Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: Detached by Christina Kilbourne

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

detachedDetached
Christina Kilbourne
Dundurn Press
Available August 13, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

After her grandparents’ unexpected deaths, Anna begins to feel untethered from her life. She fantasizes about suicide, the only end to the awful pressure of existing that she can see. On the outside, her best friend Aliya senses something isn’t right with her usually level-headed friend. But as Anna’s behavior becomes more and more erratic, it’s hard for her friends and family members to face the truth that something is deeply wrong.

This is a fairly dark story about a teenage girl suffering from depression. What I liked most was having the inside and outside views of Anna—in her point-of-view and her friend Aliya’s. I found it easy to empathize especially with Aliya because while she watched Anna spiral downward, she wanted to help, but she didn’t want to overreact. Where’s the line between someone having an off day versus some kind of deeper masked depression? I had several friends who wrestled with thoughts of suicide in high school, so that definitely resonated with me.

There are a couple of sections of the story written from Anna’s mom’s point-of-view that I didn’t think were really necessary. Of anything, they felt the most preachy and repetitive, since often we saw the same scene again through Anna’s perspective.

Often a story about depression (sometimes even without meaning to) glamorizes the depression itself. This story doesn’t do that. Anna’s feelings are disturbing, even to her, but she feels trapped by them. They make her blind to the things going on around her—things like the boy who has a crush on her, and the joy she once felt spending time with her friends. Detached captured that element of depression really well, I thought, and it also offers hope without feeling chastising or belittling to Anna’s experience. We see the trauma that not only she experiences. We see it in the reactions of her family members and her friends.

While I think this is a great examination of depression and suicidal thoughts, some of Anna’s ideas and pursuits are a bit graphic. This might not be a good read for someone in the midst of these kinds of feelings. Friends and family members of someone suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts might find the window into Anna’s and her family’s experiences validating or helpful.

See the content notes for additional information.

Cultural Elements
None.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Moderate profanity. The first half only uses mild profanity infrequently. After an intense event, Anna ups the ante and swears quite a bit (which she acknowledges).

Romance/Sexual Content
Kyle hopes to ask Anna out, but instead chickens out.

Spiritual Content
Anna briefly contemplates jumping in front of a car to end her life, but worries about facing God afterward. What if she killed innocent people in the process?

Later, she comments that maybe God figures she deserves to die after all when one of her plans to kill herself seems to be coming together easily.

Anna faces her family’s grief over her depression, and for a moment wishes to go back to believing she succeeded with her suicide.

Violent Content
Anna spends a lot of time fantasizing about and planning her suicide. She makes several attempts to kill herself, one of which is pretty violent. A boy hangs himself in a tree on Halloween. He appears to be the victim of bullying.

Drug Content
Anna and her friends sneak off to parties a couple of times. Anna drinks beer and lies to her mom about it. Aliya and her friends also drink.

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

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Review: Goldheart by Kenley Davidson

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, New Adult 18up, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Goldheart
Kenley Davidson
Page Nine Media
Available May 2016

Amazon | Goodreads | Author Web Site

After recovering from a kidnapping, Elaine Westover wants nothing more than to live a quiet secluded life with her paints. But as her father’s home falls into disrepair and his business fails, she has little choice but to offer her services painting portraits. When a wealthy man hires her to paint an impossible portrait for a year’s income, Elaine considers accepting the job. At the interview, he makes it clear she has no choice but to accept, and he bundles her off to the attic against her will, promising to release and reward her when she completes his task. Her only friend and protector is Will, a young man she takes to be a servant. He vows to help her in any way he can, and soon she realizes she’s falling in love with him. Will feels drawn to Elaine as well, but when he discovers the connection between his family and hers, he knows he can never let her discover his name without ruining every moment they’ve shared together.

The first book in the Andari Chronicles was one of the best surprises I’ve had this year. I loved Davidson’s retelling of the story of Cinderella with its added political intrigue, and ever since I read it, I’ve been excited to read more. I like that this story features characters who appear very briefly in Traitor’s Masque, most importantly, Elaine Westover. While she didn’t strike me as a particularly dynamic character in the first book (she’s really just mentioned and off-stage the entire story), I liked the way her character unfolded in Goldheart.

Rumplestiltskin isn’t one of my favorite fairytales, and I wasn’t sure how a painter would factor into a retelling, but I have to say, I loved how it all played out. The themes about value and gold made the story even richer (see what I did there? Ha ha.) than the original tale. One thing that Davidson does really well is to craft believable fairytale men with believable friendships. Will and Blaise were a great pair, and the scenes featuring the banter between the two of them rank among my favorites.

So far I have to recommend this whole series. I’ll be reading the third book soon, though I’m honestly tempted to start it today. The next book is a retelling of Twelve Dancing Princesses and features another character I enjoyed from Traitor’s Masque: the prince’s friend, Kyril. Can’t wait!

Fans of fairytales definitely need to give these stories a read. They’re a bit grittier than Melanie Dickerson’s novels and a bit more traditional than Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles. It definitely reminds me of Robin McKinley’s Beauty and Spindle’s End, but without the magical elements.

Cultural Elements
The landscape of the story and the characters feel very Western European.

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

Romance/Sexual Content
A man makes veiled threats that he could and might harm Elaine. She fears for her physical safety and it’s clear he could rape her if he chose, though it’s not explicitly stated. A man hints that his friend needs a few minutes alone in a carriage with a certain woman, but he means for privacy, not sexual reasons.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Elaine has nightmares and remains tormented by memories of her earlier kidnapping. (From the first book in the series.) A man is bound and left in a cellar after being smacked around a bit. A madman lights his home on fire and himself as well.

Drug Content
None.

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

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Review: Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee

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

Gemini
Sonya Mukherjee
Simon & Schuster
Available July 26, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

A small town home fits just right for Clara, who longs to study the night sky and live in the familiar community where everyone knows her and her sister Hailey. But Hailey wants more. She learns of an art program in San Francisco, and soon it’s all she can think about. Problem is, where Hailey goes, Clara must go, as the two are conjoined twins. While Clara and Hailey can’t imagine life any other way, they each long for things that seem impossible. A boyfriend. World travel. A trip to the stars.

Last year I read One by Sarah Crossan, and I kind of expected this story to follow much the same path. Instead, Gemini charts its own course, following the story of two gifted girls. There were definitely some unexpected moments. At one point, Hailey confronts a girl who’d been a bully in the past. The girl responds angrily, saying she’s spent years trying to make up for her mistake and be kind to Hailey and Clara. Hailey realizes that perhaps this is true, and perhaps she’s the one who’s been holding a grudge and being judgmental. This was a great moment, and it challenged some overused themes about who the bullies and the victims are.

The twins explore what it would take to have a normal life and whether that’s worth risking everything to have. Mukherjee let that journey wind through familiar and expected territory and also into some paths less often tread. Gemini made me appreciate the choices Clara and Hailey made and celebrate their victories and dreams. Some of their dreams become possible. Others remain out of reach. But isn’t that life for us all?

Readers who enjoyed One by Sarah Crossan would probably also enjoy this novel. Fans of Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey and stories that explore deep emotional questions and the bonds of sisterhood will want to add Gemini to their reading lists.

Cultural Elements
Hailey and Clara are conjoined twins, joined back to back. Juanita is one of the girls’ best friends and confidantes. At the start of the story, a boy joins Hailey’s and Clara’s classes. They soon discover that he stutters, especially in situations with high social pressure.

Clara especially struggles with social situations in which people stare or say and do rude things. One of the reasons the family lives in a small community is so that everyone will get used to seeing them and they’ll be able to have something like a normal life within the community. The story explores the idea of normalcy and what it really means to the girls. As they begin to think about college programs, it’s clear they have very different aspirations.

The boys, Alek and Max, address Hailey and Clara individually, at times almost forgetting that they’re joined. While all of that happened seamlessly in the scenes of the story, it felt like a big statement about their individuality and personhood, one I felt was cleverly incorporated into the story.

The issue of surgery to separate the twins does come up, and they evaluate it carefully.

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

Romance/Sexual Content
Boys from school tease Clara’s new friend Max about his interest in her and Hailey, saying he must be interested in them because he’d be getting two girls at the same time. Max explodes, yelling at the way the other boys speak about Hailey and Clara, as if they’re objects or sex toys.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Hailey’s friend Alek paints a picture that disturbs her. His art often involves gore or dark elements. He later explains why death so often appears in his art juxtaposed against Thomas Kincade-like settings. The pictures are usually only briefly described. The picture that bothers Hailey has a little more description. Alek explains the symbolism of the image and why there’s so much blood, and he means the expression to be flattering. (Yeah, this doesn’t make much sense here. It makes more sense in the story, but I don’t want to give too much away.)

Drug Content
The girls go to a party, but leave early.

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

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Review: Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie N. Holmberg

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, New Adult 18up, , , ,

Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet
Charlie N. Holmberg
47 North

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Maire arrives in Carmine without any memory of how she got there. A kind couple take her in and she spends her days baking sweets infused with love, hope, or strength. That is Maire’s gift: she can impart these things through her cakes. She has a good life, one which she may yet share with Cleric Tuck. But before she can find out what an ordinary life in Carmine might hold for her, she meets a ghostly form from her past, a winged man named Fyel, who desperately wants her to remember who she is.

Before she can pursue her lost memories, marauders tear through her home, capturing her. Maire finds herself enslaved by the cruel Allemas, who demands that she make magical cakes for him. Fyel promises to help Maire, but she must recover her memories before Allemas destroys her.

This story has a really fresh, unique feel to it. I think one of my favorite elements was that when Allemas asks Maire to make cakes for him, the orders and customers come from familiar fairytale stories. For example, she’s asked to make a gingerbread house covered with candy. A lonely woman begs her to make a living gingerbread boy. It definitely added this feeling that the author and readers were sharing an inside joke that the characters were unaware of. I liked that a lot and thought it was pretty clever.

I loved Fyel. At first, I wasn’t sure I’d like him. But as the story progresses he shows such devotion to Maire, yet he allows her a lot of independence and respect. I liked that he didn’t just bulldoze over her and push her around, but he’s no weakling either.

Fans of Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone or Melissa Grey’s The Girl at Midnight should definitely give this book a read. This is the first novel by Charlie N. Holmberg that I’ve read, but I now I’m eager to read others. I’ve heard great things about The Paper Magician, so I hope to give that one a read soon.

Also, special thanks to author Jeff Wheeler, Jolien at The Fictional Reader and Carrie at Reading is My Super Power for recommending Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet to me!

Cultural Elements
The fantasy landscape is vast and drives by the identities of various cultures as Maire wonders where she’s from. As she recovers her memory, her skin turns a deep red. She learns that others from her home come in different colors.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Maire remembers making love to her husband in a brief scene. She shares kisses with him and with another man.

Spiritual Content
The characters believe in many gods and in the existence of assistants who craft the landscapes of worlds. The gods breathe life into creation but crafters create the world before they arrive. At one point, Maire interacts with a silvery substance like a soul.

Violent Content
Raiders capture Maire and others and sell them as slaves. Maire’s new master treats her with some cruelty, locking her in a cellar and forgetting to feed her. He’s a bit creepy.

Drug Content
None.

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

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Review: The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng

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

The Year of the Book
Andrea Cheng
HMH Books for Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When a social shift at school leaves Anna without her best friend, she turns to books for companionship. When she feels pressure in Chinese class because she doesn’t know as much as the other kids, books are her refuge. But as the people in Anna’s life begin to experience troubles of their own, she learns that sometimes, just like the heroes in her stories, she must step out into the unknown and offer help. Sometimes, Anna learns, this is precisely what makes for the best friendships.

Anna charmed me from the first page. I loved the descriptions of the stories she read, and though I hadn’t read all of them myself, it was easy to understand why the stories mattered to her. I liked that she found herself faced with other people’s needs. Reading is awesome, but sometimes it isolates us from others. And when people in Anna’s life needed things, it drew her out of her books and allowed opportunities for her to have relationships with them. I loved the sweet, subtle way the author explores learning how to be a good friend.

I also liked the sense of community in the story. Anna’s class experience felt very real, and her relationship with the elderly man her mother cares for also felt authentic and added a lot to the story.

Cultural Elements
Anna and her family are Chinese American. She takes Chinese classes with other kids her age, but finds it frustrating not to know as much as they do because her mother insists on speaking English to her at home.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Brief references to Chinese traditions.

Violent Content
At one point a man bangs on the door of Anna’s family’s apartment looking for his daughter, Anna’s friend. The girls are scared, but Anna’s parents send the man away.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

A Daring Sacrifice
Jody Hedlund
Zondervan

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

The mysterious Cloaked Bandit lives in the forest of Wessex, robbing its nobility to feed peasants displaced when the current Lord usurped the lands. Now he combs the forest seeking the identity of the Bandit, unaware that in fact, she is the rightful heir to Wessex.

When the Cloaked Bandit robs a neighboring noble, Lord Collin recognizes the girl as his childhood friend. Concerned for her safety, he convinces her to stay a week in his home, far away from Lord Wessex’s soldiers. As he learns the terrible truths that led to Juliana’s impoverished circumstances, he vows to do something to help her. Her compassion for the poor moves him, and the injustice of her father’s death stirs him to outrage. But before Collin can enact a plan to right the wrongs in Juliana’s life, she slips away, her feelings for him suddenly more than she can bear. Collin pursues her, but if Lord Wessex finds her before Collin does, his love will be lost forever.

I liked the Robin Hood-ish element of the Cloaked Bandit, and the way Juliana’s band of thieves operates like a family. Fans of the series will remember Lord Collin as one of the three knights who competed for Lady Rosemarie’s hand in marriage. I enjoyed the fact that this story followed him, but I found it difficult to connect with his character. He spent a lot of time obsessing about Juliana’s or his sister’s feelings. I wanted to feel more of the warrior-knight in him, and that stronger side didn’t show until very late in the story. I also found his flippant attitude about his wealth to be a bit strange. It was okay that he started out feeling that way, but I guess I wanted to see more maturity emerge on that front? I don’t know.

Romance dominates this medieval tale. I lost track of how many times Collin or Juliana experienced butterflies in their bellies over being near each other. I had a hard time really buying into exactly why they felt this powerful attraction toward each other. It seemed like the physical attraction overshadowed the development of their relationship. It’s definitely one of those swoony, sweet stories, which is great. I think I just wanted a little more bite or something to balance out that sweetness.

If you like Melanie Dickerson’s medieval fairy tale novels, you’ll want to check out this series by Jody Hedlund. Though A Daring Sacrifice isn’t a true retelling of the story of Robin Hood, it definitely has some similarities. If you’ve already read and enjoyed A Daring Sacrifice, and you’re looking for another story with a bit of a feminist spin on Robin Hood, try Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley.

Cultural Elements
None.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Lots of description of tingling hands and fluttering tummies when Juliana and Collin are in close proximity to each other. A few kisses. At a midnight picnic (with a chaperone) a man places his head in a lady’s lap.

Spiritual Content
Juliana wrestles with the morality of her life as a thief. She knows her father raised her to do right, and that stealing is wrong. She looks for the courage to find another way to stand against her uncle. She prays in times of need. One young woman ends the story shaken and disillusioned about love and marriage. She joins a convent.

Violent Content
Juliana recalls finding pieces of her father’s body after her uncle tortured him to death. Not a lot of gory detail, but even the straight descriptions are pretty harsh. Something about a young girl finding her father’s body in pieces just can’t be anything other than disturbing to me, no matter how few details there are beyond that. Juliana’s uncle captures a young thief and tortures him in an attempt to find the location of the Cloaked Bandit. The boy suffers broken bones and having his nails removed. The torture itself isn’t described, only his injuries afterward.

Juliana’s uncle arranges to have a young woman burned to death. Later, he arranges to have a man tortured to death.

Juliana describes the servant uprising that led to her father’s death. Collin describes another battle in which soldiers and civilians are injured or killed.

Drug Content
Servants give ale and wine to guests at a dinner party. Collin and Juliana both drink ale.

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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