Book Review: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Title: Etiquette & Espionage
Author: Gail Carriger
Publisher: Brown/Hachette
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Rating: 3/5

Cover Impressions:  I love everything about this cover.  The wallpaper background contrasts beautifully with the black starkness of the dress.  The ruffles and buttons on the dress keep my eye moving and I appreciate that the stance removes it from the typical "girl in a pretty dress" category.  The font works very well and doesn't mar the cover image. 

The Gist: When Sophronia is unceremoniously shipped off to finishing school by her exasperated parents she pictures days of manners, curtsying and proper dinner etiquette.  And that is what she gets - some of the time.  She soon discovers that the school is much more than she expected and perhaps more than her parents had bargained for.  Sophronia learns the art of being a spy as well as being a lady and finds herself at the center of a mystery involving a missing prototype and several bands of dangerous thugs hell-bent on find it. 

Review:

Etiquette & Espionage holds the distinction of being one of the few books that I have ever stopped and re-started again.  When I started reading E&E, I seemed to be surrounded by mediocre books.  Having read some of the rave review, I was a little concerned that my feelings toward this novel were being colored by the whole MEH-Ness of my reading life at the time.  As such, I put it down, read something else and then came back.  Upon returning, I did find it much easier to get into the story and I was a little less annoyed by some of the issues with world-building.

DISCLAIMER: I am generally not a steampunk fan.  There, I said it.  I have not had a great deal of luck with steampunk books in the past and I am beginning to think that I just don't see what so many other people see.  That being said, this was probably the highest rated of my forays into steampunk - so that's something. E&E merges steampunk with mythological creatures and, oddly enough, the strange elements shouldn't quite work together, but they do. 

I did find the whole school setting a bit dry.  There seemed to be a great deal of telling me about what the ladies were learning in the classes instead of allowing me to see for myself.  I was also surprised, by the end of the book, at how much time had passed.  It seemed like events unfolded rather quickly, but the end of the book was the end of the year so perhaps things were moving more slowly than I thought.

The writing and narration style takes a little getting used to.  I found myself annoyed on occasion by the manner in which the characters spoke.  But, by the end, I had gotten used to it and could see some of its charm.  Of course, my major irritation came in the form of the names. Mrs Barnaclegoos, Lord Dingleproops, The Great Chutney- you have got to be kidding me.  The only character who had a "normal" name was Agatha and she was meant to be the most boring and timid!  This made it difficult to keep the characters straight in my head and, when a new character was introduced, I often found myself stopping to mutter "COME ON?!"

 I didn't find any of the characters particularly loathesome, but then I didn't find them particularly endearing either.  They floated in the land of the unforgettable.  Even Sophronia wasn't that remarkable and I was left searching for any distinguishing on which to throw my love - but none arose. 

I did find the novel much more enjoyable once I re-started at about 3/4 through.  This last section was more exciting and fast paced.  I have Curtsies & Conspiracies on my TBR pile and am really hoping that my slow start was just that, and that I will get to see some more character development in the second installment. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 13 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: None
Violence: Knifeplay, Gunplay
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Use/Abuse: None

ARC Book Review: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

Title: Unbreakable
Author: Kami Garcia
Publisher: Little Brown
Release Date: October 1st, 2013
Rating: 2/5

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 (see bottom of review for 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

* 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.

Book Review: Legacy by C.J. Daugherty

Title: Legacy

Author: C.J. Daugherty
Publisher: Brown
Release Date: January 3, 2013
Rating: 2/5

Cover Impressions:  I like the colors and the contrast between her hair and the font with the snow.  Otherwise, there isn't much to make this cover stand out from the others on the shelf.

The Gist: Having survived her first semester at Cimmeria Academy, Allie is returning to classes with a new sense of the danger that surrounds her and an enrollment into the mysterious Night School.  Here, Allie hopes to finally learn about the secrets surrounding her family and to find a way to save her brother from the clutches of the mysterious Nathaniel.

Review:

Having just finished Night School and gotten little to no answers about any of the big mysteries, I moved straight on to Legacy hoping for some enlightenment.  I was sorely disappointed.  Daugherty is the queen of the lengthy conversation in which absolutely nothing is reavealed.  During the course of one conversation Isabelle tells Allie:
"And if I try to explain it now we'll be here for hours."
"It really would take me ages to tell you the whole story."
"That ... is a conversation for another time."
"I know you want to know everything, Allie, but just trust me when I tell you, this is complicated."

Forget everything, Isabelle, I would just like you to tell her SOMETHING!  And she is not the only one, even the bad guys speak in these oddly vague terms.  Naturally, this lack of information leads to Allie making stupid decisions and running off into dangerous situations which make me want to strangle her myself. 

The love interests are equally infuriating.  Yet again, in this book, we flip-flop from one boy to another.  I am only able to be okay with Sylvain is if I completely ignore the almost rape scene in the last book - which I find very difficult to do.  I am still not sure why the author wrote that scene.  Surely she knew where the story would be heading.  Could she not have found some other way for Sylvain and Allie to split up, something for which he could stand a hope of gaining forgiveness from the reader?  Carter is also considerably more annoying in this book than he was in the last one.  His overprotectiveness has gone into overdrive and he has gotten petty and jealous.  The female characters don't seem to play as important of a role this time, though I enjoyed the addition of Zoe as the quirky character who constantly speaks her mind - which was important as Rachel not being a part of Night School meant that she could no longer act as Allie's sounding board.

Legacy is considerably racier than Night School was.  It includes steamier make-out sessions, more vulgar talk and a risque game of truth or dare.  Against this backdrop, Allie becomes stronger and learns to defend herself, however despite having lots of action and a fairly entertaining story, there is no real movement forward on the larger plot or much character development.  As this series is scheduled to continue up to at least book 5, I think I will be bowing out at this point.


Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 15 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Kissing, Nudity (not described), risque talk
Violence: Hand to hand combat, murder by knife, attempted kidnapping
Inappropriate Language: Pissed, Bitch, Bastard, Jesus, Tits
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage drinking

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King

Title: Everybody Sees the Ants
Author: A.S. King
Publisher: Hachette
Release Date: October 3, 2011
Rating: 4/5

Cover Impressions:  Love the simplicity of the black and white image with the details of the bullseye and the ant. 

The Gist: In Lucky Linderman's dreams he treks through the Vietnamese jungle in search of his long lost grandfather.  In reality, he laments his parent's marriage troubles and tries to escape the bully that tortures him.  When a violent episode forces his mother to open her eyes she whisks him away to his uncles where he is finally able to put his situation in perspective. 

Review:
Everybody Sees the Ants is not an easy read.  It tells the story of Lucky Linderman, a boy who has been bullied since he was a young child.  The story begins with an incident where Lucky attempts to make a school project about suicide and gets himself and several other boys in trouble.  This begins the an intense period of bullying that is often violent and with a sexual undertone.  The narrative moves back and forth in time from this point and from a further incident that causes Lucky's mother to immediately flee with him to her brother's home.  There is also an element of magical realism that adds humor and whimsy.  Lucky spends his night visiting his grandfather who was lost in Vietnam.  Each night, he attempts to rescue him and, remarkably, brings back souvenirs to prove that his time spent in the jungle is more real than anyone would believe.  Lucky also starts to see ants that observe his story and add hilarious commentary. 

Lucky Linderman (and the ants) have a unique voice that is funny and self-deprecating.  He is an inherently good boy who, even knowing that his actions will lead to further torture, he stands up for those who need it.  My heart went out to him as he suffered the most heinous of acts and watched as the adults around him fail to notice or to take action.  I also found myself getting very angry at the adults in this situation, particularly the apathetic teachers who turn a blind eye to what they must know is happening.  The other characters are all damaged in some way, Lucky's parents and aunt and uncle all escape the problems of their marriages with their own obsessions.  Pre-occupied as they are, they seem incapable of facing the true pain that Lucky is going through.

I found it particularly interesting to read Everybody Sees the Ants at a time when I had just finished Thirteen Reasons Why.  It created an interesting juxtaposition between bullying against girls and bullying against boys.  Thirteen Reasons Why featured rumor and name calling, while Everybody Sees the Ants featured violence and cruelty that was often difficult to read.  It also a thought-provoking connection between bullying and torture.  In the end, Lucky gains a sense of confidence and stands up to his bully.  It all wraps up a little too cleanly for my taste and I think that resolution is slightly unrealistic.  It did take down my enjoyment a notch. 

Many of the other reviews have mentioned that this book wasn't quite as powerful as King's other novel Please Ignore Vera Dietz, so I am adding that to my TBR pile as well. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 15 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: Kissing, talk of Sex
Violence: Bullying, Suicide
Inappropriate Language: Shit, Slut, Pussy, Fuck, Fag
Substance Use/Abuse: Smoking, Pill Use

Audio Book Review: Stuck by Lightning by Chris Colfer

Title: Struck by Lightning
Author: Chris Colfer
Publisher: Brown
Release Date: November 20th, 2012
Rating: 4/5

Cover Impressions: Not a big fan of the cover.  The imagery itself is kind of bland and I think that having the author on the cover is a little cheesy.

The Gist: Carson Phillips is determined to escape his small town and gain early acceptance into Northwestern University - the first step on his way to becoming the editor of The New Yorker.  But, just being brilliant and maintaining an impeccable GPA isn't enough anymore.  In order to stand out from the crowd, Carson starts a literary magazine, but in order to get submissions, he must resort to blackmailing his fellow students

Review: From the very first line, I loved the main character.  Carson Phillips is snarky and snarly and too smart for his own good.  He is surrounded by people who either ridicule him, hold him back or downright sabotage him.  I loved reading his dialogue with the other characters, but the introspection tended to get a little repetitive and droning.

The other characters helped support the story without stealing the spotlight.  I loved Carson's dedicated relationship with his Grandmother.  Having watched a grandparent suffering with altzheimer's, I found his interactions based in reality - from the hope that springs forth on the good days to the humor that can be found in the smallest moments and the devastation that comes from the worst of days.  I also enjoyed the complex relationships that Carson had with his parents and wanted to shake/strangle both of them (at one point I was actually screaming at stereo because I was so mad at his mother's actions).

The writing is much tighter than I expected from a first time author who is, primarily, an actor.  Except for those moments of lagging introspection, the plot moved quickly.  I was with Carson every step of the way and felt his consternation with every setback.  The one thing that did lose me was the ending.  Naturally, I can't really speak of it without giving anything away but, suffice to say, it left me asking "the fuck dude?" and wanting to call up the author, begging for a re-write.

Overall, I really enjoyed Struck by Lightning and am looking forward to seeing how the film version holds up. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 13 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: None
Violence: Bullying
Inappropriate Language: Lots
Substance Use/Abuse: Marijuana Use

Book Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

Title: The Diviners
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Brown Books
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Rating: 2/5

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

Audio Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia
Publisher: Brown
Release Date: Dec 1, 2009
Rating: 3/5

Cover Impressions: The cover has some beautiful elements but, for me, it feels like it is missing something.  The script is stunning, the trees create a fantastically creepy atmosphere, but I keep looking for something else to rest my eye upon and there just isn't anything.  If I were designing this cover - I would have added a full moon so we at least had a focal point. 

The Gist: Ethan Wate is counting down the days until he can escape the small town of Gatlin.  He spends his days barely tolerating his classmates and his nights struggling to hold on to a girl that he has never met.  When Lena Duchannes arrives at Stonewall Jackson High School, everyone can tell she is different.  Ethan finds himself seeking her out and will soon discover that they have a mysterious and powerful connection.

Review: 
I have encountered this book (and the others in the series) off an on throughout my forays through the world of YA.  In reading the synopsis, however, the whole mysterious romantic connection turned me off from picking up the book.  Then I encountered the trailer for the movie to be released in 2013 and it looked so good I just had to give the book a shot and decided to try the audio version.

Let me tell you, it was loooooooooong.  Normally, I find audiobooks make my commute better and make dealing with traffic a heck of a lot easier (just more time for the book!).  But this one left me frustrated.  I found myself yelling at the characters as they whined about their lives.  Boo hoo, my home town is boring (Ethan) Wah Wah my life is weird and full of magic (Lena).  I swear, if I heard Lena say "I am going to go dark" one more time I was going to throw my ipod under the wheels of a semi.  It was even more irritating because the underlying plot was great.  It had lots of mystery, great settings and interesting characters.  But it seemed that just as I was getting some answers and seeing the plot progress, we would revert to moody Lena, queen of complaining.  I really wanted to shake her - you have super-fun powers, DO SOMETHING WITH THEM!  While Beautiful Creatures had a wonderfully creepy setting and some fantastically exciting scenes, there was just too long in between them and I got tired of waiting.

I was not a huge fan of the narrator, though he was competent enough.  However, at one point, the narration switches to Lena and a female voice.  I did not like her at all!  This new narrator displayed little to no emotion and it completely pulled me from the world that the author had created.  Because this occurred during a particularly important and action-filled section of the book, it was incredibly jarring and ruined those emotional moments for me.

This book is also guilty of perpetrating one of my pet peeves: the uncaring school.  As a teacher, I take a real offense when I encounter books that feature teachers and administration who turn a blind eye to the blatant bullying that occurs in their school.  I take a special offense when the teachers and administration become and active part of the problem.  Yes, there are bad teachers out there.  Yes, there are bad principals out there.  But the majority of us did not get into this profession so that we could ignore the obvious distress of our students. 

The ending of Beautiful Creatures left me unsatisfied.  There were just too many questions left unanswered and, while I want the answers to them, I am just not willing to read/listen to the next book just yet.  Especially as other reviewers have noted that it is even more angsty than the first.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 13 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Kissing
Violence: Fist-fighting, Magical attacks, Stabbing
Inappropriate Language: Bitch, Piss (there may be others but I forget)
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage drinking, cigar smoking

Book Review: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Title: I Hunt Killers
Author: Barry Lyga
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Release Date: April 3, 2012
Rating: 4/5

Cover Impressions: The cover is a little too dark for my liking.  I would have preferred to see a little more of the silhouette.  The title is really intriguing and catches the eye as it sits front and center. 

The Gist: Jazz is the son of the most prolific serial killer that the US has ever seen.  While other children were learning to play catch, Billy Dent was teaching Jazz how to pick, stalk, and murder his "prospects".  When bodies once again appear in Lobo's Nob, Jazz is convinced that it is the work of a new serial killer and he is determined to worm his way into the investigation at once, finding a killer, clearing his name and testing his own boundaries in the sight of mutilation and murder.

Review: I Hunt Killers provides a unique perspective as we explore the mind of Jasper "Jazz" Dent, a boy who was raised on murder and mayhem.  With his father in prison on multiple life sentences, Jazz struggles with his personal demons while he attempts to create some semblance of a normal life in the town that Billy terrorized.  Jazz is a fantastically complex character.  Throughout his investigation, he uses some of the skills that Dear Old Dad taught him while vehemently denying others.  Jazz is the type of character that you want to hug, shake and slap all in the same breath.  He is flanked by Howie, a hilarious hemophiliac and Connie, his take-no-shit girlfriend.  The secondary characters are quite well written and add a great deal to the overall storyline and to keeping Jazz human.

I did find the plot a little slow going at times.  There was quite a bit of teen angst as Jazz tries to sort through how much of his personality is his own and how much was placed there as he trained to be Billy's protege.  There are a few plot twists that are fairly easy to see coming but the novel is enjoyable overall.  I think this was a great introduction but I believe the truly engrossing reads are going to come further along in the series when Jazz confronts both his past and his mass-murdering father.

This books is DARK.  I will NOT BE RECOMMENDING THIS TO MY STUDENTS.  There are scenes of extreme violence and gore.  There are disturbing moments that would provide nightmares to the most stoic of teens and there is language that would make a hooker blush.  I can only imagine the phone calls from irate parents if I were to send this book home with their kid.  If you are a parent considering this book for your older teen, ask yourself if you think they enjoy/can handle tv shows like Criminal Minds which often involve kidnapping, torture, and gruesome murders. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: Discussion of sex, Kissing, Some Groping
Violence: LOTS AND VARIED.  Murder by strangulation, murder by injection of chemicals, talk of rape, description of violence and crime scenes. 
Inappropriate Language: Ass, Douche, Whores, Bastard, Dick, Pussy, Titties
Substance Use/Abuse:  None.

Notable Quotables:

"'Me, personally?' Howie asked. 'I usually carry all my corpses downhill.  Easier on the back'"
"He easily gather her in his arms; Gramma was made up of skin and bones and hate and crazy - and hate and crazy don't weigh anything"

Book Review: Bunheads by Sophie Flack

Title: Bunheads
Author: Sophie Flack
Publisher: Poppy (Hachette)
Release Date: Oct 10, 20122
Rating: 2/5

Cover Impressions: This cover is really pretty and reminds me of the fractal geometry projects that my students do in math class.  The image is reflective of the struggle for each dancer to look identical as a company but fighting to stand out and be noticed as an individual.

The Gist: Hannah Ward is a bunhead.  She spends her days and nights practicing, performing and pining to be featured as soloist.  When she meets a musician named Jacob, she begins to question whether or not she is as dedicated to this life as she once believed

Review: It seems I am in the minority on this one.  I have wanted to read it for a long time and was excited to have an addition to my classroom library that would appeal to my little dancers (with a plethora of sports books, it is always nice to find a different kind of "interests" book).  I wanted to like this book, I really did.  But, when I started putting it down in order to do other things (like laundry and the dishes) that it was simply not living up to expectations.

If you read the bio of the author you will find out that she danced with the New York City Ballet as part of the corps de ballet.  She retired in 2009 and is now studying English at Columbia University.  SPOILER ALERT: Hannah dances with the Manhattan Ballet Company as part of the corps de ballet and quits to study Creative Writing at New York University.  Sound familiar?  There is nothing wrong with writing an autobiography but please, call it an autobiography.

This story reads much the same way as the stories my students tell when they are in trouble.  They tell a version that is close to the truth, but one that paints them in the best light possible.  Hannah's motivations do not seem sincere and I am skeptical that Sophie she truly left the company because she wanted to expand her horizons (rather than because her friend was promoted and she was angry and jealous).

As a character, she is unlikeable and indecisive.  It takes the entire book for her to act on a decision that she had clearly already made shortly after meeting Jacob.  She is not particularly kind, or funny, or smart.  Even her struggle with her weight doesn't feel genuine and we only see the consequences of extreme dieting in minor characters which doesn't provide any emotional pay-off.  The relationship with Jacob is boring at best and her flirtation with Matt does not teach her anything and seemed completely unnecessary. 

Bunheads did keep my interest enough for me to finish but, ultimately, was a disappointment.  I was hoping for a backstage pass into the world of ballet, one that showed the dedication and determination of the dancers and the lengths to which they are willing to go in order to secure their success.  What I got instead was a watered down version of life within a Company and the story of a girl who spends 11 years working toward a dream only to give it up for a boyfriend. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Kissing, Possible sex - not described at all
Violence: None
Inappropriate Language: Nutfucker, Sluttier, Fuck Buddy
Substance Abuse: Underage drinking

Book Review: Revived by Cat Patrick

Title: Revived
Author: Cat Patrick
Publisher: Little Brown & Company
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Rating: 3.5/5

Cover Impressions: Wow, wow, wow.  This cover is gorgeous.  In fact, the reason I was excited about this book in the first place had a lot more to do with the cover than the synopsis.  The colors are striking and the image of the eye in the middle of the tear is stunning.  The font is reminiscent of Science Fiction and alludes to the medical nature of Revive.  I almost wish this was a series so that I could see more of this artwork!

The Gist: Daisy has died 5 times.  She is part of an experimental trial for the drug Revive, which brings her, and others like her, back from the dead.  Each death means a new city, a new name and the chance to re-invent herself.  When Daisy finds friendship and a new love interest, she discovers that she doesn't want to lose this life and begins to unearth the deep, dark secrets of the Revive program.

Review:  The premise of this novel is really interesting.  It begs the reader to questions whether or not our own government might be conducting super secret experiments with drugs that might one day change our entire world.  And, of course, whether or not we trust our government to use this knowledge in our best interest.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that this did not go the way of a typical zombie novel though there were moments where I thought it was heading down that path.  The plot moves smoothly and has enough intrigue and action to keep me interested. 

Daisy is an interesting character.  She has little to no apprehension about death, except the unpleasantness of, you know, dying.  I loved her obsession with decorating her room and keeping up with her blog.  She feels like a typical teen.  Even her love interest seems like a genuine school-girl crush complete with flirty glances, butterfly inducing phone calls and sweet, endearing moments.  Daisy's friends Audrey and Megan seem fun, but could have been given a little more personality (I spent half of the novel waiting to meet this wonderful, trans-gendered character and then get a couple pages of typical teenage chatter instead of the wit and sarcasm I was hoping for).

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Honestly, this book had be right up until the beginning of the end.  I dealt with the teenage drama and accepted the touch of teen angsty romance but there were a few things that bothered me.

1. Why have Daisy steal the revive for Audrey if it wasn't going to do anything?  This felt like filler to me.  I kept waiting for her to pop up out of the casket zombie-style and go searching for Jake Gyllenhaal's brains.
2. More Megan.  Why include a trans gendered character if you aren't going to let her shine?
3. I hate, hate, HATE when the (usually) heroine gets caught up in a dangerous situation, blacks out and then awakens to (usually) a man telling her how she was rescued and all her problems were solved while she was dead/unconscious/incapacitated.  Why couldn't Daisy have figured out God was in town and that Cassie was evil and kicked some super villain ass?

It really felt like this story could have been better presented as a series, perhaps with each book featuring a different kid from the bus crash.  It was a fun read but, in the end, there were too many unanswered questions for my liking. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 13 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Kissing
Violence: Death by bee stings, gunplay
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Abuse: Underage Drinking