All posts by Kasey

About Kasey

Reads things. Writes things. Fluent in sarcasm. Willful optimist. Cat companion, chocolate connoisseur, coffee drinker. There are some who call me Mom.

Review: Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky AlbertalliSimon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Becky Albertalli
Balzer + Bray
Published on April 7, 2015

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

My Review

I’d heard a lot of buzz about this book and how great it is, which always makes me a little scared to read a book. I worry that I’ll be the weirdo who just doesn’t get the book or doesn’t like it. And while there were some things in this book that I struggled with (lots of swearing for instance) there were a lot of things I liked. Simon is the kind of narrator who draws you straight into the story.

I liked the email exchanges between him and Blue and loved the mystery of piecing together Blue’s real identity. The pressure of the whole blackmail situation definitely made the story more intense than if it were simply sort of a You’ve-Got-Mail-but-with-two-boys kind of story. Even with that complication, though, it’s still a pretty lighthearted story ultimately about first love and coming out.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Simon is gay. He learns one classmate is bisexual. He meets another who is Jewish. One of his close friends is black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used frequently throughout the book.

Romance/Sexual Content
Simon’s pretty frank about his personal life. One scene shows him lying in bed fantasizing about the mysterious Blue while he masturbates. (He only really states that his hand is “busy” but we get the idea.) Another scene shows him lying in bed with another boy kissing. He mentions that both of them have erections. (They’re still fully clothed.)

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Simon’s friends take him to a bar to eat, and a college student mistakes him for an older boy and buys him several drinks, which Simon eagerly drinks. He shows up home very drunk. His parents punish him by grounding him and taking away his phone.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Author Interview: Lily Anderson

Author Interview, News and Fun, , , , , , ,

I’m super excited because today, as a part of the Wednesday Books Blog Tour, I get to share an interview with author Lily Anderson. You might have first fallen in reader love with her after reading her debut novel, The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You, which probably won you over with its fabulous geek culture and unstoppable banter between characters. Lily’s back with her sophomore novel, inspired somewhat by The Importance of Being Earnest, about a girl who runs away from home to compete for a college scholarship.

Onto the questions and answers!

Author Interview with Lily Anderson

Do you have a favorite character (from either of your books)? Is there something about him/her which you love but just didn’t fit and didn’t get included in the story?

I love Ben West, the hero from THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU. He’s the braying jackass that lives inside me. When I was originally drafting THE ONLY THING, Ben’s dad was a big part of the story. He was supposed to be a former Jeopardy champion who used his winnings to send Ben to the Mess and Trixie taunted Ben with the final question that finally got his dad off the show. It just never really fit with the book so it got cut pretty early on.

Awww – Ben is awesome! That would have been a super cool twist, but yeah, I can see how it didn’t fit the rest of the story. Such a fun idea, though!
One of my favorite things about THE ONLY THINK WORSE THAN ME IS YOU is all the Geekdom and witty banter. Are you a Whovian personally? Were you able to pull a lot of the trivia from things you already knew or were there things you researched for the characters?

I am a Whovian with super strong opinions (mostly about how much I hate Clara—bye forever, Impossible Girl!). For the geeky references in both of my books, I pulled from my own knowledge as much as possible, but I also researched some other fandoms that I’m not as involved with (mostly Supernatural, Game of Thrones, and comics in the Spider-Verse) when I realized which characters would be into things that I’m not. For NOT NOW, NOT EVER, I read a lot more sci-fi than I normally would and got weirdly into Frank Herbert’s Dune.

I have to say, I couldn’t tell where your personal knowledge ended and the research began. Also– right?! My husband got me hooked on DUNE while we were dating. Not my favorite storytelling style, but there’s something about it that won’t let me go.
The rivalry and banter, especially between Ben and Trixie made me laugh out loud so many times. Is there more of this sort of fun to look forward to in Not Now, Not Ever?

NOT NOW, NOT EVER is also full of rivalry and banter, although it’s not an enemies-to-lovers story like THE ONLY THING. Luckily, Ben and Trixie are minor characters in NOT NOW, so you’ll get to see what they’re up to now that they’re in college.

YAYYYY!!! I can’t wait to read it. It will be fun to get a glimpse of Ben and Trixie again, too. Totally looking forward to that.
What is one question about your books you are often asked by readers?

I think what I’m asked most is “what advice would you give to aspiring writers?” And my advice is this: not everything you write will—or SHOULD—get published. Some things will just be for you. Some things just won’t work out. Don’t ever stop. Read as much as you can.

Great advice! What do you most hope that readers take away from your novels (either or both)?

I want all my readers to take away a sense of happiness. NOT NOW, NOT EVER and its predecessor, THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU, are fluff. Hopefully well crafted, artisanal and organic fluff but fluff nonetheless. NOT NOW is very much a story about choosing a path, but also realizing that the paths don’t close behind you. I want my readers to have hope for Elliot’s path and their own.

Hope and happiness are definitely worthy goals for a book. I know I felt both when I read THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU.

About Lily Anderson

website | twitter | facebook

LILY ANDERSON is an elementary school librarian and Melvil Dewey fangirl with an ever-growing collection of musical theater tattoos and Harry Potter ephemera. She lives in Northern California. She is also the author of The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You.

About Not Now, Not Ever

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Elliot Gabaroche is very clear on what she isn’t going to do this summer.

  1. She isn’t going to stay home in Sacramento, where she’d have to sit through her stepmother’s sixth community theater production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
  2. She isn’t going to mock trial camp at UCLA.
  3. And she certainly isn’t going to the Air Force summer program on her mom’s base in Colorado Springs. As cool as it would be to live-action-role-play Ender’s Game, Ellie’s seen three generations of her family go through USAF boot camp up close, and she knows that it’s much less Luke/Yoda/”feel the force,” and much more one hundred push-ups on three days of no sleep. And that just isn’t appealing, no matter how many Xenomorphs from Alien she’d be able to defeat afterwards.

What she is going to do is pack up her determination, her favorite Octavia Butler novels, and her Jordans, and go to summer camp. Specifically, a cutthroat academic-decathlon-like competition for a full scholarship to Rayevich College, the only college with a Science Fiction Literature program. And she’s going to start over as Ever Lawrence, on her own terms, without the shadow of all her family’s expectations. Because why do what’s expected of you when you can fight other genius nerds to the death for a shot at the dream you’re sure your family will consider a complete waste of time?

This summer’s going to be great.

Review: The Journey by Alleece Balts

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, New Adult 18up, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

The Journey (The Crowd #2)
Alleece Balts
Published on August 23, 2017

Amazon | Goodreads

About The Journey
At nineteen years old, Ella Parker is a star on the rise. With her vocal training at Juilliard underway, she’s more than prepared for a glittering performance career with the rock band Wicked Youth, and anticipating the prospect of becoming engaged to her billionaire boyfriend… Someday.

But when she collapses on stage during a summer concert and receives a chilling diagnosis, the promise of someday suddenly slips away.

Forced to confront her darkest fears, Ella must not only find the courage to go on after her once certain future has disappeared, but also to track down her runaway friend, Lucas, before time runs out.

My Review
The Journey feels like a much more mature story than its predecessor, The Crowd. Ella’s graduated from high school and both touring as a professional singer and attending Julliard. Her boyfriend, Jack, manages a large company but makes sure to slip away for time with Ella, especially when she needs him.

The story largely revolves around Ella’s relationships with Jack and her mom and her search for Lucas, who disappeared after a tragic incident which left police hunting for him. Ella struggles with her grief over her dad’s death as she faces her own health crises. She worries she’ll be putting her family and Jack in the same situation—forcing them to be crushed by grief if they lose her the way she was when her dad died.

The emotional journey is deep and it’s definitely what connected me to Ella. I liked the unexpected resolution and the way Ella grows and changes as a result of her trials. There were some fun side characters, too, like Archer, Ella’s chauffer and bodyguard.

If you like sweet romance stories with a strong musical theme, The Journey delivers both. I think you could read this one without having first read The Crowd, the first book in the series, but it’s worth checking out both, especially if, as I mentioned, you like sweet romance and music in your literature.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
All major characters appear white and straight.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Some vague reference to Jack’s past, in which he had a lot of relationships.

Spiritual Content
Ella prays a few times for God’s guidance.

Violent Content
A fatal car accident occurs, and Ella hears a description of the injuries of one of its victims. Reference to a boy getting attacked by several others—no details of the event.

Drug Content
Vague/brief reference to Jack’s wild past, which includes some substance abuse.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review: The Crystal Ribbon by Celeste Lim

Book Review and Content, Coming of Age, Fantasy, Historical, Magical Realism, , , ,

The Crystal Ribbon
Celeste Lim
Scholastic Press
Published on January 31, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About The Crystal Ribbon
In the village of Huanan, in medieval China, the deity that rules is the Great Huli Jing. Though twelve-year-old Li Jing’s name is a different character entirely from the Huli Jing, the sound is close enough to provide constant teasing-but maybe is also a source of greater destiny and power. Jing’s life isn’t easy. Her father is a poor tea farmer, and her family has come to the conclusion that in order for everyone to survive, Jing must be sacrificed for the common good.

She is sold as a bride to the Koh family, where she will be the wife and nursemaid to their three-year-old son, Ju’nan. It’s not fair, and Jing feels this bitterly, especially when she is treated poorly by the Koh’s, and sold yet again into a worse situation that leads Jing to believe her only option is to run away, and find home again. With the help of a spider who weaves Jing a means to escape, and a nightingale who helps her find her way, Jing embarks on a quest back to Huanan–and to herself.

My Review
I tend to like genre-blending books, and since The Crystal Ribbon mixes a historical setting with real cultural issues with some magical elements, I found it to be a really unusual, interesting read. The story itself reminded me a teeny bit of Disney’s Mulan, in that it follows a strong heroine through a time period and culture where she feels entirely out of place for her strength. While Jing doesn’t join an army or literally fight as a soldier, she does challenge enemies and use her cleverness and strength of heart to overcome difficulties. I liked her character a lot and enjoyed reading about her.

The story itself feels like it should be more of a middle grade book, since Jing is about twelve as it begins, but the tone is much more mature. I’d probably call this one a coming-of-age tale rather than middle grade, though that label doesn’t feel perfectly right either.

Readers who enjoy history and foreign settings will like the careful attention to setting and culture in The Crystal Ribbon. Readers who enjoy a taste of magic lurking beyond the ordinary will find Jing’s adventures engaging as well.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
The story takes place in China. One character is described as having golden hair and pale skin, and Jing wonders if he’s from some faraway place.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
During her time in the city, Jing encounters some men who solicit the company of women. They tease the girls and pat them on their behinds. Jing feels totally creeped out by the whole idea.

Spiritual Content
Each city has its own spirit worshipped by the people who live there. In Jing’s hometown, it’s the Great Huli Jing, a five-tailed fox who saved the village from disaster.

Jing meets some other spirits (jing) through the course of the story. A spider weaves a magical ladder to help her. A woman with skeletal hands visits her in the night. Jing visits and prays to altars for various jing and at her mother’s gravesite altar.

Violent Content
Jing’s in-laws punish her by caning her or using a torture device which severely damages her fingers. Some details included. Sensitive readers may find that part especially difficult to read.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review: Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Book Review and Content, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2)
Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published on October 16, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Gemina
Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.

My Review
One of the really fun things about this book (both books in the series, actually) is the unusual way the story is told. Instant message transcripts and transcripts of video footage make up the bulk of the story with some additional notes, like memos, journal illustrations, and emails sprinkled in.

Hanna’s a tough cookie, and a bit spoiled. She won me over because she quickly put aside her infatuation with fashion and her dreamy boyfriend to take on the task of bringing down hostile invaders.

Nik is basically your typical bad boy with the heart of gold. Maybe a little trope-y, but to be honest, I never mind that kind of a hero, so I was totally in—even though it did take me a while to get past his rough edges.

The story moves fast—lots happens and the stakes pretty much constantly jump higher and higher. Some of the twists caught me completely unprepared. I liked how things dove-tailed together to complete the arc.

Readers who enjoy quick dialogue and banter as well as somewhat gritty sci-fi will want this one on their lists. Gemina makes a great follow-up to the series debut, Illuminae, and I had no trouble following it even though I’d forgotten a lot of pertinent details to that first book.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are white. Nik’s cousin has some physical disabilities as a result of her surviving a plague illness.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Another clever thing about this story is it censored most of the profanity, as if someone went back and blacked out the words from the record. A couple words did not get blacked out.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. Also several scenes contain some sexual innuendo. At one point, Hanna ends up in her bra and underwear for non-romantic reasons, and has to find another outfit. There are a couple of references to her being in bed with her boyfriend, but they focus on either falling asleep or waking together, etc, rather than sexual details.

Spiritual Content
A couple of “Oh my God!” – “No, it’s just me,” kinds of comments.

Violent Content
Strong violence in several scenes. A man executes a hostage by shooting him in the head. Creepy descriptions tell of a parasite capable of attacking others which renders its victims sort of braindead and helpless. A couple gory descriptions of animal deaths.

Drug Content
Nik’s family deals a powerful drug referred to as dust. He’s involved in the manufacturing of the drug and in selling it. Hanna purchases it for friends and parties, but maintains that her own use is minimal or under control. She seems to have extreme familiarity with the effects of the drug and uses it for other purposes as the story progresses.

Review: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)
Cassandra Clare
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published on March 8, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Lady Midnight
In a kingdom by the sea…

In a secret world where half-angel warriors are sworn to fight demons, parabatai is a sacred word.

A parabatai is your partner in battle. A parabatai is your best friend. Parabatai can be everything to each other—but they can never fall in love.

Emma Carstairs is a warrior, a Shadowhunter, and the best in her generation. She lives for battle. Shoulder to shoulder with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, she patrols the streets of Los Angeles, where vampires party on the Sunset Strip, and faeries—the most powerful of supernatural creatures—teeter on the edge of open war with Shadowhunters. When the bodies of humans and faeries turn up murdered in the same way Emma’s parents were when she was a child, an uneasy alliance is formed. This is Emma’s chance for revenge—and Julian’s chance to get back his brother Mark, who is being held prisoner by the faerie Courts. All Emma, Mark, and Julian have to do is solve the murders within two weeks…and before the murderer targets them.

Their search takes Emma from sea caves full of sorcery to a dark lottery where death is dispensed. And each clue she unravels uncovers more secrets. What has Julian been hiding from her all these years? Why does Shadowhunter Law forbid parabatai to fall in love? Who really killed her parents—and can she bear to know the truth?

My Review
I have so many conflicting feelings about this book. Some things—the relationships between the Blackthorn siblings and descriptions of especially Mark and Julian as well as all the tension between Faeries and Shadowhunters—I loved. Other things—the overall size of the cast (huge), the darkness of the plot, and the spans of info-dump in the narrative—were not my favorite things.

Emma’s character is super different than the heroine of Clare’s earlier Shadowhunter series. I liked The Mortal Instruments (okay, I think I only read the first three, but I liked them) and I liked Clary, the heroine of that series as well. But where Clary’s the emotionally sensitive, thoughtful leader, Emma’s all action and impulse. I liked that contrast and the way Emma’s character paired with her parabatai and bestie, Julian.

The story deals with a lot of demon-y stuff. Dark rituals, battles with demons, etc. I feel like The Mortal Instruments focused a little more on vampires and werewolves, but honestly, it may have been just as dark as this book was. I felt like Lady Midnight had a LOT of spiritually dark content. Enough that I probably won’t finish the series, to be honest.

I did really enjoy the references to the Faerie realm and the group Mark was bound to and all of the politics between the Shadowhunters and Faeries. It wasn’t the main focus of the story, but I found it to be one of the most fascinating parts of the overall tale.

On the whole, this is a tough one for me to review. I really liked some things and really struggled with other things. I think this series is probably not one I’ll continue with.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Cristina and Diego are Mexican. Other characters are white. Mark and his sister Helen face prejudice from both fairies and Shadowhunters because they are half-descendants of each. Mark is also bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Intense kissing between boy and girl or boy and boy. At one point, a montage sort of sequence fills readers in on the romantic relationship between two boys. There’s very little graphic sexual description, but we’re in no doubt of their level of intimacy.

Another scene describes a couple on the beach. The description leading up to their sexual encounter is intense, but we’re spared a play-by-play of the actual sex.

Spiritual Content
Dark (blood) rituals, demon battles, sorcery… this story has a lot of things some conservative readers might object to. Vampires deliver pizza to Emma and her allies. They stumble onto a cult in which it appears one member is chosen as a sacrifice.

Shadowhunters are said to be descendants of angels and humans. Some seem to worship or pray to certain angels. Some special knives have connections to angels and their powers are “activated” when the user says the angel’s name.

Violent Content
Lots of battle scenes, some pretty gory, some fatal.

Drug Content
Julian’s uncle relies on a drug/potion to restore his mind for short periods of time. The drug leaves him with terrible headaches once it wears off.

Save

Save