ARC Review: Horde (Razorland #3) by Ann Aguirre

MAJOR SPOILERS for the first two books in the trilogy. Check out my reviews of Enclave & Outpost.

The horde is coming.

Salvation is surrounded, monsters at the gates, and this time, they're not going away. When Deuce, Fade, Stalker and Tegan set out, the odds are against them. But the odds have been stacked against Deuce from the moment she was born. She might not be a Huntress anymore, but she doesn't run. With her knives in hand and her companions at her side, she will not falter, whether fighting for her life or Fade's love.

Ahead, the battle of a lifetime awaits. Freaks are everywhere, attacking settlements, setting up scouts, perimeters, and patrols. There hasn't been a war like this in centuries, and humans have forgotten how to stand and fight. Unless Deuce can lead them.

This time, however, more than the fate of a single enclave or outpost hangs in the balance. This time, Deuce carries the banner for the survival of all humanity.

From Goodreads

Towns falling, people dying, and all Deuce can do is fight on. Not truly a Huntress anymore, but something between that and just a girl, Deuce finds herself with her faithful companions battling the monsters that threaten to take everything. Things are as easy as they once were because now the monsters are evolving, growing smarter, and learning better ways to murder the humans they hunt.

After the sacking of Salvation, Deuce, Fade, Stalker, & Teagan make it to Soldiers Pond with the few survivors of their almost home. Unafraid of fighting for what she wants, Deuce tries to convince the new command that the monsters are gathering their strength for a full-on onslaught and that an army of the people, from all the towns, needs to be raised. She sets out to do just that, all while struggling with Stalker's affections, Fade's retreat into himself. & Teagan's insecurity about her abilities.

Can the girl from below who has fought so hard to get to where she is really pull off the impossible and preserve humanity?

You guys...this is how you should end a series. I will do my best to do this book justice while covering all my bases, but suffice it to say that if you've read the first two you'll enjoy this one as well and if you haven't read the other two, go do that now.

Deuce isn't a typical heroine. I know we all have our preconceived ideas of what that means, but I think she really stands out among the multitude of female protagonists in the genre. She must contend with her emotions, identity, ability, & beliefs that continually clash against one another. Her romantic notions are not as simple as one might expect, they are complex and rooted in her self-worth & self-understanding. Her struggles are the driving force behind the story & carry the narrative along.

Fade, Stalker, & Teagan are wonderful representations of what else is going on in Deuce's world. They each speak to a different part of her & support/encourage her strengths while shoring up her weaknesses. In their own rights they are a steadfast crew battling their own issues for the greater good. There is no room for idle hands and none of these characters are willing to give up what they've all worked so hard to attain.

The new characters introduced in this novel blend well with the story & setting. I found it interesting that each "spokesperson" for their respective territory were reflective of the town itself. Meaning that their personalities & behavior seemed to either stem from or contribute to the way their territories functioned. The territories were also unique because each one posed a specific problem to our intrepid heroine.

I think my favorite part of this book though was the overall tone & action. Knowing that this will be the last one, I wasn't sure whether I should expect easy street conflicts or really demanding, reaching conflicts. I am thrilled to report that Ann Aguirre doesn't let her characters off easily. They fight tooth, claw, & weapon for what they want and to ensure that they do the best they're capable of. There are no holds barred, so brace yourself for some heart-stopping moments of dread. It's not easy, but it was necessary and satisfying.

It sucks that this book doesn't come out until October, but if I can manage it I will definitely be picking up a boxed set to add to my personal library. An uplifting, if fairly gruesome tale, the Razorland saga is not to be missed!

ARC graciously provided by Around the World ARC Tours

Just One Day by Gayle Forman review

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay.

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

From Goodreads

86,400 seconds, 1,440 minutes, 24 hours. No matter how you define it, just one day can make a world of difference. Allyson "LuLu" Healey knows this all too well. After a whirlwind, although underwhelming, guided tour of some of Europe's most well-known tourist spots she is tired of always following the path of least resistance. She catches the eye of Willem, a dashing Dutch nomad while he is acting in a traveling Shakespeare performance troupe. 

Their chance encounter turns into a one day trip to Paris where everything Allyson has ever thought to be true is challenged. Most of all is her definition and expectations of love.

This was an incredibly moving novel. Gayle Forman's other books have been on my TBR (to be read) list for a long time and having started with this one I think I will always look forward to her work. Part romance and part self-discovery, Just One Day takes as much as it gives to the reader. The first 1/3 of the book takes place in just a few short days encompassing the end of the European tour and the monumental day in Paris. The rest of the novel examines Allyson's emotional recovery from that encounter. By pretending to be LuLu with Willem, what she's really doing is trying on another life. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your outlook, it took her "living" as this other entity to realize just how much she disliked her planned out life. 

I think this book speaks volumes about just how important it is to really examine your life. The main character is barely 18 and just really starting a life that she is already miserable in. Willem isn't too much older, and while not wildly enamored, he does seem to enjoy most of his life either. These two are like a study in contrasts. Willem is content with his life situation but in a way it seems he is really just running from something. Allyson on the other hand is miserable (but doesn't actually realize it) and is running towards an unacknowledged goal.

The writing style is very fluid and rich with references to Shakespeare. I personally love all the characters that you encounter. This is one of those books where you have a few main characters, but you really feel like the supporting characters are the ones who help carry the story. They are just as important as the settings. 

I will say this though, there needed to be a closer eye on editing. There were quite a few obvious errors and extra words that a thorough reading would have caught. I know that's nitpicky, but it was really the only fault I could find with the book. Everything else was just as it should have been.

I hope you decide to pick this book up. My reading habits of late have been colored by my wanderlust and this was just the ticket to help ease that desire. Even better? The companion novel Just One Year from Willem's point of view is due out in October of this year. I can't wait!

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson review

Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket.

In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat.

The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: Find a starving artist.

Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwright/thief/ bloke-about-town called Keith go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous-though utterly romantic-results. But will she ever see him again?

Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 little blue envelopes.

From Goodreads

Ginny wasn't sure of anything when it came to her runaway Aunt Peg. Sure she was quirky and most definitely an artist, but cryptic wasn't usually her MO. But here Ginny is, under direct orders of the first of 13 little blue envelopes on the trip of a lifetime. Having secured her parents' permission, Ginny sets off to London, on her own, with no real idea what she's getting herself into.

Denied any outside, electronic communication and extra funding, Ginny finds herself on a strange Englishman's doorstep where her Aunt apparently lived during her final few months. Did I forget to mention that Aunt Peg was no longer with us? Whatever Ginny is supposed to get out of this adventure she must do it on her own, as instructed.

Some of the instructions are strange, some are outlandish, and some are downright dangerous. Out of all the instructions, one thing never mentioned was what to do if the plan goes awry? What if you fall in love or heaven forbid, what if you just don't want to follow the plan? Ginny learns all of this and more.

This was a fun little book. It takes a little bit to build up as we don't start out with all the information. Even as you read, you're still learning the  basics that you normally pick up in the first chapter or two of any other book. I think that is part of this book's charm. The fact that the reader is just as lost and confused, taking a journey with, the main character.

It was entertaining to watch Ginny traipse all over Europe with no clue as to where or why she would be anywhere at any one time. The instructions in the envelopes were sometimes general and sometimes specific so she really had no idea what to expect each time she got to open one. She had unique experiences that no one could create on their own had they not experienced them themselves. Ginny was being guided by Aunt Peg's own life adventure while being told to find her own.

The plot and all the supporting characters really made this an interesting book. Between starving artists, big wigs at large corporate companies, and American tourist families, there was never a lack of diversity among the interactions. That being said, I found it quite unfortunate that there was a sexual assault mixed into all this, especially since it had to happen in Italy. I think that was a bit over the top and unnecessary, if not a bit presumptuous. I may be a bit sensitive about these types of things, but I am certainly more aware of them after reading Maggie Stiefvater's post about the pervasiveness of literary rape (in all genres).

Other than that this was a fine book. Not my favorite and certainly not the worst. It was a happy medium that satiated my wanderlust-filled heart. I understand there is a sequel called The Last Little Blue Envelope. I haven't decided whether I actually want to read it or not. Thoughts?

January Genreflecting: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky review

Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix-tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

From Goodreads

First off, we'll start with my review of the book. Having grown up when YA was just starting to blossom, it's not surprising that I missed this book the first time around. It also wasn't my kind of reading at the time. Well, it's apparently not really my style today. Told in the form of letters to an unknown recipient, we meet the brilliant, if awkward Charlie. The kid brother of the star football player & a boy-obsessed sister, Charlie has never really fit in socially.

While I can relate in a way to this, the book spiraled into something weirder and more dark than I imagined. There is pervasive drug & alcohol abuse, as well and sexual & emotional assault on many characters. I think the core message of the book could have been brought to fruition without all this, but in a way these things are so ingrained in the personalities & lifestyles of the older teens that Charlie hangs out with that I think the book would have been missing something without it.

For such a short book, told in four parts over about 200 pages, it packs a wallop of a punch. The world as we see it is through the distorted perception of Charlie, but the message that he seems to latch onto throughout the book is one of individuality & trusting oneself. The narrative & word choice give a clear picture of just how removed Charlie is from the social interactions he is supposedly taking part in. His incomprehension of other people's actions coupled with his cognitive abilities reminds me of someone with Asperger Syndrome. All of this combined to make a powerful, if sometimes overstated, storyline.

With respect to the genre analysis, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is indeed a prime example of a contemporary life book. While we listen to Charlie describe his emotions & events of his life, what we're really focusing on is how he interacts with his own world. We don't focus in on the fact that he smoked pot & took LSD, we focus in on the fact that in his desperation for acceptance, Charlie was willing to experiment with things outside of his comfort zone. We get to live alongside Charlie as he travels the confusing path that is adolescence. It is especially difficult for him for reasons that he himself is unaware of, so it makes the overarching story (and not the minutia) the most important.

I think this book has successfully explored the teenage experience at a very pivotal time in our nation's collective history. Being published in 1999, but set in 1991-1992, would normally make this book seem "dated" to the majority of the population. While there are definitely some obvious "signs of the times" in the book, it is a timeless novel. I could see it being set anywhere from the 1960's to in the near future. A good contemporary novel has the ability to transcend time in order to be approachable by the audience, present & future. This is evidenced by the fact that this book is just now being made into a major motion picture starring Emma Watson (of Harry Potter fame), Ezra Miller, and Logan Lerman.

What do you think about The Perks of Being a Wallflower? Have you seen the movie? Do you intend to?

Fathomless (Fairytale Retellings #3) by Jackson Pearce review

Celia Reynolds is the youngest in a set of triplets and the one with the least valuable power. Anne can see the future, and Jane can see the present, but all Celia can see is the past. And the past seems so insignificant -- until Celia meets Lo.

Lo doesn't know who she is. Or who she was. Once a human, she is now almost entirely a creature of the sea -- a nymph, an ocean girl, a mermaid -- all terms too pretty for the soulless monster she knows she's becoming. Lo clings to shreds of her former self, fighting to remember her past, even as she's tempted to embrace her dark immortality.

When a handsome boy named Jude falls off a pier and into the ocean, Celia and Lo work together to rescue him from the waves. The two form a friendship, but soon they find themselves competing for Jude's affection. Lo wants more than that, though. According to the ocean girls, there's only one way for Lo to earn back her humanity. She must persuade a mortal to love her . . . and steal his soul.

From Goodreads

Celia doesn't really know how to be herself. She has always just been one third of the triplet set in the Reynolds family. With a long-dead mother, a father with Alzheimer's & much older brothers, Celia has always felt rather isolated. Add to that the fact that she & her sisters share extra-sensory powers & you've got a recipe for a more-frustrated-than-usual teenager.

Lo is just a sea girl. She has been one for quite some time & doesn't really remember who she was before she became Lo. In a way she doesn't mind, but on the other hand she really can't shake the desire to know her past. The old ones say you can recover your soul & go back to being a land girl if you convince a boy to fall in love with you and then drown him.

In walks Jude, the answer to both girls' desires. He's rebellious enough to encourage Celia to find her own voice & caring enough to become caught in Lo's snare when he falls off the pier. And with his involvement the two girls meet & share in their mutual distress.

Jackson Pearce is one heck of a writer. Written with all the flare, attitude, & reverence as her other two books in the fairytale retellings series (Sisters Red & Sweetly) Fathomless has earned its stripes. I've mentioned before that I am not a fan of mermaid stories & that still holds true; but this book was about so much more than a mermaid that I could suspense my aversion. Lo & Celia contrast just enough to strike a fine balance between their stories. One girl can't seem to shake everyone else's past while the other has the need to chase her own past.

Through in a rather self-assured, yet compassionate young guy (Jude) and you've got a great recipe for conflict. It was amazing to watch the two girls have their own experiences with him that overlapped just enough that neither one caught sight of the other. I enjoyed how their stories flowed from one to the other & was enough more surprised by how much I enjoyed Lo's alternate personality. Now that's something you have to read the book to fully appreciate.

All in all I wouldn't change a thing about this continuation of the series. After having finished the book, I was rather excited to sit back & place the information gathered in this story alongside the information gathered form the other stories. An intricate & complex world is being developed & I sincerely hope that when the series "ends" we get to see all those clues come into play together.

Nostalgic Friday: Summer of My German Soldier

Welcome back to Nostalgic Friday! Since I love all things historical (culturally, physically, and personally) I do a post on Fridays honoring some awesome book that is a bit older. Many of them are books I enjoyed in my teens and others are books that I discovered as an adult that I think are relevant to YA readers.

This week I'm featuring Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene. It was originally released in 1973, but I assure you I read it long after that.

Patty Bergen is an average girl in World War II Arkansas. Her father is a respectable local department store merchant and her mother is a home-maker and local saleswoman. Patty feels of very little importance to her family. It seems that no matter what she does, she can't make her parents happy. So during her summer vacation Patty is determined to just enjoy herself and spend as much time as possible doing fun things.

Her plans change when German Prisoners of War arrive in her little town of Jenkinsville, Arkansas. By chance, she meets Anton in her father's store and they hit it off. While he is obviously older than her and she is still a child, they form a very special bond. When he escapes, and plans to make his way back to Germany, Patty agrees to hide him in her family's garage until he can make a safe departure. During this hiding phase is where the meat of the story lies. Anton helps Patty understand herself and her place in life better and she comforts him as he wrestles with what is going on in his country during the war.

This book was part of my "must read everything WWII/Holocaust related" phase. I really felt like I related to Patty's predicament of being stuck between the world her parents functioned in and the world she was trying to create for herself. Patty was kind of like an odd duck to her parents and they never really made an attempt to understand her. Patty turns to the one person who is willing to listen to her and helps her through.

Anton is an all-around decent guy. He talks about his life before the war, what happened to his parents, and the truth about what's really going on in Germany. He feels like an older brother for Patty and wants to take care of her. He really wishes that he could either take her with him or stay with her, but he knows there is no way.

The main characters made and unlikely pairing (as Patty is a 12 year-old Jewish girl and Anton is a 22 year-old German POW) for a story, but it works quite well. The parents are quite representative of their time period, with an over-bearing father and a mother concerned with what society is concerned with at the moment. The setting is a little wonky because who would expect to find German POW's in Arkansas, but it works for the purpose of the story. I really enjoyed this coming-of-age tale and its sequel Morning is a Long Time Coming. Check them out!