Review: Matched

Matched by Ally Condie
Publisher: Dutton Books
Pages: 366
Release date: November 30, 2010
Website: http://www.allysoncondie.com/
Summary (from Good Reads): Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow. 

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 Novels like Matched kind of freak me out. Thinking about what the world will be like hundreds or years from now, when all the books and songs and poems I love are gone makes me panic a little and want to hold onto everything as much as I can for as long as I can. that's why I tend not to think about it. Matched, though, forces you to think about it.

I thought Matched was a wonderful debut. There were areas that for me, were lacking. I would have liked just a little more explanation of the Society and how things came to be, and I would have loved to know what year the novel takes place in. I know it's not necessarily important information to have, but I've noticed in dystopian novels that the year the story takes place is often not given, and it drives me absolutely nuts. For me, those were just little things, though. Since Matched is the first of a trilogy, I assume that my questions will be answered in the next two novels.

I really liked Cassia. I loved it that she wants to know more about the past, the things they aren't to know, like the poems they're not allowed to read or songs they're not allowed to hear. I like it that she knows her strengths, and that when she struggles, she is able to draw on those strengths as well as the memory of her grandfather, who was another source of strength for her. I like it that she thinks for herself. And I enjoyed Cassia's relationships with Xander and Ky, which, to an extent, reminded me of Katniss's relationships with Gale and Peeta in The Hunger Games trilogy (and for the record, I'm Team Xander). I also liked it that Cassia wasn't a completely passive character. There wasn't a lot of action in this novel, and in a way, it did read very much like a prologue, but Cassia's desires and small actions made her an active character for me, not a passive one. Sometimes, it's the little things people do (like memorizing a poem she's not supposed to ever have read) are the things that have the greatest impact, and I think Xander and Cassia are perfect examples of this, though I won't say anything else, since I don't want to give anything away.

The story is great. I was bored in a couple of places because there's not a lot of action, but overall, the story is interesting and told smoothly throughout the novel. Even though there were things I wanted to know, I was never confused by anything that was happening. Matched struck the perfect balance for me: It let me think about what the world could be like hundreds of years from now without actually freaking out about it (although the idea of there only being 100 poems and 100 songs and 100 paintings, etc. because more than that is too overwhelming was an idea that appalled me). I loved the way Condie wrote about things of the past, like the artifacts, and I loved the subtle differences from the past and the present (handlocks v. handcuffs, for example). Though it's not fully explained, the Society is believable, and that's a key aspect. I know nothing like the Society will ever exist during my lifetime, but someday, it could. Matched is the kind of novel that keeps me thinking, long after I'm done reading. What would I do if I were Cassia? If I had the opportunity now, would I do everything possible to stop that kind of society from coming into existence, or would I want to live in that kind of society? Would I want other people to control nearly every aspect of my life, in exchange for happiness and health? I love it that Matched raised these kinds of questions for me, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the story unfolds.

Rating: 4/5

Cover rating: 5/5

Review: Priscilla the Great

Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson
Publisher: WorldMaker Media
Pages: 276
Release date: December 14, 2010
Website: Priscilla the Great; Sybil Nelson
Summary (from book cover): Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh-grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn't hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, an organization dead set on turning children into killing machines. Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than a Rubik's cube in the Bermuda triangle and expect a smoking page-turner!

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I received Priscilla the Great at the perfect time. When I got, I was feeling a little burnt out on reading. I had been reading a lot of "serious" stuff: Stephen King, a book about forensic science, poetry, things like The Replacement. I needed--and wanted--something fun. And that's where Priscilla comes in.

I was sucked in from page one. Priscilla's voice is so authentic, not just in her dialog, but also in the narration. As a writer, voice is something I struggle with, and I am amazed at how strong Priscilla's voice is. She sounded just the way I imagine a seventh grader would sound, and just the way I probably sounded as a seventh grader. The way she expresses herself through dialog is perfect. One scene that stood out to me in terms of dialog was when Priscilla's mom is talking to her about her powers, and she wants Priscilla to watch an education video about hormone progression. The way Priscilla reacts to her mom wanting her to watch this sex-ed type of video was fantastic. She claims there's no way she's going to watch the movie, she insists that she needs privacy, and she says it's unfair that she has to watch the video when her older brother doesn't. That's exactly how I imagine a seventh-grader reacting to this situation.

The way Priscilla describes things in the narration is also perfect (perfect might be my favorite adjective when it comes to this novel). The way she describes things is just the way I would expect a twelve year old to describe things. And it was those descriptions that kept me laughing. There are so many things I could list that had me cracking up while I read, but I'll only put my favorite down: "The next morning I woke up with a headache the size of Josh's ego" (p. 25). I thought this was a great line, not just because it was funny, but also because it's a great metaphor that is in no way a cliche. Plus, I think it gives us a little bit of insight about what Priscilla thinks of Josh, her older brother.

And speaking of Josh, as much as I like Priscilla, Josh was my favorite character in the novel. I love it that he's a Christina Aguilera-singing football player. I love it that he and Priscilla don't always get along, but at the end of the day, they love each other and are pretty protective of each other. I kind of see Josh as the perfect older brother, and I really hope we get to see more of him in the rest of the series.

The story itself is fun. There's action, friendship, a tiny bit of romance--all the things I love. It's perfectly paced, and there was never a dull moment (totally cliche, I know, but totally true). Priscilla the Great is engaging and funny with characters that I loved and really cared about.

Rating: 5/5

Guest Post: Author Sybil Nelson

As part of the blog tour for Sybil Nelson's Priscilla the Great, today I have a guest post from Sybil. For more info about Sybil and Priscilla, check out Sybil's website and the official site for Priscilla the Great.

Book Bashing

While trying to publicize my new book Priscilla the Great, I’ve visited tons of review blogs and spent lots of time on Goodreads and sites like that. I’ve even started reading many of the books I’ve seen recommended on these sites. Sometimes I’m super excited about the discovery of an awesome new book. Other times I’m like “How in the world is this book so popular?” So then I go and I look at as many of the reviews I can find on that book. Sometimes they go beyond unfavorable and lead into “Book Bashing.” Saying ridiculously mean things about a book just because it wasn’t your cup of tea. We are all entitled to our opinions and everyone has different preferences. But if you knew what that author possibly had to go through to get that book published, you might think twice about bashing it so much. For example, I’ll fill you in on what I had to go through to get Priscilla the Great in print.

2002

I was a math teacher who loved to read and got sick of there never being any black characters in books. I knew for some books it wasn’t possible, but for modern day books, everyone knows at least one black person right? Why are they always ignored in books? Especially black women. So I jotted down some poorly crafted chapters of a book about a black ballerina married to a white basketball player and their spoiled rotten children. That story didn’t really go very far and I gave up writing for a while.

2004/5

I spit out a creepy and disturbing short story about an interracial couple living in 1970’s Virginia. I liked the story so much that I expanded it into a full length novel then started submitting to agents. While blindly sending query letters to agents  I wrote my second book The B Word of Bridgeton about a black ballerina who falls in love with a white basketball player. Sound familiar? It was basically the story I wrote earlier except it took place when they were in high school and focused on how they met.

It took me two years to actually get an offer of representation from Uwe Stender of TriadaUS agency.

2007

I got myself a real bonafide agent and I mistakenly thought that any day I would be picked up by a publisher, right? Wrong. That’s when the real work began. My agent sent me through months of revisions before he started sending to publishers. And then once he did start submitting, that’s when the rejections started flooding in.

Fortunately, during this time, I kept writing. I wrote during every free moment. Which weren’t many considering I had kids and a full time job and a husband and grad school.  But I still managed to write three other books during this time.

November of 2008

The B Word comes under serious consideration by a big publisher. They send me through one major revision, and then another, and then another, and…I’m still waiting for their final decision. Yes, they’ve had this book since November of 2008 and I have still not received a yes or a no. Every time my agent inquires, they say they need more time. Many people say, well that’s just too much time why don’t you take it to another publisher? And they fail to realize that it was rejected by every other publisher. The people that have the book now are huge! And I am going to give them all the time they need if it means that they will perhaps offer me a contract.

2009

Okay, so during this two year stalemate with that big time publisher who will remain nameless, I also wrote Priscilla the Great. Writing this book was so easy and I would say magical except that sounds really corny. But in a way it was. I wrote it in less than a month. Priscilla’s voice just poured out of me. In a matter of weeks after the first draft was completed, this book caught the attention of another major publisher who shall remain nameless. They sent me through one revision, and then another and then another. Eight months later, they passed. I literally went to Wendy’s bought everything off of the dollar value menu, cried, and ate myself into a mini coma.

One thing that happened during this year that managed to boost my confidence a little was that my agent sold the movie rights toPriscilla. Since then I’ve even had dinner with the scriptwriter. Very exciting indeed.

2010

During this time, of course I continued to write, but I was also getting really frustrated with the whole publishing process. I had written nine books over the course of four years and I had nothing to show for it. So, I decided to self publish. I was just about to release my book The Guardian of Eden as a self published title when I decided to give a small publisher a chance. I submitted to Solstice Publishing and was accepted. The book title was changed to Secrets of Eden and was published as an ebook in August of 2010.

I also self published my book about the interracial couple in Virginia called Ain’t No Sunshine and as of this writing, it’s actually ranked higher than Secrets of Eden on the Amazon rankings!

Anyway, I started feeling better about the publishing industry. But I still wanted those big time houses for The B Word andPriscilla. But then, in August of 2010, Priscilla the Great won The Strongest Start Novel competition over at the Next Big Writer. It came with a $2500 self publishing package with CreateSpace. I felt like that was the motivation I needed to just go ahead and publish the book myself.  I mean, it had been through the rounds of all the big and midsized publishing houses and no one wanted it. Once again, I started the self publishing process and I was just about complete, when I decided to give the publishing industry one more shot. I contacted WorldMaker Media and they offered me a contract! Together, we worked our butts off and made my original release date of December 15, 2010.

So when reading a book, consider all the hard work that author went through to get that book into print. If their road was half as difficult as mine, I’m sure they don’t deserve any book bashing.

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Thank you, Sybil, for writing such a wonderful guest post! Sybil's post brings up an interesting topic, and I'd love to know what everyone thinks about reviews where books are bashed. There's a big difference between giving an honest, negative review, and bashing someone's book. What do you think about it all?

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Want to win a copy of Priscilla the Great? Head over to the entry form for your chance to win. Before you do, make sure you read the guidelines for this giveaway (below), and make sure you check out my Contest and Privacy Policies.

1. This contest is open internationally.
2. Entrants must be 13 years of age or older.
3. One entry per person.
4. You do not have to be a follower of my blog to enter, but you must be a blogger to enter.
5. Contest deadline is Sunday, February 13, 2011.

In My Mailbox: 19

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. For more information about this awesome meme, head over to her site.

Most of my books came from the library (again). I did buy one, and I received one for review as part of a blog tour. All summaries (or partial summaries) come from Good Reads or the book jacket. The links are for Amazon and Borders.

Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson*
Publisher: WorldMaker Media
Release date: December 14, 2010

Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn't hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, an organization dead set on turning children into killing machines. Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than Rubik's cube in the Bermuda triangle and expect a smoking page-turner!

I'll have a review of Priscilla the Great up later today!

Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman
Publisher: Speak
Release date: January 12, 2010

Looking for a new beginning after a terrible mean girl past, Charlie Healey realizes there's no escaping high school drama. Charlie Healey thinks Harmony Falls is the beginning of a whole new life. Middle school was brutal. But high school is Charlie's big chance to start over and stay out of drama, except that on her first day, she runs into Will, her ex-best friend, who had moved away. Now a varsity athlete and hotter than Charlie remembered, Will hangs with the crowd running the school. But Charlie doesn't understand their power until an innocent delivery guy falls victim to a near-deadly hazing prank. Torn between doing what's right and her secret feelings for Will, Charlie must decide whether to turn in her very best friend or live with the guilt of knowing what he did.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release date: July 13, 2010

The longing. Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain. The loss. Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of being human. The linger. For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces--wolf and human--with love baring its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

Matched by Ally Condie
Publisher: Dutton Books
Release date: November 30, 2010

In the Society, officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die. Cassia has always trusted their choices. It's hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one. . .until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path no one else has ever dared follow--between perfection and passion.

I'll have a review of Matched up soon, as well.

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release date: December 1, 2010

Things in Delilah Hannaford's life have a tendency to fall apart. She used to be a good student, but she can't seem to keep it together anymore. Her "boyfriend" isn't much of a boyfriend. And her mother refuses to discuss the fight that divided their family eight years ago. Falling apart, it seems, is a Hannaford tradition. Over a summer of new friendships, unexpected romance, and moments that test the complex bonds between mothers and daughters, Delilah must face her family's painful past. Can even her most shattered relationships be pieced together again?

And just for fun, because I'm playing around with idea of reviewing a CD sometime next week (mostly just because I can, but also to do something different for a change), I also bought this:

*Check out Sybil's guest post. Along with her post, I'm giving away the review copy I received of Priscilla the Great.

What did you get this week? Happy reading!

Kelly

Weekly Recap: January 9-15

Since I don't have anything to share for In My Mailbox this week, I'm going to  do a little weekly recap instead.

Read last week:

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
Top of My Lungs by Natalie Goldberg (poetry)
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Broken by Karin Slaughter (adult fiction; part of the Grant County series)
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Reviewed:

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

I also had a lot of non-book related things going on this past week. Most of it dealt with grad school scholarship applications, which are a pain to do. I also did my fair share of obsessing over a few different things, only one of which is semi-book related:

• The Backstreet Boys. This is nothing new, considering I've been a fan since I was 12. I adore them. They're all I'm listening to right now. Nick Carter has a new CD coming out next month, and I can't wait. AJ McLean came out with a CD awhile back (like, a few years ago, I think, but I'm not sure of the exact date), and for some reason, I don't own it. But I need to.
• Kent State. I'm going there for grad school in August (for my master's in library science, so this is the obsession that's semi-book related this week). It's pretty much all I can think about. Love the town I live in, but I'm ready for a change.
• My road trip to Kent State. It's going to be long. I'd love to do a little bit of sightseeing along the way, but we'll see how that goes. But, if I do, then Nashville, here I come! In addition to the Backstreet Boys, I also adore country music, and I've wanted to go to Nashville for a long time. Another stop on the way, I hope: Lexington, Kentucky (and not just because two Backstreet Boys were born there--see? I'm obsessed).

Back to blog things that I've been thinking about this week. One thing I would really like to do is come up with a weekly feature. Unfortunately, I just can't think of anything to do. In that aspect, I'm not that creative. I'll keep thinking and hoping that I'll come up with something fun. We'll see how it goes. The second thing is a design aspect. I really want to learn how to create block quotes. You know, where you have the summery of a book blocked off in a pretty-colored box. I want to do that. I can't figure out how. Googling it has not helped. It seems like it should be pretty simple, so needless to say, I'm frustrated that I can't seem to figure it out. If anyone wants to teach me, that would be super-awesome and I would appreciate it.

And that is all this week. I hope next week I actually have something to share for IMM. Happy reading!

Kelly

Review: The Replacement

The Replacement, by Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 343
Release date: September 21, 2010
Website: Brenna Yovanoff
Summary: Mackie is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement--left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world. Mackie would give anything to live among us. He just wants to play bass guitar and find out more about an oddly intriguing girl named Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the slag heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

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The Replacement is one of those books where I feel like I can take it or leave it. There were things I liked about it and things I didn't like, and in the end it comes down to this: I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.

The character who stood out to me the most was Roswell, Mackie's best friend. I like Roswell. I liked it that he always stood by Mackie. I  liked it that he was always willing to help. And for whatever reason, I freaking love his name. I don't know what it is about the name Roswell, but there's something about it that I love. I think, had Roswell been the narrator, he would've been one of those characters I have a crush on. All the reasons why I liked Roswell were also all the reasons why I felt sorry for him, though. I felt bad that he was always changing his plans for Mackie. If they were at a party and Mackie needed or wanted to leave for whatever reason, they left. At times, it almost felt like Mackie was using Roswell, because he knew Roswell would always be there. Even though it never seemed to be an issue for Roswell, I really wanted him to stand up for himself. Just once, I wanted him to say, "Mackie, I support you, but I'm not ready to leave the party yet. I'll let you know when I am" (or whatever would've been appropriate, based on the situation).

Aside from Roswell, I thought the novel had interesting parts, especially in the story behind the replacements. Unfortunately, I almost felt like I was reading a textbook when this information is given, and it felt repetitive in places. Mackie would argue with the Morrigan or her sister. They would tell him something; he would come back with something, and on and on. And every time he met with them, they seemed to go over the same concepts again and again, just worded slightly differently. All this information is given through dialog, which I suppose is to be expected, since that's how a lot of YA novels seem to work (from what I can tell). What I really would have liked to see was more conflict. Tate and Mackie both know something isn't right, but there's very little conflict between them and the replacements. Most of that conflict was at the end, and it just wasn't enough. For most of the novel, I felt like I was just reading a day-to-day account of someone's life, and most of it wasn't that interesting.

To be honest, the only reason I kept reading was so I could review the book. I got bored with it when there was only about 100 pages left, but I had already invested so much in it and I knew I wanted to review it that I kept going. I wasn't attached to anything in the book so much so that I had to keep reading, but again, I didn't hate it, either. For me, it's one of those books that's just there. I'm interested to see what Brenna Yovanoff's next book will be like.

Overall rating: 3/5

Cover: 5/5

Book Blogger Hop

I've known about Book Blogger Hop, which is a weekly meme hosted by Crazy For Books, but I've never actually participated in it. This week, I decided to actually check it out, and participate.

In this meme, book bloggers and readers can connect with each other, support each other, make new friends, and so on. It's easy to participate, so head over to Crazy For Books's site for more details.

This week's question is: Why do you read the genre that you do? What draws you to it?

I don't stick with any genre in particular. I have favorite authors, who write only in one genre (e.g., Sarah Dessen, Stephen King, Karin Slaughter), so I read everything of theirs that I can. But I read such a wide variety of things, such as history, poetry, memoir, YA fiction, horror, mystery, true crime, etc., but I also don't read everything I can in those genres. For example, when it comes to horror, I stick with Stephen King. For history, I stick with subjects that interest me, like the American Revolution, or the Battle of Mogadishu. True crime is limited to the type of crime (take this however you want, but I'd rather read about murders than sex crimes or kidnapping). And so on. What I read is largely based on what I'm in the mood for. If I decide I want something lighthearted with romance, I'll try to find something like Lauren Barnholdt. If I want romance that tends to be more serious (as opposed to "chick lit" I guess), I'll pick up Sarah Dessen. If I want a mystery, I go to Karin Slaughter, who writes an amazing series called the Grant County series. If I read non-fiction, it definitely depends on what I'm interested in at the moment, and I tend to go through phases in that regard.

I read a book not too long ago called So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading, and one thing the author said is that what she reads often depends on timing. I've found that to be true for myself. I'll hear of a book that I think sounds really good, I'll put it on hold at the library, and by the time it comes in, I've lost interest. That actually happened to me tonight. One of my goals for the year is to read more poetry, so I checked out a few different poetry books from the library this week. I started reading one tonight and stopped 70 pages in because I didn't like the poetry. I picked up one of the other poetry books instead, and didn't even make it through the first poem, not because I didn't like it, but because I wasn't in the mood for it. And in this case, it was definitely a matter of timing. I spent the last couple of months in 2010 reading about 500 pages of poetry (I have a poetry anthology that's over 1000 pages, and one of my goals last year was to read the whole thing; I had to cram a lot of poetry into 2 months to meet that goal), so I'm completely burnt out on poetry.

Long answer for what should be a simple question! To sum it up, the genres I read depend on what I'm interested in (non-fiction), what I'm in the mood for, and whether or not the timing is right.

Kelly

Review: The Mockingbirds

The Mockingbirds, by Daisy Whitney
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 352
Release date: November 2, 2010
Website: Daisy Whitney
Summary (from book jacket): Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student boy that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis way. So when Alex Patrick is date-raped during her junior year, she has two options: Stay silent and hope someone helps, or enlist the aid of the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of the student body.


In this account of a teenage girl's search for her voice and the courage to use it, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that standing up for someone, especially yourself, is worth the fight.

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It was hard to read The Mockingbirds and not compare it Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak. Both stories are about high school girls who are raped. But there is a huge difference between the stories: In Speak, the victim is shunned. She becomes an outcast. In The Mockingbirds, other students stand by the victim, and help her to fight back.

The Mockingbirds is just as much of an emotional read as Speak is, but in a very different way. With Speak, I felt awful for Melinda, not just because she was raped, but because her classmates shunned her for calling the police after the rape, because she called them from a party. All I wanted was for Melinda to tell someone what had happened, but I understood her fear. I understand her shame and her depression. Her emotions were so real, it was like I was there with her, experiencing the things she was experiencing.

With The Mockingbirds, I also felt awful for Alex because she was raped. But more than that, I was in awe of her. She did the opposite of what Melinda does in Speak. Alex stands up for herself. Though she's afraid of her rapist, who's a classmate, the same way Melinda's is, and she does what she can to avoid him, Alex doesn't stop living her life. She and Melinda are completely opposite of each other, but it's because of the social situations they're in. Whereas Melinda is an outcast, Alex has plenty of support from her friends and the classmates who make up the Mockingbirds, the school's somewhat secret justice system. As a result, Alex continues living. She goes to class. She studies. She immerses herself in her music to the best of her ability. Melinda did none of those things (except lose herself in art). I loved Alex's support system. I loved it that even though she had moments when she struggled (not eating in the cafeteria, to avoid her rapist and his friends; not being able to listen to her favorite piece of music for a while because it reminded her of the night she was raped; uncertainty of what really happened that night), she still had control of her life. She still knew what she wanted and what she didn't, and with the help of her friends, she was able to try to get what she wanted. I don't know that I would have continued living my life the way Alex did if I were in her shoes. Her courage and determination left me in awe, and I was incredibly proud of her.

The only thing missing from this story for me was a deeper emotional connection. Though I felt bad for Alex and though I was in awe of the choices she made after her rape, I didn't feel like I connected with her the way I would have liked to. I feel like I could have stopped reading the story at any point, never have come back to it, and I wouldn't miss out on much. And I think that's a shame, because the writing is terrific and the story is interesting; all that was lacking was the emotional connection.


Rating: 3.5/5

Cover: 2/5

Review: Bad Girls Don't Die

Bad Girls Don't Die, by Katie Alender
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Pages: 346
Release date: April 21, 2009
Website: Katie Alender
Summary (from book cover): When Alex's little sister, Kasey, becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. Kasey is a weird kid. Period. Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own goth friends. Things get weirder, though, when the old house they in starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves, water boils on the unlit stove, and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough for the girls to see their breath. Kasey is changing too. Her blue eyes go green, and she uses old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time.

Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey's shoulder. The formerly gentle, doll-loving child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister--but what if that green eyes girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

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Normally, ghost stories freak me out so much that I try to avoid reading them. I've had Bad Girls Don't Die on my TBR list for so long that I forgot what it was about. Then I got it from the library, read the summary and thought, "Oh. Crap."

As it turns out, I didn't have much to worry about. What could have been a a really creepy story turned out to not be creepy at all. The haunting in Bad Girls Don't Die isn't just a typical haunting, where the ghost wreaks havoc in the house, breaking dishes, running down halls, and doing typical ghost things. In this story, the ghost actually possesses Alexis's little sister. Katie Alender makes it obviously when Alexis's sister, Kasey, is possessed and when she isn't, but to be honest, everything comes off as being really cheesy. When Kasey is possessed, she does things like ruin Alexis's photos (Alexis is a photographer and develops her own film) and steal her classmates school reports.It seems pretty typical, which meant it wasn't really believable.


Alexis's relationships with her classmates were strange, too. Alexis is an outcast even among the outcasts, but after Kasey threatens a popular cheerleader, that cheerleader approaches Alexis with the knowledge that Kasey is possessed. Said cheerleader offers to help Alexis, and initially, Alexis resists, but eventually, she caves in. It was too convenient. Before she and the cheerleader start becoming friends, there's a scene where they're fighting, and a popular basketball player steps in and tells the cheerleader to leave Alexis alone. He tells the cheerleader that she and her friends should try to be humans for once, and before he leaves, he tells Alexis to take it easy. Considering that Alexis only interacts with three of her classmates consistently throughout the novel (the cheerleader, Alexis's crush, and a girl who follows Alexis around like a puppy dog), this was another unbelievable scene. The cheerleader and Alexis fighting made sense, but the basketball player intervening didn't, especially since he took Alexis's side.


I thought it was too convenient that Alexis just so happened to mention the cheerleader to her sister, who, when possessed, threatened the cheerleader, and that the cheerleader just so happened to be interested in ghosts and possessions and willing to help Alexis. Everything in this story could have been developed more, especially when it comes to the characters and their motives. I wish I could say I plan on reading the second book in this series, but I can't. I have so many things that I want to read that I'm not willing to put the second book in this series on my TBR list after I was disappointed by the first one.


Rating: 2

Cover: 4/5

Twilight and Other Books You Love

I just read an awesome post from Alison at Alison Can Read where she talks about how much she loves Twilight. She begins the discussion by talking about what book as influenced or changed her life, and how her answer to that is Twilight, and that she didn't like seeing people post things like, "I'm embarrassed to admit it. . ." or "I'm ashamed to say. . . ." Then Alison poses the all-important question: Why should anyone be ashamed to admit they like the Twilight series?

I love the discussion she sparked with this post. Her post is well thought out and interesting, and so are the responses. Instead of posting my own lengthy comment on her blog, I decided to create a response post, to (in theory) give myself more space to say everything I want to say.

Let's start with Twilight. I read it a few years ago. I enjoyed it. But I didn't enjoy it so much that I will ever read it again. Alison talks about a lot of reasons why people don't like Twilight (it's not well-written, Bella's not a great character, etc.). Some of those reasons are exactly why I'm not a huge Twilight fan. But do I think people should be ashamed to admit they like Twilight? Absolutely not. Do I understand why people are ashamed to admit they like it? Yes. And this more or less leads into the next thing I want to address, so I'll try to combine them in a non-awkward way.

I completely understand it that people are ashamed to admit they like Twilight because of how other people react. No one wants to be ridiculed because they like a certain book (or series), or movie, or musical group, or whatever. I definitely don't. This is actually something I struggle with still. I'm not necessarily ashamed to admit I like a certain book. For me, it's that I'm embarrassed to admit that I love YA fiction. Whenever someone I don't know very well (and even sometimes when it's someone I do know really well) asks me what I'm reading or if I've read anything good lately, I'll say something like, "Oh, just this teen book. I'm reading a lot of teen books because I want to be a youth librarian." Although it's true that I want to be a youth librarian, so I obviously think it's important for me to be familiar with teen and children's literature, that is not the only reason, or even the most important reason, why I read YA fiction. I read it because I love it. I love the stories, the characters, everything. But because I'm 25, and I often feel like I should be reading adult fiction instead of YA fiction, I'm often ashamed to admit how much I love YA fiction. And what's really ridiculous about that is I do read adult fiction. Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. I love some of the classics, like Lord of the Flies and Of Mice and Men. I read a lot of adult non-fiction, and I read a lot of poetry. So despite the fact that I read a wide variety of things, and I do read "age appropriate" books, I'm still embarrassed to say that I love YA fiction. It's just like when I was in middle school and I was ashamed that I still read the Baby Sitters Club (the series was getting closer to ending at that time). When I was in sixth grade, I would bring my BSC books to school and read them in between classes. I don't know when it happened or who did it, but a classmate got a hold of one of my BSC books and wrote "The Baby Sitters Club is gay" in it. That's when I stopped reading the series, which I think is actually really unfortunate. The series might have been young for me, but it was a series I grew up with and loved more than anything. The BSC books were at the top of my favorite books list when I was growing up.

Alison and another blogger, Amber of Down the Rabbit Hole, both touched on something that I strongly agree with, and that is that a lot of people look down on others who don't read literary fiction. In a comment on Alison's post, Amber mentioned that when she was a creative writing major, she would hear things like "YA isn't a serious literary genre." I also majored in creative writing, and though I didn't read much YA at the time, I know what Amber is talking about. I loved my creative classes. I loved the instructors and I loved my fellow writers. What I didn't love is the "book snob" aspect of majoring in creative writing. I took creative fiction, creative non-fiction (memoir) and poetry classes. It's pretty hard to be a book snob when it comes to non-fiction and poetry, but when it came to my fiction classes, it seemed like that's almost all it was. We only studied literary fiction (our specific focus was on short stories, since that's what we were writing), like Denis Johnson's Car Crash While Hitchhiking, Sherman Alexie's What You Pawn I Will Redeem and Charles Baxter's Snow. Don't get me wrong, those are all stories I love. I own a copy of Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson only for the story Car Crash While Hitchhiking. I own several Sherman Alexie books (including his YA novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian--so if anyone says YA fiction can't be a serious literary genre, then they need to consider the fact that Sherman Alexie, who writes "serious adult literary fiction" also writes YA fiction). What we never did was read YA fiction or study it. We learned only to write "serious literary fiction" which is all fine and good if that's what you actually want to go on and write. For me, it's not (though to be fair, my focus was in poetry). I never learned in my creative fiction classes how to write stories that would appeal to teens. We never talked about YA fiction, so why would we learn to write it?

And that is truly a problem. Different things appeal to different people. Unfortunately, I think I was a book snob for a few years as a result of my creative fictions classes. I'm not anymore, but I definitely was. And to be completely honest, I've done my fair share of poking fun at people who read Twilight (mainly my older sister, who loves the series). Why, when I finally stopped being a book snob, did I still poke fun at people who read Twilight? Was it because there was still a little bit of book snob in me? Was I just an inconsiderate jerk? Does it even matter? (Maybe it does; if I'm going to be a librarian, I probably shouldn't be discouraging people to read certain things based on it's literary merit.) At the end of her post, Alison says that as book bloggers, we should encourage others to read anything they like, no matter what it is. If it appeals to them, we should encourage them, whether it's Twilight, Gossip Girl, John Steinbeck or War and Peace. Because as many people pointed out, who cares what other people are reading as long as they're reading? Any book that gets people to read is always a good thing. Always.

Alison also says that as a book blogging community, we're not here to ridicule others. She points out that the book blogging community is supposed to be a refuge. I agree with this 100 percent. If we can't talk to other readers who are just as passionate about books as we are in a comfortable, safe environment, then where can we talk with people about books and our passion for reading? I love the book blogging community because everyone in it loves reading just as much as I do, and not only that, they love reading the same things I do. I have plenty of family members who enjoy reading (but few friends who do, I'm sad to say), but we don't always read the same things and they just don't share my passion for books. That makes it hard to talk with them about books, and that's one of the biggest reasons why I wanted to get involved with the book blogging community.

We're supposed to be here to have friendly discussions, to share our love of reading and to be a support system for each other, not to ridicule each other and bring each other down.

I encourage you to check out Alison's post and the awesome discussion it sparked. I also encourage you to participate in it yourself, either by commenting on Alison's post, or by writing your own post. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm glad that I'm not alone in taking a stand and refusing to be ashamed about what I read.

Kelly

In My Mailbox: 18

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. In IMM, we share the books we got each week in the mail, from the library, as gifts, as purchases, etc. It's a great way to interact with other bloggers and find awesome books to add to your TBR list (this last part can actually be somewhat of a problem if you're anything like me; I have well over 100 books on my TBR list, and it just keeps growing. . . . Shouldn't it start shrinking at some point?!).

All my books came from the library this week. The summaries (or in a couple cases, partial summaries) are from the book jackets and Good Reads.

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
Publisher: Hyperion Press
Release date: April 21, 2009

When Alex's little sister, Kasey, becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. Kasey is a weird kid. Period. Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own goth friends. Things get weirder, though, when the old house they in starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves, water boils on the unlit stove, and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough for the girls to see their breath. Kasey is changing too. Her blue eyes go green, and she uses old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time.

Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey's shoulder. The formerly gentle, doll-loving child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister--but what if that green eyes girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release date: January 5, 2010

Brooklyn can't sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants, or why it isn't Lucca visiting her dreams.

Nico can't stop. He's always running, trying to escape the pain of losing his brother, Lucca. But when Lucca's ghost begins leaving messages telling Nico to help Brooklyn, emotions comes crashing to the surface.

As the nightmares escalate and the messages become relentless, Nico reaches out to Brooklyn. But neither of them can admit that they're being haunted. Until they learn to let each other in, not one soul will be able to rest.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Publisher: Random House
Release date: December 1, 2003

Sixteen-year-old Gemma has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release date: November 2, 2010

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student boy that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis way. So when Alex Patrick is date-raped during her junior year, she has two options: Stay silent and hope someone helps, or enlist the aid of the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of the student body.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: Razor Bill
Release date: September 21, 2010

Mackie is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess.

He is a Replacement--left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us. He just wants to play bass guitar and find out more about an oddly intriguing girl named Tate.

But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem.

He must face the dark creatures of the slag heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

I also got some non-fiction titles and a poetry book from the library this week, but since none of it is YA, I haven't featured it on here.

What did you get this week? Happy reading!

Kelly

Review: Chasing Brooklyn

Chasing Brooklyn, by Lisa Schroeder
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 412
Release date: January 5, 2010
Website: Lisa Schroeder
Summary (from book jacket): Brooklyn can't sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants, or why it isn't Lucca visiting her dreams.

Nico can't stop. He's always running, trying to escape the pain of losing his brother, Lucca. But when Lucca's ghost begins leaving messages telling Nico to help Brooklyn, emotions come crashing to the surface.

As the nightmares escalate and the messages become relentless, Nico reaches out to Brooklyn. But neither of them can admit that they're being haunted. Until they learn to let each other in, not one soul will be able to rest.

-----

I enjoyed the story in Chasing Brooklyn. It was engaging. Ghosts are one of the few things that freak me out, so I try to avoid reading ghost stories (except I'm reading another ghost story right now, so I guess I'm not avoiding it that much these days). The thing I like about Lisa Schroeder's ghost stories is that they aren't scary. The ghosts aren't out to hurt people; they're trying to help their loved ones. Normally when I think of ghost stories, I think of scary ghosts--ones who haunt houses and people and torture them or whatever. I can name plenty of books that are scary ghost stories, and very few that have ghosts who are trying to help people. I like the unique aspect of Schroeder's novels. I also really liked Nico's and Brooklyn's relationship and watching it develop. I liked that it wasn't perfect right way. I liked it that that they didn't fall in love after just one conversation. I liked it that they tried to help each other, and that they had some wonderfully intimate moments, but that they also pushed each other away. It made everything more realistic.

The only problem I really have is the fact that Chasing Brooklyn is written in verse. After reading several books written in verse, I've realized that I. DON'T. LIKE. IT. It could be because when I majored in creative writing for my undergrad studies, my focus was on poetry. I love poetry. I love reading it. I love writing it. I don't love novels that are written in verse, because to me, they come across as cheap imitations of poetry. (Please note: I'm not trying to bash Schroeder or her books--my dislike of verse novels is not limited to only Schroeder's novels). All the authors are really doing is writing prose, then breaking it up into lines, making it "verse," and making it try to look like poetry, when really, there's generally nothing poetic about it. I have very rarely found any poetic elements in the verse novels I've read. So maybe it's just me being a poet snob, but I have a huge aversion to verse novels. They just don't do it for me.

Another reason for that, though, is that I feel like writing novels in verse doesn't allow authors to fully explore their stories and characters. One thing that was really missing in Chasing Brooklyn for me was Brooklyn's relationship with Lucca. We get tidbits of it, mostly when Brooklyn tells us how much she loved Lucca, or when she briefly mentions things about him, like what kind of music Lucca liked. I liked getting those little tidbits, but it wasn't enough. Most of the novel is spent focusing on Brooklyn's relationship with Nico, which I thought was great. I got to know Brooklyn and Nico really well, not just based on their relationship, but based on their relationships with other people, like their families. But what I really wanted to see was more of Brooklyn's relationship with Lucca. It would have changed everything for me. It would have made the realities of Brooklyn's new life more significant. There would have been more riding on every decision she made and how it would affect her and the people she knew.

Overall, though, I enjoyed Chasing Brooklyn. It's an easy read, in terms of time, but emotionally, it's not that easy. Even though I didn't get the sense of Brooklyn's and Lucca's relationship that I wanted, her emotions were still so real for me, and I felt them along with her. It was the same for Nico; I could understand exactly how he felt and why he did what he did. Schroeder does a great job creating characters and their emotions.

Rating: 3/5
Cover: 3.5/5