The writing was beautiful. The setting was gorgeous. The weaving of storytelling and folklore was phenomenal.
The characters sucked.
I hated every last oThe writing was beautiful. The setting was gorgeous. The weaving of storytelling and folklore was phenomenal.
The characters sucked.
I hated every last one of them. Of course, the main character is a wealthy white kid with a hero complex (at least he does get called out on it at one point). Everyone else is one-dimensional and serves only to act as a sounding board for Lucas' drunk, sick, or simply mad, ramblings.
Also, what was with the constant running in the rain? Was it never sunny there?
Also Also, am I mistaken (please tell me I am mistaken) or is this yet another white author writing about people of color and their culture?
A great Halloween read but not as beloved as Alender's Dead Girls Don't Die series. No time wasted getting into the creepy - and the creepy is really A great Halloween read but not as beloved as Alender's Dead Girls Don't Die series. No time wasted getting into the creepy - and the creepy is really well done, but I didn't love the characterization. I actually kept mixing up two of them because they didn't seem to have any personality for the first half of the book. ...more
LOVE! So creepy, but with an underlying thread of love and friendship. Set in the Aokigahara forest (look it up if you dare) makes for a terrifying seLOVE! So creepy, but with an underlying thread of love and friendship. Set in the Aokigahara forest (look it up if you dare) makes for a terrifying setting all on its own. Fast paced and fun but I had to actually stop reading last night because my husband was away and I was too creeped out with just me and the kids.
Awesome for anyone who loved Anna Dressed in Blood.
So charming. I love this type of whimsical middle grade novel. I didn't know what to expect from DeStefano after not being the biggest fan of her YA, So charming. I love this type of whimsical middle grade novel. I didn't know what to expect from DeStefano after not being the biggest fan of her YA, but I was so wonderfully surprised.
Wow. The writing style is really unique. I was skeptical about the dual narrative which not only switchesSee full review here: Reading Between Classes
Wow. The writing style is really unique. I was skeptical about the dual narrative which not only switches between ghost and girl, but also the past and the present, with a strange overlap in the middle. But once I got used to it, it really worked. I loved that the ghost character was not the expected Ori, but someone who, in most books, would have been a mere side character. There are two big mysteries and, despite knowing the ending of both of them, discovering how they happened was enthralling. Through the story, we glimpse a fascinating view of the effect of institutionalism and the impact on young girls. A great book for fans of Orange is the New Black as well....more
Title: The Girl From The Well Author: Rin Chupeco Publisher: Sourcebooks Release Date: August 5, 2014 Rating: 4/5
Cover Impressions: It was the descriptionTitle: The Girl From The Well Author: Rin Chupeco Publisher: Sourcebooks Release Date: August 5, 2014 Rating: 4/5
Cover Impressions: It was the description of this one that really drew me in. I am hoping for a re-vamp of the cover as this one just doesn't do the creepy nature of this novel justice. I wanted to see Okiku featured on the cover.
The Gist: A vengeful spirit is stalking those who murder children and teens. She seeks revenge on the one who scorned and killed her hundreds of years ago and moves from city to city seeking out her prey. On one of these hunts, she encounters Tark, a strange tattooed boy with a dark and sinister force surrounding him. Through the ghost's eyes, the reader is drawn into Japanese folklore and rituals as Tark and his family try to exorcise the evil that is threatening to escape.
Review: I read this book, cover to cover, in just a few hours. With an almost three year old and pregnant with my second - it takes a special kind of book to get me that involved. In fact, it has single-handedly ended by several month long reading slump. My only regret is that this novel was not scheduled for release in October so that I could have read it on a cool crisp night as autumn began to set in.
The Girl From The Well had me from the very first page. The writing is just stunning and the way that she talks about death is incredible.
"I am where dead children go. With other kinds of dead it is different. Often their souls drift quietly away, like a leaf caught in the throes of a hidden whirlpool; slipping down without sound, away from sight. They roll and ebb gently with the tides until they sink beneath the waves and I no longer see where they go - like sputtering candlelight, like little embers that burn briefly and brightly for several drawn moments before all their light goes out."
Okiku is not like these gentle spirits. She is vengeful and cruel to her victims. She enjoys torturing those who would hurt children and is very inventive in their manner of punishment. The opening scene of this novel features just such a death. It is creepy, suspenseful and very well written. It was like watching the first moments of a truly terrific horror movie. One of the aspects that I loved was the idea that the victims of these men were tethered to their murderer. Forced to follow him as he stalked the next child until Okiku ends his reign of terror and sets them free. Much like Anna Dressed in Blood (which I LOVED) it was very easy to root for the slightly psychotic ghost who murders people in the most brutal of fashions, which is a pretty fun twist on the conventional ghost story.
The narrative style is very unique. We watch through Okiku's eyes and most of the other characters spend most or all of their time being referred to by names like The Stained Man or The Smiling Man. We only begin to see names for them as they become more important to the plot. We do not even learn Okiku's name until we are quite a ways into the narrative. These adds and extra sense of mystery to the novel as we are not only waiting to learn what exactly is plaguing Tark, but also the sad story behind Okiku's fate. While the narrative style make take some getting used to, the plot features great pacing with lots of scary moments and horrifying interludes. Even as we travel from the states to Japan, there are both small, creepy, moments that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and those big, intense, scenes that can leaving you reaching to turn on yet another light.
I will fully admit that I know next to nothing about Japanese culture and mythology so, please, correct me if I am wrong but the background here seems very solid and well researched. I found it very refreshing to read about the folklore of a culture that is so far removed from my own and not just another take on the same old ghost story that I have been reading since childhood. The one thing I did find a little off-putting is that,once they arrived in Japan, there were a number of Japanese terms that were explained once and then brought up again later. I could not, for the life of me, remember what those words had meant and I found the plot slowed for me as I tried to remember or sometimes, flip back to locate the meaning.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I am definitely recommending this one, especially as a Halloween read, and signing on for Chupeco's next book.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 15 and up Sex: None Violence: Kidnapping, A number of very violent death scenes. Inappropriate Language: Fag, Bastard, Bitch, Jesus Christ, Prick, Fuck Substance Use/Abuse: None ...more
Cover Impressions: I am a little underwhelmed by this cover. I like the font and the eff This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: I am a little underwhelmed by this cover. I like the font and the effect but I feel like maybe it needs another color or two - it is just too much of the same... And it certainly doesn't scream "ghost hunters".
The Gist: Kennedy hadn't planned on spending her evening traipsing through a graveyard, searching for her cat and she certainly hadn't planned on encountering a girl who looks oddly out of place - and floats. When the ghost follows her home and takes the life of her mother, Kennedy finds herself in the company of a group of ghostbusters claiming that she is part of the Legion - a century old organization designed to protect the world from a demon. Kennedy takes her place in the group while still doubting the validity of their claims and joins on their search for a mysterious device that may be their only hope of saving themselves, and the world.
Review: Have you ever felt like an author is flying so high on the success of his/her previous book(s) that he/she is under enormous pressure to produce his/her next book in 1/4 the time that the first one took to write? I do not know if that is the case with Unbreakable, but it certainly feels like it is. Ultimately, it feels like what was meant to be a 500 page novel has been condensed into under 200 pages. Everything in the novel seems to happen too fast. Blink.... there's a ghost. Blink..... Your mom is dead. Blink..... a demon want's to kill you. Blink..... you are part of a ghostbusting crew. This also means that there is no time to SHOW the reader what is happening and Garcia instead relies on pages of info-dumping. During these sessions we learn about a century old order of which Kennedy's mother was supposedly a part. Now, I can suspend disbelief with the best of them but, you would think that there would have been some type of clue - even something that wasn't evident until after this new knowledge. But, no. Even at the end of the book, we still know NOTHING about the mother's involvement with the League and haven't gotten any answers to the big questions.
The condensed version of this novel also mean very little in the way of character development. I did enjoy Priest, but Alara felt like the typical female rival who hates the main character at the beginning but grudgingly comes to respect her by the end. I also had a big problem with the twins. First of all, I kept mixing them up and had to constantly go back to remind myself which as the broody one. If you are going to write twins - you had better be able to make them sound different from one another. Then there was their immediate infatuation with Kennedy, their immediate rivalry over Kennedy and the fact that they had SEVERAL arguments over who was going to "take care of" Kennedy every time they went out on a mission. Seriously, does the girl not have any self respect? It seemed the Kennedy's only job was the fuck things up. This is an all too familiar ploy within the YA world and one that I am beyond tired of. I hate watching the main character have to be rescued over and over again. I hate listening to her brood over how useless she is instead of learning some actual skills.
There are some scenes in Unbreakable that are pretty damn scary. The part in the Children's Home was freaky-deaky and the setting of the final battle was downright terrifying. I really could have gotten on board if there were more of these scenes and less "I like you but I'm not good enough for you" moaning between Kennedy and Jared. I also was temporarily hooked by the teaser of a twist at the end.
(view spoiler)[For just a moment, I thought that the ghosts were going to be the good guys, that the "League" was going to turn out to be the bad guys and that they had used Kennedy but, alas, Garcia copped out just making the device evil and Kennedy goes on her merry way with the Scooby Doo gang with no new information that what we started with. (hide spoiler)]
But it turned out to be no where near as cool as I had hoped.
Unbreakable just didn't hook me but it may be different for those people who were big fans of the Beautiful Creatures series. I may give the second book a shot when it is released. Here's hoping for more ghosts, less whiny romance.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 13 and up Gender: Both Sex: Kissing Violence: Supernatural Violence Inappropriate Language: None Substance Use/Abuse: None ...more
Cover Impressions: Very pretty. I love how she is leaping into the water, rather than fa This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: Very pretty. I love how she is leaping into the water, rather than falling as is common in a lot of YA covers.
The Gist: A re-telling of Shakespeare's Hamlet through the eyes of Ophelia.
Review:I have been seriously procrastinating on writing this review. THis is a direct result of the annoyance I felt while reading this book. I chose A Wounded Name as one of the books to read while I was staying with my parents, preparing for my wedding. I was hoping for a book to drag me away and give me a moment of to of respite from the insanity of wedding planning. However, A Wounded Name ended up being the ONLY book I read because reading another page was the LAST thing that I wanted to do. Bring on the crazy relatives, just don't make me read any more of Ophelia's tortured world!
A Wounded Name has the distinction of being the only book I can recall reading in which I hated ALL of the characters. Every. Single. One. I realize that this follows the plot of Hamlet pretty damn closely, but I could have done with some characterization to at least make one of two people appealing. Dane is an ass. Ophelia has no spine whatsoever. Her brother and father are duel control freaks and, frankly, the character the reader is meant to truly hate, is the only one who behaves decently throughout the whole book!
The relationships in this novel are creepy at best, downright scary at worst. Ophelia appears to have feelings for Dane but never takes any control and allows herself to be lead wherever he wishes. Where he wishes, also tends to include physical abuse, which she endures in order to show her love. THE FUCK OPHELIA??? She is constantly hiding the bruises, engaging in dangerous activities at his behest and making excuses for his actions. Speaking of bruises - the author is OBSESSED! Nearly every page mentions actual bruises, past bruises, bruise colored objects and on and on and on. It has gotten to the point where I will never again be able to read that word without cringing inwardly.
Ophelia's relationship with her father and brother is not much more healthy than that with Dane. Both men are incredibly controlling and treat Ophelia like an invalid. The family also seems to be distant and uncaring, while overly familiar with each other's private lives. At one point, Ophelia describes her brother's sexual activities in a way that made me want to call child services.
To compound on the horrible characters, there was a great deal of confusion about the time frame. There are modern conveniences, such as cell phones, but antiquated ideas about women's roles. The females are the school are raised to be obedient wives and the administration fights against any suggestion that they should change. The language also got more and more annoying as the book went on. I was looking for a re-telling of a Shakespearean masterpiece, but that doesn't mean I wanted to read someone else's version of Shakespearean language. Every time the teens started speaking this way, it immediately jolted me from the story and made me question the author's choices.
A Wounded Name is merely a butchered classic that fell far short of expectations. I do not think I will be anxiously awaiting any more of Hutchison's books.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 16 and up Sex: Kissing, Sex among teenagers Violence: Physical Abuse, Gunplay, Poisoning Inappropriate Language: Whore, Prick, Bastard, Crude language regarding sex and masturbation Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking, Smoking ...more
Cover Impressions: This cover is awesome. The first one that I saw had similar shading b This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: This cover is awesome. The first one that I saw had similar shading but just featured a set of keys. It wasn't nearly as creepy. I believe this is the final cover and it is a great change. The shadows draw your eye into the frame and the blurring coupled with the lace adds the perfect spooky factor. Although, I do wish they had given the book a more stand-out name. Asylum is just far too common - a Goodreads search provides 837 results.....
The Gist: Dan Crawford has finally escaped the opression of his foster home and high school. At New Hampshire College Prep, a summer program for teens, he is excited to spend his days with students that share his thirst for knowledge and geeky tendencies. He soon discovers that the dorm in which they are to spend the summer is actually Brookside, a former asylum that featured drastic experiments meant to cure the criminally insane. Feeling a strange connection to the building's history and suffering from nightmares that don't always come at night, Dan and his new friends begin to explore the bowels of the building and find that there are some secrets that should stay buried.
Review: That cover is sure to pull in any horror fan. However, the book itself is not strong enough to hold them there for long.
The characters in Asylum are far too one dimensional. It seems important to the plot that we understand the drastic changes in their personality that are brought on by living in the asylum, but we are given little to no time to actually get to know them before those changes begin. We are expected to believe that the three are the best of friends after having known each other for only a week. Couldn't the author have at least had them "meet" online, prior to attending the summer school program? What's more, there is an underlying plot featuring Jordan's obsession with an "unsolvable equation" that seems to completely drop out of the storyline without any resolution. Is this meant to be a series? Am I missing something?
The setting for this novel is phenomenal. A student dorm built in what used to be an asylum and featuring a (sort of) locked basement with the trappings to spell out the horror that once occurred there. That has all kinds of potential! The author does do a good job of creating a tense and spine-tingling atmosphere whenever the kids are in the basement. This is aided by the addition of pictures which puts this book in that new sub-genre of multi-media fiction a la Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, though I do wish that the EARC had actually contained more of the pictures that will be featured in the final edition - since that is what interested me in the title in the first place.
The plot of Asylum starts off strong by weakens as we get further into the mystery. There is some meandering into the past via dreams and visions which give us a glimpse into the mind of the madman who once ran the asylum, but we never learn any real details about what went on there other than a vague notion of horrific surgeries. One the murders start, we get to watch the cops bumble around and the kids go into Scooby Doo mode. The constant arguing and teenage drama that comes with the three main characters gets tedious rather quickly and, eventually, when the killer is finally revealed the dialogue becomes downright laughable. Rather than being scared, I found myself rolling my eyes and wishing the plot had gone in any direction other than the most obvious.
Asylum may represent one step towards the road to a new genre as more and more authors attempt to bank on the commercial success of Ransom Riggs. However, until an author is able to seamlessly weave together pictures with a strong plot and compelling characters, I will be staying away.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 13 and up Gender: Both Sex: Kissing Violence: Murder of Teens Inappropriate Language: Asshole, Shit, Bitch, Pissed Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking...more
Cover Impressions: I like this one a lot. The piercing blue eyes draw you in and the blo This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: I like this one a lot. The piercing blue eyes draw you in and the blood splatter elevates it from the "pretty girl in a dress" typical fare. I do wish there was something in the background; a room, a palace, even the Eiffel tower. Also chuckling at the tagline.
The Gist: Colette's life has fallen apart. Her parents are separated, she has had to move into a tiny apartment and, despite being able to stay at her fancy prep school, she can't tell her snotty friends or they will ditch her. BUT, there is one shining hope - a class trip to Paris that Colette hopes will change her life. Upon landing, however, she discovers that there have been several gruesome murders in the city, and that they may have something to do with the mysterious family heirloom that she discovered in a long forgotten box.
Review: I am a huge fan of Katie Alender's Bad Girls Don't Die series. So, naturally, I was all in when I found out that she was releasing a new book. I don't know a great deal about Marie Antoinette, but the premise seemed really interesting. The thought of the famous queen hunting down and decapitating those who had wronged her made me giggle and the promise of a Parisian setting had be intrigued. I loved following the characters through some famous sites and hearing tidbits of history (punctuated by the appearance of a few dead participants!). The plot is fun and unfolds at a brisk pace. Once the mystery is laid bare, there is a real sense of urgency that kept me reading late into the night.
I did have a little difficulty connecting with the main character. Even though Colette is the better of her friends, she is still pretty shallow and vapid. I had a hard time taking her seriously and I kept rolling my eyes at the very "teenagerness" of her every thought and comment. I remember not being particularly fond of the main character in the Bad Girl's Don't Die series, but Alender had three books in which to let her grow and mature, this (as far as I know) is a stand-alone and Colette's transformation is a little too quick. It was nice to watch her finally make some good choices when it comes to her friends. The other characters are fun, but not particularly well developed. Audrey didn't have much personality other than being the complete opposite of Hannah. Brynn seemed completely unnecessary. Hannah was completely heinous - Regina George would be proud of this one and I honestly felt bad for Pilar, she seemed so sweet and talented and kept putting up with Hannah's abuse.
The love interest is sweet, but doesn't overtake the plot. This is not the story for someone looking for passion in Paris! Jules is cute, sweet and respectful. He is the complete opposite of Armand, who had developed a strange fixation on Colette and gave me a serious case of the heebie jeebies (also, I completely pictured him as Gaston from Beauty and the Beast). I did really enjoy getting to see the relationship between Jules and his family, but the way it impacted Colette's own relationship with her brother was a little unrealistic. By the end, Colette is a completely changed person. She stands up to her friends, is generous with her mother and kind to her brother. If this had happened at the end of a series of books, it could have felt like a genuine change, but the fact that it all occurs in 10 (I think) days, makes me doubt that it would last beyond the first few days at home. Overall, the ending is a little too clean and easy. All the loose ends are tied up, everyone is safe, Hannah is alone, Colette is a better person and everything goes back to normal.
I am definitely an Alender fan. I will stick around for any other books that she writes, but here's hoping that she goes back to the series format that allows for some realistic character development.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 12 and up Gender: Female Sex: Kissing Violence: Death by decapitation Inappropriate Language: None Substance Use/Abuse: None ...more
Cover Impressions: Not quite sure on this one. It certainly didn't attract me upon the rThis and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: Not quite sure on this one. It certainly didn't attract me upon the release. I only put this one on my list after reading several rave reviews. I like the purple background of the city, but the image in front doesn't quite seem to fit with it.
The Gist: On the heels of an incident involving a wealthy playboy and a little too much honesty, Evie O'Neill has been sent to New York to live with her uncle and aid him in the running of his museum. When a murderer starts depositing bodies around the city bearing mysterious markings, The Museum of Creepy Crawlies is thrust into the limelight and Evie embarks on a dangerous investigation that will bring her further into the occult, and into danger, than she ever thought possible.
Review: The Diviners is set in the 1920s. The setting plays such a strong role that it begins to behave as another character - a character that hogs spotlight and spouts and endless stream of dialogue. In the beginning, it is a charming and useful means of orientation. However, as the novel continues, and the slang and explanations or 20s customs begin slow the plot, it becomes incredibly tedious. As I got further and further into the book (and begin to note the sheer girth of the novel) I began to question whether 90% of it was necessary.
In addition to the wordiness of the author there was an issue with the size of the cast. Evie is a fun character, as were her friends, Mabel and Theta. I think I would have much preferred if the novel has simply followed them through this mystery. Instead, however, it jumps through countless characters and scenes in what soon becomes a dizzying game of "where the heck are we now?" I kept waiting for the characters to find one another and form new superhero group who takes on demons and ghosts but SPOILER ALERT they never do!
The mystery was solid and the deaths were scary to read. These scenes were among the most enjoyable for me (at least in a cringeworthy way). I was a little disappointed when the big baddie didn't turn out to have manifested or possessed a real person, but I could easily have gotten over that if there has been a few more answered questions. The Diviners ends, the bad guy is gone (ish), but there are many plot lines left hanging. I am as yet unsure whether or not I will return for the next in this series.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 15 and up Gender: Both Sex: Kissing, Sex Violence: Gunplay, Murder, Dismemberment Inappropriate Language: Whore, Bitch Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking, Marijuana Use Other Issues: Abortion, Suicide, Spousal Abuse...more
Cover Impressions: This cover feels very contemporary fiction to me. There is nothing abThis and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: This cover feels very contemporary fiction to me. There is nothing about the cover image that feels supernatural and only the title hints at the paranormal elements that are crucial to the story. I do not feel this one would stand out on a shelf.
The Gist: Having been pushed in front of a subway, Charlotte wakes to find herself in a swanky hotel and in the company of the Dead Girls Detective Agency. Together they must find Charlotte's murderer in order to give her a chance to move on.
Review: This was a very tough read for me and I am surprised that I managed to make it to the end. The Dead Girls Detective Agency had a fun and interesting premise, but the writing, characters and plot were lackluster at best.
From the very first chapter, this novel featured A LOT of dialogue. I get it, Charlotte had to be introduced into this new world and some groundwork had to be laid. However, there had to be a way to accomplish this that did not involve pages and pages of info-dumping with very little in the way of comic relief and no action whatsoever. For the first half of the book, we are forced to endure endless explanations of the rules. What the rules are, who made the rules, how to bend the rules, what happens when you break the rules. This is interrupted occasionally while Charlotte moons over the boyfriend that she left behind, realizes that he is a selfish twit, and then is informed by her ghost-mates that she gets 9 chances to break the rules - so let's go have some fun! Seriously? All that time spent building the world around these rules and then we frivilously toss them out the window so that we can drop in on Beyonce and Jay-Z? That feels cheap to me and makes me angry that I had to sit through Ghost 101 when none of it actually mattered.
The writing featured a great deal of teen-speak that did not feel genuine. In all my years of teaching, I have never heard an actual, honest-to-goodness teenager use an acronym in a sentence. Yet, these teens drop OMG's like a middle-aged parent trying to be "cool" with their kid's friends. The author also chose to engage in one of my serious pet peeves in YA: name-dropping. I know it is tempting. You want your book to be relevant, you want your readers to be able to relate to the characters: "She likes Simple Plan? OMG! I love Simple Plan - we could be BFF's!!" In reality, in stinks of desperation.
The plot of The Dead Girls Detective Agency crawled. I found myself skimming pages, just waiting to get to some action. There were some higher points, like when the girls possessed the cheerleaders (aptly named the Tornahos) but even those did not live up the the potential for hilarity. There was very little in the way of action. We had a few tense moments where the killer is revealed and a few more when Tess and Edison's connection is revealed. I was pretty disappointed at the choice of murderer. I am never a fan when the killer is revealed as being someone to whom we are barely introduced and, in this case, doesn't even warrant a name.
Despite my obvious issues with plot and writing, Cox could have pulled me back in with some kick-ass characters. Alas, this was not the case. The characters felt very cookie-cutter to me: the sweet one, the nerdy one, the fashionista, the bitch, the slutty cheerleaders, the sleazy ex-boyfriend, the new love interest. All of them acted as expected. They didn't do anything exciting and they didn't have any clever, funny or interesting dialogue. Charlotte was incredibly boring, naive and gullible. I was also bothered by the fact that she described herself as a prolific reader - yet she didn't speak like one. At one point she even says "And one time, she helped me with a Shakespeare assignment, because I'd just finished reading Harry Potter and kept getting confused between Halmet and Hagrid and it was completely messing up my essay on why he had issues." Seriously? You claim to read a vast and varied array of books and yet you have trouble distinguishing between two characters? I just couldn't relate to a girl that 1) dumped her best friend the minute she found a boyfriend 2) talked about the boyfriend non-stop for the majority of the book and 3) didn't use her special new ghostly powers to do some serious damage to the slutty cheerleaders and the boyfriend who hooked up with three of them within a few days of her funeral.
The Dead Girls Detective Agency just didn't work for me. I was expecting a fluffy and humorous read, but this one just didn't have enough substance to hold it together.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 16 and up Gender: Female Sex: Kissing, talk of "hooking up" Violence: Murder - pushed in front of a subway Inappropriate Language: Bitch, Pissed, Ho, Asshole, Slut, Whore Substance Use/Abuse: None ...more
Cover Impressions: This cover does not even scratch the surface of the awesomeness that This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: This cover does not even scratch the surface of the awesomeness that is inside. See those fantastically creepy drawings? Those are EVERYWHERE and they get even better.
The Gist: Scarlett was dead, to begin with. Heh, always wanted to start a review like that. Anyway, in attempting to avoid a painfully awkward class trip, Scarlett Dedd accidentally kills herself - and her entire family. In finding herself Bodily Challenged, Scarlett does the only sensible thing and attempts to gain some ghostly pals - by killing her old friends.
Review: I cannot possibly go any further in this review without mentioning the illustrations in this book. Not only are they clever, creative and deliciously gruesome, they are also integrated into the text in a way that I have never seen before. The storyline is melded with pictures, doodles, membership cards and coffee stains. The way that the author plays with words and pictures (see below) is fun and keeps the reader entertained. Elements like these add a sense of whimsy and macabre and would certainly enthrall any young readers.
[image] [image]
The story is told through several sources. Along side the traditional narrative style, we see Scarlett's blog, online conversations and even an interview transcript. Personally, the constant changes in perspective and style took some getting used to, however, I can appreciate the creative effort and I know that my students would find it fun and refreshing. The plot took an interesting twist when Scarlett decided to try and kill her friends so that she would have some company, but otherwise was fairly predictable.
The characters are an interesting bunch. They are the artsy kids. The ones who tend to dress in black and compare recipes for fake blood rather than the latest party. While the "teen speak" feels a little forced, the characters feel like a realistic portrayal of typical teenagers. The only part that really bothered me about the secondary characters is that they don't seem particularly affected by the death of their friend. They also seem determined to exploit her current situation for fame and popularity rather than try to communicate with her. For her part, Scarlett incredibly self-absorbed, whiny and exceedingly dense. This is rather annoying for about the first half (how long does it take her to realize that her parents are also dead?) but it does get better. Eventually, she gets over her naivety and is able to put the needs of others before her own.
Scarlett Dedd is certainly a book that will appeal to fans of graphic novels and to those readers who can appreciate a little blood and gore.
For a taste of Scarlett Dedd, you can also follow her blog: ScarDeparted
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 12 and up Gender: Both Sex: Kissing Violence: Death by poisoning, several attempted murders Inappropriate Language: Retard, illustration of character gesturing with middle finger Substance Use/Abuse: None...more
Cover Impressions: Meh. Not feeling the sleepy stare or washed out color.
The Gist: In Shine, Aura and Zach set out to solve the remaining mysteries of the Shift. Their efforts are hampered by the interference of the DMP, who are willing to go to extreme lengths in order to maintain control of both the ghost population and the teenagers that can see them.
Review: Boy oh boy, was this one ever hard. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, but this one left me bored. Perhaps, part of the blame lies in the timing (I started the book just before returning to work after a year of maternity leave) but the rest has to lie with the book itself.
For a good chunk of this novel, Zach was being held by the DMP. With him out of the picture, I should have been able to see some quality Aura time and important development in the secondary characters. Instead, I got to watch Aura whine and her friends serve as little more than chauffeur or confident (allowing Aura to whine some more about Zach).
When they couple were finally reunited, I was treated to a vomit inducing love-fest as they discovered that sex was the most mystical and magical activity in the entire world. And, of course, being connected the way that they are, it was SUPER SPECIALLY MAGICAL and we needed to be reminded over and over and over. The frequent sex sessions (or the whining over not being able to touch each other for a few hours) interrupted an already suffering plot.
I found it difficult to keep the bad guys straight in this one. In the previous novels, we had one big bad government agency. In this one, it seems like there are multiple mysterious entities that want to use/kill Aura and Zach. I am normally fine with a little government conspiracy theory, but this one was incredibly confusing with the number of players and, eventually, I just stopped trying to figure out who was doing what.
This series was never really one that I would put in my classroom, however the sexual behavior is seriously amped up in this installment and I definitely would not recommend it for my junior high students.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 16 and up Gender: Female Sex: LOTS! Violence: Gunplay, Knifeplay, Torture by Isolation Inappropriate Language: Fuck, Bullshit, Slutty, Bitch, Jesus, Dick, Bastards, Shit, Piss Substance Use/Abuse: Drinking...more
Cover Impressions: So pretty and creepy and oh so enticing. This cover fits very well wi This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: So pretty and creepy and oh so enticing. This cover fits very well with the previous Anna book and they both look lovely on my shelf - I just keep staring at them.
The Gist: Cas can't say goodbye to the girl who sacrificed her soul to save the lives of him and his friends. When images of Anna start invading his life like waking nightmares, he realized that he will do anything to get her back - even walking into the depths of Hell.
Review:
Girl of Nightmares is one of those books that, no matter how busy my life was, I couldn't bare to put it down. I loved Anna Dressed in Blood and was really looking forward to jumping back into this world.
I was little disappointed with the amount of time that was dedicated to Anna. I understand that we had to be introduced to a new character (will she get her own spin off?), but I wasn't particularly fond of Jestine and I missed my Anna! Cas was his old sarcastic self, but a little more angsty as he tries to figure out his feelings for Anna and whines a little more about how no one will give him any information. Thomas and Carmel continue to be great characters, though they don't get a lot of action in this book.
In comparison with Anna Dressed in Blood, this installment is much more of an adventure or mystery than a horror story. There are horrific elements right from the beginning, but no real action or re-action to them until about halfway through. That being said, the inclusion of The Suicide Forest (which I can only assume was based on the forest in Japan) was fantastically done and super creepy. Once Cas managed to make his way into Hell (if that is what it was), things fell off for me. I felt like things happened a little too quickly and I was unable to stop and take a breath. I really wanted a minute or two to spend with Anna and for her and Cas to re-connect, but everything was a bit too fast-paced for that to happen.
As a teacher, I have a bit of an issue with the amount of swearing that Cas does. I understand that it is unrealistic to expect teenagers not to utter that famed four letter word, but Cas' swearing is a little too frequent and a little too varied. Because I am constantly worried about the reaction of parents to the books that I provide for my students, this alone is enough to stop me from keeping the Anna books on my shelves - and that disappoints me, because I have students that I think would really love them.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 16 and up Gender: Both Sex: Kissing Violence: Blood-letting, Torture, Knifeplay, Battle with Supernatural Entities Inappropriate Language: Shit, Ass, Piss, Fuck, Dick, Jesus, Bastard Substance Use/Abuse: Smoking
Notable Quotables: "It's the Monday of the last week of the year and if I have to sign one more yearbook I'm going to sign it in the owner's blood."...more
Cover Impressions: This cover is super-creepy I love the image of the girl and the fact This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: This cover is super-creepy I love the image of the girl and the fact that her face is almost completely covered in shadow. The colors are reminiscent of the lake that plays such a large part in the story.
The Gist: Neil and his sister, Bree have been sent to spend some time with their aunts while their father chases his dreams and their mother gets treatment for depression. Attempting to escape the pain of his family life, Neil emerses himself in the tale of Graylock Hall, a local asylum where three patients drowned and a nurse was blamed for their murder. When the kids and their new-found friends visit the abandoned building, they encounter a fearsome entity and vow never to return. That is, until they discover that whatever they found, refused to be confined by the walls of Graylock and followed them home.
Review:
The Ghost of Graylock is an engrossing, fast-paced read that is perfect for October. I didn't quite make a connection with the characters, and there really isn't much in the way of their development, but I did enjoy the plot. I actually found myself putting the book down at one point because I was at home alone and was getting creeped out. Poblocki manages to create an air of mystery and suspense throughout this entire novel that is punctuated by moments of horror that keep the reader jumping.
While the plot was not dead-on predictable, there were some moments where I really couldn't believe that the kids hadn't figured this out yet. For example, even upon seeing the ghostly figure and being able to describe her dress, it took them an incredibly long time to realize that there were not looking at the adult nurse in crisp, white uniform but instead at a teenage girl in a floaty, white dress. It was also a little unbelievable that the aunts were not more concerned with the whereabouts and activities of their niece and nephew.
As I mentioned, the characters are fairly typical teens, but I feel an opportunity was missed for character development. Neil is struggling with his fears about his own capacity for mental illness but this issue seems to be largely ignored as we reach the end of the book. Bree seems inconsistent in her attitude towards the ghost hunt (at one point I thought this was hinting toward a possession - I wish that had been the case) and I started to get annoyed with her. For their part, Wesley and Eric seem to serve only as local informants or transportation and they do not add anything to the story.
Barring its faults, The Ghost of Graylock is a fun, quick and spooky read that is perfect for Halloween. It does not feature any issues that make it inappropriate for a middle grade audience and has enough of a plot and creep-factor to draw in kids that are a little older as well.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 12 and up Gender: Both Sex: None Violence: Drowning Inappropriate Language: None Substance Use/Abuse: None Other Issues: Discussion of Mental Illness ...more
Cover Impressions: The cover is what first attracted me to this book. It is deliciously dark, simple and stunning.
The Gist: Velveteen was murdered by Cover Impressions: The cover is what first attracted me to this book. It is deliciously dark, simple and stunning.
The Gist: Velveteen was murdered by a serial killer named Bonesaw. She spends her days emerging from purgatory in order to chase down errant spirits and attempt to foil the plans of her killer. When purgatory is thrown into upheaval, it is up to Velveteen and her team to hunt down the culprits and restore the balance between the living and the dead.
Review: The blurb for this novel led me to believe that it was the story of a ghost seeking revenge on the serial killer that murdered her. That story excited me and I imagined a dark and disturbing show-down between killer and victim. This was not what I got. Instead, Velveteen centers around a group of souls that are attempting to escape purgatory and return to the "daylight". This story is not nearly as exciting.
A major problem exists with the world building in Velveteen. It presents a unique representation of purgatory, however, there is little to no explanation of anything that is going on. We are left to stumble after Velvet in the hopes that she will drop some tidbit of information that will help bring this world into being in our minds. Alas, these tidbits are few and far between. For example, purgatory seems plagued by Shadowquakes. I never got a clear picture of what this looks like, nor what it means for the souls that are left in it's wake (one girl appeared to be captured by the first quake but was later mentioned as being shaken up - but fine). We are led to believe that all of purgatory is mashed together from items that can stolen from the living and smuggled in through the cracks, yet there is a train and it is never explained how this came to be. Every time I encountered one of these issues (and there were many) I was left flicking back pages, convinced that I had missed something. It ruined the flow of the story and left me annoyed.
The characters themselves are bland and boring. Velvet is a terrible leader and the souls that make up her team seem interchangeable. They evoked no sympathy or emotion whatsoever and were not the least bit clever or witty. It is never explained what makes these particular teenagers special enough to be members of the ________ team. ________ was such a boring character that I just had to go back and look up his name. There was zero chemistry between him and Velvet and her half-assed attempt to stay away was annoying and wasted time that could have been spent on developing the plot or explaining what the heck was going on.
When Velvet interacted with her killer there was a real sense of urgency and excitement. These scenes gave a titillating glimpse into the book that could have been. Unfortunately, there were only a few of these moments and, in order to reach them, I had to wade through page after page of grey dullness in purgatory.
In the end, Velveteen left me unsatisfied. I realize that this is the first in a series, but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't provide SOME answers to the motivation of the villain, or the secrets hidden by those in charge. Velveteen gave me no closure on this story and no desire to continue with the next.
A final note on appropriateness: As a teacher, I would NOT recommend this book to my students for fear of being fired. There is A LOT of casual swearing (see below), some pretty nasty violence and description of torture.
Teaching/Parental Notes:
Age: 17 and up Gender: Female Sex: Allusion to sexual acts Violence: Knifeplay, Gunplay, Kidnapping, Torture Inappropriate Language: A LOT AND OFTEN! Piss, Shit, Blue Balls, Bitch, Slut, Ass, Tripping Balls, Dumpster Baby (just wrong), Whores, Fucking, Douche-Baggy, Dick, Pussy Substance Abuse: Use of Gas? ...more
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