YA Book Review: Proxy by Alex London

Release Date: 18 June 2013
Publisher: Philomel
Format: Hardcover
Source: Own

Goodreads description:

Knox was born into one of the City’s wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

My Thoughts...

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Release Date: 1 January 2013

Publisher: ABRAMS
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon

Goodreads description:

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

My Thoughts...

The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter

Release Date: 26 February 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon

Goodreads description:

Love or life.
Henry or their child.
The end of her family or the end of the world.
Kate must choose.

During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can't stop her--until Cronus offers a deal.

In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he'll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.

With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.

Even if it costs her eternity.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott

Release Date: 24 April 2012

Publisher: Candlewick Press
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to re-create herself in any form - a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother's new husband, Lord Terayama? Or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama's kitchens? Or is she Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge plot to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even the one true aspect of her life- her love for a fellow shadow-weaver

My Thoughts...

(ARC) MG Review: The Humming Room by Ellen Potter

Release Date: 28 February 2012

Publisher: Fiewel & Friends

Format: eARC

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Hiding is Roo Fanshaw's special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment's notice. When her parents are murdered, it's her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life.

As it turns out, Roo, much to her surprise, has a wealthy if eccentric uncle, who has agreed to take her into his home on Cough Rock Island. Once a tuberculosis sanitarium for children of the rich, the strange house is teeming with ghost stories and secrets. Roo doesn't believe in ghosts or fairy stories, but what are those eerie noises she keeps hearing? And who is that strange wild boy who lives on the river? People are lying to her, and Roo becomes determined to find the truth.

Despite the best efforts of her uncle's assistants, Roo discovers the house's hidden room--a garden with a tragic secret.

My Thoughts...

In this adorable novel, Ellen Potter has updated the magical story of The Secret Garden and made it into a fun story that young readers will thoroughly enjoy.  The reader is pulled into a world where it is uncertain what is real and you're constantly wondering if this is going to be magic or reality and in the end maybe it's a little of both.

Space can be a friend or an enemy, so you should always know how much of it your body needs.

-p2, eARC

Roo is a really interesting character. She's closed herself off from the world and then she's taken to an unknown uncle and ends up more isolated than ever in an island mansion.  She's tough, though, and finds ways to make herself and home.  I really enjoyed her and I'm not even sure that I can define WHY precisely, but she doesn't back down from what she believes and she doesn't let others bully her.

The likeness to The Secret Garden can't be missed with this storyline, but the updating that Ms. Potter has given the story works very well.  The writing flows well and I don't think readers will be able to resist the pull of the story that she has so beautifully crafted. Ms. Potter has also succeeded in crafting a setting that has a life of its own.  The island and the house almost become characters in their own right--with secrets waiting to be discovered.

The Humming Room will easily appeal to its intended audience of middle grade readers.  The writing and story will capture their imaginations without putting undue strain on their reading abilities.  I'd recommend this one to some reluctant readers who possible enjoy a little bit of mystery and strong female characters.  It's also, clearly, a must-read for fans of The Secret Garden.

(ARC) YA Book Review: New Girl by Paige Harbison

Release Date: 31 January 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

They call me 'New Girl'...

Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed—because of her.

Becca Normandy—that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy. And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault.

Except for Max Holloway—the boy whose name shouldn’t be spoken. At least, not by me. Everyone thinks of him as Becca’s boyfriend but she’s gone, and here I am, replacing her. I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, when I think of Max, I can imagine how Becca’s life was so much better than mine could ever be.

And maybe she’s still out there, waiting to take it back.

My Thoughts...

This book started out fairly solid with well-crafted descriptions of lush scenery, inner-turmoil, and the shock of being the "new girl," but rather quickly devolved into something that I found myself both liking and hating at the same time.  The writing really pulled me into the story at the beginning and it was really the writing with its quick pacing that truly kept me turning the pages.

I'm generally a stickler for characters--9 out of 10 times that is a make or break issue for me with a book.  I'm not saying that I have to "like" the characters, but I have to feel something for them--even if that something is hate and loathing.  The characters in New Girl fell flat for me, which contributed greatly to my sense of disappointment with this story.  The "new girl" MC (whose name isn't revealed until the end and I won't use so I don't spoil it) is a fairly relateable character and I honestly felt bad for the situation that she was thrown into at Manderly. I felt like her reactions to most situations felt authentic.  She wasn't really my problem character.  For me, the other characters (basically all of them) fell flat for one reason or another.  The two main love interests didn't capture my imagination and I couldn't see liking either one of them.  Dana was simply crazy, and while I wanted her craziness and mystery to evolve into a genuine interest in her, it never happened for me. She was simply annoying.  And don't get me started on Becca, who I couldn't even really make myself feel sorry for even though she was clearly dealing (or, really, NOT dealing) with intense personal stuff that no one knew about.

I can't put together my thoughts on this novel without at least mentioning the sex and alcohol use. Generally, I'm someone who overlooks this kind of stuff in novels because let's face it--teens DO drink and have sex.  My issue with this particular storyline is that it seemed like that was all they really did--it seemed way overdone. And then all the sex scenes fade to black?  I know that seems like I'm taking a weird stance but if you're characters are promiscuous--it's part of their personality--then in my mind making every sex/make-out scene completely fade-to-black seems out of character.

The writing is overall not bad.  There were moments where POVs switched or time jumped that caught me off guard but overall the story flowed fairly smoothly and held my attention. Also, as someone unfamiliar with Rebecca (which this is a retelling of), I did a little research (read: I read a Wikipedia article) on the original story and in my estimation, Ms. Harbison has put together a successful retelling, moving it into a YA-appropriate setting, maintaining basic plotlines, and creating a new story that could appeal to both readers familiar and unfamiliar with the story.  I enjoyed getting both Becca and the new girl's POVs as it added depth to the story that would have been significantly lacking otherwise.  In the end, however, this book was simply not as fabulous as a read as I had hoped it would be...

YA Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Release Date: 3 January 2012

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

Release Date: 11 October 2011
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

A modern retelling of the German fairytale "Tristan and Isolde", Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school

My Thoughts...

Isn't this the most GORGEOUS cover? Doesn't it make you want this on your shelf as a face-out display? I know that I would.  It's truly stunning and I have to give a HUGE round of applause to the designers of this gorgeous cover because it makes you want to pick it up. It makes you want to buy it.  But what's on the inside? Well, that's less than impressive and more than a little disappointing.

From the start, this book has almost a mocking feel to it.  I felt like the author didn't really give her audience enough credit.  The characters were shallow.  The main character, Isolde (or Izzie), is flaky and self-centered.  From the beginning, all she seems concerned about is having the perfect star-athlete boyfriend and being beautiful.  She doesn't even have a solid relationship with her "best friend," Branna, whom she treats like she's "beneath" her and needs her help.  There were a lot of opportunities with Branna and Tristan to create solid, realistic characters but I felt like it didn't happen.  Branna ends up being almost as shallow as Izzie with her little ultimate revenge truth serum, Tristan is just eye-candy for Izzie to fall in love with for some unknown reason (except that he's beautiful), and Mark is the perfect Romeo boyfriend who doesn't really know what he wants.

I really wish that this story would have played up the magic and the fighting and Izzie's path to learning about her magic because when we got to THAT stuff I enjoyed the book much more.  I struggled less to keep reading after Izzie discovers that she does actually have magic.  From that point on, the action picked up and during the big fight scene, I actually like Izzie for a few minutes, which tells me that this story really did have a lot of potential that it didn't quite capitalize on.

This book, overall, probably could have been a lot better if it wasn't trying to be a modern retelling of Tristan and Isolde. It has some potential as contemporary fantasy if the focus would have been changed to the magic and the action instead of the flaky characters and their shallow relationships.

[That being said, I've heard phenomenal things about this author's other YA books, so start with those! If you're interested in this book, my recommendation is to check it out from your local library before the cover lures you into buying it yourself.]

Tween Tuesday: Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen focusing on MG literature. Do you read and review MG books? Hop on over and join the fun!

Release Date: 27 September 2011
Publisher: Walden Pond (HarperCollins)
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Pre-Order It! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. They had been best friends since they were six, spending hot Minneapolis summers and cold Minneapolis winters together, dreaming of Hogwarts and Oz, superheroes and baseball. Now that they were eleven, it was weird for a boy and a girl to be best friends. But they couldn't help it - Hazel and Jack fit, in that way you only read about in books. And they didn't fit anywhere else.

And then, one day, it was over. Jack just stopped talking to Hazel. And while her mom tried to tell her that this sometimes happens to boys and girls at this age, Hazel had read enough stories to know that it's never that simple. And it turns out, she was right. Jack's heart had been frozen, and he was taken into the woods by a woman dressed in white to live in a palace made of ice. Now, it's up to Hazel to venture into the woods after him. Hazel finds, however, that these woods are nothing like what she's read about, and the Jack that Hazel went in to save isn't the same Jack that will emerge. Or even the same Hazel.

My Thoughts...

If you love modern retellings of classic fairy tales, then Breadcrumbs is a must read book! (Even if, like me, you aren't all that familiar with The Snow Queen) Well, really, even if you don't adore fairy tale retellings, there's a darn good chance that you should still most definitely read this book! It is an imaginative, fun read that will capture the minds and hearts of many a reader--MG age or otherwise!

Hazel and Jack live very much in their own fantasy world of dragons, hidden worlds in closets, and magic snow palaces where you can hide forever.  Their active imaginations complement each other in a way that weaves together complex stories and fantasies that they live out in their time together.  When Jack suddenly turns away from their imaginative times together, Hazel is distraught (as any young girl who loses her best friend suddenly would be) and convinced that something has happened to him.  Her journey to find who she is without Jack and then her journey to recover her best friend is eye-opening and fascinating to follow.

Ms. Ursu truly had me hooked on this book from the very beginning.  The descriptive writing is beautiful and incredibly evocative.  The opening description of snow and its effect on the world was fabulous and really set the scene right away--you can imagine being there, sense your surroundings. There are references that Ursu weaves in that make me smile, such as references to the His Dark Materials trilogy, Narnia, and Hogwarts, and add an element of nostalgia to the story for some readers.  The fantasy and magical elements seem a tad clunky at the beginning as Ursu pulls the worlds together but eventually weave together seamlessly as the story progresses. As Hazel journeys through the woods, I couldn't help but be reminded of the musical Into the Woods, where a number of classic stories weave together.

I would easily recommend this book to young readers who enjoy fantasy and adventure.  As I said before, it is a fun, imaginative read that encourages readers to keep pretending.