Need by Joelle Charbonneau

Title: Need
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: Nov 3, 2015
Rating: 2/5

The Gist: "No one gets something for nothing. We all should know better."

Teenagers at Wisconsin's Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need . . . regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes. The body count rises. In this chilling YA thriller, the author of the best-selling Testing trilogy examines not only the dark side of social media, but the dark side of human nature.

Review: 

 

Need is a website that promised Nottawa High School students their heart's desire in exchange for completing the tasks that it sets forth.  At first, this involves sending invites to other students, then a simple task like delivering a box of cookies.  Very quickly, however, things turn sinister as these tasks lead to the very real deaths of students and adults and Kaylee must find out who is behind the website, before it frames her for murder.

 

Need has an interesting premise, but it is based in a couple of unrealistic assumptions:

 

1) Teenagers are selfish idiots who are willing to do anything to get what they want, regardless of the consequences.  In order for Need to work, the students have to be willing to complete tasks.  That they would do this is somewhat believable when the payoff outweighs the cost.  However, once they are able to see that these seemingly inconsequential tasks are actually leading to the death of other people, it is just not realistic to expect that they would continue.  IF this plotline had lasted a little longer, with the kids completing assignments that didn't REALLY hurt anyone and got them what they wanted, it would have been a much more enjoyable plot

 

2) Adults and people in positions of authority never believe students.  Kaylee's mother gives her NO credit and believes she is making up everything.  I get it, she has a history, but you can't tell me that none of the other kids tell their parents and none of those parents believe them either.  Also, a website leaves footprints, even when it is taken down for a short time.  There would be a way to trace it back.  Finally, there is no way that police would not investigate claims of a website setting up murders, especially when MULTIPLE people have died and MULTIPLE kids are telling them the website exists. 

 

Need just wasn't realistic in its treatment of teenagers.  One thing that bothered me to no end is that the kids seem to have no idea how to take screenshots.  I would expect every kid over the age of 10 knows how to take screenshots.

 

There was also a problem of too many narrators.  We changed POV constantly and most of the characters just didn't have unique enough voices for this approach.  I found myself constantly trying to figure out which character I was following - is this the one who wants the concert tickets, or the one with the over-protective parents, and was that the same love interest the last guy was talking about or is that someone completely different? - it was exhausting.  While the plot was suspenseful, the multiple narrators kept removing me from the plot and the ending was just silly.    

We'll Never Be Apart by Emiko Jean

Title: We'll Never Be Apart
Author: Emiko Jean
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: Oct 6, 2015
Rating: 2/5

The Gist:  

Murder.

Fire.

Revenge.

That’s all seventeen-year-old Alice Monroe thinks about. Committed to a mental ward at Savage Isle, Alice is haunted by memories of the fire that killed her boyfriend, Jason. A blaze her twin sister Cellie set. But when Chase, a mysterious, charismatic patient, agrees to help her seek vengeance, Alice begins to rethink everything. Writing out the story of her troubled past in a journal, she must confront hidden truths.

Is the one person she trusts only telling her half the story? Nothing is as it seems in this edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller from the debut author Emiko Jean.

Review: 

Ok, non-spoilery part first:  Alice wakes in the mental ward; a place that is not unfamiliar to her.  She learns that the fire that burnt her also killed her boyfriend and that she is being charged.  She knows that it is her sister, Cellie, that set the fire and that she must be in the D wing, the only part of the hospital that Alice does not have access to.  She also knows that the only way to be free of Cellie's madness is to kill her.  She seeks out the aid of another patient, one who seems to know how to acquire the things she needs, and is cute to boot.  As she seeks out her sister and unravels her past, Alice comes to know far more than she ever realized about who Cellie is, and who that makes her.

The characters are interesting and there is a spark between Alice and Chase that is fun to watch.  The side characters are rather one dimensional (Alice's roommate is constantly described based on two things that she said on Alice's first day) and the Doctor has no personality whatsoever.  The narrative alternatives through the present and the past, using Alice's journals to tell the story of her, Cellie and Jason and how their lives brought them together and, eventually, into the hands of the law.  The story in the past is far more compelling than the present as the three bounce from foster home to foster home (some horrible, some tolerable, none "home") and how Cellie and Jason seem to have a dark connection to violence and fire.

The plot moves at a steady pace and does not lag in any particular areas.  HOWEVER, nearly all of this is completely negated by one, glaring, mistake:

SPOILERS AHEAD:






I FEEL LIKE I HAVE READ THIS BOOK A HUNDRED TIMES.  If you didn't guess it from the first few pages, or even the synopsis: Cellie doesn't exist.  Yes folks, we have another "my violent twin sister is actually my alternative personality and I have NO FREAKING IDEA" plot twist.  I spent the entire book just hoping beyond hope that I was wrong.  Because I actually liked the rest of the story, I didn't want Jean to have gone down the SAME road as so many authors.  In fact, this is my third time this year writing a rant like this about the exact same plot! Come on! Give your readers some credit.  And publishers, give me a break.  There is no way that YOU haven't read this same plot before.  Stop publishing this crap and expecting readers to just forget that they have seen this time and time again. 

Bottom Line: Been done.  Don't bother.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 15 and up
Sex: Kissing, Sex between teenagers
Violence: Arson, Child Abuse, Animal Abuse
Inappropriate Language: Asshole, Cocksucker, Snatch, Bitch, Dick, Christ
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking, Marijuana Use

ARC Review: A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn

Title: A Creature of Moonlight
Author: Rebecca Hahn
Publisher: HMH Books/Houghton Mifflin
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Rating: 4/5

Cover Impressions:  Just breathtaking.  I love everything about this cover.  The silhouette of the dragon is gorgeous against the full moon.  The font fits perfectly with the title and the magical feel of the book.  I want to frame it and hang it on my wall.

Review:
Marnie has spent her entire life hidden in plain sight.  The daughter of a runaway princess and a mystical dragon, she enjoys a quiet life tending flowers on the periphery of her uncle's kingdom.  But the forest has started to creep into her world and, for the first time in a generation, it is not receding.  Panic strikes the kingdom and they look to someone to blame.  That someone was once Marnie's mother, now that she is gone - the blame falls to Marnie herself.  It is time for her to decide where her destiny lies, with her Uncle who killed her mother and left her an orphan, or with the mysterious creatures of the forest and a father she has never known.

A Creature of Moonlight is a beautifully written debut novel.  It features some of the most unique worldbuilding that I have ever seen.  The forest has a mind of its own, claiming territory overnight and swallowing up peoples' homes and fields.  It is filled with magical creatures who call to those seeking to escape.  Once in a while, a young girl will be claimed by the forest, never to return.  Marnie hears this call, but she alone is able to resist the siren song, spending long hours swallowed up in its embrace but always returning to her grandfather, the former king and the only person who keeps her anchored to her world.  I love the idea of a forest where the very trees are controlled by a dragon lord and one that encroaches and retreats, ebbing and flowing much like the tide.  This dark and mysterious element starts strong and only gets better as the book goes on and Marnie explores more and more of her father's world.

Despite the strong start and wonderful setting, the story is a little slow.  It takes a patient reader to stick with Marnie despite there not being a great deal of action.  There is no real sense of urgency and only a few points of real excitement.  Don't get me wrong, it is a wonderful read for those who like a slow burning story, but personally, I would have preferred a slightly faster pace.  It was also beautifully written.  Rebecca Hahn has a wonderful mastery of language and creates a narrative that is rich and decadent.  However this type of writing style, combined with the slower plot means that, while it is completely appropriate for a middle grade audience, it will not necessarily appeal to very young readers while more mature middle schoolers and many other YA readers will be captivated by this unique story.

I am convinced and signing on for anything Rebecca Hahn has in store for the future.  


Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age:  12 and up
Sex:  Kissing
Violence: Swordplay, Attempted poisoning
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Use/Abuse:None

Book Review: Dark Triumph by R.L. LaFevers

Title: Dark Triumph

Author: R.L. LaFevers
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Release Date: April 2nd, 2013
Rating: 5/5

Cover Impressions: I really like the covers for this series.  Grave Mercy had a beautiful scarlet color, but I think the muted colors here are much more fitting for Sybella, as is the background of a dark corridor rather than a grand castle.  Her work is better suited to the shadows.

The Gist: The His Fair Assassin series continues with the story of Sybella.  Having escaped the fear and madness of her father's house, Sybella finds a new home at the convent of St.Mortain.  Having been trained in the deadly arts, she is just beginning to find her way back to herself when the political ambitions of her father forces the convent to send Sybella back into his arms.  The brutality and unpredictable rage of her father, coupled with the unhealthy obsession of her brother threatens to drive Sybella mad until she embarks on a mission to free an important prisoner and, in doing so, finds an unlikely ally.

Review: Admittedly, I was underwhelmed by Grave Mercy.  I loved the premise of assassin nuns trained in the deadly arts, but was turned off by the breadth of the political intrigue and Ismae's accursed conscience.  In the wings, however, waited Sybella.  She was such a mysterious and interesting character that it made me long for the release date of Dark Triumph.  I am happy to say, Sybella does not disappoint.  She is certainly bloodthirsty, (and one point she even mutters "I am in desperate need of killing something.") and she does not often worry about the moral implications as Ismae did.  While Ismae faded a little when the love interest was introduced, Sybella railed against him, taking every opportunity to comment on how ugly he was.

The romantic angle in Dark Triumph was much more palatable for me than it was in Grave Mercy.  Beast and Sybella seem equally well matched and neither comes to love the other easily.  There was a point at which Beast seemed to have developed an unhealthy desire to rescue Sybella, but that passed and they were placed on equal footing once again.  For his part, Beast opened Sybella to a world of compassion that her upbringing had denied her and I really enjoyed how she developed in his presence. 

This book featured much less political maneuvering than its predecessor and this makes for a much faster paced plot.  Beast and Sybella's lives have been closely intertwined for many years and the revelation of her secrets adds an air of mystery to the story.  There are also a number of exciting battles and the introduction of an interesting new cast of characters.  While this book moves the overall plot along and sets up for the final in the series, it also provides a satisfying ending to Sybella's personal story.

I will definitely be waiting with baited breath for the final installment in the His Dark Assassin series for more of Sybella but, as I remember very little of Annith, I am also excited for a story that follows her and one that finally reveals the secrets of the convent.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 15 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: Kissing, Allusion to incest, one instance of consensual sex - not explicit
Violence: Torture, Rape, Swordplay, Knifeplay, a number of murders including one disturbing (for me) scene featuring the death of an infant
Inappropriate Language: Whore, Piss, Bastard
Substance Use/Abuse: Drinking

Book Review: Amplified by Tara Kelly

Title: Amplified
Author: Tara Kelly
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Release Date: Oct 25, 2011
Rating: 4/5

Cover Impressions:  The cover is simple, but fitting.  I like the incorporation of the title as part of the amp and the use of the often overlook, puke-green color.  

The Gist:  Jasmine Kiss has fled the stifling world of academia and an overbearing father for the streets of Santa Cruz and the chance to lose herself in her music.  When the perfect opportunity of a place to stay and a spot in an up and coming band lands in her path, Jasmine has to fight her way in and convince both the band, and herself, that she belongs.

Review:  Jasmine is the kind of character you want to hug, hand a cup of tea and tell "oh sweetie, you are so young".  She comes from a privileged background and, at the beginning, comes off as a 17 year old princess who doesn't realize how good she has it.  I will be honest, I sympathized with the father.  You have hopes and dreams for your children and then they turn around and make the choices that you think will lead them into pain and trouble.  Of course, as the story wore on and I learned more about dear old daddy (particularly him telling Jasmine she was lucky to be plain looking) I began to see where she was coming from.  This is not a story of action and suspense, it is a story of friendship and growth.  I felt honored to watch Jasmine learn some life lessons and come into her own as a musician.  

This is the type of novel that smacks of REAL.  The characters have major flaws, they make real, teenage mistakes and (sometimes) own up and learn from them.  The love interest made my heart flutter and remember how exciting those exploratory days were, when excitement and nerves melded together and made butterflies dance inside your stomach.  There were no real "villains" but even the characters that I disliked could be seen as having bigger issues at play.  I was particularly glad that, while Jasmine does learn and grow from her experiences, she does not change into a whole new person and we know that she still has a ways to go.

The one thing about this book that I could not relate to was the music descriptions.  I know NOTHING about music, I am a casual listener at best and I found myself skimming some of the sections where the band played and Jasmine's each and every move on the guitar was recorded.  This is a personal issue, I know.  I can, however, imagine those to be the favorite parts of someone who does "get" music and understands the lingo.  I do wish this book could have somehow been bundled with a soundtrack so that I could have connected what I was reading with what I was hearing.  

This book should appeal to budding musicians and anyone that enjoys well-drawn characters with a dash of romance.  It should be noted (as described below) there are some scenes and language that may not be appropriate for those on the younger end of the Young Adult spectrum.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up
Gender: Will probably be more appealing to girls.
Sex: Spoken about, alluded to, but not actually described.
Violence:  None

Inappropriate Language: Douches, Jacking Off, Giving Head, Fucking, Pricks, Bitch
Substance Abuse:  Smoking, underage drinking

Book Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Title: Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFever
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Release Date: April 3, 2012

Rating: 3/5

Cover Impressions: Pretty girl in a pretty dress, but wait! What's this? A MASSIVE CROSSBOW?! This just got much more interesting!  I love the look on the model's face and the hair and makeup are well done (though I do wish it had featured Ismae's fancy poison pearl hairnet.)  I particularly enjoyed the tagline "why be the sheep when you can be the wolf?".

The Gist:  Ismae has been sired by death.  At the hands of the Sisters of the convent of St. Mortain, she learns the art of dispatching a man from this earth and finally finds the strength to stand against the men that have filled her life with cruelty.  Sent to on assignment to the court of Brittany, she must wade into a world of secrets and intrigue and follow her own guidance about who to trust, and who to kill.

Review: This book gets an A+ for the originality of the idea.  A convent of nuns trained in the deadly arts and willing to assassinate based on the will of their God - now that is something I have not read before.  In fact, I so loved this idea that I am a little disappointed that LaFevers did not spend more time describing Ismae's training.  The opening was incredibly strong, but then instead of watching Ismae learn the skills that will allow her to kill a man in seconds (or stretch his agony out for days), we get a three year time jump which was more than a little unsatisfying.  

I enjoyed most of the characters (and the glimpses of Sybella made me long for the next installment in this series).  Ismae is strong willed, though young and inexperienced.  I loved her cold hearted certainty and willingness to follow her convent's orders without question.  However, I found her less enjoyable as she developed a conscience.  I was also thrilled to read descriptions of the weapons that she carried rather than the diatribes about sumptuous gowns that one often finds in period novels.  

Despite the strong opening and a very interesting premise, the plot had a tendency to lag.  For a book about an assassin, it was sorely lacking in assassinations.  I like politic intrigue as much as the next reader, but after pages and pages of political maneuvering I was practically foaming at the mouth for some bloodshed!  As for the mystery element, it is laughably transparent who is to blame for the current state of affairs and I kept waiting for some plot twist because surely it couldn't be this obvious, alas - it was.  

I will be back for the second book in this trilogy, mostly because I am intrigued by Sybella but also because I am too in love with the concept of deadly nuns to give up hope for a dark and compelling sequel.  Stay Tuned.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 15 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: One instance, tastefully written
Violence: Domestic abuse, garotting, poisoning, shooting with arrow, knife play

Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Abuse: Drinking of wine 

Additional Notes:  This is a decent introduction into historical fiction 

Book Review: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Title: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
Author: Beth Fantaskey

Publisher: Harcourt

Release Date: Feb 1st, 2009

Rating: 2/5

Cover Impressions: The cover is cute but nothing special.  It falls into the cliche of pretty girl in a pretty dress.  If you read my reviews, you know that I prefer the cover to accurately reflect the character and this model is NOT the size 10 that Jessica claims to be.  In the book we watch Jessica grow to accept her curves and curly hair as signs of beauty, strength and having "a presence in the world" yet, the cover features the typical slim young girl - such a shame.

The Gist:  Jessica's has always known she was adopted from Romania but when the dark and mysterious Lucius waltzes into town claiming not only to be her betrothed but also, a vampire, she is forced to examine just how strange her heritage might be.  As Jessica grows to accept the dark past of her parents and the strange new urges of her body, she realizes that if she does not become the princess her family needs, she may lose the future that she never knew she wanted.

Review:  I found this book on the Bargain Shelf at my local book store and thought that it might be a good fit for some of the girly girls in my classes.  Because I picked up this book knowing that it was not to my taste, I was fairly forgiving while reading it.  Jessica's Guide falls into the category of "fluff", it was a quick, fairly entertaining read that did not require much brainpower.  It is not a particularly unique story (we have all read these "oh surprise I'm actually a princess" stories before and it makes use of several cliches in its 300+ pages.  

Jessica is presented as an overweight Math nerd with self-esteem issues.  Naturally, with encouragement from Lucius, she transforms into the confident and poised Princess that she was meant to be (actually she puts on a pretty dress and stops straightening her hair).  I was NOT happy that, as she began her "transformation" her math skills suffered.  What the heck Fantaskey? Can't she be pretty AND smart?  Of course, her competition was slim, blonde and (say it with me now) A CHEERLEADER!  And she was named, wait for it ....... Faith Crosse.  Seriously? In a book about Vampires you combine the words Faith AND Cross?

There was some attempt at a love triangle (though poor Jake didn't really stand a chance) that pitted the sweet, honest farm boy against the dark and dangerous vampire.  Just once, I would like to see a heroine actually choose the nice guy, come on girls, the nice guy will bring you soup and tissues when you are sick.  The bad boy will take one look at your puffy eyes and snotty nose and run in the opposite direction.  The nice guy will not understand when you sob uncontrollably, clutching The Fault In Our Stars to your chest unwilling to read another page for fear of more heartbreak, but he will hold your hand and try to make you feel better by cracking lame jokes.  The bad boy will not even be there to see your pain because he doesn't think a chick who reads is sexy.  The nice guy will be there when your best friend moves away, when your Dad gets sick or your childhood puppy passes away.  The bad boy will be off finding some other pretty young thing who he can seduce with his recipe of aloofness, brooding and danger.

Of course, Lucius is the typical literary bad boy who can be rescued from the brink of self destruction by his "true love", a woman who is not willing to give up on him, no matter what heinous acts he commits.  Again, ladies, put this particular brand of bad boy in the same category as unicorns, dragons and hairdressers that think 1inch = 1inch - they don't exist!

The writing itself was mediocre, but the sections featuring Lucius' letters were cringe-worthy.  His use of local colloquialisms were laughable and the constant reminders that his uncle hits him left me annoyed rather than appalled.  The plot was quick, if predictable, and I know this will appeal to those students who enjoy the the Pretty Little Liars series.   This is one of those YA novels that doesn't quite translate to an adult audience but would probably be a very enjoyable (and perhaps forgettable) read for many teenagers. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 13 and up
Gender: Girls
Sex: Mentioned by several characters but not actually written about
Violence: Blood drinking, a beating, a staking, reference to child abuse

Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Abuse: None