Last Princess

The Last Princess Galaxy Craze

First there were the Seventeen Days-- 17 days of hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. So much ash was spewed into the air they rarely see the sun anymore.

Eliza's mother, the queen, was poisoned while Eliza watched. Her unborn little brother was quickly born, but is forever ill because of the poison. Food and water and fuel are scarce.

As the book opens, Eliza, her older sister Mary, and brother are returning to London after spending a carefree summer at Balmoral. Before she leaves, Eliza's best friend warns her about what the adults have been keeping from them all summer-- there's a brutal rebel group that's gaining ground and territory and its leader is the same man who assassinated the queen. Once they return, the palace is overrun by rebels, the king is shot (again in front of Eliza) Mary and Jamie are captured and the palace is burned to the ground.

Eliza swears revenge for her family and knows the only way to get to the leader is by joining the rebel forces. She walks straight into the enemy camp but hiding her true identity is harder than she thought...

Fun action adventure, light romance, and a destroyed London. I want to know more of the politics of the rebel group and also why the King had that much power-- much more than any modern king has held. The twist about the romantic interest was easy to spot, but I didn't mind. I liked how that story played out. The end was a bit tidy, but ah well. I don't have a lot to say about it. Eliza was pretty awesome. A few of her moves were a bit beyond belief, but they were so awesome I DON'T CARE. It was a very fun read and am very much looking forward to the sequel.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Mockingjay

OMG THERE WILL BE SO MANY SPOILERS! SO MANY SPOILERS! LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF SPOILERS! AVERT YOUR EYES NOW!!!!!





Mockingjay Suzanne Collins

Ach. I've been sitting on this review for almost 2 years, because at first I wanted to let it sink in. Then, I wanted to calm down a bit.

You guys, it's been almost 2 years. I haven't calmed down. I've just gotten more and more angry.

First off, the good stuff:

I read this in a sitting. I started reading and stayed reading until it was done. It's a gripping story.

I loved the further look into the dark side of the Capitol, the lengths they were willing to go to to keep down the population, the revelations about what really happens if you survive the Hunger Games.

I loved the fact that District 13 was no picnic either-- there are different types of bad. I liked how Katniss struggled with this.

Now the stuff that annoyed me:

Gale vs. Peeta. I feel like the "love triangle" took to much precedence in this book in way it hadn't in the first two. It was there, but seriously guys, THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DITHER ON ABOUT? Also, for it to be an actual love triangle, Katniss should have been a little more involved. I always thought she loved for both guys, but I never once believed that she loved either of them.

Katniss lost a lot of her agency. Every so often she stood up for or did what she thought was right, but in the end, she was a pawn of the revolution the same way the Capitol tried (and failed) to use her. While I understand that surviving two Hunger Games will break a person, she spent a lot of time staring at the wall and doing whatever everyone else told her to do. She stopped kicking ass. This may be realistic, but it made me sad.

Katniss pretty much loses contact with her mom at the end. For a book that was started when she tried to stand up for her family, this was something I didn't understand.

Now the stuff the MADE ME WANT TO SMASH:

The final battle. Now, the fact that figure head would be knocked out pretty early on and miss it? That I liked because it made it a bit more "real." The fact that, as a reader, the major climax we've waited three books for was summed up for after the fact? That's a craft flaw. And, I CANNOT BELIEVE I'M GOING TO SAY THIS, that's where Twilight is better. Because Meyer realized that she needed Bella to be out of commission for part of Breaking Dawn, so all of a sudden there were multiple narrators. And you know what? It worked. But instead, Katniss misses the battle and the reader does to. JENNIE SMASH.

And then... the epilogue. Now, I was Team Gale because the fact that Peeta was willing to die to protect a girl he "loved" but didn't really know always made me want to puke. Gale was her friend. In Catching Fire I got the Peeta/Katniss thing more, because Peeta was one of the only people in the world who could understand what Katniss was dealing with but still... I was team Gale.

I'm not (overly) upset that Katniss chose Peeta. There was nothing overly objectionable about him. He's Bingley to Gale's Darcy. Darcy's the better choice, but Bingley is lovely and easier to handle. BUT! Then, in the epilogue, we get this sentence: It took five, ten, fifteen years for me to agree. But Peeta wanted them so badly. WOW PEETA! Way to beg your way into making Katniss have kids! Way to totally respect her wishes! And because she had kids because Peeta begged for 15 years (not because she wanted them, but because he wanted them "so badly.") I lost all respect for Peeta. Every move in the entire series became suspect. And Peeta went from being Bingley to being an emotionally manipulative asshat who played Katniss and used her the same way the Capitol tried to, the same was the rebellion did. And that's how the book and series ended. With me realizing that Peeta isn't a nice guy and that Katniss is a much weaker character than she seems.

Puke puke puke.

But, to end on a happy note, The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond is a really, really, really good album.

Book provided by... my wallet

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Rip Tide

Rip Tide Kat Falls

I loved Dark Life. In the second book of the trilogy, Ty's parents have set up a sale of their crops to a township named Drift. When they go to drop off the crops, they're kidnapped. Meanwhile, Ty's found another township that was anchored to the ocean floor, with the doors chained from the outside.

As Ty and Gemma rush to rescue his parents, they're sucked deeper into the complicated web of Commonwealth politics and the underworld or politics and economy.

I loved this look at another side of the 'Wealth. In addition to the Topsiders and Settlers, we have Surfs- surfeit population. They live on large floating townships, but can't fish near the coast or near the Benthic Territory. The government also cut most of their rations. They're starving and desperate, a situation that politicians with no oversight don't have a problem taking advantage of.

Just like in Dark Life Falls knows how to perfectly marry heart-stopping non-stop action with complicated politics and intrigue. My favorite part about dystopian fiction usually isn't the action, but exploring the politics of the new world. Catching Fire is my favorite Hunger Games book for this very reason. A lot of authors do action or politics, alternating between the two, but Falls does both at the same time and does both really well.

I'm really enjoying this series and the underwater life-- I'm surprised it doesn't have more readers.


Book Provided by... my local library

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Ship Breaker

Ship Breaker Paolo Bacigalupi

In the future, global warming has creating Category 6 Hurricanes, City Killers. New Orleans is under water. As is Orleans II and large portions of the Gulf Coast. There are new energies and corporations rule all.

Nailer works light crew, scavenging the old oil tankers for copper wire and other light scrap for the corporations to recycle into their new ships. But after a major storm blows on the of the new ships onto an island, Nailer thinks he's found a goldmine, enough to buy him out of his subsistence lifestyle. The only problem is that the girl who owns the ship is still alive, and on the run. Nailer and Nita escape Nailer's father and Nita's family's rivals to try to get Nita to safety in a series of death-defying adventures.

So, even though I'm getting sick of post-apocalyptic adventure novels, I really enjoyed this one. I like the world Bacigalupi has built and how it's so different from our world, but still recognizable as the US. Also, I think it helps to have a post-apocalyptic on the run from those in power novel to be about a BOY instead of a girl. Maybe I just tend to read the ones about girls and there's a whole slew out there about boys. But, it was a nice change. I liked that there were still kick-ass girls (in fact, almost all (all?) of the girls kicked some ass in one way or the other) but the focus stayed on Nailer and the romance was there, but wasn't the main focus of the plot.

This did win a Printz this year and I'm not sure on this. I've read several books that I think that are better examples of literary excellence for teens (off the top of my head, Nothing, Time of Miracles, Finnikin of the Rock). Although this one does have teen appeal. But that's not a Printz requirement.

Overall, I'm not sure on it's Printz worthiness, but it was still a great read (so don't let the shiny medal scare you away?) even if you're more than a little over post-apocalyptic adventures (and frankly, who isn't at this point?)

Book Provided by... my local library

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Matched

Matched Ally Condie

In the Society everything is regulated and controlled. In their 17th year, teenagers are matched-- assigned their spouse. Cassia is lucky in that she's matched with her best friend, Xander. Not only is it extremely rare to be matched with someone from your town-- someone you actually know, but Xander's a great guy and Cassia couldn't be happier, even if she is a bit nervous about how this changes their friendship and relationship.

But, after the matching banquet, Cassia sticks in the microcard to learn more about Xander (not that there's anything else to know, but... well... you would too), but it's not Xander's face, it's Ky's. An Official comes to her that night, already knowing what's happened, saying someone played a cruel joke and to forget it. Ky can never be Matched-- his father was an Anomaly (and Anomalies are dangerous), making Ky an Aberration. Cassia's known Ky for most of her life, but now she starts to really see him and starts to fall in love.

Cassia's never questioned Society, but she can't choose Ky, and as she learns more of his backstory, and sees the actions of her parents and Grandfather, she starts to see cracks in the perfection.

In their review of Delirium, Forever Young Adult said "Y’all, I’ve been growing a bit weary of dystopia, esp. since it’s the new vampire." And you know what, IT'S TRUE.

So much dystopia lately. And I'm not anti-dystopia, I actually love it, but there's just been a lot lately. I can't read it all.

Then YALSA-BK had a conversation last month about books we didn't like and a lot of commentators said that Matched had been over-hyped and didn't live up to the hype. I already had it checked out and it was overdue, which I see more as a challenge to READ IT NOW rather than a "just return it and get it later" because apparently I have a messed-up brain (but you regular readers knew that already, didn't you?)

ANYWAY! Between the claims of it being over-hyped and dystopia burnout, I was a little trepidatious but so many people I tend to have similar tastes with loved it and...

I did, too. It doesn't break a lot of new ground-- there's a reason I keep seeing it compared to The Giver-- their societies are very, very similar. But I liked Cassia's awakening, and I liked the tension. I liked that neither Ky nor Xander were perfect, but they also weren't bad boys. Both were excellent choices, which made the tension that much more awesome. I liked the underground economy in deleted material and I liked the ending.

I also liked that, yes, there will be a sequel (it's a trilogy) but this book stands by itself perfectly well. I'll read the next one because I liked this one, but I don't need another one.

Also, I like this trend towards planned trilogies instead of loooooooooooong series. We get a few books to revisit favorite characters and worlds, but aren't strung along For.Ever.

Book Provided by... my local library

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When Magic Kills

Bones of Faerie Janni Lee Simner

Its been a generation since the war between Faerie and us. Although humans won, magic is still everywhere around. Trees attack and crops fight back at harvest time. Magic kills. Magic is dangerous and those born with hints of magic are immediately destroyed. That's what happened to Liza's sister. She had clear hair and silver eyes, so obviously touched by magic.

After her sister is left on the hillside to die, Liza's mother disappears. Then, Liza starts to fear she has abilities and notices a few clear strands in her own hair. She runs away and finds that not everyone deals with magic the same way her town does and that what she has always held as true might not be so.

I loved the idea of a post-apocalyptic dystopian America caused by faeries, though their fate was so much worse. In addition to a great concept and good adventure/quest story, the writing is what truly makes this one special. I'm odd in my fantasy reading and don't always enjoy the genre, and an adventure/quest story isn't something that will automatically draw me in, but the language in this! Oh! The lyrical writing just drew me in and held me there. This was one of the rare books that I slowed down to read, so I could savor every page.

The opening has been quoted several times throughout blogland, so here's something from the second page.

We knew the rules. Don't touch any stone that glows with faerie light, or that light will burn you fiercer than any fire. Don't venture out alone into the dark, or the darkness will swallow you whole. And cast out the magic born among you, before it can turn on its parents.

Towns had died for not understanding that much. My father was a sensible man.

But the memory of my sister's bones, cracked and bloody in the moonlight, haunts me still.

Copy from: the library
Book Provided by...

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Because you're dying to know...

Catching Fire Suzanne Collins

So, remember when I said that when it came to The Hunger Games, I felt like the blogworld gave it a 12 on a scale of 1-10, and I was giving it "only" a 8?

Yeah, well, Catching Fire? That one goes up to 11. Or even 20.

Seriously, mind-blowingly awesome.

Katniss thinks now that the games are done, she can provide for her family and go back. But everything isn't what she thought it would be. Six months after the games, it's time for the victory tour, but before it begins, President Snow shows up in person to threaten her. It's at this point that she realizes two things:

1. Her actions at the end of the games had far wider implications than she thought. She may have started a rebellion in the districts.
2. Her life will never, ever be her own. If she wants to keep those she loved safe, she will be playing the Capitol's game. Forever.

And then everything gets a whole lot worse.

What struck me most about this is the lengths the Capitol will go to in order to maintain control on their districts. Yes, this is a land that in the last rebellion obliterated one of their districts and, in retaliation for the rebellion makes each district compete in the hunger games for the citizens of the Capitol's own amusement. But the horror they resort to in this book is just... astounding. Especially when it comes to sending not-so-subtle messages to Katniss. This book is tension and fear. This is still adventure, but the stakes are even bigger this time around, because the Capitol of Panem is a government that's desperate but doesn't want to appear like it. It's is a government with no conscience.

And then Collins completely sucker-punches us with the last sentence.

I liked The Hunger Games but Catching Fire just utterly blows me away. Look for it September 1st.

Full disclosure: I begged an ARC off our teen collection development librarian. She had to start a list to circulate it through staff members who wanted to read it.

And, the hottest ARC of the summer is...

Today, my morning started with a happy dance, because my turn came to read the ARC of Catching Fire.

Scholastic didn't give me an ARC, but the teen selection librarian got her hands on one. She showed us at the teen notable books meeting and got mobbed! She started a list, and huzzah! Today it became my turn! I'm already a hundred pages in.

So, I thought I should finally review...

The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins

In retaliation for a rebellion, every district must send two children to the capital every year to compete in the Hunger Games. It's a battle to the death and the winner is set for life. When her younger sister is picked to go, Katniss volunteers to go in her place.

Everyone and their brother has reviewed this book and I will say I really liked it and will definitely read the sequel, but I didn't love love love it the way other people seem to have. This is not my all-time favorite book ever, but it's a grand adventure that completely sucked me in. It's also hard to review a book that everyone loves because when I say I didn't like it as much, it seems like I didn't like it at all, which isn't the case. Let's say, on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being awesome, I feel like the rest of blog land gave this a 12. And I'm giving it an 8.

I was talking with Sara at Book Club a few months ago. and she said she thought of it as a Middle Grade novel instead of Young Adult. She was surprised that other people found it overly violent and bloody because she thought it didn't go far enough, especially when compared to Ender's Game. I had just started the book, so I took those thoughts in mind as I read. I haven't read Ender's Game yet, but I have read Lord of the Flies. Lord of the Flies is a lot more violent and bloody and they were just trying to survive. They didn't *have* to kill to win. In Hunger Games they do. That doesn't take away from the book, though. It's more of a side note. I wouldn't go so far to put Hunger Games as Middle Grade per say, but I will put it on the younger end of the YA scale (7th grade up)