Review: The Art of Wishing by Linsday Ribar

He can grant her wishes, but only she can save his life.

Margo McKenna has a plan for just about everything, from landing the lead in her high school play to getting into a good college. So when she finds herself in possession of a genie's ring and the chance to make three wishes, she doesn't know what to do. Why should she put her life into someone else's hands?

But Oliver is more than just a genie -- he's also a sophomore at Margo's high school, and he's on the run from a murderer. As he and Margo grow closer, she discovers that it will take more than three wishes to save him.

A whole lot more.

Hardcover, 314 pages

Published March 21st 2013 by Dial Books For Young Readers 

(info grabbed from GoodReads)

As I had recently read quite a few Victorian set gothic YAs, The Art of Wishing was like a breath of fresh air -- but not just any breath of fresh air.  This air had the sweet scent of spring flowers on it; lilacs and marigolds floating along the breeze into my senses.  There was sweetness to this story that I hadn’t encountered in awhile, and it was much welcomed.  With a great story and lively characters, this is a book you can’t pass up.

Our main character, Margo is filled with a life not often seen.  She has an energy emanating from her words that is tangible and gives the reader the sense that you can reach out to touch her.  She is an example of a character made perfect by her imperfections; she has very real emotions like jealousy and anger and longing, and she is incredibly relatable because of it.  In a book involving a genie, she holds her own with her unique form of magic: her personality. 

The Art of Wishing stands out from the world of YA by being familiar, and playing with those familiar tropes.  This is not the first YA book with absent parents, but I felt that the way that the parents had an effect on Margo and the plot was a new twist on the old trope.  Margo has to grow and accept within herself her own anger at her family, something I haven’t seen in another book as of yet.  It didn’t feel like the author was simply trying to get the parents out of the way for the story to continue without the issues of parents standing in the way.  It was tied into the story, making it a real issue for Margo and us as readers.  

Another way this book stands out involves its choice of paranormal entity: genies.  For one, genies are not plastered all over the world of YA like vampires, werewolves, witches, and mermaids.  Zombies are becoming quite popular as well.  Genies so far haven’t stepped over that “Omg this is every other book right now” line.  Beyond not being an overly used creature, the author actually addresses the complications of a human having a relationship with a genie.  Margo has legitimate hesitations and thoughts about having a relationship with a genie that I felt were deeper than any other book I’ve read.  I thought her reactions to some of the quirks of being a genie felt like how a real person would feel and think, but really going into it would spoil the reading experience for future readers.

The Art of Wishing is a beautiful addition to YA because of its characters and how it plays with tropes of YA.  It is a sweet story that filled my time reading it with smiles and maybe a slight swoon or two.  I highly recommend it to anyone who reads urban fantasy or paranormal romance, though I wouldn’t say it’s romance heavy.  I’d also recommend it to anyone who reads contemporary, because, like many urban fantasies, it reads more like contemporary with paranormal elements than a fantasy with contemporary elements thrown in.  Either way, it’s a great book that I think everyone should read for the adorable factor.

Final Thought: 13 out of 15 toadstools

This review is also posted on GoodReads

Notes From My Desk: Panic! at the Library

I went back and forth a bit before finally deciding to do a post addressing my unannounced hiatus.  Real life happened and I wasn’t mentally capable of handling my blog on top of my other responsibilities.  I stuck to the bare minimum while I got my crap together (bare minimum being just going to work).  I haven’t been doing a whole lot of anything, not even reading.  A lot of stressful things had been going on since January, such as having to work super crazy hours since we were short staffed and then getting into nursing school.  You’d think getting accepted to nursing school wouldn’t be stressful, but it was: I had to figure out how to fit it into my life and how to pay for all the required testing (fingerprinting, drug screen, vaccine titers that check that you are still immune to the things you were vaccinated for, and a whole bunch of other stuff).  And I was starting to debate if I really wanted to be a nurse, but that’s a whole other blog post of worms.

All this stress was piling up, and then near the end of June (three days before my last post), Richard died.  Richard was my brother’s best friend since they were in second grade and had been around since I can remember.  He was like another big brother and one of the kindest people I will ever know.  We had found out not even a month before that he had cancer, but then he passed very suddenly of a pulmonary embolism.  He didn’t suffer, and it spared him from having to go through tortuous chemo when it wasn’t likely he would survive.

I also have this … issue.  I have panic disorder, which is an anxiety disorder where you have panic attacks.  Sometimes because of a trigger, sometimes spontaneously, but often repeatedly.  I was officially diagnosed at the age of twelve.  It’s normally completely in check and I have gone years between panic attacks in the past.  The night of my last blog post was the evening when I had one of my worst ever panic attacks.  I felt a pressure in my chest when laying down to sleep, thought it was my asthma, and took a puff of my inhaler.  Then I took another puff.  I was still not feeling right, and panicked.  And panic attacks are not as simple as they sound.  Your vision tunnels, heart starts to race, you feel chest pressure, throat tightens, you want to crawl out of your skin, and you just have this overwhelming sense that you are dying.  Like, right now, going to die.  It is awful.

This is your brain on panic

Summary of that night: panic attack, panic attack, panic attack, hyperventilate, call an ambulance, vitals were normal but they still thought I should go to a hospital, went to ER and was seen, was told I was fine and had to wait for this to pass, went home, panic attack, panic attack, panic attack, slept for five minutes, woke up in a panic attack, finally slept for a couple hours.

The next day was rinse and repeat. (minus the ER part)

And the day after that.

By day three I was like this all the time

By the third day, I went to see my regular doctor.  She confirmed that I was physically fine even though my heart felt like it was about to explode.  We did lab work and everything checked out normal.  I was finally getting a grip again, but it’s very hard to maintain that grip.  Oh, and if you’re wondering “Why doesn’t she just take a Xanax?” I’m one of those magical people where anti-anxiety meds have the opposite intended effect: they make the anxiety worse.  So no meds.  It’s all deep breathing and telling myself that what I’m feeling isn’t real… which is really difficult when you are currently feeling symptoms.  The thing about a panic attack is that you don’t think you’re having a panic attack; your body is telling you quite the opposite.  Real symptoms happen, but they’re just that: symptoms.  Well, actually they are the result of the panic attack.  Swelling of the throat, chest pressure, and hyperventilating (which makes your face go numb), all great feelings associated with panic attacks.  They are also the symptoms of a few life threatening ailments, particularly heart attacks and anaphylactic shock.

Today is the first day in a month that I’ve been able to think about my blog again.  It’s been rough, but I just started therapy and I’m hopeful.  My get-happy routine has basically been to lay around, watch Disney movies, go for short walks, and cuddle with my cats and dog.  I also have an abundance of stuffed animals around my house for emergency cuddles if the cat is not feeling it.  I read a book for the first time since this started and finished it today.  I really just want my life back to normal, because I’m not quite panic-free yet.  I can work myself out of most of them now and hopefully, once I am panic-free, I’ll stay that way for a couple years.  Because seriously, before the June 24^th panic attack, it had been seven years since my last full blown panic attack.  And that one had been an isolated incident, not a month long episode like this.  So if posts are sporadic for the next few months, I hope you’ll understand why.

Final Thought: panic attacks get all of the negative toadstools 

P.S.: So how was everyone else's July? Have any thoughts or non-thoughts? Want to share a similar experience? I'd love to hear it!

 

More panicky gifs! 

Review: Ink by Amanda Sun

I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

Paperback, 377 pages

Expected publication: June 25th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

(info grabbed from GoodReads) 

Ink is now being resting on my “Disappointments of 2013” shelf.  What stands out about this one as compared to the others it’s shelved with is that there isn’t really anything wrong with the book.  I have a handful of things that I need in a book, that being that a story needs to be coherently written, the plot needs to make sense, and the characters have to be reasonably believable.  And I didn’t have any of those problems with Ink -- the writing is fine, the story goes in a logical direction, and the characters aren’t completely unrealistic in their decisions or personalities.  The big problem I had with Ink can be explained with an analogy: it’s like having nothing but green jolly ranchers your whole life, and then suddenly having a blue jolly rancher.  It’s exciting at first, but at the end, it’s still another jolly rancher.  Ink is another paranormal romance, but with the twist of being set in Japan with Japanese mythology as the magical element.

What really makes Ink a true disappointment for me is that it could have been so good.  The book started off on the right foot, exploring the differences between Japan and life in the United States, and showing it through the eyes of a seventeen year old girl.  Katie as a character came off a little generic at first, but she was bearable.  When the romance started to bud, however, everything went downhill.  That spark from the beginning all but disappears; we’re still in Japan, but the newness is gone from Katie’s perspective.  That perspective was what was making the book stand out in the sea of paranormal romance and the loss of it made the book suffer.

I think I would’ve been happier with the book focusing on the romance, if there had been some chemistry.  I felt nothing when reading the romantic buildup between Tomohiro and Katie.  But these things tend to depend greatly on the person reading, so I can’t honestly say that others won’t appreciate this aspect of the book.  I didn’t; I thought Katie was a bit weird in her courtship methods (stalking) and that there was no insight into what Tomohiro would have seen in her.  She’s not especially witty in their conversations or anything.  The only thing she has going for her is that she’s the intriguing foreigner.  From where I was sitting, I concluded any attraction from Tomohiro’s perspective was purely physical.  I need something more to make my heart skip a beat, but who am I to judge true book love?

Ink was not for me, but it might still be for you.  If you like the paranormal romance genre as a whole and are interested in Japan, you probably will like this book.  To me, it felt incredibly generic.  It’s like Twilight wearing a kimono, but with less sparkle.  I would recommend it to someone who either has read a ton of paranormal romance books and loves the genre through and through, or someone a little newer (who’s not as jaded as me). 

Final Thought: 3 out of 10 toadstools

This review is also posted on GoodReads

Review: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Hardcover, 388 pages

Published July 24th 2012 by HarperTeen 

(info grabbed from GoodReads)

Something Strange and Deadly had everything I could ever want in a historical fiction novel: a dynamic heroine, swoon worthy gents, Centennial Philadelphia setting, and zombies.  I don’t think I really have to point out what makes this book special, but just in case you missed it, here again: zombies.  A steampunk zombie novel.  But labeling it so just doesn’t do it justice.

I really liked the addition of magic and voodoo to the story.  Within zombie fiction, there are two main types of zombies that every other classification of zombie fall into, those being biological or demonic.  Biological has become much more common and are in books such as Feed by Mira Grant and movies such as Resident Evil.  Biological zombies happen from a disastrous science experiment or virus causing the condition of being a zombie.  Biological zombies can be scientifically explained and zombification spreads more like a disease.  Demonic zombies are more spiritually based in origins and are a bit more flexible in what they are defined as.  The main thing about demonic zombies is that there is a necromancer or wizard controlling them for his bidding, typically.  In Something Strange and Deadly, Susan Dennard made a story about a girl and a boy while tying in demonic zombies invading Philadelphia and sprinkling some voodoo and the magic of friendship on top.  How can that not be a winning combination?

I’m honestly not a fan of the rag-tag-thrown-together-band-of-friends trope, but it works in this case.  Every character within the group is well defined and has their own quirks that add to the story.  The two main characters weren’t really enough to keep me totally vexed into the story, and the side characters give the story a bit more pizzazz.  The Spirit-Hunters are also the main source of steampunk goodness in the book, so as much as the rag-tag group trope bothers me, it is necessary in this story.  It’s not particularly annoying, I’m just being particularly critical.

One big criticism I have is that the action scenes were not very clear.  I found them very confusing and it was very difficult to follow what was going on.  It’s kind of a huge problem since with any zombie book, action is going to be a big element.  It doesn’t compromise the story itself, but when it comes to getting a bright, beautiful picture with some steampunk glory and zombie gore, well… there was no picture forming in my head.  It was just words on a page.  Imagery suffered a bit in the book -- I felt that there should be more in general and that the setting should have been played up more.  Again, I still really liked this book and am going to attribute this issue to Something Strange and Deadly being a debut.  Hopefully, we will see the author grow and write some fantastic action scenes in the sequel.

Overall, Something Strange and Deadly is a great debut.  It throws a lot of things that haven’t been done together and combines them to form a story that is something familiar and refreshing at the same time.  It is a story that any zombie aficionado won’t want to miss and any historical fiction fan who is curious how zombies could force their way into Centennial Philly.

Final Thought: 10 out of 12 toadstools

This review is also posted on GoodReads

Review: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

 In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves. One false move from Jasper, and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens and tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens follows Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship. More than ever, Finley must rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley...and will risk his life and reputation to save her. Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley must infiltrate the criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much....

Hardcover, 416 pages

Published May 22nd 2012 by Harlequin Teen

(info grabbed from GoodReads)

I don’t see why a lot of people like this one less than The Girl in the Steel Corset.  I found the change in setting refreshing and thought it was well highlighted what differences were present between the two places.  It added interest into the sequel for me.  It was something new to explore as we were already familiar with the world Kady Cross had started to build and the characters she had created in the first book.  I think the characters became better defined and I was impressed that relationships grew instead staying stagnant.  The only complaint I have is that there wasn’t enough Jack Dandy, because he was still in London for this book.  Sad face.

I loved seeing more of Finley Jayne and watching her grow into her new, more complete skin.  Her two sides have merged into one and she has to figure out which one is dominant.  Will it be her softer side, or the raging fire or her more destructive side?   Finley spends a good portion of the book cut off from the rest of the group, giving her time to find herself away from Griffin and who he wants her to be.  Maybe that’s part of why this book isn’t as well liked is that it has less swooning and action than The Girl in the Steel Corset.  But still, there is quite a bit of action.  Just maybe not enough swooning.

In The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, we get to see a lot more of Jasper, our rogue cowboy.  He was more of a side character than the rest of the group in the first book and it was nice to get to know more about him and his back story.  I missed his more casual and flippant nature from the first book at first, but it makes sense as to what is going on in the story.  So again, not a criticism or a fault, just a change.  The beautiful thing about this series is how fluid the characters feel -- like real people, they grow and change with circumstances and time.  At the very least, hopefully Jasper will be back to his old self in the next book, The Girl with the Iron Touch.

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar was a wonderful continuation of the world I’d begun to love with a new tale to wet my palate with.  I can only hope that the next book will keep me as satisfied as this one did.  I am for sure looking forward to reuniting with a certain criminal rogue back in London.

Final Thought: 25 out of 28 toadstools

This review is also posted on GoodReads

Reviewing in a Sentence (#1)

So I’ve let my “to-review” pile get out of control again.  It’s not like this is new.  However, there are a couple books in it that a review is simply not going to happen.  I have nothing to really contribute or just not enough feelings about the book.  But I thought I should say something, and the result is this: the first in (hopefully) a series of one sentence reviews complete with a toadstool rating.  I’m going to pull five books out of the massive pile of “to-review,” dedicate a sentence to them, and send them on their way to my “done” bookshelf.  And the first group is:

For Darkness Shows the Stars

By Diana Peterfreund

A tender Jane Austen love story with mashed in bits of post apocalyptic science fiction -- how could it be bad?

Final Thought: 500 out of 525 toadstools

Across the Universe

By Beth Revis

I just… I don’t even know; this book was super.

Final Thought: 7 out of 8 toadstools

Legend

By Marie Lu

An intense and wonderful addition to the YA dystopian genre, Legend combines a great cast  of characters and a complex plot to form an exciting and unforgettable story.

Final Thought: 4 out of 5 toadstools

Of Triton

By Anna Banks

Ugh.

Final Thought: 6 out of 35 toadstools

 

Strands of Bronze and Gold

By Jane Nickerson

This one was highly anticipated for me and did not let me down, but did get a little slow and drawn out at times.

Final Thought: 16 out of 23 toadstools

Ahhh I feel so accomplished even though I didn't really do much.  So what do you think?  Want to make your own list of one sentence reviews to lower your pile?  Send me a link if you do your own!  Maybe this will become a monthly thing for me and whoever else needs to lighten their “to-review” stack.

Happy Reading,