that turns into all kinds of a mess. And a conspiracy that runs deeper and darker than Doran could possibly imagine.

I also like the idea that felons are tattooed with their felonies on their knuckles, making it almost impossible to go unnoticed for any period of time. Solara's felony remains a bit of a mystery until about halfway through and once you discover what it is, it seems almost unfair that she must live with these marks. The outer realms it turns out are not the wild west that Solara had been imagining and she is forced to face the reality of what life would be like on a planet. Starvation, prostitution, and slavery all beings things that would probably await a girl like her, no matter how street smart she is.

Doran's life however relies on a lot more stereotypes and Landers doesn't bother to do as much world building for him because we all know what rich assholes are like, right? Of course, it turns out that when you take a rich asshole and put him in a spaceship with unusual characters and a spunky felon, one magically transforms into an awesome lover boy. I don't buy it. In the story, they explain this switch as Doran just being hurt that his mother abandoned him when he was younger and that is why he wasn't nice. But here's the thing, this is a guy who spent years making Solara's life miserable. Absolutely miserable and he showed not a single ounce of remorse until Solara told him some of her sob story. As if his actions were justified by her being less than. And even when they got older, he continued to treat her like crap. He was going to abandon this girl on a space station knowing she was penniless and would probably have to sell herself as a prostitute to get off, and he didn't care. He didn't care! All because he was upset that she wouldn't show him her tattoo convictions. As if he deserved that somehow. The later explanation was supposed to make up for that. It didn't. Sure, Doran changes in the book, but I found the whole character arc to be completely absurd. Not that I don't think bullies can't change, but I wasn't convinced by Doran's change and that's what matters here.

Solara's character arc was a bit more believable. As someone who has been bullied though, I can promise that one of the most unattractive things in the world, no matter how handsome the guy is, is a guy who is a jerk.

Stone in the Sky by Cecil Castellucci Book Review

Stone in the Sky by Cecil Castellucci 
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Release Date: February 24, 2015

In this sequel to Tin Star, readers are reacquainted with Tula Bane, still stuck on the space station Yertina Feray and desperate for revenge. She now runs a small cafe and bides her time, certain that her opportunity will come to destroy Brother Blue. Things quickly turn sour though when the nearby abandoned planet that they orbit is found to have high quantities of a precious resource. Soon the government is breathing down her neck, as is Brother Blue, and she finds herself on the run. She knows that Brother Blue is a liar, but exposing him could put every human at risk. Yet, not exposing him will place every human in space in grave peril.

It is difficult to review a sequel without giving too much away if you have not read the first. I will try though. Tula Bane is a great character. Strong, smart, and brave. She has learned how to be "street smart" and careful, but even so, there is only so much one can do and Tula does make some mistakes. I loved seeing her off the space station and out in this magnificent universe that Castellucci has created. The aliens are alien. The intrigue is dangerous. And the peril is real. This has to be one of my favorite YA sci-fi series. The romance, which most of my readers know usually drives me nuts, was believable and dare I say, good. Tula struggles with what it means to be a human and what it means to listen to your heart. You definitely need to read book one first, but readers won't regret delving back into this world with the second book. My only regret? That it took me so long to read it.


Warning: Book Trailer contains *SPOILERS* from Book 1

Ghost by Jason Reynolds Book Review

Ghost by Jason Reynolds
Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Release Date: August 30, 2016

Ghost is fast. After fleeing with his mother in the middle of the night from his dad and a loaded gun, Ghost never stopped running. But he isn't a runner. Ghost is basketball player, not that he has ever been on a team or even worked up the courage to join the guys at the local park. In his head though, he has convinced himself that if he ever did play, he would be really good. One day, when Ghost comes across a private track team on their first day of practice, he is fascinated. Why would anyone need to practice running? On a whim, he walks out of the stands and down on the track, ignoring the angry coach and the annoyed kids. He races one of the kids, wins, and suddenly finds himself on a track team. But he isn't a runner. Yet he is drawn to this world and to the coach. His mom agrees, if he can stay out of trouble, he can be on the track team. Staying out of trouble is not something Ghost is very good at though.  

Book one of a series, Ghost is one of the few sports focused books I have read that I really enjoyed. The story is mostly character-driven and somehow, even though I certainly can't relate to all of his experiences, there were aspects of him that I did understand. Like growing up poor. The temptation (one that he gives into) to steal something in order to fit in and have what someone else haves that you would never be able to afford. What I didn't relate to, I just found fascinating. I loved the running element not because of the sport aspect, but because it symbolized how Ghost had never stopped running after the night his father chased him and his mother out onto the street. Ghost has an interesting character flaw in that he has fairly high self-esteem, but in things that are unsubstantiated. He has never played basketball on a team, but is convinced that not only would he be good, but he would be better than the other players. I have met people like this. People who have never played an instrument, but are sure that if they just tried, they would be a really good guitarist. I knew a guy who would tell people he was really good with languages even though he only spoke English. He liked to study the etymology of words, but had never bothered to learn other languages because he said that wasn't as important as knowing the history of the languages themselves. It's an interesting mindset.

I want to also mention two of the secondary characters who, rumor has it, will have their own books moving forward. Lu is albino, a disability that is mentioned in passing and not one that Ghost knows anything about, but one that I rarely see in a book. I am hoping there is a book about him. Then there is  Patina. Patina is the one who explains albinism to Ghost after pointing out how Lu's parents are black and so is Lu, but because he has albinism he doesn't quite "match". Then she clarifies about her own parents right after, pointing out that her parents did not have reverse albinism. That she is in fact adopted and her parents are white. Later she tells the track team that she knows and visits with her biological mother who has a lot of health problems which is why Patina can't live with her. Older child adoption with a multi-ethnic family and a kid who knows her birth mom?! Is this real life?! I can't believe someone else is writing about this. I am very excited to see what Reynolds does with her character. 

I think this is fantastic beginning to a series and I am very excited for Jason Reynolds as this book was longlisted for the National Book Award. A quick read that is bound to appeal to a large audience. 

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black Book Review

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 13, 2015

Fairfold is a town that is used to faeries, having lived side by side with them for generations in relative harmony. Sure, the occasional tourist goes missing or winds up dead, but they obviously didn't know the fae rules. And if someone town goes missing? Well, obviously they did something wrong.

Hazel and her brother Ben have both been touched by the Fae. Ben was "blessed" by a fairy to love music, but this blessing quickly became a curse and now Ben avoids music at all costs. Ben's best friend Jack is a changeling who, when his mother found the changeling, not only demanded her real son back, but refused to give Jack back. "If his mother was willing to give him away, then I get to keep him." Hazel is a warrior, having spent many a day in the forest with Ben, before he quit playing music, hunting monsters and avenging the tourists who had been killed. That all changed when Hazel made a deal with the fae in exchange for her brother getting into a good music school. Things went bad though and so here they are, a cursed musician and a girl waiting for a fight.

Then strange things begin to happen. The sleeping boy in the woods, the boy with horns on his head that sleeps in a glass coffin, wakes up. No one knows who woke him, but the fairy King is angry. Then a creature, mad with grief, begins to attack the town. Townspeople want to blame Jack, but Hazel has quite a few secrets of her own and is beginning to put together the pieces of her magicked puzzle.

Sometimes it takes me awhile, but eventually I get to the books I want to read. When this book first came out I really wanted to buy it right away, sure that I would love it. I am glad I didn't. Although certainly this is the kind of book that I enjoy, there were a number of elements within that made me either cringe or want to stop reading. The only way I was able to power through was because I listened to it as an audio book. It wasn't that the writing itself was bad as I think Holly Black is a very good author, there were just a number of elements in this particular story that didn't do it for me.

The premise of the story, while compelling, had a lot of pacing problems. This was probably because, although it should have read like a plot-driven story, we were in the character's heads so much that it quickly became character-driven. This made the story maddeningly slow at times as we got to experience Ben falling in love with the horned-boy...you know, while a monster is threatening to destroy the entire town. Hazel turns out to be a rather well-trained fighter (although she can't remember), but more time is spent with her fretting over this fact than her actually fighting. Which is sad. Why introduce this element if we only get to see her fight twice?

Speaking of those romances between Ben & the Horned Boy and Hazel & Jack. I know I am not a fan of romance in my books, I admit this readily, but I can recognize when it is done well. This was not. There was very little chemistry between these characters. Hazel's relationship with her brother felt somewhat more authentic although a bit annoying.

Here is the truth of the matter though, the reason this character-driven story didn't work for me. I don't like Hazel. Hazel, the girl who kisses guys for some kind of high. Hazel who makes bad deals with fairies after being told not to her entire life. Hazel who has some serious communications issues with the people in her life. Hazel who continues to put herself and her friends in danger over and over. Hazel who, once discovering she is a trained knight of the fae at night, does nothing but winge about this fact. Hazel whose trust issues flip-flop back and forth depending on how hot the guy is. I could not relate to this girl or anyone else in the story for that matter. She was just another romantic lead, caught up in a story that was too big for her.

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell Book Review

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 2, 2016

All of Gwen's life, she and her mother have moved from place to place, never calling one place home. Her mother believes they are being hunted by monsters. Gwen just wants to be normal. Now these delusions have brought them to London and Gwen is going to have to start over again. Her only salvation is her best friend Olivia who has agreed to come with her for the summer and help her acclimate. Gwen is thankful, but also a bit sad because it means Olivia will eventually leave and is sure to discover how crazy her mom really is.

Then one night, after dousing the strange oil lamps in their new home, Olivia and Gwen are kidnapped by shadow creatures. Gwen realizes rather suddenly that her mother was never crazy. They are both taken far away, to a place of fairy tales and stories. Neverland. Here, good and evil lose their meaning just like memories, slipping between her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember who she is, she must also face the characters from stories who blur the lines of right and wrong.

Since 2008 when the copyright ran out for Peter Pan and it became public domain, authors have been trying to rework and rewrite the story of the boy who doesn't grow up. Most, in my opinion, have been mediocre attemps as the authors completely ignore the originally source material, trying to reboot the story as if the first didn't exist. So far Peter Pan has been a servant of the Deviltree who sacrifices children to it, a thief, a pirate caught up on a quest, a dark elf, a changeling, and murderer. Peter has, in essence, become the villain and Hook is now the romantic pirate that is secretly good. The television show, Once Upon a Time is thriving on this role reversal.

Although this book certainly attempts to rework the story complete with role reversals, what I loved about it was that it did not forget its source material. One of the main issues with Neverland in the original book is that Neverland makes you forget. Peter Pan has the memory of a gnat and the children forget about their parents for a long time. None of the Lost Boys even remembers their parents. Wendy, John, and Michael were gone so long that their parents hair had begun to turn gray. When Gwen arrives in Neverland she completely forgets about Olivia. Completely. It takes days before she even recalls her home and her friend and begins to worry. And Olivia? She remembers nothing, which tells us that there must be something special about Gwen.

Hook is, of course, the roguish pirate love interest and although it was not surprising, I liked him all the same. I liked that this twisted world had forced him to become hardened and cautious. He gives Gwen very little leeway in the beginning and as you learn more about this world, you see why. As I have always loved Peter Pan, I am a bit sad that he is often the villain now, but within this story it worked well.

Downside of the book was it's predictable nature and the strange chapter openers. Throughout the book were these one paragraph chapter openers that were meant to give us the backstory of one of the main characters and I found them to be confusing in the beginning and boring throughout. I wanted to like them, but felt like they did nothing to add to that character or the story that one paragraph towards the end would have accomplished.

On the whole though, I enjoyed a new twist o a classic story and am looking forward to a second installment.

The Sailweaver's Son by Jeff Minerd Book Review

The Sailweaver's Son by Jeff Minerd
Publisher: Silver Leaf Books
Release Date: September 1, 2016

Etherium is an air world, with mountain top cities and great seas of clouds transversed by great sail-driven airships. Fifteen-year-old Tak is the son of a prominent sailweaver, which grants him a good deal of freedom. Some in the royal court would say too much. Take likes to sail his small airship near the big naval ships, which often gets him into trouble with their captain. Until the day Take witnesses a giant gas bubble rise up from the depths and explode, taking a ship with it. In an act of bravery and folly, Tak rescues its captain. His actions are rewarded with suspicion though but Admiral Scud who seems hell bent on creating war with the Gublins, underground creatures that live far below the clouds within the mountains. And so Tak sets off on an adventure to discover Admiral Scud's true intentions, discovering new friends along the way and a level of bravery he didn't think he had in him.

There is a lot of work that goes into building a new world, particularly one that despite being fantasy in nature, is grounded in some science. Minerd handled this part of the story very well. Etherium is a fascinating planet, for lack of a better world. A place where the air is thick enough to allow ships to sail through the clouds, caught on the wind. The people who live above and beneath the clouds have evolved and adapted well to their environments. Long histories, wars, science, are all hinted at, but long exposition was rare. Appendices in the back of the book expand upon the world, but much of the information was scattered throughout the book and so the appendices felt more like a behind the scenes in a film.

As for the characters, Tak is a fun character who doesn't exactly change throughout the book, but rather discovers what kind of person he truly is. Is he really the kind of person who will board a burning airship to save a man? No one is watching. He could just leave. At the end of the book, I think that we know Tak so well that when he is confronted with a similar choice, we already know what he will do. I particularly liked that these characters felt so real as Tak has to address issues like PTSD and what it means to be privileged.

Luff, a young goat herder with a rather janky airship is the first of Tak's new friends, rescued from the tentacles of a jellyfish. I liked Luff although I wish there had been more to his character. He was a bit backward and fearful, not at all heroic like Tak, but I did expect more of him and was disappointed when he returned home 2/3 of the way through the book. On the other hand Brieze, the wizard's daughter, was a wonderful secondary character. In Etherium wizards are basically scientists and so Brieze has a bit more insight into the happenings of their world than either of the boys do. It makes her a great asset and a bit mysterious. I was sad to see her leave too, but for a completely different reason than Luff.

In the end, this was a solid science fiction book that dips its toes in the fantasy and steampunk genres. I look forward to reading book two.

Flashback Friday: Jumper by Steven Gould

Jumper (Book 1) by Steven Gould
Publisher: Starscape
Release Date: February 18, 2002 (originally published 1992)

The first time it happened was like this: Davy lives alone with his father. It isn't much of a home though as his father is verbally and physically abusive. One night, just as his father is about to beat him with the metal end of his belt, Davy finds himself suddenly in the local public library. Davy assumes that he blacked out or something, the ordeal too terrible to remember. But he soon figures out that he has inexplicably developed the ability to teleport himself. Leaving his abusive father behind, Davy moves to New York City. But life isn't easy for a battered runaway teen who is always looking over his shoulder. Davy finds himself doing some morally sketchy things to survive, but his biggest test will come when he finally confronts the mother who abandoned him to abuse.

One of the downsides of running a book blog that reviews mostly new books is that you find yourself only reading new stuff and never re-reading the books you love. Hence, my newly formed Flashback Friday, where I will review books that I have already read before and ruminate over why the book has stuck with me and why I love it so much.

Forget the movie. That horrible piece of shit that came out in 2008. The only similarities that that vile thing had to this book was the teleportation and an abusive father. Not that they lingered on the abusive father for long as Davy of the movie moves on like it is nothing.

What I love about the book is that, within this fantasy, there is so much true-to-life reality. Davy moves away, he meets a girl, he gets money, and yet he can't shake the effects of being abused and abandoned. He's a good kid who worries constantly that his dad will somehow find him and wants to know why his mother abandoned him. Then there is the whole terrorist angle. After a tragedy, Davy spends a good half of the book tracking down terrorists and jumping (his term for teleporting) NSA agents all over the globe. I understand, with our current global climate, why the filmmakers shied away from this aspect of the story, yet it was so incredibly important to the character growth of Davy. Despite some of his mistakes, we need to see that Davy is a good person. A really good person who cares deeply for people. The moment of confrontation between Davy and his father is amazing, but Davy has to earn that moment and grow up a bit for it to happen.

This is an action story with a deeply resonant heart and soul. The best part? There is more than one. Book two (Reflex) follows Davy and his girlfriend Millie after Davy is kidnapped and conditioned to obey. Book three (Impulse) follows Davy and Millie's daughter Cent as she navigates a world that is very dangerous for their family yet desperately needs the human interaction and Davy fears. Book four (Exo) continues with Cent as she too struggles with her place in the world as a teleporter always being hunted.

I have read this book several times and every single time I fall in love with Davy and his story. It makes me sad that the movie, being what it was, may turn readers off. Please don't be turned off. Find a used copy or download the audio book and discover a book that is one part action and two parts psychology with a bit of humor, a love story, and a bank robbery.

Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood Book Review

Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Release Date: December 8, 2015

Three royal houses, all on the brink of collapse must ally together for mutual survival. And so it is agreed that the heir to the House of Fane shall marry the son of the House of Westlet. Asa is the youngest of the three daughters of the House of Fane. When her eldest and closest sister is injured and in a coma, Asa never leaves her side, sure that with the right treatment Wren will wake. Her father has other plans though. If Wren is pulled from life support, Emmie, the middle daughter will then be the heir and can complete the blood bond between Fane and Westlet. Asa cannot allow that to happen. So she secretly drugs her sister and takes her place as Eagle's bride. However, Asa's actions, although possibly saving Wren from death, has ruined everything else.

This book was sent to me from a former classmate who, for some reason thought that this would be my type of book. She was right. Perhaps it was because of the vague Dune-like quality in the book with the various houses and their political allegiances. Maybe it was the fact that, for the first time in a long time, there is a character who actually goes into a marriage not kicking and screaming. Sure, the reasons are a bit unconventional, however Asa has very little worries about the marriage itself. This may be a bit of immaturity on her part, but I found it refreshing. Of course, there is a love story, but it progressed at a pace that felt realistic, rather than headlong Romeo & Juliet. Asa finds herself caring for Eagle little by little. The lie she tells about how they met becomes more and more tinged with words of love.

I also liked how the story centered around love, but not a romantic kind. A love between two sisters. After all, this is the reason she has done everything. Without giving too much away, Asa finds a deep love even for those that she had previously only felt vaguely connected to. A great sci-fi that I think would be accessible to those who aren't exactly sci-fi readers either. I am not sure what age level this is supposed to be, but I would place it in the young young adult category. Perfect for grades 5-8.

I also managed to "sell" this book to the woman who was drawing my blood at the doctor's office. She asked what I was reading, I told her about three sentences, and as I was getting ready to leave, she asked for the title to write it down. I just so happened to have the postcard that came with the book (thanks Polly!) and handed it over. Came back a week later and she said she had bought it.

The Big Dark by Rodman Philbrick Book Review

The Big Dark by Rodman Philbrick
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: January 5, 2016

A solar flare reverses the Earth's magnetic field, causing electrical outages across the entire planet. Charlie lives in a small rural town in New Hampshire. At first, when everything goes dark, they just assume the power would come back on soon. After all, it is the middle of the winter. But after several days, another snow storm, and too far away from any town to get news, they assume they are on their own. Things would have been fine too if it weren't for the survivalist anti-government gun toting conspiracy nuts that life in a compound outside of town. They make it clear that not only do they think the government is behind the outages, but that they should be running the town. When Charlie realizes that his mother is running out of diabetes medication though, it is soon clear that he is going to have to travel to the next big town to get her the medicine she needs. But the big towns are in even worse shape and no one knows if they are even going to survive the winter let alone what they are going to do about bullies with guns.

This book was so good. Realistic, evenly paced, adrenaline pumping, and thrilling. At first, even though it is the middle of the winter, I wasn't as concerned about the people in this town. They genuinely cared for one another and were used to occasional power outages, although usually they had backup generators. Even so, fireplaces were a thing and these people employed them. Enter the antagonists. These already described yahoos are intent on taking over this town and are not remotely afraid to hurt people in order to do so. The thread that keeps them from stepping over the line is thin and it doesn't take much for them to step over it. Charlie is a reactionary character, in a good way. He is selfless and does what he can to help those around him. Of course, the adult in his life are trying to shield him from adults worries, but Charlie will have none of it.

I don't know what would happen if the electricity suddenly shut off. I imagine some amount of chaos and yet it won't turn into a crazy dystopian world overnight. The biggest concerns would be food and medication. Probably not as big a deal if you live in the country and are used to fending for yourself, but a problem for city dwellers. Wintertime in New York City without power would leave many people starving. Part of me wished that there had been another story, one set somewhere entirely different to see how those people survived, like in the Pfeffer series. A place where they didn't have to worry about freezing to death and could ride bikes to other towns relatively quickly, but had to deal with too many people and not enough food. We would be okay in my home for a few days, but then what? This is what makes this book so good. It makes the reader think. And it may make you a bit concerned if you have some nut-cases living in a compound anywhere near you.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness Book Review

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker Books
Release Date: August 27, 2015

What if you aren't the one who is supposed to fight the zombies, or soul-eating ghosts, or the vampire apocalypse? What if you are just a regular kid trying to get through high-school?

This concept has always fascinated me. In historical novels kids are always precocious and different than everyone else around them, but what about the girl who wanted to get married at seventeen or the boy who didn't mind working on his father's farm. What about in super hero movies when things are being destroyed? What about the guy who was drinking his latte and now is suddenly running for his life? What about the ghost hunters sister who can't see ghosts but worries about her sibling all the time? This is why I found the premise of this story so intriguing. Why don't we see more books about the normal average Joe or Jane who is just trying to live life? Answer: Because their stories are boring.

There is clearly something supernatural happening in the context of this story. We are given glimpses of it at each chapter opening, but the main characters are so far removed from it, that it may as well be non-existent. Even when the supernatural crosses their path, these kids are more concerned about the prom then they are about their classmates. I mean, people at their school are being killed left and right and because they are the "indy kids" (aka the ones who fight monsters) it's like they don't care. After all, no one really bothers to get to know the indy kids so it's not like they have any emotional attachment to them. Which is a problem in itself because even if you don't know someone, the death of classmates should affect you. These kids have the emotional empathy of a turnip.

What makes it worse is that there is this strange idea that only kids really believe the supernatural is happening and that when people become adults, they just pretend like what they experienced didn't happen. So that vampire apocalypse? Drugs in the water. I just didn't buy it. I get that there is supposed to be this notion that adults forget what it is like to be a kid and that adults choose to ignore what is happening that doesn't male sense, but it wouldn't be everyone.

There were some interesting characters here too, like the kid who is part demi-god and whom cats worship wherever he goes. Such an interesting character. The main character's mom is running for political office which no one really cares about but her, to the detriment of their family. And this would have been okay if there weren't some crazy weird things happening at the same time in their town. So, although I understand what the author was trying to do, I understand why author's write stories about the kids who save the day. Because an entire book about the normal ones turned out to be rather boring.

The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Book Review

The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Publisher: Dial Books

Release Date: January 8, 2015

Born with a club foot and an abusive mother, ten-year-old Ada Smith has never left her London apartment. When German bombs threaten the city and her younger brother is evacuated, Ada seizes her chance and sneaks away with him. The pair is shipped to the English countryside with other evacuees and pawned off on Susan, a single woman who never had children and never wanted any.

Encountering a freedom she has never known before, Ada physically thrives in the country. She walks with the aid of crutches, teaches herself to ride a horse, learns to read and write, and hunts for German spies. While Ada’s well-honed survival instinct tries to keep her heart locked up tight, she slowly learns to trust Susan.

The emotional arc of this story is very satisfying. Each set-back that Ada experiences forces her to open up a little more. On a subconscious level she recognizes that Susan cares for her, but this thought terrifies Ada. Someday her mother will come to reclaim her. When that day arrives, Ada fears she will once again become the ugly, stupid, crippled girl so she cannot relinquish her emotional armor. Ada fights Susan’s love with a feisty flippancy that middle-grade readers will recognize. But even while Ada verbally holds Susan at arm’s length, she also brews Susan’s tea, knits Susan a Christmas scarf, and lets her shoulder lean against Susan’s arm as they sit side-by-side. This emotional evolution feels genuine and earned.

My one complaint with this book was its lack of historical detail in the setting. The story takes place in England in the middle of World War II. That time and place was not communicated with the rich detail that can transport a reader to the distant past.

The War that Saved my Life was a Newbery Honor winner for 2016 and it deserved such an accolade. This is a moving story about one girl’s personal war for survival in the midst of a national struggle. Readers will root for Ada Smith, a girl with determination, courage, and a great capacity for love.

Bio: Judy Dodge Cummings writes MG/YA fiction and nonfiction from her home in rural Wisconsin. A former history teacher, Judy has a MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Teens from Hamline University. Her latest book, Human Migration: Investigate the Global Journey of Mankind, will be released by Nomad Press in June 2016.

Website: judydodgecummings.com

Twitter: @JDodgeCummings

Like No Other by Una LaMarcher Book Review

Like No Other by Una LaMarcher
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: July 24, 2014

Devorah is the perfect good girl being brought up in an typically strict Hasidic family. Jaxon is book-smart African American nerd who has never been good at talking to girls. His four sisters don't count. They both live in Brooklyn, but they might as well be living in two different worlds. In Devorah's world, good Hasidic girls do not talk to non-Hasidic boys, or even Hasidic ones for that matter. Good Hasidic girls do not get stuck in elevators with boys. And they certainly don't start lying to their parents in order to see the boy from the elevator. Yet, Devorah finds herself doing all of this. Soon, she and Jax are sneaking around the city trying to see each other. It is a relationship that is doomed to be discovered. It is a relationship that could destroy everything Devorah knows.

Touted as a Romeo & Juliet story this book is the same only in the forbidden love department. No one is going to kill themselves and no one is going to kill Devorah or Jax. The love story takes place over week and months not days. Devorah loves Jax, but has no delusions that this is a forever kind of thing. Romeo & Juliet this book is not, and for that I was grateful.

Normally, this book isn't my kind of thing. Anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time knows that I take issue with romance books, particularly of the young adult variety. What drew me to this book was that the story centers around the Hasidic community, a community that I admit to having a bit of a fascination with. Now, not being Jewish in any way, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of everything in the story, but I did think the book did a good job of introducing elements of Hasidic life into the story without feeling heavy-handed or didactic. Devorah herself is at the age where she is beginning to question whether the things she has been taught all her life are what she wants for her life. Does she really want to be matched up with a boy at eighteen and have babies? What about college?  What if she ends up with someone like her brother-in-law? And are the people outside the community really all that bad?

I liked Devorah. She was relateable in a way that felt surprising, given that her life is so different from most of the people who would be reading this book. Jax, on the other hand, felt a bit flat to me. The problem with Jax is that he has nothing to lose in this story. He pushes Devorah to do things she can't or shouldn't, due to a desire to be with her, but nothing bad is going to happen to him if this does or doesn't work out. His parents don't care who he is dating as long as he keeps his grades up and goes to work. He won't lose his reputation by dating her. Nothing will happen if people in his community find out. Jax is just a foil to tell Devorah's story. And Devorah has everything to lose. Her family, her community, her freedom.

The antagonistic character in Devorah's brother-in-law, was a little too awful. He is shown as fiercely and angrily devout, in a way that made all the males in the story seem overly domineering and angry. Even Devorah's father and grandfather end up being portrayed this way and that bothered me as there was no effort made to try and show these people in a understanding way. If all men are like Jacob, then she really does need to worried about marrying someone like him, but they can't all be. This is painting the Hasidic community with an extremely broad brush in which the religion itself has no redeeming qualities.

**SPOILERS** In the end, everything felt a bit too tidy and unrealistic. Devorah manages to convince her family not to marry her off, to let her go to college, and breaks it off with Jax with some heartbreak but little else. One can see that Devorah is on her way out of this family and community and is just trying to hang in there another 2 years until she goes off to college. Jax, once his part in the love story is over, disappears. Nothing more than a fond memory. Here is what I wanted in the end: Devorah is kicked out of her community and goes to live with someone who used to be in the community and helps her get into a regular public school and prepare for college. She misses her family and sees them occasionally, but these visits are rare and her grandfather never comes. As much as she misses it though, she knows she is making the right decision because she really doesn't want to just get married and have babies. OR Devorah refuses all her male suitors...for two years straight. She doesn't see Jax or communicate with him, but leaves for college in the city. On her first day at the school, after her parents leave the dorm, she finds a new pair of red sneakers and a note telling her to meet him at the park. He waited.

I know that is terribly romantic, but if you are going to make me suffer through a teenage romance, let's at least go totally realistic or not at all. The in-between thing where Devorah is left on the fence about her life as Hasidic with no clear direction just felt like such a waste of such a great character.

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman Book Review

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: April 1, 2015

Caden Bosch is on a pirate ship headed for the deepest point on Earth. He is also a brilliant high school student with friends who are starting to notice his odd behaviors.

Oscillating between present and past, Challenger Deep tells the story of one young man and his descent into madness. At first, the story felt disjointed, wrong. The pirate ship wasn't quite right, the parrot on the captain's shoulder a little too knowledgeable, the people on the ship a little more odd than one would expect, even on a pirate ship. As we go back to the past though, it soon becomes clear that what Caden is experiencing is some sort of psychotic break. It begins with the walking. Caden walks and walks, absorbed by the many thoughts in his head. Paranoid thoughts in which he thinks that a boy at his school wants to kill him, but of course he doesn't...that can't be right. Can it? His family and friends have no idea what to do and brush it off at first, but soon Caden can't hide his manic state of mind. Soon Caden finds himself in a mental hospital and as he sinks further away from the real world, the pirate ship becomes so so real.

This was not my favorite book, but it had nothing to do with the storytelling. It was because of how uncomfortable the story made me. Having known some people with various mental illnesses, I knew that no matter how this story ended, this kid will never fully escape the effects of his illness. I also knew that although the pirate ship was all in his head, to him it was very real and that too made me sad. I didn't like the book because it was a hard and harsh reality that I know is important, but was so heavy. I equate it to watching the movie Pan's Labyrinth. The movie is exceptionally well-done, but so dark that I have never been able to watch it more than once, even though I own it. If I find someone who hasn't seen it, I tell them that they must, but warn them that the story is dark and there isn't really a happy ending. And so I say the same to you. This is a wonderfully made book, but it is dark and it doesn't really have a happy ending.

Icebreaker by Lian Tanner Book Review

Icebreaker by Lian Tanner
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: August 18, 2015

When people rose up to destroy the machines, scientists thought that eventually the anti-machine fervor would die down. So they made a ship with a secret machine aboard that would be able to help humanity once the tumult was over. Except they were wrong. The anti-machinests took over and the ship, called the Oyster, has been floating the southern seas for three centuries now. In that time the people have forgotten their original mission. The machine has turned into a legend that most don't believe anymore. The people have split into warring factions. Petrel is the only person not in a tribe as her parents did something terrible and were thrown overboard. She is a survivor on a ship that at best ignores her and at worst, would readily throw her overboard too. Perhaps her loneliness explains why she alerts the ship when she sees a strange boy out on the ice. Mister Smoke and Missus Slink, two large grey rats tell her it was a terrible idea and unknown to Petrel, they were right. The boy, who Petrel names Fin, has been sent on a mission to destroy the soul killing machines and he will stop at nothing to achieve his mission.

What I liked about this book are almost entirely wrapped up in the characters. We explore identity and belonging in the character of Petrel. What does it mean to be a friend? Who can you trust? It's also about belonging and despite many years of neglect, Petrel is still capable of connecting with others. Fin is dealing with massive amounts of cult-like indoctrination that have nearly destroyed any sense of self. Even the warring factions are a fascinating study on how humans can allow hatred to circumnavigate logic and reason.

Meanwhile, the internal logic of this world is completely nuts. These people eat bread and yet have no way to grow grain and as far I can tell, haven't made landfall in three hundred years. If they had no mysterious grain then these people's diet subsists of just fish. These people would also have one serious issue with scurvy. Beyond that, have hundreds of people living on a large ship and yet there are unexplored regions that no one, not even the little kids are aware of. As a child who was always curious I find it unlikely that this many people for this long have never found or don't use large swathes of the ship. I also find it interesting that not a single person took pity on Petrel after her parent's expulsion. It's like this ship is full of a bunch of assholes. Sure, there is a nice one or two, but even then, these people never did anything to help this tiny kid when she was abandoned. As for the anti-machinists. I'm just not buying it. There is no way that the entire world would fall for this. There would be places like North Korea that would be totalitarian about it and other places that would be the very opposite. Like the world in Raider's Ransom where some people are anti-science and the ones who aren't stick to themselves. I find it unbelievable that everyone on the planet becomes anti-machine.

For me, what this book has in character development is sorely lacking in world building. There were just too many unanswered questions and in the end, I found that I didn't care. Part of a trilogy, I am skeptical about future books in the series, but am hopeful that the author will answer some of the questions listed above.

Donny's Inferno by P.W. Catanese Book Review

Donny's Inferno by P.W. Catanese
Publisher: Aladdin Books
Release Date: March 8, 2016

When Donny Taylor finds out that his dad might be a murderer, he runs away to an abandoned building to think. Of course, as these things go, it would be that night that the place would decide to go up in flames. Certain death is on the horizon, which is why Donny agrees to work for a mysterious girl who appears in the burning building promising to save him. What he quickly learns is that the girl is Angela Obscura, an ancient demon from the Underworld who needs the help of a mortal. Hades isn't what it used to be though. Lucifer has been gone for over a century. Gone are the pitchforks, fiery pits, and dismemberment. And not everyone likes it that way. Some of the other residents of the underworld believe that things were good the way they were and will stop at nothing to return hell to its previous terrifying incarnation.

When it comes to books about the underworld, most of them seem to focus on the Greco Roman versions of the fiery pit, which is why this Dante-esque underworld felt so refreshing. It wasn't a true Dante hell since it lacked most of the various references like a river of boiling blood and fire or a burning desert. Yet, it was different enough to set it apart from Percy Jackson and its ilk.

Donny is an interesting character in himself as he doesn't appear to miss his father that much throughout the book, although it is a bit understandable considering that he discovers at the very beginning of the book that his dad is not a good guy. He really is a normal kid though as he does make mistakes and, as you would expect, does have a hard time with the whole hell thing. Catanese manages to make some of the characters in Hades light enough to offset some of the creepier characters, the serial killing butcher being the main one. The set-up and politics of the story are probably the most interesting thing though. Angela is the one who made Hades the way it is now, where the dead are tormented, but in a way that eventually could lead to redemption. This is especially important as the story progresses and is the very thing that the antagonists hate. But the reason why they hate it is the most interesting. It isn't because they necessarily like torturing souls, it's that they fear what Lucifer will think should he return. Their fear is part of their faith, an interesting element to a story that could easily gone a different way.

A fun action adventure story that, despite some light moments, isn't afraid to take its characters to hell and back.

My Life With the Liars by Caela Carter Book Review

My Life With the Liars by Caela Carter
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: March 8, 2016

Zylynn has lived in The Light her whole life. Behind the white-washed walls of the compound, life is simple and everything makes sense. Follow the rules, live in the light. Which is why she is so confused when she is roughly shoved outside the walls, ten days before her thirteenth birthday, ten days before she will become a woman of the Light, and driven into Darkness. She knows the truth about the outside though. Outside is The Darkness. The people who live in The Darkness are liars. If she doesn't return to the Light by the time she turns thirteen, she will be cast into eternal pain and torture in The Darkness. Yet, the longer she is in the darkness, the more confused she becomes. There is a man who claims to be her father. He seems to genuinely care about her too. And there are wonderful things like shampoo, colors, and strawberries.

This was one of the best books I have read in a very long time. The first-person perspective is on-point as this is a character has a lot of internal struggles and very little actual dialogue. After all, to speak aloud is to put words out into The Darkness and that is something Zylynn has no intention of doing. It is almost imperative to the story that we, the reader, travel with her as the veil of mystery is lifted on this life she has been taught so little about and the world she lived before. And what a dark world it is. Malnourishment, starvation, drugs, families separated, physical abuse, and some implied sexual abuses too.

Dramatic irony is used to the empth degree as we the reader know so much more than Zylynn. Of course, we know that food is readily available, but Zylynn does not and so she hordes food in her bedroom, fearing it may disappear. Fearing that there may be hungry days soon. Her new family, a word she doesn't know or understand, is trying desperately to help her, but they know so little about what she is thinking. Zylynn doesn't make it easy. There were some amazingly powerful moments throughout the book where readers are given a glimpse into the heads of the adults, not in a narrative shift, but by employing strong emotional moments to something that Zylynn doesn't understand. There is a scene when Zylynn is taken to the doctor's office, malnourished and small, and her Uncle, (a word she doesn't even understand) begins to cry. It is this truly heartbreaking moment as you the reader understand the heaviness of the situation. This man never thought he would even see his niece again and he is appalled at how small she is for her age, how obviously maltreated she is. There are so many of those moments throughout the book. As a fuller picture is revealed about Zylynn's treatment inside the compound, you find yourself rooting for everyone to escape and knowing, even before you reach the end, that they won't.

Although the end is predictable, it doesn't lessen the emotional journey that readers are taken on as Zylynn must learn the truth about the light and the dark. I know it may be early and it hasn't even been released yet, but I hope this book gets a lot of attention and maybe an award or two, because it deserves it.

Clariel by Garth Nix Book Review

Clariel by Garth Nix
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: October 14, 2014

The only thing that Clariel wants to do with her life is become a hunter for the Border guards, which is why she is so abysmally unhappy when her parents move her to the capital. She feels trapped in this world of cliques and Guilds and politics. The streets and alleys feel claustrophobic. Plots and plans are constantly being made and Clariel is shocked to find out that some involve her. When a Charter Mage promises to help her the leave the capital in exchange for capturing a Free Magic creature, Clariel reluctantly agrees. Free Magic is a terrible thing though and for someone like Clariel, it is easily corruptable.

For those not familiar with the original Abhorsen trilogy, this is a world in which necromancers can be both good and bad. The good ones, called Abhorsen's, use bells to put the dead and monsters back to sleep. They use a magic called Charter magic which binds Free Magic into things that are useful and won't corrupt the soul. Free Magic is bad, and the creatures that can come from it are all kinds of terrible. In the original trilogy the kingdom has fallen apart and a girl named Sabriel is having to learn about being Abhorsen and another girl Lirael, learns how to be a Clayr, which is someone who uses Charter magic to see the past and the future.

In this prequel to the Abhorsen trilogy, I was excited to finally see the Old Kingdom up and running, functioning in a way that it didn't in the trilogy. Sadly, I didn't get this. Although things are technically functioning there is a King who refuses to rule, Guilds run everything, the rich refuse to use Charter magic, and the Abhorsens are more concerned with hunting than magic. Free magic creatures are still running amok.

For me, this book was most difficult to read because I truly disliked the main character of Clariel. Clariel is single-minded to the point of stupidity. Her desire to work in the Borderlands has pushed everything out. She has not learned how to use magic beyond what she needs to know for hunting. History, politics, manners, decorum, and everything else is completely disregarded. This meant that as she traveled throughout this world, we as readers only knew as much as she did, which it turns out, was nothing. Since she never actually cared to learn either, we as a reader, weren't given much more than glimpses into the various elements that were controlling Clariel's life. And she is so utterly clueless that is no surprise that when she is confronted with Free Magic, she not only doesn't know how to handle it, but succumbs to its allure. Even worse than all of this is how utterly emotionless this character. Perhaps she is supposed to be hard, but considering the kind of life she has led, it seems strange and unlikely. She has the emotional range of a wet dishrag.

I found the best part of the book to be when Clariel goes to the Abhorsen house, because I was at least familiar with this part of the story and understand what this place was and what it was like.

This prequel just didn't work for me and frankly, I really wish the story had been from the viewpoint of  Bel. Bel is a young man who lives in the castle as a self-appointed Abhorsen-in-training. He understands the politics, knows his way around the castle, has had heated moments with the actual Abhorsen, studies magic, and is so much of the book that you could have written the entire book from his viewpoint, with Clariel in it, and have had a much better story. There was a moment with Bel towards the end, the best moment of the book in my opinion, that gave me chills. There was nothing like that with Clariel. If only that book existed.

MARTians by Blythe Woolston Book Review

MARTians by Blythe Woolston
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Release Date: October 13, 2015

Zoë Zindleman, has just graduated. Early. She is lucky though, because she has two businesses that are interested in hiring her, both retail giants. She chooses AllMART. Her mother is gone, leaving Zoë behind in their empty abandoned neighborhood, which Zoë must too when she has no way to get to work. So Zoë moves into an abandoned strip mall with other kids who don't want to be complete slaves to AllMART. What happens when someone doesn't obey AllMART though? What happens when you don't toe the company line?

This is Idiocracy without the humor. Feed without the deep morality. I know that the author is writing of the dangers of a completely capitalistic society, but there was so much missing in this book. I had so many questions that went unanswered. Why are they graduating all the students early? Are schools becoming redundant? What about all the little kids? Why is Zoë so psychologically distanced from everyone and everything? I know she has a mood stabilizer that that doesn't really explain why she shows little concern for her mom, AnnaMom. Or why her mom just up and leaves for little reason and will never see her daughter again. Do they not have cell phones or communication in this world? Will her mother not ever be allowed to contact her daughter again? Why?

And where are all the people? This is a world in which there are giant Wal-Mart like shopping centers that basically run everything and yet everything in this place felt empty. Empty houses. Empty buses. There is never any mention of traffic and rarely even a mention of customers. Anyone who has ever worked retail knows how infuriating customers can be and yet Zoë rarely comes into contact with one. Who are all the people buying stuff at AllMART if everyone works for AllMART? Are they employees or are there actually other businesses out there that employ people? Who does AnnaMom work for? Why are so many businesses closed down? Abandoned strip mall, kids sleeping in cars, abandoned babies. Where are the parents?  Where are all the damned people? Why are they moving away from the suburbs? Where do they live now? If they are all working for AllMART and its competitor, where are they? 

I get not wanting to explain everything out in detail, but everything in this dystopian world just felt so empty. Empty of logic, empty of meaning, and empty of any kind of hope that these characters will ever get to be more than cogs in a machine.

Off To Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer Book Review

Off To Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer 
Publisher: 47North
Release Date: March 18, 2014

Martin is a normal guy with a normal job doing normal computer hacker things, until the day that he discovers The File. This seemingly ordinary file allows him to manipulate reality, revealing that the entire world as we know it is just a computer program. Martin starts small, floating in the air, teleportation, adding a few digits to his bank account, but it turns out the government frowns on money appearing out of nowhere. So Martin travels back in time to the Middle Ages hoping to pose as a wizard. What he finds are a handful of other computer nerds who also discovered the program and are living quite happily in medieval England playing at being wizards. It turns out though, that even when reality is just a computer program, things can get very real.

This is one of those books that I would consider a crossover. Although Martin is certainly a grown-up with a job and his own apartment, it still feels very much like a young adult book. Martin even ends up at his parents house at one point, which are some exceptionally funny moments by the way. In truth, that is what is awesome about this book, the humor. This book knows the genre it is in and the kinds of people who may read it. It makes fun of itself and the genre in a way that felt fresh and interesting. There are so many great geek moments and some fun ideas concerning their "wizard" powers. Martin is definitely not a smooth kind of guy in modern America or medieval England, which just makes him more charming in my opinion. There are some wonderful secondary characters as well, my favorite being Martin's mentor Phillip who has an borderline obsessive loathing for Jimmy who also calls him Merlin.

One of the interesting aspects of creating a world in which reality is just a computer program though is that it takes away the immediacy. Even when there are fatalities, it felt more like video game deaths rather than something extremely serious. To be clear, there are some very real consequences to misbehaving as a wizard, but they almost seem petty and childish. Maybe not to the characters who receive the punishment, but I was never really worried about anyone losing their life or anything since the main punishment seemed so petty.

Perhaps that was the point though, as this book is pretty lighthearted throughout. Something heavy like murdering the antagonist would have been out of character for these guys anyway. An enjoyable lighthearted romp that is perfect for those who love computers, fantasy, wizards, or computer hackers pretending to be wizards.

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray Book Review

Lair of Dreams (The Diviners #2) by Libba Bray
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 25, 2015

The cat is out of the bag. The world knows all about Evie O'Neill and the other diviners like her. In 1920s New York City diviners are considered the cat's meow, making Evie an instant celebrity. Evie isn't exactly being the best of friends with anyone though. Haunted by her experiences with a serial-killer ghost, Evie is self-medicating with alcohol and celebrity.

Meanwhile, something supernatural is happening within people's dreams. The sleeping sickness is sweeping through Chinatown and beyond, the people falling into dreams and being consumed from the inside out. Within they are experiencing the best fantasy they have ever had, but if they should resist, it quickly turns into their worst nightmare. Dreamwalker Henry DuBois and Ling Chan find themselves in the dream world often, but have no idea that they are getting dangerously close to the source of the sleeping sickness. As Henry searches for his lost love and Ling becomes friends with another dreamwalker, their friends are trying to protect them from themselves. But they too are struggling with diviner powers. Theta is having trouble controlling her ability to set things on fire. Memphis, who is also in love with Theta, can heal again. Sam accidentally reveals his powers to manipulate people. Jericho is a walking, breathing miracle thanks to a secret elixir.

I love these books. Terribly creepy with complex characters that left me wanting more while giving me enough closure to feel complete. Evie is wholly unlikable in a way that was believable. Basically, this girl has some PTSD issues and is just a little too selfish to not self-destruct. The sweetest storyline was in Henry DuBois who is searching for his lover, George, within dreams since he has been unsuccessful in the awake world. It is heartbreaking the levels that Henry will go to to find the one he loves, no matter the cost. I could go on and on about each character and the things they are each struggling with, but should leave it with a simple note that every reader will probably have their favorites and unlike the first book, there is no clear main character this time.

Also, the amount of diversity and attention to each diverse character's story should be noted. Henry is a gay man in 1920-something and issue that was dealt with by his father exactly how you would imagine. Theta is a runaway wife who is in falling in love with a black man. There is a point in the story where they are walking together planning a date and when some people walk by, Memphis falls back behind her, knowing how people might react. Ling is a half-Chinese half-Irish girl whose legs have been weakened by Polio. She wears braces and uses crutches and has to deal with the growing anti-Chinese sentiment in the city. The complexity of it made the characters feel so well-rounded and real, rather than the caricatures they could easily have become.

A fantastic ghost story where you will never think of the song "Beautiful Dreamer" in the same way again.