Jack Fletcher’s heart is about to get punked.

Computer technician Jack Fletcher is no hero, despite his unwelcome reputation as one. In fact, he’s just been the victim of bizarre circumstances. Like now. His sister happens to disturb one of his nanoelectromechanical system experiments, and now they aren’t where they’re supposed to be. In fact, they’re not sure where they are when…

…they wake up to see a woman with the reddest hair Jack has ever seen—and a gun. Octavia Pye is an Aerocorps captain with a whole lot of secrets, and she’s not about to see her maiden voyage ruined by stowaways. But the sparks flying between her and Jack just may cause her airship to combust and ignite a passion that will forever change the world as she knows it…

Katie MacAlister’s steampunk novel is titled Steamed, perhaps teasingly, as it seems to have more to do with the genre, than with the plot.  Octavia is a commanding character, hiding many secrets.  Jack and his sister blunder into her world, disrupting many of her plans.

The plot jumps jarringly in places, leaving gaps in the story that are briefly referenced in dialog.  This isn’t done too often, but it did take me out of the story when it ocurred. 

The science fiction in the novel is often given to an engineer or technician to explain how the world works.  Jack’s status as a newcomer gives him an excuse to ask many questions, and if he wasn’t an avid steampunk fan from page 1, I would wonder why he constantly follows people to ask about how the world works.  As it is, I wonder why this continues past the first few chapters.

The plot is quick paced, and occasionally trips on itself.  Octavia’s many ex-boyfriends appear, and Jack is quick to assert himself, long before Octavia considers him a partner.  While he frequently claims to support her rights and admire her intelligence, he repeatedly attempts to protect her, or act for her, despite her status as a captain in the world she grew up in.  Her aggravation at this is treated as a common, cute women’s response.  This irritated me as much as it irritated her character.  Her lack of response beyond outrage also bugged me.  If she was such a strong female character, why was she continually subject to the whims of her ex-boyfriends?  Why did she not continue to protest when Jack spoke for her?

Still, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick, beach read.

“You can’t spend so much time in a place and not carry a bit of it inside you.”

The Myth

Alice Liddel was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook.

The Truth

Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss’s parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated. Lost and alone in Victorian London. Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author, to whom she
tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as Queen of Hearts.

I have to premise this review by saying that I am somewhat of a Carroll Scholar. I have read and re-read the Alice texts as well as many other things Carroll wrote, as well as many critical articles on all subjects Alice related. I am also a fan of fairy-tale retellings. Though old, I don’t think of them as sacred, and love seeing how authors re-write them to fit the current reading audience. So with those in mind, I was very excited to see an adaptation of Carroll’s work.
When picking up the book I was both excited and worried about what was to come. Excited that someone would tackle such a popular tale, and worried that it would disappoint Carroll if he were to read it. But after reading it I thought it was…cute.

I really enjoyed the story. I loved how it linked the true history of the Liddel family, with Carroll and thrust them into this fantastical tale. While it was not a direct re-telling of the Alice story, it did a good job of using familiar characters and themes and twisting them into its own creation of Wonderland. While not Carroll’s Wonderland, it was a familiar Wonderland none-the-less. Carroll’s cute childlike language was mirrored in Beddor’s retelling, and Alyss was the same stubborn, curious girl from Carroll’s Alice books.

I did feel that it flowed more like a movie though. The severe laps in time really bothered me, and while reading I couldn’t help but flash a “15 years later” sign through my imagination. While that sort of thing works really well in movies, I don’t like it in my books. I feel that that space could have been filled with more of Beddor’s fun storytelling, or interesting yet not gory battle scenes.

Overall, I would say it was a good read. It is definitely a quick read, something to breeze through during a busy school year, or when you want to crank through as many books as you can in a summer. It is a wonderful starting chapter book for kids, and a good young adult novel for anyone wanting to escape the general “teen romance” side of young adult fiction.

Review by Lale

The three Beauchamp women–Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid–live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret–they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there’s Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it’s time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

With a brand-new cast of characters, a fascinating and fresh world to discover, and a few surprise appearances from some of the Blue Blood fan favorites, this is a page-turning, deliciously fun, magical summer read fraught with love affairs, witchcraft, and an unforgettable battle between good and evil.

The newest series by Melissa de la Cruz does not disappoint.  After the teen focused Blue Bloods, it’s refreshing to read a series aimed at adult readers.

I generally like multiple narrators in books, but the round robin between Joanna, Ingrid and Freya became predictable too quickly.  When Ingrid encountered a problem, I knew Joanna and Freya would face one in the next two chapters.  And when Freya began to solve her problems, I knew her mother and sister would do the same.  I wish the plot had a few more twists.

The character development was rich.  The plot twist at the end seemed to undo some of the characterization, but I do think the characters were fully developed, and acted believably in the situations the novel presented.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the TV show Charmed, or any adult readers of the Blue Blood series.

I still hadn’t fully absorbed the terrible possibility that I might actually be a werewolf. I kept stumbling over that word; it made no sense to me. How could I be a werewolf? Werewolves didn’t exist.

When Tobias Richard Vandevelde wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the night before, his horrified mother tells him that he was found unconscious. At Featherdale Wildlife Park. In a dingo pen. He assumes that his two best friends are somehow responsible, until the mysterious Reuben turns up, claiming that Toby has a rare and dangerous “condition.” Next thing he knows, Toby finds himself involved with a strange bunch of sickly insomniacs who seem convinced that he needs their help. It’s not until he’s kidnapped and imprisoned that he starts to believe them—and to understand what being a paranormal monster really means.

Catherine Jinks creates a supernatural world that is more realistic than fantastic.  Our thirteen year old narrator Toby relates to us that being a werewolf is impossible for the first half of the novel, and in the second half, despite not going under any transformations, he gets tied up in the negative side of werewolves: exploitation.

While he takes the first half of the book to believe his symptoms prove him a werewolf, and not an epileptic; after the paper makes him famous for being found naked in a dingo pen, due to his newfound notoriety  he is surrounded by people convinced he is a werewolf. A supernatural group wants to protect him from his next transformation, and a group of “doggers” capture him to dog fight other kidnapped werewolves, potentially shipping him to America.

Making Toby 13 was a great choice for this book.  He and his friends are initially excited by the pranks possible by teasing the people claiming he’s supernatural, and then what his powers might give him.  We have 200 pages of Toby suspecting Reuben might be right, but that he’d rather trick the man, and turn him into the police.  When Toby is kidnapped, he quickly accepts his condition, and sees Reuben in a different light.

The last 50 pages felt a little rushed, and the dramatic reveal seemed ridiculously fast.  The foreshadowing was there, but between Toby’s mother’s disbelief and Toby’s quick acceptance, it felt a little disjointed. I believe if I’d read the prequel, The Reformed Vampire Support Group, the rapid appearance of new and returning characters would have felt more natural.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Heather Brewer’s Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, or other stories of non-glamorous supernaturals.

e-book ARC provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Everyone knows about Anne Frank and her life hidden in the secret annex – but what about the boy who was also trapped there with her?

In this powerful and gripping novel, Sharon Dogar explores what this might have been like from Peter’s point of view. What was it like to be forced into hiding with Anne Frank, first to hate her and then to find yourself falling in love with her? Especially with your parents and her parents all watching almost everything you do together. To know you’re being written about in Anne’s diary, day after day? What’s it like to start questioning your religion, wondering why simply being Jewish inspires such hatred and persecution? Or to just sit and wait and watch while others die, and wish you were fighting.

As Peter and Anne become closer and closer in their confined quarters, how can they make sense of what they see happening around them?

Anne’s diary ends on August 4, 1944, but Peter’s story takes us on, beyond their betrayal and into the Nazi death camps. He details with accuracy, clarity and compassion the reality of day to day survival in Auschwitz – and ultimately the horrific fates of the Annex’s occupants.

Annexed is Sharon Dogar’s vision of Peter Van Pels’ time in the annex with Anne Frank.  The story switches from his time in the concentration camp, and in his delirium, returning to the annex, and dealing with a different kind of captivity.

Peter Van Pels is a reliable narrator, expressing his feelings for the girl Liese he loses at the beginning of the book, the irritation Anne’s endless optimism causes him, and the way he struggles with hiding for safety, rather than facing the nazis or rescuing his friends.  As a sixteen year old guy, Being surrounded by parents, unable to leave the annex, Peter doesn’t have many outlets, and the alliance he forms with Anne is a gradual process.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed reading Anne Frank’s diary or Zlata’s diary, and wants the story of a boy living in hiding, or the idea of what one thought about in the concentration camps.

e-book ARC provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

I have moved my review site from my personal domain, to my university page.  For some reason, my host refuses to run WordPress, so I moved to one that will!

All reviews from early 2011 have been updated and moved here.  Reviews not posted on the site will appear later tonight, at roughly the time they were published.  New reviews will come once that has been done!  Hopefully, revamping this blog will get me reading those ARCs and exciting books, and give you some new reading material to choose from!

As always, click on the cover of your book, and the link will take you to IndieBound, which will show you where your nearest independent bookstore is that sells it, or can custom order it for you!

Upcoming Reviews:
My Favorite Band Does Not Exist by Robert T Jeschonek
Lost Voices by Sarah Porter
The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks
The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell
Annexed by Sharon Dogar
Wildthorn by Jane Eagland
The Lucky Ones by Mae Ngai
Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz*
Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma*
Eon by Alison Goodman
Eona by Alison Goodman*

*LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program

I picked up The Great Call of China based on the clever art style. The stylized illustration on an international envelope drew me in.

CeCe goes to China with a very big question–who were her parents who put her up for adoption 16 years ago?  As a 16 year old Chinese American, she has many expectations of what she’ll find in China, but the country spends 246 pages surprising her.  The food on her plate stares back at her, the XU classmates speak fluent English and know more about Hollywood than she does.  But her biggest surprise comes when she finds the nerve to travel to the orphanage she left 14 years ago.

I liked the quick pace of the novel, it matches most international trips, over before you know it.  I did feel Peter’s character was occasionally used as an info dump.  He was otherwise a fleshed out character, helping Cece find the answers she needed, with her fledgling Chinese.

This novel is part of the Students Across Seven Seas, or S.A.S.S. series, a series created by Speak, showcasing students studying abroad.  The authors are all different, and if they are all like The Great Call of China, I think I have a new favorite series.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys study abroad novels, or books where setting is treated as character, not background.

Once the toast of good society in Victoria’s England, the extraordinary conjurer Edward Moon no longer commands the respect that he did in earlier times. Still, each night he returns to the stage of his theater to amaze his devoted, albeit dwindling, audience, aided by his partner, the Somnambulist—a silent, hairless, hulking giant who, when stabbed, does not bleed. But these are strange, strange times in England, with the oddest of sorts prowling London’s dank underbelly. And the very bizarre death of a disreputable actor has compelled a baffled police constabulary to turn once again to Edward Moon for help—inevitably setting in motion events that will shatter his increasingly tenuous grasp on reality.

The Somnambulist was one of my favorite reads this year. The turn of the century setting, unreliable narrator, and gothic mystery all were combined masterfully.  By giving us a detective who is not only losing popularity, but keenly affected by this loss, his drive to solve the case is not only curiosity, but also to erase the failure of his last case–which we are never fully informed how he failed.

Our narrator is mysterious throughout the book, and tells us in the very beginning not to trust him, please go read some other book, and even that he will lie to us from time to time.  When he finally reveals who he is, we understand why he’s so tricky.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys gothic victorian novels, or really good mysteries.

This is the last time Mary Harold will have a panic attack at school when kids call her “the grossest girl.” If Mom won’t move back to Alabama, her thirteen-year-old daughter will just have to drive herself 691 miles to Grandma Ayma’s farmhouse — and a whole new life. With Ayma’s loving support, Mary Harold is soon strong enough to help Bud, the Cherokee farm manager, wrangle the cows, and confident enough to stand up for his daughter, Dixie, a girl with a strain of peculiar that makes her whinny and stamp like a horse to keep the world at bay. Mary Harold still misses her mom, but has started to have dreams of the Black Warrior Forest that are offering clues. As she listens to their message, and to her own heart, she discovers how powerful and surprising the bonds of family can be.

Mary Harold has had enough of her school in Virginia. When her mother doesn’t respond the way Mary wants, she drives to Wren, Alabama, to start over with her grandmother, Ayma. As she meets new friends and neighbors in town, and has her mother visit, she discovers her mom might still have a home in Wren, after all.

Mary learns about cattle, who she is, who she wants to be, all while adjusting to life in a new town. This is a great story of coming of age, learning who you are, and how family affects you.

ARC provided by Candlewick Press via LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers. Review first published July 26, 2009.

In

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love—the light and the dark, the warm and the cold—in a way you will never forget.

I’ve been waiting a while to read this one. I read the first book, Shiver several times back to back last fall. Do you ever get those books where you almost don’t want to read them, because you know they’ll be so good? Or you’re afraid they won’t be as amazing as you’re expecting? This was one of them.

Linger started a little haltingly for me. I think this was more due to the fact I haven’t read Shiver recently, and the prologue threw me off. The characterization is still strong. Some reviewers have said they didn’t care for Sam and Grace in this book, and identified more with Cole and Isabel. While the second couple had a really strong plot, I had no problems with Grace and Sam’s storyline. Struggling with maintaining a relationship, respecting parents who seem out of touch, and the grief Sam was struggling to master all felt emotionally real and valid.

Cole and Isabel dealt with more concrete or mature problems. Coming to grips with losing your brother and learning to face the consequences of your actions are important things teens deal with.

While I didn’t agree with some choices Grace made, I understand why she made them. When you’re a teen, and to an extent afterward, we run into situations where we feel like we have no choice.

I liked Stiefvater’s switch from a two person narrative into four. It worked for me, and I liked the way the different storylines merged and crossed. I’m curious to see what happens in Forever, and if we see Grace’s best friend Olivia again.