Captivate

Captivate picks up right after Need left off: princess and half pixie Zara and her friends have imprisoned her pixie king father and his followers in a house surrounded by iron. They continue to put pixies they find in with them because they don't want to kill them, but can't let them free. These pixies aren't like Tinkerbell where they just flit around and look cute: they delight in torturing and bleeding human boys. Now a new pixie king named Astley is trying to usurp her father's throne and take over. He insists he isn't like the other pixies and will make everything better. However, there are other pixies in the race as well that may be worse than Astley. Zara knows never to trust a pixie, but she can't help but believe some of the things he says. Should she trust him or trust Nick, her loyal werewolf boyfriend? Will her decision come too late to matter?

Zara and her loyal band of friends are back. As in the first book, I like Zara and feel she's a strong female figure. She does make some really stupid decision I wanted to shake her for that kind of pushed it into Bella during New Moon territory. This novel addressed what I expected at the end of the first: Zara's conflict of practicality and personal morals. She and her friends locked up the pixies in a house, which was practical to stop the pixie attacks, but completely against her personal morals. Forcing them to live trapped in that house is akin to torture and she has trouble living with that, resulting in looking for other ways to deal with the problem. I also really like Issie. She's so sweet and kindhearted. She's a really good friend to Zara, even if Zara seems kind of insensitive to problems that aren't her own. Devyn kind of annoyed me with his weird attitude and blockheaded-ness. Of the new characters, I like Astley. He's the perfect mix of good, mysterious, and danger. He was the most compelling character of the novel. He revealed much more about different kinds of pixies than anyone ever before. I had to resist singing Never Gonna Give You Up by the incomparable Rick Astley in my head when I finally found out his name. Aside from the silly name, I look forward to more him in the next book in the series.

Every chapter starts with tips in dealing with pixies. I don't think they are as good at foreshadowing events in the coming chapter or, frankly, as interesting as the phobias in the first book. The narrative isn't as compelling to me in this novel because her descriptions of the setting weren't as present as in the first. I felt that Need is the better and more engaging book, but Captivate is a good book as well. Carrie Jones gets major, major kudos for two things: having the characters create a pixie survival guide inspired by Max Brooks' The Zombie Survival Guide and Issie's mentions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am huge fans of both so my inner nerd leaped for joy. Even though the book is flawed, I really enjoyed it and happily wait for the next in the series.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

*** My review of the first book, Need, can be found here. ***

Bleeding Violet

Hanna Jarvinen is crazy. According to doctors, she is bipolar, but she prefers the term manic depressive. She hallucinates pretty regularly and talks to her dead father daily. She also dresses all in purple in his memory. She decides to go to Portero, Texas to find the mother she has never met. Her mother is less than enthusiastic to see her long lost daughter and states that if Hanna can't fit in, she has to go back to live with her aunt. (Never mind that Hanna knocked her aunt unconscious and wouldn't be welcome even if she came back.) Portero is a lot more weird than Hanna ever suspected. On the first day, she just figures she's hallucinating, but it seems that other people see the visions as well. It turns out that the town is the site of interdimensional travel and large, scary monsters traipsing through all the time. Will she survive this crazy town and be accepted by the community to get through to her mother?

I have never seen a young adult book quite like this one. I think the closest to it would be Going Bovine by Libba Bray. I heard about this book from other blogger's reviews and just checked it out at the library on a whim (and because I love the cover). I had no idea what I was getting into. The bizarre town is used to random monster attacks. Everyone wears dark colors as to not attract attention from dangerous creatures. Needless to say, purple clad Hanna was a surprise, but not expected to last long. She was as surprising to me as she was to the townspeople. She is so strange, but full of life. She takes all the weirdness in stride and rises above people's doubts and criticisms. Her thought processes are fascinating and make her one of the most interesting protagonists I have ever read. Hanna is my favorite character in the novel. Her character development goes beyond her mental disorder. Her different layers are revealed as the novel goes on and I couldn't help but be emotionally invested in her and her journey.

The narrative features many scenes that would be considered by many to be not appropriate in a book geared towards teens. I loved every single page of this book. The writing really sucked me into the story and held my interest throughout. Personally, I had no problem with the violence, drug use, or scenes of sexuality. All of the reviews I have read that are negative condemn Dia Reeves for not providing a good role model or a good message. I completely disagree. I think those people are more interested in censoring anything that they don't agree with than looking for an interesting story that might speak to them. They seem to focus on individual scenes and not the overarching themes and messages. Hanna is an independent and assertive girl who solved her problems through her own wit, negotiation, and intelligence. There are some very disturbing scenes in the novel, but they aren't gratuitous or put there just for shock value. On the other hand, there are also some very touching, emotional scenes.

Bleeding Violet has easily made it into the ranks of my favorite books. I would recommend this to people who aren't squeamish and are looking for a wild ride.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

The Espressologist

Jane Turner is an Espressologist. She studies the type of people that order certain drinks and matches them with a person that would best compliment them. She’s been secretly working on this project for a while, matching a couple here or there when she sees a strong match. She doesn’t take school seriously and often skips school in order to get more hours of work at Wired Joe’s. She matches a boy from her class, Cam, with her best friend, Em, to help Em get over a bad break up with her long term boyfriend. One day, she is promoted to assistant manager when her best friend turns down the position. Her Espressology is found out by her moody manager and she is suddenly the feature for the month. Will she be able to keep her manager happy and make matches on command to keep sales up? Why does the match she made with Em and Cam bother her so much?

This book was a bit of cute fluff. It was like watching a middle grade chick flick: not spectacular, but not horrible. The plot was a little like a rip-off of Jane Austen’s Emma, but not done as well as Clueless. I liked the story and the ending. The romance aspect between Cam and Jane was well developed and enjoyable to read. There were some things that bothered me. Jane’s problems with school were only addressed in the first half of the book. I would have liked it to be a little more realistic and she had to face the fact that she neglected school and got bad grades or had to repeat the classes or just leave this part out altogether. I also felt that the Espressology led her to be incredibly shallow and judge people by their looks and what they drank only without seeing how the people really were. This aspect was also not addressed. The characters beyond Em, Jane, and Cam were just typical, flat stock characters that don’t develop, like the mean girl, the brainless jock, and the unreasonable boss.

If you’re looking for a cute, fast read without much depth, I would recommend this to you. It suited my mood when I read it as the first book I read on my summer vacation.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

Liar

Micah Wilkins is seventeen years old and a compulsive liar. She outright admits it at the start of the novel. She attends a unique high school where talent and intelligence are nurtured in a relaxed environment. Micah is not very popular, ever since she led everyone to believe she was a boy when she first arrived. Her goal is to just be invisible. Then, one of her classmates, Zach, is killed. She had been seeing him outside of school, unbeknownst to her classmates and his girlfriend. Micah finds herself at the center of attention despite her best efforts to remain invisible. She is also a suspect in the murder as well. Did Micah have anything to do with murder? Can we really believe anything she says?

Micah is the epitome of the unreliable narrator. By admitting she’s a liar at the outset of the novel, she calls into question everything she says, even that very first statement. This concept reminds me of a discussion of Shakespeare that I had in a class about Renaissance theatre. If someone says, “Everything I say is a lie,” it’s a paradox. If, with that statement, they are lying, it means the statement isn’t true. But it also isn’t true if they are telling the truth. I just think it’s fascinating. Anyway, getting back to the book, I can’t say I really like Micah, but her narrative held my interest throughout and I did care for her. I’m not going to spoil anything, but there are so many different ways this book can be read that it’s kind of ridiculous. I really commend Justine Larbalestier for writing such a book. It’s definitely not a book that everyone will like, but one that everyone will talk about.

I really like the format of the novel. The past and present occur side by side instead of in the typical linear fashion. It allows Micah to control what the reader knows and what they don’t. In between the “Before” and “After” chapters, there are history chapters (of Micah, her family, her school, etc.) and chapters that admit lies that she’s told within the narrative. It only took me about two days to read the novel. This style of novel also reminds me of another class I took this semester. A novel that exists in the mind of one character where time is distorted fits right in to postmodernism. It’s an incredibly sophisticated novel and shows how great writing can be in any genre.

I sort of enjoyed the novel. It’s very thought provoking and well written, but I was kind of numb by the end. I felt that I didn’t really know what to think about it. I think it might have been because I had been expecting an easy read after reading tons of books for school. Or I was just floored by how many interpretation I could come up with and couldn’t really settle on one. I will definitely read other works by Justine Larbalestier. I would recommend this book to someone looking for a thought provoking read.

My rating: 3.5/5 fishmuffins

Need

After her stepfather died, Zara White is sent to live with her grandmother in Maine. She's resentful of her mother for sending her away and feels completely out of place. The town is small and the weather is freezing. She makes new friends at her school, like quirky, bubbly Issie and mysterious Nick. Things start to get weird when Zara notices a dark man following her at her home town and in Maine. Plus, boys from her school start to mysteriously go missing. Zara has no idea that a creature she never thought would be a threat is after her: a pixie. These dark creatures aren't warm and fuzzy like Tinkerbell. They are creatures who feed on humans and have little to no regard for human life. Can Zara and her friends stop these creatures before they capture her?

Carrie Jones' Need was a great read. I was so absorbed in the story, I only took a couple of days to read it even though I really needed to get a lot of reading for school done. The characters were multi-dimensional and it took no time at all for me to really feel for them. Zara was a strong female character with distinctive interests. She is involved with Amnesty International and spends her spare time writing letters to help people who are wrongly persecuted or imprisoned. To cope with her father's death, she lists phobias to herself. These phobias were the headings for each chapter. They served as points of interest and sometimes foreshadowing what is to happen. I loved learning about the more obscure phobias. Zara's circle of friends were all very detailed and likeable. The romance between her and Nick was organic and interesting. I felt that sometimes Nick laid on the machismo a little too much at times, but other than that, he was attractive and generally a good person.

The writing in the novel was beautiful. I totally hate cold weather and Carrie Jones made me see the beauty in it with her wonderful descriptions. I know a lot of people compare this text to Twilight, but I don't really see a lot of similarities in them. I just see them as two different books about very different things. I liked that the subject matter of Need was something that hadn't really been addressed before (unlike the bazillions of vampire novels out there. Even though I enjoy them too). The only aspect I didn't really like was by the end of the novel, I felt that Zara compromised her strong, core beliefs to achieve an end. I'm interested in seeing how this is addressed in the next book, Captivate.

Need was a compelling read that flowed very well. I would recommend this to paranormal romance lovers.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Sleepless

Sea Cliff was a small, quiet town. Until now. A group of students went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. A terrible murder occurs there, leading the students to promise to stay silent about what happened. They return home, but start to have the most horrible nightmares. As the dreams get worse, some even start to sleepwalk. Then some students start killing. Both Emma and Jake are having trouble sleeping. They are terrified that they are going to die next or maybe kill someone in their sleep. What is causing them to sleepwalk? Will they figure it out before it's too late?

This book was pitched to me by my sister (who's a YA librarian) as a Nightmare on Elm Street wannabe, which is not really true. I found out after I had read it that she hadn't even finished the book. There are some similarities, but as a whole, the two works are very different. The book reads as a teen horror flick transformed into a book. I liked the concept and liked going along for the ride as more details are revealed about the mystery. The horror aspects of the novel were pretty good. I really liked that one of the kids that ended up killing someone had violent episodes that they had no recollection of afterwards. One of them in particular came out of the blue and surprised me.

The characters are typical stock characters in a horror movie: the strong survival girl, the bad boy, the preppy cheerleader girl, etc. Unfortunately the characters don't really develop or have depth beyond that. Also, the Voodoo elements were kind of lame and obvious since they came from New Orleans. At a certain point, the mystery became really predictable and I started figuring things out before the characters. I like being surprised and having my mind blown. This was not the case here.

Sleepless was an amusing read that didn't have much depth. If it were a horror film, it would be one of those PG-13 ones that I avoid because they tend to be lame. I would recommend this to people want a fast, generally entertaining read.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

The Devouring

Reggie Halloway is a fourteen year old girl with many more responsibilities than a normal teenager. She has to act as mother to her little brother Henry since their mother walked out on them without a word and her father has proven useless in this respect. She is also a big horror fan and is lucky enough to have a job at a horror themed book store. She finds a weird journal in a shipment and borrows it for a little while. Within the journal is the story of the Vours, spirits that take over human bodies on the night of the winter solstice or Sorry Night. Reggie and her best friend Aaron decide to have a little fun and see if it's true by facing the thing they fear the most to see if they are taken over by the Vours. They aren't, but after that night Henry acts very differently. He destroys the things he loves the most, abhors the cold, talks in a very creepy voice, and revels in cruelty. Is he possessed by a Vour? If so, how can they save him without killing him?

I knew I had to read this book when I read a very positive review of it in a horror movie magazine. It isn't typical for them to review any young adult novels let alone give it a positive review. When I finally read the book a while later, it completely surpassed my expectations. I don't know what's happened to the teen horror books I'm reading lately, but I hope it's a sign of a continuing trend. This book creeped me out and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Some of the situations and characters used in the fearscapes to scare terrify the people are possessed by the Vours in their own minds are some of the most chilling I've ever seen or read about. I would absolutely love to see this novel as a movie, but because of the target audience, I fear it wouldn't be as scary as the book.

I loved pretty much everything about this book. Reggie and Aaron, our young heroes, are normal kids, but with added amounts of brains and bravery. Reggie is relentless in her pursuit to save her brother, even putting herself in grave danger. In addition to the supernatural problems in their lives, they still have to deal with school and family. When they contend with the Vour inside Henry, the Vour can be very manipulative and turn people against them, making everything more difficult. I really like and respect these characters. The entire mythos of the Vours is completely unique. I've never heard of any supernatural creatures quite like them. I can't wait to delve deeper and learn more about these mysterious and evil creatures.

I can't wait to read the second book in the series. I would recommend this book to anyone who can stomach more gore than is usually typical for young adult novels.

My rating: 5/5

Going Bovine

Cameron Smith was an apathetic, wallflower kind of kid in high school. He was a slacker, who was uninterested in college and smoked pot in the bathroom during school. He also has a perfect, perky sister that makes him look even worse by comparison. That is, until his uncontrollable movements and hallucinations are diagnosed as Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases, AKA mad cow disease. This disease is a prion (mutated protein) that pretty much pokes holes in the brain. It's incurable and fatal. He is spurred by a cute punk rock angel named Dulcie to go on a quest to save the world (and find a cure to his disease) along with a hypochondriac dwarf named Gonzo and a Norse god turned lawn gnome named Balder. Along the way, Cameron battles evil with a legendary jazz musician in New Orleans, narrowly escapes from a crazy happiness cult, helps a group of scientists with an experiment, and goes to Disney World.

Libba Bray has created a crazy and unique retelling of Don Quixote. I actually didn't realize it was based on a specific novel until I read other reviews of it. I saw it as more of a modern version of the hero journey in mythology as illustrated by Joseph Campbell. Although the book is almost 500 pages long, I was completely sucked in and wanted to read it in one sitting. All of the characters were striking, original, and complete.

Cameron was initially not a very likable character. He was rude to his friends and family and was just generally selfish. From the initial diagnosis to the end of the novel, he undergoes a transformation with every person he meets and every crazy situation he encounters. He slowly turns into a true hero. He gains appreciation for music and develops close relationships with the people around him. The things he revered in his old life are revealed to be shallow and meaningless in the new one. The journey was largely an internal one for Cameron. It can even be debated if the journey actually happened at all or if it was just the product of a deteriorating mind.

This isn't a typical teen novel. It's one of the most unique books I have ever read in the young adult genre. I really respect the author that writes teen characters that curse and have sex because real teenagers (and people in general) curse and have sex. It's a part of life and pretending it doesn't exist or that's not how real people act does more harm than good in the lives of teenagers.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was funny, tragic, and disturbing at times. I had so much fun the wild ride with Cameron and his friends. My only complaint was that the ending took a little bit away from my enjoyment of the novel. I felt it could have been more ambiguous in the end and a little less off the wall. Other than that it was awesome. I would recommend this book to pretty much anybody.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

More Challenges and Such

So, I'm joining 2 more challenges. I don't know if I'll actually get to finish them, but I'll have fun trying. The first challenge is the 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge, hosted by J. Kaye. My sister is a librarian for LA county, which has a wide variety of books. I want to support her library and read lots of books by checking out more books and actually reading them. (Instead of letting them collect dust and returning them unread like I lamely do sometimes.) I'm aiming for 100 books in a year.

1) Going Bovine by Libba Bray

2) The Devouring by Simon Holt

3) Soulstice by Simon Holt

4) Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

5) Sleepless by Thomas Fahy

6) Need by Carrie Jones
7) Liar by Justine Larbalestier
8) The Espressologist by Kristina Springer
9) Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

10) Captivate by Carrie Jones

The second challenge is the Graphic Novels Challenge 2010, hosted by Laza of Gimme More Books. I love to read graphic novels and am definitely going to read at least 10 in the next year.

1) Jack of Fables #6: The Big Book of War by Bill Willingham

2) Deadpool: Suicide Kings by Mike Benson

3) Deadpool: Dark Reign (Vol. 2) by Daniel Way

4) Dark Reign: Deadpool/Thunderbolts by Daniel Way

5) Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: The Laughing Corpse, Vol. 2 by Laurell K. Hamilton

6) American McGee's Grimm by Dwight L. Macpherson
7) Chew by John Layman
8) The Walking Dead #11: Fear the Hunters
9) Fables #13: The Great Fables Crossover by Bill Willingham
10) Marvel Zombies Return by David Wellington
11) Path of the Planeswalker by Doug Beyer
12) Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 1 by Stephenie Meyer
13) Deadpool #3: X Marks the Spot by Daniel Way
14) Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, #6: Retreat by Joss Whedon

15) Ania Blake, Vampire Hunter: The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton

16) Unwritten by Mike Carey

I hope I get to read more fun books this next school semester to keep these challenges going.