Catching Fire

The Hunger Games trilogy got better with every book and I have high hopes for this movie. Enjoy the trailer!

Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

I'm going to begin with a disclaimer: I'm a huge fan of Maggie Stiefvater. I love her books, I love her blog and I love the persona she presents to the world of a race car-driving, approachable and not particularly mysterious best-selling author. I love that she posts images of her manuscripts dripping with her critique partners' notes. I love that she talks about writing as a craft and hard work, not the product of divine inspiration. I love reading her books because they are fun and quirky and very well-written, because with every new one they get better, and because her fantastical is so thoroughly embedded in the mundane that suspending disbelief is not at all a problem for me. You get the picture, huge fan. So it's not that much of a surprise then that I loved The Scorpio Races. I actually listened to the audiobook, which I almost never do, because obligations are pulling at me from all directions but I really wanted to read this book right now. So I did.
My favorite thing about this novel were the relationships between humans and animals, the fondness that animal-lovers will recognize, where the human will learn to read their four-legged friend, know when to push them and when to soothe them, and when to remember that they are not human and taking a step back is the wise course of action. This partnership and mutual affection came through so clearly in the book that I could almost feel it as I listened to the story.
Another favorite were Puck's and Sean's internal conflicts: for her it was which horse to ride in the race, for him it was a matter of who would win. Puck's dilemma was apparent very soon, while Sean's took time to build, but when they clashed it was the moment when The Conflict became obvious and you just knew that there was no turning back.
I have a soft spot for stories where not everything is spelled out, and here Stiefvater obliged with a few characters whose pasts and futures were more than a little murky when the book ended. The not knowing upped the ante in the tension department and the fact that the reader was left guessing took the novel to a different level in YA. After all, there is always something in life that remains unresolved and undiscovered.
What left me vaguely displeased was the character of Mutt Malvern. I suppose I've been analyzing literature too much lately to be completely satisfied with a purely evil villain, but here it works, especially when combined with the way the book ends. I'm not going to give too much away but the last sentence gave me chills and made me want to get the printed copy and immediately read it (audio is great and all but it's a completely different experience from reading the words on the page).
Once the book was finished I thought back on it and decided that it has a very fairy-tale kind of feel to it, both when it comes to the characters and the story itself. Listening to it was similar to listening to a legend and the fact that it's not only set on an island in Ireland but also crafted in such a way that the location becomes almost a character itself helps support that mythic quality. It all works and I'm looking forward to not only revisiting The Scorpio Races but also reading Maggie Stiefvater's next series, The Raven Boys.

Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway — a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will.

This is a story about a circus, and a man and a woman, and immortality, and consequences, and sense and sensibility, and being a pawn in someone else's games, and magic (of course there is magic), and love, which is a kind of magic. But more than anything it is a story about life, where everything is connected and where everything we do today is a part of where we will end up tomorrow, and where there is only one ending to the game.
This book didn't captivate me immediately but rather grew on me. At first I thought that first and second person narration was getting on my nerves, and that the jumping around in place and time was too hard to follow. Then the former made me feel as if I were part of the story and the latter became almost a game of figuring out when the "you" parts were set. And then it was all clear and when for the very first time I saw the different narrator's stories coming together like branches on a tree all connecting to the trunk a delicious shiver ran through me and I knew that this was going to be just the right kind of book to keep me up at night. Which it most marvelously did.
For some reason before I picked it up I thought that this was a YA novel, which probably has something to do with the cover blurb about young magicians. Yet from the very first pages it was obvious that a YA novel it is not. For starters the main characters aren't all that young, the story is more elaborate than it is in your average YA novel, there are too many variables for the book to be straightforward, and nobody has any doubts as to their own identity (although I questioned the identities of a few characters, and still do), so there is no point in journeys of self-discovery. Finally the very style of writing and the language put it firmly in the adult category, or at least new adult, which has recently emerged.
There aren't any spells and the mechanics of magic aren't revealed enough for people to start putting magical formulas on t-shirts, because after all the spells aren't that important here, there are matters much more pressing than knowing how exactly the heroine makes her dress change color. I did love though that those who are capable of doing magic in this novel are the quiet, bookish types, who will get lost in a library on purpose. I also loved how great a role books played in the story, I think all bibliophiles will get a thrill out of that. And those who belong to any kind of fandom will be delighted to see themselves and their peers in this story. Fandoms are not to be underestimated and Morgenstern takes a close and intimate look at this phenomenon. Something tells me she herself belongs to one.
There are so many things I want to add but they would be so terribly spoilerish that I think I will stop here and will only tell you one last thing: I borrowed this novel from the library because I tend to not re-read books, but as I turned the last page I knew that I had to get a copy for my collection because for me this one is a keeper.

Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding. The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.

From that heck of an ending in Catching Fire I knew that the last installment in the series was going to be very different and it didn't disappoint. More than ever I could see the behind-the-scenes network of rebels, the grownup world where Katniss was a kid who was not treated like one and where, as valuable an asset as she was, she was simply a pawn in the games of people easily twice her age. In Mockingjay she finally saw her life for what it has become and desperately tried to find a way out all the while having no choice but to continue playing her part.
To me Mockingjay is the book where Katniss truly becomes a strong heroine. Some might argue that in this book she is rescued, supported and kept safe more than ever before, and while that is true I have said it before and will say it again, to me not needing anyone to have your back isn't necessarily a sign of strength. Knowing your weaknesses and taking them into account while moving forward is. Questioning what people tell you and making up your own mind is. Seeing the true nature of things that aren't as straightforward as a knife or an arrow and acting according to this knowledge is.
I've always seen Katniss as been capable of the same kind of cruelty and manipulativeness as President Snow for example, but her goals have never been selfish or cruel. She may have only ever loved two people, her father and her sister, but everybody else has never been just collateral for her and this always made her capable of doing what needed to be done without losing her humanity or her sense of self. I don't think that Katniss is a particularly sympathetic character, what with her tendency to fall back on the old faithful adage of "offense is the best defense" unfairly hurting people in the process, and her curiosity about how her displays of affection affect the two rivals for her heart, but I do like her for the good in her.
Fandoms tend to compare books and series, and trash some while showering others with praise. I tried really hard to enjoy this series on its own merit but there were scenes that awakened a very strong sense of deja vu in me. I couldn't help noticing similarities in character dynamics and entire scenes and wondered on more than one occasion whether haters trash that other series just because, without even bothering to read the books, or they truly don't notice these things. If there was anything that spoiled the Mockingjay experience for me this was it.
I keep trying to decide what was my favorite thing, section, element about this book and inevitably I come back to how well it shows that life isn't black or white, bad things can have goodness in them and good things can have darkness hiding deep inside. Another thing I liked, although not in the straightforward sense, was that at the end of the day the choice everybody's been waiting for Katniss to make was ultimately made for her, whether she or we the readers like it or not. Oh the irony.
Mockingjay was the most complex, nuanced and mature book of this series. Because of that, and despite the deja vu moments, it will always be my favorite Hunger Games book.

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire picks up a short while after the end of The Hunger Games with Katniss at odds with both Peeta and Gale and with President Snow working to contain the effects of Katniss's actions in the Games by threatening her into proving to the country that she is just a girl madly in love, who only wanted to not lose her sweetheart. She doesn't know it but unrest is growing in Panem, and she with her mockingjay is the symbol of the rebellion. This dynamic is the foundation of the story from here on out - people planning and plotting in the background while all Katniss really wants is to live in peace with her family and to spend her days hunting. She is the reluctant hero, with everybody but herself realizing her influence, and using her for their purposes.
The first part of the book is relatively slow, after all Katniss is at her best in a survival situation and whiling away her time at 12 isn't particularly action-packed, but when the rules of the Quarter Quell are announced and there isn't a shadow of a doubt that the Capitol is out for her blood action slams into high gear and doesn't let up will the very end in the best traditions of The Hunger Games.
My favorite part of this book was the introduction of new characters who enriched the world Suzanne Collins created, allowing us a peek at the past victors and their lives of annual coaching of tributes and the Capitol keeping them all on an unimaginably tight leash. Once again Katniss can't see beyond the immediate task at hand but she has a good heart and a mentor who is possibly the craftiest victor in the history of the Games. I have to say, the relationship between Katniss and Haymitch is possibly the most interesting one in the series. They don't particularly like each other but it's hard to doubt that they are as similar as any other two characters in this series and watching them interact and work together gave spice to the story.
Throughout the book I couldn't shake the feeling that while Katniss's affection for Peeta was real it somehow only bloomed under pressure from the Capitol. At home she was a teenager who did her best and was angry at him for not understanding the game she was made to play, yet as soon as the cameras were on them and no place was outside of the Capitol's earshot she began to need him, understand him and want to support him. It was like a circumstance-activated survival instinct that made her acknowledge Peeta as an ally only under certain conditions. I didn't get an impression that Katniss herself realized this, but as I said earlier, she is at her best when lives are on the line and it's time to act, not in analyzing and introspection.
Whereas The Hunger Games ended with things as buttoned up as they could be Catching Fire ended on a cliffhanger that left me staring at the page with my brain barely able to process what happened and doing the equivalent of the "Wait, what?!?!" stutter. I actually had to re-read the last few pages before things snapped into place in my mind. When they finally did I knew that Mockingjay was going to be good. Really good. Fortunately I already had the book.

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.

For a while now people have been telling me that I had to read Suzanne Collins's best-selling trilogy but I resisted. The hype was too much and when the movie came out it only became worse. I told my friends I'd read it "one of these days". Finally one of them just handed me the book and told me to ask for the next one when I was done. It lay on top of the pile for a few weeks until I started feeling bad for keeping it for so long. So I picked it up and... couldn't put it down, breaking only to do the necessary things, such as eat, sleep and go to work.
Collins's ability to keep a breakneck pace even with the unhurried scenes helped with that of course, but her storytelling and masterful world building played a tremendous role as well. The only thing that irked me was the fact that everybody had their "eyes trained" on something or someone all the time, but that wasn't too hard to get past.
I've heard so much talk about Katniss being a strong character because she doesn't need a guy, or anybody else for that matter, to take care of her that I couldn't help but ask myself whether I agreed with that claim throughout the book and again when I finished reading it. The answer was invariably "no". Now, now, hold the booing and the stomping, there is a method to my madness. Katniss is skilled at providing for and defending herself and her family, she's deadly even, but to me that's not strength, that's resilience, adaptability, will to survive, doing what needs to be done, so she is tough, sure, but strong? No so much, because toughness is not the same thing as strength to me. I don't see wanting/needing love, affection, another person's company, support or help as a weakness. To me not wanting that is a handicap. I think she's been so hurt that she has adopted an exoskeleton of sorts that prevents her from feeling some things, protects her from getting hurt, and when Prim was reaped the violent emotions cracked the shell and she's begun to come alive in a way. After all, in all of this book the only person I felt she really loved was Prim. I think Katniss has potential to become truly strong, but she is not there yet.
I'm a big fan of action and adventure, which this book has plenty of, but I'm also a fan of interesting characters and there's no shortage of those here either. I liked that every new person introduced was flawed somehow, had a story full of demons, even the ones who at first seemed like there wasn't much of a story to them, like Peeta. Having Katniss as the first-person narrator helped with the suspense because quite frankly the girl is not much of a great thinker or strategist. It's just as well though - sometimes it took her a while to figure things out and in the process more of the background story could be told.
Considering that we know that there are three books in the series and that there is a love triangle conflict it wasn't much of a mystery that both Katniss and Peeta would survive, but I was looking forward to finding out what would happen to make books 2 and 3 necessary. In observance of the no-spoiler policy for the sake of possibly a handful of people who have not yet read the books or seen the movie I won't go into detail, but let me tell you, it was good. I didn't expect it to happen quite as it did so after a relatively predictable novel a surprise ending was welcome.
By the end of this book it was obvious that the real story was only beginning and although Hunger Games didn't exactly meet my exalted expectations it promised more and I began Catching Fire without even a day's delay. Fortunately my friend had the book ready for me before I asked for it. Come back next week to find out what I thought!

Review: Forbidden by Ted Dekker &Tosca Lee

After several nuclear bombs have been detonated on Earth the survivors followed the new leader Sirin and his teaching of excising emotion to guarantee peace and survival. Almost 500 years later humanity is still rebuilding itself and the new Order shuns everything to do with the past age of Chaos that lead to destruction. All emotions with the exception of fear have been genetically eliminated and people live to serve Order and to be guided by it. When Rom discovers a vial of ancient blood that promises "life" and takes one of the five portions he awakens everything about himself that is human. But the vial came with a task encrypted on piece of velum and now Rom and four of his newly-alive friends must find out what it means and complete their quest. Everything they know and believe will be tested and all their strength and courage will be required to survive for dark powers want nothing more but to kill them and claim what they possess.

When I first saw the galley of this book on NetGalley I was intrigued by the cover. The whole "metal badge on a stone wall" design was appealing all by itself but with the bleeding heart in the middle the concept became that much more interesting. But there it sat, waiting for its time, which finally came late last week. I was immediately swept into this odd world where people feel nothing but fear and into Rom's life that's turned upside down when an old man gives him a mysterious box and almost immediately gets killed for it. I felt for this simple young man who didn't ask for anything that follows, who struggles with the onslaught of feelings that couldn't be any more strange. I hoped that the bad guys would fail once and for all and yet I knew that things couldn't be that simple. I recoiled at the twisted and horrific things the villains did and wondered about their leader's apparent omniscience.
There are plenty of dark and terrible things in this book and at first all the violence and blood spilling shocked me a bit but then I remembered that this is not a YA book and kept reading. Everything that happened made sense and I'm not sure that the book would've gripped me as it did had the authors shied away from the blood and gore or even toned it down. Morbid of me? Maybe. Doesn't make the book any worse.
The combination of highly advanced science and hardly any technology accessible to the masses creates a very interesting atmosphere. It kept me wondering what else was possible in this strange society, what else wasn't destroyed and what kind of advancements were actually made in the centuries when the world's population just tried to survive. The last several chapters sure opened up a lot of possibilities.
There are some things that weren't very believable. No matter how trusting people are how many times can the same trick really work? Wouldn't they be on the lookout for that exact thing? Shouldn't they be on the lookout for it? Similarly, if someone knows that something that doesn't fit with their plans is going to happen and they know when exactly it'll happen and where wouldn't they take steps to prevent it? Apparently not in this world.
The book didn't end on a cliff-hanger and I'm grateful for that - we all know what it's like to impatiently wait for a year or more to find out what happens next. The authors tied up the plot threads without leaving any loose ends but making plenty of promises for the sequel and giving an idea of what to expect in the future books of the series. I'm still wondering what will happen next, but at least I can wait without biting my nails to nothing.

The galley of this book was provided by Center Street, the publisher, via NetGalley.com

Review: Knight's Curse by Karen Duvall

Chalice is a descendant of an ancient order of knights and her powers are great but she is a prisoner of a vicious wizard who belongs to an ancient order of his own and will stop at nothing to make her do his bidding. She has a great destiny but she must embrace who she is and free herself from her curse before she can truly make a difference.

This was a fun and easy read filled with magic, incredible creatures, plenty of action and a heady mixture of present day, myth and biblical legend. The book got off to a relatively slow start with a lot of explaining of what and how and who, setting the scene for the relationship between Chalice and her captor, but once that was established and the author got on with the story it was actually able to keep my interest throughout. The book ended with a satisfactory resolution to the major conflict and without a cliff-hanger but the premise for the next book is thoroughly set up in the final chapters so the reader knows in what direction the story will progress in the sequel.
I enjoyed the varied world of ancient magical beings living side by side with the unsuspecting public and keeping their existence secret. Duvall gives us barely a glimpse of majority of them but the ones that get the attention are developed with much thought and the secondary characters like Elmo and Zee often become scene-stealers. It would be interesting to see what she would do with the rest.
Character development seemed natural and realistic - Chalice has trouble accepting that the things that have been ingrained in her for years aren't actually true, she's wary of everybody she meets and her transformation from someone who believes that all magic is evil to a person who accepts that there's a good side to it too refreshingly takes more than a chapter. I also enjoyed that Chalice's sudden, overwhelming attraction to her warrior protector Aydin isn't set up as a natural thing that happens between two people who barely lay eyes on each other and Bam! they're in love. It is rooted in their magical natures and Chalice's struggle between believing that it's real and wondering whether it's something that wouldn't even exist had it not been for their curse and gives an extra angsty dimension to her character.
There were a number of things that made this book not nearly as enjoyable as it could have been and are the cause of me not particularly hurrying to find out when the sequel will be released. My main gripe is with the fact that Chalice has been Gavin's slave for over a decade and yet in all this time she hasn't wondered how to break herself free, what kind of person her mother really was or how Gavin controls the gargoyle that binds her curse (she must've been paying zero attention to that little detail despite the fact that she has to come into contact with it every three days and Shui is far from tame), she apparently somehow has had no interaction whatsoever with anyone outside of a few members in Gavin's organization and has done no research at all to find out more about her situation. Give me a break, not like the girl was drugged or kept in a cell, she actually has her own apartment. She may be watched, but she's not chained to a guard 24-7! All this could've seemed realistic if she had been a prisoner for months, may be a couple of years (extensive training, they didn't trust her and didn't leave her much alone time, etc.) but not for over a decade. Besides, she's smart and feisty, sitting around being scared of the consequences of her snooping around is very much out of character for Chalice.
All in all this was a fast-paced and entertaining book with a good story and a few plot twists to keep it going and if you're looking for an escapist read that won't keep you up till 3 in the morning because you just can't put it down you might want to check it out.

ARC of this book was received from Luna Books via NetGalley. It is now available in stores and on Amazon.

Review: The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost

Cat Crawfield is a half-vampire who as a girl set out to find and kill her father and as many other blood-suckers as she could while she was at it. He ruined her mother's life after all. One night she herself is captured by a very handsome vampire Bones, a bounty hunter, who for some reason doesn't kill her but instead agrees to train her to be truly deadly. Their partnership proves to be more than a mutually-beneficial collaboration and soon Cat and Bones are a force to be reckoned with, which is a very good thing because new enemies keep coming, each more dangerous than the last.

There are currently six books in the series but I've only read the first four: Halfway to the Grave, One Foot in the Grave, At Grave's End and Destined for an Early Grave. The last two are already wish-listed and I look forward to getting my hands on them, if for no other reason than that they are a lot of fun to read. They are side-splittingly funny, the pacing is excellent and if there's any way Jeaniene Frost could share how in the world she gets this many ideas I would be forever in her debt. I got these from a relative and spent a week in the company of Cat, Bones and the rest of the gang, following their adventures, laughing at the endless humor and blushing at all the non-PG13 action. Yes, it was blush-worthy, some of it so much so that I would not recommend these books to a younger audience.
The books follow the relationship of Cat and Bones as much as they do the developments in the clandestine paranormal underworld. There are vampires, ghouls, ghosts and who knows what else and every faction has a complex hierarchy and laws and feud constantly. In the middle of it all our two protagonists find each other, fall in love, get separated, find each other again, save each other's lives, have a bit of trouble and finally get married according to the traditions of vampire society. (I'm not telling you anything you wouldn't find out from the synopses so as far as spoilers go this doesn't count). Every installment has a theme, such as Cat becoming the Huntress in the full sense of the word, her making the choice to be with Bones and owning her nature and everything it brings, stepping up and defending her choice to her family and co-workers. Those are all good things to have at the core of a book but for me #4 had the most substance because it wasn't just personal issues that the characters had to deal with. There was also a social issue that a lot of people in the real world have to deal with as well - abuse in a relationship and at the end of the book when that chapter of Cat's past was firmly behind them both she and Bones were a lot more than what they started out as. I think that if this book was just as essentially fluffy as the first three I wouldn't have wish-listed the sequels and instead would've just picked them up if I happened upon them. This last installment showed me that Ms. Frost is capable of more than just witty banter and action sequences and I look forward to the next books.

Review: Sleepless by Cyn Balog

We all have a Sandman who helps us go to sleep. Eron is Julia's Sandman and he is in love with her. He can't wait for his contract to run out so that he could try to become a part of Julia's life but there's a complication: Griffin, Julia's boyfriend, is Eron's replacement and he has no intention of letting go.

I read the ARC of this book so don't know what will end up hitting the shelves but based on my copy I can say that it's a nice read.
I really liked the idea of a Sandman falling in love with one of his charges and breaking rules to protect her. I am generally a fan of incorporating folklore into contemporary fiction and building stories around it so here Ms. Balog did well as far as I'm concerned. What I was much less fond of is how from a perfectly satisfying middle of the book where the story developed at a good pace we jumped to the conclusion that felt cut short and rushed and where the main trouble-maker acted completely out of character. I literally turned the last page and wondered "What? That's it? Aren't there supposed to be more chapters?"
The characters are interesting, each with their own voice, and you can see how they change and develop over the course of the story. It would have been great to learn more about them. With the book being as short as it is I feel we've been given a glimpse but there's more to know about every one of them and since I think Ms. Balog does a good job with her characters I bet it would've only made the story better.

Review: Rage by Jackie Kessler

When Melissa Miller can't breathe she takes a razor to her skin and bleeds the pain away. She is only 16 but already her body is covered in scars. One day a delivery man comes to the door and offers her a package. Should she open it when on the brink of death she will accept the office of one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse - War.

My own high school experience was so incredibly uneventful that I had no idea it could be such a traumatic time and while I have heard of self-harming before it was always something that happened to someone else somewhere far away. Jackie Kessler made it real in such a way that by the time I was halfway through I've already decided to look up other books by Jackie Kessler, especially the first one in the Horsemen of the Apocalypse series. Fortunately, if Rage is any indication, while the books are connected by who the protagonists become it is not necessary to read them in order.
Melissa is easy to sympathize with, in part because the world in her head is so dark and disturbing - half the time I just wanted to hug her to reassure her that she wasn't alone. She is intelligent and funny and has a sharp tongue but she is also very hurt and lonely. The extent to which the other characters are developed is in direct correlation with how important and influential they are in Missy's life. Those who matter are vivid, those she sees as little more than scenery are barely fleshed out. I suppose it is a common way to view the world for a teenager and with Missy talking about the things that happen but not explaining them the story reads rather like a diary, which made for much more intimate storytelling.
Another thing I found appealing is how non-preachy this book is. One would almost expect one of the characters to begin pontificating at some point and here there's none of that. It's actually very good fun despite the dark subject matter. And how could it not be fun when the Grim Reaper himself looks like Kurt Cobain, plays guitar and says things like "rock on"?
I really liked the ending because there wasn't closure like there is in majority of books. Life goes on and Missy has to take every day one breath at a time, just like the rest of us do. There's no real closure until you actually die and it's the same for everybody - you, me, Missy and War.
If you are a teen or getting there or have a person of that age in your life I recommend that you read this book. I'd like to think that it may help recognize the signs of self-harming in others, find the courage to get help or the strength to put down the blade for good.

ARC of this book obtained from NetGalley.com

Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater is back with a sequel to last year's Shiver. No spoilers as the book isn't even out in the stores yet but I will tell you that this story is different from the last one. It doesn't have the quietness and the feeling of going with the flow and just being happy in the moment. It has the feeling of anticipation coursing all through it, anticipation of something you don't particularly look forward to but that is going to happen regardless because that's how life is, things happen. It also sets the scene for mystery, so I'm betting your gray cells will get a workout trying to answer all the why's before the last installment is on the shelves.
The characters have more depth to them, they aren't children any more, even if they were already 17-going-on-30. They're young adults making their decisions and choosing their path, even if they have to face the fact that they may be burning bridges in the process. The secondary characters are also multi-dimensional and interesting and they make the reader care about them. They also provide a nice contrasting backdrop for the leads.
What puts these books on my list of favorites is that so much of the story is real, the people, the situations, the consequences. If everything worked out perfectly for everyone all the time it would've been fake and Maggie doesn't write fake. What Maggie does write is real people living real lives with all their beauty and all their ugliness and she's not afraid to put it all out there. Writers who are afraid write rubbish and this is not rubbish, very far from it.
This is the kind of book I'm glad is out there for the young readers. They'll have a chance to read about real tenderness and caring and appreciation and devotion and relationships that aren't flashy and won't end up on the front pages of the social gossip columns or on TV but will make all the difference in the world in the lives of two people.
A word of caution - you will laugh some and you will cry some, so get the tissues ready.

Review: Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

There's plenty of controversy surrounding these books. They've been criticized for the apparent incestuousness of the relationship between the two main characters for about 2 books out of 3, for two secondary characters being gay and another a rather promiscuous lady. There's blood and gore and cold-hearted twistedness and frankly I don't think these are YA books. The characters are teenagers, but to me that's not enough to make a book suitable for teen reading. Then of course there was the scandal of Cassandra Clare allegedly plagiarizing everything fantasy from TV to books in her Harry Potter fanfiction. I haven't seen or read the allegedly plagiarized works or the said fanfic so am not qualified to have an opinion on this, I can say though that there are elements in MI that are common to other stories. The extremely powerful and charismatic villain with a group of supporters he gathered while they were all in school and the orphan courageous enough to stand up to him come to mind immediately and I think we all know what they're reminiscent of. Here's what makes that not matter to me: anything after the folk tales, myths and legends is a repeat, anything written now has been done before in one way or another and the important thing is not to create something absolutely original (that I think would be next to impossible) but to make something familiar your own and different. I think Cassandra Clare does that beautifully.
I really enjoyed these books, could hardly put them down really. Ms. Clare's writing is witty, the characters are realistic enough with all their flaws and fine qualities, there's plenty of action and lovelorn adolescent angst to satisfy both types of readers. Even mild character continuity problems, like the bookish Clary who regularly skipped PE in the first book all of a sudden becoming strong and agile in the second, didn't ruin the experience. I loved how developed the world is with plenty of fantastical creatures, their intricate dynamics and how the fantasy world coexists with the regular world with the 'mundie' humans suspecting not a thing. If you are the kind of reader who can manage to not let the things I talked about in the first paragraph make these books unpalatable I think you're in for a treat and you should put them on your To Read list.

Twilight. Part 2.

There are four books in the series and as a fan I've got a lot to say. So, critics, here's more for you.

To those who say that Bella is a spine-less coward:

Show me where. You're going to have to give me page numbers 'cause I'm not seeing it. I do see however a girl with extreme confidence in herself who pursues what she wants despite everything her family and friends tell her and who, while experiencing fear like any other normal human being whose life is in danger, presses on regardless. You want examples? I'll give you examples.

Twilight - Bella decides to move to Forks so her mother can have a life she wants with her husband; she goes to the ballet studio all alone to meet a vampire who can kill her with a flick of a finger because she thinks she can save her mother; she maintains that she wants to be with Edward even though he clearly doesn't think it's a good idea for her.

New Moon - she faces Jacob when he begins avoiding her; when Alice tells her Edward is in trouble she does not hesitate, she is ready to go to Voltera on a moment's notice to protect him, even if it means risking her own life; she goes to the Cullens and asks for a vote on her humanity and becoming part of the family; she defies both Jacob and her father by staying with Edward.

Eclipse - she maintains her friendship with Jacob despite Edward being against it; she continues her relationship with Edward even though her father and Jake would clearly rather she didn't; she wants to go to the face-off with the newborns and doesn't only because Edward won't have it; she risks herself during the Edward vs. Victoria fight.

Breaking Dawn - she joins forces with Rosalie of all people to protect the child she wants to keep; she goes alone to establish an escape route for her daughter and Jacob and protect the secret from the Volturi.

To those who are outraged by these books spitting in the face of feminism by portraying a heroine who "can't stand on her own and always needs a man" and is accepting of a guy who'll disable her car so she wouldn't be able to go see her friend:

We all look for love. We all look for a mate, a soul mate if we're lucky, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with looking for that and hanging on with all your might when you find it and know without a shadow of a doubt that this is it. Bella is female, a heterosexual one, so yes, she looks for the mate among the opposite sex. That is still the prevalent tendency in any society, last time I checked.

Now, let me ask all you "feminists" who are crossing your arms and digging in your heels right now. Have you ever had your heart broken? Was that person the one and did that breakup crush all your hopes and dreams in one swoop? If you answered yes, remember it. Remember the pain and how the days seemed grey regardless of what the sky looked like and there was no more happiness in the world to be found anywhere. Never felt that? May be you haven't loved that much. (Hold the screaming until I find my earmuffs, please. Ok, got 'em. Go ahead, let it loose.) If you loved and felt and remember - is it really that unreasonable for Bella to be heartbroken? I don't think so. In fact I think if she just shook it off and moved on I would've been disappointed.

On to the "unhealthily controlling boyfriend" part. On one hand, granted, it can be perceived as creepy and can call for a break up and a restraining order. On the other hand we're not dealing with any kind of usual situation here. There's real danger there. As in life and death. So yes, I think extreme measures are warranted. Oh, I can hear the screamers "But she's letting him get away with it! Unhealthy patterns!! Red flags!!!" Yes, she's letting him get away with it. I wondered why myself and decided that the reason is that finally someone is taking care of her, as opposed to her taking care of everything and everyone and making sure people have food in the fridge and their driver's licenses don't expire. She grew up being the responsible one, now Edward, the Cullens and Jake are taking care of her and I imagine it felt good for someone else to be in charge for a change. She could relax and not have to be in control of everything any more.

We all want to be taken care of and if you believe otherwise you're just kidding yourself. Deep down inside we all want to curl up on the couch once in a while and not have to worry about anything other than our own ideas and selves. For most of us that's what we get during our childhood. Bella had no childhood and this is her second chance at it. Besides, it's easy to forget, but at 17 she's still a kid. She needs someone to look after her and she's found that someone in Edward. For that, among other things, she'll let it slide.

I know I'm talking about fictional characters as if they're real people. Contrary to popular belief not all Twilighters have trouble differentiating between fiction and real life. (I read the other day that people come to Forks, WA and ask if it's ok to go hiking considering the vampire situation. Really?) My theory is that in every work of fiction there's a little bit of fairy-tale, the rest is all true and it takes talent to merge the fantastical features with the truth to make them into one tale, solid and seemingly real. To me books with relationships that don't resemble day-time soaps are case studies in human behaviour, with names changed for privacy reasons and settings altered almost beyond recognition, but the core of it all is still there. There's a Bella in all of us, just like there's an Edward and a Jake and a Rose... you get my point.

Twilight. Part 1.

Yes, it was those four. Not very original of me, I know, but they hooked me and still haven't let go. So now, cuddled up in the warm embrace of the fandom and fangirling over every bit of news, I'm obsessed with a fictional world. Yes, I know. Not very original either. It could be worse. I could be on drugs or something. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

To those who are sighing, raising eyebrows, shaking heads and rolling eyes: feel free to stop, I've heard and seen it all and I'm not changing my ways. There's some more stuff I'd like to say, so here goes:

To those who's maintain that the writing isn't that great and that Stephenie Meyer seems to have gotten carried away with a thesaurus:

The writing may not be Pulitzer prose but how many books have you read that grabbed you inside and twisted? How many books have you read where the characters seemed real and you cared so much that when they cried you cried with them? How many books have made you feel anything more than mild amusement? How many books pulled you away from the TV?

To each his own of course but these books grabbed me. They made me feel and care and want to learn and explore and discover and do something with myself other than go with the flow. After reading them I stopped caring about whether my dreams were practical or not. They are mine and even if I fail at least I'll know I've tried. I'm not afraid to try something that in my gut I know is right for me, even if nobody else thinks so because if one doesn't believe in oneself nobody else will. How many books have woken you up like that?

So yes, I'm grateful to Stephenie Meyer for writing these books because I found them at the right time and they made a difference. Go read 'em. May be they'll do something for you too.