A Straight Line to My Heart

A Straight Line To My Heart by Bill Condon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A Straight Line To My Heart is a cute, little book.

It's a snapshot of a week of Tiff's life, right after she graduates. She lives in Gungee Creek - a place where nothing ever happens - together with her foster father, Reggie, and her foster brother, Bull. For the foreseeable future, Tiff is going to start a sort of internship at a local newspaper, hoping it will lead to a cadetship and then to a proper job.

But it's not so much what happens in this book that really matters because truly, you might find the plot too simple, even a bit banal and certainly predictable.

What makes this book worth reading are the clever dialogues and the characters we meet in the course of the story.

Case in point: the dialogue.

I originally wanted to rate this book 3 stars until I got to this passage where one of the characters shows up at the MC's door and gives her this note:

I like you but you mightn't feel the same way about me, and I wouldn't blame you. To save us both from any awkward moments I've figured out an easy way to do this. Nod if you're even slightly interested in getting to know me. Write a ten page explanation if you're not.

I laughed for half an hour and I think it's brilliant. I wish it had happened to me.

Also, even though I am not Australian - but I have read my fair share of Aussie YA lately - I can feel this book as truly Australian. Not only in the settings, but mainly in the dialogue, the banter and the sense of humor. It's not about kids who plan to go to Harvard, it's about kids who finish high school and don't have a clue about what job they'll end up getting.

Or, in Tiff's words:

I'm not into class, I'm into people.

As is this book.

It's into people. It focalizes mainly on family, friendship and love with a pleasantly realistic insight and with a good sense of humor. It's a light read, but definitely not shallow in any way. Tiff's voice is very distinctive and real and what is all the more interesting is that the author of this voice is a man. I don't think I have read many books where a male author was successful in portraying a female voice like in this one.  

My main complaint with A Straight Line To My Heart is that it's far too short. I loved the characters and I wish I'd spent more time with them and got to known them a bit better.  It definitely left me wanting for more, even though I have to confess, the ending is just brilliant as it is.     

Definitely recommended, as far as Aussie YA goes, this is one of the good ones.



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I'll Be There

I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


3.5 stars


I'll Be There is a modern fairy tale.
It reads like a fairy tale and it's got the tropes of a fairy tale, though revisited in a modern key.

It is the story of Sam and Emily.
Sam, our modern male Cinderella, has been on the road with his little sick brother for as long as he can remember, obliged by their psychotic father to live a miserable life, not going to school, kept out of society.
Emily is just a regular small town girl, reserved, introverted.
But when Emily is obliged by her father to sing a solo in church and sees Sam sitting on the back pew, something in the cosmic order of things shifts and their encounter will trigger a series of events which will change, once and for all, not only Sam, Riddle and Emily's lives profoundly but the lives of all people who will get caught in this devastating snowball effect.

I'll admit straight away that I liked this book against my better judgement.
Said judgement was purely based on emotional reasons, namely on the character of Riddle Border. If I had to choose a kid to adopt, this kid would be like him. His thoughts, his story, his drawings, the world seen through his eyes were the best part of the story for me and the main reason why I liked this book. I recommend you to read I'll Be There if only for Riddle.

When I look at it  with my analytical skills though, there are various things which didn't convince me or didn't care for.

The first, is the writing style. To tell you the truth, it is pretty much in line with my first statement, that is that this is a fairy tale. Simple, concise, direct. But it unnerved me. I felt like the author was trying to talk to me like you would to a little kid, presenting facts in a linear order, making it simple for my simple mind. I am sure this might appeal to some people but I really didn't care much for it. Now, had the story been narrated from Riddle's point of view, it would have made sense. But for a third person omniscient, I felt like I was talked down to.

Second, Sam and Emily's story. You can call it heart-breaking, touching, whatever you want but the truth is that, like in fairy tales, it was insta-love and not even well developed, at that. I would have loved for the author to have written more scenes for them, to justify Emily's heartbreak or Sam's attraction.
Same goes for Emily's parents. What made them literally fall in love with the two kids? Was it only because Sam has a natural talent for the guitar?

Third. The I'll Be There theme. It was way, way, way, way too corny for me.

Finally, the villain. Well, there were two villains actually. Clarence Border is well portrayed and believable. He is a psycho and as the story unfolds, I really wanted him to burn in hell. He scared the crap out of me, but that means emotional involvement on my part and that is a good sign.
But what about Bobby Ellis? The more subtle villain? He is ok in the first part of the book, ok meaning I can understand his behavior. What happens to him on Prom Day was just downright childish though, like a deus ex machina taking revenge on him for his bad behavior.

So, if I consider how I feel towards this story, I can probably say this book succeeded in its effort: in the second part, it won me over and I felt my eyes getting misty. The story is sad, touching, heart-breaking if you will, and enjoyable all in all. Many will like it.
BUT keep in mind this is a FAIRY TALE, don't look for too many logical connections or overused clichés, let yourself be taken from the flow of emotions and you'll love it.





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Wanderlove

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If right now, at age 35, I had to choose my nostalgia book of all times, I'd choose Wanderlove.

It was almost physically painful to read.

A forewarning though: if you are not the adventurous type, are not and never were interested in traveling with a backpack, but on the contrary think it's highly dangerous and unhygienic and are not interested in the nuances of this bohemian life, this might not be the book for you.

Bria Sandoval has just turned 18. It's the summer between her graduation and her college entry.

Only, there is no college. She has applied at the renowned Art School in California but, for some reason she is not going. Because you see, Bria is an artist who's lost the passion to draw. To make things even worse, she's just been dumped by her (artist) boyfriend, Toby.

In an attempt to snap out of this impasse, Bria decides to travel to Guatemala with a tourist group called Global Vagabonds. But once there, she meets Starling and her enigmatic brother Rowan, who convince her to ditch her group and her suitcase and travel with them as a backpacker for the remaining days of her holidays.

On the road from Guatemala to Belize, jumping from a chicken bus to a water taxi, lost in a market or simply lost in translation, Bria is forced to put to the test her confidence, her trust, her talent but most of all she will need face all her issues, free herself of her constrictions and of her past and just live the moment.

The reason why I loved this book is pretty obvious: it took me back in time. The places were not the same but the narration has such an unmistakable taste of reality that I really connected. Clearly, the author is speaking from personal experience, or she wouldn't know about wrapping backpacks with garbage bags, chicken bus ride (my worst one was from Maracaibo, Venezuela to Barranquilla, Colombia) or described a central/south American bus station so accurately. As a consequence of that, I connected well also with the characters, the "traveled" backpackers Starling and Rowan, for whom is valid the saying that "the smaller the backpack, the bigger the ego".

As for the MC, Bria, she is not very likable at the beginning. She comes out as a bit of a whiny, spoiled brat - though she kind of won me over with her "gutter water" Windbreaker - but she grows, she matures in the course of the story and, even though I wanted to kick her and her backpack straight into the Caribbean sea at one point, the dock scene with Rowan? What the f*ck was that about? Are you mad, girl?I took away 1 star only for that idiotic passage she eventually comes to her senses by the end of the book, making her a decent MC and a believable character.

I thought this book was really enjoyable, light but with a bit of depth - even social - and with a touch of exotic that makes it the perfect read for people who are looking for a bit of adventure, love, folklore and a decently written story.

Oh, and I loved the illustrations by the author in the book, an added bonus that make this story even more dreamy.

My favorite quote, which is actually a quote within the quote:

" A painting doesn't have to have a profound meaning. It doesn't have to "say" something. We fall in love for simpler reasons."

Harley Brown

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher.



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Six Impossible Things

Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It is not exactly pleasant to wake up one day and find out that:

- your father has declared himself gay and ditched you and your mother;

- your dad's business has gone bankrupt  and you and your mother are on your own without a penny to your names;

Add to that the fact that your house has been taken over by creditors along with furniture, clothes, personal belongings, EVERYTHING. You have to leave your good, private school, your friends, and swallow the bitter humiliation.

This is what happens to Dan and his mom. They would have probably ended up like bums on a road if, unexpectedly, mom's old aunt Adelaide hadn't died of old age and left them with the use of her huge house/museum.

Dan has to face a new school, new friends and new "broke" status, as well as his blooming obsession with Estelle, a girl who lives next door. All this while his mom desperately tries to start a new job to make to make ends meet and put the pieces of her life back together.

Dan is 14 going on 40. This book and I, because of him, were off to a bit of a bumpy start.

First, I had difficulties relating to his boy's voice.

Then I had difficulties with him being so young.

Then I had difficulties with him being so old inside.

Then I had difficulties with him being such a hopeless loser and a dork, then with him being a liar.

And then, after about 70 pages in in the book, I realized I had no difficulties with him at all.

Dan is an amazing voice, with a great self-deprecating sense of humor, witty, extremely intelligent and so, so mature for his age. He finds himself in a situation which would put to the test even an adult. It's not fair for a kid tormented by teen age and raging hormones to be burdened by so many responsibilities but Dan manages pretty well eventually. He completely conquered him and I ended up liking him a lot.  He's so cute I want to ruffle his hair.

And not only him. The thing about this book is that I realized I liked all the characters, they are all so well portrayed, each with their own quirks. I wish I could be Dan's mom's friend. I wish I had a dog like Howard, with a psychotherapist look.

So don't be fooled by the girly cover or by the MC's young age. Ultimately, this book is about getting your shit together when you don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, possibly with a bit a of a sense of humor.

Very funny, fresh, well written and just downright amiable, it will be hard to resist the charm of Six Impossible Things' cast of characters.

Highly recommended!

And if you're still in doubt, I forgot to mention this is Australian YA. Enough Said.





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Guitar Highway Rose

Guitar Highway Rose by Brigid Lowry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I WISH this were my favorite quote from the book:

Some ideas are not born of logic and good sense. They are made of clouds and cobwebs. They sprout from nowhere and feed on excitement, sprinkled with adventure-juice and the sweet flavour of the forbidden. The psyche moves from the realms of the ordinary and takes a delicate step towards the territories of the unknown. We know that we shouldn't and that is exactly what we do.

However. Unfortunately.

It is this:

Sometimes you think you know where you're headed. You think you know what each day will bring you. You think there will be a breath to follow this breath. It has always been that way before. You think that lunch will follow breakfast and sometime later dinner will naturally appear. You think you know that the sky is blue and the trees are green, that cats are furry and that life will go on smoothly forever like an infinite ripple of turquoise ribbon. But sometimes you are wrong.

This is to say that I might be a tad too old for this book.

It's good, don't get me wrong, and I completely understand all those 5 and 4 stars reviews.

It is perfect for teens, 14 to 16/17 y.o., I'd say.

It is perfectly appropriate for adults who have read this book in their teens and are feeling nostalgic.

It is a celebration of striving to leave the parents' nest and become your own person/identity/personality.

It is a book about fathers/mothers and children and cutting the umbilical chord.

It is a book about a roadtrip.

It is a truly Australian book.

Too bad I related more to Rosie's mother than to Rosie.

Too bad I didn't much care for the stream-of-consciousness format, or the experimental style with lists and doodles and continuous switching of point of views.

What I am trying to say is that this book is far, far from being bad and it would have been perfect for a younger me. *sigh*



Younger teens will surely love it, a mix of rebellion, angst, romance, adventure, a swoonworthy guy and hippies.

And actually, my favorite passage is this:

Dear Asher, 

[...] Grandpa and I are both well except for his new choppers. They look quite good but they don't fit properly. About three times a day I find him out in the shed rasping away at them with a file. He has to see the dentist again next week, if he has any plate left. He is persevering but I wouldn't be surprised to find the teeth shoved in the drawer one day soon.



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Suicide Notes

Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What struck me most about this book - and unsettled me, to be honest - is the brutality of it, sugarcoated by Jeff's self-deprecating irony, witticism and sarcastic outlook on adolescence. He is one of those characters I particularly appreciate in teen lit for their no-nonsense attitude, for just telling things how they are. An honest, non-emo voice.


The themes approached in this book are not light, despite seemingly narrated in a light-hearted way: teen suicide, familial dysfunctions, personal identity. The story starts with Jeff waking up in the psych ward of an hospital, after having attempted suicide. He's supposed to spend 6 weeks being treated there and to understand the reasons why he hurt himself.

Despite being told in 1st person POV, Jeff is in self-denial and does not want to acknowledge the origin of his problems or what really happened that led to him taking such a definitive and desperate action. So we, the readers, are completely left in the dark about pretty much everything that took place before him being hospitalized.

But slowly, as Jeff gradually comes around and faces the bitter consequences of what he's done, we discover bits and pieces of the puzzle that eventually will give him, and consequently us, realization of his real problem. I know this sounds really vague but it's better to discover Jeff's motives by reading this book. I really liked this narrative strategy, it spurs the reader to go on keeping the interest high and makes the discoveries all the more dramatic.


Aside from the heavy theme of the book, be warned that there are some sex scenes which put this book in the more adult section of the YA genre. Pretty graphic and raw, too. Yet, I wish this book were read by all teens and I hope by the time my kids will grow up I will still remember this book, so that I can give it to them to read.

Highly recommended.


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Past Perfect

Past Perfect by Leila Sales
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As far as YA chick lit goes, Past Perfect is a really fun book.


Chelsea, 16, comes from a family of historical re-enactors,. She lives in the town of Essex, where this kind of practice seems to be the bread and butter of the population. In fact, not only Essex has a Colonial time reenactment village, but a Civil war one as well. And they're bitter, bitter enemies. So when summer begins and Chelsea, as every year before, starts to work in the village, the time for war between the factions is on.

Torn between her unwillingness to let go of her past - namely, her former boyfriend - and her unsettling attraction to a rival re-enactor who could finally signify her moving forward, Chelsea, through a trial and error process, will be forced to put her memories and herself under scrutiny and realize what is the value of honesty and friendship.


First of all, the main idea of the book is stunningly good. Historical reenactment, how original. Well, at least for me. You see, I come from a country which holds a certain importance on the historical global scene, what with us having been here practically forever and having gone through numerous empires, barbaric hordes, a variety of popes, republics and so on and so forth.

Yet, NEVER in my life have I had the pleasure to witness a reenactment. I don't think we have them here or if we do they're very much under the radar, mine at least. I really liked that.


Secondly, the idea that our memories work selectively according to what we actually want to remember or not of an event really appealed to me. I've done (and do) that, sadly, a lot of times, just like Chelsea did with Ezra. Maybe the majority of us do it automatically, in a effort to romanticize our lives. Considering the sheer number of books I read in a year to my "escapist syndrome", I certainly have a tendency to do it.

It is exciting when you're telling someone about your recent trip to Burma or to Ushuaia, skipping the part where you got gastroenteritis or puri-puri ate you alive on a beach in Cuba, it is a bit more pathetic and not very healthy when you're talking about a relationship with your former or - even worse - present boyfriend.


Chelsea, like some other female characters that I've encountered lately (Ava in Pink for example, is not a very likable character. I really could not understand her adoration to Ezra, why she idolizes him. I did not like how she dealt with being left out of the flock. And when she finally pulls the wool away from her eyes, I did not think she deserved people forgiving her.


Yet, the book is so funny and the dialogue so brilliant that the story just sucks you in and keeps you laughing till the very last page. Chelsea, despite her feeble personality in relation to other kids her age, has an honest voice and her relationship with her father is really hilarious. The trampoline scene in the back of her yard was one of the best of the books, in my opinion.


So, if you're looking for a fresh, funny, unpretentious read spiked by historical reenactment, Past Perfect is definitely a good choice. Just make sure to tear off the completely unrelated cover first.


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Hunting Lila

Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars


This is what I can tell you about Hunting Lila:

don't go into it with too many profound, life-changing expectations. A dialogue concerning the two chief World systems it is not.

What you should expect is a lot of fun, in the form of a lot of action à la X-men,  a good deal of mystery, a paranormal element, some forevah and evah love and a swoonworthy guy.


When somebody murdered her mother five years earlier under unclear circumstances, Lila and her father moved back to England, his home country, leaving behind Lila's brother, Jack, but most of all Jack's best friend, Lila's crush of all crushes, Alex.

Lila is now 17 and gifted with some "abilities" which she barely controls. After an attempted mugging risks to turn into tragedy, Lila finally loses it and takes the first plane back to California, to her brother Jack and Alex.

But from the frying pan, Lila jumps straight into the fire.

In a whirlwind of action, Alex, black ops, Alex, kidnappings, Alex, guys with "abilities" and... well, Alex, Lila will uncover the stunning truth about her mysterious gift and the secret behind her mother's death.


So... Alex.

As I was saying, I really liked this book, it's a lot of fun. But to say that this girl is plagued by raging teen hormones would be a serious understatement. By half book, I was kind of smiling benignly at Lila for spending 99.9% of her time, while in absurdly dangerous situations, lusting after Alex. They're trying to kill you girl, get a grip, for chrissake. He's hot, I agree, but she describes his eyes with stroboscopic effects.

Also, I thought Lila was very puerile to be 17. She really did not sound like a girl that age but much more immature. A tad whiny and with serious concentration issues.


Still, this is a book I'd recommend because you will find it hard to put down, fast-paced and funny. The perfect read to kick back on your couch after a long day of work and relax, for a few hours of thoughtless, unadulterated fun.


Will surely pick up the next book, I want to see how she keeps up the romance.



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Tracking the Tempest (Jane True #2)

Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm already halfway through the third installment while writing this review so I'll just make some quick considerations and go back to Tempest's Legacy and my work in progress.

Strong points:

-This series is seriously addictive. Considering three books are already published and the fourth is coming out soon, I just could not let the next book be. I have to know what happens. Especially in the romance department, I think all readers who, like me, have gone through this series, at this point were just waiting for the serious hooking up to happen.

-I just love the sense of humor and the pop culture references in this book. I am aware many people might find it idiotic but then shut this book and go read War and Peace for god's sake. This is, as I already said in my previous review of this series, Urban Fantasy that actually makes fun of its own clichés and doesn't take itself too seriously.

-Jane is a great character. I love the way she doesn't know what she is doing most of the time ("I've always been of the turn tail and flee persuasion"), how she is easily sidetracked by her own romantic thoughts and libido ("I wanted to pass Iris notes signed Jane Barghest. I wanted to write ANYAN LOVES JANE on my geography book, if I were still in geography classes. I wanted to play MASH with him as my only "husband" option".) but I also love how her character is developing or to use her words once more "I still had a lot to learn, but I was really, really excited to grow into the woman I glimpsed lurking on the horizon"

And then this gem I can't help but quote:

"The thing is Iris, I've never liked the idea of compromise. In films and in stories, people who love each other - really love each other - make horrendous sacrifices. They give kidneys, they move across the world, they DIE. Or become the undead, because you know I like that sort of book. Basically, the heroine's lover calls, and she answers. Which is stupid. You know why?
Iris shook her head.
"Because he's always fucking calling."

Weak points:

-The romance, which is also strictly tied to the third point of the above list: Jane. I grew more and more irritated with Jane in the course of this book because of the way she was handling her relationship with Ryu. I mean, we all knew that Ryu wasn't there to stay and we all know who the next beau is going to be. Still, I thought Jane was a bit of a bitch to Ryu. True, he's got his own agenda and he is not a "diamond in the rough" character (yes, we're STILL watching Aladdin) but I didn't think he deserved all the accusations that Jane threw at him, considering the fact that she is ALSO totally taking advantage of him.  I need, once again, to quote Ryu from Tempest's Legacy to express accurately what I think of Jane's behavior:
...Because I think you're using what I did to get rid of me for reasons that have nothing to do with actually happened. You say I play games. Fine, I know I do; it's who I am. But I think you do, too. You're just not aware of them. For once, be honest with yourself. Even if you can't be honest with me.
Eloquently put, she is being a bitch.

-The sense of humor and pop culture references are still there, albeit LESS. Contrary to all other fellow reviewers, I think I still like Tempest Rising slightly better than this book, as this one is a bit more in line with the classic parameters of other UF novels.

Ok my considerations weren't so quick after all. Back to Tempest's Legacy


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Tempest Rising (Jane True #1)

Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think it is important to approach this book with the right expectations.

If you think you will read some kick-ass Urban Fantasy with a strong heroine à la Kate Daniels, forget about it and go pick up something else with a lot of steel and leather on the cover because, really, what did you expect from a book with THIS cover?

On the contrary, if you like rather grotesque stories with a twisted sense of humor and the OPPOSITE of a kick-ass heroine, this might be just right up your alley.


Jane is from Rockabill, Maine. She works in a bookshop, lives with her father and is a swimmer. She is well-known in town because she is the daughter of a woman who suddenly disappeared 20 years earlier, abandoning her and her father, and also for being involved in the death of her boyfriend Jason, in a weird suicide-rescue attempt case.

But when, during a swim, she finds the (murdered) body of a villager she knew, she becomes unwillingly involved in a mystery which will lead to the truth about her (supernatural) origins and which will make her fear for her life.


This is a book in which the Main Character is fundamental. If you don't like her persona, her continuous internal monologue or her sense of humor, you will not like this book. I liked her very much. She is very different from all heroines I've encountered so far, but in a good way for me. She is a goofy character who talks about herself in a very self-deprecating way and she makes the lamest jokes. To which I laughed, of course. To me she is a very enjoyable character to whom I could relate. Thinking about the most absurd, superfluous and just downright stupid details during either highly dramatic or romantic moments? Story of my life. So I totally got her in all her goofy moments. This is also why, during the first sex scene, one of the most "off-turning" (am I making up words here?) I have ever read, I was laughing my ass off at the mention of "chesticles" and "undercarriage". I felt like I was watching The Naked Gun.Totally comic.


On the other hand, I didn't care much for Ryu. Something felt off about him and I didn't like his veiled condescending attitude towards Jane, treating her like a rare specimen of some exotic plant that he needed for his collection. But then again, it is pretty obvious Ryu is not going to stay so the author is clearly trying not to make us sympathize too much with him. I'm curious to see how she develops that.


What I liked less about this book and which led me to the 4 star rating has to do with the plot which can be summed up in two words for you: Sookie Stackhouse.

While, in my opinion, the two heroines bear close to no resemblance to each other, Jane's role in the plot, the plot itself and all that political-intrigue-at-court mumbo jumbo strongly reminded me of the Southern Vampires Mysteries.

In the second part of the book, BECAUSE of the mumbo jumbo, the narration lost a bit of its verve, and I realized that my eyes got the tendency to glaze over occasionally. Fortunately the finale, although quite predictable, opens up new territory which I will be glad to explore in the next books of the series - which I have been guaranteed that get better and better.


All in all, a good first installment to what I hope will be a fresh, filled-with-humour, supernatural-with-a-twist series for people who, just sometimes, don't like to take themselves - and what they read - too seriously.


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Dairy Queen (Dairy Queen #1)

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

....why couldn't Murdock just continue to write YA instead of delving into middle grade? Sorry, Ms. Murdock, I am not saying Wisdom's Kiss was bad but this is SO much better. Actually it was pretty great, as soon as I finished it I went online to order the other two books in the series.


All because of DJ.

DJ Schwenk is no Barbie doll. She is tall, big, strong and runs her family's farm. Despite being in high school, she is overwhelmed by the daily chores required for the normal upkeep of a farm, a burden she acquired after her father injured himself and is therefore unable to do hard work. Aside from being farmers, the Schwenks are also good at playing football and DJ is no exception. So when Brian Nelson, the quarterback of a rival school is coerced by his coach to show up at her doorstep looking for training and to help with the farm, DJ cannot but accept, hoping to teach the guy a lesson. But, as it turns out, it will be DJ to learn more than she bargained for out of this lesson, about herself, her family and the importance of communication.

So after a brief surfing interlude with Raw Blue, here goes another typical Italian national sport, football.

NOT. Football is, in Italy, just about as widespread as Mountain Dew and Starbucks (yes, you can start pitying now, we have none of those here). Consequently, my knowledge of either slang or rules related to this game is... close to zero, I'd say (I only know names of players that the Kardashians have dated so... pretty many actually).

BUT, in Dairy Queen, it didn't matter. To be honest, I have to confess that my interest got piqued and I am developing a certain attraction towards the game. But again, I think it might be all because of DJ. This book is so good primarily for its main character.

Written in first person, DJ is a truly amazing voice in the ranks of YA heroines. She is neither beautiful nor particularly brilliant but she is so honest, authentic and just.... genuine that it was impossible for me not to sympathize with her and with her predicaments. And cheer for her all the way. I mean, this girl plays football, how cool is that?

And while I would define this as a great, fresh and fast summer read (I read it at the beach and I have to say the cow cover perfectly matched with the surroundings), it is far, far from shallow. DJ's dysfunctional family and friends guide us through the rules of personal communication, familiar love and friendship beyond social strata, giving it a depth hidden behind the simple, yet clever tone and writing style.

I really enjoyed it, it pleasantly surprised me and I'm looking forward to knowing what happens to DJ next! Definitely recommended.


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Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In every novel worth its name there is an abundance of figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, oxymoron. They are part of the texture of the narration and are employed to enforce the first rule of Writing 101, which is to show and not to tell.


I remember quite distinctly having studied rhetorical figures during my high school years in Italian classes and I knew synesthesia from such classes. I still remember one example quite distinctly taken from a poem by Pascoli: “un pigolio di stelle” – a chirping of stars. In a synesthesia you juxtapose two terms which belong to two different sensorial plains, ex. “a bitter smell”.

I never, ever knew it could be – actually, the figure of speech probably comes from – a neurological condition.

In this book, at least in the first part, such figures of speech not only abound, but are the foundation on which the whole novel is based.


Alison wakes up in a mental ward. She barely remembers what led her to being committed, except that she’s had a mental breakdown and that she probably has murdered her high school nemesis by…. disintegrating her.

With the help of Faraday, a fascinating therapist, she will discover the truth behind her unlikely condition and what really happened the night she does not remember.


This book is, without a doubt, the weirdest I have read in a long time. It starts off as one genre and then, three quarters into it, completely turns into something else. And when I say weird I mean that it’s like you’re reading a scene from  Wuthering Heights and Martin McFly on the Delorean comes stealing the scene. That kind of weird.

But I’d rather not talk about the plot or the characters any more because it’s really better if you go into this book by not knowing anymore that what I already said.


I am still not sure I completely appreciated the plot twist and probably never will make up my mind. I really, really liked the first part and for me it was a 5 star all the way but all of a sudden… the plot takes a weird turn, the register drops, the figures of speech disappear and… you might or might not like it. It still deserves a solid four stars in my opinion, the writing is extremely good, well worth reading this original story but I have to confess that to me it kind of stopped making sense from a certain point on.

In fact, the question that was in my mind while reading and that honestly I still haven’t completely discarded is: is Alison an unreliable narrator?

To me this question is still open, and since I am pretty sure there is going to be a – or maybe multiple – sequel/s to this YA book which certainly deserves a special attention and that deviates from “the usual”, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.


Definitely recommended, the writing is exceptional.



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Deadline (Newsflesh #2)

Deadline by Mira Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

It's been difficult to formulate coherent thoughts after finishing this book yesterday. There's a tangle of things I liked and things I didn't like. Sometimes these things even overlap and I both liked them and didn't at the same time. How odd.
The one sure thing is that I liked this book a little less than Feed . First of all because this book had me less emotionally involved than its predecessor and secondly, because of some elements in the plot which did not convince me fully.

It is very difficult to write a review without giving away major spoilers for Feed, so I think that if you haven't read it, you should just stop reading this now, do yourself a favor and go get yourself a copy. It's worth it, I promise, even if you're not a zombie lover.

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MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!



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The story picks up one year after the tragic events which led to Georgia's death. Shaun has become the head of After the End Times management but is still undeniably mourning for his sister and might be well on the way to losing his sanity. He's a broken man. Not only does she talk in his head but she appears to him, giving him a piece of her mind. And we all know how bossy Georgia was - I would have lost my mind, too.
Things get complicated when, at the AET headquarters' doorstep, appears Kelly, a CDC scientist we met in Feed and who is supposed to be dead to the world. She brings with her disconcerting news about the suspicious mortality rate of people with reservoir conditions of KA - namely, people like Georgia.
Through a series of startling discoveries, the guys start to unveil a humongous intrigue that goes well beyond Georgia's death and the events of the Rhyman campaign and who are doomed, once again, to change their lives forever - if they are going to survive at all.

The first main feeling after reading a Mira Grant's book for me is to feel like a total idiot. Not because of the sobbing or because the books are intense - which they are - but because I just feel totally ignorant and with a headache. When reading, I feel like I am always a step behind, both with the info provided and with the plot, never quite catching what is actually going on until it's clearly explained by one of the characters and sometimes... not even then. My random thoughts would be: WHAT??? but...HOW???? WHY? *pulls hair and starts flipping pages back*
You might be smarter than me and keep up perfectly with everything and link everything to sentences written 100 pages earlier but I didn't and boy, did I get a headache. It was like doing Sudoku for me. I'm a lost cause.
Also if you, like me, thought that you were done with the infodump after Feed, think again. This time, the virologist in you will be delighted by the amount of info on Kellis-Amberlee that you will have to digest. Very educative. Very detailed.
It is because of this level of detail that the whole cloning matter stands out like a sore thumb.
I really, really wish Grant had dedicated a bit more time to explain how cloning works. Aside from the fact that it is illegal in this futuristic world as well as in ours, how do they get to grow an adult person in a year? How come the clone retains the memories of the person it's been cloned from, how is that possible?? The body is new but the mind is the same?? The soul migrates? Didn't it say that the "original" holds the copyright on the soul? (and that's BS by the way but I won't even go into that).

The other main gripe I had about the plot are the two totally pointless suicide missions the guys took to the CDCs. I didn't see rhyme nor reason in these two events, especially the first. It felt like they were just doing stupid things, no plan, just to drive around and then go back to Maggie's place - which also brings out the question of how nobody ever thought about looking for them there. Because in their blogs they said they were somewhere else? That's all?

I also said, in the beginning of this review, that I was less emotionally involved with this book. Feed caught me unaware and left me desolated. I felt so sorry for what happened, it's incontestable Grant knows what she is doing when she wants to make you feel like sh*t. This time around though, apart from one dreadful revelation fairly early in the book that Georgia could have been saved, I was left rather... politely interested, that's all. Not even the end stunned me.

Finally, and this annoyed me to NO end, if in the next book I will find more references to a) coffee, b) the acidic sweetness of Coke and c) that bloody motorcycle, I might as well start screaming. Enough said, you know what I am talking about if you've read the book.

These are basically the reason why I hacked off 1 and 1/2 star from the rating. Truth is, I liked the book close to very much and you bet that I am going to read Blackout when it comes out next year. Actually next June can't come soon enough. I invested so much of my brain cells in these series that I HAVE to see what happens. I consider this middle book a transition and I am eager to see what Grant is going to concoct for the final installment.

A must-read if you enjoyed Feed.






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Feed (Newsflesh #1)

Feed by Mira Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I started reading this book with all the wrong expectations: I thought it would be YA and that it would be about zombies.

As already stated in endless reviews before mine, zombies do not represent the lion's share in this book.

Nor is it YA lit.


The year is 2039. Society as we know it has changed profoundly. Due to the combination of two potent "vaccinations", one meant to cure colds and the other cancer, a new virus had developed and has affected the whole world population. Side effects? Once you die, you become a zombie.

Georgia and Shaun Mason are bloggers, which in the new society is equal to journalists. When they are chosen as official press to follow the Republican candidate for the presidential campaign, they think they've won the jackpot, the possibility to become popular Alpha bloggers.

Except that someone is trying to sabotage the campaign and, as their popularity increases, so do the risks of being involved in a dangerous political intrigue which might be more than what they've bargained for.

As I said, this book is not strictly about zombies. To me, it felt more like a legal thriller à la John Grisham, except with journalists instead of lawyers. The world-building is very detailed and complicated, both in relation to the insurgence and development of the virus and to the blogging tech details. So much so that this book really made feel like a Neanderthal of computers and tech devices, I felt like I still haven't discovered the wheel.

Directly proportionate to the detailed world building, is the infodump. There's a lot of info in this book to digest and I'm not sure I always liked the way the author introduced it. As the story develops, she throws in names and events - especially court cases, laws or names of public people - as if they're taken for granted, letting the characters explain later on the references she made. I have to admit this strategy she used was a bit unnerving. (And by the way, is the Cruise in the Cruise -Gore previous presidential campaign who I think it is?)

Also, but probably this was mainly my fault, I thought this book was YA. Automatically, I inferred my main characters to be teenagers. Wrong. They're closer to 25 years old. As I realized this, I was already well into the story and I had a hard time readjusting all my "visual picturing" of the action. I think the author should have probably made it clearer from the beginning. Probably, I got tricked by the fact that Georgia and Shaun were still living with their parents, a normal fact  for the place where I come from, but maybe not in the US - though post-apocalyptic. Also, Shaun totally acts like a teenager (a 24 year old man acting like a kid? Never heard of one before. Never. I swear).

Georgia. Georgia is our main character for about 90% of the book, as the story is told from her POV. And I spent 90% of the book deciding whether I liked her or not. Most of the time she is so badass she turns into an arrogant bitch. She resents her adoptive parents for exploiting them (hate to break it you, Georgia, but there's much, much worse), she is cold but whines in her head.

Other times though, she would surprise me with her unconditional loyalty to Shaun (and was it only me who thought their relationship bordered on morbid?) and her moral integrity or she would win me over by citing Shakespeare out of the blue - "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" is one of my favorites quotes ever.

Reflective of her personality, the tone of the narration is pretty aseptic for a good part of the book. Her character is based on truth, and truth we get, but not much emotion.

But don't think that this book will easily make forget itself. As the intrigue unravels, the plot will suddenly turn and punch you in the face unmercifully. The narration will become so intense, you will feel miserable and unable to put down the book. Believe me, I shed some tears and I rarely do.

So. I strongly recommend reading this book because I liked it very much and I think that so will you. It's not for everybody. It's not romance. There is not really a HEA. But even if you're not a zombie lover, this book is one of the good ones.

The sequel Deadline is already out.


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Unearthly (Unearthly #1)

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars.


It's been 2 days since I finished the book and I haven't written a review earlier because I couldn't make up my mine whether to give it 3 or 4 stars. So I settled for the half star.

Unearthly is the story of Clara, a 17 year old quarter-angel girl. That is, she is the daughter of a half-angel, a Nephilim, who then married a human and procreated an (actually two, Clara has a brother Jeffrey) offspring with one quarter angel blood. In this reality where angels exist, their scope in life is to fulfill a purpose, a task which is given to them in order to... well, we actually don't really know WHY there is a task and what happens if one does not complete it. Clara gets her purpose by means of a vision and she and her family set off to Wyoming to look for this boy, Christian, who Clara sees in her vision and that she apparently has to save from a fire.

There were quite a few things that I liked about this book. It deals with a completely unoriginal theme in YA - angels and fallen angels -  in a fairly original way. Clara is a regular teenager, quite unaware of being an angel until she reaches her teen years and this mysterious purpose was quite interesting. No guardian angels but one-time tasks which hold the meaning of your existence in one single act.
Unfortunately though, the lack of information about this whole purpose managed to mildly irritate me. What happens once you complete your task? You retire? You get to live a normal life as an undercover superhero and you get to keep your wings and fly to work? Are angels mortal or immortal? Clara's mother is more than a century old, yet Clara says more than once that, under certain circumstances, she can die.

What I really liked about this book were the writing style - which was smooth, with nice, snarky dialogues -  and characterization. In my opinion, these are the two strong points about of this book, so much so that I think I would have liked even more if Cynthia Hand had written something WITHOUT the paranormal element. A plain YA book, to be clear.
Of all the characters, I particularly liked Clara's mom and Tucker. I know, I know, Tucker is Mr. Perfect, but still. I would have given my right arm to have such a cowboy as a 17th birthday present, thank you very much. I would have loved to be in Clara's shoes for the summer, hiking around, fishing and picking huckleberries with Tucker in the woods. And thanks to Hand's writing style the scenery is stunning, I really could picture it all. Leave broody Christian in New York, who cares? I cheer for the hottie with the cowboy hat.

The relationship between Clara and her mom felt real. For once, we get a parent who's there for her kids, mysterious as she might be. Much is left undisclosed about Clara's mother but I am sure everything will come out in the sequels. Why is she so secretive about her own purpose? Why is she telling Clara NOTHING? Why is she always tired and does she really have a job with Apple in California? Even with all these questions hanging her character was well developed and likable.

So yeah, without getting into too much detail, I mainly liked the characters and the setting. As for the plot, even with no cliffhanger (thank god for small things) at the end, it still feels incomplete and with lots of loose ends. I am full of questions: what's the deal with Clara's father? Something is off there. What's the deal with Angela's trip to Italy? Why is the Italian lover (and once again I won't even start about the role of Italy in these paranormal books) mentioned and then never brought up again? Is Angela good or bad, since the whiteness of her wings is debated on more than once? What is the real deal with Christian?
I will be reading the next book for sure even though I'm really getting fed up with these series... I have to wait a YEAR now? I vote for more standalones.










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Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What a distressing, distressing book.


My first reaction after reading the last page was DISSECTION. I wanted to put this book on my cutting board, nicely slice it into three neat parts, set aside the first and third parts which are keepers, chop the middle into tiny, tiny pieces and throw them to the pigeons who lurk outside in my gardern waiting for something to eat.
Ah, the frustration!

But let's start with what I found amazing. I fell in love with the world building. The Oriental setting is a total winner for me and I felt catapulted into this mix of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha kind of world. Lovely. I loved how the author used the dragon element in relation to the story. I am getting a bit weary of the whole Eragon's approach to dragons, so this new cut was really welcome. True, the world Goodman creates is pretty articulated and not really easy to digest at first but eventually I got used to it and I stopped asking myself questions on how the dragons' system worked.
Also, the whole transgender theme was appreciated, even though this brings me to the shredding of pages.

What really irked me, what frustrated me in the middle section, were the characters. No, scratch that. Just one. I could have strangled Eon on various occasions. Eon is, evidently, not the sharpest tool in the shed. The whole thing with the Sun drug and the ghost tea? I think 100% of readers realized what was wrong with it after about 100 pages. But Eon/a distressingly and quite stubbornly keeps on f*cking up for about another 350 pages. WTF??? I'm not sure she deserved what she got. If I had been her dragon, I would have incinerated her by page 200.

EVENTUALLY, she painstakingly realizes what had been clear to the whole wide world for a while but yeah, she's not the most likable of characters in my opinion - slow on the uptake, a coward and quite the liar. And with her behavior, she gets killed a few people and puts EVERYBODY in deep sh*t.

Still, great book, great story and hopefully Eon/a will redeem him/herself in the sequel that I already ordered.





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