ARC Book Review: A Wounded Name by Dot Hutchison

Title: A Wounded Name

Author: Dot Hutchison
Publisher: Lerner Publishing
Release Date: September 1st, 2013
Rating: 1/5

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

ARC Book Review: The Sin-Eater's Confession by Ilsa J. Bick

Title: The Sin-Eater's Confession
Author: Ilsa J. Bick
Publisher: CarolRhoda Books
Release Date: March 1, 2013
Rating: 1/5

Cover Impressions: The cover is what first drew me to this book.  I loved the image of the letter and how it was a little faded and travel worn. The scratched in lettering and the blood add an element of mystery and an interesting edge. 

The Gist: When Ben befriends a young boy who had lost a brother, he never thought that this decision would change the course of his life.  When Jimmy reveals just how deep his feelings are for Ben, the town erupts with anger that a gay boy might be living among them.  Ben struggles with his feelings of anger at having been duped and obligation to the boy that he cares about.   When those responsibilities reach from beyond the grave, Ben tries distance himself from question, while at the same time attempting to seek out a killer.

Review:
The Sin Eater's Confession had a lot of flaws.  Firstly, the main character was despicable.  He was unlikeable, cowardly and an all around lame-ass human being.  Whenever given the chance to prove himself and make a decision that might actually benefit someone else, he took the selfish way out.  He seems like a very intelligent young man, but the entire book is based around the stupid decision that he continuously makes.

The writing featured a great deal of conjecture in the main character's head.  This was boring. repetitive and, ultimately, pointless.  We were forced to tag along for the ride as Ben whined about his horrid little life with parents who love him and a looming admission to Yale, when it was abundantly clear that other characters had actual important issues to deal with.  The book also featured frequent graphic descriptions of suicide and murder.  These were crass and disturbing.  While the use of this language appears to be intended to be edgy, it comes off as gruesome instead. 

I never really understood the point of the big cover up conspiracy.  It felt like page after page where nothing really happened and, in the end, nothing was resolved.  This book just did not work for me.  Even with the issues that I had, all could have been redeemed with a killer psychological and surprise ending - but that simply wasn't the case. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: Some description of naked bodies
Violence: Child abuse, Murder, Graphic descriptions of a dead body
Inappropriate Language: Piss, Ass, Jesus, Shit, Fuck, Bastard
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking

Book Review: Lost in the River of Grass by Ginny Rorby

Title: Lost in the River of Grass
Author: Ginny Rorby
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
Release Date: Feb 9, 2011
Rating: 5/5

Cover Impressions: Not a huge fan of the cover.  Don't get me wrong, the alligator on a whole new level of scary, but there is something with the title and the font that makes this feel like a homemade job.

The Gist: Feeling like an outcast on a school trip to the Everglades, Sarah fakes sick in order to explore the swamp with Andy, a local boy.  When a simple mistake leaves them stranded, they begin the harrowing trek back to civilization, facing the Everglades in all their danger and splendor.

Review: I was immensely surprised by this novel.  In fact, I read it in a day.  Were it not for the disruptions of my 9 mth old, I probably would have read it in one sitting without so much as a bathroom break.

Rorby has created characters that are undeniably realistic.  They are flawed, impatient and self-absorbed in a way that only teenagers can be.  At the beginning of the book, Sarah is painfully lonely and attempts to simply keep her head down and avoid the mockery of her classmates.  She is afraid of everything in the swamp and whines incessantly.  By the end, however, she has proven her bravery time and time again and come to appreciate the beauty of the swamp (despite the fact that nearly everything in it wanted to eat her!).  Andy has lived his whole life in the Everglades.  He is very typical of any teenage boy - risking the ire of his parents in order to impress a pretty girl.  Despite his willingness to take charge, he falters several times and leaves Sarah certain that she must orchestrate her own rescue.

The characters are well written, but where Rorby really shines is in the plot and the pacing.  This is a novel that never left me bored.  The moments where Sarah and Andy came into (far too close) contact with the wildlife of the Everglades were always tense and often terrifying.  To say that I was absorbed in the story would be an understatement as I found myself holding my breath for many of these encounters and praying that the characters (and Teapot) would come out unscathed. 

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

One of the issues that I had at the beginning of the novel was that no real physical description of Sarah was provided.  Without these details, I was forced to pull her image together on my own.  Towards the end of the novel, however, it is revealed that Sarah is black and that clearly, this information was withheld on purpose.  This information sheds new light onto several scenes from earlier in the book and elevates this novel from one that merely celebrates two young people's strength and instinct to survive, to one that challenges preconceptions and forces the reader to examine their own worldview. 

Lost in the River of Grass should appeal to both male and female teen readers (and adults of course) and would provide an excellent jumping off point for discussion of bias, presumption and how new information can change how a story is viewed.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 12 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: Kissing
Violence: Animal attacks
Inappropriate Language: Asses
Substance Use/Abuse:  Discussion of marijuana use