Tag: YA Page 3 of 4

Thursday, 1:17 PM Book Tour

On May 24, 2016

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

Time stopped. You didn’t. Now what?

Duck is 17. He will never be 18.

Tomorrow is his birthday. It will never be tomorrow.

Time stopped at 1:17 p.m. on a beautiful Thursday afternoon in Washington, DC. Duck is the only person moving in a world where all other living beings have been frozen into statues in an endless diorama. Duck was already in limbo, having lost his mother to cancer and his father to mental illness.

Now, faced with the unimaginable, he approaches his dilemma with the eye of an anthropologist and the heart of a teenager trying to do the right thing under the strangest of circumstances. Ultimately, he realizes that while he doesn’t understand the boundaries between friendship and love, that uncertain territory may be the key to restarting the world.

Trade Paperback – Available now
Publisher: Coffeetown Press
ISBN13: 9781603813570
208 pages

Coming up: We’ve got a Guest Post from Michael Landweber, a Q & A with him, too — and finally, my $.02 about the book. Come back and check these posts out (the links will work when the posts go up) — or just go get the book. Whatever.

Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

By HCNewton

On April 5, 2016

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Calamity

by Brandon Sanderson
Series: The Reckoners, #3

Hardcover, 417 pg.
Delacorte Press, 2016

Read: March 30 – April 2, 2016

There was more connectivity between city-states in the Fractured States than I’d once assumed. Perhaps the Epics could have survived without any kind of infrastructure, but they tended to want subjects to rule. What good was it to be an all-powerful force of destruction and fury if you didn’t have peasants to murder now and then? Unfortunately peasants had to eat, or they’d go and die before you got a chance to murder them.

That meant building up some kind of structure in your city, finding some kind of product you could trade. Cities that could produce a surplus of food could trade for power cells, weapons or luxuries. I found that satisfying. When they’d first appeared, the Epics had wantonly destroyed anything and everything, ruining the national infrastructure. Now they were forced to bring it all back, becoming administrators.

Life was so unfair. You couldn’t both destroy everything around you and live like a king.

I really enjoyed Steelheart, the first novel in this trilogy — and Firefight was a lot of fun, if not as good — it wasn’t anything serious, weighty, or bogged-down with teenage drama. Just a fun story about super-powered individuals ruling over a post-apocalyptic dystopia and the non-super-powered rebels trying to take them down. So, how’d Brandon Sanderson wrap things up? In a very mixed bag — an ending that was honest, consistent, and fitting for the series, but one I really didn’t care for.

Which is going to take some explanation.

David’s voice is as friendly, upbeat, and nerdy in the way that charmed me in the beginning. Even weighted down with added burdens and losses, he’s hung onto his core personality. His metaphors are as painful as ever — his ability to get his teammates to go along with the biggest of hare-brained schemes is intact and still astounding.

I wanted answers. They were probably here somewhere. Maybe I’d find them behind that group of robotic war drones that were extending their gun arms from behind the freezers in front of me.

Oh.

But he isn’t the same kid we met on the streets of Newcago — he’s lost his drive for revenge, it’s evolved into something else (and/or been revealed or better understood to be something else). He’s not out for blood, not out for simply overthrowing the Epics. He still wants to stop them, to restore rule to non-Epics and free them from the tyranny they’re under. But it’s because of wrong and right, for deeper reasons, purer motives.

He’s not the only one who’s changed and grown — Megan, the love of his life and former foe, has greater understanding of herself and her powers, she’s gaining more and more control of both. Part of it is self-acceptance, part of it is David’s faith in her. Either way, she’s a more entertaining character — and a less threatening force (at least as far as The Reckoners are concerned).

Thanks to their travel and experience, David and the others have a better understanding of how the world works (see the above quotation for a hint) — and some of the Epics have had to make adjustments, if for no other reason to keep their subjects alive and working. From a surprising source, we learn how the Reckoners tech works — as do they — and it’s pretty odd (and interesting). Not only that — the source of Calamity, the source of the Epics’ powers is revealed. You really can’t ask for more than that.

Well, actually you can — one of the other things that comes out of the growth and development of David (and the rest) over the series, and especially over this book, are some underlying themes that come out. They’ve been there since the beginning if you knew how to look, but here, Sanderson makes them explicit. I really appreciated them as they surfaced — I’m not sure that a lot of the YA crowd that this is targeted for would as much as I did, but many would. The last scene is pretty heartwarming, really — something I wouldn’t have expected at pretty much any point in the series (and has nothing to do with romance, for the record).

So why am I lukewarm about this? While the execution was consistent, the tone was right on-pitch and Sanderson didn’t cheat anywhere along the way to the series conclusion, I just didn’t like it. I didn’t like the explanation given for the source of the powers. I didn’t like the way the last half of the book played out (mostly everything after the last battle with the Prof, really — so less than half, but the groundwork was laid at about the 50% mark). Sanderson told the story he wanted to, in a way that made sense to the rest of the series, and he never copped out or went for high drama over being true to his story. So I can’t judge it too harshly. I just didn’t care for the way it played out. Which pretty much just means that Sanderson wrote the ending he wanted and not the one I wanted. Sure, I think it’s tacky, but you can add that to the very long list of things that he didn’t ask me.

I wasn’t wowed, wasn’t thrilled with things in the end. But I really can’t complain about any of it. Fans of — or at least readers of — the series should check out the conclusion, just to get the closure it brings. Hopefully, you’ll get more out of it than I did.

—–

3 Stars

United States of Books – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

By HCNewton

On February 29, 2016

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

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie, Ellen Forney (Illustrator)

Author: Elisha at Rainy Day Reviews

Entertainment Weekly says about their Washington state pick– “Alexie grapples with serious issues through the not-always-serious voice of a 14-year-old caught between his life on the reservation and his entry into an all-white high school.”

Synopsis:

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author’s own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character’s art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

Review:

I was intrigued with this book once I learned that this story was based on the author’s own experience. I was not aware of the coarse language in the book until I began reading it; which in my opinion makes this read inappropriate for younger readers. However, that said, I did appreciate that even though this teenager saw a lot of heartache and injustice, including racism and death, there is a lot of laughs throughout the story.

I like the narration of the book, hence the title. That was different than the typical read. Gave it a different feel from a story being told. Even with the racial divide in the story that the boy dealt with, I think this story is very relatable to other young adults out there (tragedy in life, being bullied, and the instability that life can bring with its ever-changing twists that life tends to do to all of us. All in all, a good book and a quick read that I would definitely recommend to everyone to read.

* Disclaimer: language may be coarse for some readers*

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

By HCNewton

On December 9, 2015

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, YA/MG/Children's Books

The Naturals

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Series: The Naturals, #1

Hardcover, 308 pg.

Disney-Hyperion, 2013
Read: December 8, 2015

We’ve all heard of Quantico, VA, the small town that is home to the FBI Academy, Laboratory, NCIS, and so on. What most of us don’t know is that it’s also home to a secret training ground for teenagers who are so intuitively good at profiling and other forensically-inclined psychological skills that they’re described as “Natural.” Two FBI agents and one retired Marine run this program and house, using the teens to crack cold cases. Sharpening their skills in a safe environment, so that when the time is ripe, they’ll be Super Agents.

The Naturals opens with Cassie — being raised by her grandmother while her father’s off somewhere with the Armed Services. She’s seventeen and can read people like a Richard Scarry book, which makes her a great small diner waitress. Until she’s given the chance to join program and she jumps at it, becoming the fifth member of the team.

Cassie jumps into the training, and picks things up quickly. I really enjoyed reading those scenes — she and Dean, the other profiler, sound so much like Will Graham from NBC’s Hannibal that I really got into it. Outside Quantico, things are afoot that will keep this from being all training and cold cases — and I bet, for those who survive, the next books will also pretty fresh cases, too.

Walking into a two-guy, two-gal house — and, apparently, being more attractive than she’s aware — Cassie complicates things. Soon she’s part of at least one Romantic Polygon. It’s not too painful at the moment, but I could see it overtaking things in a book or two. It’s marketed as YA, so it was likely anyway — still, you should know it’s out there.

None of the characters — including Cassie — are much more than groupings of characteristics and tics at this point, but I’d be willing to guess that they could be within another book or two. For now, they’re good enough for what the book is. It really is a fun read

A fast, fun read with just enough suspense to keep you moving, but not as much as you’d get in a Thomas Harris or Val McDermid psychological thriller — a great way to cut your teeth on the subgenre. I’ll come back for more — and I’ll pass it off to my daughter, who will likely eat it up.
—
Thanks to DanySpike for the blogpost that convinced me to give this one a try. I owe ya one.

—–

3 Stars

Hit by Delilah S. Dawson

By HCNewton

On November 24, 2015

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, YA/MG/Children's Books

Hit

by Delilah S. Dawson
Series: Hit, #1

Hardcover, 324 pg.
Simon Pulse, 2015

Read: November 21, 2015

When I heard Dawson talk about this on The Once & Future Podcast this past Spring, I knew I had to read it. But like with about half the things I say that about when I listen to that podcast, I never got around to it. I’m so glad I finally remembered to grab it. This was a great read — a heckuva gut punch. A great immersive experience.

Sure, we’ve all read dystopian fictions that take place decades (at least) after the fall of whatever society preceded it. But have you ever wondered what it’s like to live in the opening minutes of a dystopia? Panem before the Capital City was wretched hive of scum and vanity? Well, that’s exactly what Patsy Klein is going through.

Yeah, Patsy Klein — some parents, right?

So Patsy is given a task: work as an indentured servant/debt collector for 5 days and collect from these 10 people. To collect, get their signature and record one of three choices: pay up everything you owe to the bank, now; become an indentured servant yourself for 5 days; or be killed, and here’s a 17-year-old with a 9mm to take care of that. Take your pick.

How can anyone get away with that? Well, Valor Bank (and a couple of smaller entities) has bought — lock, stock and barrel — the debt of the U.S. and every individual in it. Which is a lot of debt when you stop and think about it (all that’s required, really is, something like a California Rolling Stop to reach that conclusion). Valor Banks wants that debt taken care of pronto — and thanks to a subclause in that credit card application that no one ever reads, and some greased wheels in Congress, they can present these choices to pretty much every citizen. Patsy’s part of the first wave of these collectors, moving out before the majority of Americans have figured out what’s happening.

Killer concept, right? Utterly horrific — and yet almost utterly believable. Like I said before, when you plunge in and read this in a sitting or two it works great. If you take the time to think about some of the elements, I’m not sure it’d hold up nearly as well. But man, it was a fun read, even when it made you uneasy about what Patsy was doing.

And before I go any further, I just have to add that this is one of the best cover designs (front and back) I’ve seen this year. I hope someone got a promotion/bonus/raise out of this.

Again, I’m not sure how well this would hold up to examining various aspects of the world. It’s clear that there’s a pretty well-developed world supporting this, but the more we see of it, the more we understand the machinations that Valor Bank went through on both the macro and micro level — which it seems clear is where the sequel is going — the less I’m going to like it. A vague, nebulous Other doing horrible things is frequently better than seeing the Man Behind the Curtain. Right now, this is great — grabs the imagination, taps in to zeitgeist-y resentments towards banks/financial entities, and adds a deadly teenage girl. You explain everything, let us see what’s going on and I’m afraid we’ll end up with something like Allegiant (I’m convinced that was the biggest problem with the end of the trilogy, Roth explained too much).

A great read with some real weaknesses that easy enough to overlook if you want to. This’ll grab you, make you feel every hit, every shot and every regret.

—–

3.5 Stars

Covenant’s End by Ari Marmell

By HCNewton

On September 15, 2015

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Covenant’s End

by Ari Marmell
Series: Widdershins Adventures, #4
Hardcover, 265 pg.

Pyr, 2015

Read: September 10, 2015

So Ari Marmell has decided to bring our time with Widdershins to a close. On the one hand, I understand the choice. On the other hand, I enjoy these too much to let go willingly.

It turns out that the great and nasty demon that she pushed herself and her friends to — and past — the limit to defeat back in False Covenant had friends — or at least family. And thanks to Widdershins old foe Lisette, they are getting closer and closer to setting up camp in Davillon (and probably the whole world, really).

Widdershins has to call on all her allies — old, new, unwanted and not terribly wiling — and friends, play every trick in the book (and invent a few), and be prepared to sacrifice everything just to have a fighting chance here.

Emotionally, spiritually, physically — whatever she’s gone through before is nothing compared to this. While it is very much a team effort, let’s not get confused — her name is in the series title, and she’s the only one on the cover. It’s Widdershins story, and the weight of this falls on her. Yet, she faces the danger with humor, aplomb and panache (and the help the deity living in her head).

For a book as dark, foreboding, bloody and so . . . final; I sure spent a lot of time smiling and chuckling. It’s a quick, exciting read that checks off every tick box you might have for a finale.

—–

4 Stars

I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest (Kali Ciesemier, Illustrator)

By HCNewton

On June 12, 2015

In Authors, Blog Series, Cherie Priest, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Opening Lines, P-U, YA/MG/Children's Books

I Am Princess X

by Cherie Priest, Kali Ciesemier, Illustrator

Hardcover, 227 pg.
Arthur A. Levine Books, 2015

Read: June 4, 2015

This book starts off just like the book description tells you — it’s practically an outline of the first 40 pages. Somehow, even if all they were doing was fulfilling the book jacket copy, the opening chapters sucked me in more and more with each detail until the last sentence on page 35. That line was just creepy. At that point, I put my finger in the book to save the page, called to my daughter (who’d showed minor interest on the book) and told her that unless Priest screwed things up, she had to read this (and seriously , what were the odds of Priest doing that?).

Years after the death of her best friend, Libby, May starts to see drawings around town of something the two had created together (and no one else knew about). How is that possible? She does everything she can to find out, but that doesn’t tell her anything other than that there’s a (pretty popular) webcomic out there starring their creation. There’s a self-proclaimed computer guru (Patrick — he prefers Trick, though) living a few floors below her dad that May hires/cons into going the extra technological mile for her. Their investigation doesn’t remain online, and before long the two are running all over Seattle. They dance between employer/employee; condescending college-aged twerp/younger, slightly naive teen; pals throughout in a way that seems organic and real. It’s probably the most realistic thing in the book after the death of Libby. While I’m talking about them — the hijinks the pair get into in the cemetery result in either the funniest or the grossest line of dialog I’ve read this year. Possibly both.

This isn’t the kind of comic/prose hybrid that Jeff Kinney, James Patterson, Stephen Pastis, etc. are doing — Priest uses the comic pages (taken from the fictional webcomic) to further the plot, to help us see what May and Trick are reading/seeing. Rather than trying to describe (and likely not succeeding all that often) a series of panels and the artwork, we just get them. Shorter, sweeter, to the point. A great merger of the two media. Ciesemier’s art is spot-on, I could easily read a webcomic she draws.

This is a YA novel with no love triangle, no romantic love period — that’s practically enough of a sales pitch for me right there. Friendship — that’s the emotional core driving this. The old friendship between Libby and May, that death hasn’t changed too much; the budding friendship between May and Trick, and another one that’s in spoiler territory. Nowhere along the lines is there even a whiff of anything else between these characters. What a breath of fresh air! There’s some actual parenting (not perfect, but humans trying) along the line, too — a couple of pretty good dads — something else I don’t see a lot in YA. So yay there, too.

It’s an implausible story grounded in three real characters (May, Trick and May’s dad) — and a couple of others that could have been as grounded if we’d gotten a few more pages from them. For the story this is trying to tell? That’s just enough to carry it.

We see the villain enough to find him threatening and somewhat believable, learn enough about him to support that, but not enough that we can develop any sympathy for him — he’s mostly shadow, which frequently feels like under-writing or a cheat by the author. But here it felt like a device to underline the threat he poses.

This is pure escapist adventure reading — no muss, no fuss, no frills. The story matches the medium of a webcomic pretty well. Sure, it could’ve been a deeper, more reflective novel — or even a slightly more realistic one. But it doesn’t need to be. Have I rated better written/constructed novels lower than this? Oh yeah. But this novel was exactly everything it promised to be, everything it needed to be. This grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go until it was done.

As an added bonus for people like me, I’m pretty sure there’s a tip o’ the hat to Robert B. Parker in these pages. That just brought a smile to my face.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Atlanta Burns by Chuck Wendig

By HCNewton

On April 29, 2015

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, YA/MG/Children's Books

I’ve got a bet with myself involving how many words I can get into this thing without mentioning a certain UPN/CW show about a teenage P. I. I don’t have high hopes of winning.

Atlanta Burns

by Chuck Wendig
Series:Atlanta Burns, #1-2

Kindle Edition, 381 pg.
Skyscape , 2015
Read: March 20 – 23, 2015

Morning— well, late morning— well, let’s just call it “noon”— arrives, and Atlanta awakens in a dreary, bleary-eyed sweat. Her spirits lift a little— not a full, bounding leap, but like a balloon whose helium hasn’t gone all the way out— when she realizes that this is the first day of summer vacation.

Sleep is evasive, ducking and feinting, slippery like a pig slathered in its own grease. The day was hot, but somehow the night seems hotter . The air thick and stuffy like she’s a piece of French toast puffing up and sweating on the griddle . Summer’s not even here yet, but the season has sent an early preview.

No matter what you think of Ms. Burns and her (mis?)adventures, getting lines like that is half the fun. This is my second book by Wendig and the one thing I can say for certain is that this man has a way with prose that really, really like.

Thankfully, this time, I like his protagonist and the stories that she’s finding herself in.

Atlanta’s in a new-ish school in a new-ish town, and is hating it. She’s already got herself a (deserved) reputation for reckless violence, which comes in handy when she comes across some bullies attacking a Hispanic kid. She disrupts things for them, earning herself a couple of new enemies and a friend she doesn’t want. Before she knows it, Atlanta’s got a new reputation — as someone who bullies the bullies, who can get your revenge for you.

Atlanta’s a mess — dealing with PTSD (or something akin to it), her relationship with her mother’s in shambles, isn’t good with people — especially those in authority, mixes up non-prescribed pharmecuticals and caffeine in a way that can’t lead to long-term phscial or mental health. Probably not in the short-term, either, come to think of it. She makes mistakes — big ones, potentially lethal ones. She may be a contemporary Sally Kimball — but she’s nowhere near as perfect as Sally (or her partner). It wouldn’t have shocked me if she was killed in all of her nosing around. (it would’ve fit the tone of the book, too).

Some of the characters here are very well drawn, some aren’t. The English teacher who takes an interest in her is like every English teacher you’ve read/seen on TV who takes an interest in a troubled kid. Her nerdy friends, or her drug/gun dealer, on the other hand, are sharply and fully drawn. Ditto for the bullies, criminals and low-lifes she comes into contact with. I’m torn about Atlanta’s mother, I’m not sure what to think of her as a character, really. She’s largely extraneous to the plot, but when she’s around, it counts.

The violence seems real. It’s messy, sloppy, not a series of precision moves/shots/etc. like you’d get from…well, about everyone else. It hurts. It takes people down and takes time to recover. Nowhere near as entertaining (at least not in the same way) as Reacher talking about how much force is required to break bone X, or Vinnie Morris making the impossible shot, or Elvis Cole delivering a precision kick to the face. Instead, what we get is visceral, bloody, and wrong. Sort of what violence is supposed to be.

This is one of those books where you quickly learn to stop thinking, “it’s not going to get worse than this.” It does, and soon. And then it does it again. Which isn’t to say that there aren’t victories — some are minor, some are Pyrrhic, but they’re there. There’s even a little joy. The ending is satisfying, while leaving the door open for more. Atlanta has more in common with Frank Castle than Flavia de Luce, more Lisbeth Salander than Veronica Mars, more Beatrix Kiddo than Kinsey Milhone, but there’s a little of all of them in her. I look forward to more from her.

—–

3.5 Stars

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson

By HCNewton

On February 16, 2015

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Firefight

by Brandon Sanderson

Hardcover, 416 pg.
Delacorte Press, 2015
Series: The Reckoners, #2
Read: January 30 – February 2, 2015

…as she’d left, I’d glanced at her gun.
This time, when she’d pointed it at me, she’d flicked the safety on. If that wasn’t true love, I don’t know what was.

We’ve all been there, right?

In the months since David did the impossible by killing the Epic Steelheart, he and the rest of the Reckoners have continued their war against the Epics — successfully enough, that Newcago is beginning to rule itself (sure, with the puppet government that Steelheart allowed, but it’s starting to come into its own). The last few of these have been sent by the Epic that runs Babilar (Babylon Restored = Manhattan), Regalia. So, David, the Prof, and Tia leave the rest of the Newcago crew to keep order, and head to Babilar to see what they can do about Regalia.

Meanwhile, David’s trying to convince the Reckoners that Megan wasn’t a traitor and murderer, and while an Epic, she deserves a second chance. And not just because he’s gaga for her.

It’s possible that the city of Babilar is the happiest city in contemporary YA dystopias. It’s definitely one of the most upbeat depictions of Manhattan that I’ve ever read/seen. Which is saying something, considering that it’s pretty much flooded (and ruled by an Epic who can control water). But thanks to a religion/philosophy/frame of mind (depending who you ask) — possibly Epic-induced, possibly spontaneous — the people of Babilar are a lot more positive, have a certain joie de vivre, and are a lot less interested in the work of the Reckoners than anyone else we’ve heard of in this world (and poor Dave is rather befuddled by this). I don’t want to get too descriptive of it — Sanderson will do better than I ever could, anyway — so let me leave it with this: I’m not crazy about the water, and I might be persuaded to move to Babilar.

One thing I’d forgotten from Steelheart was Dave’s general goofiness and voice. I did remember how bad his metaphors were (particularly, as it was pointed out to him that they aren’t even metaphors at all), but I didn’t remember how fun Dave was as a character when he wasn’t being more driven and vengeful than a teen-aged Bruce Wayne. Maybe Sanderson didn’t stress it as much last time out, or given Steelheart’s death, he’s lightened up. My guess it was a failure of my memory — but I really enjoyed Dave’s voice here (think Peter Parker à la Bendis), and would’ve kept with the book just for it , even if I stopped caring about the rest of the story (little chance of that happening, I should say).

But even with Dave’s snappy narration and Babilar’s vibe, there’s a lot of suspense in Firefight. A lot of deception, treachery, and danger everywhere. In the brightest of moments lurks a real possibility of the world becoming a darker place than it has been since Calamity and the advent of the Epics. Sanderson attempted a real balancing act here, and pretty much pulled it off. Up to, and including a great cliffhanger that makes the wait for the final volume of this series all the worse.

The only other note I can think to say here is that Sanderson has the most creative use of Fortune cookies in fiction here. Inspired. Read it for yourself.

Fun, fast-paced, exciting tale of super-powered dictators and the people resisting them — give Firefight a read if you’ve already enjoyed Steelheart. But go back and grab Steelheart first if you haven’t.

—–

4 Stars

Review Catch Up: Beautiful Redemption; Breach Zone; Chasing the Prophecy; Fiddlehead

By HCNewton

On January 21, 2015

In Authors, Fantasy, Fiction, P-U, Science Fiction, Steampunk, YA/MG/Children's Books

I’ve got a backlog of 40-plus reviews I’ve been meaning to write — some of them, I just have to admit aren’t going to get done. But I’m going to try my level best. The four books I’ve decided to tackle in one fell swoop are the concluding novels from series I enjoy, and yet I’ve had trouble reviewing them. On the whole, there’s no reason for it — I should’ve had at least a few paragraphs of material on these, but I can’t seem to muster it (especially given how much time has gone by).

But I do want to clear these off my to-do list, so, without further ado, a few words on these series finales:

Beautiful Redemption

by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Paperback, 451 pg.
Penguin Books, 2012
Read: November 19 – 20, 2013

On the one hand, this was not at all like the rest of the series — and yet it was a very fitting conclusion. Garcia and Stohl wrapped up everything that needed wrapped up, answered every lingering question (not always as I expected), and generally, did so in an emotionally satisfying way. I wouldn’t have thought that this book would lead to a spin-off series, but it fits.

If you’re into Paranormal YA, this was a very satisfying conclusion, and probably the best of that genre I’ve read.
4 Stars

Breach Zone

by Myke Cole

eBook, 384 pg.
Ace, 2014
Read: January 31 – February 04, 2014

I really, really liked all of Myke Cole’s Shadow Ops series — a gritty, believable mix of Contemporary Military and Fantasy, and yet, I’ve never reviewed one of his books. Don’t ask me why.

This, the conclusion to the trilogy, is just outstanding. You know how at the end of (pretty much) every fantasy novel, there’s this big, epic battle that takes up most of the last ¼ – ⅓ of the novel? That’s pretty much this entire book. Okay, not really — there’s plenty of backstory, character development and wrapping up the trilogy. But while reading, it sure felt like it was an epic fantasy battle on the streets and in the waters of New York. Somewhere in there, Cole looks gain at questions of patriotism, duty, ethics and morality — and how people of integrity can try to harmonize them all (and, more often, how those with integrity can’t harmonize them all). Seriously, awesome stuff.
4 Stars

Chasing the Prophecy

by Brandon Mull

Hardcover, 512 pg.
Aladdi, 2013
Read: December 2 – 5, 2013

Wow — Mull concluded his Beyonder’s trilogy in a fantastic fashion. Given the target audience, I couldn’t believe how many deaths there were in this book. But, not in a gory or exploitative way. Just a huge body count. But, the core of this book remained the same: these two Beyonders, Rachel and Jason, risking everything for the sake of Lyrian. There’s sacrifice, honor, loyalty, and courage — all the necessary elements of a tale full of heroes — natives and Beyonders, warriors and children, those with many lives and those with only one to lose. Which is not to say it’s not fun — there’s a lot of fun to be had by the characters and the readers. Great way to go out.
4 Stars

Fiddlehead

by Cherie Priest

Paperback, 368 pg.
Tom Doherty Associates, 2013
Read: November 12 – 14, 2013

Nice looking book — love the cover, the layout and the graphics are great. I miss the brown ink — what gives, Tor? Sure, the content is the important thing, it’s just nice when the package it’s wrapped in is nice to look at. Speaking of content — this (like the rest of this group) is a fitting — and thrilling — conclusion to the series. Lincoln (wheelchair-bound following the unsuccessful assassination attempt at Ford’s Theater) and President Grant working together near the end of the Civil War to protect a freeman scientist who built an early computer — the eponymous Fiddlehead. Fiddlehead is the best chance to end the War without making everything worse. The presidents, with the assistance of Pinkerton agent Maria Boyd and intelligence from — well, everywhere else this series has focused — in order to begin to deal with the Rotters. I think it’s possible that Boyd is my favorite character in the series — in the Top 3, anyway.

I just didn’t want this series to end, I understand it needed to, but man…just didn’t want that.
4 1/2 Stars