Fama, Elizabeth: Monstrous Beauty

Expected publication: September 4, 2012
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Macmillan)
YA Paranormal/Mythology (Mermaids), 304 pages

Acquired and read: From the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review; I stopped for a bit on this one, but after a bit of a nudge from the lovely Wendy Darling, I picked right back up where I left off and finished it within an hour. No lie.


Disclaimer: This is a pre-release ARC received from the publisher. As such, please check any quotes or information against the finished copy of the book.  

If you're a fellow book blogger - well, a reader in general - you probably adhere to the one-chapter rule. This can be considered a distant relation to the (now defunct in most social circles) five-second rule - you know, five seconds to eat a scrap of food off the floor before the germs descend? That might have been disproved as untrue - and if you value your stomach and your health, I advise that you abandon it - but for me, one chapter before aiming a book for the scrap heap or settling in for the night saves me valuable time, sleep and, for the most part, peace of mind.

I won't lie. Up until last night, I had no intention of finishing Monstrous Beauty. Ever. The first time I attempted to read it, I broke the one chapter rule (*gasps* What a rebel I am!*) and eagerly clicked forward to see what the rest of the book might hold.

My discovery? A scene of violent assault (though, thankfully, not completely described) that had me shutting my Kindle cover and vowing never to open it to that particular galley again.

On the lovely Wendy Darling's suggestion, however, I decided to give the galley a second chance yesterday, and made it all the way to the end - as I mentioned before, in an hour. Not much else to do when you're stuck in a hot, empty car waiting for a class to finish. Since I'm feeling lazy (and there's still seven hours left before I can break my fast for the day), I decided to compile the pros and cons of Monstrous Beauty into a list so you can decide for yourself.

What Worked

The mermaids.

Nothing like you've seen in YA before. Trust me on this one. I'm not sure how much more I can say without spoiling, but they are still part-girl, part-fish, but they're much more...wild and raw than Ariel ever could be.

(Down side: Even Ariel invested in that shell bikini.)

The family history.

I really liked the way that the author brought the past into the present, and made the research and bloodline tracing and interviewing really believable.

The haunts.

Yes, that's right, ladies and gentlemen. You get mermaids and some good old fashioned ghosts for your money. A two-for-one deal you can only find in the wonderful world of YA literature.

The writing style.   

Didn't I mention this before? Anyway, the writing style. This is the main reason I carried through with Monstrous Beauty.

What Didn't  

(a.k.a. my Warnings a little earlier than usual, because as I said before, I'm lazy today)

The violence.

The aforementioned assault, a really freaky sea queen (see my note about Ursula in the conclusion), a murder-suicide mystery and a family curse that, despite a lack of distinct violence, might be a little sensitive if you're really attached to your mommy. 

The language.

I know I'm probably wearing this into the ground for people who don't care, but every. Other. Page. I was flinching away from a language bomb. It might not worry you, but it's really a sore spot for me. 

The ending.

Most of the loose threads are woven up - I mean, most of the storyline gets illuminated pretty quickly thanks to the author's approach to melding the past and future - but there were still some questions about the family history and the mermaids that I would have liked to find out just for the sake of it. It's not a big issue, but I just felt a little...unfinished.

The cover.

I mean, it's better than the first version, but still...I was too antsy to post it, so you'll have to look it up for yourself.

Conclusion = ?

I think you'll have to come up with that one yourself. Personally, I did like the unique touch the author gave mermaids - a slight hint of the (original, and quite dark in itself) Little Mermaid tale, a dash of Spirited Away - or so it felt like to me, and the rich culture of the Eastern coast, which being a resident myself I already can appreciate.

And the sea. You can practically smell it coming off the pages. Sometimes, I think I was an ocean-dweller in another life. Something with sparkly, iridescent fins. And a habit of rummaging through sunken ships.

Ultimately, I don't think I can give this book a complete "read it" or "don't read it". I'm not usually one for dark material - though, as I said before, I like the sinister edge to these mermaids - and I'm not in the mood for something with lots of violence and despair. (Actually, I can't think of a time when I do like violence and despair.)

If you want to read Monstrous Beauty, read it to appreciate the writing style, and be prepared to skip forward if the gore and woe-is-me-another-death scenes are freaking you out. This is not The Little Mermaid. No song-and-dance routines, no Prince Eric and no friendly fish companion (though there is a really bizarro-Gothic version of Ursula that should have your knees shaking).

For me, I'd definitely say that I like it, but with reservations. Or, I'd like it more if I didn't have to have those reservations. Because, you know, I'm cool and ambiguous like that.

Standiford, Natalie: How to Say Goodbye in Robot

October 9, 2009
Scholastic Press
YA Realistic/Contemporary, 276 pages
Acquired and read: From my local library; read within two days

From bestselling author Natalie Standiford, an amazing, touching story of two friends navigating the dark waters of their senior year.

New to town, Beatrice is expecting her new best friend to be one of the girls she meets on the first day. But instead, the alphabet conspires to seat her next to Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, a quiet loner who hasn't made a new friend since third grade. Something about him, though, gets to Bea, and soon they form an unexpected friendship. It's not romance, exactly - but it's definitely love. Still, Bea can't quite dispel Jonah's gloom and doom - and as she finds out his family history, she understands why. Can Bea help Jonah? Or is he destined to vanish?

Now, you probably know by now that YA contemp is totally not my thing. It's just too...real. I also don't believe that a boy and a girl can be friends without one or both of them wanting more, but that's more of a personal moral/family background than mere taste. But I was reading Atlantic Wire's list of summer reads based off YA authors' recommendations, and of course, being the Maggie Stiefvater fangirl I am, I instantly zoned in on what she had listed. In particular, I was caught by the pretty pink cover of How to Say Goodbye in Robot (seriously, this is the main reason why Scholastic is tied for top of my dream publisher list - gorgeous cover work), and Maggie enthusiastically endorses it as one of those books that can be totally seen in your mind as a movie.

Just another piece of evidence to prove that Maggie is awesome.

You should know that already.

So, as our heroine, we have Bea. She's just moved to a new town with her 'rents (both of whom are strange and broken in their own right, in my honest opinion). The thing that caught my attention about Bea straight away was the way she reacts to her mother calling her heartless and a robot. I don't know about you, but I think most teenagers go through this constant second-guessing of themselves - if they're feeling the right way, reacting the right way, thinking the right things as everyone else. Bea's really considering herself as a robot girl really touched a chord somehow, somewhere.

Of course, a true-to-life teenage girl like Bea can't just wind up with a cliche friend who crushes on Zac Efron and paints her toenails Sunset Passion. So, we are introduced to Ghost Boy - a.k.a. Jonah, who is pretty much ignored by the rest of the student body, but has some hidden skeletons in his family closet and a mutual passion that pulls Bea into his small, isolated world.

A radio station.

And not just any radio station. A quirky, local station, run by a man that calls himself Herb. A station where it isn't unusual for callers to ring in for an evening ride on "the magic carpet", or read poems they wrote themselves, or obsess over Elvis Presley. It's a little family of its own, united by being outsiders, for embracing their quirks whether others would rather hide it away and be part of the norm.

Yes. You really want to read this now, don't you?

Even in a novel, though, friendship doesn't run smoothly. The world doesn't stop turning for happy little moments of mutual radio-station listens or ditching prom or art contests. The ways that Bea and Jonah get pulled in opposite directions are depicted so accurately, it can't help but make your heart ache. In particular, Jonah's struggle with his father over his brain-dead twin, Matthew, really made me wish that it would all work out, because it's fiction and it's just got to have a happy ending...right?

I won't tell you whether it does or doesn't, but I will tell you that it is a bit sad. Definite hanky warning for this one.

The one thing I must return to in this novel, again and again, is how the author keeps it real. Of course, I did wish she'd avoided the cliche underage drinking party, where the protagonist wanders about bemoaning his/her existence and wondering why he/she even came and seeing the guy/girl he/she is/was interested in macking on another person. But besides that little snag, the rest of it pretty much is authentic. Bea and Jonah could be that quiet pair in the cafeteria you don't say hi to, or idling away their time on the lawn of some closed appliance store, speaking to themselves in voices that don't carry to your curious ears.

It's the beauty of being a YA writer when you can actually see these things come to life, on a sheet of white paper. Maggie is right. How to Say Goodbye in Robot would make a wonderful movie.

Just, again, I feel the need to warn you: it's not all rainbows and butterflies. I felt the need to smack one or both of Bea's parents at different intervals while I read. Jonah's dad isn't much better, and the high school kids...well, I think after reading YA for a while, you know how some of them can behave. And don't expect all the i's to be dotted and t's crossed and everyone to drift away on a breeze of soft, scented air and bright smiles as the credits roll across the screen.

This is not a Disney Channel Original movie sort of wonderful.

I think you have to read it for yourself to see what I mean. I can't think of how else to explain it.

I still wish she'd made Jonah a girl, though. 

Warnings (or, stuff that makes me cringe into my popcorn bucket at the movies): Language. Of course. And then there's a character death, a parent indulges in infidelity, some flaunting of authority and lying and changing names, and, of course, underage debauchery.

Black, Holly: White Cat (Curse Workers, #1)

May 4, 2010
Margaret K. Elderberry Books
YA Fantasy/Urban Fantasy, 310 pages
Acquired and read: Off the shelves of my public library; read within two days due to the usual obligations of day-to-day life. Someday, I intend to barricade myself in my own personal reading room and read and read for weeks on end. Just my books. And my tea. And perhaps some sandwiches.

The first in a trilogy, this gritty, fast-paced fantasy is rife with the unexpected. Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn’t fit in at home or at school, so he’s used to feeling like an outsider. He’s also used to feeling guilty—he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.

But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas—and a plan to con the conmen.

 
There is no hard and heavy rule to me liking or disliking a book. It just...happens.

I offer up White Cat as evidence.

Holly Black and I have gone through the same dance I perform with most other authors. I pick up a book by her. I skim through it. I decide it Has Promise and carry it home with me, only to abandon it within the wobbling stack of books already beside my desk. (No, it doesn't look any better than last week.) Due to an impending fine/someone else actually wanting to pay attention to it/an Act of God, I'm forced to give it back to the library. Some days later, I return to said library, notice it and pick it up again.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

In this case, I was especially leery of White Cat because I've only once attained reader nirvana (or something close to it in the middle of a particularly loud and "swinging" wedding reception) with a sample of Black's writing - a piece in which a young Asian girl is forced to barter with an "evil" spirit in order to keep her sister from languishing away painfully due to unrequited love. Good stuff, really. But her faerie series just doesn't do it for me, so I wasn't quite sure if I'd like this any better.

Anyway, this time I decided I was going to sit down and give the first chapter a try - and then I ended up in the second chapter. And the third.

I finished the last chapter, closed the book, and decided I am not going out in public without gloves ever again.

Welcome to Cassel's world. Once you're in, Black makes sure you don't know which way to exit. You just hold on and clamp your eyes shut, and hope that at least by the end, you'll know your first name. This is the type of book that makes me want to write, simply to hit the same amount of sheer awesome on my own personal scale. Just so you know how quickly it hooked me.

So, forget my dramatics for a moment. Let's talk about Cassel. He's the type of guy who sits back and watches, observes, cases the joint before he makes a move. He's got a dead best friend (who he has vague memories of murdering, but has no idea how or why), two big brothers that pretty much treat him as a disposable pawn in an endless chess game for power, and a evilly crazy...or is that crazy evil...mom in jail. Also, he's not a Worker - in a world where people can crush your mind, break your bones and make you fall madly in love with an angel-faced sinner...all with the touch of a bare finger.

And he's having dreams about a haunting white cat, a cat that bites out his tongue, scratches at him and speaks in a familiar voice. Telling him things about himself that he's quite sure isn't true.


The supporting cast is as much a focus as Cassel himself. This book gives us a mafia world that Gabrielle Zevin only scratched upon within the pages of All The Things I've Done (which I relatively enjoyed - for me, but not as much as this). Everyone acts within character, you get what I mean? There's not a moment where the reader feels thrown off and goes, "Wait a minute. That type of person wouldn't do that."

Let me tell you...up until I read this book, I wouldn't be sure that an author could throw together mafia families, hereditary talents and hints of old fairytales together and get away with it (at least without sounding completely nutso and pretentious), but Black does it perfectly. There is hardly a hitch in the thread of the story. The story starts with a bang, but it doesn't go out with a whimper.

This is complete mind-bending storytelling at its best.

I'm not sure how many times I can say that without sounding completely nutso and pretentious myself.

One of the main bones I had to pick (and this is rather minor) was White Cat's category. In the inside of the book, it's classified as "Science Fiction". Mr. Scott Westerfield blurbed the back cover. That was enough to make me anticipate genetic engineering, mad inventions and lab-tech hijinks of all sort. What I did get, though, was something more along the lines of a world with a bit of fantasy within its ordinary foundation - special abilities, prophetic dreams.

Magic.

Science.

Not the same thing, people.

Unless there's something I missed. It does happen, you know.


The only other thing is the unhappy ending. For Cassel, at least. Well, maybe it's not an unhappy ending for him as much as for me, because I'm all true love perseveres and the evil witch falls off a tower and happy-happy credits rolling as we exit the movie theater. Holly Black seems to function more realistically - the hero doesn't always get everything he wants. It happens. I know it does. But if you're expecting for everything to magically fall into place and for you to close the book with a satisfying sigh and a hand clutched to your heart with sheer joy and faith in humanity...please don't.

On the bright side, there are two more books to carve through, so I'm not completely writing the poor boy off. Authors can be merciful.

Sometimes.

Warnings: Some instances of strong language and innuendo. There are cruel, unfair, backstabbing people involved here. If you think the world is made of sweetness and light, I don't want to be the one who shatters your innocence. You're better off exploring the picture books.

Griffin, Bethany: Masque of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death, #1)

April 24, 2012
HarperCollins
YA Dystopian, 320 pages
Acquired and read: From my friendly neighborhood library (of course); read within the past three days, because my attention kept waxing and waning

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

Alright. I am not bashing this story. I am not bashing the author. What is probably most likely to happen is that you will see a return of the Poe-obsessed, raven-seeking middle-schooler of yesteryear that I thought I outgrew. See, where other sixth graders clung to Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume (which, I admit, I've read/loved both, but that's not the point here), I had this very dog-eared copy of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories.

As a matter of fact, I can probably recite The Cask of Amontillado by heart. Want to try me?

No?

Pity.

In any case - especially after seeing how many seemed to enjoy it - I decided to take the plunge with Masque of the Red Death, despite initial misgivings.

Big. Mistake.

Now, first of all, let me tell you what I did like about this story: the masks, for one thing. I'd have really enjoyed a description of how they worked and why the mysterious filters would only allow one user per mask. (I'm the type of girl who likes the show, not the telling.) The steam carriages and the zeppelins and the creatures that survive in the sewers even as man succumbs to his own scientific failures. When it comes to building a harsh, sinister world, Griffin knows how to build it from the ground up until the reader herself is holding her breath for fear of contagion.

So far, so good, right?

Until we get to the characters that inhabit this future hellhole.

For one thing, there's Araby. Maybe it's just me, but I cannot tolerate a self-loathing, drugged-up heroine. Maybe that's because I've learned enough about recreational drugs and what they can do to a person, and even if it's meant to carry on the plot...Not a good lesson to teach teens, in any case. Even with all the Finn sob stories being told, the need to dispense masks to little children, I could not find anything to like about her. At all. Which is very sad, because if I can't even sympathize with a main character, I know that the rest is going to break apart for me very quickly.


And then there are the thrillingly heroic manly mans. Yes, there are two of them. No, I didn't know a love triangle was involved when I picked this up.* You can imagine the suffering I underwent. (I very rarely tolerate love triangles. You probably know that by now, though.) Will earns points for taking care of his younger siblings, but that's pretty much it. He reminds me mainly of Gale - the guy you know the author will probably push to second place because he understands the heroine way too well.

Elliott doesn't get any points at all. He wants to start a revolution for the heck of it. Or at least, that's what I got out of it. He also has a Simba complex - you know, the uncle is like Scar, and the dad is Mufasa with scrambled eggs for brains.

...Wow. I never thought I'd put a Disney allusion into a review. First time for everything, I guess.

Anyway. Putting these three characters together, and barely a few chapters in, I had the sinking feeling that I knew what was being built up to.

The Dystopian Formula.

x 1 Angsty, guilt-ridden heroine who has lost her parent/parents/brother/sister/pet dog.

x 1 Nice, handsome boy who has a dark secret.

x 1 Snarky, handsome boy who has a dark secret.

x 1 Very polluted, horrible, "the end is nigh" world. (Well, that's the point of dystopia, isn't it?)

x 1 Confusing, often pointless dialogue and scenarios. (Example: Elliott and Araby are running from danger, and suddenly he winds up showing her how to sword-fight, while cutting away the ties of her corset with said sword. Romantic? I think not.)

x 1 Revolution that suddenly starts brewing when the heroine is introduced, and somehow ends up with her as a spearhead/bounty prize.

x 1 Ending that makes you feel like you've come full circle. The villains are still there, the world is still crumbling around you, one boy may have been eliminated - oh, wait, he's still hanging onto her apron strings, never mind. 

I knew what was coming, and I still read the whole book. Either I'm a really noble person, or I just have a streak of masochism. Again, totally not bashing the author (I mean, if you've come this far with all those drafts and edits and anguished nights of repeated head-desk bashing...you deserve all you get) or anyone who actually enjoyed all of this book.

Just, don't ask me to read the sequel, okay? 

Also, I understand that this is not actually a Poe retelling. It's supposed to be a Poe re-imagining. Regardless, I still kind of bristle when I see this cataloged directly under the original story (which does not have a love triangle, thank you very much). There is a dystopian formula novel, and then there is Poe.

I don't think I have to tell you which ranks superior in my mind.

On to the next novel! *covers face with mask and carefully places Masque of the Red Death in receptacle*

Warnings: The Debauchery Club, of course, has debauchery. There is some innuendo, but not any language issues that I recall. Violent, plague-induced deaths and bloody murders. Recreational drugs, as I mentioned before, are a no-no. Don't try it at home, kids.

*ETA: Now that I look at the summary, I realize that you can pretty much figure out that a love triangle is inevitable, but I probably got fixated on the beautiful and glittery dress part. *sighs*

Hathaway, Jill: Slide (Slide, #1)

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s...more

Expected publication: March 27, 2012
Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
YA Paranormal/Supernatural, 256 pages
Acquired and read: Through the lovely ladies who run the Debut Author Challenge Tours; read within twenty-four hours

Challenge? 2012 Debut Author Challenge

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

Vee Bell is narcoleptic.

But contrary to popular belief, she isn't sleeping her life away. Every time she falls asleep, she gets a vision from the last object she touched, through the eyes of the person that touched it before her. (Quite the chain, isn't it?) Of course, this little ability isn't always a gift. Vee's life got turned upside-down when she realized the worst about her ex-best friend during a school dance. And now, it's happening again.

Only this time, she's witnessed a murder.

Awesome premise, right?

Okay, time for the painful honesty. Was this book one of my "this debut was SO worth all the pain and toil and going out to the mailbox to fetch it (ooh, my shins)" titles of 2012? ...No. But it could have been.

First, let's start out with the kudos. Vee is one of those characters that can actually wear the label "Unique" without looking like a Tumblr hipster - you know, one of those kids who gets a Tumblr and takes blurry shots of the soda machine and soulful looks in the distance because that's the way to looking hip? (No offense to anyone who has a Tumblr. I am the last person to start stereotyping anyone on the way they behave.) She's narcoleptic and she dyes her hair the color of Pepto-Bismol (we don't actually get to see how she pulls it off...) and hoards her mom's old collection of 80's music.

Yes. Her mother is dead. So much for avoiding the cliche, but I guess you can't get it all.

There is also a love triangle. Gah. I hate that phrase. Triangles are pointy and sharp and no matter which way you grab 'em, you know you're going to get cut - so why bother rooting for one guy? With my luck, usually it's the loser. Fortunately for me, I wasn't too into this triangle, which included Rollins (the best friend - of course) and Zane (the new, smoldering "too good to be true" hottie that is mysteriously attracted to pink hair and randomly falling asleep in the middle of class...). If you've already read Fracture, I think you'll be able to figure out what's going to happen - that doesn't count as a spoiler, does it?
Of course, since this entire drama is set in high school, we also need the general over-helping of hook-ups, secrets, and embarrassing pictures forwarded to every single guy on the football team. Again, we refer to the Golden Rule of YA: thou must not forget the appropriate amount of teenage hormones.

See, when it comes to these type of rules, I'm a bit of a rebel.


I think my main issue with Slide was the ending. So there's a mystery. A killer's on the loose. The next target is being stalked. And then, hold on...the killer is [SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER]?! But I thought for sure it was [SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER]. Wait a minute, who is this person anyway? The majority of the conclusion went over my head. Suffice it to say: I do not envy Vee her life. Everyone has a vendetta against someone else.

To sum it up, Slide is like that mug of green tea (or coffee - I know there are some people out there who actually like the stuff) that you make fresh and warm in the morning. It smells good. You can't wait to take a sip and start your day off on the right foot. And then, you get caught up in your e-mail or your phone calls from last night and you completely forget that cup waiting on the counter. By the time you remember and add your sugar, it's cold. Lukewarm if you're lucky. And it just doesn't taste the same.

But that's the way reading rolls. You gain some, you lose some. And there's always a chance to make a fresh cuppa if the last one wasn't to your tastes.

Warnings (Or, unwanted seasoning that Kaye does not want in her tea): What is every American teenager up to when the 'rents aren't home - at least, according to Oprah and Hollywood and the Great American YA Novelist? Key word: hormones. Hooking up, breaking up, language. One girl was pregnant when she was murdered. Also, it seems like every single adult Vee looks up to is having an affair. Is it something in the water?