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Review: Siren’s Song by Mary Weber

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Siren's Song by Mary Weber

Siren’s Song (Storm Siren #3)
Mary Weber
Thomas Nelson
Published March 1, 2016

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About Siren’s Song

After a devastating loss at Tulla, Nym and her companions must bring dire news to the Cashlin queen: Draewolf has kidnapped Princess Rasha, Nym’s best friend. Instead of rallying her people to war, the queen and her Luminescent guards force access to Nym’s buried memories. Through them, the queen offers Nym a haunting prediction of the future and a choice Nym will be forced to make which could save or ruin everyone.

My Review

One of the things I look forward to in the last book in a series is the opportunity to revisit big moments from earlier books—the kinds of things that sort of become like inside jokes to series fans. While this tale is as action-packed and intense as either of the earlier books, there’s also no shortage of those satisfying exchanges that either harken back to something awesome or finally give you that moment you’ve spent the whole series hoping for.

We finally get to know more about Nym’s history. Myles… okay, I won’t spoil, but there are some really cool developments there which really make him this deep character that I really came to appreciate (saying a lot since I don’t think I was a big fan of him prior to this book.) Oh! And remember the boy Nym met on her passage to Bron in Siren’s Fury? He’s back. And so much fun. His lines were possibly some of my favorite.

Because of the politics of the earliest chapters of this book, I’d recommend starting with an earlier book in the series if you haven’t already. I think I read Siren’s Fury first and followed it fine, though it made more sense when I went back and read the first book, Storm Siren. I think this third book won’t be nearly as rewarding a read if you haven’t at least read the second book, which happened to also be my favorite.

Content Notes for Siren’s Song

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Nym and others utter curses like hulls and bolcrane.

Romance/Sexual Content
Nym walks in on Eogan while he’s washing. He covers himself with a towel, and she’s horribly embarrassed, but also affected by seeing him.

Nym is a former slave who worked for some pretty brutal owners. There are a couple of moments in which her past comes back to haunt her. If you’re sensitive to those sorts of abuse memories, be aware that this story might be a trigger. There’s no graphic description of abuse, but you can tell Nym has suffered some trauma and she relives some of the fear associated with her past.

Spiritual Content
References to the Creator and some lore about how abilities came to be. Myles and Draewolf have unnatural abilities acquired from a witch. These abilities can only be used to destroy.

Violent Content
Draewolf uses his ability to step inside someone’s skin (literally) to absorb their abilities. The description of the process is brief but causes more than one death. Battle scenes between Nym’s people and Draewolf’s Dead Army are described in some detail. The Dead Army is kind of icky, too. They are crafted from human and bolcrane (monster) parts.

Drug Content
The dark abilities act almost like a kind of drug, with an addicting component and, in Myles’s case, inducing a trance-like state with some enhanced capabilities.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Siren’s Song free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Review: Game Over by Andrew Klavan

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

Game Over
Andrew Klavan
Zondervan

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Rick awakes from a nightmare with scratches on his arm, scratches he knows came from the nightmare itself. A nightmare in which he’s trapped in The Realm, a video game world created by a terrorist that Rick has been tasked with destroying from the inside. Only now it seems Kurodar, the creator of The Realm, has Rick in his sights and is using his mind to further his plan for destruction. Rick must find a way to destroy The Realm before Kurodar overtakes him.

I was a little nervous about reading this book since it’s the third and final tale in a series I hadn’t read before. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. Not only did I have no trouble following the story, I liked it enough that I’d probably go back and read the earlier books.

The characters were different from each other and interesting. Their relationships were complex and felt real and compelling, from minor characters like Miss Ferris all the way to Rick and Molly. There were some moments where things were summarized and we’re told this or that about a character, for instance, about Kurodar’s relationship with his father. In a story less intriguing, I might have minded that, because it can be kind of jarring to be pulled out of the story for a little here’s-what’s-going-on spiel. But honestly, I didn’t mind it here because I really wanted to know what would happen.

If you liked Ready Player One or Nirvana (or read my reviews of them and though the concept of a video game arena affecting reality sounded awesome) then you should definitely read this book. The Christian themes are strong and at moments possibly a bit cheesy, but again, I’ll be honest and say I found the frankness of the spiritual theme kind of refreshing as I’ve read several Christian novels by Christian publishers lately with only the barest whisper of faith in them.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A few brief kisses.

Spiritual Content
Rick continues to wrestle with his feelings about his father’s previous disappearance. He realizes his dad’s faith in God is real and his own desperate circumstances rekindle his own faith.

Violent Content
Monsters cross from The Realm into the real world, attacking a military base and killing some soldiers. When the monsters are killed, they evaporate. Rick has to face a fearsome monster in The Realm.

Drug Content
None.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Review: Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan

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Tell the Wind and Fire
Sarah Rees Brennan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

In this future New York, the city is divided in two: Light vs Dark. Only Light Magicians can live in and access the wealthy, upper-class life. The Dark Magicians are banished to the Dark, to carve out lives in poverty under harsh rule imposed by the Light leadership.

Lucie and her father escaped the dark at a high price. Now Lucie survives at the mercy of friends and by burying her past as deeply as she can. Only, the people in the Dark don’t want her to forget. They’ve made her name a rallying cry to a revolution that could destroy the new life Lucie has fought so hard to create and the boy she loves more than anything.

This is the first time I’d ever read anything by Sarah Rees Brennan, so I was really excited to give this one a go. The first page totally hooked me. I was like oh boy. Must know more.

Then… somewhere in the rest of the first chapter, I got really lost. There was some explanation of the Light vs Dark storyworld and I don’t know if it was just me, but I really had a hard time following it. I reread it once and ended up kind of just moving on. Something about a magical caste system. Okay.

Once I got past that, I was still pretty intrigued. I worried about Ethan being boring, as other reviewers have claimed. (What is it with modern novels about strong women featuring these eye-candy-only men? Didn’t we argue that this was a bad idea when the gender roles of these characters were reversed?) Honestly, my first impression of him was that he was kind of a doofus with money. A cute doofus with money, but yeah, not much else really going on upstairs behind the dreamboat eyes, you know?

However. Without giving anything away, I just want to say there were some unanticipated hidden depths. And I found myself a little disappointed because I kind of wanted Carwyn to have this reformation going on that flew in the face of what everyone thought about his kind. I thought he and Lucie made a great team, so I started rooting for him, and then Ethan manned up and I was like, wait… now I like them both!

I read this book not knowing it was a retelling of a classic, (though I found myself thinking hey, this is kind of like that one book, as I was reading) so I don’t want to give that away for anyone who wants the same experience. I liked reading it not knowing where it was going.

I’d definitely read more of this series because I loved the characters and have a lot of faith in Brennan’s ability to get me to invest in them. The storyworld was confusing to me and I kind of just decided to overlook it. The Light vs Dark stuff really didn’t play a huge role in the story other than establishing two opposing sides in which one has huge advantages and oppresses the other side.

If you liked Across the Star-swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund, give this one a read. See below for any content information.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
While there’s no explicit description of sex, it’s implied that Ethan and Lucie are intimate with each other. Lucie mentions that she only sleeps well when she sleeps with Ethan, that sort of thing. Another character makes a brief comment about his preference for “deviant sex acts” (he doesn’t specify anything further than that.) There are a few kisses.

Spiritual Content
The city is divided into sectors of Light and Dark magic. Not everyone has magical ability. Dark Magicians have been threatening to revolt and overthrow the Light Magicians in power. Lucie knows a powerful way Light and Dark magic can be used together.

Violent Content
Lawbreakers endure harsh punishments and torture (only described very briefly.) Revolutionaries attack without mercy in a battle scene, killing even innocent bystanders.

Drug Content
Lucie takes Carwyn to a club and offers to buy him a drink. A friend offers to get them some dust, a kind of illegal drug, but Lucie wanted no part of that.

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

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Review: Away We Go by Emil Ostrovski

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Away We Go
Emil Ostrovski
Greenwillow Books
Published April 5, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Away We Go

Westing accepts only the brightest and best of students, so long as they also have one problem: a diagnosis of the terminal Peter Pan Virus (PPV.) Noah is one such case. As he wrestles to deal with the drastically shortened timeline of his life and the mandatory separation from his family and former friends, Noah finds something unexpected: love. The problem? He’s supposed to be in love with his girlfriend, Alice. Instead, he’s head-over-heels for the erratic boy who runs a secret club. The more time they spend together, the less certain Noah is about Zach’s feelings. As his friends become sicker, and the end of his own life draws near, Noah becomes frantic for answers. To his questions about love, the outside world, and what gives life meaning and value.

First – in reading some of the reviews about this book on other sites, it looks like some people expected this to be a dystopian story about the mass spread of an incurable virus, etc etc, oodles of suspenseful stuff racing toward a cure or something and were therefore disappointed when they uncovered one huge issue: that’s not what this story is. If you don’t like books about emotions (I do!), this probably isn’t one you want to pick up. Because there are LOTS.

My Review

This is more an emotional journey framed by a pandemic involving massive amounts of teens infected with a deadly, highly contagious, incurable disease. Also, a meteor that might hit earth. But those are kind of just the story’s frame. What we’re really watching unfold is this boy who’s trying desperately to figure out who he is and what that means. To himself. To the boy he loves. To the girl who loves him. And it’s a difficult, messy, heartbreaking, amazing journey.

I read Ostrovski’s debut a couple of months ago and was simply blown away by the unique perspective of the story, the fantastically witty banter between characters—even in the midst of these heartbreaking scenes, these characters were cracking me up—and the way these grand philosophical ideas were naturally woven into the story. But that’s another review, which you can read here.

Point being, as I started to read Away We Go, I was so nervous. I was afraid I wouldn’t like the story. And to be honest, after the first couple chapters, I was still nervous. I’m not sure when I really fell for Noah. Probably about the time he started snarking about sandwiches. Possibly not until he met Zach. But then I was hooked.

There were several things about the story that really stood out to me as awesome. One being the incorporation of the play Marty writes about Peter Pan and Wendy. I loved how that became this thread running through the story and that final scene captured the central conflict felt by so many of the characters in the story.

When I was a teenager, I knew a girl who was terminally ill. We weren’t very close, largely because I didn’t understand a lot of the things she did. Now, looking back, I feel like I really misjudged her. I wanted her to behave like I did. I honestly never considered (not in a mean way, just ignorant, sadly…) what it would be like to be seventeen and know that you probably wouldn’t live past thirty and how that might change what felt reasonable, necessary. Urgent.

I thought about her a lot as I read this book. I thought about how there’s a real question, in the story, about whether or not the students should be educated. I mean, they’re all going to die. Is there a point? Is education a human right? I thought that was a really cool element to explore. It’s not deeply followed, but I liked even just the drive-by moment. I thought about her as Noah rockets down this somewhat destructive path toward trying to capture love.

In terms of the writing, I have to say that the way some of the characters had really distinct voices definitely made them seem real. Ostrovski’s writing absolutely shines in dialogue between characters. Amazing stuff. Moving on before I get star-struck and gushy…

So if you’re looking for a really heart-wrenching read with a lot of complex characters and witty banter, some exploration of moral issues and love, add this book to your list. See below for content information from the story.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity and some crude language used with moderate frequency. One girl condemns this behavior.

Romance/Sexual Content
Boy/girl and boy/boy romance and sex described in some detail.

Spiritual Content
Westing has a group of students who’ve formed a religious organization for support and faith community. The details of the faith system stay pretty murky, and Noah does not get involved.

Violent Content
A boy falls to his death. Noah learns two students have been shot. Brief descriptions of rumors about what happens to kids who read end stage PPV and are transferred to other facilities. (Are they experimented on, that sort of thing.)

Drug Content
Noah (and his friends) drink quite a bit of alcohol, behavior condemned by another friend.

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

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Review: Knife by R J Anderson

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Knife
R J Anderson
Enclave

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Knife, a young faerie confined within her kingdom inside a large oak tree, is determined to escape to the outside world. As a girl, she came face to face with a human, and survived. Since that day, her curiosity about the house and the strange creatures who live inside it only grows. When Knife finds an opportunity to get a closer look, she takes it. But with every new discovery she makes about the outside world, the strict rules and strange customs of her people only feel stranger and well, wrong. Maybe Knife can save them. If she can find out why her people lost their magic to begin with, perhaps she can reverse the spell. But doing so will risk her place among her people, and it may force her to accept truths about herself, her queen, and her human friend that she’s not ready to face.

I’ll admit that when I picked up this book I was a little iffy. I’ve read a few other novels about faeries recently that really didn’t draw me in. This one, though, really surprised me.

I liked that the faerie realm was not another dimension or whatever, but was this hidden world within an oak tree in the back yard of a house in a rural neighborhood. I loved the way the friendship between Knife and Paul happens. The faeries have cut themselves off from all other creatures and their culture, while perfectly preserved from any outside influences, is dying just as surely as the faeries are. As Knife explores more and more of the outside world, her view of her people changes, and she begins to see how important community is—not just the homogenous community of her own people, but the interaction with others outside the community. This is a great theme, and so true to life. We absolutely need others in our lives above and beyond those who are exactly like us. So I thought the faerie landscape was a really clever way to pull that message into the story without at all sounding preachy. As Knife spent time with others, her creative instincts were stirred and she begins to create new things, something no faerie has done in her lifetime. I loved that.

I liked how Anderson brought the faerie culture to life with just a few really crisp details. The fact that all faeries are female. The idea that one has to bargain or trade one thing for another constantly. No favors among faeries, because owing a debt to someone is a big deal. Things like that made the culture seem really alive to me.

I definitely want to continue reading this series. The second book, Rebel features different central characters, but I enjoyed the faerie world so much I’m definitely interested in reading more. If you liked The Last Faerie Queen or the Goldstone Wood books, you might want to give this series a try.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A couple of kisses.

Spiritual Content
References to the Great Gardener, with whom the faeries seem to credit creation, etc. At one time all faeries had magic. Now only their queen has it.

Violent Content
Vague references to an accident which leaves a man paralyzed from the waist down. A crow attacks and tries to kill faeries until one fights back, injuring it and hoping to kill it. There are a couple of short descriptions of battles between crow and faeries.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Remember to Forget by Ashley Royer

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

Remember to Forget
Ashley Royer
Zonderkidz

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

After Delia’s unexpected death, seventeen year-old Levi spirals into depression, unable to speak to anyone. When several attempts at therapy fail, Levi’s mom sends him from their home in Australia to Maine to live with his estranged father. Bitter, angry, and hopeless, Levi’s determined not to let anyone into his life, especially the girl who reminds him so much of Delia. For her part, Delilah’s content to let Levi to himself. He’s rude and erratic, definitely not the kind of guy she needs in her life. But beyond his angry exterior, she senses his deep hurt and finds herself powerfully drawn to the aching boy caged behind his silence.

Crafting an angry yet likeable character has to be one of the hardest challenges in literature. While it was clear that Levi’s deep grief often motivated his surly outbursts, I found it hard to understand why Delilah was so captivated with him. It’s a pet peeve of mine, too, for a story to follow a romance between a hero with what could become abusive behavior (unpredictable, explosive anger.) While we’re supposed to know and believe in the ultimate well-meaning, sweetness of Levi’s heart, his behavior toward Delilah is, at times, disturbing. He never hits her or anything like that. But honestly, when a boy behaves the way Levi does toward Delilah, we tell her to lose that guy.

All that said, I know we are supposed to root for him and want him to find healing. Certainly healing from grief is a journey, and it’s noble to stand by someone through that process. I think I just needed to see something admirable in Levi. Some reason for Delilah to invest besides the simple mysterious cause of his anger/grief.

I don’t know much about selective mutism, though I’ve read a review on the blog Disability in KidLit of a book dealing with progressive mutism. (I’d be interested to see what they say about the portrayal in this book as well.) I liked that in Remember to Forget, it wasn’t a simple matter of Delilah being the one to break through Levi’s silence. I like that his healing came in layers, too. Though he struggles with continuing to take his medication, the meds do ultimately play a positive role in his recovery.

Over all, this was a pretty simple, sweet story about a boy recovering from grief and learning to give himself permission to be happy again. As far as content, it’s fairly clean. See below for details.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Aiden and Delilah take Levi to a party where teens drink alcohol. Delilah and Levi don’t drink, but Aiden does. Delilah and Levi leave him at the party.

Levi takes several medications to manage depression and anxiety. He struggles with feelings about the medication and sometimes avoids taking it. Levi also smokes cigarettes. He eventually, he decides to quit.

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

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