The Fault in Our Stars

The Book:

The Fault in Our Stars
By John Green
Dutton Juvenile
Published January 10, 2012

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

The Review

After reading all the fantastic reviews of The Fault in Our Stars, John Green’s eagerly anticipated fourth novel, I have been struggling to decide what I could possibly add to all the wonderful insights. First, I have to concur with a great majority of the reviewers: this is not a “cancer book” or is it even necessarily a book about cancer. Certainly Hazel thinks about cancer: her cancer Augustus Waters’s cancer, her friend Isaac’s cancer, and even the protagonist from her favorite (and purely fictional) novel, Anna’s, cancer. But trying to pigeonhole this novel with the label “Cancer Book” is akin to calling a child with cancer a “Cancer Kid” (or even, as Hazel would say, ”An Inspiration to Us All”). The truth is far more complex and thought-provoking than any label would allow.

And complexity is one of the most fabulous things about this novel–mostly because, at first glance, the novel doesn’t appear all that complicated. Hazel’s narration of events is very straightforward, almost no-nonsense, though she still retains a very sharp sense of humor. She states the facts of life as she sees them, no matter if they are pleasant or sad or inconvenient. She is also upfront with her emotions, especially romantic ones regarding Augustus Waters. Readers will no doubt find her candidness a nice change from the usual hemming and hawing plaguing female protagonists in the teen lit scene.

However, Hazel’s forthright manner is not an indication of simplicity of thought. Anyone familiar with Green’s work knows that his characters tend to wax a little philosophical, and Hazel is no exception. Drawing on a very high level of vocabulary and grammar (and a few references to philosophers like Kierkegaard), Hazel confronts readers with some very profound questions about life, death, family, and what it means to interact with a world that soon won’t have you in it.

My only complaint? Every so often Hazel’s thoughts, as brilliant and deep as they are, felt a bit masculine. This may be solely from the fact that I was aware that the author was male, but it was disruptive nonetheless.

The Rating

Readability:         
Originality:           
Believability:        
Thematic Quality:
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Overall Rating:

The Recommendation

Although written for teens, this book will be appreciated by an adult readership too. Be prepared for nerdy moments and some tears.

The Monstrumologist

The Book

The Monstrumologist
By Rick Yancey
Simon & Schuster
Published September 22, 2009

So begins the journal of Will Henry, orphaned assistant to Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, a man with a most unusual specialty: monstrumology, the study of monsters. In his time with the doctor, Will has met many a mysterious late-night visitor, and seen things he never imagined were real. But when a grave robber comes calling in the middle of the night with a gruesome find, he brings with him their most deadly case yet.

Critically acclaimed author Rick Yancey has written a gothic tour de force that explores the darkest heart of man and monster and asks the question: When does a man become the very thing he hunts?

The Review

I know this book wasn’t in my review queue, but since I was having all sorts of shipping troubles trying to get my hands on my signed copy of Green’s The Fault in Our Stars I decided to pick up another book in the interim–and an award honoree no less.

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey was a Printz award honor book back in 2010 and for excellent reason: this book is as fantastic as it is creepy. Told through the journals of a old man looking back on his time as the twelve-year-old assistant of a world-renowned monstrumologoist (for def. see description above), the story follows Will Henry as he and Dr. Pellinore Warthrop set out on a search and destroy mission to rid a quiet 19th century village of murderous man-eating monsters, the Anthropophagi. What on the surface appears to be a straightforward quest, however, quickly becomes a very twisted path as the deepest depths of the doctor’s past are brought to light–and both Will Henry and the doctor begin to doubt the humanity of the person they had trusted most.

I love many things about this book, but the thing that stands out the most is how intricately Yancey draws the characters of Will Henry and the doctor. To say these characters are fully fleshed out is a bit of an understatement. Just as with real people, the characters are full of contradicting motivations and sentiments. The doctor in particular is a struggle to pin down. Determined to be the “modern scientific man” as he father was, the doctor often sacrifices his more human inclinations. He is not affectionate toward Will Henry. He is distant and imposing and often argues with Will Henry as if he were an adult, then becoming frustrated when the twelve-year-old cannot hold his own. Yet for all these flaws, the doctor is a likeable character. It is clear he cares for Will Henry, even if the mode of that love’s expression is unorthodox (he, for instance, tells Will Henry he will shoot him in the head rather than let him suffer an agonizing death at the hands of the Anthropophagi–naturally Will Henry is taken aback at this notion).

The doctor also has strong moral convictions–he is disgusted at the mistreatment of the inmates at the insane asylum–a stark contrast against the charismatic John Kearns, a British gentleman of dubious origin that the doctor brings in to assist with the hunt. Kearns, who prides himself on following the “morality of the moment” (i.e. eat or be eaten), is one of those truly frightening characters in literature because, on the surface, he seems so dashing. He’s confident, well-spoken, and a natural leader. Everyone–the doctor, Will Henry, the constable, the villagers, the readers–wants to follow him. They want to believe he has all the answers. And he does, to an extent. They just aren’t pretty (or ethical) answers.

Which is how Yancey is able to explore deeper themes in the book. Through the eyes of his expertly drawn characters, Yancey plumbs the depths of human character. He confronts young readers with moral dilemmas usually reserved for a college philosophy class. Is it better to sacrifice one for the survival of many? Can a person, or monster, be inherently evil? Or is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so?

The only downsides to the book are:

1. its use of advanced vocabulary and grammar (I know, what a downside…); some younger or less advanced readers may find it less accessible for this reason. And…

2. there are some truly disgusting scenes, most of them involving maggots; if you are prone to nightmares, like myself, please be aware you’ll be dreaming about this book for quite some time.

However, these downsides are extremely minor. Overall, I think it is an excellent book and definitely worth the read.

The Rating

Readability:         
Originality:           
Believability:        
Thematic Quality:
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Overall Rating:  (hurray, my first 5 star rating)

The Recommendation

A must read! Great language, creepy atmosphere, complex characters, awesome themes. Younger readers may need help along the way, but the challenge is well worth it.

And, if you get done with this book, there are two more in the series: The Curse of the Wendigo (which despite its silly title is supposed to better than the first) and The Isle of Blood. I can’t wait to read these two…I mean, too!

The Gathering Storm, by Robin Bridges

The Book:

The Gathering Storm
By Robin Bridges
Random House
Due out January 10, 2012

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue. An evil presence is growing within Europe’s royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina’s strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar’s standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina’s help to safeguard Russia…and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The Review

Back in September, Publisher’s Weekly put out this article which predicted the future fad of young adult literature was historical fiction. Judging by the up rise in novels by big name authors set in past times–Bright Young Things, Anna Godbersen (2010), Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare (2010), Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson (2011)–this assessment is proving to be true. Joining the fray is Robin Bridges’ debut novel, The Gathering Storm, which is set in Russia at the turn of the 19th century.

Although this novel features a cast of characters well known to the paranormal romance crowd (vampires, werewolves, undead, oh my!), the real shining star of the story is its exotic historical landscape. Bridges spends much effort conjuring up images of what life was like for the aristocracy of a Russia caught between the advancements of the industrial revolution and the lingering grip of superstition. Through the eyes of the main protagonist, a modern-minded young Duchess named Katerina, readers are whisked through glamorous winter balls, social calls to empresses and tsars, and the complicated maneuverings of a mother intent on having her daughter marry well (à la Jane Austen). And sleighs rides. There are a lot of sleigh rides.

Bridges has obviously done a lot of research in order to make the book historically accurate. I confess I’m no expert, but I do recall from my brief attempt at reading War and Peace (it is on my ereader and I will get to it…eventually) that the Russian aristocracy spoke mainly in French and that whispering of revolution was severely frowned upon–all of which is remarked upon by Bridges. She also spends an ample amount of time name-dropping, which is acceptable in small portions, but feels a bit overdone here.

Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed the historical setting, I found the rest of the book lacking. The plot was okay. Nothing extraordinary or unexpected. The action was glazed over (stating merely that they fought furiously, rather than describing the punches). The pacing at times dragged. And the romance was…well, not very romantic. Katerina and her main love-interest George Alexandrovich had surprisingly few scenes together, and those that they shared were filled more with exposition advancing the plot than building any sort of affection between the two. Perhaps Bridges was trying to channel a Darcy-type character–after all, George was often described as brooding, and Katerina was convinced he detested her–but George was too standoffish for my taste. If not for some traditional hint-dropping by Bridges I would have been just as disbelieving as Katerina when George confessed his feelings. On the bright side, this is the first in a series, so Bridges has ample room for deepening Katerina and George’s relationship.

Finally, one last note on the cover art. The publishers were given an incredible opportunity to come up with an evocative cover; something that captured the romance and glamor of olden time Russia. They settled instead on a generic cover of a girl in a traditional ushanka hat. Disappointed.

The Rating

Readability:         
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Overall Rating:

The Recommendation

Read it if you like a mix of paranormal and historical fiction. Those who enjoyed the settings of Clare’s Clockwork Angel and Johnson’s Name of the Star will eat up this book.

The Thirteen Hallows, by Michael Scott

The Book:

The Thirteen Hallows
By Michael Scott and Colette Freedman
Tor Books
Published December 6, 2011

 

The Hallows. Ancient artifacts imbued with a primal and deadly power. But are they protectors of this world, or the keys to its destruction? A gruesome murder in London reveals a sinister plot to uncover a two-thousand-year-old secret. For decades, the Keepers guarded these Hallows, keeping them safe and hidden and apart from each other. But now the Keepers are being brutally murdered, their prizes stolen, the ancient objects bathed in their blood. Now, only a few remain. With her dying breath, one of the Keepers convinces Sarah Miller, a practical stranger, to deliver her Hallow—a broken sword with devastating powers—to her American nephew, Owen…As Sarah and Owen search for the surviving Keepers, they unravel the deadly secret the Keepers were charged to protect. The mystery leads Sarah and Owen on a cat-and-mouse chase through England and Wales, and history itself, as they discover that the sword may be the only thing standing between the world…and a horror beyond imagining.

The Review

All right. Fine. I’ll admit it. I first picked up this book not because of the snazzy jacket art or because I felt like reading a good fantasy book (which I haven’t for a while), but because I was hoping The Thirteen Hallows by Michael Scott was some sort of weird combination of Harry Potter and The Office. It wasn’t, of course. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Instead, The Thirteen Hallows reads more like a supped-up supernatural Da Vinci Code. It is rife with psychopathic hit men, gruesome murders, police chases, ritualistic sex, and enormous liberties taken with the Bible. The chapters are extremely short (two pages, on average) and the narration snappy, making the story feel much shorter than its 350 pages. This also lends to its very cinematic quality, jumping from one character’s perspective to another, just like a movie wipe between scenes.

I have to applaud Michael Scott for choosing to make the main protagonist (as much as there is one) a female, sword-swinging do-gooder. You don’t see many of those. Sarah Miller is a strong character, even if she herself is unwilling to admit it. With barely a bat of her eyelash, she takes on bloodthirsty demons and pitiless gangsters, all while keeping two steps ahead of the pursuant police. My only wish is that she could have had all her fight scenes with her clothes on.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read. I have to take points off for redundant bad guys (with exception of the Dark Man and his mistress, they all have interchangeable back stories and are, for no apparent reason, homosexual). Points are also lost for overusing the descriptions smells. A random thing, yes, but reading about “a mixture of excrement and stale sweat coupled with the bitter metallic odor of blood” for the twentieth time gets tedious. It just smacks of lack of imagination and ambition. By the end I was wishing the author(s) would fixate on another of the senses–or that the characters would all spontaneously develop head colds.

Finally, this book comes with a warning. If it were a movie, it would be rated R for lots of blood, violence, and sexual encounters. This is a book meant for mature audiences. Reader discretion is advised.

The Rating

Readability:         
Originality:           
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Overall Rating:

The Recommendation

Read it if you enjoy books like Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, Lehane’s Gone, Baby, Gone, or Preston and Child’s Relic. However, don’t expect as many twists and turns. This one is straight out action/adventure.

Zero, by Tom Leveen

The Book:

Zero
By Tom Leveen
Random House Books
Due out April 24, 2011

 

     For aspiring artist Amanda Walsh, who only half-jokingly goes by the nickname Zero, the summer before college was supposed to be fun—plain and simple. Hanging out with her best friend Jenn, going to clubs, painting, and counting down the days until her escape. But when must-have scholarship money doesn’t materialize, and she has a falling out with Jenn that can only be described as majorly awkward, and Zero’s parents relationship goes from tense to relentless fighting, her prospects start looking as bleak and surreal as a painting by her idol Salvador Dali. Will life truly imitate art? Will her new, unexpected relationship with a punk skater boy who seems too good to be real and support from the unlikeliest of sources show Zero that she’s so much more than a name.

The Review

As you can gather from the description, Tom Leveen’s second foray into the adolescent teenage mind (his first book, Party, came out in 2010) is all about the awkwardness of first love and the arduous journey of discovering one’s own worth. The main protagonist, who goes by Zero–an obvious indicator of her own selfworth–has angsty issues aplenty. She hates her body, her art, her family, and now her bestfriend. And, like all teenagers, she simultaneous craves and fears the spotlight. After plucking up the courage to talk to a skater boy who also happens to be the drummer in an up-and-coming band, Zero falls head first into a relationship that makes her take a hard look at how she treats herself and what it is she wants out of life.

Tom Leveen does an excellent job capturing the voice of a teenage girl, especially considering he was never one himself. Zero feels authentic in a way that is both interesting and familiar. She is smart, creative, and funny, if you don’t mind 13-year-old-boy humor. Her relationships with her parents and boyfriend are believable, and not overdramatized. In short, she is a character many readers will relate to.

The book deals with a lot of  heavy issues without feeling too depressing. Zero worries constantly about her body image, choosing to view herself only through the reflection of the glass framing her Salvador Dali reprints collection–the distorted image obviously mirroring (hehe, pun) the twisted way in which she views herself. Her relationship with her parents is on the rocks. Her father is a heavy drinker spiraling out of control, and Zero places the blame firmly at her mothers feet. She also has had a falling out with her bestfriend–perhaps the most evocative relationship in the entire book, and something, I’m sad to say, that wasn’t as fully explored as it could have been.

The text itself is paired down to the basics. Simple sentences (sorry, no flowery verbosity here), firmly bring about Zero’s viewpoint and also make the book a quick read (I finished it in under five hours).

However, this book does have one major drawback: the plot. A whole lot of nothing goes on during the book. The characters and interactions Leveen has built are fantastic, but they accomplish next to zilch. The biggest achievement for the main character–giving up her moniker, Zero, for her real name, Amanda–is something that goes unremarked upon, Leveen choosing instead to build up Zero’s indecision whether to follow her rocker boyfriend to LA. When at last Zero makes her decision, it still feels like more like an afterthought than a declaration of selfworth. This feeling carries through to the other, quickly hashed out resolutions concerning Zero’s parents’ marital strife and the conflict with bestfriend Jenn. At the end of the book, everybody–characters and readers alike–are left with the feeling that more could have been said and done, but regrettably was not.

The Rating

Readability:         
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Overall Rating:

The Recommendation

Read it if you like character-driven books. People who enjoy Ellen Hopkins’ Crank will find it lighter, but still probing. People who enjoy John Green’s Paper Towns will find it a less philosophical, but quicker read.

Clockwork Prince

For me, the greatest test of a book comes not in the first few lines, but rather somewhere around page 300. At this point, both the book and I have reached a post-midway slump. The book, supposing it’s following a traditional arc, is stuck in the calm between two storms: the excitement of being introduced to the world, its characters, and its problems is over; but the final build to the conclusion has yet to begin. For my part, I’m usually cranky. It’s late, no doubt verging on 2 am, and I’ve got work early in the morning–and I still have so far to go. I know it’s a bit ridiculous, but not being able to finish the book in one sitting is upsetting. If my eyes weren’t exhausting and my brain demanding sleep, I’d take the extra 2-ish hours to finish the whole thing. But it can’t be helped. I’ve got to make a decision: either a) scan the rest of the book for major plot points before skipping to the end, or b) save it until tomorrow night.

Well, I’m an incredibly impatient person when it comes to books. I absolutely detest not knowing the ending before I shut the lights off for the night–which means, nine times out of ten, I’ll choose option a. After all, I reason with myself, there are hundreds of books in my queue I’m dying to read. What’s the harm in settling for the abridged version?

I know a book is good, however, when I instead go for option b. Luckily for me, Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare was that good.

The second in Clare’s Infernal Devices series, Clockwork Prince continues the tale of the intelligent and feisty Tessa Gray. Here’s part of the jacket description:

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

In order to protect Charlotte’s place at the Institute, Tessa Gray and her two friends/love interests, Will and Jem, set out on a quest to discover where the Magister is hiding. Their journey takes them through the dark secrets of the Magister’s past and also uncovers an unsavory secret one of the Clave is desperate to keep hidden.

The Review

I have read all of Cassandra Clare’s previous books, including those in her Mortal Instruments series, and I have to admit that this is far and away my favorite. I was not too impressed with the first installment, Clockwork Angel–it was one of the books whose ending I skimmed. The premise, while interesting, was not fully fleshed out. The characters were well-drawn, but slightly two-dimensional in terms of emotional motivations. Even the prose itself was a bit jilted, the historical scenery obviously heavily-researched, but feeling superficially thrown in for the sake of “touring” Victorian London.

With Clockwork Prince, Clare has moved past all that. While we are certainly touring Victorian London and its surrounding environs, including a trip to York to see its great cathedral, it doesn’t feel as forced. In fact, the description of the turrets “piercing the sky like Saint Sebastian stuck through with arrows” is very fitting, and fleeting enough that it doesn’t interrupt the story’s flow. It also gives the pace more breathing room, so the scenes truly in need of lengthy descriptions (Starkweather’s hall of horrors, for instance) don’t feel bogged down.

From a plot standpoint, the story was pretty transparent. No major revelations. No unexpected twists. The bad guys remained bad. The good guys good. And the betrayals, such as they were, were extremely obvious on both sides.

But the plot was never meant to be the shining star of the novel. Relationships were. The romantic triangle was, naturally, delightful to read. Tessa’s emotions were realistic and complex, as was her attraction to both Will and Jem. The scenes build the romantic tension at a subtle, but not dragging pace. When the emotions at last boil over, it is believable and heartbreaking.

Other things I liked: the exploration of non-romantic relationships, such as those between parabatai; the comprehensive tour through Victorian literature; the discussion of sickness and immortality; and, of course, the ever-fabulous Magnus Bane.

[Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Published December 6, 2011
Margaret K. McElderry Books]

The Rating

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Overall Rating:

The Recommendation

READ IT! It is an excellent addition to Cassandra Clare growing repertoire of young adult literature.

(Phew! I made it through my first review! Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment, liking the post, or sharing it on facebook or twitter.)

My 5 -ilities: a pseudoscientific approach to book reviews

Everybody has things they look for in a good book. I think reviewers are especially prone to accumulating a laundry list of desired qualities when rating books. Since I’m new to this whole review thing, I thought I’d lay out the five things I look for when reading, both in my personal life and when recommending books to others. I call them my 5 -ilities.

1. Readability:

This mostly encompasses prose style. Is the text too easy or too hard? Are there a lot of jarring spelling or grammatical errors? Is the voice consistent? A plot, no matter how imaginative, is nothing if the text is annoying to read!

2. Originality:

I hate knowing the end two chapters into the book. Unique plots and interesting characters are so hard to come by  anymore, I give two thumbs up for anything that is unexpected, inventive, or down right weird.

3. Believability:

There is nothing worse than to be enjoying a good story when WHAM! something happens that is so inconsistent with the universe the author has built that you are thrown back into your own (much less interesting) reality. I like books that are consistent with their details and true to the time period in which they are set.

4. Thematic Quality:

I’ll admit, I’m a nerd. I like looking for metaphors and symbols, and trying to determine what the author is trying to say about the universe and our place in it.

5. Connectability:

Books serve many purposes, the greatest of which is to connect us more completely to our world. The best books allow us to leave the pages with something more than with which we came. (And yes, I know connectability isn’t a real word, but it fit so nicely with all the rest.)

So, armed with my 5 -ilities, I hope to rate and review each book from 1 to 5 in each of these categories. 1 is low. 5 is high. I’ll also give it an overall score (which may or may not reflect the average of the other scores…impression points do count, and my taste is sometimes hard to define). At least this way the reviews give the impression of being, umm, scientific? unbiased? fair to all who enter? It will also give me things to talk about.

P.S. I found stars!

YA Covers Get All Dressed Up

Have you noticed lately that a visit to your local bookstore’s young adult section is like a trip to a high-end New York fashion show? Everywhere you look, hauntingly lovely girls grace the bookshelf catwalk, modeling intricate and, often, extremely voluminous gowns.

Just take a look at these extravagant covers:

This fancy-dress trend has exploded in the past year (all these books were published in 2011, except for The Luxe and Matched, which came out in the tail end of 2010), a symptom of the revival the gothic–aka paranormal–romance novel is currently undergoing. There’s no doubt that the covers are evocative. The atmosphere is dark. The subjects’ expressions, if seen at all, are forlorn and longing. Combined with single-word titles like Passion, Wither, and Entwined, the images are clearly meant to elicit tingling emotional responses from their teenage consumers, rather than hint at any sort of plot point.

And it works, usually. I know I’ve picked up these books in part to admire the pretty dresses and bask in their deliciously dark aura. With the best ones, I can practically feel the intrigue and romance seeping through the covers.

However, even the most gorgeous dress, if staged improperly, can go horribly awry. The new YA novel by Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me, is one such example. An otherwise fantastic debut novel that plays with classic gothic and dystopian motifs, the cover art is sadly disappointing.The straightforward view had the potential to be fresh and different from the slew of other dress covers. The fact that the female subject’s entire face is showing is a huge improvement, in my opinion, on the trend of using partially hidden features. Her expression is obviously meant to be strong and determined, but  just comes off as a generic runway face. The backdrop doesn’t help matters either, since it, in fact, looks like a catwalk, complete with a door through which the model can disappear once she’s stomped the length of the runway. Even the strike-out in the title and tagline comes off cheesy, although I’m more willing to forgive this, since the style is employed throughout the text as well.

All in all, I quite like the fancy-dress cover trend. Done right, the covers are beautiful and exciting, conjuring up visions of magic and mystery. Done wrong, the gorgeous dress becomes nothing more than a flat stage piece, easy to pass over in favor of the multitude of others vying for attention.

(P.S. Want a full review of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi? Check out this one by fellow blogger endlessqueue.)

 It’s a superhero story with a female protagonist. I feel like it may be harder to find your own voice in the YA genre lately, as so many novels seem to be playing off of all the other ones in the genre. What Tahereh Mafi does is all natural, it’s her voice developing a unique idea and standing out from all the rest.