Review of Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

The Dial Press
Random House Digital

Tell the Wolves I’m Home
by Carol Rifka Brunt
5 Stars

June loves her Uncle Finn, not just as an uncle, but a best friend, godfather, and her first girlish crush. So when Uncle Finn dies from AIDS June is at a loss about how to deal with the crippling grief she feels—worse, it’s the 1980s and the world is just being introduced to the disease. Even though her uncle is a famous painter, there is a stigma attached to his death. No one seems to understand her loss or even want to talk about it until she meets Finn’s boyfriend, Toby, someone June never knew existed.  Was Toby Finn’s killer, or is he the man who can help to heal June’s heart?

Perhaps one of the reasons I connected with this novel is the fact that it was set during the 1980s. I was a teenager at this time, and I can remember when AIDS was first publicized. AIDS was terrifying, but was largely treated as a “gay” men’s disease, so many teens not only dismissed it out of hand, but mocked the victims. Religious groups saw it as a just reward for immoral behavior, and rural teens just didn’t get it. The GLBT community was very much in the dark in the 1980s—at least in my small town. Who knew that people in my community might have struggled with these issues and with this illness? The novel was enlightening and helped to reveal the struggle many families must have had not only with the disease and its devastating results, but with acknowledging the sexuality of their relatives.  June is a wonderful conduit for the themes in this novel and an endearing character. Her innocence enlightens the reader to the conflicts of the time, and also personalizes Finn and Toby.  June makes Finn and Toby human when others may not see them as sub-human. I felt the family dynamics were very important to the novel as well. I loathed June’s sister, Greta, who I thought was hateful and self-absorbed, and even at the end I wanted to smack her. But Greta is an important character, because she is what she is and June still loves her despite her cruelty and cynicism. Just like every other character in the novel, she is flawed, and yet there is still love in her and she is still worthy of love. June’s parents, her mother especially, show the embarrassment that some felt having gay relatives, and also the narrow-mindedness of forcing relatives to choose between lives. In all, the conflicts were not only real, but tragically so, and beautifully woven to create a snapshot of 1980s life. Looking back from 2013, much has changed, but perhaps not as much as we may imagine. The disease has become more widespread, not a “gay” disease at all, but sadly one that still seems to have badge of dishonor associated with it.  Perhaps the novel helps to reveal those erroneous assumptions about the disease because the truth is AIDS doesn’t discern between color or creed, sexuality, nationality or any other standard—so it’s best to realize that we are standing in its path—flawed, human, and vulnerable. We need one another, and kindness, love, patience and understanding are our best tools of defense.

Review of Die for Me by Amy Plum

HarperTeen

Die for Me (Revenants)
by Amy Plum
4 Scribbles
After the death of her parents, Kate and her sister Georgia move to live with their grandparents in France. Kate swims in depression, struggling to fit into a world without her mother and father, but then one day she sees a boy who catches her attention. Vincent Delacroix is everything a girl could want, handsome, charming, sensitive, and doting. But when Kate finds out that Vincent isn’t a normal teenage boy, she isn’t sure she can stand to love him.

This novel has much in common with the Stephanie Meyer Twilight saga. Girl moves to a new place, Girl meets mysterious sexy guy, Girl meets guy’s entourage and becomes best friends with Charlotte, one of the crew, Girl finds out guy is Undead, and Girl discovers she cannot live without guy. Oh, and guy has seriously dangerous enemies who will target her if they know she loves Vincent.  So, if you are a Twilight fan, you won’t be able to help loving this story. I like Twilight okay, but I’m sort of burned out on the whole vamp genre, so it was nice to see this tiresome formula have a little twist. In fact, I’ve already read the second book Until I Die and downloaded book three which just came out in May, If I Should Die. I seriously think this series will be opted for film. That being said, let’s discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the work outside of the obvious weakness, it’s a ringer for the Twilight formula.  Perhaps best of all is the unique Undeadness that Vincent suffers. He is a Revenant. This means that he has a compulsion to save the lives of humans, and once he dies for someone else, three days later he is resurrected again (we’ll just leave Christian theology out of the discussion of this novel). Thus, he isn’t immune from death, which is why Kate isn’t sure she can love him, I mean who wants to endure the death of a loved one over and over again especially when they’ve recently lost their parents (I mean, if he’s coming back though, what’s the big deal?). I’m not sure I buy that obstacle to their love entirely, but whatever. A better hurdle is the fact that Revenants have sworn enemies, Numa, who would happily destroy Kate if they knew her importance to the clan, and the fact that her wonderful grandparents would not like her dating a Revenant.  So those conflicts are well done. The characters in this novel are a huge plus. Kate isn’t especially interesting to me (perhaps because she’s a bookworm like me) but her sister Georgia is amazing and fun and quirky, and I adore the crew that Vincent rolls with.  Kate’s grandparents are classy and cultured, and that’s pretty cool. And of course, the author has so many opportunities to elaborate on the history of each character layers and layers of interest are added to the already great mystery of the story line. I also admire the way the author deals with the age issue between Vincent and Kate. I was always bothered by the fact that Bella in Twilight is dating, essentially, an old man, which makes Edward sort of a pedophile.  However, in this novel, Vincent returns to the age he was when he died, each time he rescues someone. So he is only a few years older than Kate. This is drilled into the reader by repeated pronouncements of Revenant’s ages. So, even if I might still be a tad skeptical, the author artfully brushes that concern aside, thus making the kissing scenes less, um, disturbing. Lastly, the novel is set in Paris, France. Who doesn’t want to know more about France? And if you listen to the book on audio like I did, even better. Then you get to hear the sexy French accents. So those of you YA paranormal romance lovers who like a little who-dun-it action in the mix, check this one out, you’ll be hooked!

Review of Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

Little Brown Books for
Young Readers

The Days of Blood & Starlight (Bk. 2 Daughter of Smoke and Bone)
By Laini Taylor
5 Scribbles

No one builds worlds as well as Laini Taylor—well not since Tolkien anyway. And now that Karou knows who she truly is, she is plunged headfirst into the broken world of her people, the chimaera. Filled with vengeance and righteous anger, Karou chooses to join her people in the fight against the angels—and against Akiva—in a crucial role.  But is her choice to turn her back on love worth it?

The characters in this novel are even more lifelike and vivid than in the first. It is easy to become immersed in the world of Elsewhere while reading about wolves, Naja, Kirin and winged creatures designed by Karou’s artistic hand. From Thiago’s glossy white fur and menacing eyes, to Ziri’s lithe, antelope-human body, to Akiva’s special beauty and glowing red wings, the reader is treated to a kaleidoscope of images that become virtual candy for the imagination.  And if the descriptions of the creatures and the world of Elsewhere don’t captivate the reader, then the bloody conflict certainly will. Karou and Akiva, soul mates and lovers in book one, find themselves as sworn enemies in this second installment. For Karou, this means filling Brimstone’s shoes as the new Resurrectionist and trusting Thiago, the wolf she still hates with all her being, but must follow to avenge the deaths of her people. It is a strange situation that places Karou as a sort of voluntary prisoner and amplifies the fact that the need for vengeance now controls her. Akiva, on the other hand, is ready to make amends to Karou, and to cease his killing ways, because “a drop of mercy dilutes a lake of hate.” And while there is truth in this, Karou has not had the benefit of years to heal that brought Akiva to this conclusion—thus, she has sworn to hate him.  How much will Karou be willing to endure, and how many angels will she have to kill in order to find any semblance of peace? And if both sides can come to some peace, will the physical marks of Hamas and tattoo marks of the slain on the angels’ hands, be too much of a reminder of atrocities past for the opposing sides to accept one another?

While the conflicts are heavy, bloody, and battles constant, some comic relief is thankfully present via Karou’s BFF Zuzana, now hooked up with Mic from book one. The two provide welcome foils to the newly-sworn-enemies-once-lovers Akiva and Karou. Zuzana and Mic also show an ironic tolerance for the strange creatures and help illustrate the power of music and kindness on the human (and not so human) soul. Perhaps most importantly, these two characters keep the story grounded, and add a human element to the second book which hints at the idea that humans may play a critical role in book three which I am anxiously awaiting…

Review of Hero by Mike Lupica

Puffin

Hero
by Mike Lupica
2 Scribbles

Let’s face it, the closest thing to a sport I will ever take part in is a race to the bestseller shelf at Barnes. Yet, I love how Mike Lupica can take a subject that would typically put me to sleep, like baseball and football, weave it into a cast of awesome characters, and keep me riveted to the action. The novels, Heat and Million Dollar Throw captured me for that reason, and it is because of those novels that I chose to read Hero. Sadly, however, Hero didn’t keep me nearly as glued as the others.

Zach’s dad is something of a hero, he’s the president’s right-hand man, scares the bejesus out of “The Bads” (or bad guys) and has the love of everyone around him—especially Zach—who doesn’t get to see his dad nearly as much as he’d like.  When Zach’s dad dies in a plane accident, Zach and his family are stunned, but Zach is more stunned when he discovers that his father had a secret, and now it’s up to Zach to discover what that secret was and what it has to do with Zach. Chapter one begins with butt-kicking action, but then the action slows instantly.  Zach and his friend Kate live in New York City, the city that never sleeps, and yet I was finding myself hard-pressed to stay awake while Zach explores first the plane crash site, and then the park in search of answers. Even when Zach encounters trouble and has to fight for his life, the action slows immediately after each conflict, making the story’s momentum stagger. Couple that with the fact that each conflict is followed by long, suggestive conversations between Zach’s “Uncle” John and the mysterious Mr. Herbert, and it can be easy for even the most motivated reader to stay invested in the outcome. Too little information is provided as the story moves on, and frankly, the identity of the villain and the good guy are a little too easy to figure out.  The best part of this story is Kate’s tough-as-nails attitude, and reading about what living in New York City is like for the well-to-do.  Overall, I prefer Lupica’s previous efforts.

Review of 34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues

Simon Pulse

34 Pieces of You

by Carmen Rodrigues

4 Scribbles

To be released September 4, 2012

This novel reads like The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky meets Looking for Alaska by John Green. Told in the alternating voices of Jake, Sarah and Jessie, the aftermath of Ellie's drug overdose is explored. Is Ellie’s death an accident, or did she commit suicide? When Jessie discovers a box with 34 scraps of paper hidden under Ellie’s bed she hopes it may hold the secrets Ellie could not share, and help to reveal the reason for her death.

It becomes clear early on that Ellie has been sexually abused, and this mistreatment has permanently scarred her young psyche. Yet, Ellie is not the only character riddled with scars; through the lens of Ellie's death the reader witnesses a kaleidoscope of coming-of-age experiences that accurately reflect the confusing and volatile emotions teens often face. The author expertly explores the murky and edgy waters of teen sexuality, drugs, broken families and the nature of love in this fast-moving work. Readers will applaud this somber work's realistic characters. Those who have experienced crushing grief over early death will connect to the narrative, and those who haven't will understand this grief more fully.

Review of The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison

Egmont USA

The Butterfly Clues

By Kate Ellison

3 Scribbles

17-year-old, Lo cannot walk through a door without performing a complicated routine; she collects random chatzkies and struggles to fit in socially—all elements of her obsessive compulsive disorder. Perhaps this is why, when a stripper named Sapphire is murdered in Neverland, where Lo hangs out, Lo obsesses over the case, determined to find the killer. Certainly Lo’s mental illness makes for an interesting ride; her disorder not only builds tension and conflict in the story, but it becomes a serious problem when Lo gets into dangerous spots. Lo spends a lot of time in Neverland, outside of Cleveland, a place with seedy strip clubs, crack houses, and drug-addled artists. Lo counts herself as one of these misfits; her parents have hardly noticed her since the death of her older brother years ago, and in Neverland she doesn’t have to hide her rituals from anyone—especially not from Flint, the handsome, eccentric artist who agrees to help her find Sapphire’s killer. But as the strange and sometimes over-the-top coincidences stack up, Lo discovers that her obsession to solve Sapphire’s death may have nothing at all to do with her mental illness. While necessary to the story, sometimes Lo’s rituals become tedious for the reader, and the novel concludes on a very rosy note. Otherwise, the identity of the killer is hard to predict, and this makes the work a solid read.

Review of Skinny by Donna Cooner

Scholastic

Skinny

By Donna Cooner

3 Scribbles
To be released Oct 1, 2012

Any time Ever sees her father, her gorgeous stepsisters, her stepmother, her classmates, or anyone else for that matter, she knows they are thinking about the elephant in the room—and that elephant is Ever. She weighs 302 pounds and is 15 years old. Will gastric bypass surgery help Ever win her crush, Jackson, and stop the embarrassment and isolation she feels every day?

Ever is a difficult character to embrace at first. She is plagued by a constant inner voice she dubs her fairy godmother, Skinny; Skinny’s voice is brutal, nagging and mocking Ever’s weight with hateful insults on a constant basis. Thus, Ever is also hateful, slinging snarky comments and sarcasm in her path wherever she goes, even to those who don’t deserve them. However, as the novel progresses, the reader begins to realize that Ever’s bitterness is all a front. What she really wants is to find friends, find love, and to fit—whether that be in her clothes or in her school—and right now she doesn’t fit anywhere. With the support of her dad and her best friend Rat, Ever chooses weight loss surgery, and through that experiences she begins to discover where her pain comes from. Without the band aid of food, Ever must now begin first grieving her mother, and then grieve food. Only then can her soul’s true beauty shine. Although Susan Vaught’s My Big Fat Manifesto presents an outside perspective of weight loss surgery, Cooner’s novel explores heretofore untouched territory of a teenager’s personal journey with gastric bypass. And while the humor falls flat in some places, and the romantic angle is predictable, teens struggling with personal overweight, or teens supporting a friend with these issues will enjoy the book. It is a timely story about the definition of true beauty, and for those who hate fairy tale retellings, no worries here, this tale is only loosely based on the Cinderella original.

Review of A Monster Calls: Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd (audio version)

Candlewick

A Monster Calls: Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd (audio version)

by Patrick Ness

5 Scribbles—a marvelous tribute to the memory of author Siobhan Dowd

Conor has a dark, shameful secret. It is the kind of secret he cannot share—even with his beloved mother, who is now very weakened by her battle with cancer. But some nights, right after midnight, a Monster appears in the midst of Conor’s room—and the Monster knows Conor’s secret. When the Monster comes walking, will Conor’s secret be revealed?

Conor’s mother is suffering through continuous bouts of chemotherapy, and Conor must take care of himself at home and at school—where the truth about his mother has alienated him from other students. If Conor is anything, it’s tough and stoic, which is why it isn’t hard to believe that when the Monster first appears to Conor, he isn’t frightened at all—in fact, the Monster, as gnarly, as sinister, as powerful as it is, doesn’t encounter Conor’s fear, but his defiance. Readers can easily empathize with Conor. Faced with his mother’s death, there isn’t much else that can scare him, so—bring it. And the monster does bring it, but not through the power of his huge, earth-encrusted fists, or his thick, ropey calves, or his booming, angry voice. No, the Monster brings the fear little by little, through stories that reveal truth. Little, tricky, unfair, ironic truths that tickle the back of Conor’s thoughts and beliefs, that threaten to challenge his idea of what is fair, stories that ultimately bring Conor to the brink of despair.

There is much to admire in this story: the occasional humorous dialogue that reminds the reader how normal and young Conor is and makes the reader laugh when they really want to sob, Conor’s rage and need to feel an outward pain as he accepts the abuse of bullies, the weight of Conor’s grief and fear of loss, the imagery of the Monster. Ness takes the archetype of the Green Man and weaves it into the story so naturally that one can see the symbols of life, nature, personal growth, and rebirth at every stage without breaking the magical tension of the story. The tale is a masterpiece, a merging of myth with present reality, with all of our human idiosyncrasies, our fears and weaknesses. Ness has created a true horror story that will haunt all who read it for years to come, and isn’t that what a truly fantastic "Monster" story does?

Jason Isaacs, the narrator of the story, does a phenomenal job with voice; he quickly changes from the ferocious Monster to the natural, boyish and sarcastic tone of Conor with ease. His female voice is also well done and credible with only a few instances where the transition is rocky. Particularly impressive was Isaacs vocal presentation of Conor’s dad, a former Brit, now ex-pat American whose accent and word choices have gone awry. I would most certainly choose a novel read by Issacs again.

Review of How to Safe A Life by Sara Zarr

Little, Brown Books
for Young Readers

How to Save a Life

by Sara Zarr
5 Scribbles

When was the last time you took a risk?

For many of us, some of our most exciting, most cherished moments in life happen when we take risks, when we step out of the accepted mold and just…jump. But Jill doesn’t have to take risks. Her life is perfect; she has the perfect boyfriend, perfect friends, perfect parents, and perfect plan for the future—until Jill’s dad dies. Now Jill’s mom, Robin, wants to adopt a baby, and she brings a pregnant girl to stay with them until the baby is delivered. Jill’s voice begins the novel; her fierce rage over her father’s death and her skepticism about Mandy make her an unlikeable character at times, and yet it is just that authenticity that draws the reader to her. Mandy, the pregnant teenager, speaks in alternating chapters, and it becomes clear that this poor, naïve, and disused young woman has an odd sort of wisdom. It is not hard to quickly become invested in the characters, from gentle Robin to the perverse Kent. The reader will want wrongs set right, justice done, and villains punished, but like in life, only moving forward and celebrating what is good can heal old wounds. It is this exploration of possibilities, coupled with a very unique conclusion that makes this novel impossible to put down. In the end, for hurt and anger to subside and open hearts to prevail, it isn’t just Jill who may need to jump.