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young adult

Review: Panic by Lauren Oliver

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Panic by Lauren Oliver
young adult contemporary thriller published by HarperCollins on 4 March 2014 

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.
Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he’s sure of it. But what he doesn’t know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.
For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

THE RATING


THE REVIEW

For the town of Carp, Panic is more than just a feeling. It’s a rite of passage. It gives the town’s sheriff something to investigate on and the townspeople something to look forward to in the summer. Most importantly, it gives its winner a chance to get the hell out of Carp. Panic is very real. But proving oneself worthy of winning more than 50K is more real than that. The catch? You’ll never know who the judges are and you won’t know what the challenges are until the day of. It’s like a reality TV show that really has no script.

So something can always go wrong. And it does.

For starters, the stakes are high. The police are after anyone who may be playing Panic. The players are in for some real surprises and the ones who are really good at it do not even want the money so much. There’s just this need to prove that they can play which is just really disappointing. When doing tasks, the players are all afraid but right before and after them, they’re all…casual. This is what made Panic so drudging to me. The challenges are stupid and reckless but they really require hardcore courage to complete them. But I never got that from either Heather or Dodge.

Heather takes part in the game on a whim; though it’s very clear what, or who, spurs her decision. Her life is hard and the only people who are constant in her life are her little sister, Lily and her best friend, Bishop. But Lily is having a hard time dealing with how things are at home while, Bishop seems distant right when Heather admits to herself that she might be falling for him. Nat, her other best friend, is just busy trying to win Panic so she can go to Hollywood to and start her modeling career.

Dodge is playing Panic for revenge. Despite everything that led him to that decision, I could never discount the feeling that the revenge aspect was stupid. Probably because it is. And that’s all I got on him even though half the book is from his perspective. His role is typical; will-do-anything-to-win which got really old, really fast.

As a game, Panic isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There is never any sense of desperation, the desperation to win. The competitive streak. That could be because of the way things proceeded because the revelation wasn’t surprising to me as I picked off on all the hints before. By the time the end rolled in, everything just fizzled out.
I was never fully invested in the characters because their reasons for playing Panic did not equal the risks involved. Moreover, the tiny hints about the whole mystery took the surprise out of the whole thing. With a plot that never really grabbed me and characters who acted predictably, for me, Panic turned out to be a forgettable read. 

THE QUOTES

‘Why did time have to be the wrong kind of relative?’ 

‘It was so strange, the way that life moved forward: the twists and the dead ends, the sudden opportunities. She supposed if you could predict or foresee everything that was going to happen, you’d lose the motivation to go through it all. The promise was always in the possibility.’

Review: All That Glows by Ryan Graudin

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ABOUT THE BOOK

young adult fantasy published by HarperTeen on 11 February 2014 

Emrys—a fiery, red-headed Fae—always embraced her life in the Highlands, far from the city’s draining technology, until she’s sent to London to rejoin the Faery Guard. But this isn’t any normal assignment—she’s sent to guard Prince Richard: Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy and soon-to-be King. The prince’s careless ways and royal blood make him the irresistible for the dark spirits that feed on mortals. Sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure—Richard is one charge who will put Emrys’ magic and heart to the test.
When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.

THE RATING


THE REVIEW

The one thing that comes to mind after reading All That Glows is that while it isn’t bad, it isn’t good either. There are many things that could have been improvised to make it all a little more of an engaging read but, alas, All That Glows fell short.
On the one hand, Emrys is very skilled at making use of her magic despite being young in terms of Fae age. On the other hand, she feels a connection to Richard only because he senses her presence, which later turns out to be because Emrys desired it. Having lived through centuries of history, you’d think that Emrys would have an amazing personality and a badass attitude. You’d be wrong. The one thing that I found interesting was her gripes about mortality and death.
There are many things that are not consistent with the plot and the most striking of all, is the pairing of Emrys with Richard. The core of All That Glows is the love story which is, sadly, weak at best. I couldn’t grasp how Emrys, being an elegant Fae and hundreds of years old, connects with a supposedly ‘notorious, partying bad boy.’
From what I gathered, Richard isn’t notorious at all nor he is a bad boy because getting drunk every other night isn’t the definition of being bad. On the contrary, it makes him ordinary. There is no reason given whatsoever for his being the way he is. It takes the biggest shock of his life to turn him into the opposite of irresponsible and in just a span of a few weeks. I wasn’t sold at all.
All That Glows is overwrought with metaphors that either results in very unpleasant imagery or don’t make much sense. The book picks up its pace, especially towards the end of the book, when the action takes the front seat and Emrys manages to shine for a bit. In all, the execution of an amazing premise is lost in the lackluster romance and an unrestrained use of metaphors.

THE QUOTES

‘At one time, I could count on the world. Winter’s hard freeze, the bitter howls of gray wolves, the colors and laughter of May Day and the bonfires of Samhain, the twines of magic holding me together . . . Things once constant, now suddenly not. Nothing, not even the immortal, is safe from decay.’ 

‘Death — the aftermath of it — is a strange thing to watch from the pedestal of immortality. I’ve seen death in every way: as a thief in the night, as the heat of fever, as the lust of a warrior. Yet I’ve never really understood grief, or what it does to those left behind.’

Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge 
young adult fantasy published by Balzer + Bray on 28 January 2014
first book in the Cruel Beauty Universe series

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom—all because of a reckless bargain her father struck. And since birth, she has been training to kill him.
Betrayed by her family yet bound to obey, Nyx rails against her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, she abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, disarm him, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her. As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex’s secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. But even if she can bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him?
Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

THE RATING


THE REVIEW

I was almost fully taken with Cruel Beauty. Almost. Despite having been thoroughly intrigued by the enchanting prose, I found something to be amiss from the story. A dark, intricate tale with a gorgeous cover, and raving responses; Cruel Beauty managed to deliver, but not all the way. 
Once, the kingdom of Arcadia was fairly ruled by the heirs of Claudius. But then one night, the Gentle Lord descended upon Arcadia. The Sundering confined Arcadia to exist under a parchment dome for all of eternity. Adorned with a sun that doesn’t come close to the real one and demons that lurking in every shadow to keep the fear instilled, the only hope of Arcadia is Nyx Triskelion.
Leonidas Triskelion struck a bargain with the Gentle Lord and it turned out to be Nyx’s undoing. The bargain left him without a wife and two daughters; out of which one’s fate was sealed from birth. Brought up with a mindset to marry the Gentle Lord, Nyx has been taught the unusual Hermetic arts to nullify the hearts of four elements hidden in the castle, in order to collapse the castle.
But Nyx is indecisive and that indecisiveness goes a long way in overshadowing everything else about her. She resents her father for never loving her, loathes Aunt Telomache for involving herself in their lives, and envies her clueless sister, Astraia. So in her yearning for love, the barest of attention that Shade bestows on her is enough for her to get taken with him. 
Trapped into living a life she didn’t ask for, Nyx spends her days exploring the castle looking for the hearts. However, the haunting castle never stops magically changing its inner layout which I found quite enthralling. Her failed attempts to kill Ignifex has only intrigued him to the point of respecting her efforts. He sees the malice in her heart which weakens Nyx. Haunted by his own demons with no memory of how he got there, Ignifex is enchanting but only to a limit.
Cruel Beauty promised to be dark and vicious with a blend of Greek mythology with a fairy tale retelling. I enjoyed reading the intricate details despite a very complex plot. But I found Nyx to be more clingy and repetitive than wicked and the romance to be off putting. Between an overwhelming world-building and an underwhelming ending, Cruel Beauty turned out to be a majorly bland read with some truly exceptional parts.

THE QUOTES

‘And you. Leonidas’s sweet and gentle daughter, with a world of poison in your heart. You fought and fought to keep all the cruelty locked up in your head, and for what? None of them ever loved you, because none of them ever knew you.’
‘They said that love was terrifying and tender, wild and sweet, and none of it made any sense. But now I knew that every mad word was true.’

Review: No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale

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KHNOECHY

ABOUT THE BOOK

No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale
young adult contemporary mystery published by HarperTeen on January 7th, 2014

Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 689 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield.

Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer.

 

THE RATING


THE REVIEW

No One Else Can Have You is a weird book with a strikingly odd main character, Kippy Bushman, who lives in a safe, small town of Friendship, Wisconsin. I am aware of all the did-not-finish, what-a-slut-shaming-main-character, what-the-hell-is-this-book responses out there and you know what? All that coupled with a healthy dose of unease is a vital part of No One Else Can Have You. The reader has to be far out of reach of their comfort zone to read and enjoy it. So yes, I understand why certain readers couldn’t stomach all the weirdness that is this book but I could, I did and it was gruesomely aweinspiring.

The prologue of No One Else Can Have You sets such an eerie-ingly horrifying tone and that it’s hard not to cringe. It’s about a page long and it’s so disturbing that it still lingers in the back of a mind.

Kippy Bushman is equally flawed in her judgements of people and in her awkward quirkiness. She’s obviously had a hard time connecting to people which is painful to read about. Her relationship with her father, Dom, is as bizarre as the turtlenecks that are her standard choice of apparel. Ever since she lost her mother to madness and imminent death, Kippy Bushman has been overly attached to her only friend, Ruth Fried. But now that’s Ruth dead, well, that is enough of a push she needs to spring out of her shell.

You see, despite being her best friend, Ruth did not like Kippy. Sure, she appreciated their friendship but she wasn’t as good a friend as she seemed to be. And to know that your only friend in the world thinks that you’re pathetic to the point of being nauseous and that she was having an affair with a much older man only a few hours before that friend’s funeral is all just too much for Kippy to comprehend. So it’s no wonder that the funeral turns out to be the disastrous of funerals which is only the beginning.

Kippy is torn between her grief and anger over Ruth’s murder. With Ruth’s parents out of town, Dom acting all soft towards her and Ralph being his usual video-game-obsessed-neighbour-slash-second-best-friend, she turns to Davey to express her unease over Ruth’s murder and her alleged killer. Davey is Ruth’s brother back from war in Afghanistan minus one of his fingers. The almost-strangers-to-each-other duo manage to work together for a while before it all goes even further south for Kippy. With an avenging Sheriff, an overprotective father and a sketchy old lawyer, Kippy has her hands full trying to sort it all out but with a history of unintentional violence, it’s only a matter of time before the nice small town of Friendship turns on her for supporting the alleged killer.

No One Else Can Have You is a debut that tests the reader with its endless oddities. Despite being a little wary to pick it up, the disturbing prologue and the engaging mystery soon replaced my wariness. Whilst there are some things that are somewhat ridiculous and a bit exaggerated, they’re dismissible enough to not affect the murder mystery. Guessing and trying to sort out the mystery coupled with a dark and looming tone of the story makes the experience of reading No One Else Can Have You unique. If you are into reading an uncomfortable, character-driven story of a strange girl with her stranger behavior who’s too cool for a town named Friendship, this book is for you.

 

THE QUOTES

‘But I guess I still have this fear that you can catch invisible things from other people. That someone else’s insanity can creep under your skin and fry your brain.’


‘Now that I’m awake, I think of what I’ve lost and tumble between utter remorse and childlike hope, anxiously retracing all my wrong moves and praying for time machines. Part of me imagines clawing through the jungle surrounding this asylum, and crawling all the way to Davey—playing some kind of love song on a guitar outside his window, even though I don’t know how to play guitar—and begging for his company back.’

Review: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

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RCTPOA

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine
young adult contemporary romance published by Balzer + Bray on December 31st, 2013

Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who’s always done what she’s supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

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