"Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly - they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced." Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

The title is a true statement: my favorite book of all time, Aldous Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD, is a banned book. It has consistently stayed in the ALA's top ten of books that people across America have tried to keep out of libraries, schools, and the hands of people nationwide.

The ALA cites the complaints as being: insensitivity, nudity, racism, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit. (For the record, I'm not sure as how a story can be accused of nudity.) BRAVE NEW WORLD, for those who haven't read it, is a story centered around a character named Bernard Marx who lives in perfect society constructed by World Controllers. Separated into genetically created societal levels, people are raised and trained to love their level's role in society. Bernard questions this dystopic utopia, and Huxley lets the reader see the world through Bernard's eyes.

There is an irony in banning a book about controlling society.

And though my favorite book just happens to be a book that people try again and again to keep out of people's hands and heads, my favorite book would preferably be one that was never banned.

As someone who writes (I'd hesitate to call myself a writer just yet), I know how much heart and blood and soul is poured into every choice of word, punctuation, and sentence structure that a book comprises. Of the elation that is the feeling of sharing it with others and maybe, just maybe, it will make someone smile. It will make them think and hold a meaning to them and a different meaning for someone else. The beauty of words is that they are fluid: a book doesn't contain a message, but how people read between the lines can leave the option of there being something for everyone.

I was a reader long before I read this book. Aldous Huxley didn't give me books. But he just may have given me something greater. BRAVE NEW WORLD helped me to question and think and wonder why. To the courses I study at university, to my preferred genre of fiction (dystopian), to my love of words and wanting - and hoping - to share them with you all. The belief that I can and the knowledge that it is okay to.

I thank Aldous Huxley.

And I am deeply saddened by the idea that there are other people out there that might be able to connect so well with a book but who no longer have the chance. These individuals might never meet their Aldous Huxley. They might never experience the wonder of their BRAVE NEW WORLD.

R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.

But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

Laura Lam was raised near San Francisco, California, by two former Haight-Ashbury hippies. Both of them encouraged her to finger-paint to her heart’s desire, colour outside of the lines, and consider the library a second home. This led to an overabundance of daydreams.

She relocated to Scotland to be with her husband, whom she met on the internet when he insulted her taste in books. She almost blocked him but is glad she didn’t. At times she misses the sunshine.

PANTOMIME will be published by Strange Chemistry with a release date of 5 February 2013.

(And, guys, I am seriously looking forward to this. I used to disavow circuses entirely, but THE NIGHT CIRCUS changed that for me. Thank you, Erin!)

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.

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event courtesy of Breaking the Spine that showcases much anticipated upcoming releases.

from goodreads: 02/05/2013

Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. Nisha makes her way as Matron’s assistant, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city’s handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.
Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls’ deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but her own life.

I've heard such amazing things about this book already. I love the title and how it paired with the cover lend itself to such an impression about the story. Nisha lives on an abandoned estates with other orphan girls, and the titular reference here to a thousand dolls is powerful. This is a book I can build up and imagine in my head from just the information given, and I'm looking forward to rearranging that with the actual story. A definite pre-order.

Author: Jessica Khoury
Publication Date: 09/04/2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 394
Source: Publisher (ARC)

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home—and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Pia, perfect Pia, is a geneticist in the making deep in the Amazon. She's never read a book that wasn't science-related, has never listened to music with lyrics. Growing up having known she was the result of a successful experiment, Pia has been moulded perfectly for her future: to head a team to create more immortals like her. But Pia is a teenager, and when she discovers a means of going on the other side of the fence she takes it. So how far does the rabbit hole go? There's more than jungle waiting for her on the other end.

When I saw this was available at BEA I was a couple shades of giddy. I love books that have to deal with science - mainly with the hope that it'll be pulled off - and knowing that it was set in the rainforest my interest in this book was a no-brainer. The cover design pops in person, with the title being letter-pressed on. I'm hoping the finished copy will be a bit shimmery, because I think it'd make it really stand out on a shelf. It's taken me a while to read it, though, because I was nervous about how the story would pan out. There's a huge mental disparity at times when you set a book up so much before you actually read it.

The descriptions of the rainforest were gorgeous, and it was pleasantly clear that Khoury had done her research when writing this book. When Pia spoke or looked at a flower it was all I could do but not sniff hopefully at the air to see if the scent would float off the page from such beautiful descriptions of the blooms. Mentions of bioluminescence and the inclusion of flora and fauna native to the Amazon rounded out the stunning cast member of setting. The jungle was as much a character in the book as anything, and was perhaps my favorite.

Origin tells the story of Pia and how she deals with being immortal. Taking into account a few things such as her age, her isolation, and living with the fact that she is the only one of her kind, there was a certain measure of uncertainty from her that I expected to be translated as pride and self-awareness. That said, Pia made it difficult to like Pia. She was never someone I could really empathise with. I can't put this fully on Pia, however - though I liked many of the characters (Will, Ami), none of them really stood out enough to say that I could love them. Rather than the character being the voice of the story, it seemed that they were its vessels instead.

Two things stayed with me: one was the inclusion of instashipping between Pia and Eio as well as how Pia views herself, and the second is the role of animals in the book. I liked Pia and I liked Eio, but considering the book plays out over the span of a week, perhaps two at the most, the fact that they are harboring such intense feelings for each other kept me from believing in their interactions. If the book had ended with them perhaps on the beginning of something then everything would have been much more tightly knit for me. There were moments where Pia also defined herself as a female through the confirmation of Eio's thinking of her as a woman - I had to put the book down for a while then before coming back to it. Pia is strong on her own, she doesn't need to be seen through the lens of someone else. I would also like to mention to people considering reading this book that there may be some trigger warnings concerning animals, so please keep that in mind.

Origin is a captivating book that explores the human penchant for never-ending life as well as the consequences our actions can have. Khoury wove together a pretty compelling tale, and though I had some minor issues, she's a writer that I can only see improving with leaps and bounds as she continues.

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event courtesy of Breaking the Spine that showcases much anticipated upcoming releases.

Tim Macbeth is a 17-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is, “Enter here to be and find a friend.” Tim does not expect to find a friend; all he really wants to do is escape his senior year unnoticed. Despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “it” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim’s surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, and she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone finds out. Tim and Vanessa enter into a clandestine relationship, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher.
The story unfolds from two alternating viewpoints: Tim, the tragic, love-struck figure, and Duncan, a current senior, who uncovers the truth behind Tim and Vanessa’s story and will consequently produce the greatest Tragedy Paper in Irving’s history.

I'm a sucker for a boarding school story. And the idea of such a story told by the main protagonist's viewpoint and someone else outside of the main plot really has me excited - there are just so may ways that a removed POV can add insight into a story. Top that with what sounds like fantastic character interaction and a paper that will tell it all - I'm so completely sold.

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.

I really enjoyed writing my post touching on trends in reading and all of the discussion that came with it. I have to admit that when I first started this blog over a year ago that those were the types of things that I had in mind to write about. I want to be able to think critically about what I'm reading, share it with others, and receive feedback and new thoughts.

And so, inspired by Anita Sarkeesian's fabulous Tropes vs. Women series I'd like to try and address some topics that come up with females in young adult fiction. Though I doubt I'll be able to do it with anywhere near the aplomb that she has in discussing these concepts, I'm going to try my best to do it with as much equanimity as possible.

This is something that I've been thinking about doing for a while, and though I'm not quite sure what this is going to look like overall yet, I hope it ends up being useful to you in some way or otherwise adds meaningful discussions to an important topic.

The first idea I'd like to put out there for discussion is:
the idea of a female character as defined through a male lens.

For example, let's create the fictional character of Kate. Kate is your average seventeen year old girl. She may or may not have graduated high school yet. She may, due to plot circumstances, not be in a setting that does traditional schooling (perhaps futuristic Kate is in a dystopian political school for girls). Kate is fairly content with everything that's happening around her, but sometimes she wonders why everyone seemingly does the same job. In any case, Kate will be done soon and then she'll get to work for the government too. Right?

But then there's been a transfer from some distant government branch and a new guy is brought in. Kate and new guy work together on occasion through a cooperative program between the boys and girl schools.

At this point it's incredibly formulaic, but nothing is inherently wrong with the gender interaction.

Until Kate starts to realise that through talking with new guy that perhaps changes need to be made. She doesn't know as much as she thinks she did and new guy sees her in a way that makes her feel alive.

This - this is where the problem begins. Kate was questioning things on her own before new guy came, and his presence doesn't or shouldn't overshadow that in any way. She doesn't need to be affirmed by anyone else that what she is doing is right or wrong, and the fact that new guy helps her see herself in a 'new light' only illuminates the idea that a woman needs a man to help her make decisions about herself. This could not be any less true.

The better scenario would be where new guy offers new information for her to formulate her own hypothesis. Kate thinks and comes to conclusion on her own and acts on it. Kate gets to think independently to determine her own sense of self, while new guy is less of a plot device and more of a character I'd like to get to know.

There are endless permutations to this idea, and this is probably the number one reason I'll put a book down. As far as character romance goes, there is nothing appealing about a girl changing the way she thinks about herself for someone else. What do you think about this trope and/or Kate's situation? And if there are any other ideas or situations that you'd like to bring forward, please do in the comments! This is meant to be a series so I welcome your ideas.

Thanks, as always, for reading.