Book Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Lena is now an active member of the resistance.  The fight between the government and the Invalids and rebels has reached its boiling point.  While Lena works with the rebellion to change things for good, her former friend Hana lives a regulated life in Portland and is about to be married to the city’s mayor. The two girls could not have more different paths, but the imminent battle will force them to converge one last time.

Lauren Oliver’s final book in the Delirium Trilogy offers readers some closure but leaves a lot open to interpretation and imagination.  This is going to work for some readers while it will alienate others.  As with the conclusion of any popular trilogy, an ending is just that: an ending.

There’s plenty here to like.  Oliver wisely alternates narration between wild and resistant Lena and her former best friend Hana, now cured.  What is most interesting is that Hana’s story is much more compelling than Lena’s.  Hana’s life with her soon-to-be husband feels more dangerous and fraught with tension than Lena’s life in the wild as the resistance builds its numbers.  This might not be true for all readers, but for those who are tired of the love triangle trope, Hana’s story will be that much more compelling.

Both girls are excellent narrators with strong voices and authentic personalities.  Lena’s growth as a character from the trilogy’s inception can be felt fully here, as she is brave and resolute in a way she lacked at the start of Delirium.  Likewise, Hana’s character undergoes a tremendous amount of growth as well.  Both of these character arcs are immensely satisfying.

Readers looking for a tidy resolution to the story are going to be let down.  Furthermore, readers hell-bent on finding out which boy Lena picks in the end are going to find themselves scratching their heads.  However, it is this reviewer’s opinion that not fixating too strongly on the love triangle in this novel does it a great service.  That being said, the novel doesn’t reinvent the wheel.  The romantic elements are still there.

Slow to start but builds to a tense climax.  This is a must-read for fans of the trilogy, but expect opinions about the ending to be very split.  Recommended for dystopian fans, if they aren’t sick of the genre yet.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver. HarperCollins Children’s: 2013.  Library copy.

Book Review: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Josie Moraine is living in New Orlean’s French Quarter in 1950.  The daughter of a prostitute, Josie is bright, motivated, but marked by her mother’s profession.  All Josie wants is to get out of the seedy world of New Orleans, but obstacles keep getting in her way.  When a mysterious death in the Quarter, Josie gets caught in the investigation.  Before the mystery is solved, Josie’s trust will be broken and she’ll find herself caught in a moral dilemma.

It’s impossible not to get completely immersed in this rich historical novel.  It’s the kind of historical fiction that will grab even the most skeptical of readers because everything about it is so rich.  The characters, the setting, and the story create a gripping, fascinating read.  This is a winner for sure.

Josie is a memorable heroine.  She’s got an authentic voice and is both street and book smart, making her the kind of girl readers will root for.  The fact that Josie will do anything to get into an elite college–including blackmailing a wealthy local businessman–makes her feel more human.  She isn’t perfect, but she is driven, and because Sepetys is such a good writer, Josie’s also completely sympathetic.

The book is filled with other equally rich characters.  Willie, the rough brothel madam, is excellently drawn.  Her fierce love for Josie is palpable, but her incredibly hard exterior makes it next to impossible for her to show it.  Other characters, including Cokie, the sensitive chauffer who acts as a sort of father-figure to Josie, are particularly memorable.  Although the cast is rather large, it’s never hard to keep them all straight.

A rich setting and a meaty mystery add to the book’s appeal.  Despite clocking in at over 300 pages, it’s a quick read, mostly because readers won’t be able to put it down.  The book builds the suspense and tension to a genuinely thrilling conclusion.  The resolution is satisfying but realistic, and it’s more than a little moving, too.

Definitely a stand-out read this year.  Highly recommended.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys.  Philomel Books: 2013.  Library copy.

Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

In 1986, Park meets Eleanor on the school bus.  They are both misfits in their own way, and the two form an unlikely friendship that develops into a first love so profound that neither can totally comprehend it.  But with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the two might not be able to stay together, especially when one of them faces an unsafe situation.

One could make the argument that this book has many common elements in YA.  To a certain extent, this is a true statement.  But there’s something about how Rainbow Rowell combines all these elements in this excellent debut novel that makes it special.  The precision and richness of Rowell’s prose combined with vivid characters allows this novel to transcend any tropes and become a singular reading experience.  This is one of the best books of the year.

Told in alternating voices, Rowell manages to set both voices apart.  Readers experience what the duo does: the funny, thrilling stirrings of first love and the intense feelings that come with it as well as the harder stuff of life.  Eleanor’s home life is awful, and the increasing threat of her drunk, abusive stepfather gives the novel an urgency.  The contrast between Eleanor’s poverty-stricken home and Park’s lower-middle class one is sharply defined and incredibly fascinating.  Authenticity rings from every page.

Well drawn characters don’t end with the book’s leads.  Parks parents are two of the most well-drawn and interesting adult characters you’ll ever encounter in a YA novel.  There’s so much nuance here, and so much detail, that it’s impossible not to get sucked into the world in which Park and Eleanor inhabit.  This is simply great reading.

Sexy, funny, and hopeful, this is a novel for YA and adult readers alike.  Immediately after finishing, this reviewer went out and bought a hardcover copy.  Expect it to make the best-of lists come next winter.  It’s certainly worthy.  Highly, highly recommended.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. St. Martin’s Press: 2013. Library copy.

Book Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Allyson has lived her life exactly the way she’s been told to.  As a result, she’s got perfect grades, a bright future, and absolutely no life experience to call her own.  When she meets world-traveler Willem at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, her entire life is thrown into question.  The two embark on a 24-hour journey that will forever alter her perspective.  But how can just one day have such a lasting impact on her?

Here’s the problem with Gayle Forman’s eagerly-anticipated novel: it takes forever and a day to get started.  I’m not joking–the novel doesn’t really get going until its final third.  A fairly predictable start make this a novel some readers will absolutely devour, though.

There’s also the fact that Allyson’s psychological crisis, which happens about a third of the way through the novel, never feels totally authentic.  It’s hard to buy her total breakdown after her jaunt through Europe, and after a while, her wounded bird persona starts to grate.  However, once she starts fighting for what she wants, the novel picks up speed and ends in a satisfying, memorable way.

Of course, there are things here that work really well.  The shifting relationship with her childhood best friend is both hard to watch and utterly believable.  The introduction of college friend Dee is a welcome relief from Allyson’s angst, and the fact that Dee is an interesting character in and of himself makes his scenes incredibly fun to read.

This is definitely a contemporary YA novel that will find fans, especially readers looking to do some truly excellent armchair travel.  I just wish the novel hadn’t taken so long to get started, because the last part of the book is so very strong.  Here’s to hoping the companion novel (due out next fall) has the starting momentum this one lacked.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman.  Dutton Juvenile: 2013. Library copy.

 

Book Review: Janie Face to Face by Caroline B. Cooney

In this conclusion to Janie Johnson’s harrowing story about being kidnapped as a child and raised in another family, readers finally get answers to all the questions they have about Janie’s life, Janie’s families, and what happened to Hannah, the woman who kidnapped her.

Except this is a hot mess of a novel and pretty much undoes any of the good that the beginning of the series ever did.  Unless you’re a die-hard fan of Cooney’s early 90s series, there’s no reason to pick this one up.  Ever.  At all.  A confusing timeline, what can only be described as flat, lifeless writing, and virtually NO PLOT make this one a total miss.

Nothing about this ever gels.  Janie’s in college now, but she’s still as vapid and childish as she ever was.  The way she talks and thinks about the world is from another era, but somehow we’re in present-day, where everyone has Facebook and iPhones and is connected via social media.  If we’re only five years in the future from when the first book took place, how did we make such a jump in terms of technology?  Nothing about the previous story lines work within the context of present day, and because of this, nothing about this story feels at all plausible.

None of the other characters make up for Janie’s rampant obliviousness and selfish actions.  I read one review where the reviewer referred to Janie’s family as a bunch of “wackadoos,” and it really couldn’t be more apropos.  Everyone in the novel is straight up crazypants, and not in a fun way.  The only person with anything resembling an interesting voice is Hannah, and the novel’s rushed ending ruins even that.

Therein lies the real problem here: nothing happens.  For 300 pages, Cooney wastes everyone’s time by not doing anything to really further the plot.  It’s only in the novel’s rushed final pages that readers and characters alike get anything resembling a conflict, a climax, and a resolution.  It’s a bore and a chore to get through this one, and the pay off isn’t nearly worth the time invested.

If you’re a die-hard fan who must know if Janie and the totally cardboard Reeve get together, read the last couple of pages.  Other than that, this is a total miss.  Just go re-read the first novel in the series again and bask in the 90s glory.  A total disasterpiece.

Janie Face to Face by Caroline B. Cooney. Delacorte Books for Young Readers: 2013. Electronic galley accepted for review.

Graphic Novel Series You Should Check Out: Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn

Posting on this here blog has been more sporadic than I’d like due in large part to how busy I am.  But it’s also due to the fact that my reading is down, and the things I’ve been reading aren’t actually out yet–I’m that deep into some ARCs these days.  So instead, I thought I’d talk a little about a graphic novel series that I think is well worth your time.

Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn.  Originally published as a series of comics beginning in 2002, the series focuses on our world.  A strange virus has wiped out every mammal with a Y chromosome–every man and animal was killed instantly, leaving behind only women to pick up the pieces.  Except, for some reason, one man (child) has survived: Yorick Brown and his male Capuchin monkey Ampersand have somehow managed to survive against all odds and reason.  The two of them set off with the mysterious (and totally kick-ass) Agent 355 in search of Dr. Mann, who might be able to help them figure out why Yorick survived–and if there’s a way to bring humankind back from the brink of extinction.

That’s a very basic summary of a graphic novel series whose twists and turns keep readers guessing all the way to the series’ moving and memorable end.  The series has been collected into 10 paperbacks or 5 (gorgeous) hardcover deluxe editions.  It’s the kind of post-apocalyptic series that finds appeal with both adults and teens.  Stephen King once called it “the best graphic novel [he's] ever read.”

It’s definitely the best, most compelling graphic novel I’ve ever read or re-read.  On this time through, I’ve noticed so much more about the mythology of the story and the characters.  It’s a story that is rich, complex, and never easy, and it’s definitely a staple for any graphic novel collection.  It’s funny and heart-breaking and often really, really awesome.

There’s a movie in the works, but it’s been in the works for a long time.  Who knows if we’ll ever see it–I hope we do, but I’m also nervous about it, because I want it to be so, so good.

If you haven’t read it, consider doing so soon.  It’s really that good.

Book Review: The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding

Devan has never met her mother Reece Malcolm.  All she knows about her is that she’s a bestselling author, likes coffee and bourbon, and lives in or near Los Angeles.  But when Devan’s father dies, she’s shipped off to live with this elusive woman she has never met.  L.A. is a whole new world for Devan, and that includes the posh new performing arts school she starts attending.  But there is so much Devan doesn’t know about Reece–and so much she wants to say–that Devan wonders if they’ll ever approach anything normal.

Spalding’s debut novel could easily fall into the trap of being an overly sentimental novel about a girl’s readjustment after being shipped off to live with her estranged mother, but it never quite succumbs to that particular trope.  Although the novel isn’t what this reader would consider a perfect read, there’s a lot going for it, and readers are likely to gobble this warm, frequently funny novel right up.

It helps that the novel is fully grounded in its characters and its sense of place.  When Devan (I will never not hate that name, nor its spelling) arrives in Los Angeles, it’s clear that she’s out of her element, both in terms geographical and familial.  This is done particularly well in the case of Devan and Reece’s burgeoning relationship, as Reece is a really prickly pear.

Strong character development, especially between Reece and Devan and Brad, Reece’s live-in boyfriend.  Both of them are extraordinarily well-developed, especially for parents in a YA novel.  Brad and Reece have completely different personalities and styles and yet complement one another.  Devan’s fascination in watching them is palpable and authentic.

There are things that don’t totally work here, though.  At times, it felt like the plot contrivances were just too convenient to totally buy (Devan’s now-dead, emotionally absent father, her ability to navigate the boys in her new school, etc).  It felt, more than anything, a little like lazy plotting.  But most readers will be able to overlook this and drink in the details of a book that is often very funny and ultimately very sweet.

Recommended, especially to fans of YA fiction looking for meaty family issues with some lighter stuff thrown in.  Especially great for fans of musical theater, as that secondary plot point takes up a fair number of pages.  Despite some misgivings about the convenience of some of the book’s events, there’s no denying that this one was fun.

The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding.  Entangled: 2013. Electronic copy for review.

Movie Review: Hello I Must Be Going (2012)

Amy Minsky (Melanie Lysnkey) is in her thirties and fresh out of a marriage she didn’t want out of.  She’s back home with her image-conscious parents in their Connecticut home, and she’s a total mess.  When she meets Jeremy (Christopher Abbott), the 19-year-old son of one of her dad’s prospective clients, the two begin a steamy, secret affair and end up discovering themselves in the process.

This quiet, contemplative indie debuted at Sundance last year, and yet it manages to circumvent a lot of the quirky indie tropes that plague so many movies similar to this one.  Through it’s stellar cast performances and quiet, wry script, the movie ends up being a surprising little gem that you’ve never heard of.  This is definitely a title to seek out–it’s well worth your time.

For once, Melanie Lynskey gets to break out of her traditionally character-bit-part roles and shine as the film’s star.  She’s luminous onscreen, and watching her slowly peel away the layers of her depression and start to realize her own worth is amazing.  It’s impossible to take your eyes off her when she’s onscreen.  You can’t help but root for her, and hope that she’ll find her way–and herself–eventually.

She’s matched in talent and intensity by Abbott, who manages to create a 19-year-old boy who is searching for something just as much as Lynskey’s character.  Instead of going full-on brooding, though, Abbott creates a quiet intensity in his character that makes him all the more sympathetic.  It doesn’t hurt that the two of them have excellent chemistry, either.

The supporting cast is good and the movie doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel.  Viewers should pretty  much know what they’re in for once the movie starts, but that doesn’t make it a less enjoyable experience.  Lynskey and Abbott are so good, and the movie’s rising action so satisfying, that this is one it would be hard not to enjoy.

Recommended.

 

Book Review: Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough

“Beware of Long Lankin…” is an old English song that warns of a sinister creature who seems to have a penchant for eating babies.  When Cora and her younger sister Mimi are essentially dumped on their elderly aunt in a very isolated village in England, they don’t feel very welcome.  Aunt Ida is absolutely rigid in her house rules, and the girls feel stifled and desperate to get back to London.  They don’t understand their aunt’s fear, and when Cora and some village boys begin to uncover the evil that lurks in the town’s history, she begins to understand what her aunt dreads so much.

Barraclough’s novel doesn’t waste time in setting up the creeping feelings it lends its readers.  From the instant Cora and her sister Mimi are dumped with their Auntie Ida, the girls feel unwelcome.  Their aunt tells them in no uncertain terms that they are to keep the doors and windows locked at all times, no matter how hot it gets inside the cottage.  They aren’t allowed to explore the house or go down to the marshes–especially when the tide is out.  All of this helps to set the stage for the stifling, restrictive feeling the book puts its characters and readers through.

Of course, kids being kids, the rules get broken, and with the help of some local boys looking for summer distractions, things go quickly awry.  Barraclough has multiple points of view narrating the story, and they all work exceedingly well, but this is especially true in the case of Auntie Ida.  As frustrated as Cora and the reader are with Ida’s unwillingness to talk about what’s happening or why she is the way she is, her narrative pieces help unravel the hard, awful life she’s lived.

So many elements of the book work together to create a truly memorable, creepy read, but it’s worth noting that Barraclough keeps her prose tight and her narrative authoritative.  Even though the actual horror isn’t fully exposed until well into the second half of the book, most readers won’t mind: the suspense is that good.

This is a creeping horror story for sophisticated readers looking for something to really sink their teeth into (please, ignore the pun).  Barraclough’s dark, atmospheric novel runs a little long, but the building suspense and vivid characters help to carry the plot towards its chilling conclusion.  Many reviews have already said it, but it bears repeating: be prepared to read the last 100 pages all in one sitting).

Recommended.

Long Lankin by Lindsay Barraclough. Candlewick: 2012. Library copy.

Book Review: Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

When Maggie starts at a public high school after years of homeschooling with her mother and older brothers, she’s startled by how different the outside world is.  The mysteries of the outside world are Maggie’s to be solved, but first she’s got to figure out why she’s still being followed by the morose, silent ghost she’s known since she was little.  This might mean Maggie has to branch way out of her comfort zone–and maybe even make some friends that aren’t her brothers.

This sweet graphic novel should work well for more advanced middle grade readers as well as high school readers.  Although it has elements of the paranormal in it, it’s firmly grounded in reality, with vivid secondary characters and a complex story that readers won’t want to put down.  The family dynamics, as well as the budding friendships Maggie forms with a couple of social outcasts, help to make this novel a standout.

Hicks’s illustrations fill panels with a monochrome-and-wash style that’s memorable and aesthetically pleasing.  Especially notable is how expressive Hicks makes her character’s faces.  Hicks is able to convey so much in her characters’ body language and silent glances makes the text all that much richer.  This is a text that is easy to read but one that is layered and complex.  There’s a lot of humor and heart here.

A quiet graphic novel that deserves all the praise it’s gotten.  This is one to push on reluctant and rabid readers alike–it’s that much fun.  Highly recommended.

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks.  First Second: 2012.  Library copy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nervous, home-schooled by her absent and much-missed mom and saddled with three adored older brothers—and a ghost—Maggie starts high school.

Largely but not entirely left by her doting upper-grade sibs (who had “first days” of their own) to sink or swim, Maggie starts off in lonely isolation but quickly finds two great friends in Mohawk-wearing, multiply pierced, exuberantly logorrheic classmate Lucy and her quieter (but also Mohawk-topped) brother Alistair. Simmering complications soon reach a boil as Maggie discovers that Alistair and her own oldest brother Daniel have some sort of bad history, and on a more eldritch note, a woman’s ghost that Maggie had occasionally seen in the nearby graveyard takes to floating into her house and right up to her face. Filling monochrome ink-and-wash panels with wonderfully mobile faces, expressively posed bodies, wordless conversations in meaningful glances, funny banter and easy-to-read visual sequences ranging from hilarious to violent, Hicks crafts an upbeat, uncommonly engaging tale rich in humor, suspense, and smart, complex characters.

Readers will definitely want to have, know or be Maggie’s brothers—but she herself proves to be no slouch when it comes to coping with change and taking on challenges.