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Review: The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

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The Scorpion Rules by Erin BowThe 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 and Giveaway: One by Sarah Crossan

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, News and Fun, Poetry, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

One by Sarah Crossan
Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishing
Published: September 15, 2015

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Grace and Tippy, Tippy and Grace.

It’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins, even for Grace and her sister. One pair of legs carries them, their arms looped around on another for support. Born as conjoined twins, they’ve never been apart, and they never wish to be separated. When they’re forced to attend school for the first time after being homeschooled all their lives, Grace and Tippy predict the same ruthless gawking and cruelty from their classmates. Two friends open a doorway to a life far more normal than they ever expected possible. Then their health takes a sharp turn, and the one thing Grace and Tippy have never considered becomes the choice that may save their lives.

Within the sparse, moving poetry that depicts each scene of One, Crossan establishes both Grace and Tippy’s individuality and their unity. I felt the companionship, dependence, and frustration it sometimes caused within the lines. It was easy to imagine the terror that would come from imagining life apart from one another.

Yet this isn’t a story swallowed by what it’s like to live as conjoined twins. The rest of the girls’ lives – relationships with parents and their sister – also fills the pages of the tale. And they don’t have perfect little families and perfect little friends. There are some big issues, which really also helped ground the idea that these girls are no freakshow – they’re like any close sisters might be. They just happen to share more than clothes and hair supplies.

The ending is a little bit predictable, but honestly, I got so wrapped up in the emotions that Grace, our narrator, experiences that I really didn’t care. I needed to walk every page with her to the very end. It is a journey well-worth taking.

Fill out the form below to enter the giveaway for your very own copy of ONE!

Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Sexual Content
Grace recalls with frustration some inappropriate curiosity about her and her sister’s body – “how many vaginas do you have?” A girl and boy kiss.

Spiritual Content
After a terrible disappointment in church, Grace’s family does not participate in any spiritual practices. They remain angry, saying that God would not be welcome at their funerals.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
Grace and Tippy drink alcohol with friends (even after their doctor warns them that it poses an extreme health risk to them) and eat a brownie containing marijuana.

 

About the Author

Sarah Crossan is Irish. She graduated with a degree in Philosophy and Literature before training as an English and Drama teacher at Cambridge University and worked to promote creative writing in schools before leaving teaching to write full time.

She completed her Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Warwick in 2003 and in 2010 received an Edward Albee Fellowship for writing.

She spent several years living and teaching high school in New Jersey before moving to London.

Learn more about author Sarah Crossan and One at Once Upon a Twilight where Leydy is hosting a Q&A today!

One Book Giveaway

Enter here to win a free copy of One by Sarah Crossan and share in the joy and mystery of this tale of identity and love. This giveaway is hosted by The Story Sanctuary and Once Upon a Twilight.
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Review: The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

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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

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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.

Upcoming Reviews for September 2015

Lists, Middle Grade 8-12, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

September is my favorite month. It’s the peak of the season for afternoon thunderstorms in Central Florida, and reading is the perfect thing to do during a thunderstorm. It’s also the month when two important things happen – my wedding anniversary and my birthday. This September also happens to be a busy month for book reviews! Here are a few you can expect to see in the coming weeks at The Story Sanctuary.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Madeline is allergic to the outside world. Then she meets Olly, a neighbor boy, and the romantic tension ensues. I’m excited but nervous about reading this book. After being blown away by Because You’ll Never Meet Me earlier this year, I’m afraid I’ll compare the two, and I don’t know how that will go. I am definitely open to love it.

 

The Firebug of Balrog County by David Oppegaard

A small town hits hard times, and Mack only knows one way to relieve the tension building inside him: find something to burn. How can a pyromaniac be a hero? I’m curious about this, too. So far everything I’ve read about this book has been positive. I love angsty YA, and I’m a huge fan of Flux books, so I’m definitely eager to crack the cover of this novel.

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

Grief is such an important issue, and it’s one that our culture doesn’t really handle so well. (But that’s another topic.) This novel focuses on a girl who lost her best friend, she believes, because of a rare jellyfish sting. She sets out on a journey to prove her theory.

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

This looks like a dystopian novel in which the children of world leaders are raised in seclusion, trained for the day in which they may be used in a hostage exchange to keep peace between nations. It looks dark but like it has real potential to explore some human rights issues. I’m excited to check it out.

I Crawl Through It by A. S. King

I’ve been on a bit of a streak reading YA novels that deal with some heavy mental health issues. This one follows four teens as they battle their way through dealing with trauma. The copy on Goodreads and NetGalley reference possibly some multiple personality or delusions.

 

Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Naturals #2)

A team of teens possess special abilities (not like X-men, more like, super-geniuses at certain things like lie-spotting or profiling) which make them indispensable to the FBI. It’ll take all their gifts to stop a serial killer before he snatches his next victim. Suspense isn’t my usual go-to, but this novel definitely appealed to me. I like that it focuses on the relationships between characters as well as this pressing mystery.

Lullaby by Amanda Hocking (Watersong #2)

I’ve actually read this before and for some reason never managed to write up a review. I’m listening to the audiobook version and will write my review from that. It’s about a girl who was tricked into becoming a Siren. Only after she’s transformed does she realize a few of the downsides: she can’t leave her Siren sisters; she must eat the heart of a boy to survive; and she must spend time in the ocean water or she’ll die. (The heart-eating sounds super gross, but it’s not described in the story.)

Battle of Beings by Nita Tarr (War Child #1)

This sounds a little bit like a cross between This Present Darkness and Eragon? The description intrigues me, so I’m giving it a go this month.