Book Review: Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

Title: Symptoms of Being Human

Author: Jeff Garvin

Publication Date: February 2016

Pages: 335

Read the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Riley Cavanaugh is the child of a congressman running for reelection, so the pressure has always been on to be a model teen. The problem is, Riley isn’t exactly what the conservative South Orange county would call “model.” Riley is sarcastic, rebellious, and gender fluid, meaning some days, Riley feels like a boy. Others, Riley feels like a girl. No one else knows except Riley’s therapist, who encourages Riley to start a blog to work through the feelings and potentially overcome some of the more harmful ones. Riley finds the blogging therapeutic—that is, until the blog goes viral, and someone from school threatens to out Riley to the world, as well as threatening Riley’s life. Riley must make a choice—abandon the blog that has come to mean so much to a lot of people, including Riley, or stand up and face the world head on.

I could not put this book down. It’s so well-written, and Riley’s voice feels so incredibly authentic. I felt for Riley, and the roller coaster Riley goes on is so captivating. Though the bulk of the story focuses on the struggles Riley is facing, be it bullying at school, the worry that Riley’s words carry too much weight with some of the blog’s followers, or the feelings Riley is developing for Bec, another outcast at school, Riley is so very fully-formed as a person.

The same is true of all the characters in the book, actually. I love Bec, the mysterious and misunderstood (and delightfully funny) loner that Riley comes to have feelings for. Bec encourages, sometimes even indirectly, Riley to propel forward into this unknown territory of openness, but she’s not JUST there for Riley. Bec is her own person, too, and you see that in the writing. I LOVE Solo, Riley’s first friend at the school, who is a huge Samoan football player that is obsessed with Star Wars, and is generally just the greatest dude ever. I want him to give me a piggy back ride.

PLEASE read this book. It’s so engrossing and beautiful and wonderful and I love everyone. Even the bullies at school have their own crap going on, but the narrative doesn’t excuse their behavior, just explains where it might have stemmed from, and I love that. I also like Riley’s parents and therapist. There are also bits sprinkled here and there about how everyone is so obsessed about knowing what parts (“Girl or boy? Yes.”) Riley has, and the book makes a point to never actually tell you, because that’s the point. It doesn’t matter. The outside doesn’t matter at all, it’s how Riley feels on any given day that matters. That's why I haven't used any pronouns in this whole review. I don't know which to use, and the book never says. 

Ugh, everything about this book is SO GREAT.

Read it and let me know if you agree. 

--Kayla

Want to check out Symptoms of Being Human? Find it on the CMRLS catalog and put it on hold!

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Book Review: The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

Title: The Dead House

Author: Dawn Kurtagich

Published: August 2015

Pages: 440

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

                

Twenty-five years ago, there was a fire at Elmbridge High school that shut down the facility forever. Three students died and one, Carly Johnson, went missing. Very few details as to who caused the fire or the disappearances have been found…that is, until now. The charred diary of Carly’s twin sister, Kaitlyn, has been found in the ruins of the school, and has cast a vast shadow of suspicion on the activities of Carly and her friends. Except Carly doesn’t have a twin sister.

This book is complete and utter insanity, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

The story itself is told through diary entries, video transcripts, police reports, and notes traded between the two “sisters” Carly and Kaitlyn. Are they really sisters trapped in the same body? What really happened the night their parents died? And are the tragic events at Elmbridge High the result of severely incorrect treatments for mental disturbance, or is there a more sinister source at play? I genuinely have no idea. If there’s one thing you’re not going to get from this book, it’s a definitive answer. On…just about anything. But that’s part of what makes it fun.

I really don’t know how to even begin to describe this book, and I definitely don’t know how to get into it without spoilers. There’s just so much that happens in it! It also manages to capture that deeply unsettling atmosphere that I feel makes horror truly successful, and then near the end, everything goes off the rails—but in a good way. The fact that it jumps between past and present and is told through various mediums is also a really effective tool to up the creep factor. When you’re reading Kaitlyn’s diary and the transcripts of Naida’s video clips, you feel like a voyeur, peeking in on something you have no right to see. And then, of course, everything becomes entirely unhinged and you feel like you can’t catch your breath.

Bottom line: This book, while not perfect, is incredibly compelling. Despite its hefty appearance, it’s an incredibly fast-paced read. If you can bring yourself to put it down once you’ve started, you’re stronger than I am.

Happy reading!
--Kayla
                 

Want to check out The Dead House? Find it on the CMRLScatalog and put it on hold!

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Book Review: Daughters Unto Devils

Title: Daughters Unto Devils

Author: Amy Lukavics

Published: September 2015

Pages: 231

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Amanda Verner’s life changed last winter. From her fit of insanity—presumably a result of cabin fever—and her new, sickly baby sister who cries endlessly, Amanda has sought to forget the long, harsh winter in the arms of the post boy. Soon she finds herself jilted and pregnant, and on her way to a new homestead in the prairie, where her family, ignorant of her condition, has decided to try to stick out the upcoming winter that promises to be worse than the one before. Amanda thinks this may be her chance at a fresh start—that is until they arrive at the cabin, which is covered in blood, and Amanda’s visions from last winter begin to return. Amanda fears she may find out soon enough what lurks in the prairie fields.

I was, pardon my pun, dying to read this book. As soon as it came in the run on the new shipment, I snatched it up and checked it out for myself. I really, really wanted to love it. Which is why it was a bummer to find out that it was…alright, I guess?

Here’s the thing: Amy Lukavics is a very good storyteller. The eerie atmosphere of this book hovers over it like a blanket, and honestly, the almost glacial pace of the first 150 pages only lends itself to that feeling. I was willing to be led along slowly, and I love a good build up. The problem for me was the character development. Basically, there wasn’t any. Despite the ample opportunity we have to get to know these characters, we really kind of don’t.

That said, there was some stuff I really loved about this book. I love a good spooky story, and the last quarter of this book ramps it up to eleven out of nowhere. It’s been touted as Little House on the Prairie meets Stephen King, and that’s a pretty apt description. If you've ever seen the movie The Others, it's a little bit like that--a long, slow wind-up, and then the climactic ending hits you like a slingshot. I’ll warn you, though, the imagery in this book gets downright gruesome, so I wouldn’t advise it if you’ve got a sensitive stomach.

I can’t say much about the ending for fear of spoiling it, but I’ll say this: If you’re looking for a happy ending, you should look elsewhere.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

--Kayla

Want to read Daughters Unto Devils? Find it in the CMRLS catalog and put a hold on it!

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Book Review: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie with Alyssa Sheinmel

Title: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl

Author: Paige McKenzie (with Alyssa Sheinmel and Nick Hagen)

Published: March 2015

Pages: 296

Read the full synopsis on Goodreads!

When Sunshine Griffith and her mother, Katherine, move from sunny Texas to dreary Washington state, Sunshine isn’t happy. She tries to stay positive for her mother’s sake, but leaving the only home she’s ever known and moving to a cold, dark, mildew-smelling house isn’t her idea of a good time. But there’s more at work here than just homesickness. There’s something definitely wrong in this house, and it’s up to Sunshine and her new friend Nolan to figure it out. If she doesn’t, her mother’s life—not to mention everyone else’s—may be forfeit.

Anyone who has read any of my reviews before knows I love spooky stuff, so with the intriguing premise, weird cover, and established YouTube series (on which the book is based), I was stoked to read this. I was hooked by the first couple of pages and read the whole book in one sitting. That said, some of it fell a little flat for me.

What I liked was the idea of the book. I’m always a sucker for a good ghost story, and this had the potential to be an awesome one. It is often very atmospheric; I could almost hear the footsteps on the second floor above Sunshine’s head, and I could practically see my own breath in front of my face in the wake of an invisible chill. The book delivers some really great visuals, and though I haven’t seen the YouTube series yet, I can absolutely see it being a visually excellent movie someday.

What I didn’t like as much was…everything else, I guess. Sunshine is very much the cute, clumsy girl with the unique eyes and mysterious past that has become customary in a lot of books like this one, and the other characters, despite having a lot of potential to be really fascinating, just don't work for me. Even the plot eventually got boring, despite Sunshine’s ~*One True Destiny*~ that is slowly revealed throughout the book. I guess that’s where it fell off the rails for me. The book starts as one thing and about halfway through becomes something different, and I feel like if it had been kept simple, it would have been more interesting. It also would have allowed for more of a slow build on the tension. As it is, it becomes a little too fast-paced and info-heavy for the creep factor to be given proper time to simmer.

All in all, I’d give it a C. There are sequels coming out, though, so I may try them when they come out to see if I like them. If you give this one a read, let me know what you think!

--Kayla

Want to check out The Haunting of Sunshine Girl? Find it onthe CMRLS catalog and put it on hold!

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Mini reviews: The Young Elites and The Rose Society by Marie Lu

One of my favorite series is The Young Elites by Marie Lu. The second book, The Rose Society, was recently released, so I thought I'd share a short review of the first and second books to get you interested! 

Author: Marie Lu // Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers // Genre: Young adult, fantasy

THE YOUNG ELITES

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

This book is freaking incredible. I kept having to put it down and take a break because it was just that good. I’ll start by talking about my favorite part: the world building. Even 25 pages in, I already had a pretty clear picture of what everything looked like, and as the book went on, the little details became clearer.

All of the character have a purpose in this book. No one is just there. It’d probably be pretty difficult to discuss them without giving away the twists and turns in this book, of which there are several. So I’ll just say that everyone is awesome.

I could probably talk about this book forever. I am so impressed with it.

THE ROSE SOCIETY

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

I struggled to find the words to describe how much I loved this follow up to The Young Elites. It’s rare that I read a sequel that I find to be completely up to par with the first book, but this was. Plus, it’s darker and more devious and delightfully delicious. I devoured it.

This book will break your heart and make you crave more of it. And that ending. No spoilers, but it’s both deliciously satisfying and slightly enraging in that I NEED MORE NOW. I’m so pumped that my teens chose The Young Elites for our November book club read at the library.

Even though I was obviously obsessed with this one, this one felt more slow-burning than The Young Elites which was packed to the brim with action. I liked the focus on Adelina’s mental state, but I think TYE was a little more intense, if that makes sense.

The bottom line: READ THIS SERIES. You won't be disappointed. In fact, you're probably going to be completely enthralled, put under a spell that you won't want to break.

-- Stefani

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The Young Elites is in the CMRLS catalog here, and The Rose Society will be available soon, but you can go ahead and place a hold on it here!

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Book Review: The Ghosts of Heaven

Title: The Ghosts of Heaven

Author: Marcus Sedgwick

Publication date: January 2015

Pages: 360

Read the full synopsis on Goodreads!

The Ghosts of Heaven weaves together four tales that span the beginning of man to our future and back, bound and connected by spirals. From prehistory when a girl is making the first written signs, to the death of a young woman the townsfolk call a witch, to a twentieth century asylum wherein a doctor learns the dark secrets of the sea, all the way to a far and distant future, where an astronaut holds the fate of mankind in his hands.

I fell in love with this book from the very first quarter, which is told in free verse from the point of view of a young woman during the dawn of man. She is drawn to the spiral that she sees in so many places, from the shell of a snail to the flight of a falcon, and as she finally begins to understand the symbol she’s become obsessed with, we’re on to another story. Each one evokes a different feeling in me. In the introduction, Marcus Sedgwick says the stories can be read in any order. I read them in the order they’re presented, but I’m going to go back and read them differently to see how it changes. 

This book is haunting and thought provoking. While the idea could have felt a little pretentious (spirals, mysticism, how spooky), the execution was, I thought, really well done. I got really attached to each of the characters, and it was beautiful to see how they all began to see and feel the same things, even separated by so much time. But that’s the point, really, is that time is not as linear as we think, and when we come back around we’re just a little bit deeper into the mystery.

It’s really hard to explain this book. It made me feel so much joy and so much sadness, and I couldn’t put it down as soon as I started. Despite the very individual nature of each of these narratives and how personal they felt (and, in some cases, how tragically they ended), it made even me as a reader feel connected to something so much bigger than myself. I would love to hear what you all think.

Happy reading!

--Kayla

Want to check out The Ghosts of Heaven? Find it on the CMRLS catalog and put it on hold!

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Book Review: The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

Title: The Walls Around Us

Author: Nova Ren Suma

Publication date: March 2015

Pages: 336

View the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Amber is on the inside of the Aurora Hills juvenile detention center for the murder of her stepfather. On the outside is Violet, a ballerina who is about to get everything she’s ever wanted. Stuck in the middle is Orianna, once Violet’s best friend and now on her way to rooming with Amber at Aurora Hills after she is charged with a gruesome murder. But what really happened that night?

The Walls Around Us is part mystery, part ghost story, and entirely a coming of age novel that examines human nature and what lengths we will go to in order to get what we want.

WARNING: I really, really enjoyed this book, but I can’t really describe this book without spoiling it a teeny bit. If you want to go in blind for the full experience, I suggest not reading any further.

The tale itself unravels in a slow, winding way. The reveal is entirely expected, but it’s still enjoyable to read, simply because of the people involved. Orianna almost feels too good to be true, which makes the crimes she’s accused of that much more heinous. Violet, on the other hand, feels both refreshingly realistic and horrifyingly so. The insight into her psyche is startling and mesmerizing. If you’ve seen Black Swan, the kind of morbid fascination you’ll experience is a lot like that.

Amber is probably my favorite character in the whole book. While Orianna is physically caught in the middle of the inside and outside world, Amber is caught in a more metaphorical sense. She’s the grounding, real-world character that makes a story like this work, and even though she did something terrible, you can’t blame her, and you root for her all the same.

This isn’t even touching the supernatural aspect of the story, which is off-putting for some readers. Personally, I thought it added a great touch, primarily because it’s through this aspect that the reader and characters achieve closure. I can’t say how, but by the end of the story I was almost viciously satisfied with how it turned out.

All said, this story may not be for everyone. But if you like a little mystery, a lot of suspense, and a solid ghost story, all with dynamic female characters? You should give this one a shot.

Happy reading!

--Kayla

Want to check out The Walls Around Us? Look it up on the CMRLS catalog and put it on hold!

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Book Review: The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith

Author:  Andrew Smith

Genre: young adult, sci-fi, contemporary

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: March 10, 2015

336 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

The Alex Crow was my first Andrew Smith book, and I was pretty blown away. This book is nuts, you guys. It’s remarkably strange and different and weird, and I loved it. I’m not even really sure how to review it because of how weird it was, but I’ll try.

Andrew Smith expertly weaves together three seemingly separate story lines about a melting man who was told by Joseph Stalin to build a bomb and travel hundreds of miles to set it off, an exploratory ship from the 1880s (called The Alex Crow) on its way to the North Pole, and a Middle Eastern boy named Ariel (AH-riel, get it straight) who is the lone survivor of his village being murdered by a terrorist group and is now living in the US. It’s surprisingly hard to go into much detail about the plot of this book without giving anything away, but I was completely enthralled and shocked with how it all came together.

I loved the focus on friendship in this book. Ariel, his adoptive brother Max (aka he of the innumerable euphemisms for masturbation), and Cobie, the only other sane kid at the camp where the three of them are sent, bond over the uncontrollable situation they’ve been thrown into. They go through a lot of crazy stuff, and it brings them closer.

This is a layered, complicated story that actually goes a lot deeper than what meets the eye. It brings up a lot of hard issues like morality, race, gender, friendship, and kindness. It’s not always the easiest book to read nor is it like anything else you’ve ever read (or at least anything I’ve ever read). This book is messy and complicated and just so so good.

I honestly cannot wait to read another of Andrew Smith’s books. The Alex Crowwas disturbing, weird, awkward, hilarious, and absolutely wonderful.

-- Stefani

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Does The Alex Crow sound like something you'd dig? Find it here in the CMRLS catalog, and check it out!

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Audiobook Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Author:  Marissa Meyer

Narrator: Rebecca Soler

Genre: Young adult, science fiction, retelling

Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners (audiobook); Feiwel & Friends (physical book)

Audiobook length: 10 hours, 6 minutes

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

The book:

Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella in a dystopian, Asian world in which Cinder is a freaking cyborg! How cool is that?! I was a little nervous for this one just because of the huge amount of hype surrounding this series, but I honestly wish I would have read it years ago! I feel like there isn’t much I can say about this book that hasn’t already been said, but let me point out a few of my favorite things:

– Queen Levana is exactly what a villain should be like – manipulative, creepy, horrible, and just deliciously evil.

– The way Meyer took this well-known and sometimes overdone story of Cinderella and completely transformed it into her own story was amazing. Yes, sometimes you’d be able to predict what was going to happen, but for the most part, it just read as a quick nod to the original story and then she’d take it somewhere else. It was fascinating.

– The world that Meyer has created is incredible, original, and all around captivating. I just wanted to know EVERYTHING about it. The politics, science, technology – all of it was SO cool, and I was completely engaged with the story and world from the beginning.

– There were a few parts that felt a little long/drawn out, and the main reason I’m not giving this a TOP rating is because I figured out the big “twist” pretty early on, and while I definitely didn’t want to stop reading because of that, it made reading/listening a little less fun.

The audiobook/narrator:

I absolutely LOVED Rebecca Soler’s narration. There were a few times in the book that I think would have…bored me during the story but her narration kept me completely enthralled and I didn’t want to stop listening for a second. I wanted to start the next book right away.

The bottom line: I can’t believe I waited this long to read Cinder, but I’m glad I finally did. A fascinating world, wonderful retelling of Cinderella, perfect villain, and fantastic writing all mix together to create a book I didn’t want to stop reading for a second. I figured out the twist early on, but the book was so good I didn’t really care that much.

-- Stefani

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Does Cinder sound like something you'd like to read? Find it in the CMRLS catalog in both audiobook and physical formats, and check it out!

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Our Teens Review Books: White Space by Ilsa J. Bick

Author: Ilsa J. Bick

Publisher: Egmont USA

Number of Pages: 560

Rating: 7 out of 10

Synopsis (taken from Barnes and Noble): 

Seventeen-year-old Emma Lindsay has problems: a head full of metal, no parents, a crazy artist for a guardian whom a stroke has turned into a vegetable, and all those times when she blinks away, dropping into other lives so ghostly and surreal it’s as if the story of her life bleeds into theirs. But one thing Emma has never doubted is that she’s real.

          Then she writes “White Space,” a story about these kids stranded in a spooky house during a blizzard.

          Unfortunately, “White Space” turns out to be a dead ringer for part of an unfinished novel by a long-dead writer. The manuscript, which she’s never seen, is a loopyMatrix meets Inkheart story in which characters fall out of different books and jump off the page. Thing is, when Emma blinks, she might be doing the same and, before long, she’s dropped into the very story she thought she’d written. Trapped in a weird, snow-choked valley, Emma meets other kids with dark secrets and strange abilities: Eric, Casey, Bode, Rima, and a very special little girl, Lizzie. What they discover is that they–and Emma–may be nothing more than characters written into being from an alternative universe for a very specific purpose.

          Now what they must uncover is why they’ve been brought to this place–a world between the lines where parallel realities are created and destroyed and nightmares are written–before someone pens their end.

Review: 

This moment has been almost 8 weeks in the making. I originally received White Space as an ARC about a year ago and never could bring myself to start it until I found The Dickens Mirror. Why did I give this book a 7 out of 10? If I could, I’d give every single book I read a 10, but that’s not really rational. I love this book because it’s all over the place and the description rivals some of my favorite horror films. I’d liken the author to Stephen King if I hadn’t only seen his movies(i.e., The Shining, Carrie, etc.). There are so many different perspectives at once that it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what is happening. Are the characters real? Is one of them the “real” character and the rest have stemmed from this “real” character? However, I couldn’t give it above a 7 BECAUSE the story was so confusing. Even when you think you’ve finally figured it out, some aspect of the plot changes and you’re left questioning what you thought you knew about the plot and the characters. The writing was riveting and the characters were beautiful. I didn’t end up in a mess of tears like All the Bright Places, but I felt their pain and suffering and even joy, with them. Purple panops is my new favorite phrase and I love the idea of multiverses incorporated in the story as a Now. If you haven’t heard of The Dark Passages Series, I definitely recommend picking up a copy and trying it out. 

-- Taylor

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Does White Space sound like something you'd dig? Find it here on the CMRLS catalog and check it out!

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Book Review: Heist Society by Ally Carter

Title: Heist Society

Author: Ally Carter

Publication date: February 2010

Pages: 287

Read the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Katarina Bishop wants to be a normal girl. Well, as normal as anyone who has been raised by a family of thieves can be. When she leaves the life of crime behind her and cons her way into an upscale boarding school in the country, she thinks she’s finally out. That is, until she gets kicked out for a crime she didn’t commit and whisked back to her Uncle’s house in New York, where she finds out her father is on the hook for stealing paintings from a very, very dangerous man. Kat is determined to find the paintings and steal them back in order to save her father, but she’s going to need help. With a ragtag group of friends and family, Kat is about to take on the biggest job of her life.

I had a great time with this book, but be aware: these are pretty shallow waters. That’s not to say that it’s not well thought out, because it is. But there aren’t a lot of hidden depths to the story or the characters. In this case, though, that’s okay. It’s got a serious Ocean’s Eleven vibe, if the Ocean’s Eleven crew was about half that size and comprised entirely of teenagers and led by a girl. Kat is way more interesting to me than Danny Ocean, though, because she’s not perfect. She’s not infallible. She messes up sometimes, despite being incredibly skilled, and she tries to compartmentalize her feelings in order to finish a job and can’t always manage. I genuinely like her, and I want to see her succeed.

The other members of the cast are enjoyable, too. Ally Carter manages to paint a decent picture of these people in a very small amount of time, which means I was invested in every part of the heist. Hale, Kat’s best friend-slash-possible future love interest is delightful. He’s smooth and very cool, right up until he makes you remember that he’s also very young and awkward, just like Kat. They have a slow-burn kind of inevitable chemistry that doesn’t feel forced. Kat’s cousin, Gabrielle, is delightful. I love their opposing dynamic. Kat is pretty and very intelligent, but very low-key, and she doesn’t have a lot of time to explore feelings or figure herself out right now, even when those feelings come back to bite her in the butt. Gabrielle is stunningly beautiful and uses that to her full advantage, which makes her a serious asset. She’s also smart and funny, and I basically want them to become best friends and steal all the things together.

All in all, this one is really fun. I love heisty movies, and I’ve watched every season of Leverage at least twice, so this book was right up my alley. The action is fast-paced and smart, the characters are entertaining, and I love going step-by-step through the process of high-end thievery. If you’re into that, you’re going to like this, too. Also, it’s part of a series, so if you DO like it, then there’s another one waiting for you!

Happy reading!

--Kayla

Want to read Heist Society? Find it on the CMRLS catalog and put it on hold!

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Book Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Title: The Darkest Part of the Forest

Author: Holly Black

Publication date: January 2015

Pages: 324

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Everyone in Fairfold knows how strange it is. Hazel and her brother Ben have lived there almost their entire lives, and they know the rules: Never give thanks to a faerie. Never eat their food or drink their drink. Never venture into the forest without a little grave dirt and oatmeal in your pocket. For Hazel and Ben, the magic in Fairfold is almost normal—even the prince who sleeps in the forest, encased in a glass casket that no manmade weapon can break. What secrets Hazel and Ben can’t share with one another they spill over the casket on the deaf ears of their prince, knowing that he can’t hear them…until now. Now the prince has awakened, and all hell has broken loose in Fairfold.

I devoured this book. The characters were incredibly endearing, the love stories were a little unconventional, and the language transitioned back and forth from engaging but normal storytelling to a beautiful, lyrical kind of fairy tale.

That said, there’s something about it that doesn’t sit entirely right with me. I think it’s the pacing of the story that throws me off. I love that this is a story can stand alone. I like that our loose ends get wrapped up and I felt satisfied with the story I read by the end. But sometimes, it feels a little thrown together. It’s clear that the idea came together from a bunch of different threads, but they’re not woven together as tightly as they could be. The villain practically twirls his mustache through most of his dialogue, and the prince is…a little boring, actually? He’s fine, but I could definitely have done with more development on his end. Most of his story is expository.

What the prince lacks in character development, Hazel more than makes up for. I love Hazel. She’s going through trying times, and she’s a tough cookie, but not unbelievably so. I could feel her increasing anxiety as the story unfolded, though even when she blamed herself for things beyond her control, those fears are handled very well. I also love Ben. Though we spend more time with Hazel and her point of view, Ben is still really fun to read about. I wish he’d also had more development than he was given, though. Also, Jack. I could talk about Jack forever. I love him. He’s sweet and funny and a little scary. You can feel how he tries to keep a grasp on his control at all times. Basically, Jack is the best.

All in all, this is one of those books where I loved the concept more than the actual story, though the story is still enjoyable, particularly the interspersed chapters that read more like fables. Most of Holly Black’s books feel like that for me, like the idea is bigger than the actual story that gets written. Or maybe I’ve just been spoiled by other books (looking at you, Raven Boys). I give it a solid B.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

--Kayla

Want to read The Darkest Part of the Forest? Look it up on the CMRLS catalog and put a hold on it! 

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Book Review: The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Title: The Accident Season

Author: Moira Fowley-Doyle

Publication date: August 18, 2015

Pages: 288

Read the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Every year during October, Cara and her family are inexplicably prone to accident and injury. They ban anything too hot or too sharp, cover every hard surface and sharp corner with padding, and try to make it through each school day without fuss. Still, cuts and bruises become a way of life, though those are the least of their worries this year. Classmate Elsie has gone missing, and no one seems to remember she even exists. As Cara unravels the Elsie mystery, she also comes closer and closer to discovering the source of her family’s curse.

This book is not what I expected. I figured there would be a witch, definitely a ghost or two, and maybe even a Great Moral Lesson for what exactly is causing so much trouble for this family.

This book is all of that and none of that.

First of all, Fowley-Doyle’s writing is absolutely stunning. This is a slow burn of a story, which can be off-putting for some people, but I found myself incredibly intrigued by the magic woven in each word. By description alone the story sounds like it would be scary, but it’s not. It’s triumph and tragedy wrapped up in an eerie little package, and the fact that it refuses to pigeonhole itself into any particular category really works. I’ve never felt as haunted by a book as I was this one.

The characters are all really solid, too. Everyone is just a tiny bit off and unpredictable. Our protagonist, Cara, is very sweet. She wants the best for her family and sees the good in people and situations, but often ignores the obvious warning signs that something is wrong. Alice, her older sister, will break your heart. There’s clearly something going on with her, but it takes a long time for it all to come to light, because she’s so good at pretending and everyone else is good at letting her pretend and even allowing themselves to believe it. Sam, their ex-stepbrother, is a rock that grounds them all. It’s painful to watch him break. And Cara’s spooky best friend Bea is the glue that holds them together, even when she can’t keep herself from falling apart.

I can’t say too much, because even though there are things you see coming, the way the whole story comes together is beautiful to watch. The story is told from Cara’s point of view, and with that comes her imagination. There is sometimes no indication as to when her reality slides into the unreal, though that’s kind of the point. As a reader, you’re never sure what exactly is real and what’s not, and in the end, it doesn’t really matter.

HEADS UP: There is some potentially triggering content, though it’s not at all graphic and more heavily implied than anything else. Also, there is a particular relationship that may be a little weird for some, so if you’re unsure, you may want to spoil yourself just a teensy bit ahead of time. Even so, knowing what happens doesn’t make the writing any less beautiful.

You’ll have to determine for yourself whether this is your particular cup of tea. That said, it’s definitely mine.

Let me know what you think!

--Kayla

Want to check out The Accident Season? Find it on the CMRLS catalog and put it on hold!

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Graphic Novel Review: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Title: Nimona

Author: Noelle Stevenson

Publication Date: May 12, 2015

Pages: 266

Read the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Meet Nimona, the small but vicious shapeshifting sidekick of Lord Ballister Blackheart, the kingdom’s most notorious supervillain…or is he? Watch as they set out to show the kingdom once and for all that The Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics and their poster boy, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin, are the real villains. But what will it cost them to prove it?

Full disclosure: I’ve loved Noelle Stevenson for a long time. At only 23 years old, she’s published Nimona and co-written Lumberjanes (both of which are on their way to the big screen), as well as won multiple Eisner Awards. She’s also one half of the duo responsible for The Hawkeye Initiative, which is one of the funniest things on the internet in my humble opinion. I’ve followed her on tumblr and watched Nimona come together as a web comic piece by piece, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Nimona is heartfelt, symbolic, and completely hilarious. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll try to keep it vague. Blackheart, our dastardly villain, does not believe in collateral damage. This is the main reason why he hates the Institution so much. Well, that and the fact that they booted him when he lost his arm in a jousting “accident” with Sir Goldenloin, and since they needed a villain, that’s what he became—whether he liked it or not. Nimona, on the other hand, has no problem murdering whole rooms full of people. While she comes off as cheerfully bloodthirsty in the beginning, we quickly realize that there is far more to her past than we can even imagine, or even want to. Together, they team up and start to dismantle The Institution through heists, manipulation, and general buddy-cop shenanigans. 

I love Blackheart. He’s a good guy with a bad rap. Who can’t get behind that? I’m also strangely fond of Sir Goldenloin, because even though he’s a huge doofus and his actions are often inexcusable, they’re not unexplainable. The quiet implications of his background with Blackheart that are threaded throughout the story are intriguing (and adorable).

Nimona, though. Nimona is a true gift. Nimona can go from zero to homicide in a nanosecond, which makes her incredibly unpredictable. She can change not just her appearance, but her strength and mass at will. She wants to help, but she doesn’t always know how to help without hurting people. She is both a sad, scared child and a girl who holds enough rage inside her to burn down the world. I love her so much.

The story is vibrant and funny, the set pieces are bizarre and brilliant (knights with swords and armor that also conduct scientific experiments), the artwork is so cute and so beautiful, and it’s just a really, really good time.

Seriously. Go read this right now. You won’t regret it.

--Kayla

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Want to check out Nimona? Find it here on the CMRLS catalog and place a hold on it!

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Our Teens Review Books: Beta by Rachel Cohn

Author: Rachel Cohn

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Elysia is created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen-year-old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of a teenage clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to exist. 

Elysia's purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bioengineered for perfection. Even the air induces a strange, euphoric high, which only the island's workers-soulless clones like Elysia-are immune to. 

At first, Elysia's life is idyllic and pampered. But she soon sees that Demesne's human residents, who should want for nothing, yearn. But for what, exactly? She also comes to realize that beneath the island's flawless exterior, there is an under­current of discontent among Demesne's worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care-so why are overpowering sensations cloud­ing Elysia's mind? 

If anyone discovers that Elysia isn't the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When her one chance at happi­ness is ripped away with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she's always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive. 

What I thought: 

Beta is an intellectually stimulating and emotionally engaging story of identity and free will that will have you on the edge of your seat.  In Beta, they live on an Island called Demense, where only the wealthiest people in the world live. 

            Beta tells the story of Elysia, a first in a teenage line of clones.  She is not able to experience emotions or desires.  Elysia is only a toy, a servant, to the people.  She’s 100% expendable.  Any signs of being a “defect” will result in immediate termination. But, what happens when Elysia finds out she might actually be a defect? Will she fight for her freedom?

            Beta is a jaw-dropping, well-written story with many ups and downs that will keep you guessing. The only complaint I could have about this amazingly beautiful book is the ending.  My goodness.  A cliffhanger you would never imagine.

            Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  It was a serious page-turner with all kinds of plot twists. I recommend this book for a new, thrilling dystopian series, and I cannot wait to read the next one.

4 STARS

-- Gracie

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Our Teens Review Books: Insignia by S.J. Kincaid

Author: S.J. Kincaid

Publisher: Katherine Tegen

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

The earth is in the middle of WWIII in Insignia, the first entry in S. J. Kincaid's fast-paced sci-fi adventure trilogy perfect for fans of Ender's Game.

The planet's natural resources are almost gone, and war is being fought to control the assets of the solar system. The enemy is winning. The salvation may be Tom Raines. Tom doesn't seem like a hero. He's a short fourteen-year-old with bad skin. But he has the virtual-reality gaming skills that make him a phenom behind the controls of the battle drones.

As a new member of the Intrasolar Forces, Tom's life completely changes. Suddenly, he's someone important. He has new opportunities, friends, and a shot at having a girlfriend. But there's a price to pay. . . . 

REVIEW:

Insignia is a very technical, sci-fy and action packed oriented book, and I love it! The set up is an understanding, common way to reach towards the readers, and the main character is relatable to us, and our nerdy habits. Tom Raines is an expert gamer that uses his skills to pay rent- and by rent I mean finding any hotels with cheap prices and trying to maintain a decent living with his drunkard, gambling father. Tom has acne, short height, scrawny, and his life is just terrible; however, all that could change completely with a simple "yes". 

I enjoyed the premise of the book, however, there's no mistake that the plotline is repetitive, but the characters do make up for the plot itself. Each character has their own unique quality that shines through each page, and the interaction is sentimental, which makes you focus more on them instead of the story. Now for the story: it's military centric, and describes a lot of technology, numbers, coding, and other techno science stuff. Oh, and with advance vocabulary. The characters go through youth training, so there's not going to be any deliberate fighting, but military fighting isn't the same as our 21st century fighting. World War III is in effect, however, war is battled through the galaxy. Each planet is being dominated for possession, and considering human nature, the world is fighting to control which part of the planet and solar system. Androids are battling it out without human bloodshed, such a genius idea, no? Tempting, but there's a lot behind the scenes that propaganda won't tell you. Masses of riches are being produced, and waves of money-hungry investors are ready to get their hands on it.

Besides the military and political agenda, Insignia has cool features of advanced gaming systems, holograms, and incredible microchips that could transform society into something bigger, better, and very dangerous. I would indulge further on the technology, but it'll lead to spoilers, so, I'd say it's going to get very technical in the book.

There's barely any swearing, but I'll just place a warning for curious young readers. Action is abundant, but it's artificial action, so there's nothing to sincerely worry about (or is it?). If you can handle advanced words, technology being described every other page, and action, then I would recommend this book.

Personally for me, I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10.

-- Amber

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Want to check out Insignia? Find it here on the CMRLS catalog and place a hold on it!

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