Author: Alaya Dawn Johnson

Publication Date: 03/01/2013
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine
Pages: 304
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

A heart-stopping story of love, death, technology, and art set amid the tropics of a futuristic Brazil.

The lush city of Palmares Três shimmers with tech and tradition, with screaming gossip casters and practiced politicians. In the midst of this vibrant metropolis, June Costa creates art that’s sure to make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become something more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King. The whole city falls in love with him (including June’s best friend, Gil). But June sees more to Enki than amber eyes and a lethal samba. She sees a fellow artist.

Together, June and Enki will stage explosive, dramatic projects that Palmares Três will never forget. They will add fuel to a growing rebellion against the government’s strict limits on new tech. And June will fall deeply, unfortunately in love with Enki. Because like all Summer Kings before him, Enki is destined to die.

 In the wake of global nuclear war and a plague that ravaged the Y-chromosome, Palmares Três rises along the coast of Brasil, an enclosed pyramid of vibrant Brasilian culture against the elements. In the futuristic society, the matriarchy of Palmares Três blame both men and technology for the fall of the world and so have established a system where kings have limited power, but queens rule without fetter. June Costa, living a lofty life as a Tier Eight, exists for a few things: art, her best friend Gil, and to live in constant argument with her mother, whom she blames for not doing enough to prevent her father's death. When along comes Enki, the Summer King, and the future of Palmares Três - and June's - may never be the same.

It's difficult to describe my relationship with this book because I absolutely adored elements of it; this book took risks and some were brilliant and others felt trapped by the novel's construction. (To be fair, the copy I read was an eBook and so the formatting will obviously be different as a finished product, though that was only part of it.) Straight away I could tell that this book pulsed with a beautiful sense of something. Johnson has a firm grasp with words and deftly chooses diction and phrasing that helps to better envelop the reader within the bubble of what has become of Brasilian culture in June's world. It is because of this that I think a few issues cropped up; the author knew exactly the kind of world building she wanted to strive for, but the construction of the story itself hindered the reader from being fully immersed into the story. There were moments early on when too much was happening too soon and it took me a while to let the Portuguese terms wash over me and become embedded as part of the book's vocabulary. (Mind you, I wouldn't change the usage of the language because it makes the book, but perhaps a bit of spacing it out could be less intimidating for the curious reader.)

There were a few times where its construction made me think about putting the book down, but the invigorating story prevented me every single time. Because rather than being another post-apocalyptic story that focuses on the steadying of the world back to its feet, this one focuses on the microcosm of culture and life within the existence of Palmares Três and what has happened to these people since. The political structure is fascinating: the first king and queen of the city decided that the king would sacrifice his life for the city at the end of summer. The king's power lay in choosing, every five years, which queen should rule for the next ten; these are referred to moon year (almost like a midterm) and sun year (when a new queen is crowned). This was done to equalise power between the genders without entrusting too much power to the one (apparently universally blamed for, if any existence of the Y-chromosome plague is used as a reference) blamed for the world's destruction. I've read discussion of this book where readers haven't fully understood just why the Summer King has to die, and I think us as readers are just looking for some form of deeper meaning that we can rationally understand; the meaning is intrinsic to their culture during their period of living. (And, to be honest, a surprise relating to the Summer Kings is revealed near the end.)

The world of Palmares Três wouldn't work - wouldn't be brought to life - without characters who could take that background and paint their lives with it. June Costa is a sixteen year old artist that always wants to push the limits and see how she can explore her world, how she can understand it and herself through the art she is able to create. June lives in a world where a Summer King is chosen every year and where that same king is killed every year as a symbolic gesture for the city. She also lives in a world rife with caste and age discrimination, and as such she and the majority of Palmarinas choose Enki to be their Summer King - an outgoing, clever, and charismatic boy who grew up in the verde (the lowest level of caste structure in the pyramid). This might have been any other year except June, her friend Gil, and Enki meet in an explosion destined to alter their society, leaving people to wonder just what it means to be Summer King along with the intersection of long life and what it means to actually live, all set amidst the landscape of a vibrant and futuristic Brasilian culture.

This book, though not without its flaws, is a beautiful work full of characters that light up the world they inhabit. Though there are a handful of sexual instances in the book, they bothered me not a bit in the larger context of character and setting. Johnson has created a rather literary young adult novel that may take some persistence to get through, but in the end is more than worth it due to a stunning setting, unique set of circumstances, and characters that make it worth it.

Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publication Date: 06/05/2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Pages: 358
Source: Purchased

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Note: As much as I wanted to keep this review completely spoiler-free, it is impossible for me to gloss over the discussion of an important turning point in the book. In order to avoid spoilers if you have not read this book yet, please skip the fourth paragraph.

Alina Starkov grew up as one orphan in a household of many at Keramzin, her parents having died in the wars that have ravaged Ravka for well over a century. The orphans of Keramzin are educated and then conscripted into the King's First Army, leaving their childhood years a period of waiting and loneliness. Alina didn't think she'd be any different until Mal came; the two became fast friends, traversing the depths of boredom and existing as a pair amidst the sea of many. Alina and Mal's regiment are scheduled to cross the Unsea, a dangerous journey when even the most talented individuals are involved. Alina always thought that she would never be special, that she would be alone; she never could have known that confronting her fear of the darkened Fold would challenge both of those things and turn her world inside out.

Within twenty pages of reading SHADOW AND BONE I knew that I was in for one of those rare all-nighters. I started this book and read and read and read and when I stopped it was 4.30 and, exhausted and full of fantastical places, I fell asleep to dream of Grisha wearing colorful kefta. I was pulled in immediately with the story of Alina as an orphan, hints at adventures with Mal, and the introduction of the mysterious Grisha and their leader, the Darkling. Though I was slightly taken aback when the time period shifted forward to her as a young adult, now conscripted in the First Army of Ravka, it only took a page or so for me to fall right into the older version of Alina and Mal. One of my favorite things about this story is how incredibly well developed the descriptions are; there was not a moment that didn't have some small element seamlessly weaving together a portrayal of a scene, whether it be for world building information or for what a character is wearing. As Grisha are one of the main themes in the book, the usage of color is inseparable from the narrative in order to separate the different specialties: Red, blue, purple, yellow, black, among others.

SHADOW AND BONE would just be a story without the magical way Leigh was able to dip into the depths of Russian history to create a narrative that is nuanced, gripping, and incredibly compelling. Not a page went by where I couldn't perfectly envision the world that was playing out in word form before my eyes. The embroidered keftas, the sense of urgency in running, awe and excitement at new circumstances - they were all detailed in such a way as to put the reader directly into a cast of wonderfully developed characters. Alina was, without a doubt, my favorite of lot. Much of the story is about Alina's sense of self-discovery, but told in a way that seamlessly created a narrative around her journey. She's strong, thoughtful, and knows when to say no. Thought there are moments when she wavers, I believe they're done in a way that are completely relatable to human experience.

As beautiful as the first part of the book was - and it was stunning - the pacing about one hundred pages from the end was the one thing that was able to remove me from the story and make me aware that I was an active reader and not living events through Alina's eyes. While a setup such as Alina had with the Darkling ("champion", distant trainer, love interest) is almost always too good to be true, the timeframe in which she is able to go from "the Darkling is not looking at me" to "he is a ruthless traitor" was unsettling. I never disagreed with her; I knew that she was right. But for all of the strong feelings that she had developed while at the Little Palace, that slight twist of belief changes the entire direction of the story. In her conversation with Baghra (and afterward), Alina reflects on certain moments and phrases that were breadcrumbs that eventually lead to shining light on what the Darkling was really after - all done in a compressed timeframe. While I fully believe those moments definitely allude to his foul play, her acceptance seems to be too much, too fast. Still, there's something about the play between  darkness and light in this book that leads me to believe that all is not done between these two, and to say that I'm interested in seeing where Leigh takes things would kind of be an understatement.

SHADOW AND BONE is one of the most beautifully constructed and compelling fantasies that I've read in quite some time. Everything about it hits just about every one of my interests: just the right amount of world building, characters that feel complete and nuanced, and a narrative that is able to tie all of these things together. If you have the opportunity, and a few hours block open on your schedule, I definitely suggest that you find a comfy, quiet spot and read it at your leisure. I absolutely cannot wait to read SIEGE AND STORM.

Author: Victoria Schwab
Publication Date: 01/22/2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Pages: 324
Source: ARC (Thanks to Hyperion and Victoria at NYCC!)

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

Sometimes there are just books that you know are meant for you. Maggie Stiefvater's THE SCORPIO RACES was one of those books, and as soon as I read the tagline for THE ARCHIVED, I knew it would end up on a very small shelf of favorites, too. The narrative beautifully transitions from the present to the past, highlighting the moments that Mackenzie spent with her grandfather that lead her to becoming his successor as Keeper. Though we don't see much of him throughout the course of the book, we don't need to as the moments in which he's present his personality are vivid and commanding. These flashbacks highlight his importance in Mackenzie's life, their bond, and the rules that, as a Keeper, she must live by. Though the Archive and the outside world have a symbiotic relationship, it is precariously balanced, and it's Keepers like Mac that have to play by the rules for order to be sustained. Bruises, omissions, and absences in order to create peace for both.

The incredible thing about this book is the way Victoria effortlessly links the construct of the Archive into present-day reality. We open countless amounts of doors per day, we go to libraries for history and knowledge. Topics and genres mapped out on shelves for our perusal. But with the touch of a key Mackenzie has access to a library that makes her life so completely different than anything we can imagine. The Archive has history and knowledge on shelves, collecting first-hand accounts. Every time Mac stepped into the Archive I could imagine a sweeping great room with stacks higher than I could see, cathedral ceilings and a gilded desk neatly arranged with papers and writing utensils. And, of course, a sign. An information desk like any and none other.

In a book about information and what it means to have it, THE ARCHIVED's characters are equally nuanced. Just when I thought I knew something about someone, a layer quietly peeled back and revealed just enough of something else to be surprising but not too much so that it would be out of place with what I had already learned. Mac is a clever and strong girl with quick responses who struggles with how to relate her position as a Keeper to her life as a daughter and a normal person. She has to deal with extraordinary circumstances, yet her struggles are relatable and convincing. One of my favorite things about this book is that every conversation - every word - has a purpose without feeling overwhelming. My favorite character, Roland, is one you meet fairly soon into the story, though it's almost difficult to pick because the Archive is literally riddled with a small starring cast that shines.

THE ARCHIVED has something in it for everyone: strong characterisation, mystery, beautiful prose, and a narrative that includes a touching and believable romance. This is literally a book that I had to pace myself reading because I didn't want it to end. I will say, however, for those that tend to prefer stand-alone to series, I absolutely believe that it will stand on its own as a singular story without the necessity of reading on. Me, though? I can't wait to pre-order the second installment.

Author: Ilsa J. Bick
Publication Date: 09/25/2012
Publisher: Egmont
Pages: 518
Source: ARC

Even before the EMPs brought down the world, Alex was on the run from the demons of her past and the monster living in her head. After the world was gone, she thought Rule was a sanctuary for her and those she'd come to love.

But she was wrong.

Now she's in the fight of her life against the adults who would use her, the survivors who don't trust her, and the Changed who would eat her alive.

Welcome to Shadows, the second book in the haunting apocalyptic Ashes Trilogy: where no one is safe and humans may be the worst of the monsters.

The review for Shadows will have to be structured somewhat differently due to the massive cliffhanger that we were left with in Ashes and the differences that the subsequent book takes. Previously, a series of large electromagnetic pulses (EMP) of unknown source rendered all modern technology useless, killing millions and leaving the remaining population locked in a battle between surviving the elements and surviving each other. A mainly middle-aged population remains as most over 50 perished, and most under 20 have changed into feral beings that cannibalise corpses and hunt the rest for food.

Like a lot of people I loved Ashes, but was left grasping for connection upon reading the second half of the book. The first half was fast-paced and action packed, but there were few moments in the latter that hinted in a change at all, and as a reader you could almost see it as a plot transfer to a that of a tightly knit religious society. Though I can understand where people might be frustrated with that, the circumstances that Alex found herself in completely set up everything that happens in Shadows. We meet a handful of people in Rule that we see back in Shadows, a few of them having their own POV chapters. The switching of character voice is done smoothly and the transition is necessary in order to get a full sense of just what is happening in this new world. A limited perspective from Alex wouldn't properly be able to move the plot forward; some characters would inevitably be left behind due to the inability to tell their story.

It took me about a hundred pages before I got used to where the plot was going and the alternating views, but once I was there the rest of the book was an incredibly fast read. With every page we got to learn something more about another person in the book that helped to explain a past action, or about something that is happening simultaneously elsewhere with another POV character. And like Ashes, Shadows is ripe with gory descriptions and blood (including mentions of animal death); I often found myself wincing at the precision in which situations are described, though it really does help to put into perspective a world where anything goes and that every day is a fight for the right to live until the next.

Though chock full of completely unexpected twists and turns - Bick does an astounding job of keeping you on your toes, always guessing - it's an adventure that as a reader you continually want to take. Just as one chapter ends, something crazy happens making it easy to read another five more just to see where they'll take you (and Alex). There's not as much of a cliffhanger here as there was in Ashes, but that's actually almost worse because the ending of Shadows allows your mind to ruminate, speculating on the meanings of conversations and words that Alex and other POV characters had as the pages wind down. If you haven't read Ashes, you'll definitely want to read these two back to back because once you turn a page into this world it will be hard to pull yourself from it. Bick has created a grim and realistic vision of survival and perseverance, and I can't wait to see how it all comes together in book three.

Author: David Levithan
Publication Date: 08/28/2012
Publisher: Knopf
Pages: 322
Source: ARC

Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

As a baby, A woke up with different parents, siblings, and in the happy, careless way of children, thought nothing of it. A was always taken care of and that's all that mattered - until the rotating cast of family started mentioning a concept A couldn't grasp: tomorrow. "See you tomorrow!" "Good night!" For A, these things could never exist. Good night was good bye. There was a painful transition period where A had to come to terms with existence. A's rotating life never posed much of a problem after that. Until Rhiannon.

I absolutely loved this book. Some writers have a way of speaking so easily to the humanity within everyone that their books have a way of touching people on an individual level even if there is no one situation described that you as a person can identify with. David Levithan made that humanistic connection so easily that there were moments that I had to read passages over and over, in awe of how much I felt I could relate to the words or circumstance that A was going through. Though the premise is implausible, his ability to do so made it one of the most realistic books that I've ever read. Every Day is realistic, believable, and strikes you in your core. A is no one and everyone and that is why A is so genuine.

One of my favorite things about this book is that gender is completely unimportant. A is not male nor female; A is a person, human. A was able to relate to all of the bodies inhabited on such an instinctual level because A has lived by proxy hundreds of different lives in varying situations. And so it was interesting to see Rhiannon's reaction to A's ever changing landscape - A is the epitome of the ability to love someone for who they are, not their aesthetics. In this manner Levithan is able to make the story universal; everyone wants to be loved, to be able to live as themselves, and everyone has some sort of obstacle in their way. In this way, A is sort of the every-person, able to showcase the different issues people have in interacting with others. This is the beauty of Levithan's craftsmanship.

Though Every Day is about A and the way A experiences the world, there's a fascinating cast of background characters that A meets along the way in different lives that help to flesh out the different experiences and help A create a unique way through which the world can be viewed. And though A has sworn not to interfere in the lives of the bodies that A wakes in, there are a few times where I was inordinately pleased at the way tricky situations were handled without changing too much, and in a respectful manner.

Reading David Levithan is like swimming in a sea of poetry. I kept on wanting to write quotes down, but then I realised I'd be quoting the entire thing. Every Day is no different, which makes it easily one of the favorite books that I've read this year. Its ability to be universally applied, with poignant and realistic descriptions, makes it a book that I would recommend to anyone. Regardless of the fact that Every Day is published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, this is a book for any person simply by virtue of being human.

Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: 08/07/2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 406
Source: Publisher (ARC)

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.<br>
Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.<br>
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Note: The third paragraph was removed from the Goodreads summary, as I think it's unnecessary to know before reading and drags the synopsis down.


Celaena Sardothien has many names: she is Adarlan's Assassin, Queen of the Underworld, but in the end Celaena is really a young girl who's made do in an otherwise lethal set of situations. Having been trained as an assassin from the age of eight, Celaena did what she had to in order to survive. The law caught up with her at seventeen, and she was tossed into the prisoner camp of Endovier where people are placed to die. A year later she's given an offer she can't refuse - freedom in exchange for a series of tests and the next four years of her life. Never one to pass up a good opportunity, Celaena jumps straight into the lion's den where things even she can't expect await her.

Somehow I hadn't heard of Throne of Glass before I snagged a copy at BEA, but when it was described to me as a mashup of The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones I was immediately sold. I don't really care for book marketing that relies on the success of other books, but I can see where there are definitely some elements of each in this book. In any case, it was enough for me to pick one up and want to read it fairly immediately. And I'm really glad that I did - I absolutely adore a good fantasy, and Throne of Glass is just that, a good fantasy.

The worldbuilding was complete enough to have a working grasp of why things are happening in Erilea without being bogged down as is want to happen in many fantasy series. In fact, there's just enough there to make me really interested in what happens outside the capital city of Rifthold. (Maas is releasing backstory e-novellas to flesh things out leading up to the book's release.) The juxtaposition of the beauty of a glass castle with the horrific concept upon which it had been built was weaved in nicely. This is also done with the characters of the king, and Prince Dorian's brother (a real meance), who were absent for the most part, but felt like haunting spectres throughout the majority of the story. I was able to imagine every step of this book from the moments in Endovier to the tests Celaena had to undergo, to the multiplicity of characters.

One issue that presented itself, although occasionally, was with Celaena herself. While I know that she was raised as an assassin, the extent to which she believes the world revolves around her was slightly bothersome. I believed in her strength, and in her intelligence (she loves to read!), and I really enjoyed reading about a woman who could take care of herself. But every so often there was peppered in a statement where Celaena conflated lack of interest in her aesthetic to be a lack of interest in her as a person. She was similarly offended when people didn't think that she was the best. For the majority of the story I enjoyed her as a character, but a woman doesn't need to be superhuman in order to be interesting. I hope this gets toned down somewhat over the rest of the series. In any case, I loved how there was a vast cast of characters who each had their own developed personality and didn't exist solely as someone for the main character to interact with. Choal, Nox, and Nehemia were some of the most interesting for me, and I hope we get to see more of them over the course of the plot.

Though I'm not sure how the finished copy will be, the back of the ARC says: "Two men lover her. The whole land fears her. Only she can save them all." Many of you are interested in whether or not there is instashipping or love triangles in a book, so I'll say here that I don't really feel that there is a love  triangle, though I was slightly disappointed in the way the romance developed, perhaps because I would have chosen the other guy. Neither is there instashipping, though I wish the relationship would have been better expounded upon on the male's part (not mentioning names due to spoilers).

I won't be surprised if this book gets optioned for film, or if it has been already. It's a fantastic fantasy that is well-developed and easily imagined as you read featuring strong female characters and mysterious palace intrigue that will keep you turning the page well beyond the chapter you promised you'd put it down. I think it's important to say that though there is more to the story than just this one book, it would work fine as a stand-alone.

Author: John Green:
Publication Date: 01/10/2012
Publisher: Dutton
Pages: 318
Source: Purchased

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

"My thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations." (Augustus Waters) 

This book is John Green at his best, which is a difficult thing, because all of John Green's books are John Green at a pretty damn high level. (I may have broken the record for repeating an author's name in a twenty-eight word sentence just here, but we'll set that aside for now.)

This is not really a review, but I'm not sure, like Augustus, that I can order my thoughts enough to put them into a mass of words that would just seem anything other than quaint and not-quite-there.

I laughed. I cried. (I cried a lot.) I nodded and gesticulated wildly on public transportation. (Sorry to the people sitting next to me on the subway.)

Even though I saw what was going to happen from miles ahead, my heart didn't care. My heart was so invested in these characters and their steadfast will to live that it just didn't care - it needed an outlet and my tear ducts were it.

This book will wrench your heart, then make you laugh inappropriately just to make you cry and smile again. Books should never have messages, but I think The Fault In Our Stars will leave you with a feeling one way or the other whether it be happy, sad, or that weird mix of bittersweet. Whatever it is, and whatever it may be, there's something for everyone.

Author: Jeri Smith-Ready

Publication Date: 05/01/2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 416

Source: Publisher

Life can change in an instant, and no one understands that better than Aura. It’s been almost a year since her boyfriend tragically died. She’s finally letting go of Logan’s violet-hued ghost, but not her search to uncover the truth about her past.

As the first in a generation that can see ghosts, Aura is convinced she has a connection to the Shift. She’s trusted Zachary, ever patient and ever by her side, with all that she knows. But when the government threatens his life in an attempt to learn Aura’s secrets, she will stop at nothing to protect herself and the one she loves...even if that means betraying her own heart.

Please note there will be minor spoilers for Shift (Shade #2).

With Logan now a ghost, Aura can begin to wrap up the mourning process that began almost a year ago - this time for his ghost. Safe in the knowledge that Zach and his family are on a plane home to the UK, Aura is ready for as normal final year of high school as anyone can be when you're able to see ghosts. Then Aura gets a call that changes everything, unwinding a thread that begins explains Aura being the first and Zach being the last over the course of a harrowing adventure.

I'd been looking forward to Shine ever since I finished Shift, although I have to say there was a bit of trepidation coming into this one. There were some things in Shift that really didn't sit well with me, the biggest being the blasé outlook toward physicality. I know the whole point of, for example, things that happened between Logan and Aura exist to display the conflict that she's going through, but the few interchanges between Aura and Dylan just rubbed me the wrong way. I was slightly nervous that this book would carry that on and that, perhaps, Logan would never fade.

Thankfully that wasn't the case with Shine, and to be fair, I enjoyed this installment much more without Logan. In fact, my favorite Logan moment in the series appears at the end, which was a rather nice way to tie everything up. Aura definitely had the opportunity to explore herself more, even if it was in the setting of chasing down information. Aura is an enjoyable MC for me as she has that appealing headstrong quality without being overwhelming, but also the sense to merely observe if the matter calls for it. Not to mention that Smith-Ready has Aura's voice down perfectly; a lot of times it's difficult to get into a character, despite how strong of a character they may be, if the right presentation of words isn't there. It's very easy to fall into Aura's head, which makes the progression of the story much swifter.

My favorite thing, though, about the book, is the world building. I know that this is something I discuss quite often (especially with dystopian novels), but this series is a great example of where the premise of the story (Aura's and Zach's history) wonderfully sets the background without beating the reader over the head with it. We know why Aura lives where they do (Maryland), we know even a bit about her lineage (her Italian grandmother lives in Philadelphia) and there are relevant hints back to this as the story unfolds that is a pleasant connection of information. What brought me to this series is the idea of a Shift in the first place and the way it was so seamlessly integrated into a recognisable present-day society. What kept me was that, with this last book, we know why it happened and what, if anything, can be done about it. A well-done tying up of events with an interspersion of characters that take the story and run with it in a good way.

Shine is my favorite installation of the trilogy, and was truly a wonderful way to finish the series. If you're looking to read a paranormal without instashipping, partnered with a well-researched and well-integrated premise and story then you'll definitely enjoy this series. Thanks again to Simon & Schuster, and I'm looking forward to what else Smith-Ready will create in the future.

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Publication Date: 02/21/2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 341

Source: Purchased

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

 Rhine Ellery has escaped from the House Governor's mansion in Florida, and together with Gabriel, is en route to Manhattan to find her twin brother Rowan. Life on the outside is much different from the too-convenient mansion, and Rhine finds herself in the uncomfortable place of occasionally comparing her life within to the everyday struggles of the real world. Vacillating between anger at having been Gathered, being separated from her brother, and at the world for giving her this disease in the first place, Rhine learns that wanting something is important, but in this uncertain world where parents outlive their children, is that enough?

Fever starts almost immediately after the end of Wither, with Rhine and Gabriel on the run. The book begins with an exploratory feel, and I found myself having to reel back a bit after remembering the frenzied events at the end of the previous book. This hesitant tone fits well within Rhine's mindset as she reacclimatises to being on the outside. However, the two aren't alone for long before they find themselves ensnared in another situation of entrapment. I love what Lauren does with words - and what she isn't afraid to do with them - in order to convey Rhine's feelings of being caged and frustrated. (This is done at times to, what I feel, is the detriment of Gabriel - though he is always with Rhine, sometimes I don't get the feeling that he's there at all, a lack of presence.) The pacing of Fever runs parallel to Rhine figuring out her situation and how she's going to deal with it.

The issue for me, again, is that there's not enough information. I still don't know why this is happening, and that lack makes it difficult for me to suspend disbelief as much as I would like. We know there is a disease that affects all newly conceived children, and we know from haunting descriptions (the disappearance of the outer boroughs to the Atlantic is chilling for me as a New Yorker) that the Eastern seaboard and Europe are vastly redefined. These subtle descriptions do much in the way of setting the feeling for Rhine's America, but I still need to know how this disease came about. In order to affect children but not the parental hosts it has to be incredibly specific genetically. I also have difficulty accepting that people would readily embrace this new world instead of fighting and doing everything they can to find a cure.

We're introduced to a handful of new characters in this book, though I almost feel as if the characters were more inherent to the setting. Maddie, a physically handicapped child who does not speak, is perhaps the most telling. In Rhine's society such a child is dubbed 'malformed' and would ordinarily be killed. It continues to highlight what I found strange about Wither; that people would kill children when the existence of these children, even with their shortened lifespans, is all the human race has. Girls who aren't considered beautiful enough are killed by Gatherers and children who don't have ten fingers and ten toes are similarly considered disposable.

The main thing, aside from the lack of why, is that very little happens plot-wise here. I enjoyed the descriptions and the character movement, but I'm unsure as to how the series, with only one book left, will be able to tie everything together in a way that's going to be satisfying as a reader. Fever is a great development upon the first installment in that we get to see what exactly makes Rhine tick, and I'm curious to see how everything will unfold in the final book; curious enough that I'll pick it up when it's released.

Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publication Date: 01/02/2012
Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 256
Source: Purchased

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?
Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.
Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Warning: There will be minor spoilers for character backstory herein.

Hadley Sullivan is having a time of it. She's missed her plane, stuck at the airport waiting for a trip she doesn't want to embark on to a place she's never been. London is already built upon a rickety self-imposed bed of memories, and nothing good could possibly come of it - right? Airport patrons, already schooled in the art of waiting, are often times incredibly observant and it's by this chance that she meets Oliver, who comes to her aid when the zipper goes on her bag and her things tumble to the ground. +1 for her trip across the pond.

This is a book that I was waiting very much for, for a few reasons: I love airports (so much happens there, it's great for observation), the title is incredibly catching and makes you want to know what might happen, and it has that fantastic cover. However, there is a catch, and it's a big one. The blurb only states that Hadley is going to her father's wedding in London, but doesn't say anything of the reason behind any of this. If I had known how things were to happen in this book I might not have been so keen to buy it.

Hadley's father was invited to be a fellow at Oxford, and Hadley and her mother had plans to visit him over the winter break - and then suddenly they didn't. In a whirlwind of events not only had Hadley's father been in a relationship with another woman, but suddenly her parents were divorcing and plans were  being made quietly by her father to marry this other woman. The timeline for these events is so incredibly brief in the scheme of things that not only is it impossible for me to separate my anger at what was going on from the story, but it's also difficult for me to accept the way Hadley's parents are treating her.

"He's still your dad," Mom kept reminding her, as if this were something Hadley might forget. "If you don't go, you'll regret it later. I know it's hard to imagine when you're seventeen, but trust me. One day you will."
Hadley isn't so sure. (7)

I'm not so sure, either. The issue at hand isn't the fact that her father is remarrying someone Hadley doesn't  know, nor is the fact that her father has moved to England. The issue here is her father's infidelity and everyone else's completely blasé reaction to it. Reading this I never had the feeling that neither Hadley nor her mother had a chance to properly be angry or upset. Everything was so rushed that they had to pass go completely, straight to an awkward semblance of peripheral acceptance; this left little room on my behalf as a reader to have any sympathy for her father. If the situation had been different, if it had come about in a different way then the entire shape of this book would have been different, and I would have been able to see it in a much easier light.

The ratio of this review seems to be in even proportion with my thoughts while reading;  though I loved Hadley (sarcastic and honest) and Oliver (witty and clever), the unhealthy circumstances behind their meeting threatened to overshadow how fantastically the two of them got on. The story of them is a one that is believable, well-paced, and I was behind them every step of the way. From their banter in the airport, to everything you can think that would happen during a 7-hour flight sitting next to someone you find wholly fascinating, it's a viable occurrence that might have you looking over the next time you're on a plane.

On the whole I did like the book, though I wish that I had known what I was getting myself into before I started, and that the reasoning were different. If anything, it's worth reading alone for the progression between Hadley and Oliver. Just take the backstory with a grain (or two) of salt before proceeding.

Author: Julia Karr
Publication Date: 01/19/2012
Publisher: Speak
Pages: 299
Source: ARC

Nina Oberon’s life has changed enormously in the last few months. When her mother was killed, Nina discovered the truth about her father, the leader of the Resistance. And now she sports the same Governing Council–ordered tattoo of XVI on her wrist that all sixteen-year-old girls have. The one that announces to the world that she is easy prey to predators. But Nina won’t be anyone’s stereotype. And when she joins an organization of girls working within the Resistance, she knows that they can put an end to one of the most terrifying secret programs the GC has ever conceived. Because the truth always comes out...and the consequences can be deadly.

While sixteen is usually a big age for girls, in Nina's society it holds an even larger connotation: she now sports an XVI tattoo that announces her age to the world. This tattoo leaves her vulnerable to sexual attacks with little legal recourse as girls in her world are raised by society to dress and act provocatively which creates a chicken and the egg scenario - are girls raised this way to act as an excuse for these deviant attacks or do they happen because of it? At sixteen girls are also eligible to be contracted for FeLs (Female Liasion Specialists), something Nina's mother told her is nothing but a glamorous cover up for institutionalised prostitution. The daughter of the infamous leader of the Resistance, Nina chooses herself to join and finds that participating is far different than the mere idea of it.

I was hesitant coming into this one as I wasn't completely sold by XVI, however it wasn't until Truth that the idea of it hit me, and it's a nasty one. The entire society can be seen as a hyper-sexed area where girls are encouraged to dress and act to encourage male attention. Everything about it from the beginnings of the tattoo to the creation of FeLs is an excuse for the prostitution ring the government runs. These girls are raised wanting to participate in FeLs, not knowing that it's definitely not for off-world diplomatic training. The government itself creates these embedded gender stereotypes perhaps as an excuse to wave away any inevitable blame. This, of course, is theoretical but the groundwork is there in the books and it's scary. So, if you weren't quite convinced by XVI, give Truth a try because the ideas definitely mesh together in a much more coherent manner - not to mention it's very hard to put down!

Nina grew on me - and into herself - in this one. As someone who's lived so long without: without status, without money, and especially without a stable familial structure, she's become sensitive to the stark differences between what someone can do when you have these things and what those who don't have it are seen as. Because of this she's a stronger person who is less afraid to stand up for herself in fear of whatever the consequences may be. She protects herself and those closest to her, but not in a brash manner that is off-putting. I should mention that there is something of a love triangle in the story, but in my opinion it's almost a welcome one. Nina brings up some issues on the basis of gender equality and what women are and are not capable of which is somewhat of an issue with one of guys involved, who may or may not believe that women are not as capable as men in some regards. This could just be slanted from her POV, but it's something that I'm interested in seeing how it plays out.

Truth is a thrilling hook to a fascinating series. It's addicting and full of small mysteries here and here that add up as pieces to the larger puzzle. Before it even ended I was left wanting to know what might happen with the characters in book three. Aside from being a fast read, Truth is a book that deals with important themes in a manner that's easy to digest. I'm glad I continued after XVI and will definitely be waiting for the third installment!

Author: Marie Lu
Publication Date: 11/29/2011
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Pages: 305
Source: Purchased

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias' death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

The Republic can be separated into the have and have-nots. June Iparis falls into the former category, a daughter of wealthy parents, graduate of the top schools, and also, unfortunately full of unknowing discrimination that comes with never having experienced the other side. Day is the latter: unprivileged, undereducated, and fighting for survival. The death of June's brother Metias lets them meet, but their intelligence keeps them there in a struggle for understanding.

Ah, this book made me happy. It's what I would qualify as a proper dystopia. The Republic is a terrible entity wrapped up in fervent societal nationalism. Each home has a portrait of the Elector. Every time the anthem plays, you salute and recite with conviction. There is a clear separation between the state supporters and everyone else, and those whose support are unabashedly favored. One teeny issue that I have with a lot of dystopia is that I need to know how things came about, and this was addressed in bites and pieces with hints left that more information would be brought forth as the series progresses. (Just a little more background information in Legend, however, would have made this book really shine.)

Amidst a bleak background the characters were engaging. What I enjoyed the most about them is their growth. This would have been a much different book if June and Day never progressed and stayed firm in their beliefs. It would have been a book that I don't want to read. Marie Lu peppered in bread crumbs throughout the story that I found myself flipping back to in understanding as things moved forward. A lot of this was especially visible through Metias who managed to grow as a character even after his death. (For those that find that a nervous idea, don't worry, it's written well.)

There is one sort-of issue that I had, however. The first is June and Day's age. I know the reason that they both have to be so young is that it's easier for her to an impressive prodigy if she's younger, but there were times that I had to remind myself that June is 15 and not 18+. It's difficult for me to reconcile the idea of a 15 year-old thinking like she does on a consistent basis - June's narrative seemed more mature than her age. I'm not sure what part of that is due to her intelligence and what part is due to having grown up in such a strict environment. On the other hand Day, perhaps because I found him slightly more relatable, seemed more age-appropriate, although he had his moments.

There is something in Legend for everyone: a smart and strong heroine, lip-biting action sequences, and a well-written story that will leave you part-ruminating, part wishing you could turn the page for just a little bit more.

Author: Wendy Wunder
Publication Date: 12/08/2011
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 347
Source: ARC (Thank you so kindly to Razorbill/Penguin for sharing!)

Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.

For the past seven years, Cam has been defined by her cancer. Hospitals, treatments, holistic trips her mother hears of to heal her. She met her best friend, Lily, at a summer camp for kids with cancer. Her rebellious and carefree personality, affected by repeatedly hearing that she's getting worse and not better. Growing up in Orlando, living, breathing, and working at Disney World, she's used to a sugar-coated world that's not quite what it seems. And then her mother packs Cam and her sister, Perry, up for a move to Promise, Maine. Promise, a place where miracles happen. But can Cam believe in miracles?

This book will break your heart and make you laugh at the same time. Reading a book about someone so young with cancer is devastating, yet there's hope. Hope that Cam will be able to cross some items off of her Flamingo List, hope that maybe there's something to the idea of getting out of Florida and into an entirely fresh environment. Cam's easygoing sister, Perry, makes friends right off the bat while Cam is content to sit inside, bundled against the cooler Maine summer, and watch old movies. The setting, for Cam, is strange and slightly too perfect in a way that completely differs from Orlando - here the people and places are real, and perhaps that's what eventually sparks her interest. She's trading one definition of 'real' for another, but this time she can interact with the denizens.

I really enjoyed Cam as a character mainly because I can identify with her dry humor and healthy sense of sarcasm. While I think that some of that stems from before her diagnosis, a lot of it seems to be a defense mechanism that's evolved from her cancer. She simply doesn't have the time, she thinks, so where is the point in dressing up her words? My favorite thing about her is the view she had regarding her Flamingo List. Originally seemingly willing to do whatever necessary to cross items off, she finds that perhaps some things aren't as important as they once seemed. And others? Well, they crop up unexpectedly.

Cam meets Asher in Promise, who is a local going back generations. Though Asher is charismatic and well-known, his interactions in Cam's life becomes an interesting side story that meshes well with her own. Though Perry is the outgoing child, Cam fails to realise the impact that she has on people's lives. Impulsive, thoughtful, and honest, her decisions have a far-reaching impact that she only begins to see after the fact. Asher believes that Promise is his future and can see no other option. Cam knows when not to agree so easily. Toss in Cam's mother Alicia, and a cast of characters from both Orlando and Promise and you've got a memorable cast for a memorable summer.

The Probability of Miracles may not be an easy read, but it's one that I can heartily recommend. From flamingos to pet lobsters to mistakes and realisations, this is a book full of heart and courage and hints that decisions may not come so readily, but that there is a possibility of miracles.

Author: Veronica Rossi
Publication Date: 01/03/2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 374
Source: ARC

Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.
Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.
A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Note: The above summary is taken from HarperTeen directly as I feel the Goodreads one is too lengthy, and gives too much away.

The people who survive live in pods, Dwellers, spending the majority of their time visiting virtual realms to escape the redundancy of never being able to travel. Aria, having accepted a risk in order to find out information about the whereabouts of her mother, decides to explore abandoned pods with a group of friends. One thing leads to another and her risk turned into an adventure that she could have never been prepared for. Life outside the pod is vivid, visceral and nothing like the realms depicted. Angry with herself, the people who shunned her, and the Outsiders she has to deal with in order to survive, Aria comes to realise there's more than one definition to life.

I really enjoyed this book for a handful of reasons. The biggest one being Veronica Rossi's skill in world-building. This just as easily could have been a book that you've felt you've read before a thousand times with tropes here (post-apocalyptic pod living) and there (insider/outsider). For the first 20 or so pages I was uneasy, wondering where it was going. But there was just the right amount of information in the right spots that enables the reader to make educated guesses about the rest, and just enough not to throw them off or want to put the book down.

Secondly is characterisation. Characters, for me, are the most important bit of a story. If I can't love the characters, or if they can't make me believe in them, then it's difficult for everything else to shine. I wasn't sure about Aria at first - she was sullen and angry and I was having a hard time reconciling her dislike for the outside that's inherent from having lived inside all your life. Then she would make these small movements that really allowed me to feel as if she were exploring nature for the first time. The realms could never depict the variety and striations of mineral rocks, so Aria is enamored with the sheer amount of possibility that the environment produces. She asks about snow and clouds and flowers, all things she's never been able to experience. Truthfully, I hadn't expected her to endear herself to me as much as she had, but nothing about her exploration seemed forced which made the entire story work.

Aria's traveling companion is Perry, an Outsider. There's very little interaction between Dwellers and Outsiders and so there is little trust between the two, each skeptical of each other's intentions and way of living. Perry isn't the broody, lean-y type with arched eyebrows. He's quiet and blunt and completely unsure of the situation. Perry has his goals, which happen to coincide with Aria's for a period, and so they're able to help each other. Time breaks down stereotypes and the interactions between them become more easy and honest. I had a difficult time getting these two out of my head after I finished the book.  Their story wasn't effortless, but instead came with push and pull at a natural pace with a result that made me fall in love with their ease and sense of comfort.

One of the things I liked most is that the secondary characters were also really well-developed even for the short amount of time that some of them were seen. Fleshed out and real, they helped to describe Aria and Perry more than the two did themselves and it enabled me to understand the situation from a different light. Under the Never Sky is a post-apocalyptic story that works because of its characters and swift storytelling that helps you get lost in the setting. I didn't realise it was a series until I finished it, but these are people I can't wait to know more about.

Author: A.M. Hayward and L.J. Holder
Publication Date: 04/28/2011
Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
Pages: 203
Source: Publisher

Mistakes...
Everyone makes them. We are only human.
Some of our mistakes are small... like the times you stay up till 2 am studying for a test that you end up failing because you are too tired to think. 
Others are so catastrophic that they change your life - forever.

Maddison regrets not listening to her parents, not being a 'good girl' and not staying at home like she was supposed to instead of sneaking off with her friends for a Spring Break getaway. How she wishes she could turn back time; then maybe she wouldn't be in the nightmare she is in now. Kidnapped and taken to a different country unaware of where she is or what these men want with her. Maddy's parents can't help her, in fact they aren't even aware she is in Mexico. Who can save her? Or can she save herself?

Maddy Turner, having been raised in a middle class family, attends a wealthy private Texas high school thanks to her mother being a teacher there. Surrounded by debutante balls and designer clothing, Maddy exists in a world that she thinks she'll never understand. Niggling inside her is a small piece that wants to be swept away just for one night, to not have to worry about finances or having to be the perfect student in order to get a college scholarship. That is, until a series of circumstances lands her in a place darker than she could have imagined.

As a human rights student particularly interested in human trafficking the existence of this book does a lot for me on a multitude of levels and is something I feel strongly about. This is not, nor will it ever be, an easy subject. Yet it exists and it happens a lot closer to home than you might expect. Maddy is not a vapid girl. She's an honor student, tutors fellow students, and participates in extracurricular activities. But she is a teenager and she is vulnerable, and at times, confused. Although her best friend, Aimee, is a part of the elite circle of her school, Maddy is always on the outside on some level. So when Aimee invites her to her first debutante ball to get a glimpse of what they're like, Maddy jumps at the chance. This is a typical reaction for someone; people are curious beings - we want to explore the unknown and we want to be included. Maddy's always dreamt of a Cinderella story of her own, and when she finally gets it following the events of the ball, she no longer wants it.

Something I liked the most about this book is the way it was written. It had a slight awkwardness and uncertainty about it, not from the authors but from the fact that the main character is a teenage girl. The words exuded descriptions and reactions that I would expect from someone her age and that made the story flow much more easily for me. When she meets Jack she's literally overwhelmed with the idea that someone could be interested in her, however I believe that she would have eventually worked things out for herself. The other half of my appreciating the realism, however, is that there were some moments that had me questioning how things would unfold. As a reader and a reviewer I'm not in a position to be judging how people would react during captivity, especially if the person in question were being sexually abused while held. I've studied the effects of solitary torture, but nothing like Maddy's situation.

While in confinement Maddy meets a prisoner, Dalton, being held for ransom. They share a cell as a form of coercion: if Maddy misbehaves Dalton will be punished and vice versa. In order to stay sane they tell each other stories about themselves, their family and friends - anything to remain themselves. Over the course of their confinement they become friends and eventually form a relationship. The issue here isn't completely over age (she is 18, Dalton is 27), although that is a factor. It's also over the healthiness of the situation and the way it's framed. For me, while I was okay with the idea of Dalton, some of his words reminded me like something that Jack might have said. There wasn't enough of a delineation between their speech ("my sweet Maddy") and that threw me off. It was important to me that Maddy be able to differentiate between the two of them, and not just want a replacement, and while I don't think she's quite there yet, she's on the right path.

Mistakes is a fast-paced, realistic story that spotlights the real dangers of human trafficking. Reading this made me not just invested in the characters, but also invested in them as people. I cringed and cried and was angry because while this is fiction, it's very much not. This is a hard story to read. It may not be perfect, but a lot of good things aren't, and it's absolutely worth the read. As a note, I don't usually issue warnings, but for parents this is a story that involves sexual abuse and real world issues. A quick, impacting read that's left me waiting to know the fates of those involved.

An aside: If you are looking to find out more information about this topic please check out Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn and the International Justice Mission.

This post is a part of the TWCS YA Blog tour! Check out their website to see other books, guest posts, and reviews featured on the tour.

Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publication Date: 10/18/2011
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 404
Source: Purchased

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

Thisby Island is unique in many ways, but is most well-known for the Scorpio Races: an event that happens every November and is a race between man, horse, and sea that is every bit as brutal and unpredictable as the people and their mounts that participate. Puck Connolly had sworn off any interaction with the races until she's left without an option. Sean Kendrick is the sea personified and wouldn't have it any other way than to enter, but this year it means more than any other. The island has its way with people, and this November it's a fight to the end.

I want to honestly say that I'm hard-pressed on where to begin with this. It's taken me a week to finish The Scorpio Races when normally I would have finished it in a few hours. 100% of that delay was me wanting to drag it out word by page by perspective so that it would never end. Perhaps a little background is necessary in why I feel so strongly about it. The first promise I ever remember making is to my mom, in the way that children do, that when she won the lottery she would buy me a horse. I read Black Beauty over and over until the copy was worn out, but I wouldn't let anyone throw it away. My favorite place is anywhere that I can be in the water, but specifically on the ocean. There is absolutely nothing like it: the sounds, smells, texture of the sand and the surf washing over your feet, the way the sun sets and rises and glimmers. I love water. Thus the fact that every time I read a sentence in this book I felt like it had been written specifically for me.

I knew Maggie was a ridiculously talented writer after reading Shiver, but this book is in a different league. From the very fist sentence I was hooked as Sean Kendrick watched the capail usice run across the beach, already critical of what was happening in the quiet, knowing way that he has. Despite not knowing anything about what was happening it set up perfectly my wanting to find out everything that I could, and all of that was laid out as the story progressed. One of the best things about the book - and is something that effects the way everything happens - is that the island, aside from being just a setting, is very much a character in the story. Thisby has moods that influence the weather, its history has affected the traditions of the people, and its relative size means that the population has to socialise much closely together than they might have elsewhere.

Here's where I would normally tell you more about the characters, but, really, I want that to be something you experience for yourselves while reading. As a whole, though, all of the characters in the book were so well crafted and each one was absolutely necessary - there's no fluff here. Puck is strong, earnest, blunt, but quite perceptive. She doesn't give up, and she doesn't believe she should have to. Her two brothers, Gabe and Finn have such strong personalities even when they're not present that you might think they have more 'screen time' then they actually do. (This is not a bad thing. I loved Finn in particular.) But I have to say that Sean Kendrick steals the show for me. From this book alone he's catapulted into my top 5 favorite characters and it's almost hard to describe why. Sean is a man of few words, but not in what you might consider a typical broody, leaning against the wall with smoldering eyes sort of way. He's honest, doesn't need much to live on, but he feels so intensely that it's difficult for him to interpret what it could mean.

The interactions with Puck and Sean in this book had me in tears and smiling huge because they never had to yell it out or say it in big speeches or acts. It was gradual and so, so believable. Maggie's beautiful descriptive writing created two characters and made them real.

The Scorpio Races is a book that I will recommend to anyone simply because it has so much to offer. If you love characters? This book is for you. Mythical creatures? Water? Horses? Still for you. From the first sentence to the last this book is, page by page, full of emotions and adventure for you to experience. Just read it slowly, because it will end faster than you'd like.

Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: 11/15/2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 342
Source: ARC

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Dark and darker are the two colors that comprise Juliette's life. The light that streams in through the window can't quite shift her cell into day, but she can see the mountains painted against the permanent grey of the sky. She has been here for 264 days which means that she also has not spoken or interacted with anyone in just as long, although the infiniteness of time makes it feel longer. Then a boy is thrown into her cell, curious and questioning. Through the dark its difficult to see, but those blue eyes she would recognise anywhere. And suddenly those 264 days are given a new meaning.

Tahereh Mafi is a wordsmith. Reading Shatter Me was like reading a composition of my favorite words in the precise order I would have loved to read them. There is prose and there is prose that is so much like poetry the way that it ebbs and flows and then hits with its meaning not outright, but so subtly that the impact is even greater. And the impact here is immense considering the fact that Juliette has not spoken to anyone in almost a year, and all that she's been left with is her words and a pen. She's had time to think and roll phrases unconsciously around in her mind as she's had no one else to share anything with. For me, this immaculately crafted construction is integral to the idea of the plot. The way this is expressed is innovative, but with such a natural flow that it was a glimpse inside a character's head in a way I haven't before experienced.

While the words were instrumental in making everything believable, the characters were equally fabulous in taking the great setting given and carrying it along. It might be easy to think that for being trapped in a cell for as long as she was, that Juliette might be meek or unsure of how to reintegrate herself back into things but Juliette, however, was none of these things. If it's one thing that she knows completely is that she will not allow people to use her in any way and so we see this in everything from her posture as well as her inner and external dialogue. Because of everything she's had to go through, from even before she was locked up, she's incredibly strong in a way that had me pause to reread as I was in awe of just how well it was brought forth. In a world where a hesitant conformity has become the norm, Juliette is so very human.

There are two other characters that reflect off of each other as if they were night and day and it was really interesting to see how one was almost the inverse of the other; if he had chosen to do evil instead of good he could have almost been the other. I'm hesitant to give names or too much information because for me this was one of the best parts of the exposition. The way both of them interact with Juliette is fantastic, and like Juliette, I found myself almost wanting to know more about them both, but also found myself reeling back. I loved the terrible craftiness and brutal honesty of one and the tiptoeing sincerity of the other.

And then there's the ending, and it's one that will throw you through a loop and wonder just where else this series will (and could possibly) take you. But given the sheer uniqueness of Shatter Me, it's one you'll want to go on immediately after the last sentence. An automatic favorite and an incredible start to what promises to be a thrilling journey.

Thank you to HarperCollins for providing an ARC at NYCC and to the incredibly sweet Tahereh Mafi for signing it for me and also for speaking up for the round pegs in square holes.

Author: Julie Kagawa
Publication Date: 10/25/2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 386
Source: e-ARC

My name - my True Name - is Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn.

I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her.

My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl…

Meeting Meghan Chase was the last thing Ash could have ever expected to do - even more so when he found out she was an unknown missing daughter of the Summer Court. That is, until she became the Iron Queen and Ash found himself physically separated from the girl he had sworn his life to protect. As the last prince to the Winter throne, Ash had to make a choice: find a way to get to her or give her up entirely. His fall then began with a girl, but also a cat, sworn enemy, and a few surprises to aid him on his way. Every fall, after all, has an end.

Let me start off by saying that from the moment I picked up The Iron King and met Ash I knew that we would get on fabulously. There was something abut the way Julie wrote him with just the right amount of standoffishness that hinted that there was something hiding beyond his straight-faced façade. While he was very much part of Meghan's story, it was clear that Ash also had one of his own. One of the best things about this series has been Julie's clever usage of novellas that allow us a glimpse behind-the-scenes for some crucial moments, that, for me, made all the difference in how the characters were developed and my view of them. After Summer's Crossing and seeing Puck's POV I knew that seeing the world from Ash's head would not disappoint.

There were two aspects of this book that I loved above all else. The first being the development of the relationship between Puck and Ash. You can't hate someone as much as Ash hates Puck without first having had a really close friendship, and this is something that's explored with great success here. I will say, however, that there were some Puck moments that I found slightly overbearing ("ice-boy, ice-boy"), although that could be possibly be intentional as Ash would undoubtedly think the same after spending 24/7 with his favorite frenemy. The second is something that I don't want to spoil for you... but I have to say that I absolutely adored the ending. It's possibly one of my favorite things that a storyteller can do when done well, and it worked. There came a point about 3/4 way through that left me slightly uncertain about how I was feeling about the story and then it came out of nowhere and I was hooked. Everything clicked and made sense.

If you haven't started the Iron Fey series, now is the best possible time to do so. All four books are released and at the ready for you to dive in, and, trust me, you want to have more than one on hand because the story is perfect and thoroughly addicting. The Nevernever is an endlessly curious place full of magic and surprises, and Julie's continuing theme of exploring the human impact of the Nevernever and its continued existence from the hopes and dreams of the human world never ceased to amaze me. There's really something in this book, and all those before it, for everyone to explore and fall into.

A perfect ending to an utterly captivating series.

This ARC was received from HarlequinTeen via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Author: Jessica Martinez
Publication Date: 10/18/2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 304
Source: ARC (Thank you kindly to Simon & Schuster.)

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot... what if Jeremy is better?

Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she can't just stay away. Nobody else understands her - and riles her up - like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: she is so desperate to win, she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she's told, doing what's expected.

Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall.

Carmen Bianchi and her violin are inseparable. For as long as she can remember she's always known that her path in life goes like this: practice practice practice, win the Guarneri, impress the world of classical music, and afterward continue to tour and play venues such as Carnegie Hall. Already having won Grammys and several recording contracts, it almost seemed a certainty. Until it wasn't.

Other than books, music is what I live for. And while listening to music is astounding, being able to create that music yourself - well, there are no words for that feeling. Reading this book brought me back to every moment on stage, and for that alone it was worth it. One of my favorite things about Virtuosity, as a musician also, is that violin is never referred to as 'the violin', as that would imply a sense of distance between Carmen and her violin that does not exist. This phrasing continues throughout the story and every single time I saw that I just about burst into a smile. That's how you know the author fully gets music.

The flow of the story worked quite well for me, as in the beginning, we figure out that Carmen's mother, Diana, herself was an opera singer until she had to receive surgery on her throat that rendered her voice incompatible. It was strange to have Carmen's narrative voice refer to her mother as 'Diana' until later on I realised it felt like a distancing measure; while Diana was her mother, she was more so a manager and a stage parent. Throughout the story you get to see a transition of Diana's role from one end to the other, and to me it was almost as if Carmen thought that her mother would never do anything terrible, but this Diana possibly could.

This helped me to understand Carmen a lot better as well, as she's been home schooled and hasn't had the chance to experience the things that other people her age would have gotten to do. So when she finally meets the elusive Jeremy King she's shocked that he's not at all like she is, and wholly different than what she expected. The real person dynamic between Carmen and Jeremy was refreshing, and while reading I had the impression that I was getting to explore new things along with them, and never felt like I could anticipate what their outcome would be. Theirs is a story I would like to know more about.

Virtuosity is a book that's not just about music, but about exploring your choices and having the ability to figure out that everything isn't quite set in stone. That said, Virtuosity is one that I think that anyone could pick up and really fall into - and if you have ever played an instrument, particularly a string instrument like I have, then I imagine that this book and you have an upcoming date.

Author: Robison Wells
Publication Date: 10/04/2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 356
Source: e-ARC

Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.

He was wrong.

Now he’s trapped in a school that’s surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.

Where breaking the rules equals death.

But when Benson stumbles upon the school’s real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape—his only real hope for survival—may be impossible.

Having lived his live moving from foster home to foster home, the opportunity to attend Maxfield Academy was like waving the rare golden ticket in front of Benson Fisher. The fact that the school was so far apart from everything in the New Mexico desert was curious, but seemed like a fair trade-off for a chance at an opportunity for a good education and perhaps even a chance to make some friends. Benson soon found himself dropped off in front of the school's entrance and it was only as driver of the car sped away without even getting out that he noticed the children staring down at him from the windows of the school. Something was wrong.

It's going to be difficult to write this review without doing two things: gushing about how much I loved it and trying desperately to avoid mentioning anything spoilery. The school, completely run by the children living there, is for all intents and purposes a prison. The students are told when and what to eat, what to wear and what to learn. Tasks within the school are divided among the three groups, and access to the outside is extremely limited. Food and supplies mysteriously appear and there are cameras everywhere, monitoring not only their movements but what they say and who they say it to. The peace between the groups is untenable, with the children stepping delicately on eggshells to maintain the status quo.

Benson Fisher, a character after my own heart, is not fond of the status quo. As he is the most recent addition to the student body, his acceptance of the goings on at Maxfield is happily lacking. He didn't come all the way here to be subjugated, and he wants answers. The answers he gets are shocking and completely unexpected. The more that I read, the more I braced myself to not being able to predict anything in the best sort of way. The supporting characters here are plentiful and stand up well in supporting the story as it unfolds. The tagline though, for Variant is completely apt: trust no one.

Variant is a book that I carried around with me everywhere and never wanted to put down. If you're looking for a riveting story that will shock and keep you on your toes then this is definitely one for your shelf. While there is a cliffhanger ending, if book two were available on Goodreads to add to my TBR it would already be there. Benson's journey is only yet beginning.

This ARC was received from HarperTeen via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.