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Review: I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me
Jamison Shea
Henry Holt & Co.
Published August 29, 2023

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About I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me

There will be blood.

ACE OF SPADES meets HOUSE OF HOLLOW in this villain origin story.

Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood.

The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she’s dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she surpasses her bitter and privileged peers, leaving broken bodies behind her on her climb to stardom.

But even as undeniable as she is, Laure is not the only monster around. And her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter. As she descends into madness and the mystifying underworld beneath her, she is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is—monstrous heart and all. That is, if the god-killer doesn’t catch her first.

From debut author Jamison Shea comes I FEED HER TO THE BEAST AND THE BEAST IS ME, a slow-burn horror that lifts a veil on the institutions that profit on exclusion and the toll of giving everything to a world that will never love you back.

My Review

First, I have to say this author either has some up-close experience in the dance world or definitely did their research. The descriptions of what dancing en pointe does to your toes… YUP. Brought back so many memories. Wowza. Not the horrific element I expected to find here, but pretty real stuff nonetheless! Ha.

I found myself nodding along to a lot of the dance descriptions, like the ways the dancers do things, from breaking in a pair of shoes to techniques used on the dance floor. That’s a lot of stuff to get right, and the author really did that. It very much lines up with my own experience.

I thought Laure’s character was really compelling. I liked the moments she delivered commentary on the ballets the company chose to perform and how they were cast, as well as the expectations about how dancers were to look and act.

In some moments, I felt out of sync with the paranormal/supernatural parts of the plot. I felt like I was missing something. I’m not sure if I didn’t absorb a few critical details or what exactly happened there.

Still, so many parts of the book deeply fascinated me. I especially liked Keturah and Andor and the ways they impacted the story. I loved the complications Andor faced in his love life, too. It was so different and really emphasized the strangeness of the story.

On the whole, I am glad I read the book. I loved getting to be immersed in a ballet world– even one so toxic and tragic as this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
The main character is Black and queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Laure and her friends encounter a river of blood and an ancient god who offers them temporary gifts for a price.

Violent Content
Graphic descriptions of dance injuries and injuries resulting from sabotage. Situations of peril. Laure discovers the bodies of two people who appear to have been murdered. One scene includes graphic descriptions of torture. Another includes a battle between two god-powered characters. In a couple of scenes, a character drinks blood from another person.

Drug Content
Laure, seventeen, drinks alcohol with an older dancer.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of I FEED HER TO THE BEAST AND THE BEAST IS ME in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Secrets Never Die by Vincent Ralph

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Secrets Never Die
Vincent Ralph
Wednesday Books
Published August 29, 2023

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About Secrets Never Die

We call it the Dark Place. I don’t know who built it or when but, for us, it’s special.

Every year Sam Hall and his friends hold funerals for their secrets in an abandoned hut in the woods that they call the Dark Place. But this year, their secrets are coming back from the dead…to terrorize them.

Sam is a former child star whose career went up in flames – literally. And no one, not even his best friend knows why. His friends each hold a secret pertaining to the night. A secret they would all like buried.

Now someone from the past is blackmailing them with their dangerous secrets. Sam isn’t sure who he can trust, who’s watching him – or how far he’s willing to go to bury the past once and for all.

When you’re alone in the dark, some things won’t stay hidden.

My Review

This isn’t my favorite genre, but I feel like I’m growing to appreciate it more through books like YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT and ONE OF US IS NEXT.

I liked that SECRETS NEVER DIE starts with a close-knit friend group, in which everyone hides a secret. I definitely didn’t predict the direction that some of those secrets took the story. There were a few things that I did successfully predict. They were pretty minor, though, so mostly, that made it satisfying that I was right.

One particular plot bend shifted the focus of the story away from the main characters. I found some of the things that happened at that juncture to be a little less engaging. By that point, though, the stakes of the story were so high, and it seemed like whoever had it out for Sam and his friends was closing in on them.

In one scene, Sam and his girlfriend need to make up after a fight. She sits at her desk reading her favorite book, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. Sam wants to talk to her, but he says she makes him wait until she gets to the end of the chapter she’s reading. I thought that was funny because PERKS only has four chapters in the whole book, and they’re like 40-60 pages. That’s a LONG wait, unless she happened to be near the end of one already.

On the whole, I think the book does a great job in the way the story builds tension. I liked the characters, and I kept finding reasons to sneak another chapter in so I could keep reading.

I think readers who enjoy suspense/thriller stories will want to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
One minor character is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two boys. Brief reference to who’s had sex and who hasn’t within Sam’s group.

Spiritual Content
Sam and his friends have a yearly ritual in which they each go into a hut to speak their darkest secrets, to release themselves from guilt over their pasts.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. More than one person faces danger from a fire. One character survives a suicide attempt. Characters receive threatening messages and creepy items. Two characters are in a car accident. Someone attacks others with a knife. In one scene, a child appears to be in danger.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol at a Halloween party.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of SECRETS NEVER DIE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

The Infinity Particle
Wendy Xu
Quill Tree Books
Published August 29, 2023

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About The Infinity Particle

In this gorgeous graphic novel by Wendy Xu, co-creator of the award-winning Mooncakes, a young inventor falls for a lifelike AI and confronts questions of freedom and autonomy.

Clementine Chang moves from Earth to Mars for a new start and is lucky enough to land her dream job with Dr. Marcella Lin, an Artificial Intelligence pioneer. On her first day of work, Clem meets Dr. Lin’s assistant, a humanoid AI named Kye. Clem is no stranger to robots—she built herself a cute moth-shaped companion named SENA. Still, there’s something about Kye that feels almost too human.

When Clem and Kye begin to collaborate, their chemistry sets off sparks. The only downside? Dr. Lin is enraged by Kye’s growing independence and won’t allow him more freedom. Plus, their relationship throws into question everything Clem thought she knew about AI. After all, if Kye is sentient enough to have feelings, shouldn’t he be able to control his own actions? Where is the line between AI and human?

As her past and Kye’s future weigh down on her, Clem becomes determined to help him break free—even if it means risking everything she came to Mars for.

My Review

I’ve read both MOONCAKES and TIDESONG, and love the story and illustrations so much. When I saw that Wendy Xu had a new graphic novel coming out this year, I could not wait to get my hands on it.

This book has the same expressive, detailed illustrations that I’ve come to love in Xu’s other books. I love the way she draws characters’ expressions and how she places them on the page. Both these elements really call attention to the relationships between the characters. I found it easy to feel the friendships and romance building as I turned the pages of the story.

I don’t really know anything about the field of AI, and I felt like I could enjoy the book just fine without being familiar with the field. But there were moments when I felt like I might have had a deeper or more resonant experience reading the book if I knew more. It made me want to check out the podcasts the author mentions in her book dedication.

All in all, I devoured this gorgeous graphic novel in one sitting. It’s a beautiful, tender story that deserves to sit on the shelf with Xu’s other works.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are survivors of or experiencing domestic violence. A minor character wears a hijab.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between girl and masculine AI.

Spiritual Content
The story examines questions about the meaning of personhood and humanity.

Violent Content
Scenes show or reference a person in a position of power verbally abusing someone with less power than them.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara by S. Jae-Jones

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Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara
S. Jae-Jones
Wednesday Books
Published August 1, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara

Sailor Moon meets Cinder in Guardians of Dawn: Zhara, the start of a new, richly imagined fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong.

Magic flickers.
Love flames.
Chaos reigns.

Magic is forbidden throughout the Morning Realms. Magicians are called abomination, and blamed for the plague of monsters that razed the land twenty years before.

Jin Zhara already had enough to worry about—appease her stepmother’s cruel whims, looking after her blind younger sister, and keeping her own magical gifts under control—without having to deal with rumors of monsters re-emerging in the marsh. But when a chance encounter with an easily flustered young man named Han brings her into contact with a secret magical liberation organization called the Guardians of Dawn, Zhara realizes there may be more to these rumors than she thought. A mysterious plague is corrupting the magicians of Zanhei and transforming them into monsters, and the Guardians of Dawn believe a demon is responsible.

In order to restore harmony and bring peace to the world, Zhara must discover the elemental warrior within, lest the balance between order and chaos is lost forever.

My Review

I don’t know why I mistook this for middle grade when I first agreed to review it. Maybe the cover reminded me of a different middle grade title? I’m not sure. At any rate, the book page on Amazon recommends it for ages fourteen and up. I think maybe 11 or 12-year-olds could read it just fine, though.

My favorite thing about the book is definitely the way Zhara and Han relate to one another. They’re so cute. She gets all giggly, and he is so easily flustered. I loved it! I also loved Xu, Han’s best friend and often the voice of wisdom.

The story has some strong Cinderella vibes, but I wouldn’t call it a Cinderella retelling. I definitely see the comparison to CINDER— which was a Cinderella retelling couched in a story of revolution. Similarly, GUARDIANS OF THE DAWN: ZHARA follows characters through political upheaval and what could lead to revolution.

I’m super curious about what the rest of the series will be like. Will each subsequent book contain elements of a familiar fairytale, a la The Lunar Chronicles or the Everland series? I hope it does. I would love to see more East Asia-inspired remixes of fairytale stories.

All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot, especially the character interactions. I’m really eager to read more of this series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
The Land of the Morning Realms is inspired by East Asia. More than one minor character is LGBTQIA+.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity very rarely used.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to romantic encounters between other couples, including same-gender couples. Characters discuss romance novels and explicit novels– the quotes and titles included are metaphorical.

Spiritual Content
Magic exists as a balance between order and chaos. Chaos includes demons, which can be summoned and can possess someone with magic. Powerful magicians have the ability to battle those forces of chaos.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Domestic violence. Some graphic descriptions of battle and monsters.

Drug Content
Zhara’s stepmother frequently gets drunk and physically/emotionally abuses her and her sister.

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

Review: Learning to Be Wild by Carl Safina

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

Learning to Be Wild: How Animals Achieve Peace, Create Beauty, and Raise Families (A Young Reader’s Adaptation)
Carl Safina
Roaring Brook Press
Published August 22, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Learning to Be Wild

From New York Times -bestselling author Carl Safina comes LEARNING TO BE WILD, a young reader’s adaptation of the notable book BECOMING WILD that explores community, culture, and belonging through the lives of chimpanzees, macaws, and sperm whales.

What do chimpanzees, macaws, and whales all have in common?

Some believe that culture is strictly a human phenomenon. But that’s not true! Culture is passed down from parent to child in all sorts of animal communities. It is the common ground that three very different animals – chimpanzees, macaws, and whales – share.

Discover through the lives of chimpanzees in Uganda, scarlet macaws in Peru, and sperm whales in the Caribbean how they – and we – are all connected in this wonderous journey around the globe.

My Review

I love the idea of adapting a book like this to make it accessible to younger readers. The topic is really intriguing, and I think a lot of readers would find the book engaging.

I thought the writing was a bit dense for a younger audience. There were sections I needed to read more than once to be sure I understood them, so it’s definitely not an easy read. I don’t know how it compares to the adult version. The table of contents shows the same sections, just in a different order, but I’m not sure how much the writing itself was simplified from one version to the other.

The book focuses primarily on three different animal groups: chimpanzees, scarlet macaws, and sperm whales. In each section, the author gives lots of supporting examples of other animals’ behavior and tons of interesting facts scientists have observed about animal culture. I found those snippets and the examples from the main animal groups to be the most interesting parts of the book.

It’s funny that I never really thought about how animals learn things beyond their instinctive behaviors. It makes so much sense that they learn from one another and have their own communities and cultures. I loved getting to peek into what those cultures look like and how they impact animal life.

The book also highlights how decreasing populations due to the destruction of habitat and climate change impact animals, making it harder for them to survive. I hadn’t thought about some of the ways the author lists. Seeing how decreasing population impacts culture and impacts the animal’s ability to survive also helped show how important their cultures are to them. It’s cool to see and study, but it’s also a deeply important element of their lives.

All in all, I love the topic of this book. I wish the writing were a little simpler because it’s got a lot of really great information to share with young readers and animal lovers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
The book focuses on animal behavior but includes references to some human researchers. Some are white. One is African and another is Peruvian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to animals choosing mates.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some brief descriptions of animals displaying territorial aggression. Brief descriptions of how a chimpanzee reacts to getting a limb caught in a trap and how that injures them.

Drug Content
Brief mention of cigarette butts collected by birds who use them in their nests to repel insects.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of LEARNING TO BE WILD in exchange for my honest review.

Review: House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig

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

House of Roots and Ruin (Sisters of Salt #2)
Erin A. Craig
Delacorte Press
Published July 25, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About House of Roots and Ruin

A modern masterpiece, this is a classic Gothic thriller-fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig, about doomed love, menacing ambition, and the ghosts that haunt us forever.

In a manor by the sea, one sister is still cursed.

Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her family’s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia.

When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloem—wife of a celebrated botanist—is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille won’t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret she’s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one day: Verity is still seeing ghosts; she just doesn’t know it.

Stunned, Verity flees Highmoor that night and—with nowhere else to turn—makes her way to Bloem. At first, she is captivated by the lush, luxurious landscape and is quickly drawn to charming, witty, and impossibly handsome Alexander Laurent. And soon, to her surprise, a romance . . . blossoms.

But it’s not long before Verity is plagued with nightmares, and the darker side of Bloem begins to show through its sickly-sweet façade. . . .

My Review

I read this immediately after finishing HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS (my review isn’t live yet), but I don’t think you would need to read one read the other. Verity is a minor character and very young in the first book of the series. There are a couple of references to what happened, but they’re pretty carefully explained.

I think the pacing of this book is a lot smoother than the first one. At least, that’s how it felt to me. The last several chapters are pretty intense, but they didn’t feel as rushed as the same part of the story in the first book.

I also really enjoyed Verity’s character and the relationship between her and Alex. They were so sweet together, which was really cool in contrast to the dark, intense plot of the story. I thought it was cool to see this book feature a love interest who uses a wheelchair. I am not qualified to evaluate the representation, but I enjoyed the inclusion.

Of the two Sisters of the Salt books, this one is easily my favorite. I think readers who enjoyed A FORGERY OF ROSES by Jessica S. Olson would like the romance and creepy gothic setting of this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Verity is white. Her employer, Dauphine and her son Alex are people of color. Alex is paralyzed from his thighs down and uses a wheelchair.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
One of Verity’s sisters has a secret romance with a woman. Kissing between boy and girl. Vague references to sex (Alex worries whether this will be possible for him.). Verity discovers a secret bookshelf filled with pornographic books. She briefly but explicitly describes what she sees. One scene shows a boy and girl having sex.

Spiritual Content
Verity sees ghosts, but she can’t tell which of the people she sees are ghosts and which are not. She encounters some creepy situations, like what appear to be screaming women.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Descriptions of torture. References to assault. Some graphic descriptions of murder and attempted murder.

Drug Content
References to social drinking. Someone drugs, others through the use of poisons, hallucinogens, and opium.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of HOUSE OF ROOTS AND RUIN in exchange for my honest review.