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Review: The Wickerlight by Mary Watson

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The Wickerlight by Mary Watson

The Wickerlight (The Wren Hunt #2)
Mary Watson
Bloomsbury YA
Published November 26, 2019

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About The Wickerlight

It’s been two months since Laila was found lifeless on Kilshamble village green, not a mark on her. Rumour says she died of an overdose. Or maybe it was suicide? The autopsy found nothing, but somebody must know what happened.

Now Laila’s sister Zara is ready to pick up the trail. But retracing her sister’s footsteps takes her to David, a Judge at the dangerous heart of an ancient magical feud. All too unwittingly, she begins to tread the same path that led her sister to the village green .

Mary Watson’s sequel to THE WREN HUNT is an eerie, magical thriller about a dead girl, her sister and the boy who can unlock the truth of what happened the night she died. Perfect for fans of Frances Hardinge and Emily Bain Murphy’s THE DISAPPEARANCES.

My Review

In the book THE WREN HUNT, the story follows Wren, a young Augur who’s caught in the middle of the war between her people and the Judges, her enemies. THE WICKERLIGHT is told by two people: one of the Judges who hunted Wren named David (and get ready, because there’s so much more to this guy than you thought there was in the first book!) and an outsider named Zara who simply wants to know what happened to her sister.

I had a much easier time connecting with the story this time through– I think maybe because I was already a bit familiar with the story world. I also LOVED getting to see a whole different side of David, who was in the first book. And seeing the community from an outsider’s perspective also gave the story a lot more intrigue, too. Right off the bat, the reader knows so much more than Zara does, and it added a lot of tension to many of the things she did, because we knew the danger she was placing herself in, even when she didn’t.

Some of the other characters from THE WREN HUNT appear in THE WICKERLIGHT, too. Cassa Harkness, Wren, and Tariq all appear on the page here and there. It was cool to read about them again and find out what had happened to them since the end of the first book.

Would I read a third book in this series? Um. YEAH. Especially after the way THE WICKERLIGHT ends, yes, yes, YES! Please tell me more. I can’t wait to dive back into this really delicious, dark Irish storyworld.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Zara and her family are Indian and from Australia. Other characters are Irish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently by one character.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Use of magic and curses.

Violent Content
Some graphic violence and brief scenes of torture.

Drug Content
Some reference to experimentation with drugs.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE WICKERLIGHT in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Impossible Music by Sean Williams

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

Impossible Music
Sean Williams
Clarion Books
Published July 2, 2019

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About IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC

Before the stroke that left him deaf, music was Simon’s life. Now, his band breaks up and even his future college career studying musical composition is in jeopardy. How can a deaf student study music?

The only bright spot in all of it is a fierce girl Simon meets at Auslan class, where he learns sign language to communicate. G seems just as angry to be there as Simon feels, and the two strike up a friendship that inspires Simon to find new ways to pursue music. He begins developing ideas that would allow Deaf and hearing audience members to experience music in the same way, desperately hoping to impress a music professor in a composition program that Simon hopes to enter.

My Review

The concept of IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC totally hooked me. I love books about angsty musicians, so I knew I’d like Simon. I like fierce female characters, so I suspected I’d like G and Simon’s little sister, Maeve, also stole my heart. She’s strong and sometimes pushy, but you really get the sense that underneath that is a lot of love for her family.

In terms of the plot, this must have been a tough book to write. I felt like it dragged sometimes, but I don’t think that actually had to do with the pacing of the plot. I think it had more to do with the stakes. Simon’s goal is to find a way to celebrate/study/participate in music as a young deaf man. If he fails, he’ll be very sad. It’s not that that isn’t compelling. But I didn’t feel like the stakes ratcheted up as the story progressed.

I like the way the story braids together Simon’s love for music and his love for G. In lots of ways her emotional journey seems to be a mirror of his, sometimes revealing things to Simon that he wasn’t ready to face about himself. But she also calls him out on things he’s not ready to face, too. They make a good pair.

Readers who liked THE SCAR BOYS by Len Vlahos will like the gritty, emotional writing and the “diary of a band boy” style of the story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Simon and G are Deaf. IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC is set in Australia.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used frequently. I struggled with the amount of swearing in the book, I think because it really felt gratuitous to me.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Simon and G spend nights together, and it’s hinted that they’re having sex but not explicitly described.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to a suicide attempt.

Drug Content
Simon and his friends drink alcohol, which is legal at eighteen in Australia.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Waiting Matters Series by Beth Steury

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

Saving Sex for Marriage in a Fifty Shades World (Waiting Matters #1)
Beth Steury
Life Matters Publishing
Published on September 12, 2017

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About Saving Sex for Marriage in a Fifty Shades World
“A world that respects sex . . . ” Can you imagine a society molded around the principle that sex is a gift? An awesomely amazing gift from GOD? You know, the guy who created it? A place where people totally get that sex is more than simply a pleasurable physical act. Oh, everyone knows that sex is incredible. But because it’s so good, sex is protected from anything or anyone who would try to abuse it. Can you even imagine such a place? Barely, right? Because instead, ours is a “Fifty Shades of Grey” world where sex has been so trivialized that saving sex for marriage is labeled old-fashioned, unnecessary, unimportant. Even worse ridiculous or dumb. But I’m here to convince you that GOD’s design for sex is amazing. That waiting does matter. That sex is worth saving for marriage. Even in this Fifty Shades world.
My Review
This first book in the Waiting Matters series talks a lot about why waiting until marriage to have sex is important and why it makes sense from a Christian perspective. Steury is practical and firm but not unkind in the way she addresses the issue. Obviously it will mostly appeal to readers with a Christian worldview.

I liked that the tone of the book is very positive and encouraging. While Steury doesn’t leave a lot of room for excuses, she continually encourages readers to reaffirm a commitment to abstinence and never berates anyone for having made other choices in the past.

The Waiting Matters books make a nice introduction to reasons for abstinence (book 1) and practical strategies for maintaining a successful commitment to abstinence (book 2). They make a great companion to Steury’s novel (and soon-to-be series) Before I Knew You, book one in the Choices Matter series.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Content Notes
No profanity. Obviously the book contains some references to sex, but no graphic details.

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

The Who, What, When, Where, How and Why of Saving Sex for Marriage (Waiting Matters #2)
Beth Steury
Life Matters Publishing
Published on September 12, 2017

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About The Who, What, When, Where, How and Why of Saving Sex for Marriage
Saving sex for marriage is the best decision you’ll ever make.

No matter who you are, how old you are, or where you live. Doesn’t even matter what’s in your past.

“But I already didn’t wait!”

Then a commitment to “renewed waiting” is the second-best choice you’ll ever make. Nothing makes more sense than stopping behavior that puts you at risk physically, emotionally and mentally.

“But it’s hard to wait . . . ”

Of course it is. Waiting is tough, but it’s not impossible. You can do it.

These practical strategies and candid conversations from the “Waiting Matters . . . Because YOU Matter” blog series will help you navigate the choppy waters of saving sex for marriage.

Because sex is worth waiting for. You are worth waiting for.
My Review
I liked that this book talks about practical strategies for walking out a commitment to abstinence. Often I hear people talking about how important a commitment to abstinence is without really talking about how to live out that kind of commitment. Steury also doesn’t mince words about what abstinence really means and how a relationship between two people committed to waiting until marriage to have sex should look.
Each chapter opens with a quote or question about sex that a person in a relationship might ask or believe about sex. Steury responds in a clear, concise narrative with explanations that are easy to follow.
I think this book would be a great resource for a church small group study or a lead-in to a discussion about boundaries and ground rules for teens beginning to have dating relationships. Of the two Waiting Matters books, this one was definitely my favorite.
While I think kids 12 and up could read this book, it’s probably best-suited to teens 15 or 16 years old up through college years.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Content Notes
No profanity. Obviously the book contains some references to sex, but no graphic details.

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

Review: The Brink of Darkness by Jeff Giles

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

The Brink of Darkness
Jeff Giles
Bloomsbury
Published on July 3, 2018

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About The Brink of Darkness
Things have changed for seventeen-year-old Zoe ever since the otherworldly events that brought her together with the mysterious bounty hunter she calls X. In order to save Zoe and her family, X has done the unthinkable – he’s given up his freedom and returned to captivity in the Lowlands.

X is determined to break the lords’ hold on him once and for all, but being stripped of his power pushes him toward a darkness he’s never experienced and a past he’s never known. The secrets that surface could be the key to reuniting X and Zoe… or they could mean the destruction of everything they have been fighting for.

My Review
So many great lines! Pretty much any section told from Zoe’s point-of-view is packed with fantastic side comments and banter between her and her friends. X’s sections aren’t quite as peppery, but I loved the Ukrainian for all his snarky one liners.

So much heart. The Brink of Darkness is, above all else, a story about true love. Both the love between X and Zoe and love of family—birth family, and family you make for yourself.

I struggled with the amount of violence portrayed in this book. Some scenes show graphic torture and reference some pretty horrible events. If I didn’t like the other elements of the story so much, I don’t think I could have finished it. Even though I did, this probably isn’t a good choice for sensitive readers. If I had known how much was in the book, I probably wouldn’t have tried to review it.

Which isn’t to say I’m sorry I read it. I don’t know. I’m really torn. I really didn’t like the amount of violence, but I am a total sucker for a book with great banter and such fun characters. I’m glad it had that quality. See my comments below for additional notes on content.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Zoe’s best friend Val is a lesbian. Zoe’s family members are vegans.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Infrequent use of strong profanity. One odd thing about the book is the lowercase use of “god” throughout the whole story, even when spoken by a priest.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between man and woman. References to sex, but no description. (Two people lie down in a boat together. They remove shirts and then the scene cuts away from them.)

Spiritual Content
The Lowlands (sort of like Hell) is a place where people who’ve committed heinous acts find themselves in the afterlife. It’s governed by lords who have some supernatural powers, but are themselves dead humans. Several characters reference a Higher Power (capitalized in the story) who is ultimately in charge, but only intervenes in the direst situations.

I found it odd that the story uses a lowercase for God versus uppercase for the Higher Power of the Lowlands.

Violent Content
So. Much.

Several scenes show torture in pretty graphic detail. The methods used to punish inhabitants of the Lowlands are pretty harsh. This is not one for sensitive readers. I had a really hard time with some of the descriptions and skimmed over a couple passages. At one point X is under the governance of a woman who thrives on torturing others. That part was too much for me.

Drug Content
None.

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

 

Review: Your Destination is on the Left by Lauren Spieller

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

Your Destination is on the Left
Lauren Spieller
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published on June 26, 2018

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About Your Destination is on the Left
Dessa Rhodes is a modern day nomad. Her family travels in an RV, their lives defined by state lines, exit signs, and the small communal caravan they call home. Among them is Cyrus, her best friend and long-time crush, whom she knows she can never be with. When your families are perpetually linked, it’s too dangerous to take a risk on romance.

Instead, Dessa looks to the future. She wants to be a real artist and going to art school is her ticket to success and a new life. There’s just one problem: she hasn’t been accepted…anywhere. Suddenly her future is wide open, and it looks like she’s going to be stuck traveling forever.

Then an unexpected opportunity presents itself: an internship working with a local artist in Santa Fe. Dessa struggles to prove to her boss—and herself—that she belongs there, but just as she finally hits her stride, her family suffers an unexpected blow. Faced with losing everything that she has worked for, Dessa has a difficult decision to make. Will she say goodbye to her nomadic lifestyle and the boy she loves? Or will she choose to never stop moving?

My Review
I liked that Dessa’s major goal wasn’t to find true love or be in a relationship. While romance is an important element of the story, Dessa’s real goal is to go to college and craft a future for herself. This creates some problems between her and her family as her parents want her to stay with them and continue traveling. It also strains her relationship with her best friend Cyrus, because he reads her desire for another life as a rejection of the life he’s chosen. So Dessa faces a difficult journey as she tries to find a way to do what she feels is best for her without hurting the people she loves most.

At one point, Dessa’s dad asks her to keep a secret from her mom. Dessa keeps the secret, but feels guilty about the lie and frustrated that her dad continues to lie to the family, too. I loved her relationship with her grandmother, who acts as a pillar of strength and a sort of home base for Dessa and her family. She doesn’t direct the story, but she sometimes serves as a mirror, reflecting Dessa’s true desires back to her sometimes without any words.

Dessa’s artwork also plays a major role in the story. I loved that. The descriptions of her artwork and the art of the woman who mentors her had me wishing for a studio and paintbrushes or a day at the museum.

On the whole, I liked the balance between Dessa’s dreams for the future, which she won’t compromise for a relationship that might only be for right now, and her relationships. I loved the way art was represented in and played a role in the story, too. Readers who liked Stacie Ramey’s The Sister Pact and How to Be Brave by E. Katherine Kottaras will want to check this one out.

Recommended for Ages 16 and up.

Cultural Elements
Dessa’s family is Greek. Cyrus’s family is black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used regularly throughout the book.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl and tops removed. Dessa says they don’t have sex but come close.

Spiritual Content
Dessa’s grandmother is Greek Orthodox. There are a couple mentions of her going to church or passing mentions of her faith. At one point, she and Dessa plan to spend time alone together, and her grandmother says, it’s going to be her, Dessa, and the Lord.

Violent Content
Dessa throws a cup of beer in the face of a cruel boy.

Drug Content
Dessa drinks beer with a friend after they both sneak into a bar together, and later drinks champagne (provided by her grandmother) with Cyrus.

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

 

Book Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

Delirium
Lauren Oliver
HarperCollins
Published February 3, 2011

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In a world with closely controlled borders, seventeen-year-old Lena counts down the days until she receives the cure for what her government labels, “the deadliest of all deadly things,” or Love. Lena can’t wait to finally be cured, to know she’s safe from this vile and unpredictable thing. Then she meets Alex, and everything goes sideways. She isn’t sure what to think about the disease or the rumored uncured people living outside the safe borders of the town or Portland. And Alex is different. Special. Before she can stop it, her attraction toward him blossoms into something deep and forbidden, and for once, dutiful Lena doesn’t care if she’s breaking all the rules. How could anyone not break rules when they feel so wonderful?

But her procedure date approaches, and once it arrives, her feelings for Alex will be gone. Alex knows how to live away from town, but leaving means walking away from her family and her best friend Hannah. How can Lena do that? With time quickly running out and enforcers so close to discovering her secret relationship, Lena must decide what to do and find a way to escape before it’s too late.

Since her stunning debut Before I Fall, Oliver has delivered sharply brilliant prose framed around powerful characters and themes. Her exploration of love rockets readers through a dangerous world in which love is a disease scientists are now able to cure. Lena’s roller coaster ride of emotions becomes a little difficult to believe at times, as she both carefully controls her stoic public face and privately reels from the wild emotional highs and lows of her infatuation with Alex. Her best friend’s perfect understanding and lack of jealousy at being ditched for the boyfriend also felt a little hollow. Despite this, the story is intense and its narrative finely honed. Lena’s recollections of her mother and the descriptions of the Wilds beyond Portland are deeply captivating.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Infrequent but severe.

Sexual Content
Whether or not Lena and Alex engage in sex is left pretty vague. Lena describes her feelings at allowing Alex to see her without a shirt, and how before that moment she felt awkwardly put together, but his opinion of her as beautiful changes Lena’s perception of herself. The couple frequently kiss one another.

Spiritual Content
Some biblical characters and references are altered, as if they’ve been rewritten by a government with an agenda against love. Deeper spiritual pursuits are not really explored.

Violence
Police with weapons and dogs surround a house filled with people listening to forbidden music. They attack the party-goers, attempting to punish and subdue them. Some details are intense and a little grisly. A girl infected with “the Deliria” is bound to her bed until she can receive surgery to cure her from the disease of love. Later, police chase down a young couple trying to escape and attempt to shoot them.

Drug Content
Lena’s sister gives her a tranquilizer pill to calm her. Lana believes it is ibuprofen.

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