Nova Ren Suma: "The Walls Around Us"

Title: The Walls Around Us [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Nova Ren Suma [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary with a Twist, Supernatural
Year: 2015
Age: 12+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Engrossing story (or stories) told in a lyrical prose that never feels overdone. Surprise ending in a magical-realism vein that still feels very rooted in the story - and emotionally satisfying..
Cons: May sound confusing to some. One of the characters is NOT likeable - though the author does a great job making us experience her feelings. 
WARNING! Some violence, both graphic and implied. A sex scene (not overly graphic).
Will appeal to: Those who love ballet. Those who love prison stories. Those who don't necessarily love either, but can't resist strong - if flawed - leads, and ghosts, and magical realism.

Blurb: On the outside, there’s Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement. On the inside, within the walls of the Aurora Hills juvenile detention center, there’s Amber, locked up for so long she can’t imagine freedom. Tying their two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls’ darkest mysteries. A supernatural tale of guilt and of innocence, and of what happens when one is mistaken for the other. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: I love this book. Can we leave it at that?
Um, I suppose not. Maybe you want my reasons for loving this book. Also because, hello? this is a book blog - set up in order to REVIEW books. It's just that...it's hard not to spoil this one. Harder that with any other book I've reviewed in almost four years. And mind you, I'm not saying that TWAU loses its charm once you've read it for the first time and discovered all its secret. NO. EFFING. WAY. I'm just saying that I have to do this book justice and still let you go blind into it, which is a challenge. Well, OK, I'm up for a challenge. I CAN DO IT I CAN DO IT I CAN...*repeats self-motivating mantra* 

OFF TO A GREAT START

I always read the opening pages on Amazon when I plan on buying a book. No mindblowing story idea can convince me to read a book if me and the writing don't click. And boy, this one. Mind you, I don't do flowery prose. And TWAU doesn't have it. This is writing at its best - lyrical and poignant (but also raw when needed...I mean poetically raw...if you get what I'm trying to say) without turning into an exercise of style. This novel has one of the strongest first chapters I've ever read, for three reasons:

1. it's told from a choral perspective, in a first-person plural which is fresh and powerful;
2. it thrusts you knee-deep into the action;
3. have I mentioned the writing already?

CUTS BOTH WAYS

The story is told in alternate chapters, by two narrators: up-and-coming ballet dancer Violet and juvenile detention center inmate Amber. And despite what you may think of them, BOTH girls have been through their own private hell, and are still stuck in there. Because yes, there's also a hell in wanting something so desperately that your whole life becomes your goal, and everything gets blown out of proportion, until you snap and do the unforgivable. It should be easy to hate one of the girls and to pity the other. But then again it isn't, because your heart will ache for both of them, AND of course for the third girl, Orianna. And even for all the other inmates at Aurora Hills. Because here's the fact: sometimes there's guilt in innocence, and innocence in guilt, and there's always pain in being human, whether you're at fault or not. And Nova Ren Suma makes us feel that pain - oh so bittersweetly. [...]

B.C. Johnson: "The Bad Rescue of Devon Streeter" (ARC Review) [new title 2016: "Riven"]

Title: The Bad Rescue of Devon Streeter [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Riven (1st of 3? books)
Author: B.C. Johnson [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic, Supernatural
Year: 2015
Age: 12+ (though the author states it's for age 11+, but I see it as more mature YA. On the other hand, as always, it depends on the reader...)
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Engulfing, epic story, full of action and feelings. Main characters you get to really care about. Great mythology.
Cons: Might get confusing because the event at the core of the story is not clearly addressed (see review). Also, the mix of genres (see labels) might not appeal to some readers.
WARNING! Gore. Underage sex (without protection...but heck, it's the end of the world) is alluded to, though not described.
Will appeal to: Those who love quirky stories with a strong vocabulary. Those who pine after friendship more than romance. Those who want to meet new kinds of monsters.

Blurb: Devon's a teenage medic. Bloom's a wannabe gunslinger. Just two best friends hanging at the end of the world. When Earth and another world smashed together, everything went sideways. Some people survived, some inhumans too, and they all made for bad neighbors. Fighting for scraps on the face of a changed world, Devon and Bloom have to face alien magic, inhuman monsters, and the inescapable fact that the Merge is going to change them. Deviate them into...something else. But when circumstance flings Devon and Bloom apart, can they find each other across the wild wastelands? Will they recognize each other when they do? (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I received this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. And the author being B.C. Johnson, you all know I've been campaigning for his book Deadgirl with all my might since 2012, when the first version came out, till a few weeks ago, when it hit the market for the second time. Why, actually, I still am. Also, B.C. Johnson and me have stayed in touch, if sporadically, for the whole time. I'm not what you would call a friend of his though, only a fan of his work. And an unbiased one :). This review is the love child of my penchant for quirky, uniquely worded books and B.C. Johnson's ability to deliver them. Here goes...
I'm going to get straight to the point: this is an indie book. Indie books are not evil. This book is not evil. 
Many prejudices surround those novels that don't take the traditional publishing route. Bad editing, amateurish writing, uninteresting stories. Of course, they don't need to be true every time. (Not to mention, the reverse may be true sometimes). To date, this is the first review Devon gets, but I suppose in a few days someone else will wrote theirs, and maybe point their fingers at editing issues. And issues there are indeed, but I've been assured they'll get fixed in time for publication (the book will be out on Mar. 31). As for content, the fact that Devon is being self-published only tells the sad tale of industry being often short-sighted and unwilling to give a chance to things that don't fit in a box. Anyway, if this is of any reassurance for you, B.C. Johnson is a traditionally published author (see Deadgirl) taking a different route with a book that apparently didn't fit the publishers' agenda...
Devon is many things. It has a sci-fi premise (though the original first chapter has been moved to the appendix, so I have to admit the reader may get confused about what really happened and how till much later in the book) and a strong magic twist. It's a post-apocalyptic fable that asperses the gore with a poetic flavour and peppers it with humour. It's a love story in the widest, purest sense between two friends of different sexes, neither of which is gay. It's a tale of powerful individuals and ordinary heroes. [...]

Adrienne Stoltz & Ron Bass: "Lucid" [new title 2014: "Let Me Wake"]

Title: Lucid*  [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
   *new title 2014: Let Me Wake
Series: None
Author: Adrienne Stoltz & Ron Bass [Adrienne on IMDB | Adrienne on Goodreads | Ron on IMDB | Ron on Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary with a Twist
Year: 2012
Age: 12+
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Pulling, refined prose. Vividly painted leads and sidekicks (most of them, that is). Killer idea behind it all.
Cons: Two love triangles for the price of one (but the book is so good, you'll probably be able to condone that. Like I did...). Some over-the-top or too convenient situations. I was able to spot a couple of typos, but nothing majorly annoying.
WARNING! An underage sex scene (though not at all graphic) told in retrospect.
Will appeal to: Contemporary fans who are in for something different. Not contemporary fans who are in for something different. Everyone who likes to go into the depth and get surprised.

Blurb: Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different - except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other. The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.(Amazon excerpt)

Review: You know me by now, don't you? I hate swoony romances, love triangles, all the stuff. So, how come I read a book with plenty of romance and not one, but two love triangles (or the likes) and didn't throw it across the room? On the contrary, this turned out to be 4-star material for me. Crazy, isn't it? I guess I owe you a convincing explanation ;).
See, there are two girls. Or only one. Or no girl at all. Let's say, there are two stories, because of that much there is evidence. Each story, of course, has its own main character - both female and 17 year old. Apparently, the two of them dream each other's life. Their lives even mirror each other loosely, though they (the lives...but the girls too) couldn't be been more different. Right from the start, some small details leak in and out of each life - just enough to alert the reader that the two characters are related somehow. The real question is, how? are they both real? or only one of them is? or...are neither? is there someone else behind them? (Which is not just one real question but a bunch. Oh, well. Maybe I can write but I can't count).
On one hand, Sloane - the student - feels more real because she lives quite the normal life, the one you can relate to more easily. On the other hand, Maggie - the actress - is the one with the shrink, the one who makes up stories about people, and (I may be wrong, but this is how it sounds to me) the one who doubts her own realness more. Which makes up for her having the more glamorous life, and therefore posing as the major suspect when it comes to being the fictitious one...supposing one of the girls is not real. Which I didn't necessarily imply ;).
I don't know if the author duo split the work in two, or collaborated through the whole book, or took turns in revising each other's chapters. What I know is that Bass is a LA screenwriter, and Stoltz his long-time writing partner from Mystic, Connecticut - coincidentally, Sloane's home town. So I suppose she had her say about the setting for Sloane's story, while probably (just my educated guess) Bass took care of the NY sections. Anyway, the chapters flow seamlessly, and while the two girls maintain their peculiarities and do have different voices, their streams of consciousness manage to sound alike enough when it comes to the basics. [...]

Robin Wasserman: "Torn" ("Wired")

Title: Torn (previously: Wired) [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Cold Awakening (3rd of 3 books)
Author: Robin Wasserman [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Year: 2010
Age: 14+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Again: not overly original premise brought to excellence. Strong, imaginative world-building. Well crafted, emotion-conveying prose. As with the second book, you also get more action than in the first one.
Cons: You have to buy the premise, of course (parents willing to shove their kid's brain into a machine and all that). And you have to like the main character despite her past - which, apparently, proved tough to some readers (but not to me). Also, in this last installment there are a couple of not completely convincing character attitudes (more like unexpected revelations and/or changes). But I can't bring myself to take even half a star away from my rating...
Will appeal to: Those who aren't afraid to think and speculate. Those who can appreciate a gutsy ending.

Blurb: Lia has become the public face of the mechs, BioMax’s poster girl for the up-and-coming technology, devoting her life to convincing the world that she - and the others like her - deserve to exist. Then Jude resurfaces, and brings some scandalous information with him. Is BioMax really an ally to the mechs? Or are they using the technology for a great evil...and if so, can Auden really be a part of the plan? Meanwhile, Lia also learns a shocking truth about the accident that resulted in her download...a truth that forces her to make a decision she can never reverse. (Goodreads excerpt)

Review: I think you got the point by now: this is my favourite series so far. I'm not the fangirling type (also because *cough* wrong age for that *cough*), but I need to strongly assert it...this is a darn good trilogy. Which doesn't mean it's perfect, and of course doesn't mean it can be palatable for everyone. Still, if only one person, after reading my reviews, is going to give it a chance because of them, I will be a happier old girl ;).
As in the first two books - especially the second - we get the right blend of philosophy (don't let the word scare you!) and action. Right from the start, when we follow Lia during the highlights of an advanced reality show...an idea sponsored by BioMax, in order to persuade the masses to accept mechs as your average people. Again, I love it how Wasserman manages to incorporate bits of our nowadays life and/or technology into her narration, taking them a step further (hey, it's the future!), but at the same time avoiding to overdo them. From here, the story unravels among friends and foes - friends turned into foes, foes unexpectedly becoming friends - allies who betray and former haters who repent, or at least cling to their own humanity enough to make amends. There are a couple of huge surprises along the way...even not counting Zo's disclosed ability as a hacker extraordinaire (after all, we already got a taste of that in the second installment). Let's just say, no one in Lia's family is who they appear to be, and a huge secret will tear her life (and Zo's) apart. To be honest, I had a couple (???) of issues with this part, as far as likelihood goes. On the other hand, it works well for the novel, though I wouldn't say it has any chance to happen IRL. (Sorry for being so cryptic - but you don't want to be spoiled, right? *grins*). [...]

Robin Wasserman: "Shattered" ("Crashed")

Title: Shattered (previously: Crashed) [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Cold Awakening (2st of 3 books)
Author: Robin Wasserman [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Year: 2009
Age: 14+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Again: not overly original premise brought to excellence. Strong, imaginative world-building. Well crafted, emotion-conveying prose. Also, you get more action than in the first installment.
Cons: You have to buy the premise, of course (parents willing to shove their kid's brain into a machine and all that). And you have to like the main character despite her past - which, apparently, proved tough to some readers (but not to me).
Will appeal to: Those who aren't afraid to think and speculate.

Blurb: Six months after the crash that killed her, six months after being reborn, Lia has finally accepted her new reality. She is a machine, a mech, and she belongs with her own kind. It's a wild, carefree life, without rules and without fear. Because there's nothing to fear when you have nothing left to lose. But when a voice from her past cries out for revenge, everything changes. Lia is forced to choose between her old life and her new one. Between humans and mechs. Between sacrificing the girl she used to be and saving the boy she used to love. Even if it means he'll hate her forever. (Goodreads excerpt)

Review: First off, like most blurbs, the above one is a bit deceiving - and even a bit senseless. If "the boy she used to love" is the one who got hurt at the end of book 1, it's not like Lia loved him. Not the way the blurb seems to imply. Now, you might think he's Walker instead, but I will spoil this much...neither Walker nor the rest of Lia's old crew are going to make a reappearance in this sequel. (And anyway, they would mean nothing to her at this point). The boy can't be Lia's mech boyfriend from book 1 either, because of the "used to love" part. And whoever he's supposed to be, Lia's choice between "sacrificing the girl she used to be" and "saving the boy she used to love" doesn't make sense at all - it's not like she either does this or that.
The cover progression (pertaining to the first edition) has little sense as well, though I have to admit it can look nice and alluring to those who crave for romance and love triangles. First we have Lia alone...then Lia with, um, Jude I suppose...then, in the third installment, Lia with Jude and Riley. People, this series is not about that. Though there's indeed a love-hate relationship between Lia and one of the boys who is not her partner. And well, yes, the triangle is there...but it's not the kind of triangle you would expect. It's more like Lia is the disturbing force who threatens to tear the two male friends apart. One of them trusts her, the other does not - and there are further dynamics at work there.
At the end of book 1, after an unexpected tragedy, Lia has finally embraced her life as a mech, though she still feels a connection with her org past her new friends seem to have dismissed - especially those for whom being a mech means a better existence than the one they used to have. The first chapters of Shattered deal with Lia and said friends trying to test their own boundaries and to trick their computer brains into feeling things like pain or fear. Which, to me, is the most fascinating part of this installment. (BTW - some reviewers on Goodreads were repulsed by the "dangerous activities in order to feel alive". But I don't see how this book can send a bad message, since we are talking about characters who basically can't get hurt. Does anyone blame superheroes for being a dangerous role model because of their flying and fighting?). Anyway, for those who'd rather have some action, here it is as well. Lia and fellow mech Riley find themselves in the middle of a bioterroristic attack to a corporate town, of which Lia will end up being the prime suspect. From here, all hell breaks loose - though I wouldn't say there's non-stop action. Guilt and lies come into play a lot, from almost every part, Lia included. There is heartbreak - of the mech kind, but this doesn't make it less real - and betrayal; there are enemies and unexpected allies; and Lia's dysfunctional family is not forgotten (particularly her sister Zo, who will make for some surprising chapters). The dystopian-post apocalyptic angle is furtherly explored, and again, it doesn't leave anything to be desired. [...]

Robin Wasserman: "Frozen" ("Skinned")

Title: Frozen (previously: Skinned) [on Amazon* | on Goodreads]
   *Note: the blurb is all wrong - they used the 3rd book recap.
Series: Cold Awakening (1st of 3 books)
Author: Robin Wasserman [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Year: 2008
Age: 14+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Not overly original premise brought to excellence. Strong, imaginative world-building. Well crafted, emotion-conveying prose.
Cons: You have to buy the premise, of course (parents willing to shove their kid's brain into a machine and all that). And you have to like the main character despite her past - which, apparently, proved tough to some readers (but not to me).
Will appeal to: Those who aren't afraid to think and speculate.

Blurb: Lia knows she should be grateful she didn't die in the accident. The Download saved her - but it also changed her, forever. She can deal with being a freak. She can deal with the fear in her parents' eyes and the way her boyfriend flinches at her touch. But she can't deal with what she knows, deep down, every time she forces herself to look in the mirror. She's not the same person she used to be. Maybe she's not even a person at all. (Goodreads excerpt)

Review: Revelation: this series was actually one of the reasons why I decided to blog about books. I read the repackaged version, in late 2011 - then I stared at its Goodreads page asking myself "Why the hell hasn't this series gotten more recognition? Why aren't people screaming from rooftops how darn good it is?". 
Now, after a year of blogging and reviewing, I have a theory at last. A theory articulated in 3 points...
1) Lia isn't the most, um, huggable character you may read about. To be crystal clear: pre-download Lia was a conceited bitch (though she was in good company with that, and a product of her own environment), and post-download Lia mainly changes in what her condition prevents her to be the same person that she was, and has her facing things she's never even considered before.
2) Lia is a mind in a mechanical body - which may not appeal to those who favour a blood-scalding approach to human relationships (especially of the romantic kind). She takes the life-recreation issue at the core of a book like The Adoration of Jenna Fox (which, coincidentally, was out at the same time) to a whole new level. Because Jenna is also a product of her own DNA, not just a brain downloaded into a computer shell. (Though the download part is true about her too).
3) Lia is not bent on saving the world or changing it. She's not a spunky heroine like the one made popular by a certain dystopian series (*cough* The Hunger Games *cough* ...which, again coincidentally, was out at the same time). Though she finds herself fighting the ultimate battle and becoming the ultimate hero, in a peculiar way.
See, this series has friendship, romance, even a hint of a possible love triangle in it. So everyone should be crazy about it, right? Well, apparently, wrong. But really, I found it fascinating, and Lia did for me even more than Jenna and her friends did. And I hope I'll be able to make you fall in love with this series too...
Book 1 of the Cold Awakening trilogy deals with the aftermath of the incident that took Lia's life and turned her into a "mech", as opposed to an "org". The technology has been around for a while, and basically recreates human experiences and sensations in a synthetic body, downloading the dead person's brain into it. This also means the recipient can live forever, because if the new body wears off (despite being extremely durable), a copy of the mind can be downloaded in a new body, again and again. Of course, all the small and big things that define our humanity along with the mind - like physical pain or the five senses - are either nonexistent or artificially (and unsatisfactorily) recreated/processed. Last, but not least, "orgs" - even Lia's family and friends - can't seem to make peace with what Lia has become. While the point of the download was to keep her around for her loved ones, and to reintegrate her into her family and social life, this turns out impossible. Lia clings to a new friend who is more than willing to accept her as she is, but even this illusion of normality will fall under the ax of harsh reality. [...]

Mary E. Pearson: "The Fox Inheritance"

Title: The Fox Inheritance [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Jenna Fox Chronicles (2nd of 3 books, but there's also a short story - read it for free here - that is chronologically book 1.5 in the series, though it only came out after book 2)
Author: Mary E. Pearson [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Year: 2011
Age: 12+
Stars: 4.5/5
Pros: Unique premise. A main character you can relate to. Feelings and action packed together. Creative futuristic speculations. An unforgettable not-human, more-than-human sidekick.
Cons: Some common tropes (evil scientist who would stop at nothing, unexpected ally with secrets of her own, underground network dealing in favours). Some awkward relationships.
Will appeal to: Those who think TAOJF lacked action. Those who need to know Locke and Kara's side of the story.

Blurb: Once there were three. Three friends who loved each other - Jenna, Locke, and Kara. And after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, their three minds were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld. When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her. Two-hundred-and-sixty years later, they have been released at last. Given new, perfect bodies, Locke and Kara awaken to a world they know nothing about, where everyone they once knew and loved is long dead. Everyone except Jenna Fox. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: To me, TFI doesn't suffer from the typical sequel syndrome so many books seem to be affected of - you know, not being able to live up expectations/match the hype their predecessors generated. I honestly enjoyed it as much as the first installment of the series, though for different reasons. I give Pearson credit for this - it is, indeed, a different book. Not simply because it has a different narrator, and a male one at that. Not simply because it carries us 260 years in the future. Not simply because of the not overbearing, but still significant amount of action.

Locke and Kara shouldn't be alive, because of what happened at the end of TAOJF. And the shocking truth is...that book was meant to be a standalone. The reasons why Pearson decided to publish a sequel (more than three years after) are stated in this interview (point 2). And if you ask me, I think they're believable and honest.

While Jenna's story was almost a contemporary one (at least when it comes to its setting), Locke and Kara's can be labeled as post-apocalyptic, to a certain extent. It's not like the U.S. have collapsed, but they've been tore apart and reshaped. If you need a strong world-building/background, I'm warning you - this won't happen here. Still I wasn't bothered by the lack of it, because frankly, I was more interested in the kids' story and adventures - not to mention, in Locke's stream of consciousness. What I'm going to mention is not a spoiler (see blurb), so I can address this particular point: Locke, along with Kara, has been literally living in a box for the past 260 years. Their minds have been trapped in an endless void for more two centuries and a half. Pearson explores the nightmare and its aftermath with a masterful hand. Same goes for the relationship between Jenna, Kara and Locke. It can be loosely described as a love triangle, but it's both simpler and more complicated than that - and I found it believable from every one of the three perspectives. Also, I usually hate love triangles with a passion...so, if this one passed the test with flying colours, it is really saying something :). [...]

Jutta Goetze: "Luna-C"

Title: Luna-C [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Jutta Goetze [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary
Year: 2001
Age: 14+ 
Stars: 4.5/5 OK, I've been rereading this one a few times, and it gets to me every single one of them. I can't be nitpicky with a book like this. 5/5 (2016 update)
Pros: Peculiar writing. Honest storytelling. Different setting (Australia - both the country and the city).
Cons: Most characters are potentially clichés, though Goetze manages to infuse them with life and make them genuine.
WARNING! Sex and drugs are present, though the first is written tastefully, without explicit details. Someone goes through an abortion. A character dies.
Will appeal to: Those who love music/tales about struggling to make it in the music business. Those who love coming-of-age stories. Those who love a different, often evocative prose.

Blurb: A behind-the-scenes look at what life in a 1980s band was like and how tension between members make it harder to succeed. Phoebe and Dale are country girls and best friends who both want to make it as singers and together join a big-city band. The two undergo a series of mixed emotions as they experience the thrill of performing, the love of music, the excitement of finding themselves, and the pursuit of dreams. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: This book marks my first encounter with an Aussie writer (...well, technically not, because Goetze was born in Africa - but since she was later raised in Australia, I suppose I can call her that). While I have some knowledge of New Zealand authors (I even did my thesis on Janet Frame), I didn't know what to expect from an Australian one. And well, it was a pleasant surprise. As with most NZ lit, the landscape is almost like an added character here. The writing is vibrant and evocative at the same time, never ornate but still poetic. There's a candour in this tale - in all the meanings of this term - that is matched by the characters' (even the most damaged ones) relationship with the outside world. Basically, it's the story of two country girls and friends (Phoebe, who wants to become someone; Dale, who can't help trying) trading their uneventful, frozen-in-place life for a spot in a band and a shot at fame. Which is probably the oldest tale in the civilized world, but Goetze does succeed in painting it new - and giving it the required 3D. 
As Goetze herself states, "Luna-C started life as a script for a mini-series", and it's inspired by her own on-the-road experiences with a real performing band. Stylistically, the novel alternates first-person, present-tense chapters (in which we follow Phoebe) with third-person, past-tense ones (where we see things from the perspective of Dale, Ric, Jayne, and on one occasion, Dan - though there are two main characters more, Buddy and Lou). Incidentally, every chapter is titled after a 60s', 70s' or 80s' song. With the exception of Dan, who's a manager of sorts for Luna-C, all the aforementioned characters are members of the band. One of my slight pet peeves against this book is how said characters are a bit "typical" - the troubled front man, the damaged, addicted singer, the manipulative would-be manager, the happy-go-luck bassist, the down-to-earth drummer. And of course, two girls who want to make it in the music industry...though I wouldn't really call those "typical", at least by nowadays standards, since they've got very little in common with current talent-show contestants. Both Phoebe and Dale - though very different individuals - share a genuine appreciation for music, regardless of it being mainstream, and are willing to pay the price it takes (i.e. "work hard") in order to get "up there". Needless to say, only one of them has got what it takes...so the other will recycle herself as a publicist, trying to generate hype about the band and to land them a recording deal - in order to cope with her own frustration and out of love for the music...and the man behind it. [...]

Mary E. Pearson: "The Adoration of Jenna Fox"

Title: The Adoration of Jenna Fox [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Jenna Fox Chronicles (1st of 3 books, but there's also a short story - read it for free here - that is chronologically book 1.5 in the series, though it only came out after book 2)
Author: Mary E. Pearson [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi
Year: 2008
Age: 12+
Stars: 4.5/5
Pros: Deep, imaginative take on what it means to be human.
Cons: Very quiet book, if you're in for some action. On a deeper level, the ending sounds a tad too assertive (see review).
Will appeal to: Sci-fi lovers who don't need a post-apocalyptic scenario. Fans of ethics speculations.

Blurb: Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox has just awoken from a year-long coma - so she’s been told - and she is still recovering from the terrible accident that caused it. But what happened before that? She’s been given home movies chronicling her entire life, which spark memories to surface. But are the memories really hers? And why won’t anyone in her family talk about the accident? Jenna is becoming more curious. But she is also afraid of what she might find out if she ever gets up the courage to ask her questions. What happened to Jenna Fox? And who is she really? (Amazon)

Review:  (As with Anna Dressed in Blood, this is not, technically, an "offbeat" book. More of a mainstream one, actually. What can I say in my defence - once in a while, it happens).
Awaking-from-coma girls (and, very rarely, boys) are a common topic in YA lit. As a rule, they can't remember a single thing from their prior-to-accident life, or just very little. Parents and doctors do their best to convince them that everything's OK, and it's only a matter of time before they remember (...just to realize that no, not a single thing is OK). As a rule, they're not real amnesiac. Whatever the reason, they're simply not themselves anymore.
So, you may ask, why should I read yet another book that follows that pattern? Well, because this one is good ;). Because while fitting in said pattern, Pearson came up with a personal, imaginative, disturbing twist of it. Also, please note this is not a dystopian, or at least it barely fits the definition. The book is set in a future where certain branches of technology have advanced a lot, but this future is obviously not so far from our present. Everyday life is definitely average, and DVDs with vocal commands are pretty much the most state-of-the-art device we encounter - except the Big Thing around which the novel revolves. There aren't any conspiracies or rebel groups or the likes. But under this quiet surface, something huge is boiling nevertheless...
We get acquainted with a 17 year old Jenna, who apparently got out of a coma a couple of weeks before and is slowly being fed facts and memories from her own past by her mother. Jenna's grandma, on the other hand, sounds distant and strangely resentful, for reasons the girl can't understand. Also, they have relocated from Boston to California, and Jenna's father is rarely at home. She has been given DVDs to watch, where her parents seem to have recorded pretty much her whole life (which is creepy, it goes without saying). But little said parents realize that the discs - with the aid of some incidents - will help Jenna uncover not only her memories, but also the truth they were saving for much later. If ever.
The novel alternates chapters of short, keen, insightful sentences with autobiographical pieces of poetry. Though Jenna states she can't remember a thing about her past, and she often muses about words and their meaning - to the point she has to look for them in a dictionary - her narrative is, of course, clear and rich, or there would be no book...Jenna consulting the dictionary is, however, an effective device that allows the reader to 1) explore key-words and rekindle their (multiple) meanings; 2) experience the world on Jenna's own terms. [...]

B.C. Johnson: "Deadgirl" (with Book Trailer)

Title: Deadgirl [on Amazon (link to the 2016 version) | on Goodreads]
Series: Deadgirl (later edit: originally a standalone with sequel possibility; as of now - 2016 - a 4 book series. See end of post for new cover)
Author: B.C. Johnson [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Afterlife, Supernatural, Contemporary
Year: 2012
Age: 12+
Stars: 4.5/5 Screw the inconsistencies (see below). I love this book too much. 5/5 (2015 update)
Pros: Unique, mind-blowing premise and setting. Characters with authentic voice. A lovestruck but spunky heroine. Engaging, imaginative prose.
Cons: A couple of not completely convincing attitudes. A few inconsistencies that won't really affect your reading pleasure. Some small mistakes slipped through revision.
WARNING! Violence and attempted rape, though not described in a graphic manner. Underage drinking.
Will appeal to: Afterlife books fans who begin to think they've seen it all.

Blurb: Fifteen-year old Lucy Day falls between the gears in the machinery of the afterlife. She is murdered while on her first date, but awakens a day later, completely solid and completely whole. She has no hunger for brains, blood, or haunting, so she crosses “zombie,” “vampire,” and “ghost” off her list of re-life possibilities. But figuring out what she is becomes the least of her worries when Abraham, Lucy’s personal Grim Reaper, begins dogging her, dead-set on righting the error that dropped her back into the spongy flesh of a living girl. Lucy must put her mangled life back together, escape re-death, and learn to control her burgeoning psychic powers while staying one step ahead of Abraham. But when she learns the devastating price of coming back from the dead, Lucy is forced to make the hardest decision of her re-life - a decision that could save her loved ones...or kill them. (Amazon)

And if you think that a picture (ahem, a video) is worth a thousand words... 

here is the official Deadgirl Trailer!

Review: OK, so I have an addiction to Dead Girl Books - I've shouted it from rooftops stated it often and very clearly. I'm a sucker for young girls ending up in whatever version of the Afterlife an author can come up with. I've even seen some of them brought back to life. So a book called Deadgirl was a winner with me from the title on. But when I found out it was a completely different take on the subject, I immediately screamed yay for diversity. Because having a dead character who wakes up the next day, apparently alive but not vampirized/zombified/whatevered like it's custom nowadays, made me throw my fists in the air in excitement extremely happy - though my usual composure may have suffered a little because of that. Then, it turned out the book was even better than I had given it credit for after reading the blurb, an extract and other reviews - though, unsurprisingly, less renowned than most not-so-glorious pieces of writing. Can I rectify this wrong? Well - I'm going to try :).
First off, as I'm writing my review, Deadgirl is - unfortunately - out of print, due to Cool Well Press recently collapsing under the weight of the economic conjuncture. BUT! for those of you who will eventually take interest in reading this novel, here's the good news...well, actually, two pieces of good news: 1) Deadgirl will be resurrected reprinted soon! and 2) Deadgirl will even get a sequel! This is what the author himself stated in response to a message I sent him. So, don't fear committing to this book - it will be in print again soon...and now I'm going to tell you why you should give it a (fat) chance. 
Lucy is your typical teen - except she isn't. Johnson - a rather young male author on his first novel - was able to write a convincing 15 years old female, though involved in exceptional circumstances. Her insecurities, her feelings for Zack, the way she relates to her friends and parents, the make-up-and-attire issues...she's totally fleshed out. But of course, Lucy is not typical when it comes to her situation and the way she deals with it. She fights for her life - or what's left of it - and that of her friends, making the best of what feels like a desperate situation. And she's a fighter from the very first chapter, when she tries to stay alive despite all odds, in front of a group of would-be rapists and murderers. The next chapters take us back a couple of days before Lucy's death, giving us a chance to grasp the reason why she was able to come back - or never really died in the first place. When we think we're about to read about her big date with Zack, there's an original, gutsy transition that we are to fully understand only later. And no, I'm not going to spoil that with a preemptive explanation ;).
So now Lucy is, let's say, half-alive. Or alive in a peculiar way. Or dead in a peculiar way. She finds herself visiting a world where some of the everyday-life rules don't apply, or are reversed. This world (which doesn't have a reassuringly all-wrapping name like Heaven or Hell or Purgatory or whatever) is unique, wonderfully - though scarily - depicted, visually mind-blowing. She also meets an unlikely new friend there - Puck - who will be crucial in helping her understand her new situation and deal with its unwritten laws, not to mention try to save the day at the end. [...]

Arlaina Tibensky: "And Then Things Fall Apart"

Title: And Then Things Fall Apart [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Arlaina Tibensky [Blog | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary
Year: 2011
Age: 14+
Stars: 4.5
Pros: Gorgeous prose. Straightforward, engaging, lively-yet-deep lead that gets under your skin in the good way. Bell Jar references (if you love the book). Lots of bittersweet fun.
Cons (= WARNING!): Heavy petting and sexual desire are discussed at length by a 15 years old girl.
Will appeal to: Those who like journal entries, multifaceted musings and Sylvia Plath.

Blurb: Keek and her boyfriend just had their Worst Fight Ever; her best friend heinously betrayed her; her parents are divorcing; and her mom’s across the country caring for her newborn cousin, who may or may not make it home from the hospital. To top it all off, Keek’s got the plague. (Well, the chicken pox.) Now she’s holed up at her grandmother’s technologically barren house. With only an old typewriter and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar for solace and guidance, Keek’s alone with her swirling thoughts. But one thing’s clear through her feverish haze - she’s got to figure out why things went wrong so she can make them right. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: Can I go all fangirl over this book? Because seriously, folks, that's what I feel like doing. (Well, since this is actually my own blog, I guess I'm allowed to. But I'm trying not to take advantage of this small technicality...too much). I would like to buy a huge stack of copies of this novel (um, I should get rich before...so not likely) and hand them out to the apparently massive number of people who haven't read it - at least according to Goodreads statistics. One could blame it on the marketing - but I suspect that a book with virtually no action and bearing all those Bell Jar references discouraged many potential readers. Well, I'll do my best to win some of them back with this review.
Every chapter of this book is sort of a journal entry by the 15 years old narrator Keek (Karina). I say "sort of" because she actually stresses the fact that she wouldn't call her pages a diary or a journal (chapter "July 25"). Also, she addresses a supposed "dear reader" here and there, turning her "journal" into an example of metafiction. The same thing happens - though in a different context - because of the constant references Keek makes to The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Having read and loved said book, Tibensky's novel caught my attention and immediately ended up in my to-read list, while the reference probably worked reversely for people who a) haven't read The Bell Jar or b) read The Bell Jar but didn't like it. Now, if Plath's novel proved not to be your cup of tea, it is very unlikely that Keek's story may appeal to you, because The Bell Jar has such an impact on her that you will probably feel irritated at the girl, and consequently unable to enjoy her narrative. But if you haven't read The Bell Jar, don't let that keep you away from Tibensky's novel. You would miss Keek's introspective but lively prose, rich imagery, authentically-teen-yet-often-mature remarks and speculations. I am well past Keek's age, and haven't endured the same trials she goes through when I was; nonetheless, I was able to tune into her emotions and feel her authenticity. It may help if you (like Keek...and me) have always found solace in books, and have nurtured a passion for words since a very young age. Because if you have, Keek will become your Esther Greenwood - or a teen version of her - and will speak on your behalf. [...]

Kathe Koja: "Talk"

Title: Talk [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Kathe Koja [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary
Year: 2005
Age: 12+
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Honest, emotive, and most of all, gorgeously written.
Cons: Could have been longer and more detailed, characters-wise - though still we get to know them enough. Leads first-person voices blur into each other a little sometimes.
Will appeal to: GLBTQ fiction lovers of course, but pretty much anyone who values staying true to oneself and standing up for what ones believes in. And, last but not least, anyone who's a sucker for beautiful, poignant prose.

Blurb: Kit Webster is hiding a secret. Carma, his best friend, has already figured it out, and pushes him to audition for the high school play, Talk. When he's cast as the male lead, he expects to escape his own life for a while and become a different person. What he gets instead is the role of a lifetime: Kit Webster. In the play, Kit's thrown together with Lindsay Walsh, the female lead and the school's teen queen. Lindsay, tired of the shallow and selfish boys from her usual circle of friends, sees something real in Kit - and wants it. But Kit's attention is focused on Pablo, another boy in school. The play is controversial; the parents put pressure on the school to shut it down. And when Kit and Lindsay rally to save Talk, they find themselves deep into a battle for the truth: onstage, and inside themselves. (Amazon)

Review: (Well, first off, a little premise. I'm currently waiting for twelve books, some new some not, to be delivered by a web bookseller. Among them, the notorious last installment in Jeri Smith-Ready "WVMP series" I've been blogging about lately. While I was waiting for said book, I thought I'd shared my thoughts on all the previous ones in the series with you...but I've been reminded that this is primarily a YA blog, so I decided to put my vamp DJ friends on hold and go back to a teen book instead. I also picked something different from my aforegoing stuff, and here goes...).
This is really a very small book - around 130 pages. It basically revolves around a group of high school seniors staging a play called "Talk", by the (fictional) author Lawson Shoals, and dealing with obstructionism on behalf of a group of adults and the very school board. Also, we follow the two leads - gay-in-the-closet Kit and queen-bee Lindsay - coming to terms with their own lives with the help of said play. A pretty simple and even common canvas in itself, on which Koja manages to paint an engrossing, distinct masterpiece. 
The thing that makes a winner out of this one is the gorgeous prose. Kit and Lindsay's voices alternate, chapter by chapter, in a stream-of-consciousness form, often beset with broken lines, and are interspersed with fragments from the play. The only complaint I have about this is the odd similarity those voices seem to bear sometimes, though the two characters couldn't be more different. Kit is sweet, insecure, torn between the need of coming out of his closet and the desire of escaping from himself. Lindsay is self-centered and ambitious, unable to see her own faults, though she does recognize those in the members of her social circle. Both seem to find what they're looking for in the play though, even if their reasons are completely different. [...]

Sara Zarr: "Sweethearts"

Title: Sweethearts [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Sara Zarr [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary
Year: 2008
Age: 12+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Heartfelt story with flesh-and-blood characters. Addresses poignant themes. Language is simple but masterly used. No forced teenager jargon.
Cons: Bittersweet ending (if you're a fan of happy ones).
Will appeal to: Those who value real friendship and the act of being true to themselves. Those who had their share of school bullying. Those who don't necessarily need a boy-meets-girl type of story. And yes, parents too.

Blurb: As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also one another's only friend. So when Cameron disappears without warning, Jennifer thinks she's lost the only person who will ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she's popular, happy, and dating, everything "Jennifer" couldn't be - but she still can't shake the memory of her long-lost friend. When Cameron suddenly reappears, they are both confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: Before I start on this book,  I have to confess my bad case of allergy to love stories. I don't read YA (or adult stuff either) looking for a display of smooches. So, based on the rather fluffy cover and the misleading title, I shouldn't have read this novel at all...but I trusted the blurb and some fellow bloggers reviews. Boy, am I glad that I did. Though in retrospect, the cover makes sense, since this book also deals with eating as a compensation, and even with having one's heart eaten at (I'm not sure it was intentional though!). But the main themes are bullying/abuse, friendship, and most of all, staying true to oneself.
Jennifer and Cameron meet at Elementary school and strike up a deep friendship. They're both social outcasts, but Cameron is the one who stands up for Jennifer and tries to protect her from the constant bullying. Till one day, when they are nine, Cameron is gone without a word, and Jennifer's classmates perform a cruel joke on her, stating that Cameron is actually dead. Having lost her only friend and anchor, Jennifer feels like her real self - the Jennifer version that only Cameron loved - is dead with him, and painfully decides to "bury" it with her alleged dead friend and start anew.
Eight years after, Jennifer - now renamed "Jenna" - is a new and improved character, so to speak...slim, popular, apparently confident, with a social circle and even an equally popular boyfriend. That's precisely when Cameron comes back from the dead, calling her whole world into question. We follow Jenna since her seventeenth birthday, while she tells her present story alternated with small flashbacks from the past - particularly something that happened to her and Cameron eight years before, courtesy of his dad. There's a build-up of tension and anguish, that finally discharges into a poignant epilogue, though not quite the one we were expecting. Some have commented that it's a drop off, the way nothing actually happens in the end. I think that, in a way, much happens - because Jennifer is able to face what could have been a desperate situation, and to realize (with Cameron's help, eight years later) that she is stronger and more resourceful than she thought. Also, she finally gains a perspective of Cameron's life, and is able to understand the main reason why he's always protected her in the first place. [...]