Before I Fall

Astounding and memorable..., April 29, 2010

This review is from: Before I Fall (Hardcover)

Although the premise is a bit implausible, teen girls and young adult women will race through this absolutely wonderful novel about a girl who, though dead, keeps reliving the same day, February 12, until she gets it right.

Samantha (Sam) is a high school girl who seems to have everything: she's very popular, pretty, and has great girlfriends and sexy boyfriend. Lurking underneath all that seeming perfection are some dark secrets which reveal that every act or non action has consequences - the "butterfly effect". As Sam relives the last day of her life seven times, she makes changes in the things she says and does. Each time there is a different outcome. Will she manage to do all that needs done so that she can be, not only remembered, but remembered well? As she takes her message of hope - "it's never too late" to those she is trying to help, her heart is saddened by finding that sometimes it's just little things that one can do or say to make a huge difference in someone's life. It is just as easy to heal as it is to hurt -- with words and actions. Sam learns these lessons and more as she races through her last day seven times, just trying to make sense of it all and accept her own fate with grace and peace. A beautiful, poignant novel that brought me near tears.

This is a book I highly recommend. Buy it immediately!

Ms C

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Engaging and unique YA adventure!, November 8, 2009

Apparently I've been remiss in my exploration of all reading genres and missed out on this one: steampunk. Westerfeld explains in his afterward of Leviathan that it is a blending of future and past. Indeed, this novel is set in 1914 at the beginning of what comes to be known as World War I -- but in this unique tale, it is the battle of the Clankers vs the Darwinists. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans (Clankers) use weapons that are iron machines equipped with canons and guns. The British (Darwinists) have engineered weapons that are living fabricated creatures made out of multiple different species of animals, reptiles, worms, and mammals.

The story begins as young Aleksander Ferdinand, son of the Archduke and heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, is secreted out of his castle home by faithful family retainers in the middle of the night after the poisoning of his parents in Sarajevo. This band of nobles and Alek escape ahead of the warmongering Germans in their engine of war known as a Cyklop Stormwalker. In a parallel story, a girl named Deryn Sharp disguises herself as a boy in order to be accepted into the British Air Service as an airman. On her first day of training, she is stranded aloft in a Huxley airbeast but is rescued by the great whale airship, the largest in the British fleet, the Leviathan.

Prince Alek and his crew encounter some difficulty and engage in a battle or two before arriving at the designated safe house in the frozen Swiss Alps where they plan to wait out the war until Alek can safely be restored to his rightful place as heir to the Empire. Meanwhile, the Leviathan stops in London to pick up a very important passenger, Dr. Nora Barlow and her mysterious cargo, and are supposed to head to a rendezvous in the Ottoman Empire. The plot converges in the Swiss Alps when the Leviathan is injured and downed on the glacier by German pursuers. Alek and Deryn meet and urge their respective alliances to join forces to escape certain death and to elude those intent on killing them. What follows is high adventure on a newly redesigned Leviathan! Secrets still exist, however, and the final chapter ends in a way that makes the reader want to know more of the story.

There will be a second novel that will follow the Leviathan and its motley crew to the Ottoman Empire and the city of Constantinople.

I'm looking forward to the sequel. Enjoy the adventure, the fantastic science, and this tinkering with history. The illustrations, the map of the European Powers, and the cover invite closer inspection and add greatly to the story. Recommend!

Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Fairy tale "lite" is disappointing..., October 10, 2009

This novel, not really what I term as fantasy, was overly long and -- as other reviewers have pointed out -- had one of those unsatisfying cliffhanger type endings that nobody likes. Sure it's the first in a trilogy, but after slogging through over 450 pages of detail and description that should have been tightened up, one hopes that there will be some sort of conclusion to this story line.

The premise of the story -- two kingdoms at war for years. Why? Their societies and way of life is different. So? Despite the setup, the whole book seemed to be totally focused on Alera and whom she would marry. And something about a prophecy and legend. Funny, there wasn't a lot of detail about all that -- just mostly angst and longing vs duty and responsibility.

I didn't find any of the characters interesting or likable. Alera, the Princess and heir of the kingdom of Hytanica, seemed quite immature and definitely not regal in any sense of the word. She was probably supposed to be appealing as headstrong and independent but I found her whiny and irritating. The cliche of egotistical handsome suitor, the character Steldor, was completely predictable. Narian honestly seemed like an impudent, disrespectful jerk to me instead of an appealing mysterious stranger who Alera falls for and longs to marry instead of Steldor, the man her father has chosen. The King seems like a wimp and frankly, I wasn't that interested in any of the rest of them either.

I have read that this is categorized as fantasy, but only in the sense that this is a fictitious kingdom in an unknown land at some unknown point in time - likely medieval. There's no magic or fantastical creatures, etc., typical of the genre.
Teen girls might enjoy this but will likely be bored by the excessive minutiae concerning food, fashion, the layout of the castle and grounds, and many other unimportant bits of prose that lengthen the book rather than strengthen the tale. This novel is what I would call fairy tale "lite" and I won't be rushing to read Allegiance -- the second book in the series.

The author is just 16 so perhaps her writing will improve as she matures. This book would also benefit from some serious editing!
Ms C.

Always Watching by Brandilyn Collins

Ridiculous attempt at a thriller insults the YA audience...,

I have to ask the other reviewers who rated this book so highly -- what were YOU reading? It can't have been this superficially sketched attempt at a thriller that I just put down? There was no suspense. The heroine, Shaley (?) annoyed me as did the name of the band: Rayne. And the attempt at a Christian theme? Preposterous.

The story was bare bones and totally predictable -- it defied credulity and really annoyed me. The daughter of the 30s something "rock star" was supposedly some femme fatale that all these older men (pedophiles?) were in love with? Who were "always watching" over her? Come on! There were so many irritating parts in this book! I don't for one minute think that the authors have any idea what being in a popular rock band is like nor the way that a 16-year-old girl on tour with her mom would be acting. From the shopping spree to watching a suspect interrogation at the police station? And the body count -- ugh! And her loss of appetite for days? I am not even in the least impressed and, now that I think of all this, I ask, "Who would pay $10.00 for such a skimpy book?"

But, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe some teens out there would find this scintillating stuff? I'd like to hear from them. I flat out was not impressed with this book. I am going to put it to the test of teens I know and if they like it, believe me, I will post an update. I won't be looking for the second in this series.

Too scathing? Sorry -- this was a waste of my time. Fortunately it was really short so my torture wasn't long-lived. Skip it.

Ms C