Origin

Publisher: Penguin (Razorbill)
Pages: 372
Publication Date: September 4, 2012
Type: ARC, won

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home—and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost. This is a supremely compelling debut novel that blends the awakening romance of Matched with the mystery and jungle conspiracy of Lost.

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I wanted to love this, and there was a lot to love, but there was also a lot to stop me from really falling for this novel.

On the one hand, there are many things to commend:  

It's clear Khoury did very extensive research; she didn't just decide, oh, well, I think a jungle would be all cool and mysterious. She researched it very thoroughly, and it shows.  

As part of the Breathless Reads, this is labeled Breathless Beauty, and I can see why.  At times, the writing was exceptionally beautiful; dramatic or poignant or just plain enchanting.  

While some of the mysteries verged on predictable, they were enough of a pull to keep me turning the pages well into the early hours of the morning, and some of their reveals were genuinely horrifying.  They made for a very intriguing, very complex plot.

And as several blurbs and the synopsis itself imply, at times, this is very introspective.  It did genuinely make me think, and I love when a book can do that.

But despite all of that, there were just too many things that soured my reading experience.  There's insta-love at its finest; though they don't kiss till the very end, there's dramatic declarations of love and I-can't-live-without-you's within days of knowing each other.  I'm sorry, but that's not love, that's You're attractive and different and I think we should swap saliva.  I might have been slightly more forgiving of it if I'd really adored Eio, but . . . I didn't.  He was cheesy, melodramatic, and occasionally misogynistic.  He had his moments, but he never really found a place in my heart.  

Also, I could never tell exactly what sort of significance the romance was supposed to have.  It was as though Khoury couldn't decide whether she wanted it to be a side plot or the main story line; even after finishing, I'm still not entirely sure which it is.

Along with the heavy dose of insta-love, there were also a number of other problems.  The dialogue was exceptionally unrealistic.  Certain parts were so forced and melodramatic that I could only cringe.  While the writing could be beautiful, at times it grew awkward and juvenile.  Pia was sometimes really fantastic, but most of the time she was very naive, wishy-washy, and oblivious. And all the villains of this piece were painfully one-dimensional.  That was perhaps the most disappointing, because I think with this concept there's the potential to create exceptionally complex villains and raise some very morally ambiguous questions, but all of the antagonists were just . . . bad. Plain and simple.  The novel was a field of black and white, without a shade of gray to be seen.  The evil scientists vs. the moral natives.  I wanted some more depth.

Overall, this novel was enjoyable, but there were just a few too many things dragging it down.  However, I think Jessica Khoury has a boatload of potential, and I'll definitely be on the lookout for any future novels.

2.5 stars.

I Hunt Killers

Publisher: Hachette (Little, Brown)
Pages: 359
Publication Date: April 3, 2012
Type: Hardcover, bought

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could--from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret--could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

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There are a lot of reasons to love this book.

You can love it because it's unabashedly gory, but not in a senseless manner.  It's not gore simply for the sake of gore.  It's just honest detail, a refusal to censor the horror of a serial killer's deeds.

You can love it because it presents a compelling mystery, one that was terrifying, unpredictable, and completely satisfying.  

You can love it because it's a brilliant mixture of dark and witty.  The morbid humor is a fascinating counterbalance to the brutality pervading this novel.  It switched so easily from light banter to gruesome murder and heavy contemplation, without seeming corny or forced.  Rather, the abrupt switch from light to darkness made the darkness all the more terrifying.

You can love it because the characters are complex and lovable and remarkably flawed, in that way only real people are.

Or if you're feeling shallow and easily distractable, you can love it because it's got the coolest fucking cover art in existence.

But the reason I loved this novel as much as I did was the painfully realistic portrayal of Jazz's character.  Jazz is one of the most disturbed, imperfect protagonists you could possibly find, and I felt that Barry Lyga absolutely nailed him.  Everything. Every aspect of his thoughts, his words, his actions.  If there was a boy who'd been raised by the most horrible serial killer the world had ever seen, this is precisely how he would be.

Throughout the novel, Jazz faces the dilemma of whether or not he is doomed to follow in his father's footsteps.  Whether or not him becoming a murder is a possibility or inevitability.  Whether or not he is a sociopath. Whether or not he can care.

And I can tell you from experience that Barry Lyga captured those feelings perfectly.

The following is rather personal, but it's the reason I was so very impressed by Mr. Lyga's skill in the creation of Jazz's character.  If you don't wish to read this, you can skip to the bottom.

The thing is that I have been called a sociopath several times.  At a relatively young age.  By parents.  And when a ten- or eleven-year-old is called a sociopath, it makes them seriously consider the possibility.  What if they're right? What if I am a sociopath?  What if the way I act, the way I feel, is just a show?

Do I care about others, or do I simply think I do because that's what's expected of me?

Do I care, period?

Do sociopaths worry about being sociopaths?

And this struggle is written so perfectly in the character of Jazz that I was honestly stunned.  It gave him a new depth, and a remarkable relatability, even to those who haven't been confronted with this exact question.  At the heart of this is the more general dilemma of Will I follow in my parent's footsteps?  Am I my own person, or what they made me? 

That gave the novel an unexpected thoughtfulness and poignancy to accompany the gory murder.  

Would I recommend this? Yes. Yes. Yes.  I would recommend this a million times over.  Will everyone be able to read this? No.  Definitely not.  This is not a novel for the faint of heart; it is very, very graphic, and if you can't handle that, this will not be the novel for you.

But if you can, I suspect you will love every last gruesome detail.  

5 stars.

Breaking Beautiful

Publisher: Bloomsbury Kids
Pages: 365
Publication Date: April 24, 2012
Type: E-galley from publisher, via NetGalley

Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.

When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free? Debut writer Jennifer Shaw Wolf takes readers on an emotional ride through the murky waters of love, shame, and, ultimately, forgiveness.


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There are a lot of books about loss out there.  A novel about a broken protagonist and their struggles to cope with the death of someone close to them, be it a sister, a parent, or a boyfriend/girlfriend.


However, there are not many--or, I should say, I have not seen many--about the loss of someone they should care for, someone whom they're expected to care for, but who's hurt them so much that their death is almost a relief.   


That, I think, was this novel's strongest point.  Allie's grief and confusion, the emptiness of losing the person who'd been her whole life mixed with relief that it was finally over and guilt over that relief--all of her emotions were done perfectly.  And they were done in such a way that I truly . . . understood her.  


Allie makes a lot of stupid decisions.  Stupid decisions that hurt herself, and those she cares about.  Mainly herself.  And sometimes you might just want to shake her, tell her This is your life, girl.  Sometimes you might wonder how she could possibly be so completely miserable for such a long time.  Sometimes you might wonder why she didn't do something.


But I understood her.  I understood her, and every awful thing she'd suffered through.  I understood the misery she'd endured for three solid years, and the terror of that one night her mind refused to recall.  I understood her fear, the everpresent sadness, her hesitation.  I understood Allie.  And that, in the end, is what mattered.  I didn't need her to be witty, or clever, or strong.  I didn't need her to be that girl who endures.  I just needed to know why.  And, thanks to all the emotions woven beautifully throughout this story, I did.


Aside from Allie and her inner feelings, there was one thing that I really adored about this novel: the relationships.  Particularly, the familial ones, and the romantic ones.


In so many YA novels today, one finds a disturbing case of Disappearing Parent Syndrome.  They're an orphan, the 'rents are on vacation, they're in rehab, they don't care.  Whatever the case, the MC is allowed to roam free, no rules, no restrictions, no consequences.  Often no siblings to muck up our protagonist's plans.

But in Breaking Beautiful, family plays a crucial role.  Wolf never lets us forget that Allie's mom, her dad, her twin brother Andrew, they exist, and they still have a constant influence on her life.  Sometimes it's positive, other times it's not.  Sometimes there are moments where you can see just how much they care, and sometimes you want to shake them 'till their teeth rattle.  But isn't that family?

And then, Allie and Blake's relationship.  Quite simply, I loved it.  Despite how completely and horribly fucked up their entire situation happened to be, these two had one of the loveliest, healthiest relationships I've read in a while.  They've known each other since they were four and five.  They don't stalk, don't linger on each other's every facial feature.  Don't make dramatic declarations of love and "I'll fight for you forever"s.  They know each other; they talk to each other; they're there for each other.  And slowly, they fall.  When the "I love you" comes, it's simple and not as he'd intended, as these things often are.  

Relationships like that remind me that there are still people who understand teenage relationships, or relationships in general.  They're just hiding.

Despite the brilliance of Allie's emotions and her interactions with others, there was one thing that constantly irritated me: flat characters. Now, don't get me wrong; there were many beautifully fleshed out characters, ones that I absolutely adored.   Allie's mom and dad, Andrew, Caitlyn, even Detective Weeks.  Even Trip, in his own awful, messed up way.  But a few characters were living stereotypes, or just flatly bad.  Hannah and her cronies, Mr. Phillips.  I simply wish they'd been given a bit more depth.

All in all, I thought this was a really fantastic book.  While it is, in many ways, a very draining read, it also keeps the reader on the edge of their seat--I told myself I'd only read half of it today, and here I am at the end.  I can't quite give this a 5, but I'd say it's somewhere between a 4.25 and 4.5.  (I'm getting rather precise, aren't I?)

**An additional note, for explanatory purposes.  I know this is one of several recent reads that I rated over 4 stars and gave the 4-star rating to despite that.  However, the best I can explain it is that these didn't feel like five stars.  I thoroughly enjoyed them, I thought they were wonderful, but . . . not quite that level of oh-my-fucking-god.  I don't rate my books according to a precise system; I rate them according to what I feel.  If a book earns four stars despite a higher rating, that means I really enjoyed it, but not quite enough to give it that perfect rating.

Terrier: Review and Giveaway

Publisher: Random House
Pages: 592
Publication Date: October 24, 2006
Type: Paperback, gift

Tamora Pierce begins a new Tortall trilogy introducing Beka Cooper, an amazing young woman who lived 200 years before Pierce's popular Alanna character. For the first time, Pierce employs first-person narration in a novel, bringing readers even closer to a character that they will love for her unusual talents and tough personality.

Beka Cooper is a rookie with the law-enforcing Provost's Guard, and she's been assigned to the Lower City. It's a tough beat that's about to get tougher, as Beka's limited ability to communicate with the dead clues her in to an underworld conspiracy. Someone close to Beka is using dark magic to profit from the Lower City's criminal enterprises--and the result is a crime wave the likes of which the Provost's Guard has never seen before.


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This is my third time rereading Terrier.  Some books, after a read or two, grow old.  You enjoyed them the first time, but they're not ones you could pick up again with the same expectations.  Terrier is not one of those books.  Tamora Pierce's novels, period, are not those books.  No matter how many times I reread them, I'm still stunned by the sheer flawlessness of her writing, her characters, and her world.


Tamora Pierce's books are, for lack of a better word, very . . . mature.  By that, I do not mean they stray into the realm of Adult Fiction; they are still very firmly grounded in YA.  In fact, I first read her books when I was nine and enjoyed them.  But it's almost as if she is above the common tropes and pitfalls of YA; even when she uses something that might, in another book, seem cliche, she manages to make it into something so natural and perfect that you wonder why you ever questioned it in the first place.  This isn't a book written for hormone-fueled teenagers to angst over; it's a book written from a teenage character's point of view, but it is rich and complex and not dumbed down in the slightest.  It's the kind of YA book that people of any age can fall in love with.


One of the things that really sets Tamora Pierce apart from other fantasy authors, and other authors in general, is just how well she knows her world.  She has written five series in this world, and she could write more, because it is so vast and detailed that the story possibilities are endless.  When you read Tamora Pierce's books,  you get the sense that this woman knows every last detail of every last country and city and neighborhood in this magical realm she's created.  But the best part of this is that she doesn't burden you with the knowledge.  She doesn't dump it all over your head.  She simply slips you into her world and lets you discover for yourself.  This is one of the many reasons that I've always loved Tamora Pierce's books, despite not being the greatest fan of high fantasy.  Oftentimes, something that put me off other books of the same genre was the amount of world-building they attempted to do through telling.  Perhaps they knew their world well, but they tried to show their reader just how much they knew this world within the span of a few pages.  Tamora Pierce never does that.  She gives brief histories when necessary, but for the most part, she lets you explore the world on your own.

This was Tamora Pierce's first foray into first person aside from a few short stories, and I have to say, it worked brilliantly.  I love all of her books, so clearly she also excels at third person, but I think the first person, journal format was absolutely perfect for this book.  It gave it both that detail and that sense of immediacy that a story like this really needed. And there's even a reasonable explanation for why Beka would be keeping such a detailed journal in the first place; she is practicing for when she must make full reports as a Dog.  Like any realistic journal-keeper, she is not consistent in her length and detail; some days she is too tired or too frustrated to write, some days she simply glosses over because nothing important happened, and some days . . . well, one day she gets drunk and writes accordingly.  I really appreciated these little touches.

I also appreciate that she gave them dialogue as would be fitting for those living in the scummy part of town in something akin to Medieval times.  They had their own little vocabulary which is all perfectly understandable in context, but really helps to add that sense of realism.  A huge pitfall for many authors setting their books in historical times, or historical times within a fantasy world, is accurate dialogue, but Tamora Pierce pulls it off wonderfully.

Despite the impeccable writing and world-building, however, where this book--and Tamora Pierce herself--truly shines is the characters.  The characters are the best because they are so, so real.  Every last one of them.  She handles such a wide, lively cast of characters and manages to make each one unique, each one a real person with real hobbies and thoughts and opinions and flaws.   I cannot think of a single side character in here that is not completely three-dimensional.  I fell in love with those I was meant to fall in love with and hated those I was meant to hate, and then there were some who did terrible things but whom I couldn't quite hate because it was so easy to see why they would do what they'd done.

And Beka. Oh, Beka.  I love her to death.  I love every part of her.  There are such a rare few main characters who never once get on my nerve throughout an entire book (much less a 590-page one), but Beka makes the cut.  She is yet another of Pierce's "strong female heroines," but as with all the others, she does not fit the modern YA concept of a "strong female heroine."  She is kickass at times, but she is not infallible; she is not flawless in her fighting, nor in her problem-solving.  She is painfully shy, but not, as one often sees today, in a way that is meant to be endearing.  She is not the awkward, quiet girl who meets a bold man that finds her shyness so damn adorable and sweet, etc. etc.   She considers it a cripple, something that interferes with her ability to arrest Rats and report at the Magistrate's Court.  However, despite her shyness, she doesn't simply let others walk all over her.  When Rosto, the charming Rat who is constantly flirting with her and whom she's made very clear she will not get involved with, makes too bold of an advance, she doesn't fall into his arms or simply let it slide;  she threatens to punch him (or mocks him for being "old," knowing it will sting his pride and turn him away).

I know many people may steer clear of this book because it is a high fantasy, or a mystery, or a "cop" book, or all of the above. If you are one of those people, I'd advise you to give it another look.  Because I am not a fan of high fantasy or cop books, and I am not always crazy about mysteries, yet this book is among my favorites.  Perhaps you'd enjoy it as much as I have.

In case I haven't already made it clear, this book gets a solid five stars.

Buuut wait! There's more! (totally did not just say that in a commercial voice . . . )  I love this book so much that I want to give others the chance to read it.  Now, if I had only one copy, I'd be pretty tight-fisted, because I'm leery about giving away my favorites.  However, I somehow ended up with not one, but two paperback copies of Terrier by Tamora Pierce.  So I am giving away one of them to you, my lovely followers!

Simply enter the Rafflecopter form below.

(giveaway is for US only--I'm really sorry to all of you international followers, but I just don't have the money to ship anywhere else)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Looking for Alaska

First friend. First girl. Last words.


A deeply affecting coming-of-age story, Looking for Alaska traces the journey of Miles Halter, a misfit Florida teenager who leaves the safety of home for a boarding school in Alabama and a chance to explore the "Great Perhaps." Debut novelist and NPR commentator Green perfectly captures the intensity of feeling and despair that defines adolescence in this hip, shocking, and emotionally charged work of fiction.

Miles has a quirky interest in famous people's last words, especially François Rabelais's final statement, "I go to seek a Great Perhaps." Determined not to wait for death to begin a similar quest, Miles convinces his parents to let him leave home. Once settled at Culver Creek Preparatory School, he befriends a couple of equally gifted outcasts: his roommate Chip―commonly known as the Colonel—who has a predilection for memorizing long, alphabetical lists for fun; and the beautiful and unpredictable Alaska, whom Miles comes to adore.

The kids grow closer as they make their way through a school year filled with contraband, tests, pranks, breakups, and revelations about family and life. But as the story hurtles toward its shattering climax, chapter headings like "forty-six days before" and "the last day" portend a tragic event―one that will change Miles forever and lead him to new conclusions about the value of his cherished "Great Perhaps."

This was one of those books.


One of those books where I can acknowledge that it has faults--it's his debut novel, how could it not?--, where I can acknowledge that this could've been even better than it was, yet it was so moving, so powerful, so thought-provoking and beautiful, that you ignore those faults.  It's not that you forget them; if asked, I could still produce a few things that might've been changed.  No, it's just that they don't seem significant anymore. Faults? Who cares about faults? Alaska had faults. Alaska had many faults, and that was what made her Alaska. These faults are what make this book Looking for Alaska, and its beauty and overall message are what make this a five star book. A must read. A classic.


I will leave you with this:


“Thomas Edison's last words were 'It's very beautiful over there'. I don't know where there is, but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful.” 

The Name of the Star

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

So, this is my first Maureen Johnson book. I've been meaning to read the Little Blue Envelopes books for a while, but haven't been able to get my hands on them.  I saw the premise for this and I knew I had to get it. Ghosts? Jack the Ripper? London? How much more awesome could you get?

I was right to expect awesome from this. It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty damn good.

Writing

It's funny. I've seen several people mention in their reviews that they thought the writing dragged this down, but personally, I don't see where that's coming from at all.  I actually thought the writing in this was great, fairly simple, very good at describing the setting and getting the feel of the scene across.  Is it the sort of writing you spend paragraphs gushing about? No.  But it was good, and it worked for this story. The focus of this book was the plot, not the writing.

My only real problem with the writing was that there were a couple times where people launched into these  little narratives, and I just couldn't see that happening in real life.  Especially with narratives of that length and with so few "ums" and "uhs."

However, the writing in this is very good, and perfect for the story.

Characters

I really, really liked Maureen's characters.  The MC, Rory, was fantastic.  Why can I say this? Because she barely annoyed me once throughout the entire book. That is an extremely rare occurrence nowadays.  Rory wasn't an idiot like most YA girls, but she wasn't some genius, she had a good sense of humor and some snark along with it, but not to the point of bitchiness, and she reacted to things like an average girl would react.  I was able to relate to her and feel for her and really slip into the story through her perspective.

I was a big fan of almost all the other characters.  Jazza, Stephen, Callum, Boo, Claudia, Jo, etc.  They were funny and sweet and sarcastic and just plain interesting, and I liked that.  The villain also worked for me, though I did have a big qualm with him, which I shall mention later.

However, there were two characters I was not a big fan of: Jerome and Chelsea.

Jerome was our love interest. The thing is, the romance is a very small part of the story, so this didn't bother me all that much.  But the fact is I didn't ever connect him. I didn't especially dislike him, I just never felt anything for him or cared about his relationship with Rory. Honestly, I'd rather see her with Stephen.

And then Chelsea. I disliked Chelsea not because of what we did, but because she was very clearly set up to be "the mean girl" of the story, yet . . . she never really did anything. Bad, I mean.  She never really did anything bad to warrant the scorn or hate. I mean, I realize Jazza had her problems with the girl, but honestly, all Chelsea wants is to go to Cambridge. How does that make her mean?

Despite the two characters I had nitpicks with, overall, I loved Maureen's characters.  They made for a very interesting, colorful cast that I enjoyed reading about.

Plot

I really, really loved this plot.

Like I said: Jack the Ripper. Ghosts and ghost police. London.  How could that not equal awesome?

The answer to the above is, the author could execute it terribly.  But that was not the case.  Maureen executed this wonderfully.

There's only so much I can say without giving away major spoilers, but her whole take on ghosts and the murders and this whole thing in general was so original and awesome that I couldn't help but love it. I'm a sucker for original plots, and there aren't nearly enough mysteries/thrillers in YA today.  I really enjoyed the twists and turns that kept popping up, and I adored those few chapters in third person that let us experience an important event that Rory was not present at.  Aside from the somewhat slow beginning, the pacing was spot on, and it kept me in suspense. Don't be fooled by how long it took me to read this, that's just because I've been really busy.

But, I did have one big qualm. The motivation.

When we found out why the villain had done what he'd done at the end, I found myself feeling very disappointed. Because it just didn't make sense to me, why he would concoct something so elaborate to get such a simple result that wasn't even necessary to his well-being.  I just felt like it wasn't strong enough reasoning for why he'd do the things he's done. Yes, he is somewhat mentally unhinged, but it just seemed like the reasoning was a bit weak.

That was my big issue.  But that aside, this was a really awesome plot.  If nothing else, you should read this book for the amazingly creeptastic and original plot.

Overall

I like romances and paranormals and fantasies and all that, I really do.  But this book was like a breath of fresh air, the paranormal combined with the mystery and thriller aspects.  It was funny, scary, creepy, and stunningly original.  I will definitely be awaiting the next book in the Shades of London series.

Four stars.