Q, R, S, T: Quasing, Roen, Sonya, and Tao

Spies and aliens: a match made in heaven.

Go read The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu (Couple's Review)

It's my first couple's review with my husband after we used THE LIVES OF TAO for our date book over the course of the past month. A chapter or two each date night kept us laughing and intrigued. But last night we couldn't put it down after our usual few chapters. There was too much at stake! We read for a couple hours and both very much loved the ending.

Quasing from Quasar

The Quasing are an alien life force that relies on a host for survival. They feed off enzymes in carbon-based life forms and also get protection from wind, cold, and heat within our relatively harder casings. Without a host, their thin membranes can be shattered by a strong gust of wind, scattered to the Eternal Seas. What's intriguing about these aliens? They've been here on Earth since before mankind, and have been instrumental in mankind's evolution. Once mankind reached an evolutionary stage where they could be equal partners, the Quasing split into two political factions: The Genjix and The Prophus. The Prophus tend to consider humans as partners worth protecting. The Genjix consider humans a means to an end. They are supremacists at the core. Author Wesley Chu did a thorough job creating this alien race. Hardcore sci-fi fans will find plenty to love in The Lives of Tao.



Roen Tan

One reviewer compared our protagonist Roen Tan to Brendan Fraser, such is the quirky lovable nature of his character. Much of the humor in the first half of the book is drawn from alien Tao's attempts at getting couch-potato Roen out on a running trail, or out of an attempted assassination alive. With all his faults, Roen is lovable because he is humble, compassionate, and loyal to friends. Also, the man can't lie to save his life... literally. Not exactly the type of person you'd cast in the role of international man of mystery. And yet it works so well in The Lives of Tao.



Sonya Lyte

Sonya shows up at Roen's door to train him in hand-to-hand combat and fire arms. Well matched to his goofy sense of humor, she also knows when to get deadly serious. Unlike Roen, she is not an accidental host, but the daughter of her quasing's former host. She was raised for this, and it's intensely personal for her. Like Roen comments at one point in the book, she would never be a Bond girl, but she'd be the one kicking James Bond's butt.



Tao

Formerly known as Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, and the creator of Tai Chi, Tao has been influencing human politics since before human politics existed. He has millennia-old enemies who hold millennia-old grudges, and his chubby, uninitiated host Roen Tan gets to deal with all of it. Tao has a few things in common with Roen. He's fiercely loyal to his hosts and his friends, even to a fault. He's compassionate, too, seeing his host as an equal partner and allowing Roen to choose whether or not he takes a wise, ancient alien's advice. Their relationship is mostly humorous at first, but deeply bound by shared loyalties and mutual appreciation in the end.

(Letters and concept of A to Z April challenge here)

READ AN EXCERPT at TOR.com 

Buy on Amazon: The Lives of Tao

PAS DE DEATH by Amanda Brice: 4 stars

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Amanda Brice's latest Dani Spevak mystery was released recently, and it is adorable!

That might seem like a strange way to describe a murder mystery, but you'll understand it in a minute. PAS DE DEATH is part of a series, but it works as a standalone because all previous relevant events are referenced in a way that keeps the reader in the loop. It is YA (young adult) and done in the first person humorous/light style a la Ally Carter (Gallagher Girls). In fact, there's even a funny part in the book when Dani says it's not like she's a Gallagher Girl. Yay for bookish pop culture references! Pop culture references abound in this book, from "binders full of women" to actresses I've never heard of and wondered if they were made up. The love interest (an 18-year-old ex-boyfriend for our 15-year-old protagonist) is basically Robert Pattinson but more charming. He's even an actor playing a certain broody vampire in the Midnight movies based on books by... Bethany Beyer. Yeah.

So that's the kind of cuteness you're buying when you buy PAS DE DEATH. Since I am a huge Ally Carter fan, I also appreciated the light, humorous tone of Amanda Brice. I'd definitely read the others in her series, and not just because there's a ballerina inside me dying to get out (although yes, that is part of it). Girls who liked I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU, will also enjoy PAS DE DEATH.

A little explanation of the title from the blurb:

pas de deux: (NOUN: pl. pas de deux)

1. A dance for two, especially a dance in ballet consisting of an entrée and adagio, a variation for each dancer, and a coda.

2. A close relationship between two people or things, as during an activity.

pas de death (NOUN: yeah ... totally made up)

1. A dance of death.

2. When Dani Spevak stumbles over a dead body and gets into another crazy situation.

Aspiring ballerina Dani Spevak is back home for the summer, recovering from an injury. What was supposed to be a simple day trip into New York City to visit her friends at the Manhattan Ballet Conservatory turns deadly when Dani discovers that the world of professional ballet can be cutthroat — literally.

I really love the title. And the blurb. Clearly, this is a clever author.

Now to the stars... I would put this somewhere between three and four stars (probably round up to 4), which is why this isn't featured on Afterglow. While I enjoyed it and would read more from the author, I felt it got a little too thin at parts, especially the ending, which happened way too fast. I'd have liked a little more showing vs. telling in that part, especially the parting scene between the boy and girl.

I loved the characters, particularly the eccentric grandmother. Dani was fun to spend time with, and I think she acted the way you expect a fifteen-year-old to act, even though she is angry with herself for being TSTL (too stupid to live) at times, wandering into situations she could have avoided with a little forethought. I think that's just life at that age. You sort of know better, but you have to test the limits anyway. You have to fight for your independence even if it puts you in danger. So the characters felt real, Robert Pattinson look-a-like notwithstanding. :)

The mystery was pretty good. I had it figured out way before Dani, but that could be because I'm twice her age. *shrugs* I think teenagers who like light, humorous books would eat this one up. I mean, come on! It's got ballerinas!

Bottom line: It's a great introduction to the mystery genre for younger readers (Read: clean, not overly gory or sexual).

My next NetGalley read is ROTTEN by Michael Northrop, re-releasing in April 2013 from Scholastic.

goodreads

Links, In Case You Missed It Edition 3-18-13

Recent happenings in my online sphere:

My review for STUNG by Bethany Wiggins is up on Afterglow Book Reviews this morning!

Amazon bestseller lists: AMAROK wins three spots!

March Mystery Agent reveal!

Pens for Paws: Operation Awesome's item went for $170! Thanks to all who bid at this charity auction benefiting Fat Kitty City in California.

PITY ISN'T AN OPTION by Jessica Brooks has a new cover and the cover designer, Icey Books, is holding a giveaway for 9 more days! Go enter!

Books I'm reading right now:

SPELLBINDING by Maya Gold: I'm enjoying the delicious magic in this one.
THE LIVES OF TAO by Wesley Chu: well-paced and deep at the same time, not to mention very funny. I'm a quarter of the way through this one, reading slowly because I'm reading it with my husband who works all day. If I were reading it alone, I'd be done already, no doubt, because it's so intriguing and action-packed! But I'm being patient because I LOVE sharing a story with my hubz. We courted over the Harry Potter books. (Goodreads Giveaway going on now!!)
GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell: I'd really like to be done with this one already, but I'm only at 45%. It's for book club this Friday. Anybody think I can make it in time? (Hint: it's got over 1000 pages.)

My writing update:

Review: STRING BRIDGE by Jessica Bell

String Bridge: Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage--and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits 

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This is one of the deepest books I've read in a long time. Most of my usual reading list consists of middle-grade and young adult fantasy and whimsy with a touch of the dark. It can be pretty deep in a symbolic way. But not like this book.

This book made me feel.

Perhaps because I'm a mother trying to live out her dream (writing for me, not music), I especially related to Melody's plight. But I think there are many ways in which Melody represents all of us struggling with finding fulfillment, purpose, and ultimately love and belonging.

I really loved this bit:

"I sit in silence sipping my wine, looking into the brownish sky, imagining the stars I'd see if I were sitting on my parents' verandah on the island. Somewhere up there is us, a happy us, in some parallel universe, living the way we're supposed to be. I truly believe that the earth is our practice ground - the place where we are to test things out, to make mistakes, to discover what we believe in, what we are passionate about. Death is when we move on and go up there - to the real world; to start again, to rectify our mistakes and live a happy and fulfilling existence. There is no hell. Earth is hell. This is where we are allowed to sin. Up there, is where we no longer want to."

The descriptions are beautiful and symbolic, very well crafted. Jessica Bell makes Greece come alive.

I really love the way Melody questions everything and doesn't let herself hold onto comforting yet dysfunction-enabling conceptions of her own life. She analyzes it, admits her own faults, and keeps trying to be the person she wants to be.

When tragedy strikes, as the blurb hints, Melody is so human. I cried nonstop. And yet, there's life and joy again after tragedy.

On a personal note, I appreciated the author's sensitivity to the very difficult decisions a mother has to make to balance work, family, romance, and dreams. The subject was never treated rashly. Like I said before, this is a deep book, one I think many adults will swallow whole and feel full. I know I did.

Watch the book trailer. This song is in the book, along with a bunch of other great songs that read like heart-wrenching poetry.




Ready to read the book?

To purchase the paperback:

Amazon USA

To purchase the eBook:

Amazon USA

Amazon UK

To listen to samples of the soundtrack, visit iTunes.


You can also...

Connect with Jessica:

String Bridge: http://www.stringbridge.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jessica_bell

Website: http://www.jessicacbell.com/

Blog: http://thealliterativeallomorph.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/author.jessica.bell

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MsBessieBell

Publisher: http://www.luckypress.com

Twitter Length Review of Across the Universe

Twitter #review: Across the Universe: Phenomenal, traumatic, philosophical, claustrophobic, hopeful. Unexpectedly strong. #ATU@bethrevis

Breakdown:

1) Phenomenal: Every single chapter ending is EPIC. The blurb says this book is unputdownable and this is why. Beth Revis is a master at chapter transitions. You get to the end of each and you go, "Ooh, must read more!" This keeps a high level of tension that won this book my label of phenomenal.

2) Traumatic: This review is spoiler free, but suffice it to say there is one scene in particular that left me as a woman feeling on edge, and it took several chapters for me to relax from it. This isn't a bad thing. Beth's storytelling was appropriately sensitive to the subject matter, yet naked enough to allow me to feel the character's trauma.

3) Philosophical: THEMES! I love themes in YA lit. You may or may not have seen my post about MOCKINGJAY as Political Statement. It's not that Suzanne Collins preached about her politics, but more that there were clear themes about personal and governmental duty, and what happens when a dictator takes control and the people let him for the sake of their own entertainment. Across the Universe had the same level of philosophy, in my mind, but it wasn't so much political as it was ethical. Elder has to battle with himself over what kind of leader he wants to be for his people, and what kind of leader he is capable of being. One of the themes seems to be the capacity in each of us for good or evil, and the importance of personal choice.

4) Claustrophobic: This word was found in more than one of the cover review blurbs, so I was eager to see how Beth pulled this off. Beautifully. The setting was as much a character in this story as any of the leads, and we are never allowed to forget those metal walls that curve up into a nonexistent sky. Well done, Beth!

5) Hopeful: I find this is a must for me in any novel I read, and I wasn't disappointed with Across the Universe on this element. Hope is found in the stars beyond the ship, and in the arms of the people within.

6) Unexpectedly Strong: Of course I had high expectations for this book. That cover! All those blurbs and the buzz! Holy crap, the buzz! So why did I use the qualifier unexpectedly? Because of the pink and the glitter. I know, I know, don't judge a book by its cover, but you have to understand that I read PARANORMALCY last year, so I expected this pink and black book to be awesome but light like that pink and black book. Silly, huh? I neglected to take into account that Revis' universe is a dystopia. There's nothing light about this book, but there is plenty of awesome to go around.

Happy reading!

What's got your bookmark today?

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray: My Review

A Great and Terrible Beauty (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy)

Blurb on goodreads.com: 

A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel. 

Sixteen-year-old Gemma has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy.

Warning: This will not be a fair review. 

Why? Because I fell in love with Libba Bray's writing before I bought her book, so I knew already it was going to be a guilty pleasure.

I happened upon Libba Bray while I was surveying quotes on goodreads.com.

Quotes like:

"But aren't many gardens beautiful because they are imperfect? ...Aren't the strange, new flowers that arise by mistake or misadventure as pleasing as the well-tended and planned?" 
— Libba Bray (The Sweet Far Thing)

and

"I do not want to pass the time. I want to grab hold of it and leave my mark upon the world." 
— Libba Bray (The Sweet Far Thing)

and

"There is a time in every life when paths are chosen, character is forged. I could have chosen a different path. But I didn’t. I failed myself." 

— Libba Bray (The Sweet Far Thing) 

 and my favorite,

"What Hamlet suffers from is a lack of zombies. Let us say Rosencrantz and Guildenstern show up—Ho-HO! Now you’ve got something that stirs the, um, something that stirs things that are stirrable. BOOM! A pack of ravenous flesh-eaters breaks open their heads and sucks out their eyeballs. No need for iambic pentameter because they are grunting, groaning annihilators of humanity with no time for meter. You’re not asleep in the back of English class anymore, are you? This is what I’m talking about. Zombies. Learn it, live it, love it." 
— Libba Bray

So when I stumbled upon A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY in T.J. Maxx's YA paperback section, I should have recognized the author right away, but I didn't. I even did my open-to-a-random-page-and-see-if-I-connect-to-the-writing thing before I bought it. I opened to a part where a maid is telling a creepy story to a couple of schoolgirls, and the writing was so compelling, I wanted to read on.

It wasn't until later that I made the connection between the Libba Bray on the cover and the quotes I'd enjoyed on goodreads. And then I moved the book up on my to-be-read pile because I couldn't wait to get more of that brilliance.

See, some people are storytellers and others are writers. Libba Bray is both, but first and foremost, she is a writer. And the way she spins words into elaborate and smooth silk is awe-inspiring. I didn't read A Great and Terrible Beauty. I drank it.  

Since I am a Christian, I am wary of books that make religion sound like whitewashed conformity, because I don't see it that way at all. Nothing whitewashed about the Bible, is there? In fact, the dark and light themes woven into every book in the Gemma Doyle series are also alive and well in Christianity. Since the author acknowledges those themes, I must deduce she doesn't mean her books to be anti-religion. It's all a part of the character's past and circumstance. For instance, most women relate to the ever-present discomfort of expectations Gemma Doyle is dealing with in a Victorian society complete with suitors with names like Bartelby Bumble and stuffy older brothers who expect you to be well-behaved at all times. I think the anti-religion overtones are necessary to the character of Gemma Doyle because she's in that discover-who-you-really-are phase of life in a very repressive circumstance, and it's natural she should rebel. It's also natural that she should compare the magic she's experiencing to the religion she's been raised with (or hasn't been raised with, in this case). So I didn't find that it detracted from the story at all, but should spur some interesting conversations between mothers and daughters who read these books together.

The suspense is delicious. I found my writer self taking mental notes about how she achieves it in some places. For instance, at the climax when they're running from danger, she has the characters call out for their friend, rather than simply stating that they couldn't find her. The cries of, "Where's Pippa?" interspersed with the action of fleeing a monster definitely amped up my heart rate. And even though the romantic interest is rarely present (or maybe because of that), the romantic suspense is delicious, as well.

FIVE STARS. I enjoyed reading A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY and look forward to the next in the series, though the resolution at the end of the book was good enough that I don't actually feel like I have to read the sequel right now. Kind of nice, actually, after the cliff-hangers of THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy. :)

Next up, THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak.

What are you reading? Does it make you think? Does it make you feel?

It's Kelly's day on Operation Awesome, so be sure to stop by and share your writerly achievements of 2010.

And don't forget to sign up for the New Year's Revisions Blog Party set for January first of 2011!

How to Be Popular by Meg Cabot: My Review

Confession: When I was in fourth grade, my family moved. I immediately latched onto a group of (very nice) girls I admired and wanted to have as friends. They liked a boy, we'll call him Steve. Or one of them liked him. I'm not sure anymore. My shame is not only in pretending to like him, too, but in telling him I did...just to impress these girls. For the next near decade, Steve and his friends made me miserable whenever we happened to be in the same space. Pathetic, right? I am Steph Landry.

HOW TO BE POPULAR

by Meg Cabot

From the flap:

Do you want to be popular?

Everyone wants to be popular—or at least, Stephanie Landry does. Steph's been the least popular girl in her class since a certain cherry Super Big Gulp catastrophe five years earlier.

Does being popular matter?

It matters a lot—to Steph. That's why this year, she has a plan to get in with the It Crowd in no time flat. She's got a secret weapon: an old book called—what else?—How to Be Popular.

All Steph has to do is follow the instructions in The Book, and soon she'll be partying with the popular kids (including school quarterback Mark Finley) instead of sitting on The Hill Saturday nights, stargazing with her nerdy best pal Becca, and even nerdier Jason (now kind of hot, but still).

But don't forget the most important thing about popularity!

It's easy to become popular. What isn't so easy? Staying that way.

My thoughts:

This is the book I wish I'd read in high school...no, scratch that. Elementary school. It really does tell the reader how to be popular, but not in a naive, things-your-well-meaning-mom-says-to-you-that-don't-actually-help sort of way. The voice is totally genuine to high school, and the way Meg Cabot lends that realism to the high school scene without being explicitly crass is masterful. This parent approves, and I'm certain teenagers will continue to relate to Steph Landry, even as pop culture evolves past some of her references.

Someone on twitter positively compared the voices of Kiersten White and Meg Cabot, and I definitely see a wonderful similarity. They are both fun, in-the-moment, and witty in a sarcastic, universally teen way. I look forward to hunting down the rest of Meg Cabot's books, just as I plan to devour Paranormalcy in its entirety (when it finally arrives--gah!). The YA world needs more authors with Meg's skill for authentic emotion, matched with a voice that doesn't take everything too seriously.

I'm not always dazzled by contemporary fiction. In fact, it has to be pretty impressive for me to enjoy a story without shiny magical beings or devices. Meg Cabot is an author who brings an impressive element of magic to contemporary YA. The magic is in new experiences, lots of kissing and fireworks, and devastating social situations. When you affect a reader's heart rate, you've succeeded as an author. Not that Meg needs me to add my heartbeat to the millions she's affected already, but add another tally, anyway. I loved this story.

IF I STAY by Gayle Forman: My review

Wow.

It was a random tweet that sent me seeking out IF I STAY at my local amazon.com. If somebody had presented me with this book last week and told me, "You will cry at the end of every other scene," I would have raised a quizzical brow. No book could sustain that kind of emotion without sending readers off clamoring for a break.

It was masterfully done.

From the very first chapter, I was disturbed (and I can't recommend this book to anyone under sixteen, on principle--I wouldn't recommend a great R-rated movie to such a tender age-group either). But the way this book disturbed me was not grotesque and showy. It was by realism and raw emotion.

"Please, Mia. Don't make me write a song," was only one line that brought the torrential tears. But the poignant passages are interspersed with flashbacks on (mostly) happier times. This was enough comic relief and character development to keep me reading nonstop. Since there are no chapters, per se, there's no good stopping place. If you pick up this book, plan on reading for several hours. :-)

But there is a feeling of chapters with the one-two motion of present-tense action and thought, then past-tense stories and memories. Now-flashback-now-flashback-now is the way it goes. You'd think it would be distracting, but it flows smoothly. This is the first book I've read that utilizes first-person present-tense (I know, I know, where have I been, right?), so it was distracting to me for the first few pages. But the story and the characters quickly eclipse any thought of the format.

Several times, I paused to think how much I loved a certain character. They are all too bizarre to be fiction. They are real people. It makes you mourn those who pass on, and grieve with those who remain. This is how every fifth paragraph brings you to tears. You've been warned.

I'm not the first to say--and I surely won't be the last--THIS STORY IS PHENOMENALLY TOUCHING AND PROFOUND.

There were things I could have done without, as a Christian YA reader (preferring fantastic escapism to gritty realism, so take these thoughts accordingly).

-Language: Way too much swearing for my liking. I realize we are talking about punk rockers and dire straits here, but, as someone unaccustomed to that vocabulary, it pulled me out of the story.

-Sex: Yeah. I'm all about sexual tension in YA, but this was a bit too edgy for me. As in, it crossed over the edge into actually depicting sex. This may be okay with some YA advocates/readers. It's on my don't-like list of literary attributes.

That was it. Not an exhaustive list. Just two things that caused some dissonance for me, personally.

Otherwise, I have to give this book a glowing review and declare its author a practiced and brilliant story-teller. Thank you, Gayle Forman for a touching, beautiful story. Any reader can tell that you poured your heart and experience into this novel, and the world is better for it.

P.S. As always, I welcome your comments and discussion. That's why I write, people.

Also, check out the book website: http://www.ifistay.com/ and movie gossip: GOOGLE: if i stay movie summit  (Catherine Hardwicke directing, Summit producing, Dakota Fanning as Mia)

WINGS by Aprilynne Pike: my review

As promised, I am here to discuss Aprilynne Pike's fabulous debut novel, WINGS! By the way, the long-awaited sequel, SPELLS, is available from Amazon, here.

As for the first book, WINGS: I bought this book the second I saw that it was recommended by Stephenie Meyer. If you click on Ms. Pike's name above, you can read on her blog about her journey to publication. She actually got a personal referral to agent Jodi Reamer via the famed Twilight Saga authoress. But things weren't all roses and daisies on her path to publication. It's a very fascinating story that aspiring authors and readers alike will enjoy.

Now on to my review of WINGS! Let's use a point system I just made up. Five points for anything I particularly liked. Ah, heck, why not 10?

• 10 Points for a M.C. who homeschools, and loves it.
• 10 Points for a very sweet boyfriend-type.
• 10 Points for a hot, passionate boyfriend-type who creates a love triangle for Laurel.
• 10 Points--no, has to be 50 Points--for completely original story premise and plot. Even reviews and descriptions read before the book did not give away the startling twist of who the protagonist really is.
• 10 Points for vivid descriptions of the bad guys that made me cringe...yes, actually cringe.
• 10 Points for creating high stakes and the question of survival, not only for the protagonist, but also for people she loves.

Well, that's 100 Points, so I should stop.

I'll just add that Aprilynne Pike really pulled me into her world by the end of the novel, so much that I was thinking about it long after I closed the back cover over the sneak peek of the sequel. If I hadn't broken my bank buying The Red Pyramid and a slew of other best-sellers at Barnes and Noble, I'd probably be out picking up SPELLS right now. As it is, I must force myself to wait.

If you have read either book, please feel free to join my monologue in the comments below! (No spoilers, please. Some of us haven't read SPELLS yet.)

Next Read: IF I STAY by Gayle Forman: "What would you do if you had to choose?"

THE HOMESCHOOL LIBERATION LEAGUE: My Review

Ah, another great read! I thoroughly enjoyed this book: an honest look at the educational options available to children today, wrapped up in teenage drama, as it ought to be.

We've all read fiction with an agenda before, and I was prepared for this to be just that, based on the title. But I was wrong. Happily wrong.

The narrator's view of homeschooling is definitely biased, but the experiences the author throws at her make for a very well-rounded view of several different schooling options. THE HOMESCHOOL LIBERATION LEAGUE is the most honest fiction I have read in years. Enjoying a story without an agenda, as you all know, is a rare thing.

Katya's voice is delightful, and sometimes delightfully absurd. She's a teenager after my own heart, who loves to use her creativity. Whether it's planning a foraged-food feast of weed-salad and barberry wine, or just convincing her parents to let her stay home from school for the next year--she is up for the challenge!

There's adventure and angst and drama in this YA book, but there's also romance. It isn't Katya's first kiss that we're experiencing, but it is her first love. And who knew violin lessons could be so steamy?

Katya is thirteen, and Lucy Frank did a fabulous job making her voice match this volatile stage of life. She's emotional and excitable, but she's also more thoughtful than her parents or teachers give her credit for. Doesn't every teenager feel misunderstood this way?

I also enjoyed the catalog of changing friendships that often happens during middle school as teenagers discover who they naturally are and who they want to be. One of Katya's friends seems especially torn between playing "the game" and being herself, a question I think most adults can still relate to their lives.

But this is a book seeping with young adult spirit. I recommend it with five stars.

NEXT READ: Aprilynne Pike's WINGS
Join me next week to discuss this YA fantasy recommended by Stephenie Meyer, author of the TWILIGHT saga.

FALLEN by Lauren Kate: my review

Over the weekend, I read Lauren Kate's FALLEN:

"There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at Sword & Cross boarding school in Savannah. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are screwups, and security cameras watch every move.

Except Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, FALLEN is a page-turning thriller and the ultimate love story." -cover flap blurb

My reasons for ordering this book the moment I saw it were two-fold:

1) Somebody compared it to Twilight, which generally captures my attention.

and

2) The cover for its sequel, TORMENT, is absolutely gorgeous!!

What did I tell you? GORGEOUS!

So I ordered my copy of FALLEN and eagerly devoured it when it arrived the next day. Here are my thoughts:

It's not Twilight. It's really unfair to compare anything to Twilight, after all, much less something so entirely different. The only similarity is genre: paranormal romance.

FALLEN is written in third person from Luce's limited perspective. She's an unreliable narrator, being that she knows/remembers nothing helpful most of the time. But I prefer it this way, because I love finding out about a new world alongside my protagonist tour guide. Because the POV is third person rather than first person, it's lacking that intimate emotion and passion that made Twilight a midnight guilty pleasure. And that will be the last comparison I draw to Twilight...

Because FALLEN is beautiful for its own reasons:

• The setting is perfect for its plot. I could really feel the grittiness, the austere sliminess, of Sword & Cross's unkempt grounds. A graveyard at a reform school?! Oddly genius!

• The clues--this novel is craftily plotted right down to its minor characters. This reader got the feeling that nothing was insignificant, and it made for a compelling mystery.

• The details lend a sense of reality to the otherwise unbelievable premise. Lauren Kate obviously did her research, and also has a knack for painting a picture: "A faded composite picture with the words PULASKI COUNTY MOOSE CLUB OFFICERS 1964-65 was the only other decoration on the wall, showcasing a hundred oval faces, smiling modestly above pastel bow ties."

One thing I hope to see in the sequel is a stronger Luce Price. From the former-life flashback in the beginning referencing "her contemptuous side", I got the impression I was dealing with a feisty heroine. I was quite disappointed in the following chapters to find her more docile than contemptuous as the hero rejects her time and time again for her own protection. Now that she understands her own importance, I hope TORMENT finds her fighting for love to conquer all.

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POWERLESS by Matthew Cody: my review

UPDATE 5/26/10: This blog has been linked by KT Literary's BLOG and the AUTHOR HIMSELF! Everybody's talking about HOW EVIL IS TOO EVIL? What do you think?

Here's my original review:

I've never been much of a mystery reader, except for Mary Higgins Clark books in junior high, so I confess to being more gullible than most. All my friends said they "totally knew" the Sixth Sense secret before the end of the movie. I got to the end and was still baffled!

Still, I recognize a mystery artist when I see one--generally after the plot is explained at the end of the book/movie. That was the case with the book Powerless.

Matthew Cody is a mystery artist. From the point of view of the protagonist--an ordinary boy who loves Sherlock Holmes--the reader investigates the Case of the Missing Super Powers. At several points, I was sure I knew who the bad guy must be. But this book is twisty. You don't know what you don't know until the end, which is just plain masterful writing.

This tightly plotted mystery made me laugh and empathize. It even scared me a little. Well, the bad guy is pretty scary!

Things I loved:

• That this story is told from the POV of a regular kid surrounded by superhero kids.
• That the story of his grandma's cancer brings a dose of reality to the otherwise completely fantastic premise.
• That Daniel is tough, but honest and sensitive--in other words, a great role model for kid readers.
• That all the characters act like real people.

What I didn't love: the finality of the antagonist's actions. This does make it true to life (life's not fair, etc.), but it also left me feeling pretty down. This is one of those great debates in children's literature: should the bad guy be really and truly bad? After all, kids know there is good and evil in the world. Matthew Cody seems to side with C.S. Lewis:

"Let there be wicked kings and beheadings, battles and dungeons, giants and dragons, and let villains be soundly killed at the end of the book. Nothing will persuade me that this causes an ordinary child any kind or degree of fear beyond what it wants, and needs, to feel. For, of course, it wants to be a little frightened."

Myself, I sometimes believe this, and other times want fairy stories where no harm is permanent and it's all a good trick in the end.

Overall, a fantastic book, and one worth adding to your children's home library. It is certainly one I expect my boys to read time and time again.

Cross my Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

Cross my Heart and Hope to Spy

by Ally Carter

I spent a pleasant evening reading this sequel to I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

Every writer I read influences my style in some way, and Ally Carter's fun-loving parenthetical style has been a welcome addition to my compilation of voices (I sound schizophrenic when I say it like that).

To use her narrator's favorite break-down method:

Cross my Heart is A) easy to read, B) very "now" popular culture, and C) surprisingly addicting.

The books are about a spy school for girl geniuses that the local town thinks is a boarding school for stuck-up heiresses. Gallagher Academy is a world all its own, like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, complete with textbooks like 101 Classic Covers and the Spies Who've Used Them, and classes like P & E, Protection and Enforcement instead of P.E. These little details immerse the reader in another reality, one where teenage girls are capable of more than simply taking care of themselves. They're protecting national secrets. Though there is danger and intrigue on every page, the romance is what left me feeling somewhat giddy. The way Ally Carter pulls this off is by keeping characters true to themselves in everything they do and say. Characters like Zach and Bex kept me laughing, and Cammie Morgan's first-person narration was never boring.

The plot was twisty enough without seeming forced, as some spy fiction does. I will definitely continue to recommend Ally Carter's books to my friends and family. I look forward to reading Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover and hope to see many more titles coming from Ally Carter in the future.