Raewyn’s latest book review!
Devil’s Kiss, by Sarwat Chadda – A Knights Templar! Who would have guessed that she could be one of them? Billi had thought it was a wonderful thing to be chosen as one of this elite fighting group when she was only 10 but now at 15 she has bruises everywhere and her Ordeal is to kill a boy of 6! Well actually it is a demon inside the body of a 6 year old boy but you have to be up really close to tell that. Then her friend Kay returns from Jeruselem and she is having to learn a lot more about how much evil there is in the world. When Kay looks into the Cursed Mirror and opens a portal to the other side things start to get weird. But when she is asked out on a date with a handsome young man she starts to think about doing normal things for a change – or is this just the beginning of the end?
Twilight fans, read this book:
Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater
When she was eleven, Grace was attacked by a pack of wolves but, in an unexpected turn of events, was rescued by one of them. Rather than feeling phobic, Grace feels drawn to and protective of the wolves, especially her rescuer, the one with the yellow eyes. She admits to being obsessed, and she’s a bit lost in summer, when the wolves are notably absent.
Sam, a part-time yellow-eyed eighteen year old boy, feels a similar connection to Grace, and when the wolves are hunted by men baying for blood, he finds himself wounded on Grace’s porch in his human form. Just as well, then, that she takes this discovery in her stride and copes admirably, getting him to hospital and then smuggling him out again when he heals super-quickly. Then there’s the difficulty of keeping Sam warm, as it’s the cold that transforms him into a wolf, and his human stretches are getting shorter and shorter. Sam knows this is his “last year”, which makes his connection with Grace a tenuous thing.
You should read this book: it will make you go “ah”. It’s a thoughtfully put-together story (right down to the helpful temperature indicators at the beginning of each chapter), kind of like a Time-Traveler’s Wife for young adults with a tear jerker ending. A very good supernatural romance.
Maggie Stiefvater’s website states there’s a sequel, Linger, due out towards the end of next year too.
… not the books, but the new television programme (previously mentioned here). Read the review here, (via The New York Times). The reviewer liked what she saw, and compares it to Twilight. In fact, it might even be a little better. There. I said it.
There’s no information that I can find as to when and which channel The Vampire Diaries will screen in NZ. Here’s the official website, anyway! Yaar.
Two reviews from Raewyn!
Juno of Taris, by Fleur Beale – On an isolated, storm-buffeted island in the Southern Ocean lives Juno and 499 other survivors of the 21st Century world. Their island is covered by a dome which protects them from any outside influences, including disease and war. But Juno begins to question the authority of the council and so becomes a target herself. Is what they have always believed really just a lie? When her friend Vima finds 2 cellphones and Juno teaches her to read, they begin a secret mission to find out what is behind the troubles on Taris.
Good read.
The Last Free Cat, by Jon Blake – ALL FREE CATS CARRY DISEASE! This is what the population have been told and so only the Corporation’s specially bred cats are allowed to be owned by those who can afford them. So when Jade sees a cat walking across her back garden she is not sure what to do. The cat, Feela, doesn’t look dangerous and it feels so nice to stroke her, and amazing when she rubs around her legs. Her mum told her not to encourage it but in the end she too is won over by this furry bundle of fun.
But what will happen if the authorities find out that they have a cat? They soon find out when their house is invaded and it is disastrous for Jade’s mother’s health. Jade finds herself on the run with Kris, a street kid from her school. The chase is on! Will they escape to Ireland where the law regarding cats is different or will they be caught and thrown into prison, knowing that Feela will be put down?
A good adventure in a futuristic world.
Supernatural romances are super hot right now, for a few reasons (well, four plus a couple of movies), and there are quite a few trilogies making waves. I’ve taken a deep breath and read three of them: The Mortal Instruments trilogy, by Cassandra Clare; Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr (there’s another one to come next year); and A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray.
The Hype
There’s internet hype a-plenty for Cassandra Clare (see here, and here for example). Fragile Eternity had a book trailer (you can visit it at YouTube here: I won’t embed it because I’m really not sure I approve of book trailers, since you don’t get to imagine what characters look like and all. He’s no Seth, that’s for sure) that made people oo and ah. Being smart writers, they all blog.
The World
Set in the late 19th Century and mostly in England, Libba Bray’s story is a bit different from the others; Melissa Marr and Cassandra Clare’s books are more urban fantasy. While MM’s books focus solely on faeries, CC’s contain basically every supernatural fantastical creature there is – a melting pot/United Nations sort of deal, which is apt since home base is New York.
The Writing
Libba Bray’s books contain a lot of dense, wordy description which is great if you love dense, wordy description but not so great if you like your books to, you know, move along at pace. The dialogue is witty (actually, witty dialogue happens in all three). As far as style goes, there’s a bit of cringing to be had in the Mortal Instruments trilogy, which needed a really good edit and didn’t get one. I got memorably fed up with being told what everyone was wearing all the time, especially in the heat of battle. Wicked Lovely (and the others by Melissa Marr) rips along at a pace similar to Stephenie Meyer’s books, so don’t start it late at night.
The Most Perfectest Man Ever?
Tell me I’m making generalisations if you like, but there’s hot competition at the moment over who can write the perfect man. In this instance we have in the red corner… Seth (WL etc). Seth could make you love multiple piercings. He’s arty, intelligent, attractive, sensitive, calm, patient, doesn’t think you’re mad if you tell him you see faeries, and (most importantly) has definition in his arms. In the blue corner there’s Kartik (AGATB etc), who also has definition, is the last word in mysterious, doesn’t mind that the girl in question has tendencies towards being a raving feminist ahead of her time, and to top it off, said girl’s friends all think he’s an exotic beauty. Finally, in the annoying corner there’s Jace (MI), although he still manages to impress the odd reader.
The Romance
There’s romance, for sure, in varying quantities, using the tried and true love triangle formula. Gemma (AGATB) must choose between traditional Victorian courtship with the dashing Simon or her less conventional dealings with the aforementioned Kartik. Ash (WL) is a really sensible girl, which is just as well when she’s faced with a choice between a beautiful faery king who’s out to claim her and, well, Seth. Clary (MI) has the option of Simon the friend or Jace, shadowhunter extraordinaire, whose relationship to Clary takes many, many twists and turns. Simmering stuff.
The Big Showdown
There’s gruesomeness to be had. Not to give too much away, The Sweet Far Thing ends with a beautifully described apocalyptic battle to end all battles (this really isn’t giving too much away, honest), complete (possibly) with some tear jerking moments. Cassandra Clare worries a bit too much about what people are wearing, as mentioned earlier, but she’s not scared of injuring her characters which is good, because you’re more likely to worry for their safety. The big showdown is yet to happen in the Wicked Lovely world: will have to wait for next year.
If you love books in this genre there is a whole heap more out there, for example:
Evermore, by Alyson Noel. Psychic girl falls in love with an immortal boy.
Need, by Carrie Jones. Werewolves and pixies.
Wings, by Aprilynne Pike. Faeries again, this is the first of a planned series of four.
Impossible, by Nancy Werlin. Read a review at teenreads.com.
Read all this? Well Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is coming soon. Grace is a girl, haunted by a yellow eyed wolf; Sam is a yellow-eyed werewolf… (here’s an excerpt from teenreads.com).
Also, don’t forget Holly Black’s modern faerie tales.
ps “supernatural romance” isn’t a catchy enough name we decided, so what to call these books? Well, here were some suggestions (not all strictly relevant): supernatromance, phantasromance, zom-rom, boo woo, hell-odrama, vampmance, fantmance, horromance, creepy-crawly-lovey-dovey, unexplained flingnomena
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
This book is just incredible and fantastic!It’s about a girl who finds out her mum is a shadowhunter and her dad is a shadowhunter, an evil shadowhunter to put it correctly, and the shadowhunter she loves might turn someone completely different, but still very close.
In the mundane (human) world, the night children (vampires) hunt, werewolves defend their packs, and sexy shadowhunters prowl the streets of New York city. This book I couldn’t put down, and I’m so glad I shared it with you.
A whopping 5 Stars for this popular book!
Thanks, Elena, for sending us your book review. We appreciate that.
Spoiler alert! If you haven’t read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, or seen the movie then be warned!
…
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, John Boyne
This story tells the tale of the unlikely friendship of two boys. It is set in Germany during the war and gives an insight into the circumstances of the holocaust. Bruno’s father is one of Hitler’s high ranking officials, but Bruno is unaware of exactly what his father’s job entails. He accidentally comes across a prisoner of war compound and befriends a Jewish boy. Eventually he makes a plan to sneak in under the fence to help his new friend look for his father, who seems to have mysteriously disappeared somewhere within the ‘camp’. During the course of his search Bruno and his friend find themselves herded into a giant shed along with hundreds of other people. The big steel doors clang shut. Outside, Bruno’s parents discover he is missing. They see the plumes of smoke rise from the tall chimneys at the compound and the terrible realisation of what has happened hits them…
~ Lynda
If you’ve read a good book recently you can send us a review.
A new review from Raewyn:
Weedflower, by Cynthia Kadohata.
Working on her family’s flower farm until she was old enough to own her own flower shop was Sumiko’s dream, but that all changed on December 6, 1941 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour. Suddenly they had to burn all of their Japanese things in case they were thought of as “un-American” and then the trucks came and took them away to internment camps set on an Indian Reservation. How long would they be there in the dust and heat? What if the war lasted 10 years? Sumiko decides to create a garden with her neighbour and she uses the special seeds she brought with her from home to brighten the garden with “weedflowers”. This story helps us to see the world of the war through the eyes of Japanese living in the United States and how they were treated by the authorities and everyday people.
This Monday marks the beginning of the NZ Post Book Awards “festival” which culminates in the awards ceremony on the 20th. So what’s going on in the festival then? If you scroll right to the very bottom of this page you’ll see the events on in Wellington – they’re mostly writing and illustrating workshops with such writers and illustrators as Fleur Beale, Ali Teo and Fifi Colston.
In case you’re interested in finding out more about the finalists in the Young Adult fiction category, the good people at Create Readers have a couple of reviews: Juno of Taris by Fleur Beale (review here) and Chronicle of Stone Book 1, Scorched Bone by Vince Ford (here’s the review). We’ll keep you posted with more news as it comes to hand.
Due to a case of the winter snufflies, and a current lack of Twilight Saga books, I found myself at home finishing off a couple of books that you may (or may not) want to hear about.
H-Bomb Girl by Stephen Baxter
This is a bit of a Sci-Fi adventure that will leave you guessing until the last chapter. If you’re a fan of Dr Who and other time-travel stuff then you’ll like this book.
Laura is a 14 year old girl living in Liverpool, England, in October 1962. As the Cuban missle crisis is unfolding before her eyes, weird people start messing with Laura’s life; people that know a little too much about her and seem to all want something from her. Who these people are, and the decisions Laura has to make, will have consequences across the world. Laura’s future is just as uncertain as the rest of the world’s…
Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
From the author of the Bartimous Trilogy. Halli Sveinsson dreams of being the hero of his valley but, while he has the courage and noble heart of a hero, he lacks the stature and good looks of a hero – being stumpy, squat and having the face of a toad.
Up on the hills surrounding his village are the burial cairns of his ancestors. The legend says that a terrible creature, called a Trow, lives underground beyond the cairn wall which emerges at night to kill anything that strays past the cairns onto their land. Halli dreams of testing the Trows, but the days of fighting are over and the swords are melted down…
Bored and frustrated, Halli pulls some pranks that ignite an old feud between villages, which sets Halli out on a quest of his own and discovers the true, and terrifying, nature of the trows and the old cairn line.
This is an exciting tale of adventure and mischief; you won’t be able to help liking this unlikely Hero!
A book review from Raewyn!
Atherton: The House of Power, by Patrick Carman.
Atherton is a made up world, Edgar. A place created by men at a time when almost every part of the known world was used up. This was the first part of the book that Samuel read to Edgar and the beginning of their fight to help the people of their separate worlds, as they gradually came together. Atherton is made up of three tiers. The Highlands is where the water comes from and is the domain of Lord Phineus who controls all. Tabletop is ruled over by the cruel Mr Ratikan (a pawn of Lord Phineus), hard taskmaster to the people who tend the fig trees, which feed the Highlanders. And far below are the Flatlands, where horrible creatures dwell. What will happen when all the tiers become one? First in this new series by the author of “The Land of Elyon”.
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
I liked the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, for three main reasons. One being the fact it was voyeuristic therefore making it personal and intimate, it makes you see the world through the characters’ eyes and relate your personal experiences and personality to them. Another reason is the way the characters are shown; the fact that they are enigmatic, which makes you want to know more, and realistic, which makes you think you’ve really met them. The last is the theme “love” which is shown in a modern, edgy way, that’s both original and old-school, it really makes you wonder. Overall, I think the books are well-written and different, no wonder they were a big success.
~ Natalia
Life as We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer
A great book. The writing technique was not entirely spectacular, but that was made up for by the content. As you are taken through the day-to-day life of Miranda, through the eyes of her personal diary, a gruelling tale emerges. The moon was hit by an asteroid, knocking it ever-so-slightly closer to earth. The effects are revealed as you read through her year.
I was completely captivated, stunned even, by this novel. Keeping me up late at night, I even had to resort to pinching myself so I wouldn’t let my eyelids close. Really, read this book only when you have a clear schedule – you won’t want to be distracted!
The Dead and the Gone, by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Although it isn’t as good as Life as We Knew It, I would still recommend reading this book. Life as We Knew It is a tale of isolation, struggle against the harsh world the character lives in. The Dead and the Gone is an entirely different approach. Told in the eyes of a teenage boy leaving hich school, the author uses a diary format, even though it is told in 3rd person. This annoyed me a lot, but it’s worth it. Alex has to look after his sisters… through thick and thin.
~ Hannah
Yes, again with the book reviewing. This may interest you (if not, write a review anyway!): we’ve just landed a few posters of Robert Pattinson (fresh out of that biography we told you about a while ago). They’ve got fold crease thingies, but they’re quite big and apart from being delivered to the Teen Blog box they’ve not been touched at all. So, we thought we’d deliver four of them to four of you.
The catch is: you have to write a well-considered review of a young adult book. You can have liked it or disliked it; we don’t mind as long as you let us know why (don’t just give us a plot summary, for example). The first four publishable book reviews we receive will get a poster (this is only open to Wellington City Libraries card holders… if you’d rather not have a poster we totally understand (believe me) – just let us know and we won’t bother you with it). The review form is here, so go to it.
Have you read a book lately that you think other people should read? Or maybe you’ve read a book that you don’t think anyone would want to read? You can review them here, on our newly created and simple-to-use review form.
We will publish all the good reviews (and good bad reviews) that we get.
We have two large, large Twilight film posters to give away. So we thought we’d have a small competition; write a review – a short paragraph of about 50 words – of the Twilight film in the comments below and we will randomly draw two winners by 5pm on Thursday next week (i.e., the 5th of February). Don’t forget to include your email address and full name! (We won’t publish either, of course.)
Also, you need to be a Wellington library Young Adult cardholder.
Other books that we liked but were too busy to review include:
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. Fantastic reworking of The Jungle Book. Colourful characters (’May they rest in peace‘); great writing (being Neil Gaiman); one fantastic vampire (Silas).
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. In order to spare her sister, Katniss volunteers to take part in the annual Hunger Games, a grim fight to the death in front of a television audience of thousands. The first part of a promised trilogy.
The 10 pm Question, by Kate De Goldi. Local writer Kate De Goldi has written an impressive novel about Frankie, a 12 year old who has worrying questions constantly invading his thoughts. Beautifully written and thought-provoking. Cool cover, too.
It’s been a good year.
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart
Favourite line: “That’s a lot of chutzpah you’ve got there. Don’t let it weigh you down.”
Frankie’s a fifteen year old girl with a brain and gumption, but the people around her don’t seem to notice this. She’s “Bunny Rabbit” to her family and “adorable” to her boyfriend. Frankie’s not the kind of girl to let that slide and let people take care of her, though. She embarks on an ambitious project to prove herself - to herself as much as anyone else, possibly - with astonishing success, but unfortunately she lands the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds (an exclusive all-male secret society) in some strife in the process, the undoing of which could be the real making of Frankie.
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is a great book; thoughtful, philosophical, clever and hilarious. Frankie is the real female hero of 2008 literature.
If you’re into chick lit then you really have to read E. Lockhart. She’s a totally ept writer; reading her books leaves you feeling turbed and gruntled.
~ Bridget
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Marcus, whose online name is W1n5t0n, is a high school student in San Francisco. He’s street smart and knows the system inside out. His high school’s security systems are no match for him as he constantly bunks out of school.
But one day, after he’s bunked out of school for the afternoon, he and his friends find themselves caught up in the aftermath of a huge terrorist attack on San Francisco. Marcus and his friends are found to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and are captured by the Department of Homeland Security as suspects. After days in a secret prison, where they have been mercilessly interrogated, they are released into an unrecognisable San Francisco.
His city has now been turned into a police state where everyones’ movements are tracked and everyone is monitored. The innocent often disappear for no apparent reason. Everyone is being treated like a potential terrorist.
Reunited with his friends, Marcus decides that something must be done to protect everyones’ freedoms. He can’t turn to the government and police for help, so he decides that he must take down the Department of Homeland Security himself using his computer programming and hacking skills.
You will not want to put this book down! It’s a very exciting and thought-provoking read.
~ Adrienne
Paper Towns by John Green
Quentin Jacobsen is a genius! He hangs out with geniuses and he has a perfect attendance record at high school! NERD you might say, but then one night, Margo Roth Spiegelman, the girl next door he has loved from afar all his life, climbs into his bedroom window dressed for stealth and wanting HIM! Well his driving skills actually, as she sets out on a night of revenge on her ex-boyfriend and others. Think photo of ex running down the street with items of his anatomy hanging out and dead fish under seats of cars! Then the next day she disappears, leaving him clues to follow as to where he might find her. His friends help to try and solve the puzzle but will it end with them finding her alive or dead?
~ Raewyn
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