Review: Losing Faith

By Denise Jaden
Available now from Simon Pulse
Review copy
Watch the book trailer at The Contemps

Intense.

Many shades of intense, in fact.

The beginning is intense due to death. Sudden, violent death. How do you deal when your sister dies? You don't, not really. And the only person reaching out to Brie is her locker neighbor, gothy Tessa Lockbaum. Not her idea of a good friend.

Then the book becomes intense due to the mystery - who is Reena M. Black? (Not to mention, who was the cute boy at Faith's grave?) Brie's sister Faith clearly spent a lot of time with her before her death, which doesn't necessarily mean anything bad. Reena just seems kind of cracked.

The plot of LOSING FAITH isn't new. Someone dies, partially revealing their secrets. Those left behind try to uncover the truth. Denise Jaden pulls it off well. Part of that is Brie's voice, which is confident and self-aware - she knows where her weaknesses lie - but she still has her uncertainties, like any teenager under stress.

Plus, the plot is common for a reason. Those who love us are easy to lie to because they don't expect the lies. You just assume you know a lot about someone you live with. It was a nice change of pace to discover that while Faith had secrets, they weren't bad secrets. Brie thought her sister was a good person and she was.

Tessa is also a treat. I was friends with a lot of the 'scary Goth' kids and high school and thus know that most of them are perfectly nice people. Tessa has her edges, but she's smart, strong, and compassionate (aka the kind of friend everybody could use, going through a crisis or not).

I expected to cry during LOSING FAITH, what with the whole dead sister thing, but I didn't. Jaden didn't go after my heartstrings. Brie's relationship with her sister was difficult, and she's really stuck on trying to figure out what she should feel. She's also trying to figure out how to pull her life back together, especially with her parents mourning in their own ways. While they should be allowed their grief, Brie needs her parents and doesn't know how to tell them so without sounding like an evil brat.

Therefore, intense. LOSING FAITH is emotional, but the emotions aren't simple. There's also a lot of plot going around. The cast is fairly large, to the point that a core character doesn't show up in the first hundred pages. But the story never lags. At the same time, LOSING FAITH isn't fast paced. It's smooth and flowing, though there are bursts of excitement.

It's not a navel-gazing novel, but Brie is the focus, not her actions. And despite my frequent assertions of intense, I found LOSING FAITH to be soothing.

The Library

The library is a dangerous place.  I'm sure all of you know this, but I thought I'd warn you anyway.  Still, it's worth it when you pass a book to a friend who came along (because you had a car) and he or she says, "This is perfect.  Time travel and highlanders!"  (Though your friend may not say that second part.)

I'm also glad I've overcome some of my natural timidness and thus request all sorts of things from my library.   Requesting is not one of the dangerous parts of the library.  (The most dangerous?  The shelves full of books saying, "I know you have a 1000-1200 word paper due tomorrow and you still need to edit it, but you've been wanting to read me, haven't you?")

Review: Rise of the Fire Tamer

By Kailin Gow
Available now from Sparklesoup
Review copy
Read my review of BITTER FROST and Kailin's guest blog



This review is part of a Traveling to Teens tour. Kailin Gow's previous stop was Yan's Books By Their Cover and her next stop is Wdebo's Electrical Book Cafe on Tuesday.

I liked RISE OF THE FIRE TAMER more than BITTER FROST, though they shared similar weaknesses.  Again, there are some editing issues.  Gemma "Gem" James is an intelligent and clever heroine, which is admirable, but she's shallowly drawn.  While most of the book follows her exploits, I know the least about her bad qualities.  She's just beautiful and a good prospective ruler.

As a contrast, the secondary girl, Kat has far more elaboration to her character.  She's the definition of trying too hard at the beginning of RISE OF THE FIRE TAMER.  She wants attention on her own terms, which is almost impossible to demand.  This quickly gets her in trouble and she decides to work on her character flaws.  Jack is too nervous, which works as a flaw, though he doesn't really get any development.  Sparks and Rio mostly just snap at each other or flirt with Gem unless it is a battle scene. 

None of the romances really worked for me.  The end of each chapter gives a snippet of each character's thoughts, which tended to feature Sparks and Rio thinking incredibly jerky things.  The easily forgiven Goolrick should not have been let off so easily for what he did to Gem, even if there was no permanent damage.

As for the adventure plot itself, it works better than BITTER FROST because the speed is slightly slower.  Anachronia, the tenth level of the Wordwick Games, works based on words.  This is good for younger readers, though the vocabularly lessons might slow down older readers who are done with their SAT vocabulary.  Also, the warring tribes of Anachronia are Spurious and Perfidous, and the five gamers choose to side with a tribe.  Personally, I wouldn't side with either if those are the words they choose to represent themselves.

Fantasy readers will probably enjoy RISE OF THE FIRE TAMER, which is reminiscent of Vivian Vande Velde's USER UNFRIENDLY.  Those who like character driven novels probably won't find it satisfying, however.

Going Offline

My phone is off. My internet is soon to be disconnected. My roommate has done the same. We have food. Cookies and muffins for snacks. Water, cranberry juice, and tea. A falafel wrap for her, a manchego and gouda sandwich for me. We've used the restroom. We're in it for the long haul.

We're marathoning Samurai Champloo.



This is a reminder to those of you who have a three-day weekend. Enjoy your extra day. Do something silly that makes you happy. Recharge. For those who don't have an extra day, do something fun anyway. A little relaxation makes you more productive when you get down to the nitty-gritty.

Happy Labor Day Weekend ya'll.

I'm taking the day off.

"Waiting On" Wednesday + Contest

This meme was started by Jill of Breaking the Spine.

I have been eagerly awaiting PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ, by A. S. King, who wrote the little-indie-that-could, DUST OF 100 DOGS.  DUST OF 100 DOGS was one of my top books of summer last year, and A. S. King was kind enough to guest blog during my first blogiversary.  So I was sad to learn that certain chains won't be carrying her debut.



Here's the flap copy and details:

"PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZis a 'please go away and don't bother me, I have to finish this book before I do anything else' kind of book. Brilliant. Funny. Really special." --Ellen Hopkins, author of NYT bestselling Crank, Glass and Tricks

PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ Coming from Knopf --October 12, 2010--ages 14+

Is it okay to hate a dead kid?

Even if I loved him once?

Even if he was my best friend?

Is it okay to hate him for being dead?

Vera's spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she's kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.

So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, or even the police. But will she emerge and clear his name? Does she even want to?

An edgy, gripping story, PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ is an unforgettable novel: smart, funny, dramatic, and always surprising. Find more info and an excerpt here: http://www.as-king.com/html/vera.php.

Then, I found out from Cecelia Bedelia that also isn't carrying SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY, Mary Robinette Kowal's debut novel, in its stores. Ya'll may remember Kowal as one of the first authors I reviewed. I first posted about SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY in a "Waiting On" Wednesday February 25, 2009. And now I can't go out and buy it at my favorite bookstore.



CONTEST:

E-mail proof of a preorder of PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ or a purchase of SHADES AND MILK HONEY to inbedwithbooks AT yahoo DOT com to be entered. In two weeks, I will select a winner to receive a $10 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.

Here are some links to help you out:
PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ on Amazon and IndieBound
SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY on Amazon and IndieBound