Book Report: Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed Cinder, the first book in the Lunar Chronicles, but WOW: this book! Marissa Meyer has done such a wonderful job integrating new, complex characters and plot lines while still seamlessly continuing what she started in Cinder. Scarlet is a satisfying, rich read, full of thrills both horrifying and romantic; terror, adventure and swoon. The sci-fi world Meyer has created is unique and air tight. (Rare! I am a tough customer when it comes to YA world building... so many worlds, too many holes). Again, I love how she interprets classic tales (this time around, Red Riding Hood) with such a light, clever hand. I truly can't wait for the third book in this series. Bravo! 

Shame-free TBF Promotion: Marissa Meyer is one of 33 YA authors appearing at the Rochester Teen Book Festival on May 18!

And, for those of you who have not read Cinder, here's my original review of that book from way-back-when. (Note, Dear Reader: you will need to read Cinder before jumping into Scarlet. And that's not a bad thing!)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I avoided this book for a bit because I'm a bit tired of YA fairy-tale/myth retelling/re-imagining. Though you can describe Cinder as a retake on Cinderella, that meager description doesn't do the book justice. It's great fun to imagine as you're reading how the author is going to incorporate the elements of Cinderella into her tale and she doesn't disappoint in her creativity or subtlety. I would describe this as very accessible yet classic sci-fi, loosely based on the Cinderella tale, with a kick-ass heroine and a satisfying tease of teenage romantic longing. Great character development, great intrigue, and a brisk, building action that will send you catapulting into a can't-wait sequel.

I recommend this series to readers who enjoy any of the following: science fiction, fairy-tale retelling, strong female leads, adventure, a perfect dose of romance-amid-action, page turners and series. Did I forget anything?  -Kelley, (Your) Teen Services Librarian

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Calling All Teen Volunteers!

Over the next several weeks, I will do my best to bombard you with information about this year’s Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival, which takes place on May 18 from 9am-5pm at Nazareth College in Rochester. Otherwise known as TBF.

Why? Because you should go. Why? TBF is an annual event that provides great opportunities for teens to interact with their favorite YA authors and discover new favorties. It is a day of fun, entertainment and fanning-out, and IT IS FREE. Hundreds, if not thousands, of teens and lovers of YA books will be in attendance.

Now, yours truly happens to be on the TBF Volunteer Committee, and I am here to tell you that volunteering at TBF is an amazing way to experience the festival! Available all day? Sign up to be an “author handler”; you'll get to hang with an author or a panel of authors all day, helping them get around and introducing them to their audiences. There are all sorts of assignments for those of you who are only available part of the day as well. We love having teen volunteers, but we’re also looking for some adults to help the day run smoothly. If you’re interested, you can fill out an online volunteer form HERE. Do it! Do it soon! Volunteer registration ends on March 25!

For a full list of this year's authors, their books, and just about everything else you need to know about TBF, visit the website: http://www.teenbookfestival.org 

Hope to see you there! -Kelley, (Your) Teen Services Librarian

Book Report: After the Snow

After the Snow by Sophie D. Crockett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you are into survival stories and/or dystopian fiction, you will want to read this book. Extreme climate change? Over-controlling government? A secret band of dissenters? Persistent peril? We got that!

Plot basics: teenage Willo lives an isolated existence with his family in a world where the oceans have "stopped working", and snow and ice have covered the globe. We meet Willo hiding up above his home, waiting things out after his family has been dragged away by government trucks. Why did they take them? What's he going to do now? Willo knows he can't stay in the home he's grown up in, and so he sets off with a sled to his "secret place" in the mountains to regroup, but a chance encounter with a pair of starving children changes his course.

I am, in general, a slow reader (alas!), but I tore through After the Snow, fascinated by Willo's world, how it came to be, and how he would navigate it once he finds himself utterly alone. The plot is almost entirely non-stop action, though the pace varies to build suspense or give us a needed break to recover. Willo-as-narrator is a perfect blend of common sense and unawareness. Plus, he wears a dog skull on his head and talks to it, which charmed me. You will be rooting for this kid from page 1; he's not perfect, but he's a pure soul.

There were moments in this book, especially when Willo is in "the city", that reminded me of the thrills and fears I felt when I first read 1984 or saw Blade Runner... haunting images and characters. The author does not shy away from depicting the horrors that human beings are capable of when they are starving or hopeless, and I appreciated that as honest (still, I'm also thankful that she showed such things with judiciousness, and didn't go overboard... just the right amount of human-beings-suck).

I felt a little let down by the ending. It felt hasty after so much care. That said, I think the author's choice of ending would make a fascinating discussion. Overall: so good.

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Book Report: Blood Red Road

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I listened to the audiobook of Blood Red Road, and when I didn't like something in the narration, I often asked myself, "but would I appreciate it or understand it more if this person's voice wasn't bothering me so much?" So, this review may be unfairly lopsided, especially since I heard such great things about this book (and it's sequel, Rebel Heart). I heard Hunger Games comparisons mentioned. I'm sorry to say that Hunger Games for me this is not, but it's still an interesting (and fast paced) post-apocalyptic journey.

I did really like how the novel starts; it showed exciting promise. Our heroine, 18 year old Saba, lives an isolated existence in a shack made of tires with her twin brother, Lugh, her dad and her little sister. The author does a really great job of subtly hinting at how food and water have become increasingly hard to come by for this family in a place once appropriately named "Silverlake". Young also establishes the dynamic of the family deftly, just in time for a big, red, menacing dust cloud to blow "into town" and cause all sorts of turmoil. Lugh is abducted by black robed riders under mysterious circumstances that hint at some cult-ish, quasi-religious world beyond Silverlake in a very intriguing way. And so Saba hits the road, hell bent on finding her twin.

Great start, right? And there's plenty of non-stop suspense, action and even romance (!) to come. So what's my problem with not loving this book? I feel like Young didn't reach 100%, though she showed awesome promise. There were some characters and situations that just fell flat for me, or (worse), weren't consistent. Let's just say there were a couple of "oh, come on!" moments for this reader. The thing that bothered me the most was the evil king that supposedly rules just about everything in this area (whatever area it may be) of what was probably once North America. He is a total wiener, and I just could not realistically believe that people would obey him, or that someone wouldn't overthrow him the first second they had. I can't go into much detail without spoilers, but he was the worst, and it just didn't jive for me that all this woe would be caused by such a total loser of a monarch. I did, however, really like how grotesque he was both physically and mentally. King of the creeps, for sure.

Other than that, I did like this book. If I decide to read the sequel, I'm definitely going to read the print copy to give Saba's real voice a second chance.

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Book Report: Seraphina

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I struggle with enjoying high fantasy. For example, I slogged through LOTR (though was ultimately glad that I did). That said, I barely struggled with Seraphina, which is a huge accomplishment in my reading habits.

It's no wonder this book is on several best lists for 2012. First off: the world building is awesome and awesomely achieved! Dragons who can transform into human form? Yes, please. But Hartman doesn't just stop at unique ideas; she really goes all-out in describing through her characters the differences between humans and dragons, AND creating an air-tight fantasy world and a history in which they both dwell. Our narrator and protagonist, Seraphina, is half-dragon, and I thought it was masterful how Hartman subtly depicted the characteristics of both species in her. (Did you know that dragons can swiftly calculate distance, velocity and time in their heads? Well, they can. They also love to hoard coins [shocker!] and only have to go to the bathroom about once a month.)

Even the language and the settings are intricately created. I loved Seraphina's frequent exclamations of shock, surprise or frustration, in which she utilizes a bevy of made-up saint names. There is no lazy writing to be found in this book. Plus, the intrigue and the romance are suppressed, secretive and simmering, as they should be in any medieval court worth its salt. Mandatory reading for those of you who love high fantasy, and highly recommended for those (like me) who are on the fence about it.

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Calling All Canandaigua Teen Artists--TBF 2013 T-Shirt Design Contest

To all my budding Canandaigua-area teen artists out there, here's your chance to put your stamp on something BIG. Submit your entries for the (Annual Greater Rochester) Teen Book Fest T-shirt Design Contest. Your design could be worn by hundreds of fellow teens and TBF volunteers. How cool is that? Details are linked below:

TBF Teens Read: 2013 Design Contests: T-shirt Design Contest

Don't know what TBF is? Stop missing out!

Visit www.teenbookfestival.org and be amazed.

And stay tuned for more opportunities to get involved with TBF, where 30+ awesome YA authors will descend on Rochester in May 2013.

-Kelley, (your) Teen Librarian

Book Report: Days of Blood and Starlight

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Days of Blood and Starlight is the sequel to the super excellent Daughter of Smoke and Bone, one of my favorite YA titles from last year. If you haven't read the first book, I highly recommend that you do so... now.

The first book was all magic, atmosphere, swoon and mystery. We meet our blue haired heroine Karou in modern day Prague, where she spends her days filling her art school sketch books with fantastical half-animal creatures so vivid and detailed you believe they are real... which, of course, they are. They're Karou's chimera family, living on a portal between our world and another, sending their "daughter" out around the globe to gather teeth from nefarious sources (for mysterious purposes). Into this picture comes one smoking hot seraph (see: angel), propelling Karou into a chaos of self-discovery. THRILLING. Intrigued? GO READ THIS BOOK.

Now on to the sequel, an excellent middle-book in a planned trilogy. Daughter of Smoke and Bone ended in destruction and loss, but also realization and awakening for our protagonist. The sequel finds Karou and a small band of warrior chimera attempting to recover from the destruction of their home, camping out in a kasbah in the middle of the desert in our world, building a resurrected army. In the world of Eretz, Akiva reluctantly aids the seraph forces in the emperor's attempt to wipe the decimated chimera off the face of the planet. The "blood" in the title belongs there. We gots-lots of death, pain, violence and fear going on here; lots of longing, sorrow and regret. Both sides seem hell bent on mutual destruction. Yet Taylor excellently teases out the scantest threads of hope for survival. (Personal note: due to the violence, themes, and sophistication of the writing, I would recommend this to my high school readers and up; I just don't think the middle school set is ready for this one). 

While our main characters suffer and struggle, the secondary characters from the first book are more fully flushed out and explored. The scenes with Mik and Zuzana especially provided necessary doses of tenderness and beauty in the otherwise bleak landscape. I also loved watching the humanity bloom in Akiva's sister Liraz, hereto depicted as a steely, unbending warrior.

I was so excited for this to be published and was not disappointed in the least. Taylor has such excellent pacing, her images are so evocative, and her writing so uniquely poetic. I can't wait for the third book, especially thanks to a particularly smoldering cave scene in the last few pages. There is much to look forward to. Whatever will I do to pass the time until then? :)

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-Kelley, (Your) Teen Services Librarian