A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

 

 Series: Gemma Doyle
Author: Libba Bray
Page Count: 403
Published: December 9th, 2003
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
  5 Stars ★★★★★ 

Gemma has a vision of her mother's death which comes true. She moves from India to England, where she is enrolled in a boarding school with a burned up East Wing, snobby peers and an outcast roommate. She finds that a boy from India, Kartik, has followed her to England, and he warns her about her visions which continue to baffle, frighten and intrigue her.

She forms a group with a few of the girls from her school and they call themselves the Order, after the mysterious organization somehow tied to a strange journal and her own dead mother. But as Gemma delves deeper into her own abilities and includes others in her secret, she puts herself and everyone else at risk.

Once again, I've found myself surprised that I've enjoyed a historical fiction so much! Despite Gemma and her peers living in a different time with different issues and worries, I was able to connect with the characters and care about what they were going through, and I feel like this made this book all the better. I was often really angry at what they had to deal with, especially since they lived in a time when women were treated like less and their wishes were ignored. I did dislike some of the characters, for example, Gemma's brother for being so misogynistic and snobby, but on the plus side, the author did a great job of making me feel like I was in the era that Gemma and the others were living in.

I feel like there was a lot of suspense in this book and that kept me reading. I really wanted to know what was going to happen to the characters, both in their normal lives and in terms of the powers and realms of which Gemma had introduced to them. Their personal situations were just as gripping as the mystical dilemmas they had to sort out, and because of this I was reading this book whenever I could!

While the writing style took some time to get used to, I found it flowed extremely well and that Gemma's voice as a narrator was entertaining and easy to follow. Her emotions, especially considering her mother's death, her family in general and her friends' problems were well conveyed and made the situations seem more real and believable. There were some humorous parts within the story as well, like when the group uses their new powers to prank others, and this provided a nice break and variety from the general dark atmosphere of the story.

There wasn't really much romance within the novel except for a few minor scenes. However, I don't feel that they were very relevant to the plot. I usually prefer reading books with lots of romance but this one entertained me even without a romantic aspect which I am very impressed with. I'm glad that I already own the second book, and if I didn't it would absolutely be on my list of sequels to buy as soon as possible.

I definitely recommend this book! YA readers and those who like historical fiction should read this. If you like books about magic and mystery and you want something that will keep you hooked, this book is for you.

Find A Great and Terrible Beauty on Goodreads

Shelf Control: Cinder

This is a feature from Bookshelf Fantasies

In this feature, you're supposed to discuss a book that you want to read that you already own. I've got plenty of those so I thought I'd join in this week!

 

My pick this week is Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

 

 Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

(Synopsis from Goodreads)

How I got it:

I bought it off of Amazon! It was on sale.

When I got it:

I got it approximately 2 years ago

Why I want to read it:

It seems like a really unique book and the average rating on Goodreads (4.14 stars out of 5 as of 8.10.2016)  has me wondering what makes this book so awesome to so many people! With a high rating like that, how could I resist giving this one a try?

Have you read Cinder? What did you think? Feel free to comment below!

Bloodlust by Alex Duval

 

 Series: Vampire Beach
Author: Alex Duval
Page Count: 233
Published: June 1st, 2006
Publisher: Simon Pulse
  3 Stars ★★★

 Jason has moved to Malibu and starts attending a new high school where he makes friends quickly and meets Sienna; hot, popular and taken. With a new crush and invitations to parties, things seem to be going fairly well for Jason. That is, until someone turns up dead.

When one of Jason's new friends reveals his crazy theory about the student's death, that she was killed by a vampire, he's skeptical but wary. But as the evidence begins to add up, Jason learns that there's something dangerous in Malibu, and everything is not as it seems. 

I think the best way for me to sum up my feelings concerning this book is that it was enjoyable, but it wasn't memorable. It's an easy, quick read, but it's not the kind of book that you'll be recommending to all your friends, rushing out to get the sequels or hoping that it becomes a movie. This is the kind of book that you read after you've read a long novel or you've just finished a series. It's a fill-in book, something to entertain yourself with while taking a break from a regular reading schedule or a big to-read pile. 

The characters weren't all that special, they were pretty flat and stereotypical. However, they did make the story move forward effectively, albeit predictably. Jason was a likeable main character because he seemed like a decent guy, but there was nothing really unique about him. He didn't really stand out from the crowd or make an impression like some characters in other books. 

The plot overall was really predictable, except for near the end where there was a twist. I thought it was a pretty good ending and a decent twist, however I wish that there had been more evidence or foreshadowing leading up to what happened. I don't really like it when twists seem random, or when clues only appear near the end of the book. I like to be able to guess, and this book didn't really fulfill that for me. 

While this doesn't really stand out from the rest of the YA books I've read, I do recommend it for fans of vampires and YA novels. If you're looking for a short read or a break from long, intricate books, you may want to give this one a try. 

Find Bloodlust on Goodreads

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

 

Series: N/A
Author: Lili Wilkinson
Page Count: 310
Published: February 8th, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
  4 Stars ★★★★

Ava has come out as a lesbian and is dating Chloe, who prides herself on not being like others her age, and who encourages Ava to do the same. However, Ava wants to try new things, to go to a new school, and maybe even to wear pink. 

She tries to keep her school and personal lives separate, hiding her relationship with Chloe from her classmates, and not telling Chloe that she's signed up to help with the school play. But as Ava questions her sexual orientation, her relationship with Chloe, and what she wants for her future, her secrets catch up to her and she can't hide who she is, or who she thinks she may be, any longer. 

I was impressed by this book because I often find it hard to get into YA contemporary novels, but I had no trouble getting into this one. While it felt a little bit slow at times, overall I found it quite fast-paced and I was never bored.

I thought it was interesting to see characters who were all so different compared to each other. There's Chloe, the rebel. Then there's Ava, who wants to fit in. Other characters included various outcasts, goths, theater kids and the popular crowd. However, while these groups are often found to be cliche, they didn't feel that way in this book. The presence of characters from these cliques seemed, to me, to mirror real life through a portrayal of the way that high school and life in general is often divided up, including prejudices, secrets and all.

I liked the way that real-life issues, such as sexuality, school, and the future were addressed and discussed through Ava's thoughts and experiences. I understood a lot of Ava's confusions, worries, and hopes, which helped me to care about Ava, and kept me reading on. I found her to be an interesting and relatable character.

However, I feel that a few things were missing from this book. For example, I wish there had been more discussion and scenes considering Ava's relationship with her parents. I wanted to know about her past with them, maybe about less happy times, or when they disagreed. I feel that this would have made for some interesting dialogue.

I also wish that this book hadn't completely skipped over multi-sexual identities such as bisexual and pansexual. When Ava is exploring her sexuality, it would make sense that these words would come up at least once somehow, whether in conversation or Ava's own research. Considering Ava's struggle, and the context of much of her dilemmas and thoughts expressed throughout the novel, the idea that people don't actually have to "choose" between feeling attraction towards men, women, or nonbinary people would probably have crossed her mind at some point. And yet, I don't feel like this idea was present, in any significant way, throughout the book.

I found it interesting how the author approached the theme of belonging, whether belonging to a social group, a clique, or a relationship. Usually when this theme is addressed, I've noticed more of a trend towards the protagonist wanting to be different, wanting to escape the clutches of normalcy and venture into the unknown. Ava's story was the opposite. She wanted to fit in, to be like everyone else and to be "normal". This was a nice change and made for a refreshing read.

This was an enjoyable, quick read. I recommend this to readers who enjoy YA contemporary, and to those looking for books with themes such as sexuality and belonging.

Find Pink on Goodreads

Author Q&A with Tiffany McDaniel

Hey everyone! Today I've got something a little bit different....an interview with author Tiffany McDaniel. Enjoy!

 

 

Q:  What inspired you to write The Summer That Melted Everything?

 

A: The novel started out as a title.  It was one of those Ohio summers that I felt like I was melting.  I always start writing a new novel with two things.  The title and the first line.  These two things direct the entire story.  For me, the inspiration along the way comes from the characters themselves.  I owe it to the characters to write them the best beginning, middle, and end of a story that I possibly can.

 

 

Q:  What was the hardest part about writing The Summer That Melted Everything?

 

A: For me, writing isn’t the hard part.  Getting published is the hard part.  I wrote my first novel when I was eighteen.  I wouldn’t get a publishing contract until I was twenty-nine.  It was eleven years full of rejection and fear I’d never be published.  That was definitely hard. 

 

 

Q:  How long did it take to write The Summer That Melted Everything ?

 

A: I wrote The Summer that Melted Everything in a month.  On average that's how long it takes for me to write a novel.  The thing with me is I like to get the beginning, middle, and end down as soon as I can because I don't like the story to sit for too long.  If the story sits for long it can start to lose its essence for me.  Polishing the story can always come after, but it's important for me to have that foundation on the page from which to build from.    

 

Q: How long have you been writing stories?

 

A: I’ve been writing since I was a kid and was able to hold a crayon in my hand to scribble what was in my head.  Writing to me is as natural as breathing.  I’ve always been drawn to story.  To read it.  Create it.  Live with it. 

 

 

Q:   What are your three favourite books?

 

A: Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Above the River: Collected Poems of James Wright.

 

 

Q:  Do you have any advice for new and aspiring authors?

 

A: To never give up.  Like I said it took me eleven years to get a foot in the publishing door.  The road to publication can be full of heart-ache and disappointment, but don’t give up.  It will happen for you.  Believe it. 

 

Q: Are you planning any other novels?

 

A: I have eight completed novels and am working on my ninth.  The novel I’m hoping to follow The Summer that Melted Everything up with is titled, When Lions Stood as Men.  It’s the story of a Jewish brother and sister who escape Nazi Germany, cross the Atlantic Ocean, and end up in my land of Ohio.  Struggling with the guilt of surviving the Holocaust, they create their own camp of judgment.  Being both the guards and the prisoners, they punish themselves not only for surviving, but for the sins they know they cannot help but commit.

 

 

Q: If you could bring one of your characters to life, who would it be and why?

 

A: For me I always say all my characters feel real.  As a writer, once I get to a certain point in their development, they take on life as real as you and me.  They exist and though I may not get to meet them here in this world, I think in some other plane of the universe or afterlife I will hopefully be able to meet them all.  To give a little more of an answer to your question, I think Sal will be really wonderful to meet.  He's a mystery even to me.  I'd just love to sit and chat with him a bit.  Listen to what he has to say.  Maybe learn something more.  

 

 

Q:  How would you describe your writing style?

 

A: Literary fiction with southern Gothic elements. 

 

 

Q:  Is there anything else you’d like to add?

 

A: That while I’m not on social media, readers can find me on my website here at www.tiffanymcdaniel.com

 

Readers can connect with me directly through my website.  That connection to readers is very important to me.  As I’ve said before, readers are the ones who determine an author’s entire career.  How can I not give readers some of my time, when they’ve given me some of their time reading my book?

 

~~~~~

 

 

                                             

 

Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984: the year a heat wave scorched Breathed, Ohio. The year he became friends with the devil.

Sal seems to appear out of nowhere - a bruised and tattered thirteen-year-old boy claiming to be the devil himself answering an invitation. Fielding Bliss, the son of a local prosecutor, brings him home where he's welcomed into the Bliss family, assuming he's a runaway from a nearby farm town.

When word spreads that the devil has come to Breathed, not everyone is happy to welcome this self-proclaimed fallen angel. Murmurs follow him and tensions rise, along with the temperatures as an unbearable heat wave rolls into town right along with him. As strange accidents start to occur, riled by the feverish heat, some in the town start to believe that Sal is exactly who he claims to be. While the Bliss family wrestles with their own personal demons, a fanatic drives the town to the brink of a catastrophe that will change this sleepy Ohio backwater forever

 

(Description from Goodreads)
Find the book trailer here

 

~~~~~

 

 

An Ohio native, Tiffany McDaniel’s writing is inspired by the rolling hills and buckeye woods of the land she knows.  She is also a poet, playwright, screenwriter, and artist.  The Summer that Melted Everything is her debut novel. 
“Sometimes this world is like red fences in the snow.  There ain’t no hiding who we really are.”—THE SUMMER THAT MELTED EVERYTHING