Chronicles of a Book Evangelist

Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?

At first I thought I would simply start posting reviews again, quietly and without fuss - try to sneak into the back of the auditorium mid-play as it were. That somehow felt wrong, though. I also feel like I should have all sorts of neatly plotted excuses and justifications for two years of silence. And I do have some very good reasons, but they aren't really meant for such a public forum. Suffice it to say, I will be spending a few weeks getting reacquainted with and sprucing up this space. Then I'll be slowly building up to posting regular reviews again. I don't precisely know how this old space fits into my new life, but I am very excited to find out!

Review: And All the Stars by Andrea K. Höst

Publisher: Andrea K. Höst

Publication Date: September 30th 2012

Goodreads Description:

Madeleine Cost is working to become the youngest person ever to win the Archibald Prize for portraiture. Her elusive cousin Tyler is the perfect subject: androgynous, beautiful, and famous. All she needs to do is pin him down for the sittings.

None of her plans factored in the Spires: featureless, impossible, spearing into the hearts of cities across the world – and spraying clouds of sparkling dust into the wind.

Is it an alien invasion? Germ warfare? They are questions everyone on Earth would like answered, but Madeleine has a more immediate problem. At Ground Zero of the Sydney Spire, beneath the collapsed ruin of St James Station, she must make it to the surface before she can hope to find out if the world is ending.

Review:

Confession: When I see the words "alien" and "invasion" at the same time in the description of a book, movie, t.v. show, whatever, I automatically picture some campy 1950s horror flick and assume I won't like it.  (Which is just ridiculous considering how much science fiction, aliens included, I actually like!)  But, BUT...do you see this cover?  And Andrea Höst is an Australian YA author (which basically means it has to be good, right?)  I am so glad that I decided to take a chance on And All the Stars.

Höst completely took me by surprise with this one.  And All the Stars has that rare combination of being action packed while still having incredibly developed characters.  The plot was exciting and engrossing, but the story was still just as much character driven as it was plot driven.  The way the different relationships between the characters developed, or were revealed, made me feel like I was one of the group.  Höst's world is an entirely fresh take on so many ideas in science fiction.  She throws some serious curve balls in the plot, and I completely didn't see them coming!  I wish I could say more about it, but much of the pleasure in reading And All the Stars is in the unexpected.  I would hate to spoil the reading experience for someone else.

I also really liked the diversity found in Höst's characters -- it felt effortless and natural, a pleasant change from much of what I have recently read!  If I had one complaint, it is that the ending was tied up just a little too neatly, and felt much less authentic to the characters than the rest of the book.  The "where are they now" vibe was a little too removed from the characters with whom we had become so intimately acquainted. 

Rating: 5 of 5 stars ~ I loved it! It’s one of my favorites! I will push it on everyone I know! 

Other Opinions:

Heidi also overcame a distaste of aliens and loved it.

Sean was much more critical, but still really liked it.

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository | Fish Pond

Review also on Goodreads; review copy kindly provided by Andrea K. Höst.

Link Trove #20

The Reader by Maja Lindberg on Etsy

So I know that a little over a month ago I said I wasn't going to participate in any reading challenges or official reading commitments for a while -- and I'm not! not really! -- but there have been quite a few popping up that have really caught my eye.  Also, Flannery from The Readventurer has invited me to participate in a read-along of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest... and I'm doing it!  But it doesn't really count as a challenge or commitment because I make no promises to post a review. Some of the others that have tempted me recently are:

Reading Challenges:

• YALSA’s 2013 Hub Reading Challengebegins at 12:01AM EST on February 3 and ends at 11:59PM EST on June 22.  The goal is to read/listen to 25 of the 83 titles on the list of eligible titles, all of which were either winners or honor titles for various awards.  Considering how few of this years winners I had actually read, this would have been a great challenge to participate in!  Plus, those who complete the challenge are eligible to submit a response for one of the books they've read to be published on The Hub, and are entered to win a grand prize of a YALSA tote bag full of 2012 and 2013 YA lit! 

• Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer is hosting a "Take Control of Your TBR Pile Read-a-Thon" from March 15th to 18th.  I could really use something like this!  I've got scads of new books that I genuinely want/wanted to read piling up, but I can't seem to get myself motivated to actually read them.  Instead, I've reading and rereading (mostly rereading!) sequels to my favorite urban fantasy series, as well as my favorite old gothic novels.  It's fun and unchallenging reading, but it doesn't exactly make for new material for the blog! 

And now for a list of (some of) the cool links I've been finding around the web -- I usually only post about 1/3 or 1/4 of what I've found. Perhaps I should start doing this twice a week!

Interesting Reads:

• Sarah from Clear Eyes, Full Shelves had a great opinion piece on the "rights" and "wrongs" of reading -- or rather, how there isn't a right or wrong way to interpret what you read.  She brought up many good points, and the discussion continues to be engaging into the comments.

• Kelly from Radiant Shadows really caught my attention with her post on the Bechdel Test in YA.  It really surprised me when I thought about how few books I had recently read within the genre would actually pass!  For those who are unfamiliar with the Bechdel Test, it is a test measuring female presence in fictional media.  To pass the test, if must 1) include at least two named women, 2) who have at least one conversation, 3) that is about something other than a man or men.  Kelly does a much better job of talking about it, so check that out!

New to the Online Reading Community:

•  A brand new website just launched called Bookish. From what I've read, it is pretty similar to Goodreads or LibraryThing, with an added component of reader advisory-ish picked book recommendations?  In my experience, computer generated book recommendations are rarely as successful as reader advisory, you know, from a librarian or fellow book lover.  We'll see.  (via Tor)

• I've also recently stumbled upon Books That Changed Me, a tumblr where you can submit a response/review/essay/call-it-what-you-will about a book or books that have changed you in some way.  It is a fascinating look at how different people read books, and what they take away from them.

And Just for Fun:

• Presidential Monsters! Action figures that are a mash-up of the residents of Pennsylvania Ave and our favorite horrific creatures.  I seriously want to buy Wolf Bill for my mother. (via Tor)

Review: Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication Date: September 1st 2010

Goodreads Description:

Natalie Sterling wants to be in control. She wants her friends to be loyal. She wants her classmates to elect her student council president. She wants to find the right guy, not the usual jerk her school has to offer. She wants a good reputation, because she believes that will lead to good things. 

But life is messy, and it's very hard to be in control of it. Not when there are freshman girls running around in a pack, trying to get senior guys to sleep with them. Not when your friends have secrets they're no longer comfortable sharing. Not when the boy you once dismissed ends up being the boy you want to sleep with yourself - but only in secret, with nobody ever finding out.

Slut or saint? Winner or loser? Natalie is getting tired of these forced choices - and is now going to find a way to live life in the sometimes messy, sometimes wonderful in-between.

Review:

 I have been sitting here, staring at my computer screen for a very long time, watching the cursor blink and not really knowing what I want to say -- or perhaps it is that I don't know how to say everything I want to say.  I want to be writing a review of a different book.  The book I thought this was. The book I think Siobhan Vivian meant to write.  I am going to take a flying leap of faith with my assumptions and describe the book I think Vivian meant this to be:  This was supposed to be a book of messages to young girls everywhere, teaching them what feminism really is and what it really means, showing them that they are all feminists (or at least should be).  It was supposed to highlight a lot of the ways that we ladies fail ourselves and each other on our journey to equality.  It was supposed to set up common stereotypes of feminists as strawmen, then burn those stereotypes down to the truth underneath.  Not That Kind of Girl was supposed to be really amazing, which made Vivian's failure to deliver all that much harder to take.  Here are the primary ways I think Vivian failed in the execution of her ideas:

• Natalie is clueless about much of the history of the feminist movement, especially for someone who considers herself qualified to lead discussions about feminism for her classmates.  She is beyond just man-hating into people-hating in her quest for completely independent success.  She looks down on everyone around her, refuses their help as insufficient or unworthy, and demands an even higher unnatural level of perfection from herself.  She is also completely and selfishly insensitive in her interactions with Autumn, the only person who would count as a friend rather than a project or a mentor.  It feels like, in Natalie, Vivian just adds more nasty layers to the man-hating feminazi stereotype, while failing to ever adequately address them.

• Spencer was supposed to be (again, I think) an example of a sex-positive feminist that fights against slut-shaming.  And, in some ways, I guess she does.  Some of the best, most positive things said in this book come from Spencer at the lock-in.  However, there is a BIG difference between a young woman who owns her sexuality and feels positively about herself, and a young woman who uses her body to get attention and reinforcement from others.  Spencer never feels comfortable or complete by herself in this book; she always needs affirmation of her worth from someone else -- whether that is Mike, Natalie, or the guys in the hall.  And here is the kicker for me -- she is FOURTEEN years old!!!  I think the important question to ask is, HOW and WHY a girl this young learned to be this proficient at using her body to build her feelings of confidence and self worth.  Vivian does sex-positive feminist ideals no favors with her portrayal of Spencer.

• The guys.  Oh, goodness, the guys in this book!  None of them -- not even Connor -- are well written.  Feminism isn't about being elevated above men, but rather about achieving equality for all individuals -- regardless of sex or gender.  Equality would be some of the males in Natalie's life being something other than douche-bags or door-mats.  In Not That Kind of Girl, there really is no in-between.  Mike should be brought up on statutory rape charges; Connor needs some self-confidence because he deserves way better than Natalie gives him; and Principal Hurley needs, at best, to take some sensitivity training classes or, at worst, needs to be fired for being a chauvinistic ass who unfairly distributes discipline.

• So, taking the first and third points from above, let's now talk about the romance between Natalie and Connor.  Or perhaps not, because there wasn't any.  Natalie was using making out, and finally sex, with Connor as a distraction from the inflated responsibilities she put upon herself.  Connor was making out and having sex with a girl that showed him absolutely no respect, going so far as to not acknowledge him in public.  They felt awkward around each other when not kissing, and rarely talked about anything that was important to either one of them. There is nothing healthy or romantic about this relationship.  I get that Vivian was trying to say that you can have a healthy relationship while still being a strong and independent female, but there is just so much wrong with the sexual relationship portrayed that I think her message gets lost.

Despite all these issues, though, Not That Kind of Girl still managed to be a pretty decent read.  I enjoyed it, and really wanted Vivian to successfully get to where she was trying to go.  I genuinely liked Connor and Autumn, and wouldn't have minded reading more about them.  It is only upon reflection (and yet more reflection) that my concerns about her portrayal of feminist issues overrode my enjoyment of her story.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars ~ I liked it! I wouldn’t reread it, but I enjoyed it. 

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository | Indie Bound | Fish Pond

Review also appears on Goodreads; I purchased my copy for Nook from Barnes and Noble.

Link Trove #19

"Soaked" by Mary Paints

It's been a very busy week out there, so I'm only sharing a fraction of all the links I've accumulated.  (It's times like these that I understand the link-sharing happening on twitter and tumblr!)  First up, free (or really cheap) books, because who doesn't love free books, right?

Free or Reduced Price Books:

• On Sunday, January 27th, THIS SUNDAY, Anna and the French Kiss will be available wherever ebooks are sold for only $2.99.  What's more, (yes! there's more!) Stephanie Perkins will be posting a deleted chapter that was cut from the last part of the book.   

Penguin | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Kobo | iBooks

• Reckless by Cornelia Funke, the first in the German Mirrorworld series translated by Oliver Latsch is available as a free download right now from B&N, and $2.99 elsewhere.  Full disclosure, I haven't yet read this one, but it pops up a lot with quite a few books I really enjoyed and I'm looking forward to giving it a shot.

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Sony | Kobo | iBooks

• Lish McBride has a new original short story set in the Necromancer world entitled Heads Will Roll.  And, naturally, it's FREE.  Go get it.

 Author Interviews:

• Tor had a six-question interview with Sarah Rees Brennan, but wow! were her answers potent.  Her entire response to the question asking for her thoughts on the relationship between YA, fantasy, and gender had me fist pumping, but I thought this bit was particularly funny:

I have heard such dismissals many times! I will never forget being on a panel where I said “People love Twilight” and an unwary guy piped up “GIRLS love Twilight.” At which point I about dived over the table at him, snarling “GIRLS ARE PEOPLE.”

• The Hub has a short but entertaining interview with Rachel Hartman, full of book recs, talk of music, and jokes:

[I]t turns out (to my great astonishment) that no matter how much praise or how many nominations my book garners, I still have to do laundry and get groceries and wait in traffic. I still got the flu. I was like, “Flu virus! Don’t you know who I am? My novel is very popular!” and the bug was like, “Kiss my hemagglutinin, lady!” So that didn’t help at all.

(BTW, if you haven't yet read Seraphina, or her new prequel short story The Audition, do it NOW! Before Drachomachia comes out this fall!)

Literacy Promotion:

• TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO APPLY TO BE A GIVER FOR WORLD BOOK NIGHT!!!  Hurry if you want to take part in a really fun event.  

• Also, February 14 is not just Valentine's Day, but also International Book Giving Day.  It's a lot more low key and the website has tons of easy ways to participate.  Go sign up! (via Seven Impossible Things)

Until next week!

Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Publisher: Tor Teen

Publication Date: August 7th 2012

Series: Anna

Goodreads Description: 

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

Review:

 I am so very glad that I had Girl of Nightmares on hand when I finished Anna Dressed in Blood!  I really liked Anna, but Girl of Nightmares just went above and beyond.  Blake really developed as an author, and it showed in everything from world building to character development.  The stakes were higher, the mystery went a little deeper, the answers were harder.

Blake does an excellent job of jumping right back into the thick of things while still giving a new reader (or the reader who's read Anna quite a while ago) a basic refresher on everything that went down in the first novel.  It's also been long enough since the events of Anna that the characters have had time to settle into their new identities and relationships.  The characters each had a complexity in Girl of Nightmares that wasn't necessarily allowed in Anna.  (And I was especially pleased with the struggles faced by Carmel -- they made her infinitely more human and awesome at the same time.)

Likewise, the plot jumped a number of levels in complexity; and all the odd little holes in Blake's world from Anna were skillfully explained and filled in.  Some reviewers have complained that the pace of Girl of Nightmares was substantially slower than Anna Dressed in Blood, and that it was less scary.  I, however, found these changes to be improvements.  Everything included was needed to see the plot progress.

Knowing that this was a duology, and how very much Blake had left undone at the end of Anna, I was a little concerned that she couldn't tie everything up in 332 pages.  I should have had a little more faith.  It would be a lie to say that it all came out perfectly happy for everyone, but it at least ended satisfactorily.  (With room for further books set in the world if Blake should so choose!)  I highly recommend this duo of books, and can't wait to pass this one along to the nephews! 

Quotes:

Rating: 4 of 5 stars ~ It was great! I might even re-read it.

Other Opinions:

It won Stephanie over to the series.

It left Heidi feeling a little disapointed.

Leila from bookshelves of doom shared her love at Kirkus.

Previously:

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository | Indie Bound | Fish Pond

Review also appears on Goodreads; I purchased my copy for Nook from Barnes and Noble, with a gift card from my Dad.  Thanks Dad!.

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Publisher: Tor Teen

Publication Date: August 30th 2011

Goodreads Description:

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Review:

In waiting so long to read -- and, in turn, review -- Anna Dressed in Blood, I ended up reading a lot of reviews from other people for it first.  I tried in the beginning to stay away from spoilery types (and did so for the most part), but I still got a lot of forewarning for different elements of the book that I might have not liked otherwise.  People whose opinion I trust varied widely in their opinions of Anna.  It was a very odd thing to see.  Also, throughout the reviews, three different comparisons (both favorable and unfavorable) kept cropping up: Buffy, Supernatural, and Hold Me Closer, Necromancer.  Considering the fact that I'm a pretty big fan of all three, I was cautiously intrigued.

Perhaps it was the forewarning, but many of the problems others had with the novel didn't bother me to the same extent.  I completely agree that the romance between Cas and Anna is very quick and never feels like a full-bodied experience.  I also agree that Cas is a bit of a jerk in the beginning.  And, no, I was never particularly scared while reading.  However, I was definitely entertained; and think that, in Anna, Blake shows promise of being even more amazing at writing captivating characters in the future.

As for the comparisons?  I never really got Buffy beyond the superficial level that Blake introduced herself within the text.  There's an entirely different dynamic between the characters.  Also, Cas and Buffy have come from very different places and have very different motivations.  Supernatural, though, I get.  Especially if you've ever seen the episodes with young Dean in high school.  Cas is Dean: cocky while thinking he's charismatic, ambivalent about school or friends because he knows he's moving on soon, desperately trying to live up to the spectre of who he thought his father was, it's all in there.  However, it doesn't bother me all that much because I like young Dean, and there's very little of him within the show.  I think the teenage experience of the boys was an element that was never explored as much as it could have been, so good for Blake in exploring it.  As for Hold Me Closer, Necromancer?  Well, they both are darkly humorous, have male protagonists, and would appeal in a general way to the same sort of readers.  Beyond that, I'm not seeing it.  

(High School Dean from Supernatural could definately be Cas.) 

I guess what surprised me the most about Anna Dressed in Blood was that, even with all the advance warning, I was still surprised by just how funny and smart I found it to be.  I really liked this installment, and will definitely read the next.

Rating:

4 of 5 Stars ~ It was great! I might even re-read it.

Other Opinions:

Wendy Loved It

Catie from the Readventurer thought it was Ho hum

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository | Indie Bound | Fish Pond

 Review also appears on Goodreads; I purchased my copy for Nook from Barnes and Noble.

Link Trove #18

Smart Owl by Amy Hamilton

The print above is "Smart Owl" by Amy Hamilton, and the Art Print size is available for only $17.  My bird girl's (whose favorite books include Owl Moon and Owl Babies) has her 4th birthday coming up -- as well as a redo of her big girl room.  I see a framed "Smart Owl" in her future.  Now that I've mostly stopped curling my toes at the cute owl, on to the links!

Censorship:

• Following a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Davis School District has returned "In Our Mothers' House" by Patricia Polacco to school library shelves.  It was removed from shelve after a group of parents petitioned the school for its removal.  You know, because we can't have a book that represents a same-sex household as normal or anything! (That was extreme sarcasm, for the record.)

• The New York Times had an interesting question in their Room for Debate feature, What’s ‘Just Right’ for the Young Reader?  The various perspectives were all interesting to read, though I must admit that I still think Sendak said it best, "I don't believe in children, I don't believe in childhood. I don't believe that there's a demarcation. 'Oh, you mustn't tell them that. You mustn't tell them that.' You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it's true. If it's true, you tell them."  In all fairness, that is essentially what a few of the debaters, especially Lisa von Drasek, said.  I also found the opinion of Betsy Bird, who wrote "kids are excellent self censors," to be particularly interesting in terms of this next piece:

• Susane Colasanti's When It Happens will stay in the teen section of IL library, despite a parent's attempt to remove it.  The unsuitability of the reading material for her daughters' age group was pointed out to her by -- wait for it -- her daughter.  As Leila from bookshelves of doom responded:

Discounting the whole challenge thing, this story was actually a nice example of a younger reader holding her hand up and saying, "WHOA. THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR ME."  I mean, obviously, the parent took that statement and went a step further to "IF IT'S NOT FOR YOU, IT'S NOT FOR ANYONE YOUR AGE", which is problematic, but still."

• Oddly enough, Maggie Stiefvater was also recently weighing in on the issue of age appropriate content, albeit in a much more light-hearted fashion.  After mentioning that she won't let any of the children in her family read her current books until they are 30, she announced that she will be participating in a middle grade level project with scholastic.  Very cool.

For The Girls:

• Elizabeth Burns of A Fireplace, A Chair & A Tea Cozy raises an interesting question about the importance of (or lack thereof) including menstruation in stories about teen girls with her post It’s That Time of the Month.  I highly recommend reading the comments as well as the post, as there are lots of interesting things being said, and good books being recommended.

• Jezebel managed to scare the crap out of me with their article about teen girls meeting strangers in real life that they met on the internet.  According to a new study released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 30 percent of teenage girls have met an internet contact without confirming their identity beforehand.  YIKES.

To Lighten Things Up:

• McDonald's in the UK is replacing its Happy Meal toys with books.  How awesome is that?!  Now, if they could just make this an international policy!

• Maureen Johnson is offering up some awesome swag in the form of custom stickers and an autographed bookplate to anyone who preorders Madness Underneath from an indie bookstore.  Check out her website for a view of the stickers and a list of participating bookstores.

• Finally, a lovely quote from Ursula K. Le Guin found via teaching literacy:

"While we read a novel, we are insane—bonkers. We believe in the existence of people who aren’t there, we hear their voices… Sanity returns (in most cases) when the book is closed."

Review: Scorch by Gina Damico

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication Date: September 25th 2012

Goodreads Description:

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby is a teenage grim reaper with the bizarre ability to damn souls. That makes her pretty scary, even to fellow Grims. But after inadvertently transferring her ability to Zara, a murderous outlaw, Lex is a pariah in Croak, the little town she calls home.

To escape the townspeople’s wrath, she and her friends embark on a wild road trip to DeMyse. Though this sparkling desert oasis is full of luxuries and amusements, it feels like a prison to Lex. Her best chance at escape would be to stop Zara once and for all—but how can she do that from DeMyse, where the Grims seem mysteriously oblivious to Zara’s killing spree?

 

 

Review:

I'm in the really awkward position of having to go back a bit on what I have said earlier...I stand by my rating, but I think I may have been a little hard on Croak.  Part of my strategy for savoring the new books I received over the holidays (and making them last a bit longer) was to first reread the earlier books in the series.  Maybe it was that I already knew Lex at this point, but I didn't have the same feelings of disconnect from her that I did the first time I read Croak.  I also think that, in working so hard to articulate what I didn't like about the book, I lost sight of just how humorous it really was.  That humor not only carried over into Scorch, it was amplified tenfold!

Damico is progressing just as an author should -- everything positive I could or would have had to say about her debut novel holds true for Scorch; and much of what I found problematic about Croak was improved or removed this time around.  Her previous awkwardness with writing intimacy wasn't an issue this time around. Nor were the occasional lulls in action or seemingly random plot developments present.  The foreshadowing was very well done, as was the slow reveal of clues from Uncle Mort.  (And I STILL say there is was more going on there than meets the eye.  If we don't get our answers in Rogue, there had better be an Uncle Mort prequel!!) In fact, Scorch was a thoroughly enjoyable, fast, funny read from beginning to end.  

I admit, I still found a bit of Damico's world to be highly absurd (basically everything about DeMyse, Leroy, and the rest of the DeMysian people was over the top absurd), but it fits her witty writing in a way that feels comfortable now.   The Croak series is definitely shaping up to be one of my favorite new ya series for a light, funny read.

Quotes:

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars ~ It was great! I might even re-read it. 

Previously:

Croak (Croak #1) by Gina Damico

Review also appears on Goodreads; I purchased my copy for Nook from Barnes and Noble, with a gift card from my Dad.  Thanks Dad!

 

Review: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books

Publication Date: March 16th 2010

Goodreads Description: 

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

Review:

(Highlight to view spoilers.)

Perhaps it was the immediate mental face palm that went with learning the protagonist was named Violet Ambrose (Violet Ambrose? really?!), or maybe it was the extreme implausability of much of the teen crime solving, but I finished The Body Finder feeling a little ho hum.  It seems that, with this particular young adult genre, suspension of disbelief has to be applied more liberally to what would otherwise be regular contemporary settings; unless very well written, teens solving crimes just involves a certain amount of implausibility in the plot.  And, though The Body Finder was at times sweet, interesting, and funny, it never really crossed over to "very well written" for me.

In all fairness, many of the crime solving aspects of the story that I found most implausible could potentially be explained away by the supernatural aspect to the story.  If you are willing to accept -- in an otherwise contemporary setting -- that a young girl can sense dead bodies, it is just a small step forward to believe that a beloved uncle, who is also a cop, would choose to believe (and by extension cover up for) his niece.  What could not be as easily dismissed are how many elements of the mystery weren't really part of the mystery at all, but rather answers dropped on the reader at the end.  (Spoiler) How are you supposed to know that there are two killers when there is absolutely no foreshadowing indicating the possibility?  It almost felt like a last-minute plot add on to extend the drama.  And how are you supposed to have suspected anyone when neither suspect is ever actually revealed?!  We are simply told this is how the story is resolved, never shown.  I don't even think we ever learn the names of the killers. (End Spoiler)

I find it really interesting that much of what I started out loving about The Body Finder turned into the most disappointing elements of the book.  Violet's parents (well, actually, her whole family) start out so unconditionally supportive and present in her life.  Whatever may or may not happen outside of her family sphere, they all always believe her and work to make sure that she is protected at all costs.  Which is why it is so odd that, when necessary to move the plot along, her parents just sort of check out.  They become incredibly neglectful, almost ignoring her and what she is choosing to do.

I was also really disappointed to never delve deeper into the identity of the killer.  When he first describes his "game" (p22), I was thrilled at the way it was written.  It was disturbing, it was awful, it was chilling and creepy, but it was really well done.  I would imagine it would be hard for any female (teen or adult) to read that passage without recognizing times, places and situations where we mark ourselves as easy victims; and it could maybe even help some teens to make some safer decisions in the future.  However, the glimpses from the killers perspective never evolve beyond that moment.  His perspective almost becomes a sock puppet.  

Finally, one of the best written parts of the entire story was the subplot between Jay and Violet.  I love that she falls for her best friend and becomes all awkward -- it is usually the other way around.  I love Jay's sweetness, protectiveness, confidence, and humor.  (Sort of Spoiler) And I absolutely adored how they eventually got together.  (End Spoiler)  However, I hated that she was such a strong, independent character until she entered into a relationship.  She becomes that girl -- you know, the sort who suffers from "devastating loneliness" after a few hours without a text (p 205), and can't seem to make any decisions on her own anymore.  (Spoiler) I also don't like that Jay ends up having to save her all the time, rather than her being resourceful enough to save herself. (End Spoiler)  

The Body Finder also occasionally had a homophobic comment here and there that was just offensive enough to jar me out of the story.  So, all in all The Body Finder had some problems that kept it from being an awesome read, but I still found it interesting enough to at least try the next book.  (Though I also think that Derting wraps this installment up well enough that The Body Finder could work as a satisfying stand alone.)

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars ~ I liked it! I wouldn’t reread it, but I enjoyed it. 

Review also appears on Goodreads; I purchased my copy for Nook from Barnes and Noble.