Review: Space Dumplins

By Craig Thompson
Available now from Graphix (Scholastic)
Review copy

Craig Thompson is the author of numerous acclaimed graphic novels, including BLANKETS and HABIBI.  His first graphic novel for young readers is a heartwarming tale of family, both the kind you're born with and the kind you find, and whale diarrhea.   All in all, it's a space adventure that all ages can enjoy.

Violet, her mother, and father live happily in a space trailer park.  He salvages whale poop, which is used for energy.  Her mother works in fashion and just got a job on a satellite, a job that could move their family up in the world.  I think the class conflicts that run through SPACE DUMPLINS are well done.  There are arguments kids might've heard in their own homes, but translated into space (which makes everything more exciting).  The environmental themes are also presented well, just goofy enough not to be overly heavy handed.

My favorite thing about this graphic novel might be all the puns.  I think I'm going to have to read it again to make sure that I get all of them.  There's a lot of cleverness flying about in the text and the images.  Thompson's space is a busy place, full of activity and bright colors.  (The contrasting colors make it easier to see what's happening.)  There's all sorts of details to distract and catch your eye.  I think the hyperactive style suits the wackiness of the story as well as the age group.

I don't think SPACE DUMPLINS will be a graphic-novel classic like BLANKETS or HABIBI.  But it is fun, sweet, and silly.  That makes it a pretty appealing read.

Review: The Orphan Army

First book of the Nightsiders series
By Jonathan Maberry
Available now from Simon & Schuster BFYR
Review copy

I know Jonathan Maberry's Rot and Ruin series is hugely popular, and I might've read the first book of the Nightsiders series for that alone.  But I was truly drawn in by the illustrated cover.  I love how detailed it is.  The swampy background, Milo throwing a stone, Evangelyne using magic, and the shadow of a menacing claw - all pretty accurate to the book contents.  (I cared so much about that sort of thing when I was in the proper age range.)

I do thing THE ORPHAN ARMY starts slow for a book aimed at the middle grade market.  There is lots to set up: this Earth is being attack by Bugs and the humans are losing.  Even the children are fighting in the war.  (This is the justification to make eleven-year-old Milo part of the action, which is likely only believable to younger readers.)  Milo has had strange dreams all his life, but his waking days get even weirder when he runs into a wolf and a girl while on patrol.  However, it takes almost a hundred pages to get to the real action.  The pace is helped along by the short chapters.

THE ORPHAN ARMY combines science fiction (the attacking aliens) with fantasy (the Nightsiders).  As Milo finds out, many of the creatures humans tell stories about are real, and they're coming out of hiding to help fight the Bugs.  Maberry knows how to create a high-stakes situation.  Milo doesn't feel like he's a hero, but his dreams have been preparing him for this.  He not only has to fight the Bugs, but also convince the Nightsiders that humans are worth working with and saving.

THE ORPHAN ARMY ends with a few tantalizing hints about what is to come.  I'm sure those who enjoy the book will be eager to pick up the second volume in the Nightsiders series.  I don't think this one is for me.  It's very middle grade, with little crossover interest for adult readers.  It is written on a simple level, and I just found the age of the protagonist too unbelievable.  I'm getting old.  I do have some younger relatives I think will love it.  Scifi/fantasy with lots of action and no romance is right up their alley.

Review: Denton Little's Deathdate

First in a series (?)
By Lance Rubin
Available now from Knopf BFYR (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

DENTON LITTLE'S DEATHDATE  is one of those stories that switches genre partway through.  It starts out as a black comedy about a teenage boy who knows he's going to die tomorrow and struggling with how he wants to go out and what he wants to do in the limited time before he dies.  Then, it shifts into a paranoid conspiracy thriller.  (Admittedly, this shift is seeded early in DENTON LITTLE'S DEATHDATE.)

I found the world debut author Lance Rubin created fascinating.  He only makes one big change to the world as it is, but he clearly thought through the consequences of that change. Due to future genetic developments, a simple test can find out on what day you're going to die.  There are a small percentage of people who are undateable, including Denton's best friend Millie.  The US is one of the few countries to make deathdate testing mandatory.  There's a pretty elaborate set-up for the whole thing: a funeral the day before, then a Sitting the day of.  (This helps ensure that people who are about to die aren't on a plane, for instance, since that indicates that the plane might crash.) 

These are also all recent changes: Denton's grandfather remembers what life was like before everyone knew their deathday.  (This also helps explain why none of the other technology in the book seems that different.)  I particularly liked the detail, sad as it was, that Denton's best friend Paolo is set to die one month later.  That is the kind of thing kids would bond over.

Denton's voice is extremely appealing.  He's a funny guy, and one who tries to look on the bright side even though he's been dealt a bad hand.  He could be unlikeable, since DENTON LITTLE'S DEATHDATE starts with him cheating on his girlfriend.  But he still worked for me as a sympathetic narrator, because he acknowledges that a) he thought they were broken up and b) he was blackout drunk, but c) that doesn't absolve him of guilt and if he did it while drunk, it was potential lurking in him all along.  Of course, that doesn't mean he immediately wants to fess up and hurt his girlfriend.  Except he may have just given two girls a (fatal) STI.

I'm not entirely sure the shift in genre and tone worked for me.  It comes so late in the book (about the last 1/5) that there isn't really time for the explanation of what's really happening to breathe.  Even though there are solid hints about what's going on beforehand, the change in pace is massive.  It also causes some of the humor of Denton's voice to get overwhelmed by the action.  It also builds to an ending that I'm not sure stands on its own.

DENTON LITTLE'S DEATHDATE is a funny, clever book.  I enjoyed the first part of the book more than the ending, but I still found the whole delightfully weird and fun.  I hope for future adventures with Denton, and I'm sure Rubin has plenty of great books ahead of him.

Review: Deadeye

Book one of the Mutant Files
By William C. Dietz
Available now from Ace (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

I picked up this book because of the awesome cover and because Ace is one of those imprints that tends to put out my sort of books.  I loved the beginning, wherein Detective Bruce Conti begins his partnership with Cassandra Lee.  I liked that it was a reversal of the usual setup.  The guy is the younger, less experienced one trying to prove himself to the squad and she's the world-weary one who has seen too many partners come and go.

But I started to suspect that DEADEYE wasn't for me when Conti died in chapter two of stupidity.  That is, running out in front of nine armed men without a bulletproof vest for reasons that are never adequately explained.  Lee's narration later suggests that he loved her, which ... they knew each other for about a week, and he was attracted to her but they were still standoffish.  Of course, Lee's partner falls in love with her in about the same span of time, so it's that kind of book.

And it turned out the Lee that those first chapters sold me on was a mirage.  She's not a hyper-competent cop with an aim to put everyone else to shame.  Her competence comes and goes as the plot requires.  This includes getting into a lockable cage just because a nice man asks her to.  Her aim gets worse as the book goes on.  As for her detective skills, she starts to suspect that the high-profile girl whose bodyguards were paid off was kidnapped specifically and not just snatched randomly by human traffickers after she tracks the traffickers down and they've already passed her off to the buyer.  It's present like another obstacle in the plot instead of a flashing sign that all the detectives involved need to learn to stop and think before leaping in guns a-blazing.

But why is it called the Mutant Files, you might ask?  Because a virus spread through the human race, killing some and mutating others.  Now the norms and the mutants live separately, wearing face masks and other gear when they cross the border into the others' territory.  After all, the virus is still highly contagious.  Which is why Lee worries about eating too close to her partner but still has sex with him.  As if a virus with a variety of wildly different symptoms didn't strain my disbelief enough.

This book is a mess.  The main character is unbelievable, the world makes no sense, and the plot is basically an excuse for one shootout after another.  There's almost no weight to the climax because it's just one more gun battle of many.  It does have a woman as the lone-wolf detective with a guarded heart, which is about all it has going for it.

Cybils Finalists and Other Great Nominees

Today, the 2014 Cybils finalists were announced. Our speculative fiction YA list is brilliant.

There is DEATH SWORN by Leah Cypress, about which I wrote:

From the moment Ileni stepped into a cave of assassins to teach magic and discover who killed her two predecessors, I was hooked. In Death Sworn, Ileni goes deep into a culture that values absolute obedience and killing for the greater good. Ileni herself is the novel’s greatest assassin, a heroine who overcomes her fears and doubts, managing to hide that she’s weak and easy prey. The intense tension between Ileni and her assassin protector Soren adds a touch of romance to the action, with a refreshing lack of anything resembling a love triangle. The theme of questioning authority and dogma will resonate with teens, as will Ileni’s growing engagement with the world around her as she discovers that you can forge a new path for yourself after your dreams falter.

There is also:
GLORY O'BRIEN'S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE by A.S. King
NOGGIN by John Corey Whaley
SALVAGE by Alexandra Duncan
THE LIVING by Matt de la Pena
THE WINNER'S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski
WHILE WE RUN by Karen Healey

A few others I particularly loved:
THE GIRL FROM THE WELL by Rin Chupeco, which came close to being a finalist. Unfortunately, chapter five presents a rather exaggerated mental hospital which seemed to perpetuate some unfortunate stereotypes about the mentally ill. It was a great book, but not one the Cybils could wholeheartedly recommend.
BLACK DOG by Rachel Neumeier
MONSTROUS AFFECTIONS edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant, which has a hilarious intro and a variety of great stories, most especially the standout "Wings in the Morning" by Sarah Rees Brennan.

Review: The Wrenchies

By Farel Dalrymple
Available now from First Second (Macmillan)
Review copy

There are two brothers who kill a shadow and find an amulet.  One of those brothers grows up to write a comic called The Wrenchies.  There's a world where shadowmen have killed almost everyone, and the best fighters who oppose them are a group of young'uns called The Wrenchies who read a comic called The Wrenchies.  Then there's young Hollis, who reads a comic called The Wrenchies and then falls into the world of The Wrenchies.  Confused?  Welcome to THE WRENCHIES.

Honestly, I feel like I should read THE WRENCHIES again to better sort how things fall into place as the novel progresses.  At the same time, I haven't, because I don't really desire to read it again.

Farel Dalrymple's art is well suited to the world of THE WRENCHIES, fading and decaying and under siege.  I do wish there was some variation in style to help keep separate worlds apart visually.  At the same time, that works for how the layers and locations of the story blend together.  But really, I just found that I didn't like the art much.  There was something off-putting about it to me, although it was so close to what I usually like.  There is a deliberate ugliness, but not one that worked for me.  Plus, I found all the red noses distracting.

As for the story itself, it will appeal to fans of post-apocalyptic literature.  There are a lot of characters to keep straight, and it can be hard to remember who has died.  I definitely felt like I never had a great grasp on Hollis's age.  His looks told me one thing, but his behavior and voice made me peg him as younger.  (I definitely liked him better when I decided he was younger than I first thought, although I felt weird about him being the questing hero in a gory story that in some ways boils down to drug addicts vs. zombies.)  I feel like the book could've spent more time developing Sherwood as well, since Sherwood drives most of the plot, even if he isn't the one of a heroic quest.

THE WRENCHIES just never grabbed me, although it was full of ideas I found intriguing.  It's wonderfully layered and complex, but not interesting enough for me to really try to unpack what lies beyond the surface.  I'm just not the right audience for this graphic novel.

Review: Grasshopper Jungle

By Andrew Smith
Available now from Dutton Juvenile (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

Rising star Andrew Smith did not rest on his laurels with GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE.  This is one of the weirdest books I've had the pleasure to read.  And no, I don't mean weird in a bad way.  GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE is a uniquely pleasurable reading experience.

Austin lives in the dying town of Ealing, Iowa.  He's very much in love with his girlfriend, Shann, to the point where he zones out thinking about her.  He's also very much in love with his best friend, Robby, and not entirely sure where that leaves his sexuality.  But Austin doesn't have long to just be in his normal state of confused horniness.  That's because he and Robby just witnessed the end of the world, although they don't know it yet.

GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE is strongly driven by both the plot (unstoppable praying mantis people doing what praying mantises do) and the characters.  You know Austin survived the apocalypse, since he's writing down what happened, but it's hard to figure out how he could make it and whether anyone will make it with him.  (I know I was often worried when I thought a favorite character might not make it.) And Austin's voice is so well done.  Smith has created a truly believable, foul-mouthed, and horny 15-year-old boy.  Plus, Austin truly is driven by his love for Shann and Robby.  He might be highly distractible and short sighted, but in the end, he's out to save lives.

I think that GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE will appeal to fans of contemporary fiction and speculative fiction.  The relationships are pure contemporary and all the praying-mantis-apocalypse stuff is a little closer to blackly comedic magical realism than true science fiction.  Smith's approach to the fantastical elements reminded me somewhat of A.S. King's style.  GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE is a hard book to define, so perhaps it has the most appeal to readers who are tired of reading the same old, same old.

So this review isn't entirely positive, I will mention that I felt that the ending of GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE was somewhat rushed.  I'd be hugely interested in reading another book or two fleshing out Austin's future.  At the same time, I'm glad that GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE didn't wear out its welcome.  After all, as interesting as the apocalypse is, it's really a catalyst for Austin's coming of age.  And if he doesn't mature perfectly, who does?

(Unstoppable corn!)

Review: Love in the Time of Global Warming

By Francesca Lia Block
Available now from Henry Holt & Co. BFYR (Macmillan)
Review copy
Read my review of The Elementals

Sometimes I love Francesca Lia Block's novels.  Sometimes I don't.  LOVE IN THE TIME OF GLOBAL WARMING definitely falls on the love side.  This is a retelling of The Odyssey, set in modern-day California.  There's a major earthquake, then giant cyclops start roaming and eating people.

Like most of Block's work, the story is told in a dreamy style.  I thought it really worked in this case, since Pen's story is something of a fairytale or fable.  She's a girl on her own, hunting for her family, especially her little brother, Venice.  Along the way she makes several allies and discovers how little she knew about herself or her talents.

The cast is fantastic.  There are few characters, but they're diverse in color, sexuality, and personality.  Hex, Ezra, and Ash all bring something to the quest, although they aren't all fighters.  And of course everything centers around Pen, who is just wonderful.  She's willing to believe in the best of people, even at the end of the world.

I didn't like that The Odyssey was still a story in Pen's world, and that two of the characters read and reference it throughout.  It felt a bit too on the nose, especially since the story is followed fairly closely.  At the same time, it's a story I love, and this magical realism take is enchanting.  Block twists it into something just as fantastical, yet thoroughly modern.

Macmillan has made the first five chapters available for free online (just search for them), which is good, because it gives you a chance to try Block's style.  If it's not for you, it's not for you.  But if you can fall into it, it's a real treat.

Review: Hero Worship

By Christopher E. Long
Available now from Flux (Llewellyn)
Review copy

I have a weakness for superhero books.  Thus I was super excited to sit down and read HERO WORSHIP, the young adult debut from Christopher E. Long.  He does have a background in comics, so I had pretty high expectations.

HERO WORSHIP was an incredibly fast read for me.  I didn't expect to finish it in a single day!  (It's hard to read a full book on a work day, after all.)  I really liked Marvin Maywood, the protagonist.  He's the Superman or Captain America type of hero -- the guy who does the right thing because it is the right thing.  Unfortunately for Marvin, it's illegal for him to use his powers.

In the world of HERO WORSHIP, people with powers are tested when they manifest.  "Clean" powers are a fast track to celebrity and possibly membership in superhero team The Core.  "Dirty" powers are illegal, and most pay to have therapy to get rid of them.  Marvin and his two best friends are homeless and scraping by as a result, since they refuse to get rid of their powers.  Then Marvin saves a family and finds himself being courted by Eliza, a clean superhero.

It's an interesting world starring some characters I love (Marvin and his friends), but I thought the plot was a little weak.  Marvin fails to notice obviously bad things staring him in the face.  Once he clues in, he still walks into an obviously bad situation.  If you can't tell from the previous paragraph, Marvin's world is pretty obviously corrupt.  Yet I never quite believed that the cover up works, given how many people have to be involved.  And there was an incredibly off-putting scene of sexual violence that hangs there like a bad taste.  It doesn't affect the plot and there's no scene of emotional reaction (which I would expect) and . . . the book just goes there and then basically ignores that it happened.

I enjoyed HERO WORSHIP, but I think its appeal is mostly restricted to superhero fans.  There are other stories out there that have more cross-genre appeal. The central characters are strong enough that I'm interested in reading whatever Long writes next.

Review: Ascension

The first Tangled Axon novel
By Jacqueline Koyanagi
Available now from Masque Books (Prime Books)
Review copy

I was excited about ASCENSION when everyone started talking about it on Tumblr.  If there's one thing blogging has taught me, it's that there is a demand for stories with diverse characters.  Along comes a science fiction tale with characters of varied ethnicity and sexualities, plus the protagonist has a debilitating chronic illness.  Unfortunately, you can't build a story on diversity alone.

ASCENSION suffers from a serious lack of plot, first of all.  There is a major, devastating event at the beginning and a flurry of activity at the end.  Between that, not much happens.  And the ending isn't enough to save it.  The reveals about the true nature of the Tangled Axon were things I'd figured out long before, much like main character Alana's older sister Nova.

The sororal relationship between Alana and Nova was my favorite part of the book.  They have very different outlooks and goals in life, which leads to quite a bit of friction.  At the same time, they love each other unquestionably and do quite a bit to keep the other safe.  The other relationships in the novel didn't move me as much.  Most of the Tangled Axon crew are underwritten and the romance is uneven.  Alana thinks Captain Tev is hot as soon as she sees her after she stows aboard.  She starts thinking about how she's falling in love before they have any real personal conversations, which just didn't work for me.  It was mostly Alana pining instead of real interaction, and I need interaction in my love stories.

Good worldbuilding could've saved ASCENSION.  But honestly, I couldn't tell you much about this spacefaring future.  There's a medical company, Transliminal, that's quite powerful, which is plausible.  Nova is a sort of religious witch, although I never fully understood how her powers worked.  Alana is an engineer in space for the first time, and while she's certainly fascinated by the Tangled Axon, we never really get scenes of her repairing or otherwise working on the ship.  How does space travel work in this universe?  Who knows.

It felt like ASCENSION wanted to be a romance novel above all else.  But the romance style didn't work for me, and that left the science fiction and action-adventure elements too thin on the ground.  ASCENSION is more for people who like their science fiction heavy on the philosophy.  I'm sure there is an audience for this book, but sadly I am not it.  I do, however, applaud Jaqueline Koyanagi for developing a diverse future.  That is a good start.

Review: More Than This

By Patrick Ness
Available now from Candlewick (Llewellyn)
Review copy

A boy is in the ocean, tossed about and eventually bashed upon the rocks.  He then wakes up in his childhood home in England, not America.  From there, he begins to piece together who he is and what's going on.  Every time he dreams, he sees his memories.  Thus, he remembers that his name is Seth and assumes he's in hell.

You see, something terrible happened to Seth's younger brother back when their family lived in England.  Seth has felt guilty his entire life.  He's also struggling with memories of his friends and his secret boyfriend.  Then his ruminations are interrupted when he comes across two other people.

I flip-flopped back and forth between really liking MORE THAN THIS and being meh about it.  I felt that as more was explained, the book became sillier and less appealing.  But then Ness partially saved it by upping the ambiguity about whether the supposed explanation for what was happening was correct.  And honestly, I prefer to believe that it isn't, because it really doesn't make much sense.

However, there were several aspects that worked wonderfully.  The flashbacks are all top-notch, particularly the ones dealing with Seth and Gudmund's relationship.  Regine and Tomascz are good characters, although noticeably less developed than Seth.  (How can they not be, when the entire first part of MORE THAN THIS is his inner monologue?)  They both have their own traumas that they are working through.

MORE THAN THIS is an unusual book, with some sections that are very philosophical and others that are horrific.  It's wonderfully written, as can be expected of Ness.  I don't think it's his best book.  However, while it might be messy, but it is also ambitious, and I always respect ambition.  I think the best parts of MORE THAN THIS outweigh its weaknesses.

Review: Tandem

Book One of the Many-Worlds trilogy
By Anna Jarzab
Available now from Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House)
Review copy
Read my review of The Opposite of Hallelujah

Sasha is an ordinary high school student until she's taken across worlds to impersonate a kidnapped princess.  She's none too thrilled about this, given that she wasn't asked and didn't even know that there were parallel worlds.

I thoroughly enjoyed TANDEM, Anna Jarzab's third novel and her first foray into science fiction/fantasy.  I liked that it built slowly.  The action is confined to Earth and Aurora, but Jarzab doesn't forget that her story is based on infinite possible worlds.  Despite the fairly straightforward nature of TANDEM, Jarzab has set up excellent potential for future hijinks in the sequels.  I trust her to do it well because she does it so neatly in TANDEM.  Jarzab pulled off my favorite trick: having the plot answer a question niggling in the back of my mind.

I liked Sasha, who is uncertain about what college she wants to go to or what she wants to study.  She's intelligent, but not driven.  In some ways, she responds well to having a set role as Princess Juliana, even if she hates the public, controlled life.  There is a love triangle, although not the worst sort.  Sasha and Thomas, Juliana's bodyguard who kidnapped Sasha,  have a mutual attraction.  Meanwhile, Juliana has a fiance who begins to fall for Sasha who he thinks is Juliana.  It's a little Shakespearean, with the layers of identities, which keeps it from feeling too route.

But really, the reason to read TANDEM is the cool plot and worldbuilding.  Jarzab doesn't forget character, but it doesn't drive everything to the point where the world is window dressing.  The politics are complicated and the dimensional disturbances are disturbing.  At times TANDEM felt like it was just moving pieces into place for later, but I find it hard to complain too much when it seems like the book is setting up something really fun.  My only complaint is with the villains, who go unnoticed by the heroes for quite awhile despite the fact they might as well have villain tattooed on their foreheads.

TANDEM is fun YA sci-fi.  It's on the softer edge, but it does offer some scientific explanations that show Jarzab did research quantum mechanics.  I liked that it had that scientific grounding even though the book felt like a fantasy.  It's that sort of genre blending that YA does so well.  There's even a bit of contemporary with the first part of the novel, which is a touch slow.  But by the end, TANDEM really rocks.

Mini Reviews: Some Cybils Reading

Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea
By Lisa Martin and Valerie Martin
Illustrated by Kelly Murphy
Available now from Algonquin BFYR (Workman)
Review copy

Written by veteran adult author Valerie Martin and her niece Lisa Martin, ANTON AND CECIL: CATS AT SEA is a charming tale of two brothers who both end up traversing the sea.  Cecil is an avid sailor, but Anton is press ganged to catch rats, and Cecil must find him.

Animal fantasy can be done in several ways, and I liked how it was employed in ANTON AND CECIL.  The cats are sentient and can talk amongst themselves and with other animals, but can't actually talk to humans.  I thought this one was a fun little read, and given that there is a subtitle, suspect that it might be the beginning of a series.  I'd welcome more books about these brothers.

The Last Enchanter
Book Two of the Celestine Chronicles
By Laurisa White Reyes
Available now from Tanglewood Press
Review copy

THE LAST ENCHANTER is the sequel to THE ROCK OF IVANORE, and I definitely wished that I had read that first.  I picked up most of the details, but I was confused about some bits, like why Marcus wasn't invited to court with his brother Kelvin, since he should be in line for the throne as well.

However, I still enjoyed THE LAST ENCHANTER.  I wish the storyline about Lael, a childhood friend who tags along with Marcus when he sets out to warn his brother about an assassination threat, was better incorporated.  It seemed like an attempt to shoehorn in a female character and a romance.  I'm always up for more female characters, but it could've been a touch smoother.

THE LAST ENCHANTER is a good pick for young fans of traditional fantasy, with the caveat that the series should be read in order.

Mickey Price: Journey to Oblivion
By John P. Stanley
Available now from Tanglewood Press
Review copy

Mickey Price and several kids under thirteen, each with their own talent, are suddenly recruited for a space camp.  There is, of course, something else going on - the reader will enjoy being suspicious with Jonah, one of Mickey's fellow campers.

Perhaps the biggest flaw in MICKEY PRICE: JOURNEY TO OBLIVION is the unnecessary frame story, where a grown-up Mickey tells the book to his kids.  It's awkward when the book switches back to the frame, and makes little sense, because the story changes point of view fairly frequently.

 Kids into space will probably enjoy this one.  There's lots of information about the space program, somewhat outdated since the book is set in 1977.

The Alchemist War
Book One of the Time-Tripping Faradays
By John Seven
Illustrated by Craig Phillips
Available now from Capstone
Review copy

I'll admit to being very disappointed that there wasn't an actual war between alchemists in THE ALCHEMIST WAR.  The title and cover promise more action than the book delivers.  The beginning, with Dawk and Hype causing accidental mayhem, is fairly lively.  Then it settles into a simple mystery about alchemy, with several time jumps that don't last long enough to actually add interest.

THE ALCHEMIST WAR isn't terrible, but it's very much aimed at beginning readers.  I think the subject would've been better served with a bit more depth.  Author John Seven does set up a villain for future entries in the series, which might add more conflict to the story.

(Side note: I found it very out that the chat-type communication the future people engage in has identifying names at the end.)

Review: Sky Jumpers

Book one in a series
By Peggy Eddleman
Available now from Random House BFYR
Review copy

This was a surprisingly charming book.  SKY JUMPERS is set post-WWIII, on an Earth that has been decimated by "green" bombs.  Technology is all but gone, because the magnetic fields are messed up, and sections of the world are permanently toxic.

Hope's community, White Rock, is one of the best to live in.  They're in a valley, naturally defended by the mountains and the ring of deadly Bomb's Breath around them.  The town's founders included a man with quite the library, enough to help them get started inventing new technology and medicine.  In fact, everyone in the town invents things.  But Hope's inventions never turn out quite right.

Then the town is invaded for its antibiotics, and it's up to Hope and her best friends to go get help.  Their journey is rather harrowing, but still age appropriate.  In fact, since their worst enemy is the cold, I can see this being a good bridge into speculative fiction for young historical fiction fans.

SKY JUMPERS was an original take on the devastated future world.  The town council isn't always right, but they aren't sinister either.  There's a sense that the people in this world aren't doomed survivors, but that their world will keep growing and eventually flourish again.  Now, young readers are likely to be less tired of dystopias and might not be as concerned with that.  But they will enjoy the characters. 

Hope has her own strengths, and she must believe in them if she's going to save White Rock.  Her strengths are complimented by those of her friends', who go on the dangerous journey with her.  There's a lot to appeal in this story for both boys and girls.  (And how much do I love that it's one of the boys charged with caring for his younger sister?)

I didn't know what to expect when I started SKY JUMPERS.  But whatever expectations I had were certainly exceeded.  It's a wonderful debut for Peggy Eddleman.  I'm curious about this being the beginning of a series, since the story came to a satisfying conclusion.  But it is an interesting world, so I'd be willing to spend more time in it.

Review: Steelheart

First in a series
By Brandon Sanderson
Available now from Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

The day I read this book I was very, very into reading it.  This is not an unusual occurrence, but  I was notably reluctant to do such things as put down my book and eat food.  (Eating is an activity widely recognized as good for continuing to live.)  This led to the following bit with my dad:

Me: So you know how it's a common premise in stuff for something to happen and people suddenly have superpowers?
Him: Yeah.
Me: What if something happened, and there were just supervillains?
Him: No superheroes?
Me: No superheroes.

Basically, STEELHEART is about the world in which Superman is a bad guy, running the place, and there is no Batman with a Kryptonite-laced plan to stop him.  The only person who has any inkling of how to stop the invulnerable Steelheart is David, an eighteen year old living in Newcago who saw Steelheart bleed on the day he killed David's father ten years ago.  (This happens in the chilling prologue that sets the tone for how impossible it is to put STEELHEART down.) Now David is trying to team up with the Reckoners, the only non-Epics who fight back, to try to stop Steelheart's rule.

STEELHEART is a fantastic book, whether you're into comic book-style stories or not.  It's got great, memorable characters.  Best of all, their physical abilities are second to their smarts.  How else do you take down someone who has superpowers?  David, in particular, is a massive nerd.  And it's up to the nerds to save the world.  The ratio of male to female main characters isn't perfect, but I do love that the love interest Megan is extremely competent and laughs at the hero when he absolutely and totally fails to be smooth.

I loved the plot, which keeps things rolling, but throws several curveballs into the seemingly perfect plan and has enough breathing room for the characters to question what they are doing and why.  In fact, I never thought much about some of their motivations until the book brought it up.  I might've questioned them after finishing, when my brain shifted back to pure analysis, but no need since they're addressed on the page.

Brandon Sanderson is a talented science fiction and fantasy author, and I am quite happy he's writing some YA now as well.  Especially when that YA is as good as STEELHEART!  And let me tell you, I wish I did not have to wait for the next book.  If I had a superpower, it would be to will sequels into existence faster.

Review: When the World was Flat (and we were in love)

By Ingrid Jonach
Available now from Strange Chemistry (Angry Robot)
Review copy

I was psyched to read this book.  I mean, just say the title aloud and marvel at it.  WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT (and we were in love).  That's poetry.  Through in the fact that it was standalone sci-fi and I was lining up to read it.  But somewhere along the way, I fell out of love with this book.

I love that YA blurs genre lines and blends tropes together in new ways.  But WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT is never quite convincing as a romance or as a work of science fiction.  In the beginning, there's a nice sense of dread.  Protagonist Lillie can't sleep, haunted by creepy dreams that are getting worse.  Around forty percent in, nothing more unexplainable has happened than strange dreams and deja vu.  Then, suddenly everything gets explained.  In fact, it all gets so explained that even shivers and the human imagination are no mystery.  And yet, there's still quite a bit of book to go.  What crazy parallel universe hijinks will fill that space?  Not much.

As for the romance, Lillie is drawn by new guy Tom (much like the other girls in school).  But she really thinks there's something there, despite the fact that the dude is withdrawn from everybody and completely hot and cold to Lillie.  But not to worry, because it all gets explained.  And they aren't just in love because they're soul mates, they're also in love because Lillie has a sense of humor.  No, it isn't much more convincing in context.  I was expecting some major swoon,  but there is zero spark to this romance.

Going back to those creepy, haunting dreams . . . they're perhaps the biggest disappointment.  They seem to foreshadow a showdown, one that never comes.  Honestly, WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT is brimming with potential.  I particularly liked Lillie's relationship with her best friends at the beginning.  Sylv and Jo are very different from Lillie and each other, but none of them are suited to the popular crowd, and they're used to each others' foibles.  At the same time, they're also the best at poking each others' soft spots.  Friendships being tested, dreams coming true, and then it all becomes bogged down in a boy with the personality of wet paper.

Ingrid Jonach is a competent writer, but WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT has serious pacing issues and a lack of real action and suspense.  Her female characters are varied and flawed, particularly in their propensity to insecure teen girl slut-shaming.  I'd be interested in seeing what she's doing a couple of novels from now, because she seems to have some nifty ideas.  Unfortunately, WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT falls flat (and I'm not in love).

Review and Book Trailer: Flicker & Burn

Book Two of the Cold Fury series
By T.M. Goeglein
Available now from Putnam (Penguin Random House)
Review copy
Read my review of Cold Fury

In FLICKER & BURN, the sequel to COLD FURY, things get even weirder for Sarah Jane Rispoli.  First, her family was kidnapped.  Then she turned out to have a special power in her gaze, to paralyze people with their fears.  Oh yeah, and she comes from a mob family and has to keep up appearances.  As FLICKER & BURN begins, she's being pursued by ice-cream men.  White skinned, red eyed ice-cream men.  And sometimes she gets sloppy.

FLICKER & BURN contains just as much action as the first book and delivers the answers to several questions about Sarah Jane's family and just what is up with those ice-cream guys.  There's not much on the cover to indicate that FLICKER & BURN is anything but a straightforward thriller, and the revelations within make it clear that the stranger elements are more science fiction than paranormal.  It's the kind of science fiction that might as well be magic, but it's not magic within the universe of the story.  But I think it's wise to market this series as thrillers, since there is far more emphasis on Sarah Jane's search for her family and work for the mob than on the science fiction elements.

Official Flicker & Burn Book Trailer from T.M. Goeglein. Subscribe to the Cold Fury channel on Vimeo.

The setting continues to be a strong point.  FLICKER & BURN's Chicago is a place where the buildings are full of secrets, connected by blood and greed and desperation.  Sarah Jane is also a strength.  She's resilient and inventive, but her determination to rescue her family does have consequences.  She lets people get hurt, or hurts them herself, to further her goals.  She doesn't want to be a killer, like so many of her ancestors, but at the same time it's becoming easier and easier for her to bend her morality.

I think FLICKER & BURN added a few too many new characters.  One in particular had a lot of potential, but their arc went by so quickly it didn't have the full emotional impact.  I liked the returning characters, like Doug, who is the greatest friend ever but deeply unhappy, and Tyler, the smooth young head of a different mob family.  But the new characters felt like they came and went quickly instead of becoming a true part of the story.

Like COLD FURY, FLICKER & BURN ends with a hook.  It's not a cruel cliffhanger, as so many YA authors seem partial to these days, but there are more mysteries for Sarah Jane to solve.  I'm eager to see the answers, especially since Goeglein doles them out at a nice pace.

Review: False Sight

Book Two in the False series
By Dan Krokos
Available now from Disney-Hyperion
Review copy
Read my review of The Planet Thieves and my interview with Dan

FALSE MEMORY, the first book in the False series, ended with a pretty big revelation.  FALSE SIGHT is basically one crazy revelation after another.  It's absolutely nothing like I expected, but it's incredibly fun to see how things move from point a to point 8.  And the hook at the end of FALSE SIGHT has me eager to see what craziness is in store for book three.

The opening of FALSE SIGHT is deceptively innocuous.  Miranda and her fellow Roses are attending normal high school, pretending to be normal students in order to hide from those who would use their power to spread fear.  But they make a big mistake, one that starts an all new search for answers.

I would almost say that this science fiction thriller series is okay for elementary readers as well as teens, but only those who can handle death.  The False books are easy reads, but there are major character deaths and the protagonists kill to save their own lives.  And no, these are not bloodless kills.  At the same time, I know I would've enjoyed this series when I was younger.  There's a cool girl at the center, there's more action than romance, and there's a convoluted plot involving clones.

(If I have one objection, it's that there is a scene with three sets of people with the same names and, although Dan Krokos does his best, it quickly becomes confusing who is doing what and who is getting what done to them.)

As for that "cool girl," Miranda is both extremely comfortable and uncomfortable with herself, which makes sense given that she's skilled, competent, and confident, but has serious memory issues (that only get worse).  (Okay, second objection: why does new girl Nina not lose her memories?)  I like that Miranda makes bad decisions, but generally recognizes afterwards that they were bad decisions and there were things she could've done better, but keeps going on.  (There is a lot of emphasis in FALSE SIGHT that Miranda's persistence in adversity is her defining attribute.)

I recommend FALSE SIGHT to those looking for a quick, thrilling read.  This book gets very dark indeed, but it never stops being exciting.  There's always another twist coming.

Review and Giveaway: Solstice

By P.J. Hoover
Available now from Tor Teen
Review copy

I am part of the Mod Podge Blog Tour for SOLSTICE and I'm repping Team Myth today.  You can stop by Girls in the Stacks to read the Team Dystopia post.  Stop by here later today for a guest blog by P.J. Hoover on Solstice: Myth Depicted.  I'm excited to be taking part in this tour as well as reviewing SOLSTICE, because I used to live in Austin and Hoover is pretty well known around those parts.

Some of you might have already read SOLSTICE, since Hoover self published it first.  I haven't read that version, so I don't know if there have been changes or not.  But SOLSTICE doesn't read like it's behind on trends.  It's not so much a true dystopia as it is the tale of a society on the edge of apocalypse.  For the past eighteen years, it's been summer all the time, and even the the summer-hardened denizens of Austin can barely handle it.  And most of the countermeasures put in place by the government just further harm the environment.

Piper, who just turned eighteen, chafes under the close watch of her overprotective mother.  The only time she gets out is with her best friend, Chloe, her lifeline to normalcy.  Then Piper meets two strange, super hot guys: Shayne and Reese.  Things start getting strange and Piper starts to realize almost everyone in her life is lying to her.  But she knows one things for sure: Chloe is going to die.  All Piper wants is the truth, her best friend's life, and freedom from her mother's oppressive love.

Fans of Greek myth will cotton on to the story being retold as soon as they see the graphic finial at the beginning of each chapter.  But Hoover does not tell it straight.  She references a variety of myths and orchestrates a tour of the Underworld that put me more in a mind of Dante's Inferno than Hamilton's Mythology.  At the same time, Hoover doesn't bog herself down too much in allusions.  SOLSTICE is perfectly readable even if you've never heard any of the myths.

I liked that the stakes in SOLSTICE didn't come down to Piper's romantic inclinations.  She has her own part to play in the balance of the world, and it is up to her to decide where and how she'll live.  Much of the book is about Piper going out and getting answers, even though people don't want her to have them, and then using that information to make her choices.  I loved watching Piper learn that she had the power to make and assert her own decisions.

That being said, the love story ain't half bad.  In does read a little like instalove, although there is more too it than that.  I was turned off by the initial love triangle setup, but it isn't really a love triangle.  Piper isn't torn between two guys.  (And let me tell you, I was very happy when a certain someone got their comeuppance.  Myths are good about that.)

SOLSTICE is an inventive novel that really gets the pages flipping.  While I am Team Myth all the way, I enjoyed the future world Hoover created.  It was easy to image in the heat, killing the plants, causing humanity to retreat to domes, overwhelming and oppressive.  It feels like a realistic possibility, no matter than the explanation is fairly fantastic. I look forward to whatever Hoover writes next.
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Review: Fearless

Book two of the Mirrorworld series
By Cornelia Funke
Story found and told by Cornelia Funke and Lionel Wigram
Translated by Oliver Latsch
Available now from Little, Brown
Review copy

Jacob Reckless found a mirror in his missing father's study that allows him to travel to another world, a world full of magic.  In the first Mirrorworld novel, RECKLESS, Jacob's brother followed him and was nearly turned into a Goyl - a creature of stone.  Jacob saved him but is now under a curse himself, one that will kill him within the year.  There is one last artifact that could save his life, but it will be a struggle to find it in time - especially since there is another searching for it.

FEARLESS is a fast-paced adventure that will appeal to fantasy lovers of all ages.  Cornelia Funke has developed a world that runs on objects of fairytale legend, a world in crisis because the Goyl are conquering all the human kingdoms and humans are used to being the dominant species.  It's a world were a person can make a career of hunting for objects of legend and lore, like Jacob, his companion Fox, and their competitor the Bastard.   (Er, there is that drawback if you're going to pass FEARLESS on to a younger reader.  At least, I remember my mom disliking the world "bastard" being at the beginning of Diablo when my sister and I played it way back when.)

There is a romantic storyline is FEARLESS and it is very important to the novel.  Fox's feelings for Jacob are part of what make her so loyal to him, even when he's a jerk or acting stupid, and it isn't easy for her to know his death is imminent.  But the romance rarely takes priority because it would slow the novel down and above all else FEARLESS is a race against time.

I liked that the Bastard, Nerron, wasn't as evil as the epithet he's known by might suggest.  It's a very literal name, and while he makes many threats, he tends not to follow through.  (Even the bad bad guys notice he's not as bloodthirsty as he wants to be.)  It is one of the aspects of the Mirrorworld series that I really like, that the Goyl aren't plain evil.  They're often less treacherous than their human counterparts and they're given individual motivations and goals.  I would've liked to have learned more about Nerron, but FEARLESS is Jacob's story in the end.

There is a massive hook at the end of FEARLESS for the next book in the series.  I'm excited to see what adventure Jacob and Fox will embark upon next.  The Mirrorworld is a very interesting place and I love learning more about it as Jacob and Fox quest.  These books aren't complex, but they are wonderful stories.