Dreams of Gods and Monsters | Book Review

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



SIX STARS = The Wishbone of Goodness.

Once upon a time, a girl and book fell in love, and their love broke the space-time-continuum of emotions.

A review. That's all that remains. To sit down and write the things this book made me feel. And oh, did I feel. And these--my feelings--were hopes and dreams, wrapped in ribbons and adorned with wings with which they flew above and so far beyond all I could have imagined.

But where to begin? How to express the things one thinks about the thing one loves most of all? How to pull apart all the pieces of the whole and explain how each bit shines where it stands alone and explodes where it fits together? This story, these characters, this writer bends and blends and breaks and remakes and opens and breathes and gives light. Life.

It is magic.

It is song.

It is words and words and words. Words like oceans spilling over mountains. Words like caverns undiscovered and unknown. People and places and plots and prose. Wonderful and wonderful and wonderful forever.

~~~

{Yes, that is my imitation of LT. Shhh.}

~~~

Color Me: I'M IN LOVE I'M IN LOVE AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT!!!!! Laini Taylor ends this trilogy in a way fits with the first two books, resolves the most important story lines, and wholly pleases fans (at least this one).


Writing Technique: ★★★★1/2 I'm in love with LT's purple prose. It is very purple though. I love how she can take a moment, explode it, look at it from every angle, and then bring it back to the present. Her omniscient yet limited-revealing narration is incredible. Her voice is so strong it gets into my soul and alters the way I view the world. I love it. I only knock off half a star because toward the end, I wanted to have more plot points explained when she was delicately taking apart and reconstructing moments of time.


Character Development: ★★★★★ Karou. Sigh. Akiva. Siiigh. Zuzana, Mik, Ziri. Sigh. Liraz. SIIIIIIIIIIGH. The character arcs (over the course of the series) for these people are amazing. How they grow and change. Overcome prejudices. Find redemption. Start of revolution/new world. Discover love. Endure suffering. It's just beautiful. At about the 80% mark, Liraz was having a huge developmental moment, I just had to lay down on the floor and cry. So yeah. Five stars.


Plot/Story Development: ★★★★1/2 HOLY. Everything I wanted to happen in this book happened and more. There was love, war, betrayal, alliances, comeuppance, and kissing. I mean, really it was stupendous! I kept clapping my hands and saying "yay!" and then occasionally going "OMG OMG OMG what are you doing?!" And I love when that happens. When we got past the major plot problem though, and there were still 3 hours left on the audiobook, I was like--ummmm there's more? I was glad to see how the side stories came to unfold as well.


Message/Theme: ★★★★★ Love. Epic love. World-breaking and world-remaking love. But also Hate. War, Prejudice, Tyranny, Revolution, Life/Death/Resurrection, Second Chances, Family, Friendship, Allies/Enemies, Fate, Forgiveness, Vengeance, redemption, and as always HOPE HOPE HOPE.... All kinds of wonderful beautiful things.


Audiobook Performance: ★★★★★ Khristine Hvam. This chick is awesome. READ ALL THE THINGS, KH!!!


Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and sensuality


Overall: ★★★★★ I waited a year and a half for this book. And it was worth it. Best conclusion of a trilogy I have EVER read. And I have read SOOOOOO many. I never would have dreamed a story like this would be something I'd love so much. But somehow, it has become my favorite series.

~~~

BONUS CONVO: So do we think the ending of this book opens the door for other stories to be told in this universe (possibly with some of these same characters)??? Because it sure as heckfire sounds like there will be more.... I WANT MORE STORIES! I want more stories more than Zuzana wants chocolate cake. I want more stories more than Karou wants "cake for later"... well, almost as much. Karou deserves her "cake for later" right now. Sigh.

~~~

We dreamed together of the world remade.

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Fangirl | Book Review

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



It's been so long since I wrote a review, I'm not sure I remember how to do it.

JK! LOL! (ironic) (also not)

Color Me: Fan4Life. Rainbow Rowell has won me over. If I loved Eleanor & Park, I LOVE-LOVE-LOVED Fangirl.

Let's get one thing straight. I have been a superfan of a great many things, but I have never been a fan of fan-fiction. Ever. As a writer, I have far too many of my own stories clawing to get out than I have urges to steal/borrow/manipulate others'. I can also say that boy-on-boy fanfic, particularly about non-gay characters, particularly particularly written by straight teenage girls...is one of the things I just do not get about the universe. (Will and Jem? No. Sherlock and John? Never. Dean and Cas? Stop ruining things!)

That said, Rowell's coming-of-age dramedy/romcom about antisocial college freshman/online fanfic superstar Cath was a tiny taste of heaven that entirely consumed my world for 48 hours straight. I could not put this story down (read: could not stop listening to this audiobook) even though I had my own college assignments to work on (and still do even as I type this).

Writing Technique: ★★★★1/2 Rowell has a way with a words. A very serious way. I love it. I love the expression "skimming the surface of reality." I love that she writes freaking brilliant, hilarious dialogue (see below). I love that all of her characters truly have their own voices. I love that this fiction about a writer of fanfiction of a fake fiction included that fake fiction and fake fanfiction. My only reservation is her preference for the F-word. I'm good at tuning that stuff out. But after some of the reactions toward the profanity (etc.) in E&P, I realize I can't expect everyone (including a lot of my friends) to be so blase about it.

Here are some quotes I adored:
“I feel sorry for you, and I'm going to be your friend."
"I don't want to be your friend," Cath said as sternly as she could. "I like that we're not friends."
"Me, too. I'm sorry you ruined it by being so pathetic.”

“You’re never going to find a guy who’s exactly like you—first of all, because that guy never leaves his dorm room.…”

“What's the plan?' she asked.
He grinned. 'My plan is to do things that make you want to hang out with me again tomorrow. What's your plan?'
'I'm going to try not to make an ass of myself.'
He grinned. 'So we're all set.”

“How do you not like the Internet? That's like saying, 'I don't like things that are convenient. And easy. I don't like having access to all of mankind's recorded discoveries at my fingertips. I don't like light. And knowledge.”

I also the entire laundry conversation which is much too long to post here but made me literally clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing out loud while I listened to it in bed with my sleeping husband and baby.

Plot/Story Development: ★★★★ We have a gifted writer wasting her time (IMO) on fanfic. A twin sister (the cool one) looking for independence. A terrible mother, who left. A wonderful father, who's crazy. A world-wise roommate who is terrifying. A creative writing teacher who doesn't appreciate fan fiction. A boy who never stops smiling. And a crippling fear of anything resembling life. All issues collide into a glorious laughable mess. And while much of it is like tequila in that it's "more about the journey than the destination," I found myself immeasurably pleased by the end. Especially that bit at the very very end.

Sidebar: I love that this is a love story that doesn't make me feel all dirty and stupid. It's not smutty (although not prudish or even necessarily innocent). And it's not that the character doesn't feel stupid, just that I don't. That makes for good romance in my opinion.

Character Development: ★★★★★ Way to go, Cath. You didn't get absolutely all of your sh*t together, but neither have I. You were straight up neurotic. You've got trust issues and mommy issues and daddy issues and sister issues and reality issues and generally a lot of issues. But I really liked you. And I loved watching you grow and mature and learn how to life real freaking life and get over at least some of your issues.

Sidebar II: I feel this book could definitely do with a companion, because Cath's twin Wren was clearly dealing with her own issues too in a much louder, crazed, drunken way. And I want to know her story equally muchly.

Sidebar III: somehow Rowell made me fall in love with a farmboy from Nebraska who doesn't do books or the internet and aspires to work on a ranch. In my wildest dreams, I would not have believed this possible. But Levi stole my heart completely. Yay for boys who aren't dicks, or moody and broken, or too far from reality. Yay for smiling.

Message/Theme: ★★★★★ family, friendship, social disorders, love, abandonment, reality v. fantasy, growing up, maturity, introversion, optimism, finding oneself...you know, college crap.

Rating: R for language, sensuality, and alcohol use

Audiobook Performance: ★★★★ Rebecca Freaking Lowman has the vocal equivalent of sad eyes. She can be saying the happiest thing and it still has the most peculiar tinge of depression. I've listened through Starters and Eleanor & Park with her, and I HATED the first and LOVED the second. But the second was a sad-feeling book, so it was appropriate. This one wasn't sad as much as introverted. I felt like the book was shy and needed to be let loose, which is to say Rowell wrote it amazingly well. Lowman performed well also. She had a great voice for quiet Cath. But I'd like someone a bit less tragic sounding for RR's next book.
Maxwell Caulfield though is freaking magic. I'm not trying to be funny. He has a voice for whimsy. I want him to talk me to sleep every night. Like a long lost British grandfather telling me timeless stories and smelling of sugared coffee. Mmmmmmmm.

Overall: ★★★★★ I adored this. Even more than Eleanor & Park. Now I'm getting Attachments so I can say I'm a full on RR fan. You should read this book, but only if you want to feel light as a feather afterward.

#fanfiction #introverts #noteveryonehastobescaryanddamaged



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Scarlet | Book Review

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a nutshell: No sophomore slum for NaNoWriMo champion-turned published best-seller Marissa Meyer. This book might even be better than the first!

So it's been a long time since September when I read (and loved) Cinder. Enough time for me to remember - "yeah, I read that and I think it was pretty good." So when Scarlet came out, I was like - "cool. I'll get around to that one day." And when it was ready for me to pick up from the library, I was like - "cool. I've got three weeks. I'll read it after I read all this other crap." And then after I read all this other crap, I was like - "cool. I guess I can read Scarlet now." And when I started Scarlet, I was like - WHY DID I NOT START READING THIS SOONER?!

Color me: Warm and fuzzy. This scifi/fantasy futuristic dystopian fairytale-retelling really hit the spot perfectly after reading two terrible light books and three great but heavy ones. This was the ideal blend of action, adventure, humor, drama, friendship, and romance for my sad cold little heart.

Writing Technique: ★★★★ I think Meyer stepped up her game a little bit this time around. What I really admired here was the pacing. Cinder was not nearly so action-based (as far as I remember), so I really wasn't expecting it. But as this series' story evolves (and more fairytale characters are added!), there's a lot of danger, intrigue, and crazy-crazy! And Meyer nails the fight scenes by crafting well-paced sentences. She nails the entire story by pacing out well-crafted scenes and chapters. Honestly, I feel kind of proud.

Also - dialogue. Thorne is my absolute favorite character. He's freaking hilarious. And I can't figure out which fairytale character he's supposed to be. (Best bet: he's Rapunzel's guy... {and with a little Wikipedia research, I'm 98% sure I'm right. The clue is in the Rampion!!!}) The dialogue between Thorne and Cinder is electric, jumps off the page. Way to go, Meyer!

Plot/Story Development: ★★★1/2 So these books are great as part of a series. But on their own, I feel like I've only read part of a book. One-fourth, to be exact. The plot here picks up where we left off with Cinder (yay!) as well as introduces new a plot involving new characters Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood) and Wolf (...the wolf...). This episode functions to bring those two storylines together, get Scarlet on board with the World-Saving Mission and get Cinder amped up to embrace her role as Earth's Last Remaining Hope.

Character Development: ★★★★ Cinder is gradually figuring out her next move as the missing Lunar princess. Scarlet's whole life is about rescuing her grandmother. Both of them have a lot to learn about themselves in the process and hard decisions to make along the way. And I think they learn a lot. Wolf also has some..."personal issues" to deal with too. Kai's story continues, but he's not developing all that quickly. He needs to get in the know on a lot stuff real soon here. Thorne mostly just has to sit there and be hilarious. I don't think he'll learn much of anything until he meets Cress in the next book (side note: can't wait for that!!)

Message/Theme: ★★★1/2 Good v. Evil, family, friendship, love, destiny, true heroism (What is worth dying for? What is worth letting others/loved ones die for? What is worth killing for?), sacrifice, war, and probably other stuff. This isn't a book to read for message though. This is a book to read for real entertaining fun.

Rating: PG-13 for violence and gore

Overall: ★★★★ I loved this book. It sucked me in and spit me out wishing for more. Everybody should read this series because it's just dang good fun. And who doesn't love deciphering retellings, figuring out who's who from the fairytales they learned as a kid...?



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The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Book Review

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It took me an eternity to read this book. I don't know why. It's easy to get through, but I guess I'm easily distracted. The movie (written, directed, and produced by the author) is incredible and I highly recommend it. It's not one of those things where you must read the book first or you must watch the movie first. They are perfect companion pieces.

And let me give a huge shout out to my best friend, Tiffany, who first told me about this novel and insisted I read it. You were right, love.

Writing Technique: ★★★★★ Perks is a unique reading experience. I believe Chbosky to be a genius writer for penning such a poignant coming of age epistolary tale from the limited POV of a shy but observant, damaged but learning, ignorant but exposed high school freshman. This author captures Charlie's voice perfectly. He offers a lot of philosophical commentary on life and growing up, culture and relationships. And he does it in a way that is equal parts subtle and... not subtle. It's an easy, simple read, light. But I consider that one of its virtues. A novel packed with so much drama could be dense or heavy-handed. I think Chbosky handles it well. Very well.

Plot/Story Development: ★★★★ The plot is not that complicated. Things happen, yes. But the meat of this story is Charlie's internal struggle. The notable events are in great part a conduit for his journey of self-discovery. So let's get to character development, shall we?

Character Development: ★★★★★ Charlie's story is a classic coming of age story. He's spent his life on the sidelines, watching but not doing. His English teacher's challenge to participate catapults him into a group of friends who are most definitely doers. His friendship with Sam and Patrick exposes him to a whole new way of life - loud, wild, fearless, and infinite. And ultimately, he learns the value and necessity of friendship; he deals with long buried wounds from his past; he hurts and he heals; he finds hope. And that's a great character arc.

Message/Theme: ★★★★ This is a book jam-packed with themes: observing v. participating in life, isolation v. integration, being who you are v. being who others want you to be, tolerance, acceptance, abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual), self-esteem, friendship, family, innocence, love, freedom, hope, beauty, etc. etc. etc. There is a strong undisguised sexual revolution message here - casual sex, homosexuality, and abortion are just a few topics presented and embraced over the course of the story. And while I don't agree with all of the more liberal messages Chbosky clearly advocates, I appreciate the sentiment.

Rating: R for language, sexuality, drug use, violence

Overall: ★★★★ This book has become a classic, and rightly so. It's quiet and reserved, quirky and spunky, simple and deep. And it's neck-deep in poetic introspection that will leave you feeling a little more whole, a bit more hopeful, and a lot more infinite.



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The Sea of Tranquility | Book Review

Even this cover is freaking gorgeous.

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sigh. It's so hard to review a book you love.

I stumbled upon this book accidentally. And I will be forever grateful. I definitely had no idea what this book was about even after reading the description (my own misunderstanding.) But I got sucked in immediately, read it in one sitting, in one day. I might have cried a little. I might have laughed a lot. I might have wished and wished and wished that I had written something this good. I definitely give this my highest recommendation.


Writing Technique: ★★★★★ I love Millay's writing style. She is poetic, artful, profound, and hilarious. I highlighted so many passages, it's almost every page. As a writer, I enjoyed finding great examples of foreshadowing and payoff, pacing, tension, showing-not-telling... This is a knockout of a debut from Katja Millay. I can't wait to see what she offers next.

Plot/Story Development: ★★★★ Millay does a great job gradually revealing the backstories of Nastya and Josh. This story unfolds so beautifully and naturally. I found it very realistic and entirely engrossing. Nastya makes a lot of poor/questionable choices. Josh has a lot of real reactions. One of the most rewarding reads I've ever had. Also the ending is freaking wonderful.

Character Development: ★★★★ Nastya and Josh are two pretty broken people when they meet. As they get to know each other, they both are given a chance to move beyond the terrible pain of their past and try to find some kind of normal. But (spoiler alert? I don't think so, but you might be sensitive...) I love that they can't fix each other. Because in real life, broken people need to fix themselves (okay--in real life, everybody needs Jesus to fix them, in my opinion... but that's another story...). Josh can't heal Nastya. And Nastya can't heal Josh. But they learn they've got to do something just by being around each other. And that is a good character arc, if you ask me.

Message/Theme: ★★★★★ First and foremost, the dream of second chances. Pain/death/suffering/anger/hate/revenge v. healing/life/forgiveness/hope/love/friendship/family. Identity. Heaven. Home. Belonging.

Rating: R for language, sexual content and humor, and violence.

Overall: ★★★★★ I adored this book. I read it twice in five days because I wanted to revel in it again. The writing is beautiful. The characters are compelling and unforgettable. The story is moving and inspiring. I hope to write something this good one day.



Some Examples of Why I Love Millay's Writing:

"How come you call her honey and never use terms of endearment on me?" he fake whines.
"I do," Mrs. Leighton says, patting him on the cheek as she walks by. "Just last week I called you the bane of my existence."
"That's right," he says. "That was a good day."


I have a black belt in self-pity. I was an expert in the field. Still am. It's a skill you never forget.


I am an expert in all manners of therapy. The only thing I'm not an expert in is getting them to work. My parents had me in therapy before I even left the hospital, which is the recommended course of action when the devil finds your fifteen-year-old and the afterlife spits her back out. 


Nastya on group therapy:
So that's what it was like every week. I'd sit in a circle and a bunch of people who'd be through as much shit as I had would look at me like I snuck into the club without paying the cover. And I'd feel like screaming and telling them that I had paid it the same as everyone else in the room, I just didn't feel like waving around my receipt.


It was fine when being the Brighton Piano Girl defined my life. when I was making the right choices. When all of my choices were influenced by what my parents wanted me to choose. I let their current steer me, let it smooth and shape me like a stone pushed along the sand until I was perfect. And as soon as I was, I was ripped out of the water and thrown and smashed into a thousand pieces that I can't put back together. I don't know where they go. And there are so many missing that the ones that are left don't fit together anymore.
I think I'll stay in pieces. I can shift them, rearrange, depending on the day, depending on what I need to be. I can change on a whim and be so many different girls and none of them has to be me.


I chose the silence and everything that came along with it because I wasn't a good enough liar to speak.


I'm not sure how long we sit in Josh's truck, holding hands, surrounded by darkness and unspoken regrets. But it's long enough to know that there are no stories or secrets in the world worth holding onto more than his hand.


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The Book Thief | Book Review

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh this book. It is incredible. Painful. Dark. Slow. Mournful. Beautiful. I loved it. And yes, I hated it. But it is a book that strikes you with its realness despite its fantastic elements. I give it 4.5 Magnificent Stars--it loses points only because its realism robbed me of the happiest of endings. The ending is good, probable, and acceptable. But not quite as hopeful as I would have preferred.


Writing Technique: ★★★★★ This is not a fast read. But it is grand because Zusak's writing is thoughtful, poetic, shocking, and different. I love that the narrator is Death, and that Death doesn't tell the whole story in a straight line. Had we come to that ending with no warning, I might have been enraged. But style of the storytelling is such that it is engaging and surprising. One must be patient. One must be focused. But ultimately, it is a rewarding story to finish.

Character Development: ★★★★ Liesel, Papa, Mama, Rudy, Max - these characters have my heart. Completely. Even Death. In trying to explain this book to others, I've struggled. It's about Liesel, mostly. But ultimately, it's about her effect on Death, the "person." She grows and changes and does many great things. Papa is the most admirable man. Rudy, a boy to love and follow. And Max, a man robbed of everything who finds hope in a family of misfits. And ultimately, the last words of this book do not spoil anything but aptly portray Death's thoughts and perhaps reason for telling this story (read them or not, it's up to you):

"I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality, but what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race - that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant. None of those things, however, came out of my mouth. All I was able to do was turn to Liesel Meminger and tell her the only truth I truly know. I said it to the book thief and I say it now to you. I am haunted by humans."

Plot/Story Development: ★★★1/2 I will say that not as many things happen in this book as are felt. Experienced. Learned. The plot moves slowly. But it is not a story that's really about things happening as people and their relationships in a tumultuous time (World War II).

Message/Theme: ★★★★★ life, death, love, hate, suffering, pain, struggle, fight, family, friendship, hope, war, peace, ethics, racism, power, strength v. weakness, The Power of Words, the essence of humanity.

Audiobook Performance: ★★★★1/2 Allan Corduner is the perfect voice for Death. His German, French, British (etc.) accents are all masterful. Fantastic audiobook if one can be patient enough to listen and if one doesn't fall asleep (as his voice is comforting and lulling even when discussing the darkest of subjects).

Rating: PG/PG-13 for language (there is muuuuuch swearing in German--which I rather enjoyed--and also some in English.)

Overall: ★★★★1/2 One of the best historical novels I've read. Quirky. Dark. Brilliant.



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Days of Blood & Starlight | Book Review

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm trying not to freak out about this book. Trying really hard. Mostly failing. There's a chance this is the best book I've read all year. And this is book 70 for 2012. So, that's saying something. I feel absolutely inspired by this story. I want to study it, and dissect it, and tear it apart, and put it together just so I can see how all the pieces work because it is actually 100% total gloriousness. I liked Daughter of Smoke and Bone -- a lot. I really really liked it. But it doesn't hold a candle to the magnitude of Days.


Writing Technique: ★★★★1/2 Taylor's style is incredible. Beautiful and comedic and dramatic and conversational and poetic and surreal/fantastic all at the same time. The words she uses--UGH. The way she strings them together--GEEZ. How is she so dang good?? I envy this writer so much. Her manipulation of the English language is divine.

Character Development: ★★★★★ Where to even start? Book 1 followed just Karou and Akiva. Book 2 follows like 17 people. All SO unique. The difference between Akiva and Liraz and Hazael and Joram and Jael is galaxies wide even tho they're all angels. Akiva's plot is a path to redemption and OMG did I love watching him get there?! Liraz and Hazael are so much more complex than they were in Book 1, and I fell in love with both of them and both made me straight up cry because the changes they went through. And then Karou - GEEZ LOUISE! Her journey is just PAIN. And Ziri and AGH! There are so many. Watching these "people" fight and try to survive and get revenge and start rebellions and work together and OMG. Rife with character development. Taylor doesn't not fail in the deep complex changing growing lovable hateable character department.

Plot/Story Development: ★★★★★ Um... seriously. Perfection. I can't even tell you why it's good without spoiling things for you. But there are soooo many twists that I just didn't see coming. Hazael?! Birds? Ziri? The Wolf? I-- I-- There was too much. It's so freaking good. At the end of like every chapter, I would look up and go, NO FREAKING WAY. And I kept thinking I knew where things were going, but I had no idea. Sigh. I'm so sad this book is over.

Message/Theme: ★★★★★ Revenge --> Revenge begets revenge begets revenge. Thus the eternality of war. --> Revenge is not the path to a better life. Hope. There is a better way to live. Peace is worth fighting for (that sounds contradictory but it makes sense in the book). Redemption. Love. Hatred. Friendship. Family. What truly makes a monster--appearances or actions? Integrity. Second chances. Resurrection. Rebellion. Hope. Hope. Hope.

Overall: ★★★★★ I wish I could give this more stars. I wish I could accurately express how great this book is. This caliber of story is what I'm attempting to write, and honestly it's overwhelming and inspiring to have seen someone do this so well. I am blown away.

And I HATE that I have to wait OVER A YEAR to see how it all ends. I could DIE before then!!!



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Cinder | Book Review

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A dystopian retelling of Cinderella wherein she is a cyborg living in futuristic China?! UM, stop reading my diary, Marissa Meyer!

I thought this was a good idea when I read the blurb, but it still wasn't that pressing of a need to read it. I finally bought the audiobook, and dang, do I wish I had read this sooner! This book hit all my buttons. I love-love-loved it and that ending came WAY too fast for my taste. I'll be eagerly awaiting Scarlet every day until its February release date.

Here's my take.
Writing technique: ★★★1/2 Meyer did an amazing job of making Cinder's world real and interesting. Despite all the tech speak, I felt I followed along with the cyborg and android descriptions well without it feeling too much like manual. I loved the characters she created in Cinder, Kai, and Iko (especially Iko). She writes well without being too fluffy.

Character development: ★★★ Cinder's discovery of what and who she is in this story is fun. Predictable, but interesting nonetheless. She is a lot more than the frumpy helpless step-daughter of the traditional story. She's strong and quirky and determined. Kai also was far more dimensional than Prince Charming (but really - that's not hard to do!). But his character development didn't quite resolve in this story. I look forward to see what he's like in Scarlet.

Plot/Story development: ★★★★ I looooved that this was NOT really a love story. It's a cyborg story, and an alien story (think The V!!), and a dystopia story with the constant threat of Plague and War... Much of this book's plot was predictable and obvious, but much wasn't. And it was still very enjoyable to watch everything unfold. I really wish it had ended with just the tiniest bit more resolution. That's a weird place to end a story if you ask me.

Message/Theme: ★★★ Hmmm... There could be a message against racism in here (cyborgs and Lunars are highly discriminated against). There is of course the Do The Right Thing Even If It's Dangerous message. And the Embrace Who You Are message. And the Stand Up For What You Believe In and Don't Give In To Bullies Even If They're Bigger Than You. You know, the usual.

Audiobook Performance: ★★★★ Rebecca Soler was a great narrator. She perfect Cinder's sarcasm and wit as well as Iko's and Peony's animated quirkiness and Audrey's, Pearl's, and Lavanna's pure evilness and Dr. Erland's accented eagerness and Kai's normal teenage boy-ness and every android's mechanical drone-iness... She was a stellar voice to the characters. I only wish she had read the more actiony scenes with more urgency.

Overall: ★★★★★ I adored this novel. I swallowed it whole. I love-love-love it. I know if I average my more objective ratings above, I will not get 5 stars, but I loved it too much to give it less. Subjectively, this is a new favorite.



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Code Name Verity | Book Review

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book tore me up. Let me begin by saying this is a book for everyone. There is something here for girls, guys, old, young, whatever. It has two female protagonists, but it is not by any means a girl book. The story is largely a British spy's written confession to her Gestapo captors. But it becomes so much more as she weaves the tale of her friendship with a young female pilot named Maddie. The twists and turns, the heartbreak, the terror, the beauty--it is all here in Wein's masterful WW2 story set in Occupied France 1943.

This isn't a story to swallow in one gulp. I recommend taking your time so as not to miss any of the great details.

Writing technique: ★★★★1/2 Wein is a goddess. This story is hard and heavy with the weight of war and torture on every page. But somehow she makes these two girls hilarious. And they each have very distinctive voices. Everything she writes sounds so authentic and plausible. She incorporates French, German, poetry, and music into the story seamlessly. She made me laugh, cry, gasp. And when a writer can do that, she owns me.

Character development: ★★★★ Queenie and Maddie have a great adventure in this story. They both grow and change. They have hard choices to make. Daring actions to take. Neither are fearless as they make very clear, but they overcome their fears and take on new ones. Then they overcome those fears. It's so brave. And so inspiring. Ah I want to crawl inside this book and live in it forever. Even though it can be painful and terrifying and sad.

Plot/Story development: ★★★★1/2 Oh the plot devices this novelist employs are amazing. I can't tell you what they are without ruining it, but dang! I loved all the ways she surprised me. But it's a war story without the gimmickry. People make horrible mistakes. People get hurt. People die. People change. But the story is masterful.  Let me say--you must focus on this--if you listen to the audiobook like I did, don't try to multitask. There are too many great things to miss.

Message/Theme: ★★★★ Oh the theme of this story is friendship. When you find someone who loves you and understands you and supports you and laughs with you and cries with you -- when you find that person because the world is tearing itself apart -- they can carry you through the worst of circumstances -- even being a POW in Nazi-occupied France. There's more, but this in itself moved me beyond belief.

Audiobook Performance: ★★★★★ Morven Christie reading Queenie in all her accents and French and German and singing was pure magic. I adored every word she spoke. Ugh I wish every audiobook could be as beautifully narrated. And Lucy Gaskell as Maddie was hilarious and lighthearted and amazing. They both pulled my heart along on this ride. I think this one of the most wonderful audio performances in existence. Please listen to this.

Overall: ★★★★★ I HIGHLY recommend this book.



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Before I Fall | Book Review

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was my immediate reaction after finishing this book:

I LOVE it and I HATE it when I read a book that makes me depressed because I'll never write anything THAT amazing probably ever. Ugh. Before I Fall is Mean Girls meets Groundhog's Day. Or Daybreak if Taye Diggs's character had been Gretchen Wieners. Every single teen issue is addressed the story. ALL OF THEM. There is character development GALORE. And it made me cry just a tiny bit. And I'm freaking angry that I can't know more about What Happens After. I hate you, Lauren Oliver, for being so dang good at words. I hate you and I love you to death. And even then.

Honestly, I think that's says everything you need to know about my feelings. Here's the Rating Breakdown:

Writing technique: ★★★★1/2 Oliver makes magic out of words. She's compelling and intriguing. She makes you like pretty loathsome characters. She makes them relatable, loveable even. Her descriptions are perfection. She uses the a shallow, vain, self-absorbed girl to raise interesting questions, say thought-provoking things. A tiny example:

“I shiver, thinking how easy it is to be totally wrong about people-to see one tiny part of them and confuse it for the whole, to see the cause and think it's the effect or vice versa."

Character development:★★★★★ Sam's transformation is so real and believable and awesome. I also got to see into a lot of the other characters in a way that was really moving. I thought I'd have difficulty sympathizing with a Mean Girl, but I loved Sam. A lot.

Plot/Story development: ★★★★1/2 Unlike Bill Murray's character who relives Groundhog's Day potentially millions of times, Sam relives her last day only 7 times. I thought the days would be a predictable repetition of the same events day by day, but I was pleasantly surprised. Sam makes significantly different choices that lead to entirely different days and a brilliantly unfolding plot. So good.

Message/Theme: ★★★★1/2 OMG, Oliver delves into practically every teen issue fearlessly: popularity, peer pressure, snobbery, teen sex, teen drinking, drinking and driving, alcoholism, divorce, family drama, friend drama, leading v. following, bullying, drug abuse, suicide, depression, eating disorders, student-teacher romance, senioritis, vanity, greed, lying, cheating, and probably more. Oliver's message is essentially this: how you live matters, how you treat people deeply affects them, the world doesn't revolve around you, and when you die, will you be remembered for something good? You don't know what moment will be your last.
 
Audiobook Narration: ★★★★ Sarah Drew read this audiobook and she did fantastically. When I looked her up, I was shocked to realize she was the most detestable character ever on Grey's Anatomy (one of my favorite shows). I appreciated her as an actor far more for her work on this novel than anything I've witnessed on that show. She made me laugh out loud literally. She made me love Sam and Lindsay and Anna and Juliet. She only loses a point for her "Kent" voice which I'm not sure did him justice, and her "Rob" voice which always sounded stoned.

Overall: ★★★★★ INCREDIBLE BOOK. I wish everyone would read it. Seriously.



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