Tag: YA/MG

I honestly don’t know what to put here. I think that’s a compliment, hope it is anyway. I spent most of this novel leaning forward, as if that would get me to the end quicker. I don’t know how many times I said, “She’s [Collins] isn’t really doing that…” when it was very clear she was.

Yet the book as a whole (even most of the time I was reading it) I felt a mixture of pleasure and disappointment. I really don’t think that Collins could’ve done better, I don’t think there was any way to stick the landing. The setup over the first two novels created expectations that were too high — a plot that couldn’t be wrapped up in just one book (but I don’t think 2 would’ve done it either, then she would’ve had to resort to filler, I think).

So let me put it this way…did we get honest character growth/development? Yup.
Did we get to spend more time with people we’ve grown to like? Yup.
Did we see man’s cruelty to man clearly displayed? Yup.
Did we get a conclusion (however unsatisfying or sad) to every storyline? Yup.

Pretty much what we would want to see from a conclusion. Was it the ending that I wanted? No. Was it the ending that I feared we’d get? Thankfully, no. Can’t complain about that.

The most redeeming thing about this series (which, please don’t get me wrong, I loved) is the commentary on the relations between media, government actions (military and otherwise) and entertainment/distraction of the masses. I don’t think Collins said anything new, but she said it pretty darn effectively. And no one needs to think about these things more than the series’ target demographic.

Dusted Off: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

By HCNewton

On August 12, 2013

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Freeyow! (not a word, I know, but…) Took The Hunger Games and kicked it up a notch. Compelling just doesn’t cover it.

On the whole, I enjoyed The Hunger Games more, but this was a very worthy sequel, and definitely left me wanting to/needing to move on to Mockingjay

Dusted Off: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

By HCNewton

On August 12, 2013

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I want to have something more to say about this book, but for the moment all I can say is, wow–believe the hype.

Is it perfect? Nope. Is it a heckuva read? Oh yeah–on the edge of your seat, can’t believe this is a kids’ book, kind of read.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

By HCNewton

On August 10, 2013

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I like to think that I’m an involved parent — with a finger on the pulse of whatever media my kids are consuming (and, yeah, occasionally slamming my foot down on it. But I do have some trouble when it comes to my daughter — sure, I promote her Whovian impulses, I’ve encouraged her to petition her guitar teacher to help her with some Coulton songs, she’s the only one of my kids to read The Chronicles of Prydainon her own — but there’s no way I can listen to an entire One Direction album; Sam & Kat doesn’t interest me at all; and I just can’t bring myself to read The Dork Diaries, no matter how much she implores me. So when she comes to me and tells me I should read The Hero’s Guide…, I was pretty relieved that it looked interesting.

And, as you’ll have seen earlier this week, I thought the opening paragraphs were great — I almost typed in the whole Prologue, but I’m too lazy and worried about how much I can safely cite. The voice and story-telling method are instantly charming, it reminded me of The Princess Bride almost instantly and draws you in so effortlessly that you know Healy worked hard to pull it off. In many ways, this is Jim C. Hines’ Princess books for the MG crowd — but this is far more amusing, and doesn’t border on the preachy or sanctimonious like Hines’ can.

We first meet Ella and her Prince Charming, she’s relishing her new-found freedom and ability to do many of the things — both ordinary and extraordinary — that she’s been dreaming of for years. He’s been raised in the contemporary equivalent of a bubble. He’s to be safe, to look good, and live an uneventful life. Despite their affections for each other, they aren’t suited to live together and so Ella goes off seeking adventure — with Frederic chasing after her, in his own pathetic way.

While Ella finds adventure, as well as Zaubera, the witch who’d been holding Rapunzel. Frederic runs into another Prince Charming — Gustav, the youngest of a (very) large family, doing all he can to step out of the looming shadows of his brothers. He’s brave, reckless, and not terribly bright. But he gives his all to rescue Rapunzel, and help out others in his land. It doesn’t always work out for him.

To help them with their quests, these two track down the help of Liam. This is a Prince Charming who’s taken the whole hero thing very seriously. He’s devoted his life to becoming everything he’s supposed to be — a wily warrior who can rescue any damsel in distress. Even if she doesn’t deserve it, like Briar Rose, a sleeping beauty when awakened shows that her beauty is all on the outside.

Can’t forget Duncan, the clumsiest — and luckiest — Prince Charming around, who wanders his way into the story while giving Snow White a little break from his enthusiasm for . . . well, everything.

These four Princes Charming, and their respective princesses (including Liam’s plucky, brainy sister) are off to save Kingdoms, their nations’ entertainment/news industries, and very existences from bandits, monsters, Zaubera and even a band of outlaws run by The Bandit King.

It’s a nice read — written so that almost any child could enjoy it, and even entertain any adult who stumbles on to it. Lots of action, adventure, a touch of romance (just a touch, the cootie-wary need not be scared off from this). I laughed more than a few times, and grinned at lines and jokes even more often. A very pleasant way to spend an afternoon or two.

The ending clearly sets up a sequel or three. I’m in. My daughter did good putting this one in my hands — and its one that I can feel good about her reading.

a slightly briefer version of this appears on goodreads.

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

By HCNewton

On July 23, 2013

In Fantasy, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, YA/MG/Children's Books

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, this is still a really well-written series, with a rich cast of characters and a fully-realized setting that puts The Caster Chronicles ahead of several similar series. However, this installment — by and large — seems rather pointless. Its main task seems to be setting the stage for Book 4.

Yes, there’s some character development — but not enough, it’s like they’re afraid to go too far with some of the supporting characters (like Link and Ridley) at this point, they have to leave something for the next installment. Yes, we get some vital back story, but . . . well, that’s pretty much it. There’s a couple hundred pages of set up, a quick action scene and a conclusion that isn’t.

A few other notes:

It took Ethan and Lena far too long to decode the song lyrics. They’ve been doing this for about 2 years now, right? And they’re this slow? Hard to root for people when they’re acting far stupider than they are — especially this many of them at once.
For people who talk about loving and respecting each other as much as these people do — they don’t communicate. On those rare occasions when they do, actual progress is made. Amma and Ethan, in particular, should’ve conversed, not hidden things from each other.
For a series with such a strong sense of place, man, these authors show such contempt for the citizenry and culture of Gatlin. Isn’t it possible to talk about problems with the society without vilifying it?
I was unclear whether the devastation brought about by Lena’s choice (and Abraham Ravenwood & Co’s reaction to it) was limited to Gatlin, or if it extended beyond that. If it’s just Gatlin — where’s the press, the scientific community, the feds, looky-loos, etc. converging on the area to investigate it? If it’s a larger area affected, what are the explanations? Assuming they’re able to defeat Abraham in the next book, how does the world go back to normal?
So many things — Ethan’s taste issues, Link’s abilities, foremost amongst them — are introduced, and explored a little bit, and then dropped. Why?

I have confidence that Garcia and Stohl will pull this off (mostly) in the last 50 pages or so of Beautiful Redemption, and this will just fade into memory as a prolonged setup. But right now, it’s left a sour taste in my mouth.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

By HCNewton

On July 18, 2013

In Authors, Fiction, Rick Yancey, Science Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Series: The 5^th Wave, #1

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There were two things that kept running through my mind: Noah Hawley‘s A Conspiracy of Tall Men and Suzanne Collins‘ The Hunger Games (maybe you’ve heard of it). I’m not really suggesting that Yancey’s created some sort of Hawley-Collins hybrid, but this affected me the same way those two did.

I remember very little about Hawley’s book (it was 1999, in my defense) — I remember enjoying it and being really creeped out and feeling paranoid. A feeling that lasted a little longer than the book, as I recall.

I remember Collins better, obviously. And whatever issues and problems the first of Katniss’ adventures had, it grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let me go until well after the runaway freight train of a story had come to it’s adrenaline-fueled conclusion.

I really don’t know how to discuss the story of The 5^th Wave without spoiling the heck out of it. But I can tell you that it hit me like those two books did. The various storylines are gripping, and fast-paced and make you wish you could turn the pages faster. And once you get your brain wrapped around the devastation being unleashed on earth, the creepiness and paranoia are the order of the day.

This isn’t one of the better books I’ve read lately — in terms of character, craft, literary value, etc. — but it’s just about the most effective and affecting. Hawley gets under your skin with the skill of a seasoned pro, makes your emotions and reactions dance like a marionette for him, and leaves you hungry for more.

I have to admit, I miss the Yancey of Alfred Knopf and The Highly Effective Detective books — they just felt different. They were fun — as enjoyable as this is, it wasn’t fun. And I liked the characters (most of them), wanted to spend time with them. Not so sure I like these characters as people. But, until Yancey gets around to it (if he does), I’ll gladly take pulse-pounding excitement and mind-bendy plots.

Dream Dark by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

By HCNewton

On July 17, 2013

In Fiction, Urban Fantasy, YA/MG/Children's Books

Dream Dark by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is pretty much the textbook definition of “meh.” The primary purpose of this short story “of Gatlin’s first, and only, Linkubus” is to provide a bridge between Beautiful Darkness and Beautiful Chaos, which is does well enough.

But the thing is, there’s already a land-bridge between the two books — Chapter 1 of Beautiful Chaos. Dream Dark is totally unnecessary.

Add to that the fact that practically nothing happens. Nothing we need to know, anyhow. We get more details on the aftermath of Link being bitten by the half-Incubus, and how he deals with it early on — but we don’t learn anything we need to know. And it’s not even that particularly entertaining.

If this story’d been told from Link’s POV rather than Ethan’s, maybe that could’ve been enough to justify this. But as it is…meh.

—–

P.S. For the record, I’d have felt this way about the story even if I hadn’t bought the e-copy and then discovered that it was printed in the back of my paperback copy of Beautiful Chaos. Really.

The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross

By HCNewton

On June 14, 2013

In Fiction, Science Fiction, Steampunk, YA/MG/Children's Books

Whoops. Missed posting Thursday. I’ll try (no promises) to get two up today.

—–

The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another fun installment in Cross’ Steampunk Chronicles. As silly as I feel reading a book with the Harlequin Teen logo on it, I really enjoy this series (‘tho maybe I should switch to the ebook edition to protect my rep). Once again, Cross balances a steampunk-y adventure story with strong emotional plotlines, with some fun banter between her characters, making for an addictive read.

This time out the primary focus is on Emily — the technomancer, and on both her personal and professional crisis. Just as it seems she’s making some progress on getting Sam to say how he feels about her, as well as to accept what she did to save his life, she’s kidnapped by a bunch of automatons so she can perform a brain transplant from a very injured scoundrel into a semi-organic android. No really, that makes sense in context.

Everyone else, in one way or another, is dealing with the fallout from their trip to the U.S. (and from the events in the first book), while also trying to find Emily and bring her home safely. Obviously, it’s worst for Jasper, more withdrawn from both his friends and the events in the book as a whole.

Griffin and Finley are also dealing with their relationship’s progress — with all the complications, ups adn downs that such entails. Griffin started dealing with something relating to his power in the States and it’s having a devastating impact on him back home (and in turn, that’s impacting everyone around him), causing Finlay to fret over him. My biggest beef with this book comes from the Finlay/Griffin interactions, which are far too similar to the Emily/Sam interactions, covering nearly the same grounds with both couples.

There’s a new character introduced that should provide a good deal of fodder for storylines in the future, and I eagerly await more of her. Really can’t say more without entering Spoiler City, so, I’ll just limit myself to saying that Cross’ creativity and inventiveness is on full display with her creation, and she’s already one of my favorites in the series.

One other note, one of the automatons we spend the most time with was described as a spider with a doll’s head. I certainly hope Cross was trying to get her readers to envision that creepy doll from Toy Story — because every one I know whose read this is seeing that.* Griffin and his team find her just as unnerving as Woody and Buzz did (don’t blame them), either.

Things are getting harder, and stakes are getting higher for our intrepid adventurers — whatever’s next will likely push them further yet.

This was a fun, quick read and I’m already impatiently waiting for the next installment.

*That’d be my wife and I.

Dusted Off: Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci

By HCNewton

On June 10, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, YA/MG/Children's Books

Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Victoria Jurgen is an honor student, a budding photographer with a heck of an eye, a social misfit, a movie geek (there’s a correlation of the two), who’s nicknamed herself after a SciFi movie character. All this makes her (a goal for her, a criticism for her mother) “boy proof.”

She has no real friends at school–only rivals, acquaintances, and those that she ignores. Until a transfer student rattles her cage, awakening ideas, feelings, and goals she’s not ready for.

Victoria is what Bella Swan could’ve become if she were a bit geekier, and didn’t fall in with the supernatural set. Speaking of ol’ Bella, early on in Boy Proof, there’s a scene involving a transfer student, the only empty seat in class, and the newcomer’s odor that is very reminiscent of a scene from Twilight. IMNSHO, Castellucci pulls if off better than Meyer did.

There’s nothing ground-breaking here plot-wise, but Victoria’s character and voice are so strong, you don’t care. This book is about watching her change and grow. Could the book have been more than that? Sure. Did it need to be? Nope. I wish I could remember what blogpost/tweet/whatever it was that tipped me off to this book, but whatever it was, I’m glad I read it.