Category Archives: Fantasy

Review: Reintegration by Ashley Bogner

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Reintegration by Ashley BognerReintegration
Ashley Bogner
Createspace Self-publishing
Published on August 18, 2017

Author Website | Goodreads

A perfect citizen. A captured rebel. One decision could destroy them both…

As a Regulator, seventeen-year-old Katherine Holliday’s duty is to protect the people of the Federation from a group of violent rebels who have exiled themselves to the mysterious wilderness. When one of these rebels is captured within the Federation, the government leaders propose an alternative to execution, a procedure they call Reintegration. The procedure involves erasing the rebel’s memory and attempting to make him a member of society. The rebel, a young man named Matthew, is not the violent criminal Katherine expects, and she can’t help but befriend him. A few weeks after Matthew’s Reintegration, Katherine realizes the procedure failed and she is now presented with a choice no one else can help her make. Can she warn her superiors that Reintegration failed, which could mean death for Matthew? Or will she defy everything she knows to help him escape—and risk her own execution?

My Review

Ashley Bogner’s debut novel, Reintegration, calls to mind some of the best dystopian books of our age–books such as Ally Condie’s Matched trilogy, Nadine Brandes’ Out of Time Trilogy, and The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron. It also follows the dystopian pattern of three, being the first of a trilogy. The sequel is set to release in 2018.

Reintegration‘s strongest suit is its characterization. The reader is deeply immersed in Katherine Holliday’s point of view, and experiences the entire plot through her eyes. It was impossible for me not to connect with Katherine on some level, because while reading this book, I was Katherine. I was thinking her thoughts, feeling her emotions, and following along with all of her actions and reactions.

The deep characterization did lead to some drawbacks, however–for the first 60% of the book or so, I felt like the plot was spinning its wheels a bit. Katherine rehashed the same issues over and over, without coming to any real conclusions. It wasn’t until she decided to stop worrying and start acting that Reintegration hit the ground running. Once the plot stopped revving its engine and got started for real, it took off at light-speed and never looked back.

The last quarter or so of Reintegration was especially phenomenal. I could not read fast enough to find out what was going to happen! Bogner packs a lot of punches into those last few pages, making up for the slow beginning several times over. There are a lot of secrets hinted at through out the book that weren’t explained by the final page, and some major surprises that I wasn’t expecting. Miss Bogner has chosen to play her cards close to her chest, and there’s no telling what will happen in the following books.  I’m rating Reintegration 3.75 stars out of 5. While Reintegration dragged some through the beginning and middle, the end made up for it with non-stop action and surprises. I’m hoping that the sequels will keep the action going, and get off to a flying start.

Recommended for Ages 13 and up

Cultural Elements
None.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None. 

Romance/Sexual Content
Some light kissing, hand-holding, and hugging. 

Spiritual Content
Matthew is a Christian, and shares his faith with other characters in the book, resulting in one or more conversions. The Federation teaches relative morality (that there is no “right” or “wrong,” and everything is a matter of opinion), and intolerance is a punishable crime under the Federation.

Violent Content
One violent death. Several injuries (some by  use of a “stunner”–a taser-like weapon, and others by fist fights.)

Drug Content
Matthew is drugged to forget his past. A character takes a medical drug later, and experiences painful side effects.

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

Review: The Waking Land by Callie Bates

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

The Waking Land
Callie Bates
Del Rey Books
Published June 27, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Waking the Land
Lady Elanna Valtai is fiercely devoted to the King who raised her like a daughter. But when he dies under mysterious circumstances, Elanna is accused of his murder and must flee for her life.

Returning to the homeland of magical legends she has forsaken, Elanna is forced to reckon with her despised, estranged father, branded a traitor long ago. Feeling a strange, deep connection to the natural world, she also must face the truth about the forces she has always denied or disdained as superstition powers that suddenly stir within her.

But an all-too-human threat is drawing near, determined to exact vengeance. Now Elanna has no choice but to lead a rebellion against the kingdom to which she once gave her allegiance. Trapped between divided loyalties, she must summon the courage to confront a destiny that could tear her apart.

My Review
By far my favorite thing about this book is the rich imagery of the setting and the complex politics driving the story. The writing is excellent and the characters so easy to fall in love with.

That said, sometimes I did feel like, though the politics were really intriguing, sometimes the explanations went on a little long. It also gave the story much more of an adult fiction feel than a young adult feel, because while Elanna is caught up in finding her place among her people—adopted or biological—much of the story has to do with the political ramifications of her alliances and actions. The romantic relationship in the story also had more of an adult relationship feel to me than a teen relationship in the way the characters related to one another and how Elanna thought of her love.

Those things didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the book, though they might make it less appealing to young readers. Hard to say. If you liked Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword or Leah Cypess’s Nightspell, you may want to snap up a copy of The Waking Land.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Elanna and her people have kind of a Scottish feel to them. Jahan is described as having dark curly hair and olive skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Sensual kissing between a young man and woman in her bedroom in one scene. Explicit sex in another scene. Other scenes include brief kissing. In more than one scene, Elanna is dressed only in an undergarment (though usually not for sexual reasons.)

Spiritual Content
Elanna has a magical connection with plants and the land. Ghosts of her ancestors visit and aid her in part of her journey. She briefly reflects on the difference between the gods worshipped in her adopted country versus the gods of her true homeland. She participates in a blood ritual several times as a part of trying to find her place among her people. She learns of another ritual, a legend in which a woman was said to “wed the land.” She participates in a celebration during which she and other participants become sexually aroused (they’re clothed and dancing around a fire.) She also learns of other mystic countrymen who travel large distances by walking “folds” of the land, which enable them to sort of jump from one place to another, skipping over the terrain between the two places.

Jahan and Elanna use magic to fight their enemies and rescue allies.

Violent Content
A poisoned mushroom kills the king, and his daughter plans to execute Elanna for his death. Several scenes include bloody clashes between soldiers of two groups. In at least one scene, soldiers attack young boys, gravely wounding one. Some battles prove fatal.

Drug Content
A poisoned mushroom kills a man. Brief references to alcohol. At one point, the prince becomes drunk and embarrasses himself with rude behavior.

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

 

Review: Unraveling by Sara Ella

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

Unraveling (Unblemished #2)
Sara Ella
Thomas Nelson – HarperCollins
Published July 11, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Unraveling
Eliyana Ember doesn’t believe in true love. Not anymore. After defeating her grandfather and saving the Second Reflection, El only trusts what’s right in front of her. The tangible. The real. Not some unexplained Kiss of Infinity she once shared with the ghost of a boy she’s trying to forget. She has more important things to worry about–like becoming queen of the Second Reflection, a role she is so not prepared to fill.

Now that the Verity is intertwined with her soul and Joshua’s finally by her side, El is ready to learn more about her mysterious birth land, the land she now rules. So why does she feel like something–or someone–is missing?

When the thresholds begin to drain and the Callings, those powerful magical gifts, begin to fail, El wonders if her link to Ky Rhyen may have something to do with it. For light and darkness cannot coexist. She needs answers before the Callings disappear altogether. Can El find a way to sever her connection to Ky and save the Reflections–and keep herself from falling for him in the process?

My Review
After reading Unblemished, I was super excited to get into this book. I liked the fresh story world and the spunky voice of Eliyana and all the musical references. All those great things continue in this second book. I loved the way some of the characters evolved– Ebony, especially– and enjoyed seeing Eliyana gain some confidence and independence of her own.

On the guy side… You know, in the first book, I was really rooting for Joshua and El to be together. I wasn’t a huge fan of Ky’s cockiness and attitude, and I liked Joshua’s self-sacrifice and commitment to do what was right no matter the personal cost to him. In this book, I found myself struggling to like either guy. I felt like they both had agendas, and while the story vilified one guy for his, I didn’t feel like I bought into the idea that the other guy should get off the hook because his motives were supposedly so pure.

I didn’t mind the lack of Christian worldview, but I felt like Unraveling confused some Christian concepts and warped them into a lot of gray morality. Everything seemed to come down to human strength. The good guys fight the Void and the bad guys simply aren’t strong enough to do so or flat out choose the darkness. I don’t know. It felt empty, I guess, and kind of arbitrary, if that makes any sense.

Despite my reservations about the characters, I definitely bought into the romance and want these guys to figure out some way to be happy. All of them. Some of Eliyana’s moments of comparison between how she feels about Joshua versus Ky made a lot of sense to me in terms of growing up and learning about love.

If you liked Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series, you might like the world-jumping, star-crossed love elements of Unraveling. Definitely start the series with Unblemished, as it introduces a lot of characters gradually, and Unblemished kind of throws you right into the middle of a huge group of them without a lot of preamble. You can read my review of Unblemished here.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters appear to be white. Some minor characters have darker skin tones.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Story-centric curses, like crowe and Verity or Void.

Romance/Sexual Content
Eliyana is engaged to Joshua, but still has strong feelings for Ky. She exchanges kisses with the young man she loves. In one scene, it’s unclear how far the physical love goes. The man describes walking and kissing and ending up on his back, drawing her to him before the scene ends.

Kisses also create bonds and promises. A kiss to the heel of the palm can bind someone to a promise they’ve made, and cause their death if they break that promise. A Kiss of Infinity binds the soul of the giver to the receiver.

Spiritual Content
While the story flirts with some Christian concepts, occasionally referencing Proverbs or spiritual concepts, I wouldn’t say it holds a truly Christian worldview. The Verity represents light and good, and the Void represents darkness and sin, but each character who interacts with them makes choices based on his or her own strength to battle or join with those forces.

Many characters possess Callings, or special abilities, like healing or shape-shifting.

Violent Content
Eliyana, Joshua, and Ky’s bonds mean that when one experiences pain, the others often feel it. Battles include gunshot and arrow wounds as well as physical fights. Eliyana notices scars Ky carries and has a brief flashback about the torture he endured receiving them. She also experiences pain when she uses some of her gifts.

A young man kills a sleeping woman, justifying the death as self-defense, though it clearly isn’t. A soldier stabs a child through the heart with a sword. Another soldier dies protecting his wife.

Drug Content
Brief reference to a character who appears to be drunk.

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

 

Review: The List by Patricia Forde

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

The List
Patricia Forde
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Published August 1, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About The List
In the city of Ark, speech is constrained to five hundred sanctioned words. Speak outside the approved lexicon and face banishment. The exceptions are the Wordsmith and his apprentice Letta, the keepers and archivists of all language in their post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval world.

On the death of her master, Letta is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith, charged with collecting and saving words. But when she uncovers a sinister plan to suppress language and rob Ark’s citizens of their power of speech, she realizes that it’s up to her to save not only words, but culture itself.

My Review
Strong, evocative writing makes The List a story difficult to put down. I loved Letta’s care for words and her struggle to do what’s right as she begins to realize that may mean defying the leadership and rules of Ark. Something about the story reminded me very much of The Giver. I think because of the repressive environment and Letta’s growing need to escape. I liked Marlo’s character, too, and the way he protected Letta and helped her without expecting anything in return.

Letta’s world has been ravaged by what she refers to as the Melting. Sea levels have risen as a result of polar ice melting due to global warming. The story doesn’t really delve into the politics or anything else, it’s just the background premise, and I thought the pairing of a flood due to sea levels rising and the references to Noah’s Ark were kind of interesting. The story doesn’t try to retell the Biblical tale beyond those few references.

The plot moved quickly and kept me guessing at what would happen next. I think I read the whole book in two sessions—I could barely stand to put it down until the last page. The story builds to a pretty intense climax and resolves with plenty of setup for a sequel.

Other than some references to violence and brief depictions, it’s a pretty clean story, and a great read for those transitioning from middle grade to young adult literature. Fans of dystopian literature, especially stories about communities under repressive rule like Uglies by Scott Westerfeld or Divergent by Veronica Roth definitely need to put The List on their reading lists.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Letta has red hair and pale skin. Marlo has dark hair and olive skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Letta mentions a local boy who wants to mate with her. In this context, it seems like he wants to marry her, or to choose her as his mate. She doesn’t have to worry about this until she’s eighteen, however. It’s clear she feels attracted to Marlo.

Spiritual Content
Letta lives in a town called Ark, founded by a man named John Noa, but that’s basically where the obvious references to the Biblical story end. Noa crafts specific rules governing the behavior of all who live in Ark and banishes anyone who defies his commands.

Marlo believes dreams have spiritual significance. At one point he comes to Letta because he dreamed she called to him. Letta doesn’t share his belief.

Her village contains a statue of a woman referred to as the Goddess, even though she’s reported to be a prophet, the last God sent. Letta briefly wonders how she came to be known as a goddess. At one point, she witnesses a woman petitioning the Goddess for help at the feet of the statue.

Violent Content
She hears rumors of prisoners tortured for information, and at one point hears screams from a prison cell. She finds a gravely injured man and tries to help him. His injuries are briefly but specifically described. A woman Letta knows gets captured and executed by soldiers.

Drug Content
None.

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

 

Review: The Song from Somewhere Else by A. F. Harrold

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Middle Grade 8-12, , , ,

The Song from Somewhere Else
A. F. Harrold
Illustrated by Levi Pinfold
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published July 4, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About The Song from Somewhere Else
Frank thought her summer couldn’t get any worse–until big, weird, smelly Nick Underbridge rescues her from a bully, and she winds up at his house.

Frank quickly realizes there’s more to Nick than meets the eye. When she’s at his house, she hears the strangest, most beautiful music, music which leads her to a mysterious, hidden door. Beyond the door are amazing creatures that she never even dreamed could be real. For the first time in forever, Frank feels happy . . . and she and Nick start to become friends.

But Nick’s incredible secrets are also accompanied by great danger. Frank must figure out how to help her new friend, the same way that he has helped her.

My Review
The Song From Somewhere Else has this charming, other-worldly feel to it. The story is a little bit dark, which may make it too much for younger, more sensitive readers. It reminded me a little bit of Roald Dahl in the sense that it has a dark edge to it, if that makes sense.

I loved the unlikely friendship between Frank and Nick. Nick was totally my hero from the moment he stepped onto the page. I loved getting to know his family and watching Frank learn how wrong first impressions and rumors can be. Her struggle with the neighborhood bullies also felt really authentic. I loved that she has a moment where she has to decide whether to treat one bully the way he has treated her or to put aside his cruelty and treat him differently. Those are tough choices.

The pen and ink illustrations in the book are amazing, too. They definitely captured that other-worldly feeling in the story. Also, I have to say I loved the cat and its awesome name—Quintilius Minimus!

Imaginative readers will find the out-of-the-box story appealing. Fans of books about friendship and overcoming the powerless feeling of being bullied will love Frank’s heart and her unexpected journey of friendship.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Cultural Elements
Takes place in England.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Nick’s basement contains a door to another world with mythical creatures, good and bad. Frank encounters shadows that have the power to hurt people in her world. Frank’s cat talks to her.

Violent Content
Boys bully Frank on the playground, tossing her bag into a patch of stinging thorns. It’s clear this is a pattern, and Frank feels powerless to stop them. She wrestles with this feeling throughout the story. Frank finds a couple of people who’ve been attacked by shadows. (She doesn’t witness the actual attack.)

Drug Content
None.

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

 

Review: What Goes Up by Katie Kennedy

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

What Goes Up
Katie Kennedy
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published July 18, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About What Goes Up
Rosa and Eddie are among hundreds of teens applying to NASA’s mysterious Multi-World Agency. After rounds of crazy-competitive testing they are appointed to Team 3, along with an alternate, just in case Eddie screws up (as everyone expects he will). What they don’t expect is that aliens will arrive from another dimension, and look just like us. And no one could even imagine that Team 3 would be the only hope of saving our world from their Earth-destroying plans. The teens steal the spacecraft (it would be great if they knew how to fly it) and head to Earth2, where the aliens’ world and people are just like ours. With a few notable exceptions.

There, the teens will find more than their alternate selves: they’ll face existential questions and high-stakes adventure, with comedy that’s out of this world.

My Review
I definitely enjoyed the constant jokes and comedy between the characters. It created this deep sense of camaraderie in the group and kept the story from getting too bogged down by all of the scientific details. I liked the juxtaposition of the serious crisis and the comedic moments.

The point-of-view alternates between Eddie and Rosa, who at first don’t have great impressions of each other. It’s not long before they come to respect, admire and come to need each other. I liked the chemistry between Rosa, Eddie, and Trevor. They made a great team and balanced each other well.

What Goes Up was a quick read for me. Every time I sat down to read just a few pages, I’d fly through chapter after chapter, always wondering what the teams would face next. There’s enough science to keep sci-fi fans flipping pages and enough great dialogue to keep fans of more character-driven stories well-satisfied. Totally a fun summer read.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Rosa is Asian and Trevor is black. At one point Trevor wonders whether his alternate self is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
At one point Rosa needs help getting to town for supplies to manage her period. She’s embarrassed, but doesn’t give any real details about her situation. Brief kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A group of boys try to throw Rosa down the stairs. Eddie is nearly injured when a bomb goes off. A couple of skirmishes between Eddie’s team and alternate Earth guys bent on destroying Earth. Nothing graphically violent.

Drug Content
Eddie gets very drunk after a conflict with a family member and the leadership of the program he’s in.

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

 

Save