Review #9: DUST & DECAY by Jonathan Maberry

UGGHHH I know it's been months and months, and I promised to post this review a lot sooner. I'm sorry, I'm a terrible person. But as it is the beginning of a new year, I promise that I will stop neglecting this blog so much and actually remember to post my reviews on it. :)

You can also find this review on Goodreads.

Title: DUST & DECAY

Series: Benny Imura, #2

Author: Jonathan Maberry

Publication Date: August 30th, 2011

My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

This review is fairly brief since I covered a lot about why I love this series in my review of the first book. So, you may want to read that one first. 

Nevertheless, even if I repeat myself a bit, let me talk about why I loved this book:

A lot of things that I loved about the first book were still present in the second. The world-building gives the story a compelling and dark atmosphere that drew me in and kept me interested the whole time. Although the book was long, it was very fast-paced and exciting. The action and violence are nicely dispersed and handled well. There's a terrific balance between the fighting sequences and the parts where the characters just get to talk to each other––and thus, there is a lot of great character development going on, while the story is still thrilling. Also, I FREAKING LOVE TOM. HE IS THE BEST.

There are some cool additions to the cast of characters in this one, especially other bounty hunters like Sally Two-Knives, and J-Dog and Dr. Skillz. 

I also loved that we got to see Gameland in this one. Throughout the first book I was eager to find out more about it, so I was overjoyed that we finally got to experience it in the second book. Well ... I guess that sounds kind of sick, because obviously Gameland is horrible. But you know what I mean. I was glad that it didn't really come into play until the second book, because I see how there was already so much going on in the first book, it might have been too much. So, in the second installment seemed like a good place for it. And it definitely lived up to its horrific reputation.

Another one of my favorite parts in this book was the relationship between Lilah and Chong. I was glad that Chong played more of an important role in this book, and he steadily became one of my favorite characters. And since Lilah was already also one of my favorites, the fact that they were a couple ... it just makes me explode with fangirl-ism. Anyway, I just think they're both terrific characters and they balance each other so well. I love them. I just want to squish them. ... I know in my review of the first book, I said something about how I wanted Benny and Lilah to be a thing. And well, I see how that could still be interesting. But, I love Lilah and Chong too much as a couple, now. So, FORGET THAT.

Although, I have to say––as I also mentioned in my review of book one––I'm still not really enthusiastic about Benny and Nix as a couple. Throughout the second book, I tried and tried to love them together, but I just ... couldn't. I've been trying to decide why, and I guess I don't have a great reason. Maybe it's because they got together so quickly in the first book, and then ... that was that. I tend to be more of a fan of couples who take a while to get together, with more doubt and disagreements before they finally decide to be a couple or whatever. Sorry, that was a pretty lame explanation. But, I don't know. I just think they're okay but not the best fictional couple ever. So, meh. 

Ahhh and the ending, the ending ... MY POOR HEART. I won't spoil it, but just know that at the end of the book I was pretty much like this:








But really, this book was good. Very good. I love Jonathan Maberry's take on the zombie idea––and how the story has as much heart as it does horror. As he put it so nicely in a recent YA Lit Chat on Twitter, "I don't write about monsters––I write about people who overcome monsters." 

Next Review: DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE by Laini Taylor

Review #8: THE IMMORTAL RULES by Julie Kagawa

Hi everyone! Sorry it's taken me so long to post another review. I've just started my second year of college and things have been crazy and ... yeah. But I still don't have a very good excuse. I actually wrote this review more than a month ago, so ... I'm just a terrible person, I guess. But also, this blog was having some technical difficulties but I think it's taken care of!

Anyway, so here it is. 

As always, you can also find this review on Goodreads!

Title: THE IMMORTAL RULES

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publication Date: April 24th, 2012

My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Once upon a time, an author decided to combine the two most overused aspects of current YA literature––vampires and dystopia. And .... she actually wrote a book that was REALLY FREAKING AWESOME. The end.



I know, Patrick. I know. I wasn't expecting it either.

So, I admit that I know next to nothing about Julie Kagawa, except for that she wrote the Iron Fey series, which I have not read. I heard mixed things about them, and I'm not really into faerie books, so I'd decided against reading them. But after seeing what she did with vampires, I'm much more intrigued.

There was a lot to love about this book.

The world Kagawa creates is dark and terrifying. And I think the scariest thing was how realistic it felt, compared to most other vampire books. A lot of the vampire books I've read involve vampires trying to hide from everyone, pretending to be normal, so on and so forth. And Julie Kagawa is like, "FUCK THAT SHIT. If vampires really existed, THEY'D TAKE OVER THE WHOLE FREAKING WORLD." I mean, that makes much more sense to me. Why mope around pretending to be normal, when you could just take over the world and start eating people left and right without anyone stopping you? Sounds good to me. So, you get the idea. Kagawa created a more original and intriguing vampire world, full of violence and paranoia and gore and all that other stuff I love so much.

Secondly, I loved our protagonist, Allie––a girl who has recently become a vampire, and is living with a group of human rebels and trying to keep her true identity a secret. She's very tough and super cool, doesn't need anyone to save her, chops people up with swords ... What's not to like? Also, she was Asian, which was cool because a vast majority of YA protagonists are Caucasian and it's good to see some diversity.

((On a related side note: The cover really pisses me off. When the book mentioned briefly that Allie was Asian, I had to read the sentence a few times because I was like, "What? Really?" I look at the cover of the book again, and I'm fairly sure I'm not imagining things. That girl is clearly white. ... Either that, or the model really is Asian but they tried to cover it up with an awful lot of eye make-up. I thought maybe it was just me, but as I've been looking through reviews, I see I'm not the only person who was angered by this. WTH. This is not cool. Hopefully they'll make more of an effort when the paperback cover comes out. And when the other books in the series come out. Because come on ... really? This is just offensive.))

Anyway, I digress ...

There are only a couple of reasons why I knocked off half a star.

First of all, I wasn't a huge fan of Zeke. I didn't dislike him, but I just found him a little bland. I mean, he's a nice guy, but I would have liked to have seen him become a more flawed and fleshed-out character. I just wasn't really rooting for him and Allie to be a couple. I did, on the other hand, really like Kanin––Allie's vampire-mentor at the beginning of the book. He reminded me a lot of Lestat from Interview with the Vampire (which is another vampire book I like ... although to be honest, I like the movie better; it's more ... concise. BUT ANYWAY...). I'm not sure if Kagawa was ever hinting at a romance between Allie and Kanin ... but if there is one––or heck, even if there isn't one––I SHIP IT. I DON'T CARE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE THINKS. I MEAN, LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS SHIP IS:



Ah-hem. Anyway. What I mean is, I hope there is more Kanin in the next book(s), because I was super intrigued by him.

My other minor problem was that I found the plot itself a little clichéd and predictable. I mean, we've all seen it before: a) future-dystopian society in which two "species" (can't really think of a better word for it) are set against each other, b) person from one side decides to wander over to the opposite side and pretend to be one of them and/or at least pretend to be friendly with them, c) this person's secret enemy identity is revealed and everyone feels so betrayed and it's one big horrible misunderstanding! Oh no! And ... yeah. I've seen it in Uglies, in The Host, in James Cameron's "Avatar" ... Heck, I've written that story before. I mean, it's a cliché that I like, but ... well, it's rather predictable since it seems to always turn out the same way.

But over all, I loved this book. It was exciting, it was fast-paced, it had a mostly-good cast of characters, it was well-written and properly developed ... It was great. If any book can restore your faith in YA vampire books, then this may be it.

Next Review: DUST & DECAY by Jonathan Maberry ... coming soon. And this time I really mean "soon" and not in like more than a month. Really.

Review #7: CINDER by Marissa Meyer

You can also find this review on Goodreads!

Title: CINDER

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012

My Rating 4/5 Stars

Ugh I'm sorry guys, I'm like 8 books behind on reviews. Not that there's much of a point in apologizing, I guess ... I just like to imagine that there are thousands of people just sitting there, drooling, waiting on the edges of their seats for my next review! And uh, that's the only thing that motivates me to keep writing reviews. So don't crush my hopes and dreams, please.

Anyway, since I'm so behind on reviews, I'm going to try and put this as concisely as possible.

I liked this book a lot. It was surprisingly good. I remember seeing advertisements for it on Goodreads a long time ago all the time. And I'd be like, "Umm what? What on earth is that? Cyborg Cinderella? WTF." And I didn't think I'd actually read it. But then, I started hearing positive things about it. So, I decided to give it a try. And, well, I liked it.

When it comes down to it, Cinder is just a very entertaining book. It's not the greatest or most genius thing ever written, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable.

I adore fairy tale retellings––especially ones that make me see the fairy tale in a totally different way. I had never read a retelling of Cinderella in which Cinderella was a cyborg. And although the premise sounds ridiculous, I thought Marissa Meyer pulled it off well.

First of all, Cinder was a likable character. She was a tough, strong, smart female lead. Unlike the Cinderella in the original fairy tale, she wasn't sitting around whining and waiting for Prince Charming or a fairy godmother to pop out of nowhere. She got things done for herself, by herself.

Secondly, the world-building was really cool. It was interesting to see the story reset in a future Beijing, which was a refreshing and unique aspect of the story. I liked all the new technology, the politics, etc. It seemed to be thought out pretty well. It was sometimes a little confusing, and could have used some more development here and there, but for the most part I found it original and intriguing.

Thirdly, there were a lot of interesting takes on the secondary characters. In this version, only the stepmother and one of the stepsisters were bitches! And the other stepsister was actually Cinder's friend. So, I thought that was cool. I also adored Iko, Cinder's robot-friend ... who I guess was the fairy godmother replacement? Errrm I don't know. But she was super adorable and awesome. And Prince Kai! AAHHHH! He was just so sweet and sexy, and over all a super awesome love interest. He wasn't creeperish or stalkerish or controlling, or any of those other terrible personality traits that a lot of YA male love interests have. HOORAY!

I don't have too much to complain about. Like I said, there were parts/aspects of the story that I found a little bit confusing. And there were also parts that felt a little ... silly? I don't know. It's hard to explain what I mean, I guess. Anyway ... also, I didn't really like the ending. It was that type of ending where I got to the last page and I was like, "Wait, that's it? Am I missing pages?" I'm not a big fan of cliffhangers, and in this case it just left the story feeling incomplete. I know it's a series, but I still would have liked a bit more closure of some sort.

Anyway, this was a fun read and something I highly recommend. I'm excited for the sequels, and to see what Meyer does with other fairy tales! :)

Next Review: THE IMMORTAL RULES by Julie Kagawa ... coming soon.

Review #6: ÆRENDEN: THE CHILD RETURNS by Kristen Taber

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Title: ÆRENDEN: THE CHILD RETURNS

Author: Kristen Taber

Publication Date: May 21st, 2012

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Hey guys! I am friends with the lovely Kristen Taber, who wrote this book. Today is her birthday, so I'm promoting her awesome work! You should all check it out, and spread the word. (The Kindle edition is free on Amazon today!)

17-year-old Meaghan witnesses her parents' death at the hands of evil creatures called Mardróch. Luckily, Meaghan is able to escape from the creatures with her best friend Nick––who tells her that the Mardróch came from another world. And if that's not crazy enough, he and she are from that same world as well. Soon they are off to this world, a land called Ærenden where they begin a dangerous journey to Nick's home. And in the meantime, Meaghan is slowly learning the truth about who she is and where she comes from.

I tend to stay away from epic fantasy type things, since it's not really my favorite genre. However, I found The Child Returns quite enjoyable.

First of all, Kristen is a great writer. I think a lot of fantasy books tend to go overly-flowery in the prose, but Kristen is very to-the-point, while she also is able to capture vivid images and emotions. Her world-building is fantastic and creative––including vines that can strangle people and monkeys that can freeze you with their eyes. Also, Nick and Meaghan are both likable characters. The relationship between them is cute, and I'm curious to see how it develops in the sequels.

Over all, I found Kristen's debut novel to be very exciting and fast-paced, and it left me hungry for more. Can't wait for the sequel! This is an indie book that is definitely worth checking out. Enjoy! :)

(Side note: Oh yeah, I said I'd review CINDER next but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Don't worry, that review is coming soon!)

Review #5: THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX by Mary E. Pearson

You can also find this review on Goodreads!

Title: THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Publication Date: April 29th, 2008

My Rating: 3/5 Stars

I need to stop reading so many books so that I don't fall so behind on reviews. (Haha, who am I kidding ...)

Anyway, I'll keep this one fairly short and to-the-point, because I have a lot of reviews to do. Plus, I don't think I have a whole lot to say.

I loved the premise of this book. It's kind of hard to talk about without spoiling the "big twist." But, let's just say it brings up a lot of intriguing questions about identity––what makes you who you are, and what makes you human? If you lose all your memories, are you still the same person, or are you brand new? That kind of thing. I think that was the strongest part of the book. The themes are definitely interesting and thought-provoking.

But, over all, I felt like the execution fell a bit short. In my opinion, it could have been a lot more innovative and powerful.

My biggest problem was with the main character, Jenna. I just found her to be rather bland. I understood that her situation was difficult and she had a right to be angry with what had happened to her ... but still, she came off as bratty and annoying a lot of the time. I got a bit sick of her angst-ing and blaming everyone else for her problems. I suppose she had a right to feel that way––but it still made her hard to sympathize with, when it felt like everything was about her and no one else.

My second-greatest issue was the lack of world-building. The concept of the future world felt half-baked and not fully realized. It had that type of "near future" feel where everything wasn't drastically different, but there were enough changes that it was obviously a future time period. I don't really have an issue with that idea, but in general I felt disconnected from the world in which the characters were situated. I wish there had a bit more description of what everything looked like and how it all worked, because I had trouble imagining it.

Thirdly, there was the epilogue. I found it disappointing. I won't spoil anything, but ... I'll just say, when the last chapter ended I thought it was a solid, powerful ending. I enjoy endings that are open-ended––endings that don't resolve everything and leave things to the imagination. Then I turned the page and ... the epilogue happened. It was one of those epilogues that skips ahead in time and just tries to tie everything up a bit too tightly. In my opinion, I thought it took a lot away from the impact of the book.

In conclusion, this book was okay for me but I wasn't a huge fan. The idea was great, the writing was pretty good, but I thought it could have been stronger in characterization and world-building.

Next Review: CINDER by Marissa Meyer ... coming soon.

Review #3: JANE by April Lindner

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Title: JANE

Author: April Lindner

Publication Date: October 11th, 2010

My Rating: 2/5 Stars

WARNING: This shall contain some spoilers for this book, as well as for Jane Eyre.

Meh. Just ... meh. I didn't hate this book. I just ... didn't really like it, either.

Before I picked it up, I knew it was a retelling of Jane Eyre. But, for some reason I didn't know it was a modern-day retelling. Okay, I don't know what I thought it was going to be, to be honest. But anyway, I get the book out of the library and I see this on the back:

"What if Jane Eyre fell in love with a rock star?"



Ummm. Okay?

Basically, in April Lindner's modern retelling of Charlotte Brontë's book, Jane is a nanny. She ends up getting hired to work for a has-been rock star who is attempting to make a comeback. And she falls in love with him.



Oops I mean ... Jane Eyre, right.

Well, okay. I think the premise could have worked, if it had been thoroughly thought-out and well-executed. Instead, it ended up feeling more like a story Lindner had made up, with an occasional event from Jane Eyre smacked into it.

I don't think it was a horrible idea or a horrible book. But, ultimately, it didn't feel like a whole-hearted attempt to me. So, here are my issues:

Jane was made into a dull character.

She was just so ... blah. It seemed like her whole life revolved around being obsessed with what's-his-face. (Sorry, I can't even remember his name. But, you know, the rock-star Mr. Rochester replacement. *Looks it up* Oh, Nico! That was it.) So yeah, she spent most of her time obsessing over Nico, and didn't seem to have many other personality traits or interests. Heck, she didn't even really spend time with Nico's kid. This girl she was supposed to be nannying, Maddy, was just there the whole book but they didn't have many interactions. Weird.

Also, she was one of those "I'm not like other teenage girls" type characters. Like, "Oh I don't pay attention to celebrity gossip! Oh, all I do is read! Oh, I'm so above everyone else and I hate fun!" ... Urgh.

The romance felt forced.

I couldn't find much of a reason why Jane was "in love" with Nico. It just happened out of the blue. One moment she was like, "Oh, what a stupid bastard." The next moment she was suddenly like, "Actually, I'M OBSESSED WITH HIM." There was very little development between those two steps. Nico mostly seemed like a jerk to me, and I didn't see why they liked each other so much. I was just like:



The story just didn't work in a modern setting.

Maybe it could have, but I don't think Lindner really tried to make it work. Most of it didn't make sense when it was set in present day.

For example, in the original Jane Eyre, Jane meets Mr. Rochester when he almost runs her over with a carriage (or maybe just with a horse, I don't really remember). And she doesn't know it's him, obviously, because she hasn't seen his face before. In Lindner's version, Nico almost runs over Jane with a car (of course), and she doesn't know it's him because ... Oh wait, WHY WOULDN'T SHE KNOW IT WAS HIM? In this version, he's famous. And before this event took place, Jane had spent hours going through every issue of People looking at photos of this guy's face––because she wanted to know who she was working for. So, uh ... Doesn't make much sense to me. She makes up some lame excuse about how she didn't recognize him because he looks different in person, but ... I feel like she would have at least suspected that it was him.

Then, we have the age difference between the two of them––which is like, 20+ years or something. I mean, yeah, that did gross me out a little bit when I read the original book. But, it was a different time period and I figured that type of thing was a bit more common. And no, I don't really have a problem with there being a large age difference between two people in a relationship. But, I kind of have a problem when it concerns a teenager. And in this case, it just kind of seemed like Nico was being a total creeper, having sex with his daughter's teenage nanny. Personally, it weirded me out, and I don't think it was as romantic by today's standards. But, maybe that's just me.

(Okay, SPOILER TIME. So if you don't like spoilers, skip the next two paragraphs.)

The other thing is the whole crazy-wife-in-the-attic problem. In the original, it made more sense. At the time, no one really understood mental illness or how to deal with people who were mentally unstable. It would make sense that Mr. Rochester wouldn't want to send away his wife to some asylum where they would torture her, or something like that. I mean, don't get me wrong––it's still not cool to have a crazy wife in your attic and not tell your girlfriend about it. But still, at least I can somewhat comprehend the logic, due to the time period.

In a modern-day setting, it just seemed like abuse, with no good reasoning behind it at all. Nico was all like, "Oh, I just don't want to send her to a mental institution or something! That would be horrible for her!" ... And uh, apparently it's not horrible for her to be locked in your attic, when instead she could be getting the help she needs––since that is actually possible nowadays? Sorry, but no. Just, no.

(SPOILER OVER!)

The book felt misplaced as YA.

Just because the main character is a teenager doesn't always mean the book has to be marketed as YA. And Jane is barely a teenager anyway; she's 19. I don't think there was a single other teenager in the book at all. A vast majority of the characters were adults, who dealt with adult issues. Not to mention, Jane Eyre isn't a kids' book, so ... I don't really understand the reasoning here.

I guess most adults wouldn't pick this up since more of them are probably acquainted with the original story. If you're an unsuspecting teenager and you don't really know what Jane Eyre is about ... well then, I don't know. Maybe you'd like this. But, I think it's that sort of marketing attitude that causes YA to get such a bad reputation––this idea that, "Heck, kids will read anything!" And sure, they will. But that doesn't mean that you have to give them lame books.

I suppose that's a rant for another time, though. So, back to this book.

Over all, I found it disappointing. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, and it was entertaining at times, but ultimately it was just a watered-down and not very good retelling of the original story. I recommend you skip this and go read Charlotte Brontë's version.

Review #2: THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath

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Title: THE BELL JAR

Author: Sylvia Plath

Publication Date: 1963

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Ugh. This review has been stalling me for several days, so I apologize for the delay. I'm not even sure what's keeping me from writing it. I guess it's just a difficult book to review, and I have some mixed feelings about it. But, I will try!

So, I was watching "Freaks and Geeks" again. (I promise, this is related. A little bit.) And there's this scene where Cindy Sanders reads aloud this really bad emo poem during a school newspaper meeting. And the teacher says, "THANK YOU, SYLVIA PLATH."

That's what Sylvia Plath's name always makes me think of. Just so you all know.

Also "Freaks and Geeks" is the best show ever, and WHY ON EARTH WAS IT CANCELED AFTER ONE SEASON and you should all go watch it. Really. As of the day I am writing this review, it is all on YouTube. So, get on that.

So if you don't know already, this book is pretty DOOM AND GLOOM. Here, I will show you the basic tone of this book using gifs of George Michael:







I think that about covers it.

Basically, this is a semi-autobiographical book about a young woman going through a mental breakdown. And ... that's it.

Don't get me wrong. I liked the book. It was well-written and thought-provoking, and it illuminates important issues. I just wish it had been a tad more eventful, and ... well, I'll get a little more into that later.

Here's what I liked:

I liked the writing. It was unique and full of interesting imagery.

And obviously, Sylvia Plath knows what she's talking about when it comes to depression. I felt that she portrayed it quite accurately. ... It's not necessarily something that's triggered by anything huge. It's these little things that build up over time––feeling like you're a failure at your life goals, at relationships, etc. And eventually you get into that dark part of your mind, and it's difficult to crawl out of it again. I think a lot of authors (especially ones who haven't experienced any form of depression) try a little too hard tojustify the depression––that is, one of the character's friends has to die, or he/she has to go through some huge breakup or something. I don't read a lot of books where a character is depressed just because; and I think, realistically, that's more what tends to happen. So, kudos to you Ms. Plath.

I also think she really exposed how terrible it was to be depressed at a time when no one really understood depression. I mean, all that electrotherapy and stuff ... goodness gracious, it's terrifying. Who even thought that was a good idea? "Hey, let's electrify depressed people and that'll make them happy, right?" Haha ... what.

Here's what I didn't like so much:

Mostly the problem was, I felt it dragged on for too long and got kind of repetitive. It was pretty monotonous and never really strayed from this attitude:



A good chunk of the book was the protagonist making various attempts to kill herself, and failing. After a while it became like, "So, how should I try to kill myself TODAY?"

Maybe:



Or:



Or:



(If anyone wants to know, Sylvia Plath actually killed herself by sticking her head in an oven. But, you know, that part's not actually in the book.)

My second biggest problem was, I think the book suffered a lot from being semi-autobiographical. Because the story was based on Plath's own experiences, I think she was a bit limited. She might have been able to create a more compelling story, and narrator, if she hadn't been writing about herself. I imagine it would be hard to really detach yourself from the story. Also, although she revealed a lot, I'm sure that she still had to hold back when it came to portraying people from real life––and thus, I didn't feel extremely invested in any of the characters.

But, over all, I did enjoy this book––maybe not as much as I'd hoped I would, but it was still good. Sylvia Plath is a good writer, and she executes her subject matter well. There are some flaws in the pacing and characterization, but otherwise it was a satisfying read.

(SIDE NOTE: Oh yeah, and I liked that it took place in Boston. And she went to the swanboats and stuff! Also Sylvia Plath went to college in Amherst, just like meeeee! But okay, that's all.)