Category Archives: Blogger’s Favorites

Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo
Henry Holt & Co./MacMillan
Published September 29, 2015

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Six of Crows

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

My Review

This book is a bit longer than my usual read, I’d heard so much buzz about it that I couldn’t resist giving it a shot. It’s also the first book by Leigh Bardugo that I’ve read.

Now, after I’ve recovered from sleepless nights huddled in my bed reading far too late, I can say it was absolutely worth it. Not since reading THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak have I read a novel that has affected me so.

The characters immediately hooked me. Each one of the heist members is unique and has so much to lose if the job goes wrong. I loved the way Bardugo set up the romantic tension. I was absolutely dying for the couples to find their way through the conflict to at last reveal their true feelings for one another. Totally swoon-worthy. Wow.

At its heart, SIX OF CROWS is a pretty simple story about a team who get hired to steal something valuable. What makes it so truly spectacular is the complex story world in which the characters exist and the relationships and experiences that bind the characters together or drive them apart. The narrative is also fantastic. Fantasy lovers absolutely need to give this a read. Even if you didn’t enjoy Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone Trilogy, trust me and give this one a go. This was my first experience with her writing, and afterward I went back to read the first in the Grisha series. The style and the story are so different. It took me a lot longer to get into SHADOW AND BONE. Not that it isn’t good, I just feel like it’s a mistake to compare them.

Now I’m off to scratch another mark on my wall counting down to the release of CROOKED KINGDOM next year. Must. Have. More.

Content Notes

Language Content
Infrequent use of profanity.

Sexual Content
While there’s no explicit sex, there are some intense moments. Nina and Inej both have a history working in a brothel, though very few details are given about that, and Nina uses her Heartrender gift to soothe and calm the minds of her patrons. Inej was trafficked as a sex worker. Nina and Matthias have a history and she makes a couple of crude comments about his arousal, but there is no description of sex.

Spiritual Content
SIX OF CROWS includes some fantasy story world lore, especially Fjerdan traditions.

Violence
Fight scenes, references to torture, some moderately gory battles. Also, one character has a bit of a gruesome backstory in which he was trapped among dead bodies.

Drug Content
Grisha are vulnerable to a highly addictive drug which grossly amplifies their power. Exposure to even one dose can turn them into desperate, terrorized addicts.

What’s the last book you read that left you totally breathless?

When I finished this book, I just sat speechless for a few moments. Then I honestly had to stop myself from turning the book over and starting again! I loved loved loved it and cannot wait for the sequel.

Save

Review: These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

These Shallow Graves
Jennifer Donnelly
Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When news of Jo’s father’s sudden death rips her away from school, she returns home to her grieving family. Unable to accept the story that her father accidentally shot himself, she teams up with Eddie, a local reporter who worked for her father’s paper, to uncover the truth about his death. As each clue leads to more questions, Jo and Eddie quickly realize that the uncovering the truth could destroy everything her father once built. Jo also realizes she may be falling for the handsome reporter, but to surrender to her feelings would mean turning her back on her family.

I first fell in love with Donnelly’s writing in A Northern Light. More recently I’ve read the first three Waterfire Saga books, which are a lot lighter and geared for a bit of a younger audience. I enjoyed those books, too, but I have to say I’ve been craving the darker, more complex historical feel that first book contains, and These Shallow Graves absolutely delivered all that I hoped for and more.

The romance between Jo and Eddie had me flipping page after page. I loved the dynamics between them and also the way they each related to other characters in the story. I loved that the side characters had a lot of personality and many became significant to the story. Jo’s journey has a lot to do with answering the question of who’s valuable, and over and over Donnelly presents answers in the way these minor characters unexpectedly play significant roles in the way the story develops. I loved that message.

Readers looking for a murder-solving suspense, a taste of historical fiction, or a swoon-worthy romance will find these things and more in These Shallow Graves. If you liked A Northern Light, I suspect this one will be a sure win, too.

Language Content
Infrequent use of moderate profanity.

Sexual Content
Girls briefly discuss curiosity about sex – no details. Jo learns of the existence of brothels and briefly visits the parlor of one. She spends the night in the company of a man, but only sleeping occurs.

Spiritual Content
References to church attendance. A man claims regret over his past misdeeds causes him to have visions of Hell.

Violence
This book contains a lot of suspenseful and intense moments featuring bad, violent men, who don’t hesitate to harm women and children. The description are often brief, but so sinister.

One of the characters is a student of forensic medicine. He relates information about causes of death to Jo and Eddie. His descriptions can be a bit graphic.

Drug Content
Brief reference to morphine addiction. Several scenes take place in a bar or show characters drinking alcohol.

Waterfire Saga Giveaway

Don’t miss a chance to enter the giveaway for the first three books in the Waterfire Saga plus series-themed nail polish. Check it out here. (Giveaway ends 11/3/15)

 

Review: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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

Illuminae
Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Random House Children’s Books/Knopf Books for Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

I’m going to pull the marketing copy from Goodreads because honestly, I won’t be able to come up with anything to the story better justice:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

What I thought
This story is kind of like World War Z meets 2001: A Space Oddyssey. SO. MUCH. TENSION. An unpredictable AI who may or may not be trying to kill everyone, plus a highly contagious epidemic of people basically turning into paranoid, violent zombies. In a closed spaceship. In the middle of outer space. With an enemy ship closing in behind them. Are you on the edge of your seat? OMG, you should be.

The story is told through various “records” like emails, interviews, crew reports, and instant messages. At first I didn’t think I’d like this. I felt like it really limited how things unfolded, but once I got past the first couple of chapters, I felt like the pacing and the choice of which documents are included and the order in which they appear really adds to the feeling of tension building and building as the story progresses.

I loved the quick, witty dialogue between characters, especially Ezra and Kady. What I didn’t love quite so much was that after a while, it seemed like that voice got used too often and too many characters sounded the same to me. I was definitely willing to overlook that, though. It hardly affected my ability to enjoy the story. It was just more something I happened to notice.

Also, the end was fantastic. There was a moment in which I worried that it was going to all wind down leaving me bitter and disappointed, and instead Kristoff and Kaufman totally kicked it up a notch. I would absolutely read a sequel.

Side note: I read an ARC acquired from Netgalley, so the formatting in my version may not match the final version, but I’d recommend ordering a hard copy of the book rather than an ebook. There were a few pages that, because of how they displayed, were a little bit difficult for me to read, and I felt like I was missing parts of words at the edges of the page. I think it might have been easier to read as a paperback, though I usually prefer an ebook version.

Language Content
Loads of profanity and some crude references.

Sexual Content
References to sexual acts.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
A biological warfare agent/virus causes those affected to become violent. Sufferers maim and decapitate others. Lots of descriptions are of the aftermath of the outbreak, but there are some really intense moments in which a point-of-view character faces someone with truly gory intent. I’m pretty sensitive to violence in literature, and it was definitely at my upper limits of what I can take.

Drug Content
See above.

Review: The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

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

The Scorpion Rules
by Erin Bow
Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster

Amazon | Goodreads |Barnes & Noble

Most of Greta’s memories are from her time spent at the Precepture as a Child of Peace. Though she’s the crown princess of the Pan-Polar kingdom, she and other child royals live together in the secluded school. If their countries declare war on one another, their lives will be forfeit. For Greta, whose homeland stands on the brink of war, reaching adulthood seems an impossibility.

When a new boy enters the Precepture, he’s bound and determined not to let the system dominate him. Greta’s always been careful to follow the rules, but now she finds herself challenged by Elián’s behavior. As their nations inch ever closer to war, he talks of escaping the compound. Hope and terror battle within Greta, but she may not have time to decide the victor before she’s called upon to fulfill her duty.

Wow. Just wow. I devoured this book, page after page as quickly as I could. When I had to put it down, the story stayed in my head. Each of the characters has this really deep individual personality and each really added something significant to the story. I liked that the AI characters didn’t follow the clichéd norms for speech and behavior. The premise – that AI rule earth from a satellite – is really original, and Bow executes the plot with clockwork precision. As each new conflict tore through the tale, I found myself deeper and deeper invested in the lives of the Children of Peace.

The ending definitely set the stage for a follow-up novel. It was intense without seeming like a cliffhanger for its own sake. The ending resolved the crucial conflict but definitely left plenty of things unresolved for the next tale.

If you’re looking for a book that has a diverse, well-drawn set of characters and a strong cerebral feel, this is definitely a book you want to read. Fans of These Broken Stars by Aimee Kaufman and Meagan Spooner or Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee should add this novel to their to-be-read lists.

Language Content
Extreme profanity used very infrequently.

Sexual Content
References to sneaking out at night to have sex, called “going coyote.” A girl confesses that she’d become pregnant and was forced to miscarry. Kissing – girl/girl and boy/girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
References to complete cities being obliterated. Greta remembers one of the Children of Peace who committed suicide and briefly describes what happened. (He used a pitchfork. There was a lot of blood.) Robot minders use electric shocks to keep one rowdy kid in line. A drug is used to induce nightmares in other children who won’t behave. A female hostage is queued for torture. It’s intense but doesn’t get super gruesome.

Drug Content
See sexual content and violence.

Review: The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , ,

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When Suzy’s best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy’s mother says sometimes things just happen. The loss and senselessness of it leave Suzy unmoored. Then she learns about a rare, deadly jellyfish that may have been spotted in waters near where her friend swam. If Suzy can prove why her friend died, maybe the awful ache inside her will go away. Maybe she’ll be able to explain it to everyone. Her effort to prove her case will lead her halfway around the world. But her tenacity and wit will bring her friendship much closer to home.

This is one of those books I couldn’t help loving. Suzy seems like she may be on the autistic spectrum, but that never really enters into the narrative. It’s clear that among her peers she’s a bit of an odd duck, and she longs to fit in, despite her frequent inability to say the “right thing.” Her family members added a great deal to the story without intruding on Suzy’s space. Each character felt real, complex, as if they were the type of family one might encounter anywhere in America.

The one moment that rang false to me was when Suzy plans to use her father’s credit card and times her transaction to be a few days before he receives his credit card statement. I wasn’t sure that I really believed a kid her age would think of that. It was a small moment, though.

Benjamin brings to the story this keen sense of the grief process, and the sense of helplessness that bystanders often feel when someone they love is deeply grieved. With its message of hope and the amazing facts about the humble jellyfish, The Thing About Jellyfish would make an excellent classroom aid or recommended reading assignment for sixth or seventh grade.

Recommended especially for readers who enjoyed Rain Reign by Ann Martin or Nest by Esther Ehrlich.

Language Content
No profanity.

Sexual Content
Suzy watches her brother Aaron and his boyfriend exchange a kiss.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
Girls pick on each other. It’s not violence, but it is hurtful bullying. One girl spits on another’s face. A girl soaks another girl’s locker items with pee.

Drug Content
None.

Review: Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

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

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Bullying leaves fourteen year-old Audrey paralyzed with an anxiety disorder. Now she hides behind sunglasses within the safe walls of her family’s home. When her therapist challenges her to create a video diary, Audrey begins filming interactions between family members. Her mother, believing Audrey’s brother has a gaming addiction, sets out to cure him, by force if necessary. Frank, Audrey’s brother, just wants to enter a gaming competition, and he’ll do whatever he has to do to get time online practicing for the big day. The competition prep introduces Audrey to Linus, her brother’s gaming buddy. Linus seems to like Audrey, despite her anxiety. His enthusiasm for her wellness seems to propel Audrey forward, but a spike in anxiety always seems just a breath away for Audrey. She wants to flip a switch and be normal again, but she must learn that therapy and life don’t work that way. Sometimes it’s the unexpected daily victories that deserve to be celebrated.

While at first this might seem like a dark topic for an author famous for her laugh-out-loud stories, Kinsella brings the zany fun in the interactions between Audrey’s family members and even in some of Audrey’s own experiences. I loved that this isn’t a story strictly about a girl’s battle with mental illness, but that it shows the way Audrey’s experiences have affected each person in her family. Audrey’s mother absolutely cracked me up. Her hypervigilance and worry were so easy to identify with and, taken to the extreme as they were, easy to laugh at.

It’s also not a story about how getting a boyfriend saved a poor broken girl. Audrey’s relationship with Linus certainly plays an important role in her recovery. He challenges her to do things that she’s frightened of doing, and then his enthusiasm becomes its own reward. Sometimes he misunderstands Audrey’s needs, and that causes some problems. Those difficulties made sense and added another element of realism to the story.

Fans of Kinsella’s other books will definitely enjoy the situational humor and wit of Finding Audrey. Readers looking for a lighthearted read will find that despite the heaviness of the topic, this is a fun, inspiring story.

Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Sexual Content
Audrey and Linus spend time snuggling on the couch and kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
Vague references to instances of bullying that were severe enough to cause Audrey to have a breakdown.

Drug Content
Audrey takes medication for anxiety. She decides to quit her meds on her own and must deal with consequences.