Review: Gorgeous

By Paul Rudnick
Available now from Scholastic Press
Review copy

I feel in love with GORGEOUS's hardcover jacket, but I might like the look of the paperback even better.  (Plus, the white/black/red color scheme is ever so slightly more plot relevant than the black/red/blue color scheme.)  GORGEOUS is the young adult debut of Paul Rudnick, a writer known for his plays and humor pieces in The New Yorker.

In this modern-day Cinderella story, Becky Randle is left adrift when her beloved mother dies.  Then she finds a phone number in her mother's things, with instructions to call it.  She reaches reclusive fashion designer Tom Kelly, who promises her three dresses that will make her the most beautiful woman in the world.  The catch?  She must fall in love and marry within the year.

I enjoyed Becky's identity struggle.  She enjoys being confident, intimidating Rebecca, but can't quite forget that she's just nice, middle-of-the-road Becky.  Being Rebecca opens her up to a world of new experiences, and the potential to use her fame for good, but everyone warns her that there will be a cost to that fame.  And she's not entirely clueless that there's something sinister about the magic Kelly has worked upon her.

I do feel like GORGEOUS tried to bite off a bit too much.  There isn't really room for both Becky's coming of age and her true, magical romance.  I never quite bought the depth of her feelings because she didn't spend much time with the guy.  I did buy her relationship with her best friend Rocher, which is one of the highlights of the book.  Rocher is happy for Rebecca, and Rebecca sticks by her oldest friend.  There's no question that their relationship has changed, but both girls fight for each other.

In the end, GORGEOUS was a bit uneven and the internal logic doesn't always hang together, but it is fun and positive.  I loved seeing Becky's growth throughout the novel and cheered for her to get a fairytale ending, even when it looked impossible.  I think GORGEOUS would definitely liven up an airplane ride - you could imagine you were traveling Rebecca-style.

Fans of fairytales might want to check out Fairy Tale Fortnight, hosted by The Book Rat.

Review: Knightley and Son

April is National Poetry Month, and Clear Eyes, Full Shelves celebrates every year with a novel-in-verse week.  Sunday started their third-annual Verse Novel Week.  Be sure to check it out, especially my guest review of THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander.

By Rohan Gavin
Available now from Bloomsbury
Review copy

Darkus Knightley is the son of Alan Knightley, a detective who has been in a coma for years.  Darkus has been studying the record of his dad's cases, eager to help him when he wakes up.  But Knightley's cases weren't quite normal, and they drove him to a breakdown.  It is not the best future for Darkus.

I loved the idea of KNIGHTLEY & SON, father and son detective tackling strange cases, including the current one, involving a bestselling self-help book.  (It's clearly modeled after THE SECRET, but it is somewhat more sinister.)  The execution never quite won me over.  Based on the premise I wasn't expecting many female characters, for instance, but Darkus does have a stepsister who is smart, resourceful, and often notices the few things he misses.  So she gets sidelined for most of the book, despite being a character who would clearly add something to the mix.

The father-son relationship didn't quite work for me either.  Knightley keeps falling asleep due to the effects of his coma.  That gets him out of the way too and leaves most of the book to Darkus alone.  When they do work together, Knightley is reluctant to involve him.  That's responsible parenting, but I was expecting to see them work together as a detective team.

Then, there was Darkus himself.  He strives to be totally logical, like his father.  This has the effect of having him behave entirely unlike most human beings.  He also comes off as rather stilted.  It's a deliberate choice on the part of the character, but it's a ridiculous one.  Maybe I would've rolled with it when I was the age of the intended audience, but maybe not.  The book does seem to realize it's a silly choice that Darkus needs to grow out of, but then it also realizes his name is silly.  That doesn't change the effect of reading it.

There are several fun scenes in KNIGHTLEY & SON, including a shining moment for Tilly, the stepsister.  I wish it had been more of an ensemble story (the pieces are all there!) instead of focused on Darkus, but the detective working alone isn't an unknown trope.  I would give this to a 10-12 year old who likes mysteries and conspiracies.  There is series potential.

Review: Liv, Forever

By Amy Talkington
Available now from Soho Teen
Review copy

The titular Liv is a teenager with an art scholarship to Wickham Hall.  She's a bit out of place with the old-money students, but she soon makes friends with fellow, strange scholarship student Gabe and starts dating Malcolm.  Okay, so it isn't all good.  Gabe claims to see ghosts, for example.  But Liv's love for Malcolm smooths over the school's rough edges.

Then Liv dies.

In some ways, I wish that the blurb of LIV, FOREVER didn't give away her death.  It's a daring move for the book, and a rare one.  The plucky heroine and her friends start realizing something is awry, but they act too late.  It's not that Liv does anything stupid.  She just doesn't get stupidly lucky, or jump to strange conclusions about supernatural happenings for no reason.  All she does is go to a school that could really help her career and fall for a sweet, handsome boy.  And because of that, she dies.

Liv, Malcolm, and Gabe work together to uncover who killed Liv.  As they do so, they discover that girls have been dying pretty regularly at Wickham Hall.  Who done it and why isn't entirely surprising, but the journey there is well done.  I liked the little touches, like the fact that Liv can only communicate with Malcolm through Gabe.  I liked that debut author Amy Talkington resisted the urge to throw in a love triangle.  I loved the glimpses at the lives of the other dead girls, their ambitions and hopes and the injustice of it all.

The mystery plot doesn't take a backseat to the romance, but the romance is the emotional core of LIV, FOREVER.  It proceeds pretty quickly, because Liv dies early in the school year and they have to be deeply in love before their death.  I mean, it doesn't take much convincing that two good-looking teenagers with similar interests would be into each other, but they got together so fast I was convinced rich-boy Malcolm was up to something nefarious.  But the sweetness of their relationship won me over.

If you're looking for a standalone, romantic ghost story, you might pick up LIV, FOREVER.  (There is a sequel hook at the end, but LIV, FOREVER can be read alone.)  It has a few unique flourishes that make up for the predictable plot.  It also contains some of the worst friends ever, seriously.

Review and Giveaway: Rose and the Lost Princess

Second in the Rose series
By Holly Webb
Available now from Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review copy
Read my review of Rose

ROSE was a gentle fantasy about a young orphan who goes to work in a alchemist's house, realizes she has magic herself, and bands together with the alchemist's apprentice and daughter to save children who have been kidnapped by an evil magician.  It was a finalist for a CYBIL, and a particular favorite of mine.  When ROSE AND THE LOST PRINCESS showed up on Netgalley, I immediately requested it.

The Rose books are high in continuity.  The kingdom is reeling from the events of ROSE, and all magician's are being treated with suspicion, no matter that it was magicians who were needed to rescue the children.  The suspicion and paranoia aren't helped when the weather is a strange, heavy winter and there is an attempted kidnapping on the beloved older princess.  (I think the winter theme will appeal to fans of Frozen.)

Once again, Rose becomes involved in the strange events going on.  And she is an asset to the situation, because she's level headed, kind, and both willing to work with others and listen to their ideas.  Rose is still living in an uneasy class situation.  She prefers to remain a servant and work for her living, but the other servants are wary of her magic.  She could easily be adopted into a rich family, as is proper for a magician, but that's not what she wants.  She also needs to learn more about her powers.  She's been using them by instinct, but she needs knowledge and control, especially if she's going to use her powers to defend from dark magicians.

The supporting cast returns too, and they're still wonderful.  There's a nice mix of male and female characters, and they show a wide range of personalities.  Rose might be a practical little girl, but she's certainly not surrounded by practical little children.  The gentle tone remains as well, even though the stakes have risen.

I felt that ROSE AND THE LOST PRINCESS ended somewhat abruptly, but I can live with that since there's a third book coming.  I can't wait for ROSE AND THE MAGICIAN'S MASK to be released in the US.  This is a fantastic children's series, and one I'll have to save for my niece and nephew when they get older.

Thanks to Sourcebooks, I have one copy of ROSE AND THE LOST PRINCESS to give away to a reader in the US or Canada.  Use the Rafflecopter below to enter.
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Review: The Serpent of Venice

Sequel to Fool
By Christopher Moore
Available now from William Morrow (HarperCollins)
Review copy

Christopher Moore's novels are a bit hit and miss for me, but the ones I love I love.  And FOOL, a retelling of KING LEAR, is absolutely one of my favorites.  I was quite excited to see that Moore was returning to the character of Pocket.  (Jeff and Drool are back as well.)

In THE SERPENT OF VENICE, Moore throws OTHELLO, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, and "The Cask of Amontillado" into a pot with a dragon and lets loose with the results.  Pocket goes to Venice on Cordelia's orders, to try to prevent another Crusade, but everything starts going awry when Cordelia is murdered.  (This, sadly, means that there is very little Cordelia in the book, though of course her ghost does get to make an appearance.)  After a rather odd misadventure, Pocket is sheltered by the Jewish community of Venice and makes his plans for revenge.

If you're familiar with the Shakespearean plays, it's quite interesting to see what Moore makes of them.  Some heroes become villains, for instance.  I didn't agree with all of his changes, but others made perfect sense.  And I quite enjoyed the note at the end where he explains what guided him to his interpretation of certain characters, like Portia.

I think THE SERPENT OF VENICE isn't quite as good as FOOL, but it does have a high bar to clear there.  However, it is just as hilarious, twisted, and perverse as I could've hoped.   I don't normally have a vulgar sense of humor, but something about Moore's writing brings it out in me.  THE SERPENT OF VENICE is more violent than some of his other books, but that suits the setting.

One of the things I think THE SERPENT OF VENICE does best is with Shylock, Jessica, and the other Jews.  There just as much a part of the humor as anyone else, but Moore doesn't back down from showing that they are treated is wrong.  The historical truths are there (often footnoted), and the modern sensibility is fairly scathing about it.  At the same time, Shylock and Jessica are still allowed to be flawed characters.

I do recommend reading FOOL before THE SERPENT OF VENICE.  THE SERPENT OF VENICE is capable of standing alone, but I think it is probably more fun if you know who Pocket and his companions are.  If you enjoyed FOOL, then you should definitely read THE SERPENT OF VENICE.  I'm very happy Moore decided to revisit these characters and their setting.