Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: The Waking Land by Callie Bates

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

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

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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

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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

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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: Trashing the Planet by Stuart A. Kallen

Book Review and Content, Nonfiction, , , , , , ,

Trashing the Planet: Examining Our Global Garbage Glut
Stuart A. Kallen
Twenty-First Century Books
Available August 1, 2017

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Humans produce an incredible (or incredibly gross) amount of trash each year. Garbage ends up in landfills, rivers, oceans, and even in space. Controlling this waste to keep it from polluting air and water supplies is a monumental task. Scientists continue to learn more about the impact of waste and chemicals on the environment. Exciting new inventions create opportunities for cleanup to proceed quickly, allowing humans to undo some of the damage done to the environment. But as the mess took a global effort to make, it will take a massive effort to clean up, and understanding how garbage is managed is an important step in that process.

This book made me think much more deeply about the problems we face in terms of disposing waste. It describes some of the complications many landfills wrestle with on a daily basis and what will happen if toxins from these sites leach into our water supply.

There’s been a lot of focus within the current government about rolling back regulations to allow for more unhindered growth of businesses and industries. Without really going into that debate, I’ll say this book raised some important examples from history on why we developed many of those regulations to begin with. One of the things which surprised me was how often the EPA intervenes not just for wildlife protection but for protection for human lives from toxins which have had terrible impact on our health.

My favorite part of the book, though, was learning about some of the amazing solutions being developed to combat the garbage problem. From cities using methane produced by landfills as trash decomposes for an energy source to a trash filtration system which aims to use the oceans’ naturally occurring currents to remove garbage from the water. We may have made a big mess, but we have some amazing people with some incredible ideas working hard to help reduce and hopefully eliminate these problems. It doesn’t mean we can afford to sit back and let them handle things. It’s still so important to get educated—and this book is an excellent starting point. But it’s comforting to know there are solutions, and we can make a difference.

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Cultural Elements
The book focuses a lot on the way trash is dealt with in America but contains sections dedicated to inventors from other countries who’ve had really cool ideas for ways to better manage garbage.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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

 

Review: Bullied by J. D. Jacobs

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

Bullied
J. D. Jacobs
Published April 2, 2017

Amazon | Goodreads

About Bullied
When tragedy destroys Ricey Kennedy’s family, Fear is never far behind. Forced to leave everything she’s ever known and move to New York, Ricey thinks life can’t get any worse. But then she meets Katrina, the high school’s mean girl. Day after day Ricey suffers the humiliating onslaught from the smooth-tongued bully, and it doesn’t take long before her self esteem is crushed into nothingness.

Struggling through life, romance is the last thing on Ricey’s mind when she meets the cute Tom Wilson. But Tom is determined to show Ricey that she could have a real chance at a new life and love, if only she can face her biggest fear of all . . .

My Review
One of the most intriguing things about this book was the author’s description of the story being narrated by fear. I thought looking at bullying through the lens of fear and how it affects victims and perpetrators alike would make for a really deep and unusual story, and in a lot of ways, I think that’s true here.

I wouldn’t call the story entirely narrated by fear, though. There are sections where we get this kind of sidebar update on how Fear interacts with each of the characters and why that’s significant. But for the most part, the story follows the point of view of a large number of characters, often hopping from one perspective to another without warning, and gives insight into each one’s thoughts and feelings.

On the whole, I liked the book. Toward the middle I felt like the plot dragged a little bit with some repetitive scenes. I wished the scenes from the teacher’s and dad’s point-of-view had been left out as they interrupted the flow and purpose of the story, in my opinion.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Characters appear to be white, often from affluent families.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Ricey begins to feel attracted to Tom and worries about him possibly betraying her. Their relationship isn’t the focus of the story, but it does become an important component as the story progresses.

Her teacher’s dating life also has a role in the story. Again, not the focus, but she worries about being single forever and feels pressure to find a husband, fast.

Spiritual Content
Ricey recalls her mother asking her to promise to keep loving God no matter what. A couple of times Ricey has significant conversations with mentors about her anger toward God. I thought these got a little bit clichéd.

Fear comments several times on working for the Boss, which we assume to mean God. In the story, Fear behaves in the service of God, sometimes driving the other characters toward healthy behaviors by a survival instinct. Other times, Fear directly challenges them, providing opportunities for growth. While I think this worked on a practical level, I occasionally found it difficult to reconcile this with Biblical principles. I wished there had been an aside clarifying how the story world fits into the Biblical worldview. Just to reduce any confusion readers may have.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Ashley remembers drinking wine at a family wedding and making choices (befriending a guest) she regrets later.

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

 

Review: Solo by Kwame Alexander

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

Solo
Kwame Alexander
Blink – Zondervan
Published August 1, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Solo

SOLO, a YA novel in poetic verse, tells the story of seventeen-year-old Blade Morrison, whose life is bombarded with scathing tabloids and a father struggling with just about every addiction under the sun—including a desperate desire to make a comeback. Haunted by memories of his mother and his family’s ruin, Blade’s only hope is in the forbidden love of his girlfriend. But when he discovers a deeply protected family secret, Blade sets out on a journey across the globe that will change everything he thought to be true.

My Review

Even though it’s told in verse, the details and imagery are so rich, I kept forgetting I was reading poetry. Alexander has this way of pulling you into each scene, really making you feel everything as the story unfolds. I felt Blade’s sweet hopes for his relationship with his girlfriend and his bitter disappointment and anger with his dad for every broken promise, every ruined moment.

I loved the way Blade’s music appeared in the story—both as lyrics he’d written, and his own emotional experience playing the guitar. His international journey wasn’t what I expected, but I liked the way the story pursued Blade’s process of grief over his mom’s death and his father’s failures and the journey toward forgiveness and peace.

The story’s a bit grittier than others I’ve read in this line, but the writing is absolutely superb.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Blade and his family are black, and his father is a famous musician. He’s dating a white girl, the daughter of a reverend.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl and one vague reference to “exploring hands”—which Blade’s girl puts a stop to quickly enough. Blade observes another couple kissing. Blade mentions that his girlfriend intends not to have sex until marriage, but confusingly, she also claims she’ll never get married, so he wonders why she’s dating him in the first place.

Spiritual Content
Vague references to Blade’s girlfriend’s parents attending church. At one point, faced with a scenic view, Blade’s dad makes a remark like, maybe there is a God.

Violent Content
Blade breaks up a party after a boy makes some cutting remarks about his sister. A young girl vomits blood while she’s ill.

Drug Content
Blade recalls a childhood memory of a party with his dad, a rock star. He drank whiskey and tasted cocaine in an effort to get noticed by his dad, and wound up in the hospital. His father went to jail. Later, his dad promises again and again he’ll quit drinking, then Blade finds him drunk again. At one point, his father ruins an important moment of Blade’s by showing up drunk and making a spectacle. Blade’s father’s behavior also leads to Blade being forbidden to see his girlfriend, since her father assumes Blade follows his father’s ways. Blade’s dad pushes his sister to have a big party to celebrate her record release. Attendees drink alcohol.

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