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Showing posts with label YA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA. Show all posts
Saturday, August 24, 2013
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?
Review: I Hunt Killers is a well-characterized and suspenseful YA thriller. The hero, Jasper Dent, is dynamic and compelling as he strives not only to discover the identity of the latest killer in Lobo's Nod but to hold on to his humanity despite the shadow of his father's influence. Jasper's struggle is psychologically interesting, as he feels both nature and nurture work against him: his upbringing and his complicity in his father's crimes as well as the mental illness that runs through the Dent family.
Luckily Jasper has a cast of well-developed characters to back him up and keep him from falling back on his father's sociopathic tendencies. Notables include Connie, Jasper's girlfriend, who's African American, enjoys acting, does not indulge Jasper's crap or self-loathing, and is awesome. There's also his Howie, a hemophiliac who's always ready with a joke and will back Jasper up as long as he agrees to receiving a tattoo of Howie's choice. Rounding out the cast is Sheriff G. William Tanner, the man responsible for arresting Jasper's father, Billy Dent. And of course there's Billy Dent himself, a genius serial killer whose facade is a good ol' country guy but who can get inside a person's head faster than you can say "Hannibal Lecter".
The suspense builds as the body count rises and the characters are placed in danger, it's a fast read. One thing I liked was that the book sold me on the premise, a teenager hunting serial killers could stretch how far a reader is willing to suspend disbelief, but given the background provided for Jasper the story works. All in all a great YA thriller. Recommended for those who enjoy YA novels and thrillers along the lines of the TV show Criminal Minds.
Five out of five crime scenes.
N.B. The novel might not be for everyone due to gore and violence, including sexual violence. This does not take place on page but is referred to. There is also violence towards animals, specifically a dog.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Featuring haunting archival early-twentieth-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.
Review: In the Shadow of Blackbirds is a creepy, melancholy historical novel that captures a sense of death as omnipresent, likely a not-uncommon feeling to those living in the United States in 1918. It's interesting that the novel not only focuses on the effects of WWI but also on the flu pandemic, a topic I don't believe I've ever seen addressed in fiction set in this time period (aside from Downton Abbey Season 2). The sad yet creepy atmosphere of the novel is its strongest feature: bodies are piled in the streets, everyone wears masks, and even leaving your home can be life threatening. Meanwhile more and more young men are sent overseas and return home changed and broken, if they return home at all. It's no wonder people became preoccupied with death and the hope of an afterlife.
In fact I found the real-world historical elements so compelling that when the supernatural made an appearance it felt like an intrusion. However the central mystery was interesting and served as a way of tying in some poetry from WWI. The photographs were a nice touch, although not as frequent or as plot relevant as those found in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Overall I enjoyed this story for the mystery and the fact that Cat Winters had clearly put a lot of research behind it.
Character wise, there was one thing that bothered me a little. I liked that Mary Shelley Black was smart and knew it, and took action to solve the mystery and discover the true fate of Stephen, the boy she lost in the war. However I did feel she suffered a little from a syndrome I like to call Character Displaced In Time, where a character in a time period with a different set of social norms holds the views of a kid born in the '90s. This is usually so the reader can find the character more relatable. Of course there were progressives in that time, and I don't disagree with Mary in general but I disliked the way she looked down on every other female character for not being as awesome as she. From patronizing her aunt who works in a shipyard to criticizing the spiritualist's dress to being contemptuous of volunteers at a nursing home for soldiers based on a photograph of them pouring tea, Mary Shelley had a bit of an attitude I found hard to stomach. It which threw me out of the story every time it came up and lessoned my enjoyment of the novel overall.
3.5 haunted photographs.
Friday, August 16, 2013
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself. (Summary from Goodreads.com)
Disclaimer: ARC received for review at BEA
Review: Holly Black’s latest novel is an entertaining
addition to the vampire novel genre with a compelling heroine and, while not a
subversion of tropes, displays the horror of vampires beyond the romantic idealization
that is the norm these days. It owes a debt to vampire novels that have come
before but adds many interesting elements to vampire lore to not be dismissed
as simply derivative. There’s a tall dark and handsome vampire love interest
with an angst-filled back story and the villain is melodramatic, but the
interesting part is the Coldtown itself and the way its citizens make use of
social media and televised live feeds to glamorize undeath and lure in lonely teens
to feed upon.
The main
character, Tana, is interesting: defined by the trauma of her mother succumbing
to vampire infection, her ambivalence towards turning “cold” and her risk
taking behaviors make psychological sense; there are reasons why she is drawn
to someone who is clearly dangerous (unlike another heroine *insert obligatory
Twilight reference). She has agency and it is her struggle to survive with her
humanity intact that drives the plot. Gavriel the vampire is not afforded the
same level of depth but he too has his reasons for an interest in a teenager
and his personality made for an entertaining character. The chemistry he has with Tana is sizzling. His backstory with the
villain Lestat- excuse me I mean Lucien, was too Anne Rice-like to be
interesting to someone who has read the Vampire Chronicles. Luckily it’s only a
couple of chapters: this is Tana’s story.
As far as
supporting characters go the standouts are Tana’s self-centered ex boyfriend
Aiden; Midnight and Winter, two bloggers lured to Coldtown by the promise of a
new exciting existence; Tana’s little sister Pearl; and Valentina, a trans
woman working in the Coldtown thrift shop. Lucien the aforementioned Big Bad is
amusing in a campy way. He makes statements like: “Some sicknesses are worse
than their cure” and “Every hero is the villain of their own story” to demonstrate
he is profoundly full of nonsense.
The
inclusion of the blogger characters and the way the vampires capitalize on the Coldtown with various reality TV shows (or “Eternal Balls”) is an
interesting idea and makes this the timely vampire novel for Millennials. The way people, particularly dissatisfied teens, are drawn in to horrors they are not prepared for via social media makes for chilling drama and world building. The details of the vampire infection and detox period adds dimension. Though the
prose occasionally skids into purple territory and some plot beats are
familiar, overall The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a worthwhile and entertaining
read that I would recommend to any vampire fan.
4.5 blogging vampire wannabes.
4.5 blogging vampire wannabes.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
by Demitria Lunetta
They hear the most silent of footsteps.They are faster than anything you've ever seen.And They won't stop chasing you...until you are dead.
Amy is watching TV when it happens, when the world is attacked by Them. These vile creatures are rapidly devouring mankind. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to escape—and even rescue “Baby,” a toddler left behind in the chaos. Marooned in Amy’s house, the girls do everything they can to survive—and avoid Them at all costs.
After years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she’ll lose Baby—and much more.
Review: I've been in a reading slump lately and In The After turned out to be the perfect cure. I devoured its faced paced apocalyptic storyline in a few hours. This particular story has two parts, the first a survival story as Amy and Baby live under constant threat from the monsters outside their door, the second an examination of how a remnant of society has rebuilt itself and how our heroines fit in to the brave new world. Both parts are equally action packed, with Lunetta effectively using flashbacks to convey how Amy landed in her present situation in New Hope in the second half. Also I did not find the green monsters the scariest of the villains, the latter part really does bring the tension despite some shocking revelations being somewhat predictable.
Character-wise, I loved Amy and her pragmatism, her intelligence, and especially her love for Baby. I found her survival believable, especially in that she could be ruthless. Green man-eaters are not the only dangers out there and may not even be the most monstrous. A girl has to be able to make some tough choices. Baby also was a well drawn character, her loyalty and affection for Amy warring with her desperation for more human contact. My heart's a sucker for family relationships, especially found families, and this one hit me right in the squishy part. Secondary characters were pretty great too. Especially Kay, leader of New Hope's defense force.
As far as romance goes, it was present but not emphasized. Various post-apocalyptic goings-on and monster attacks really took center stage. Just what I signed on for. As far as any flaws, I can't get into it without venturing into spoiler territory, and I'm not going to. Really, criticizing the green monster invasion book for having nonsensical science probably misses the point by about a mile. The realness of how the human survivors behaved and the exploration of the choices they made in order to insure both personal survival and the continuation of society more than made up for it.
To sum up succinctly: 4.8 out of 5 ravenous green man-eaters.
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Showing posts with label YA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA. Show all posts
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Review: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
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?
Review: I Hunt Killers is a well-characterized and suspenseful YA thriller. The hero, Jasper Dent, is dynamic and compelling as he strives not only to discover the identity of the latest killer in Lobo's Nod but to hold on to his humanity despite the shadow of his father's influence. Jasper's struggle is psychologically interesting, as he feels both nature and nurture work against him: his upbringing and his complicity in his father's crimes as well as the mental illness that runs through the Dent family.
Luckily Jasper has a cast of well-developed characters to back him up and keep him from falling back on his father's sociopathic tendencies. Notables include Connie, Jasper's girlfriend, who's African American, enjoys acting, does not indulge Jasper's crap or self-loathing, and is awesome. There's also his Howie, a hemophiliac who's always ready with a joke and will back Jasper up as long as he agrees to receiving a tattoo of Howie's choice. Rounding out the cast is Sheriff G. William Tanner, the man responsible for arresting Jasper's father, Billy Dent. And of course there's Billy Dent himself, a genius serial killer whose facade is a good ol' country guy but who can get inside a person's head faster than you can say "Hannibal Lecter".
The suspense builds as the body count rises and the characters are placed in danger, it's a fast read. One thing I liked was that the book sold me on the premise, a teenager hunting serial killers could stretch how far a reader is willing to suspend disbelief, but given the background provided for Jasper the story works. All in all a great YA thriller. Recommended for those who enjoy YA novels and thrillers along the lines of the TV show Criminal Minds.
Five out of five crime scenes.
N.B. The novel might not be for everyone due to gore and violence, including sexual violence. This does not take place on page but is referred to. There is also violence towards animals, specifically a dog.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Review: In the Shadow of Blackbirds
Featuring haunting archival early-twentieth-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.
Review: In the Shadow of Blackbirds is a creepy, melancholy historical novel that captures a sense of death as omnipresent, likely a not-uncommon feeling to those living in the United States in 1918. It's interesting that the novel not only focuses on the effects of WWI but also on the flu pandemic, a topic I don't believe I've ever seen addressed in fiction set in this time period (aside from Downton Abbey Season 2). The sad yet creepy atmosphere of the novel is its strongest feature: bodies are piled in the streets, everyone wears masks, and even leaving your home can be life threatening. Meanwhile more and more young men are sent overseas and return home changed and broken, if they return home at all. It's no wonder people became preoccupied with death and the hope of an afterlife.
In fact I found the real-world historical elements so compelling that when the supernatural made an appearance it felt like an intrusion. However the central mystery was interesting and served as a way of tying in some poetry from WWI. The photographs were a nice touch, although not as frequent or as plot relevant as those found in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Overall I enjoyed this story for the mystery and the fact that Cat Winters had clearly put a lot of research behind it.
Character wise, there was one thing that bothered me a little. I liked that Mary Shelley Black was smart and knew it, and took action to solve the mystery and discover the true fate of Stephen, the boy she lost in the war. However I did feel she suffered a little from a syndrome I like to call Character Displaced In Time, where a character in a time period with a different set of social norms holds the views of a kid born in the '90s. This is usually so the reader can find the character more relatable. Of course there were progressives in that time, and I don't disagree with Mary in general but I disliked the way she looked down on every other female character for not being as awesome as she. From patronizing her aunt who works in a shipyard to criticizing the spiritualist's dress to being contemptuous of volunteers at a nursing home for soldiers based on a photograph of them pouring tea, Mary Shelley had a bit of an attitude I found hard to stomach. It which threw me out of the story every time it came up and lessoned my enjoyment of the novel overall.
3.5 haunted photographs.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself. (Summary from Goodreads.com)
Disclaimer: ARC received for review at BEA
Review: Holly Black’s latest novel is an entertaining
addition to the vampire novel genre with a compelling heroine and, while not a
subversion of tropes, displays the horror of vampires beyond the romantic idealization
that is the norm these days. It owes a debt to vampire novels that have come
before but adds many interesting elements to vampire lore to not be dismissed
as simply derivative. There’s a tall dark and handsome vampire love interest
with an angst-filled back story and the villain is melodramatic, but the
interesting part is the Coldtown itself and the way its citizens make use of
social media and televised live feeds to glamorize undeath and lure in lonely teens
to feed upon.
The main
character, Tana, is interesting: defined by the trauma of her mother succumbing
to vampire infection, her ambivalence towards turning “cold” and her risk
taking behaviors make psychological sense; there are reasons why she is drawn
to someone who is clearly dangerous (unlike another heroine *insert obligatory
Twilight reference). She has agency and it is her struggle to survive with her
humanity intact that drives the plot. Gavriel the vampire is not afforded the
same level of depth but he too has his reasons for an interest in a teenager
and his personality made for an entertaining character. The chemistry he has with Tana is sizzling. His backstory with the
villain Lestat- excuse me I mean Lucien, was too Anne Rice-like to be
interesting to someone who has read the Vampire Chronicles. Luckily it’s only a
couple of chapters: this is Tana’s story.
As far as
supporting characters go the standouts are Tana’s self-centered ex boyfriend
Aiden; Midnight and Winter, two bloggers lured to Coldtown by the promise of a
new exciting existence; Tana’s little sister Pearl; and Valentina, a trans
woman working in the Coldtown thrift shop. Lucien the aforementioned Big Bad is
amusing in a campy way. He makes statements like: “Some sicknesses are worse
than their cure” and “Every hero is the villain of their own story” to demonstrate
he is profoundly full of nonsense.
The
inclusion of the blogger characters and the way the vampires capitalize on the Coldtown with various reality TV shows (or “Eternal Balls”) is an
interesting idea and makes this the timely vampire novel for Millennials. The way people, particularly dissatisfied teens, are drawn in to horrors they are not prepared for via social media makes for chilling drama and world building. The details of the vampire infection and detox period adds dimension. Though the
prose occasionally skids into purple territory and some plot beats are
familiar, overall The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a worthwhile and entertaining
read that I would recommend to any vampire fan.
4.5 blogging vampire wannabes.
4.5 blogging vampire wannabes.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Review: In The After
by Demitria Lunetta
They hear the most silent of footsteps.They are faster than anything you've ever seen.And They won't stop chasing you...until you are dead.
Amy is watching TV when it happens, when the world is attacked by Them. These vile creatures are rapidly devouring mankind. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to escape—and even rescue “Baby,” a toddler left behind in the chaos. Marooned in Amy’s house, the girls do everything they can to survive—and avoid Them at all costs.
After years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she’ll lose Baby—and much more.
Review: I've been in a reading slump lately and In The After turned out to be the perfect cure. I devoured its faced paced apocalyptic storyline in a few hours. This particular story has two parts, the first a survival story as Amy and Baby live under constant threat from the monsters outside their door, the second an examination of how a remnant of society has rebuilt itself and how our heroines fit in to the brave new world. Both parts are equally action packed, with Lunetta effectively using flashbacks to convey how Amy landed in her present situation in New Hope in the second half. Also I did not find the green monsters the scariest of the villains, the latter part really does bring the tension despite some shocking revelations being somewhat predictable.
Character-wise, I loved Amy and her pragmatism, her intelligence, and especially her love for Baby. I found her survival believable, especially in that she could be ruthless. Green man-eaters are not the only dangers out there and may not even be the most monstrous. A girl has to be able to make some tough choices. Baby also was a well drawn character, her loyalty and affection for Amy warring with her desperation for more human contact. My heart's a sucker for family relationships, especially found families, and this one hit me right in the squishy part. Secondary characters were pretty great too. Especially Kay, leader of New Hope's defense force.
As far as romance goes, it was present but not emphasized. Various post-apocalyptic goings-on and monster attacks really took center stage. Just what I signed on for. As far as any flaws, I can't get into it without venturing into spoiler territory, and I'm not going to. Really, criticizing the green monster invasion book for having nonsensical science probably misses the point by about a mile. The realness of how the human survivors behaved and the exploration of the choices they made in order to insure both personal survival and the continuation of society more than made up for it.
To sum up succinctly: 4.8 out of 5 ravenous green man-eaters.
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