The Truth About You and Me by Amanda Grace

The Truth About You and Me is the latest novel from Amanda Grace, a pseudonym for the prolific Mandy Hubbard, whose novel, Ripple I had previously read and enjoyed although I wasn't completely obsessed. I had been sent Ripple for review, but from my own perspective, her Amanda Grace titles, which are darker and edgier than the Hubbard titles, are the ones I found much more appealing so I was excited to finally pick one up.  

The Truth About You and Me tells the story of sixteen year Madelyn Hawkins, who is so smart she's attending college through a gifted program at her high school. One her first day there she meets Bennet, and she's instantly attracted to him. Even better, he seems to reciprocate. The only problem is, Bennet is her college professor, and he's under the impression that Madelyn is eighteen... and she hasn't told him the truth.

The novel is told like a letter from Madelyn to Bennet, so the reader gets insight into their private world. I really enjoyed the unusual format, as Madelyn looks back on how things started and how they went so terribly, terribly wrong. It's an incredibly bittersweet and emotionally complex novel. I really spent the entire book conflicted over who I wanted to root for, there isn't an obvious "good" or "bad" guy, which makes it really authentic as real life is rarely clear-cut either. It is horrible that Madelyn didn't tell Bennet the truth, but as a reader, I was caught up in her infatuation and desire to be someone different, so I could almost understand where she was coming from, as horrible as it was. It's definitely a book that leaves a lot to discuss.

The only complaint I had about the novel would be a spoiler, so I'll simply say that there was one turn of events that felt too convenient and contrived in both its timing and execution. Otherwise, it was a short, easy to read and enamoring novel that kept my attention from beginning to end. The day that I started reading it I had to skip to the end before I fell asleep just to know how things turned out, and that rarely ever happens for me when the novel isn't a traditional mystery. I just got swept away in Grace's prose and Madelyn's story. Although I am still interested in reading more Hubbard books, they seem like great, light, fun reads, it is Grace titles I am most likely to seek out in the near future. There are two more, But I Love Him and In Too Deep and they are now high on my "to read" list. If it's not already on your reading list, you should definitely consider picking up The Truth About You and Me when it's released in September.

Release Date: September 8th 2013  Pages: 264  Format: E-galley
Source: NetGalley  Publisher: Flux  Buy It: Book Depository

Mini Reviews: Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton and The Cutting Season by Attica Locke

I don't read a ton of it, but every once in awhile there's nothing like a good mystery novel to get keep my attention, and Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton was exactly that. The story begins with a school on fire, and Grace, a mother, knows that her daughter Jenny is inside. She races in and finds her in time, but that is only the beginning of their trouble, as the arsonist is still on the loose and whoever it is still wants to destroy her family. There is an unexpected slightly supernatural element to the book, but even if I didn't totally buy it, it worked in context.

Like the successful mystery novel it is, Afterwards was full of twists and turns that kept me guessing. It's a pretty long book at 400 pages, and I admit I might have (digitally) flipped towards the end to get some details just so I could go to sleep without finishing it. It was intense and exciting and wonderful. Ultimately, I picked this book up looking for a good mystery novel, and I went away completely satisfied. Afterwards is an unexpected, sometimes strange and unusual novel, but it was a great read for me and left me eager to read Lupton's much-loved debut novel, Sister, in the future.

Obviously Afterwards left me in a mystery-craving mood because the next book I finished was The Cutting Season by Attica Locke. The novel centers around a historic plantation house in Louisiana, Belle Vie, and Caren, the woman who has managed it for the last four years but has long had ties to the place. When a dead body turns up, Caren is drawn into the investigation, uncovering many secrets along the way.

The Cutting Season initially caught my attention as a mystery, but as soon as I started reading I realized it was more than that. If anything, it falls into the category of 'literary mystery' because of Locke's detailed writing and eloquent prose, but with an unexplained murder underpinning the entire novel. Unlike Lupton's novel, there is definitely nothing supernatural about it, but that doesn't it stop it from having some pretty creepy moments.

My major issue with the novel was that it was too slow-paced at times, in particular because I was looking for a mystery, and that meant that as beautiful as Locke's writing is, it often had difficulty keeping my attention. I didn't have an incredibly strong connection to Caren either, which made me less invested in the outcome and also probably contributed the fact that the book took me an entire month to read– in comparison to the two days that Afterwards took. That said, for readers looking for a complicated and original story, an incredibly setting, and beautifully written prose, The Cutting Season is still worth checking out.

Release Date: April 24th 2012 / September 18th 2012   Pages: 400 / 384   
Format: E-galley /ARC   Source: NetGalley / Publisher 

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

Note: This review contains no spoilers of We'll Always Have Summer, but may contain spoilers of the first book in the series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, a review of which can be found here and the second book in the series, It's Not Summer Without You, a review of which can be found here.

I really love Jenny Han's writing, but I'm not sure I always love her stories. Such is the case with the third and final book in the Summer Trilogy, We'll Always Have Summer.

This book starts off with Belly agreeing to marry Jeremiah. Never mind the decision feels rushed to everyone, including Belly's family and the reader– I mean, she's still in college and she's only been with him for a couple years. But stubborn as always, Belly doesn't care. I'd blame Jeremiah, but he's so in love with her it's not like you can expect him to act any different. But what it means is that from the very beginning, I'm already not a fan of Belly, something I struggled with throughout this trilogy, as much as I loved the boys unfortunately the girl they were both fighting over could be pretty irritating.

I did start to understand Conrad better in We'll Always Have Summer in this novel, something I struggled with in the previous book, It's Not Summer Without You. Maybe Conrad was also made more appealing by the fact that Jeremiah has basically turned into a frat boy, a transformation I found disappointing though I guess it was realistic.

Of course the moment Belly agreed to marry Jeremiah I wanted Conrad to sweep in and steal her away, but the way things unfolded did seem believable. I guess overall I was happy with the ending, and Han manages to tie up everything pretty nicely for the reader, but it just felt a little like something was missing. Maybe I would have been happier if this series had ended with The Summer I Turned Pretty because for me as a reader, none of the subsequent books lived up it. That said, it was refreshing to see Belly finally grow up a bit by the end.

Ultimately, these books haven't changed how I feel about Han as a writer. Her writing is beautiful and her characters are complicated, and I will definitely be continuing with her recent co-written series, which began with the first book I read by her, Burn For Burn. She's a writer I'll continue to watch out for, even if We'll Always Have Summer isn't a book I'll be returning to again.

Release Date: April 26th 2011  Pages: 291  Source: Borrowed  Publisher: Simon and Schuster 

Also By This Author:  The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1); It's Not Summer Without You (Summer #2);  Burn for Burn (Burn for Burn #1)  Buy It: Book Depository

Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

Sarah Jio’s third novel, Blackberry Winter, provides the same delightful mix of mystery, romance, and history, as her first two, along with unique twists and its own emotional storyline.

Like The Violets of March and The Bungalow, Blackberry Winter fluctuates between two time periods where an unsolved mystery from the earlier time period comes to light decades later and a female protagonist works to find the truth, including an unexpected connection to her own life. 

Blackberry Winter is set in Seattle, both in 1933 and 2010, and unlike her earlier books, Jio’s main focus is not on romance but instead on motherhood– though the romance is definitely still important.

In 1933, during a May 1st storm, the three-year-old son of single mother Vera vanishes; the only trace he leaves behind is his teddy bear– face down in the snow. In 2010, another unexpected May 1st snowstorm happens and Claire, a reporter covering it, discovers the story of the unsolved abduction and works to learn what really happened.

Just as The Bungalow found some unexpected characters from Jio’s debut appear, a few more show up for an important appearance in Blackberry Winter. Although each novel is absolutely a standalone, it’s nice to get to revisit favourite characters again, even if they aren’t always doing quite as well as you hoped.

The novel itself is probably Jio’s strongest so far, as her storytelling has an emotion to it that is heartbreaking regardless of if it is Vera or Claire narrating. There are some striking images, such as the teddy bear, and the theme of motherhood is especially powerful.

Jio’s transition from one time period to another is incredibly smooth and I never got confused about which story I was reading. Her writing is easy to read, but has some lovely details immerse the reader in the setting and time period. The snowy scenery makes it a perfect read winter read.

Like Jio’s first two books, Blackberry Winter certainly has some convenient coincidences in it, but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of it, and even when I could mostly tell how things were going to turn it, there was a surprise or two in store.

After three novels there are certain things that can be expected of Jio, in particular a page-turning mystery that is also engaging on an emotional level, such as Blackberry Winter provides. I will certainly be picking up her fourth book, The Last Camellia, which is released on May 28th.

Release Date: November 27th 2012  Pages: 290  Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher  Publisher: Penguin Buy It: Book Depository

Orchards by Holly Thompson

Orchards is a powerful novel in verse by Holly Thompson, about the repercussions of bullying and the meaning of home. In this novel, Kana Golberg is sent away to live with her mother's family in Japan after a classmate commits suicide. During her summer in Japan, Kana works on the orange farm and is forced to reflect on the role she may have played, and what she could have done to stop the bullying. It's a simple story, but its strength is really in the setting. Thompson brings the Japanese farm to life, and deftly takes on the cultural issues felt by Kana who is half Japanese and half Jewish-American. There definitely aren't enough novels with biracial protagonists, and I thought this one did an excellent job with mentioning some of the unique issues without making it Kana's defining feature.

I thought it was really interesting how even though the novel was in verse, it was still divided up into chapters. The verse writing is excellent, and the page and line breaks are thoughtful and well-placed. It really added to some of the fragmentation of Kana's thoughts at times, and made it quick, easy, and lovely to read. The story is complimented by some illustrations, though I found them unnecessary. Thompson's words illustrated everything I needed to see.

Ultimately, I don't know why I waited so long to pick up Orchards, but as soon as I did I couldn't put it down. I devoured half the book that night before bed, and read the rest before work the next day– I just couldn't leave until I finished it. The writing was smooth and lyrical, and it was easy to form an emotional connection with Kana, even though– or maybe because– she wasn't perfect. I will definitely be recommending Orchards and I'm very excited to pick up Thompson's followup, The Language Inside when it is released in May.

Release Date: February 22nd 2011  Pages: 336  Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher  Publisher: Random House  Buy It: Book Depository

Dancing in the Dark by Robyn Bavati

Dancing in the Dark is the debut novel of Robyn Bavati, which originally published in Australia but is just making it to North America in 2013. It's the story of Ditty Cohen, a 12-year-old girl who secretly falls in love with ballet, despite being forbidden to even sign up for it by her Haredi (extremely Orthodox Jewish) parents. The beginning of the story takes place five and a half years later, when Ditty's religious and dance worlds collide, before going back to the start again and following the years that lead that point. 

From the moment I saw its haunting cover and read the summary, I was incredibly excited to pick up Dancing in the Dark, because the concept sounded amazing and I have also been wanting to read more books with Jewish characters. However, as soon as I started the book I realized it might not be a great match, as it began with an unnecessary and overly dramatic prologue, ending with "memories flash before my eyes..." – the ellipse is a direct quote from the ARC.

As it continued the story definitely caught my interest. However, because Ditty started at age 12, she read quite young, even when she got older, which meant the end result was more middle grade than young adult to me. Still, she was complex and interesting, especially when it came to her faith. Unfortunately, sometimes other characters' reactions felt simplistic and lacked the nuance I wanted. In one example, despite there being other Jewish kids at Ditty's ballet school, when somebody asks Ditty what she's getting for Christmas and she says nothing because she's Jewish, they laugh and say everyone gets Christmas presents. Ditty might not have Internet or access to TV, but these other kids certainly do, so it felt like a kinda silly reaction, even though the kids are only 12.

Another reason Dancing in the Dark came across quite young was because some conversations seem like they are there just to tell a message or explain why people have certain beliefs rather than being completely organic. Some examples include an argument between Ditty's father and uncle, or when her father discusses with her sister's husband his favourite Talmud passage for the week, and it just happens to be on conflicting values– I realize if it wasn't something relevant it wouldn't be a part of the novel, but I just didn't want it to be quite so obvious.

That said, there were some really interesting discussions about faith, such as between Ditty's cousin Linda and herself.  Maybe I enjoyed those portions more because Ditty was an active participant, rather than a bystander. Like Intentions by Deborah Heiligman which I read last year, Dancing in the Dark, it was clearly written for readers who know nothing about Judaism. As a Jewish individual, that was probably a huge factor in what made it a bit dull or frustrating to read at times.

Additionally, the conflicts tended to resolve really easily. Like when Ditty needs someone else to walk home her younger siblings, suddenly her eight and a half year old sister is old enough to do it– even though Ditty had been the one walking her home, and even though eight seems awfully young for that to me. There are other examples but they are spoilers so I won't mention them.

Finally, time passes really quickly, the novel starts at age twelve and by 160 pages in it's two and a half years later. There are just brief moments to show time passing, and at times I felt like I was missing bits. I also felt like it was hard to really see Ditty getting older, because there wasn't much in between to show her becoming more mature. The quick pace makes it really easy to read, because there's always lots of action, but it means that there isn't a lot of time to connect with characters.

So that was a lot of thoughts. I really focused on the aspects that disappointed me, because I wanted so badly to love Dancing in the Dark and it just didn't quite succeed for me. That said, I do think it would be great for younger readers, like maybe old MG or young YA level, and perhaps it was the cover the swayed me into thinking it would be more mature than it was. I definitely think there needs to be more young adult featuring Jewish characters, and I hadn't read a YA featuring Haredi characters before. I did enjoy Ditty, she was believable and I found her journey exciting and interesting to follow. Overall, Dancing in the Dark is definitely worth picking up if you're looking for some insight into very Orthodox Judaism, and it's a quick-paced, exciting read with an authentic main character, even though it wasn't quite right for me.

Release Date: February 3rd 2013  Pages: 321  Format: E-galley
Source: NetGalley  Publisher: Flux  Buy It: Book Depository

Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman

Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman is an unexpected debut novel that blurs the line between young adult and literary fiction with the story of Rory Hendrix, who lives in a Reno trailer park with her mother and is “third generation in a line of apparent imbeciles, feeble-minded bastards surely on the road to whoredom.” 

Rory happens to have a copy of the Girl Scout Handbook she's borrowed from the library and she pours over it for advice. Unfortunately, the Girl Scout connection was probably my least favourite part of the novel, it often felt forced or unnecessary to me, like Hassman thought the book needed a gimmick. With writing this strong, it certainly didn’t.

Because easily my favourite thing about Girlchild was the words. Beautiful, deep, powerful words that left an impact long after I finished reading them. Instead of chapters, the novel is divided up so that every page or so is it's own little story– which sometimes made it a bit confusing when one bit was ending and a new one was beginning as I listened to it on audiobook, but usually just meant that a scene was over before I knew it, like a quick punch to the gut before it was time for something else. Interestingly, the audiobook is actually narrated by Tupelo Hassman, and she is one of the rare authors that can actually do a fantastic job reading it, so that I definitely enjoyed listening.

Hassman's incredible writing allows her to really create a believable setting, letting the reader into this trailer park world, where kids growing up never thinking they'll amount to anything. It was both devastating and illuminating to read about. The majority of the novel wasn't things I could relate to, but somehow with Hassman's words, they felt real. That said, it wasn't pity that I felt for Rory. Instead it was laughter and pain and joy, it was something incredibly human and real.

Coming away from Girlchild I am left with two messages: one, that it's horrible that kids really do have to grow up in conditions like Rory Hendrix, and I hope we can do as much as possible to fix that, and two, that Hassman is a brilliant writer and I will absolutely be picking up whatever she writes next.

Release Date: February 14th 2012  Pages: 275  Format: Audiobook/Hardcover 
Source: Edelweiss/Publisher  Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux  Buy It: Book Depository

This is a review by Zoë. You can find her here on Goodreads or on Twitter @strandedhero

Underwater Dogs by Seth Casteel

Is it fair to review this book? Probably not, but I just want to share it's awesomeness with my readers. Granted, there aren't many words in Underwater Dogs, just an introduction at the beginning to explain how the project came about, along with some information about each dog featured, but since when do books need words? Certainly not if they have adorable photos like these instead.

So yes, Seth Casteel's coffee table book, Underwater Dogs, was on my birthday wish list. And yes, I am very happy my mom bought it for me. Because sometimes you just need a book to make you smile, and that's exactly what this one does. It also makes me want to buy an underwater camera and start taking pictures because I really don't know what my family's dogs look like underwater. But now I'm curious.

As a side note, it is most definitely cheating to count this as one of my "books read in 2012" but I'm going to anyway. I promise not to count "rereads" though– because I will definitely continue to come back to Underwater Dogs. Who could say no to those faces? 

Release Date: October 23rd 2012 Pages: 114  Format: Hardcover 
Source: Gift  Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Buy It: Book Depository

This is a review by Zoë. You can find her here on Goodreads or on Twitter @strandedhero

Collateral by Ellen Hopkins

In Collateral, Ellen Hopkins' second adult novel, Ashley, a young woman who doesn't believe in war, falls in love with Cole, a man who is fighting in it. Having been together for five years and four deployments, Ashley pursues her MFA while Cole is away. She never imagined her life this way, but her love for Cole leaves her no other option. The only problem is, Cole may no longer be the person she fell in love with.

The novel goes back and forth in time, from when Ashley and Cole were just falling in love, to their present situation five years later. I really liked the magic of when they were first together, and I feel like Hopkins captured that initial infatuation perfectly. I didn't find the tense-switching confusing, but I was desperate to know exactly how things went so wrong and that definitely kept me reading.

Like Hopkins' young adult books, many of which I have read and loved– including the Crank Trilogy and Identical– Collateral is written in verse. The verse is complimented by poetry written by Cole, which added an interesting dimension to the story by giving insight into what he was thinking and feeling. As always, I thought Hopkins' verse flowed smoothly and was really easy and enjoyable to read.

However, while I did think Collateral was incredibly well-written, but I don't think I enjoyed it quite as much as I've loved Hopkins' young adult books. This has very little to do with the fact that she's writing older characters here, and more to do with some of the storyline that just rubbed me the wrong way. In general, Hopkins' writes the kind of books that make the reader think, and although she still mostly does that in Collateral it sometimes became too preachy for me to really enjoy it. At some points, it felt more like a message than a story. Ashley spends a lot of time talking about how the war Cole is fighting in is wrong, and the overall tone of the book is pretty negative. It also sometimes felt like Hopkins was simplifying things too much for the sake of the story, including Cole's story.

That said, I feel like many of my reasons for not falling completely in love with Collateral have to do with this book in particular, so it hasn't changed my adoration of Hopkins, nor the likelihood that I would pick up another novel by her again in the future– including adult titles.

Release Date: November 6th 2012  Pages: 496  Format: E-galley  Source: NetGalley/Publisher
Also by this Author (YA): Crank (Crank #1); Glass (Crank #2); Fallout (Crank #3); Identical; Burned (Burned #1)  Publisher: Simon and Schuster  Buy It: Book Depository

This is a review by Zoë. You can find her here on Goodreads or on Twitter @strandedhero

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Author Trish Doller has an amazing Tumblr, click here to visit it, where she regularly posts snippets of whatever her work-in-progress is. That's how in the months leading up to the release of Something Like Normal I was able to get a really good taste of her writing, through a novel that has since sold and been renamed as Where The Stars Still Shine. I mention this because these snippets, along with a first chapter excerpt from SLN available on her website, are exactly what had me so incredibly excited to read her debut novel– so much so that I pre-ordered it months in advance, something I rarely ever do.

Suffice it to say, I had pretty high expectations for this debut novel. 

Something Like Normal is the story of Travis, a marine who has just returned home from Afghanistan, to a situation that has changed dramatically. His brother's dating his girlfriend, his parents are breaking up, and he's having nightmares about his dead best friend. It's a lot to handle. Then he runs into Harper, a girl whose life he helped ruin but who now offers him the possibility of happiness again, or at least something like normal.

There were quite a few things I loved about this book. Doller writes an undeniably authentic and enjoyable voice in Travis; he always felt honest and believable as a person to me. In general, her writing is incredibly strong, and there are some beautiful descriptions and moments throughout the novel. Even the dialogue in the novel felt real and charming. If I didn't know better, I would honestly think Doller was an eighteen-year-old male marine. 

There's also plenty of conflict to fill a book with not much more than 200 pages. It makes the book incredibly easy to read, I think I devoured it in only a few hours. And I definitely enjoyed it. My only criticism would be that I maybe wanted a little more. It's frustrating but honest to say that my expectations going into Something Like Normal may have influenced my experience. The book itself is incredibly well-written, just like I expected from Doller. But I think it's just a bit too short for me. I wanted a little more time with the characters, a little more time for events to unfold and develop. It's not a major flaw but it does hold me back from the full-on gush fest I expected.

The truth is, I'm writing this review six months after finishing Something Like Normal, and in retrospect, some of the events or character changes in the novel feel like they needed a bit more time. That said, I am definitely still excited for Doller's next novel, Where The Stars Still Shine. I am most certainly still a big fan of hers. I couldn't stop reading Travis' journey, and I especially loved his voice. This is certainly the first young adult book I've read that deals with these kinds of issues, and I particularly enjoyed the male perspective, which is sometimes lacking among the young adult books I read. The relationship between Harper and Travis was really great, and despite tackling serious issues the novel still has a sense of humour.  

Something Like Normal may not have been exactly what I was hoping for, but it was something pretty close, and I am curious to see if Doller gets it perfect next time– with writing like hers, it's definitely possible. 

Release Date: June 19th 2012 Pages: 224  Format: Hardcover 
Source: Purchased  Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Buy It: Book Depository

This is a review by Zoë. You can find her here on Goodreads or on Twitter @strandedhero

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

Note: This review contains no spoilers of It's Not Summer Without You, but may contain spoilers of the first book in the series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, a review of which can be found here.

I really enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, even though the narrator, Belly, tended to get on my nerves Han's beautiful writing made it all worthwhile. So I was definitely planning to pick up the sequel, It's Not Summer Without You to find out how the drama between Belly and brothers Conrad and Jeremiah.
 
However, unlike The Summer I Turned Pretty, there is pretty much nothing appealing about Conrad in this book, which makes it frustrating to see Belly continue to be devoted to him for the reasons the reader can't quite comprehend. He may have been her first love, but he's a complete jerk this time round. My heart just broke for Jeremiah who was basically being strung along by Belly, in a way that made me think of Belly's boyfriend Cameron from the last book. Adding to this are the short chapters told from Jeremiah's viewpoint that just made me sympathize with him more. So it was a complicated emotion– even though I wanted Belly to choose him, I felt like he deserved better than her.

In It's Not Summer Without You, Susannah has died and Belly is actually spending the summer at home, but of course she can't stay away from Cousins for good. The feelings of summer that Han captured so perfectly in book one are back, her vivid descriptive moments and that sensation that is summer nights and kisses. When the book begins, Conrad has gone missing and Belly and Jeremiah head to track him down. And even though Belly annoys me at times, she definitely has started to grow up and it is clear that she is mourning Susannah deeply. By the end of the book I was really conflicted over Belly's decision, and especially the afterwords left my stomach in knots going into book 3, which was definitely not what I expected. But more on that in my next Summer review. 

Release Date: April 27th 2010  Pages: 288  Source: Borrowed  

Also By This Author: The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1); Burn For Burn (Burn For Burn #1)
Publisher: Simon and Schuster  Buy It: Book Depository

My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend

Sometimes a premise just catches my eye and I absolutely have to pick up the book; My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend was one of those cases. It's about a very pretty girl, Lexi, who goes face-first through a windshield and has to learn to adapt to life afterwards. Combining that story with a sister element– Lexi's gorgeous while her older sister Ruthie is the quirky smart one– makes for an intriguing basis to an incredibly readable book.

Lexi is definitely not the kind of main character that a reader instantly connects with. She's had a really horrible experience, but that doesn't mean she's suddenly a profound person. She's still obsessed with herself in a way that makes her unlikable. In fact, she reminded me a bit of one of my favourite novels, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. Like the main character in that book, Lexi undergoes a transformation that is more than physical.

I also really enjoyed the relationship between Lexi and Ruthie. Honestly, while I couldn't relate to Lexi and her (formerly) perfect life, I could definitely relate to Ruthie and her quirky personality, but also the way that Lexi completely underestimated her and completely pigeon-holed her. It certainly didn't help my feelings towards Lexi. 

However, what Friend does really well is show Lexi's journey. It's undeniable that this is a life changing event, and having to pick up the pieces afterwards made for an interesting and exciting story. There was also an element of mystery to the story and wanting to know how Lexi ended up in the car accident, which I think contributed to how page-turning the story was. Although I'd never read anything by Natasha Friend before, I found her style very easy and enjoyable. There weren't any big surprises or shocking revelations in My Life in Black and White, but it was relaxing and fun to read and I'd definitely be willing to pick up a novel her in the future– and considering I have her 2010 novel, For Keeps, on my shelves, I think I probably will. 

Release Date: June 28th 2012  Pages: 294  Format: E-book 
Source: Borrowed Publisher: Penguin Buy It: Book Depository

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Shine by Lauren Myracle is definitely one of the most powerful books I've read in 2012, if not ever, but somehow it's been waiting to be reviewed for nearly four months. I guess somewhere in there I started a PhD– but that's no excuse. This is an incredibly novel that deserves to be shared, and I'm happy I'm finally going to do that.

In Shine, sixteen-year-old Cat's former best friend Patrick is the victim of a horrible hate crime. As he's left fighting for his life, it seems the small town police in Black Creek aren't doing much to find the person responsible, because Patrick was gay.  Cat sets out to find his attacker herself, but she has her own trauma from years ago that still haunts her. Cat and Patrick's stories are intertwined in an incredibly dark novel about intolerance and secrets.

It is definitely the mystery of Shine that first pulled me in, I desperately wanted to know who Patrick's attacker(s) were. But I was kept reading by the power and strength of Myracle's writing. This is the first book I've read by her, but it definitely won't be the last. Myracle tackles real and serious issues with thoughtfulness and realism. Black Creek comes alive, and so do the people living there. They are complicated and damaged, and they don't always realize the consequences of their actions. But the reader does, and that's what makes it so painful to read.

Last year, Shine was accidentally nominated for a National Book Award, and then un-nominated (read Myracle's thoughts here). There was a lot of outrage at the time about how much Shine deserved to be on that list. Granted, I haven't read the other books on the list, but I absolutely believe Shine should have made the list. It's a novel with an important and powerful message, but instead of being preachy, it's truly about the characters. There are probably some minor faults, in particular a small romantic subplot that didn't feel necessary and often seemed awkward in the context of an otherwise profound story.

However, ultimately, Lauren Myracle has written a strong and beautiful novel that is dark and truthful with its characters and messages. Nearly four months after I read it, Shine stays with me, and I expect it will for a long time to come. Not only is this a book I highly recommend, I think it's an incredibly important addition to high school libraries and it certainly belongs on all their shelves. If you haven't picked it up, you are missing out.

Release Date: May 1st 2011  Pages: 350  Format: Hardcover 
Source: Publisher  Publisher: Abrams Buy It: Book Depository

Flock by Wendy Delsol

Note: This review contains no spoilers of Flock, but may contain spoilers of the first book in the series, Stork, a review of which can be found here and the second book, Frost, a review of which can be found here.

Flock (Stork #3) by Wendy Delsol

Release Date: September 11th 2012
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Candlewick
Also by this Author: Stork (Stork #1); Frost (Stork #2)
Buy It: Book Depository

                       

I spend a lot of time complaining about how everything is a series, but sometimes I read a book with such an awesome main character that I find myself desperately grateful that the book is a series. And so it was with Stork by Wendy Delsol, the first book in a trilogy featuring the sarcastic and caring fashionista Katla. Last year the second book, Frost, came out and now it is finally time for the third and final book in the series, Flock. The result is that I went into reading Flock with mixed emotions; I didn't want this story to end, but I definitely wanted to spend more time with Katla and find out how things turned out especially after she left behind an angry ice queen wanting revenge, and a promise to give up her baby sister to the mer queen.

When Flock begins Katla is starting her senior year of high school, and all she wants is a normal year, no supernatural adventures involved. But when she shows up, two of her Icelandic friends from last year's trip are on exchange, and one of them is a mer messenger sent to make sure she fulfills her end of the deal she made. And that means handing over her infant sister Leira, the last thing Katla intends to let happen.

As I have in the previous two books, I loved Katla's zest and passion and strength as a main character. I also loved her sense of humour. Flock did a great job of tying together loose ends from the first two books, and wrapping things up for each character. I really felt like each character had their own ending, including lots of minor ones like Jaelle and Katla's dad. But I did feel like it took a very confusing and muddled road to get there.

Honestly, there was so much new myth in Flock that I found myself really lost over what was happening at times, there were spirit journeys to foreign realms and sometimes I couldn't even get to the end of a page without having to reread it and try to figure out what was going on. It really made me miss the simplicity of Stork. However, unlike Frost I at least felt like the climax and subsequent events had the chance to unfold fully and weren't rushed.

Like always, Delsol's writing was clever and fun to read, and I thought things ended in a believable way. I loved the contemporary components of Flock, but I wanted more clarity from some of the supernatural events which occasionally became muddled as I was reading. Still, I really enjoyed the Stork trilogy, and I'm certainly going to pick up whatever Delsol writes next and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these books.

The Art of the Epigraph compiled and edited by Rosemary Ahern

The Art of the Epigraph: How Great Books Begin is a collection of those tiny quotes that appear at the beginning of a book, compiled and edited by Rosemary Ahern. In that sense, it is far more like a book of quotations than anything that really delves into the meaning or history of epigraphs, beyond a very short introduction. Based on its title, 'the art', I thought that it would be more than just a collection of epigraphs that the reader could easily discover by flipping open books at the library (or even just through Google). I was actually really excited to pick up Ahern's book, because I am definitely the kind of person that reads every epigraph. I love them. But I didn't love The Art of the Epigraph.

Every few epigraphs does have a paragraph of background information written by Ahern, but what I wanted was more about the books they were featured in, instead of the authors that are being quoted in the first place. Even in the cases when the author who used the epigraph had some information included, the epigraph writer was ignored. What I would have loved would have been to know a little about both so that you could picture the epigraph in context, even if you hadn't read the book. Ahern comes close to this is with The Merchant of Venice quote in Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper in which she explains why Twain didn't include Shakespeare's name (he thought that Francis Bacon did). There are only a few times Ahern actually draws the connection, asides from when the epigraph was made up by the author for various reasons.

The times when Ahern does explain the connection thrilled me. One example is the Francois Villon epigraph at the beginning of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood– as both Villon and the subjects of Capote's novel were murderers awaiting execution. Another is how Upanishads, the core of Indian philosophy, inspired Charles Johnson as well as other authors, leading him to use a quote from Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad as a epigraph to his novel Middle Passage. Finally, Tolstoy's biblical quote for Anna Karenina,  "Vengeance is mine, I will repay.", is especially interesting because it is described in his own words, "it express[es] the idea that evil committed by man results in all bitter things that come from God and not from men, as Anna Karenina also experienced it..."

The need for a connection between the epigraph and the text is especially true of the non-classics, as Ahern uses quite a few epigraphs from books published in 2010-2012, and those are less recognizable than the classics the art of the epigraph contains (unless it is a really famous book– but a decent number of, both the recent and the older ones, were not ones I had heard of).  Some of the most interesting bits were facts, not epigraphs, like I didn't know that Moby Dick contained nearly 80 epigraphs... seems a bit ridiculous, but I guess it's proportional to the length of the novel!

Unfortunately, the movies quoted in The Art of the Epigraph aren't referenced properly, it's just a title, when I'd think the screenplay writer deserves some credit. I found it off-putting that Ahern didn't include them.

That said, where the book succeeded was when it made me think back to those novels I had read, and that first moment of opening it and reading the epigraph. One of the most charming ones I remembered from growing up was the J.R.R. Tolkien quote, "Not all who wander are lost." at the beginning of Anne Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. My mom had also written the quote at the beginning of a travel journal once, and it made me smile to see it again. 

The Art of the Epigraph was such an instantly appealing idea to me, so interesting in concept but unfortunately the lack of depth meant that Ahern's book was nearly always disappointing, except as a collection of intriguing quotations.

Release Date: October 30th 2012  Pages: 256  Format: E-galley 
Source: NetGalley/Publisher  Publisher: Simon and Schuster Buy It: Book Depository

The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli

While I enjoyed The Forgetting Tree from page one, it is the second half of the book that I fell in love with. It is the kind of novel with a quiet start and a powerful finish.

Soli's second novel, the followup to one of my favourite books of last year The Lotus Eaters was a shock to me because I did not expect a writer who clearly puts so much thought into both research and writing to be able to publish another book so quickly. But somehow, Soli managed. The Forgetting Tree is the story of Claire, a woman diagnosed with cancer and clinging to the citrus ranch where she raised her family, and Minna, the young caregiver with a mysterious back story who may be either the worst, or the best, thing that could possibly happen to Claire.

Minna is really the controversial part of The Forgetting Tree, as much as I hated her at times, I couldn't help sympathizing with her, and recognizing that despite all the awful she was doing she still might be able to save Claire. It was an emotionally conflicting dilemma, and one that left me ultimately unsure about the definitions I wanted to give the characters. Nobody in this novel is all good or all bad. Claire might love her children, but that doesn't mean she's been a good mother. These sorts of complicated feelings are what Soli captures so well. The only unfortunate part is that it took a decent chunk of the novel for them to really come alive.

The beginning of The Forgetting Tree is beautifully written, but ultimately it is back story, not its heart. That doesn't happen until Minna arrives.

Just like Soli brought Vietnam in 1975 to life in The Lotus Eaters, California ranch life comes alive in The Forgetting Tree. Her books are clearly impeccably researched, and she has the amazing of giving enough details to truly make the reader feel like they are there, without boring them in the minutiae. I have to admit that I still prefer Soli's first novel, but the fact that her second was less consistent in its genius does not at all deter me from picking up whatever she publishes next.

Ultimately, this is a beautifully written book that is both moving, and a touch spooky. Although The Forgetting Tree had a slow start, Soli has told a complicated and powerful story that challenges the reader, and I continue to be a huge fan of her writing. I can only hope she continues to be so prolific and that another book will arrive in 2014.

Release Date: September 4th 2012  Pages: 416  Format: ARC
Source: TLC Book Tours  Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Also By This Author: The Lotus Eaters  Buy It: Book Depository

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
 
Release Date: September 4th 2012
Pages: 304
Format: E-book/Hardcover
Source: Netgalley/Publisher
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Buy It: Book Depository

Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences.
Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse?

This was such a weird book, because I managed to absolutely adore it without connecting with the characters at all (except maybe the tiniest bit at the end). I honestly have no idea how that happened, except to say that Fama's enjoyable writing and thrilling plot more than compensated for characters that often felt more like they existed for the story rather than existing, and as a reader I was let in on their story. Somehow, though, that becomes a minor complaint in the scope of what is an incredibly exciting and well-written book.

I really loved how Fama dropped hints throughout Monstrous Beauty, so that as my friend Ambur and I read it together we were constantly speculating about what might happen, or what did happen, or how things would be explained. If you're the kind of reader who pays very close attention to the details, you'll probably see some of the twists coming, but I love that about it– it's not as if events come out of nowhere, Fama lays the groundwork. Even if you are that kind of ultra-observant reader, I'm sure there are still going to be things you don't see coming, because the plot is just incredible.

When it comes down to it, I think that Fama is an incredibly strong story-teller, and the result is that Monstrous Beauty is easy and thrilling to read. By the end I had a little connection to some of the characters, especially Syrenka, but that wasn't what kept me reading: it was the story. It's also a refreshing standalone novel where all the loose ends are tied up; if anything I could have done with a little less tying, especially in the epilogue which felt unnecessary. But I loved the book, so I'm not going to complain.

I loved the underwater world Fama imagined, her monstrous but beautiful mermaids, the way they ate the hearts of men, and the disturbing and violent sea queen. The novel transitions back and forth between two time periods, but they are written in such a distinct way that it wasn't confusing and actually added to the depth and complexity of the story. Despite my disconnect with the characters, I can't help raving about Monstrous Beauty because it's so exciting and fun to read, making it not only an awesome addition to the mermaid genre, but also a great book for anyone looking for riveting mystery with a paranormal twist.

Monstrous Beauty is also available on audiobook from Macmillian Audio. Click here to listen to a clip.

October Mourning by Lesléa Newman

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman
 
Release Date: September 25th 2012
Pages: 128
Format: E-book/Hardcover
Source: Netgalley/Publisher
Publisher: Candlewick
Buy It: Book Depository

On the night of October 6, 1998, twenty-one-year-old college student Matthew Shepard was lured from a Wyoming bar by two young men, savagely beaten, tied to a remote fence, and left to die. Gay Awareness Week was beginning at the University of Wyoming, and the keynote speaker was Leslea Newman. Shaken, the author addressed the large audience that gathered and remained haunted by Matthew's murder. October Mourning, a novel in verse, is her response to the events of that tragic day.

There are some events that are so important to remember because of their complete horror, and the reminder that they serve not to let such things happen again. I think Matthew Shepard's brutal beating and murder, simply for being gay, is one of those events. In October Mourning, Newman reimagines what those final moments were like for Shepard, written from a variety of perspectives including inanimate objects like the fence he was tied to. It's both a collection of poetry and a novel-in-verse, as Newman says the book is meant to be read in order, and together it tells a definite story.

In some ways, Newman's style of telling the story reminded me of Ellen Hopkins, for her ways of playing with formatting, occasional rhyme, and even scattering words across a page when the poem called for it, like in "Stars". Despite its serious nature, October Mourning is a collection with a sense of humour, telling the events from the perspective of the road, the truck, or even the clotheslines (a poem which begins "They strung me along / I got tangled up").

The problem for me, was that the collection often seemed too concerned with being clever, like in "Once Upon a Time", where Newman begins "Once I hung out in bars / Now I hang out behind bars". Occasionally, it feels like she scarifies the raw emotion that is where October Mourning is most powerful, and swaps it out for a snappy ending like in "Raising Awareness", where she writes "It was gay awareness week / He was caught unaware".

Overall, October Mourning was great to see for a YA audience, but I did find some of the poems were a little too clever for their own good. While Shepard's murder is a horrific event that will always be engrained in my memory, I'm not sure I can say the same for Newman's book. The more emotional pieces in October Mourning, like "How to Have the Worst Day of Your Life", were good, but while the subject matter of the book was heart-breaking and important, from the perspective of a reader, I wanted more from the collection as a whole.

The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver

Honestly, I can't imagine a book with Lauren Oliver's name on the cover that I wouldn't pick up. She's just that amazing. So of course I had to read her latest novel, the middle grade fantasy tale, The Spindlers. Even though it's not a genre I read a lot of, I adored Oliver's first middle grade title, Liesl & Po and in fact even refer to it as one of my favourite books (because it is). In fact, I was so excited to read The Spindlers that I forced myself to hold onto it for about a month before I did– just because when I finished reading it I would be out of Oliver books to read until 2013. All that to say, I had high expectations.

And did The Spindlers meet my expectations?

Unfortunately, no.

That's not to say this story, about a young girl, Liza, who goes on an underground quest to find her brother's soul, which was stolen by the spindlers, wasn't a cute and fun read. But it wasn't blow-me-away-amazing either. It was okay. And with Oliver, I just expect more than that.

What The Spindlers is, is a great book for the intended audience, but it doesn't have the universal transcendence that Liesl & Po did. Some of my problems with the book included how slow the storytelling was, I put it down quite a few times during its 250 pages and I wasn't excited to go back. I wasn't riveted and pulled in a million directions and put back together. If anything, I was a bit confused. On her journey, Liza is accompanied by a rat of the same size she is. I was never sure if Liza shrunk when she went under her house, or if the rat grew. The setting itself wasn't that vivid, there was just a lot of mentions of dirt. Even the characters, which Oliver is usually so amazingly skilled at, just felt okay. I wasn't especially rooting for Liza, because I didn't feel like I really knew her.

The whole time I was reading The Spindlers, I couldn't help being reminded of Coraline by Neil Gaiman, which is a book I absolutely adore. But unlike Gaiman, Oliver's world isn't the creepy, her characters– even the bad ones– don't feel that scary. And even the plot doesn't feel original. There's a series of obstacles in the way of Liza finding her brother, but I never found myself breathless with anticipation on if she was going to succeed. I honestly didn't care that much, because everything was predictable and even the "big" twist didn't surprise me.

It's really hard to focus on the positive of The Spindlers because I was so incredibly disappointed by it. I love-love-love Lauren Oliver's writing, but this is a book that is cute. It's a book that's fun and charming, there's a talking rat I loved and some adults that don't understand their children. There are some unique and interesting creatures. Overall, The Spindlers is an okay middle-grade novel, and while I certainly haven't given up on Oliver, when it comes to her storytelling– okay is just so much less than what I expect.

Release Date: October 2nd 2012   Pages: 256  Format: ARC  Source: Publisher  
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada  Buy It: Book Depository | Amazon Canada Also By This Author: MG– Liesl & Po; YA– Before I Fall; Delirium (Delirium #1); Pandemonium (Delirium #2)

Scorch by Gina Damico

Note: This review contains no spoilers of Scorch, but may contain spoilers of the first book in the series, Croak, a review of which can be found here.

Gina Damico's debut novel, Croak, about the teenage grim reaper Lex, absolutely blew me away with its intensity and hilarity, and so I was incredibly excited to pick up the sequel Scorch. It did not disappoint!

In Scorch, Lex is left behind to pick up the pieces after Zara– off on a murderous rampage– takes her twin sister's life, and her own ability to damn. Combined with Zara's thirst for vengeance, things aren't looking good. But Lex has her own craving, and no matter what it costs, she's going to make Zara pay for killing her sister.

Like the best sequels, Scorch builds on the foundation Damico laid in Croak but ups the stakes, the action, everything. The result is incredibly exciting, but also clever, well-written, and heart-wrenching. It's the kind of mix that Damico manages to balance so well. In less skilled hands, Scorch would have been a confusing mess. There are a lot of elements at play, and a lot of twists and turns along the way. But what Damico has written is a complicated and thrilling story that will keep the reader turning the page, and will definitely offer up some surprises in the well-structured plot.

There's a lot more history and background in Scorch, and the reader also gets a chance to visit another Grim city, which I loved– although it was around then that I found the story slowed down and became temporarily about Lex getting dressed up and not about catching a serial killer. Luckily, the pace picks right back up, and ends with a huge punch in the gut that has left me gasping for the final book in this trilogy. There is an element of the story, that whole punching in the gut part, that I'm not totally in love with yet and so I'm excited to see where Damico takes it and if she wins me over like I expect she will. After having been thrilled by the awesome wit and exciting story that Scorch provided, I will absolutely be picking up the final book in 2013. So far, this is a great series from a talented new author. Damico has definitely earned her place on my 'must read' list.

Release Date: September 25th 2012  Pages: 352  Format: ARC
Source: Thomas Allen & Son Ltd  Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 
Also By This Author: Croak (Croak #1)  Buy It: Book Depository