Addiction to Fiction

Hate List by Jennifer Brown is yet another book I bought because I loved the cover. I almost didn’t, because I don’t like books about school shootings. So often they’re written from the point of view of the shooter or with excerpts from the shooters, and I just…I can’t get behind that for any reason. A personal flaw, I know.

What makes Hate List so interesting is that it isn’t about a shooter, but it’s also not about a “victim.” Yes, Valerie Leftman is a victim in the traditional sense. She was one of the students in the school when a senior named Nick opened fire; in fact, she took a bullet to her leg. But Valerie Leftman isn’t just any student at the high school – she’s the shooter’s girlfriend. More importantly, she is the co-author of the Hate List, a notebook she shared with Nick.

The Hate List is exactly what it sounds like: a list of all the things and people Nick and Valerie hate and why. Teachers, students, classes, everyday people. Everything they hate they write down in this notebook. Unfortunately for Valerie, that notebook is a huge part of the police investigation into the shooting because it ended up being a sort of kill-list for Nick. But Valeria had no idea he was going to do it. Sometimes she still can't believe he actually did.

What I loved about Hate List was the way Valerie’s grief was illustrated. I could see it in everything she did and every place she was. The way she sat, the clothes she wore, the things she said, the way she kept her room…all of it added up to a very confused, very scared, and very depressed protagonist. I could feel her suffering, and I could feel her guilt about that suffering.

Because of this grief, Valerie isn’t always likable. I found myself getting annoyed at her selfishness and her moping, and that really worked. Too often, novels about grief are saccharine and Nicholas Sparks levels of beautiful sadness. But grief doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes it’s ugly and sucks people down into that ugliness.

Valerie’s story is so interesting because she knows that the boy who shot everyone in their school isn’t just that. He’s something else too, someone she loved. The point isn’t that Nick was just misunderstood and he was mistreated and teased and that’s why he shot a bunch of his classmates. The book isn’t a lesson in the idea that school shooters should be pitied and that kids should all try to get along and be nice to everyone. The book is about one girl’s grief and her realization that sometimes you don’t know someone as well as you think, and that sometimes people can do things you could never have imagined them doing. It’s about how you can see someone in a way no one else can. It’s about…it’s about so much I just can’t list it all.

Hate List was powerful. It stayed with me for a few days. Hell, it stayed with me for a few months since I’m just now writing this review. Don’t let the school shooting plot distract you from this novel’s powerful message of grief and hope and growth. This book goes down as one of my favorite YA books, and one that I highly recommend.

I was hesitant about The Dark Divine by Bree Despain. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t love the cover all that much, and I’m still questioning what the heck it has to do with the story it was supposed to sell. Plus, I’ve been feeling a little burnt out on YA lit lately. I read a long line of books I pretty much hated, and so I had to take a little break for a while. Dark Divine was just what I needed to break that streak.

The book tells the story of Grace Divine, daughter of the local Pastor (and not just any local pastor – the guy everyone counts on to fix their problems and their lives). Her life seems cookie-cutter perfect – the perfect, popular older brother, his cute “triple threat” friend who’s into her, her best friend, her good grades, and her art. But there’s something missing, and that something shows up unexpectedly after a three-year absence. His name is Daniel, and he shows up to send Grace’s world into total chaos. Of course, Daniel has a secret, a secret dark enough to unravel everything Grace knows.

What I loved the most about Dark Divine was Grace. She didn’t feel preachy. She didn’t seem weak. She was smart and together and willing to change her mind. She actually took the time to consider her actions. She stands up for herself and for others, and she does it in a way that is straight-forward and refreshingly honest. She wants to be a good kid – but she wants to help everyone else too. So often in YA books we’re told a lot about a character being self-sacrificial, and it was nice to see a girl who actually was – who had the strength to know her own mind and follow her own heart and make hard choices for herself. A likable protagonist was something I’d really been missing in the more recent YA books I’ve read, and Grace was the perfect remedy for that.

The other thing that works so well in this book is Daniel. Too often the hero is brooding and handsome and mysterious, but also pretty much a total jerk to our heroine. Not so here. Daniel seems conflicted. He wants to protect and help Grace, but he also knows that she can protect and help herself. He has his foibles, but they’re relatable – they’re things any teenager might have done themselves when they like someone. But most importantly, I could see why Grace loved him. They had a history. There was a fleshed out back-story. We see he and Grace interacting in a variety of ways and can feel their connection; its existence is shown to us, not told to us.

That’s not to say the book was perfect. My biggest disappointment was Grace’s relationship with her best friend, April. I was sad when April did all the things Grace originally loved her for not doing. And I was sadder that there wasn’t any kind of resolution to the rift that had formed in their friendship. In some ways it was very true to real life – boys show up and friendships change. But I would have liked to see that talked about, for that to be a concern for Grace. I would have liked there to be something more to the ending than the resolution between boy and girl.

But, like most YA novels now, the story was fundamentally about our Heroine finding herself a hero. The ending, though, paved the way for an interesting twist on that. I don’t want to spoil anything because I want you all to go read the book. All I’ll say is that I really, REALLY want there to be a sequel. Or several.

The Prophecy of the Sisters is one of those books that I had never heard even a whisper of before glimpsing it on the bookstore shelves. The title grabbed me, and the cover looked promising and I liked the flap. But it was a hardcover that I didn't know about so I dithered about it for awhile.

I am so glad I decided to take a chance on it.

The book opens with main character Lia at her father's funeral. It is the early 1900s and she, her twin sister, younger brother and Aunt live in an estate home just outside of New York City. Oh, and a mysterious mark has appeared on her wrist following her father's death.

What follows is a good mystery, mixed with coming of age and family dynamics.

My favourite part of this book was the writing style. It's told in first person, present tense, which isn't anything different or unique but the language felt right for the character and the time period. I don't recall to much said about the setting or the time it takes place in but I have a vivid picture of it in my head. Everything was very clear and detailed without being at all tedious.

The quest part of the story, the search for the mysterious keys I found a little predictable. It was still enjoyable but there were times I was yelling at Lia that the answer was obvious.

Another thing I loved about the book was the family dynamic. It would have been easy to have made Alice, the other sister, completely and utterly evil. She is dealing with evil beings and evil outcomes. But still, the family love is there. You believe her when she does something good. And you believe her when she does something terrible. I like that, although the sisters know they are on opposing sides, they are still sisters.

All in all, an fantastic read and I'm eager for more of the story.

I've now read this book twice, the second time because I could barely remember what happened before reading the sequel. I'm not gonna review the sequel, to avoid spoilers.

This book starts off with Aeriel and her 'mistress'/best friend, Eoduin climbing a mountain to pick special flowers. These flowers are to be used in the wedding occurring in the town later in the day, the nectar in the flowers for the bridal cup. Then the vampyre, or dark angel, appears. He swoops down and takes Eoduin, before flying away.

A few days later, Aeriel goes back up the mountain to get revenge. But what happens instead? The dark angel takes her too, except to be a servant.

We learn that the dark angel has thirteen wives, one for every year he's been a dark angel. In another year, he will take another wife and become a full icari. Then he and his other six "brothers" will take over the world. Until then, Aeriel is supposed to stay and care for his soulless wives. Once beauties, now they are horrors, nearly skeletons that will never die.

This book was odd. It wasn't historical fiction, though some things had a parallel to our history. It was definitely a fantasy book, with lots of different magical elements.

Some things I had a hard time picturing. It mostly came up in the sequel, but some people had different color skins. I'm not talking white/black/tan either. That was just random for me.

I started this series for the romance. But so far it just seems so much more about the action. That's not me. Action and me = bad, with a few exceptions (Mortal Instruments series anyone?)

I wouldn't stay with this series because it's not giving me the romance I want, but there's only one book left in the series and, let's be honest, the romance *has* to come out in the next book right?

--Julie

A little while ago, we got an email asking for book recommendations, and then because we were all so busy (and I think I'm the only one who checks our email) it was left unanswered.

But no longer! This post is here to rectify that, so without further ado, the question:


So, I wanna ask you some advise. I'm "new" to the reading world in a way, I didn't use to like reading but now I spend every second I have free reading, it's like a passion! I'm relatively young..... lol well I'm 18! So I was wondering if there was some book you could recommend.... I'm not really into action stories, but that's because I never really tried reading one, I prefer romance stories, things like that....


Personally, because of the type of books I like to read, I have trouble coming up with good romance stories that don't have any action.

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The Mortal Instruments - has action
Graceling/Fire - has action
The Hunger Games - has action
The Forrest of Hands and Teeth - has action
Rampant - has action

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After thinking on this a bit and not being able to come up with a single book of romance that didn't have action (although, I expect this is a purple elephant type of thing, as the post below this one talks about an author whom I love, who is fantastic at non-actiony romance...although my favourite by her has action...) I began to get very...excited.

It's a bit of a stereotype, isn't it? That girls like to read romance and boys like to read action.

Or, more generally, females like to read about relationship dramas and males like to read about adventure.

I really like that, at least in the YA genre, these stereotypes are being ignored. I want more like this. I want more awesome action mixed with well written romance and well rounded characters.

I don't really have a point with this, I didn't even mean to dwell on it, I just enjoy that it is a trend and I want more of it.

Back to the original purpose of this post, recommendations.

Other than anything by Maureen Johnson, I'm pretty much coming up blank for romance without action. The above books are all fantastic and I do suggest you check them out.

Beautiful Creatures is also very good and has...less action than some of the books from above.

Anyone else have any recommendations?

Maureen Johnson is one of my favourite authors ever. I enjoy her wit, her humour, her well-rounded characters, and her ability to portray teenagers in a realistic manner that makes them intelligent and likable, but still confused and imperfect.

My favourite of her books is probably Devilish. Mostly because it makes me want a cupcake every time I read it. But the first book I ever read by her was 13 Little Blue Envelopes. As someone who mostly reads fantasy books, this book, more than any of her other ones, appealed to me for the journey, and the mystery in it. The story sounded as if it would be just as magical, if not more magical, then a lot of the fantasy I had been reading.

And it was.

So, when Maureen (can I call her by her first name? Well, I'm going to.) announced on twitter that she was giving away an old ARC copy of the book, one of the last ones in existence, I decided it must be mine. In order to win it you had to submit a picture or a catchphrase advertising the upcoming sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes.

I knew I had to enter, and I knew I had to stand out. I decided to appeal to Maureen's humour, as well as her love of snuggie's and made this (with a little help from a friend):



It's horrible and awesome at the same time isn't it?

And, don't ask about the cigarette...I have no idea what's up with that.

Either way, I won the book! It arrived yesterday, and to celebrate I thought I would write up a review and tell anyone reading this to go read it, right now.

13 Little Blue Envelopes is the story of american teenager Ginny who has recently learned that her slightly wacky, artist aunt has died of cancer. The begins when Ginny receives an envelope from her aunt containing a letter with rules and instructions and $1000 cash. Shy, quiet Ginny, who prefers to go unnoticed is being sent on a quest through Europe, she is not allowed to bring any of her own money, or any electrical devices.

No computer, no phone, no camera, no money. Just herself, a backpack, and 13 little blue envelopes full of instructions.

What I really loved about this book is that it is clear from the beginning that Aunt Peg wants Ginny to go on this adventure to help her break out of her shell, to help her discover herself. Ginny wants to go on the adventure simply to feel close to her aunt. These two motivations, not that they're the only ones, shape the whole book and I think without them, its very easy to get annoyed with the characters.

Ginny is basically on an all expense paid trip through Europe but she doesn't really care. She doesn't go out of her way to see or do things, she just does what each letter tells her to so that she can get to the next one, in the desperate and ultimately useless hope, that at the end her beloved, crazy aunt will be waiting for her.

Peg doesn't want Ginny to make the same mistakes she has. And although they are both very different people, outwardly, it is clear that they have both been running from things all their lives.

Another thing I loved about the book, and that I think is a terrific example of Maureen's ability to write great characters, is how alive Aunt Peg was. Despite being a fictional character that had died before the beginning of the story, the letters, and Ginny's memories of her make her a real person. And we see her go through a journey, a self-discovery along with Ginny.

Now, I don't want to ruin too much, but, well, you never get to see the 13th envelope. Ginny never gets to see it. And I really like that. It leaves Ginny to discover her own finish, her own ending. Maureen has said that we will get to see the 13th envelope in the sequel and I'm unsure how I feel about this. I like that it's a mystery. That Ginny can make it whatever she wants it to be.

I haven't said anything about the males in this story, and be assured there is a little romance for both of our female leads, but it happens to the side. It isn't the main focus. In fact I think the only thing I disliked about this book was that we didn't get to see more of Keith, the kilt-wearing playwrite who stared in Starbucks: The Musical.

I'm still giddy over winning the ARC. I read the book again this morning, and loved it just as much as the first time.

You should check out Maureen Johnson's blog, it is hilarious and informative about the world of publishing and writing. And, of course, lists all of her books, all of which should be read.

This list is not complete. BUT, a few of the contests end tonight, so I want to give you guys at least a few hours head notice. I'll be adding contests constantly, as well as taking off the ones that ended, between now and next Thursday. I'll probably make a post weekly though.

I just put the date the contest ends and the prize, though it is vague in some places. Sorry, just wanted to keep it short. And hopefully all the links work!

Ends 12/4, Various Prizes
Ends 12/4, Fallen
Ends 12/5, Ring of Desire
Ends 12/5, Win a Bookcase!
Ends 12/6, Fallen
Ends 12/6, Book of Choice from the Book Depository
Ends 12/7, Wake and Fade
Ends 12/8, My Soul to Take
Ends 12/8, Hush, Hush and Fallen
Ends 12/9, Various Books
Ends 12/10, Lauren Kate ARCs
Ends 12/11, The Dark Divine and Shadow Hills swag

Keep an eye on this post, I'll be updating it frequently!