Tag: Young Adult

Book: “Court of Fives” by Kate Elliot

Publishing Info: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, August 2016

Where Did I Get this Book: audiobook from the library!

Book Description: Jessamy’s life is a balance between acting like an upper-class Patron and dreaming of the freedom of the Commoners. But away from her family, she can be whomever she wants when she sneaks out to train for the Fives, an intricate, multilevel athletic competition that offers a chance for glory to the kingdom’s best competitors.

Then Jes meets Kalliarkos, and an improbable friendship between the two Fives competitors—one of mixed race and the other a Patron boy—causes heads to turn. When Kal’s powerful, scheming uncle tears Jes’s family apart, she’ll have to test her new friend’s loyalty and risk the vengeance of a royal clan to save her mother and sisters from certain death.

Review: As advertised on the cover of this book, Kate Elliott is a World Fantasy Award Finalist, which puts me to shame when I admit that before this, I hadn’t read anything by her. But after reading “Court of Fives,” I definitely will!

Jes and her sisters walk a precarious and lonely path. As the daughters of a Patron father who has been making a name for himself with militaristic achievements and their Commoner mother, a woman their father can’t legally marry, they do not fit in either world.  With such limited choices, each sister must find her own solace and way forward, and for Jes, that escape is the Fives, an intricate, Olympics-like sports competition that rests at the heart of society. But when her world begins to crumble around her, Jes must put these same skills to the real test: saving her mother’s and sisters’ lives.

This was perfect timing, as far as books go. Just coming off the amazingness that was the Summer Olympics, I was perfectly primed for a book about an awesome woman athlete kicking ass and taking names. I mean, I’m pretty sure I would have been perfectly happy with this book if it had just been scene after scene of Jes rocking it out at the Fives competition. And that was one thing I truly appreciated about this story. Jes starts out fully confident in her abilities, and then…lives up to her own word! Sure, she meets legendary athletes who help her train, and I’m sure will play more of a role in future books, but Jes is never “downgraded” by “reality” which is so often the case with stories like this. Girl starts out really good at THING, meets boy who then beats her at THING, boy and girl form competitive relationship where girl improves over the course of the book to maybe be awesome by the end. There is none of that. Jes is clearly at the top of her game throughout the story, and gains the respect and admiration of her colleagues for it.

Especially from Kal. I loved their friendship. There’s never any doubt that Jes is the superior player, but Kal is a gracious friend who doesn’t feel the need to tear her own for this, but sees her for the mentor she can be in his own quest to improve. It was a fun dynamic.

Adding to that, I really enjoyed the clashing cultures, classism, and struggle due to colonization that is on display in this book. Each culture/society is well-rounded and it was interesting watching Jes come to the “history is told by the winner” conclusion. Her struggles as a child of two worlds and the realities of the choices she has before her were also well done. There were no easy answers, and it was never forgotten that Jes, her sisters, her mother, and even her father, were constantly bound by the roles that society imposed on them.

I also really enjoyed the relationship that Jes had with her family. Her challenging relationship with a father whose choices she didn’t always understand or agree with, her mother who chose a life of scorn from outsiders to be with the man she loved, and Jes’s sisters, all dealing with the same restrictions as Jes. I particularly enjoyed the sisters, and the fact that none of them became pigeon-holed into the roles they are initially laid out in. At first I was rather dismissive of them all: you have the scholar, check; the rebel, check, and the beautiful, spoiled baby of the family, check. But each character broke from their roles in ways that surprised me.

I really enjoyed this book. There was such depth to this world and the culture, and the mores serious issues regarding classism and imperialism were balanced by fun sports moments and lots of adventure. The ending also made some brave choices, denying Jes an easy resolution and setting readers up for the sequel. My library request is already placed!

Rating 9: A complicated and challenging world, peopled with fun characters. The beginning of a trilogy that earns its follow up stories!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Court of Fives” isn’t on many Goodreads lists, but it should be on “The Games We Play” and “Best Books About Family Relationships.”

Find “Court of Fives” at your library using WorldCat!

Book: “The Young Elites” by Marie Lu

Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, October 2014

Where Did I Get this Book: audiobook from the library!

Book Description: Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

Review: Phew! Look at that book description! Do I even have space left to write a review? I won’t get on my soapbox re: long descriptions as I’ve already indulged my “look at that awful cover” soapbox preaching recently.

Kate and I actually got to meet the author at ALA a few years ago at a young adult authors round table event where she was promoting this book. I had read her previous series and liked it and so was intrigued by what was coming next for her. I remember sitting at the table with her and listening to her talk about her inspiration as wanting to write a young adult novel from a villains perspective. Frankly, I was a bit skeptical. I feel that anti-heroes are incredibly challenging to write, and it’s not made easier by the marketing and popular tropes of the current young adult book scene which doesn’t necessarily lend itself to this type of creativity with protagonists. However, as I said, I liked her other trilogy so was willing to give this a go (even if it did take me another 2 years to get to it!). Alas, my skepticism was warranted.

Adelina is a survivor of a terrible illness that swept through her country when she and her generation were children, killing all adults who were infected and disfiguring the children who survived it. Now, many years later, these marked children are scorned by society as omens of bad luck and ill will. But some of them are developing extraordinary powers and learning to fight back and are called the “Young Elites.” So…right off the bat you have a problem. This is a society that despises these marked teenagers, even more so the one that have powers, and yet they’re called the…young elites. A very positive term. I know this is knit-picky, but it  highlights the general problem with this story: a general discordance between how characters are presented as villains/heroes, with a lot of back and forth that doesn’t make much sense when you start digging into it.

Let’s just get this out of the way: Adelina is not an anti-hero. She is written in a way that justifies, explains, and generally supports her every action throughout the book. An anti-hero needs to make questionable decisions while still being sympathetic, not just do the same thing that any ordinary person would do in a specific situation and then spend pages talking about their own “darkness.” I mean, she’s constantly waxing poetic about her “darkness” and her “fear” and her “hatred,” but then the second she does something maybe half ways sort of not ok, she immediately feels regret/breaks down crying. Generally, Adelina is extremely unlikable, and not in the way of a character who is unlikable because they are doing terrible things but could maybe still be intriguing. No, unlikable in the “whines a lot and makes terrible decisions one after the next” manner.

The book is also written in first person present tense which is by far my least favorite writing style. I’m not quite sure why it’s still in use. It’s just an awkward format to read. Adelina would refer to her own emotions as “my fear rises” or “my passion rose up” etc etc and it came off in such an awkward manner that I couldn’t take any of it seriously.

I really liked the concept and the general re-imaging of a fantasy world version of Renaissance Italy as a setting. I also appreciated the complicated, close relationship between Adelina and her sister. The book also goes out on a strong note, making a few surprising choices and setting up an interesting, and less predictable, path forward. It’s almost enough to make me want to keep reading. But…sadly I’d have to put up with more of Adelina herself, and I’m not sure I’m quite up for that.

All in all, I was pretty disappointed with this book, especially because of how much I liked Lu’s other series. It seems like she had a great idea, but quickly became overwhelmed with the true complexities of trying to write a true anti-hero character.

Rating 4: This was a  miss for me. A strong setting and good example of sisterly bonds was not enough to get me past an unlikable protagonist and clunky writing.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Young Elites” is included on this Goodreads list: “Diverse Books by Diverse Authors” and “Best Books for Dark Happy Endings.”

Find “The Young Elites” at your library using Worldcat!

Book: “Never Ever” by Sara Saedi

Publishing Info: Viking, June 2016

Where Did I Get this Book: the library!

Book Description: Wylie Dalton didn’t believe in fairy tales or love at first sight.

Then she met a real-life Peter Pan.

When Wylie encounters Phinn—confident, mature, and devastatingly handsome—at a party the night before her brother goes to juvie, she can’t believe how fast she falls for him. And that’s before he shows her how to fly.

Soon Wylie and her brothers find themselves whisked away to a mysterious tropical island off the coast of New York City where nobody ages beyond seventeen and life is a constant party. Wylie’s in heaven: now her brother won’t go to jail and she can escape her over-scheduled life with all its woes and responsibilities—permanently.

But the deeper Wylie falls for Phinn, the more she begins to discover has been kept from her and her brothers. Somebody on the island has been lying to her, but the truth can’t stay hidden forever.

Review: My unfortunate streak of disappointing reads continues. It always seems to happen like this, you’ll be on a roll and then BAM! A few books just fail to live up to expectations and it is very disappointing. I included this title in my “Highights” picks for June based on two things: 1) a pretty cover (my first mistake) and 2.) a Peter Pan retelling! a Peter Pan retelling! And sure, the cover lived up to its hype and is very pretty in person. The Peter Pan retelling itself, not so much.

So, first off, a Peter Pan retelling has a lot of things going for it, in theory. The fantasy set up is all there, the adventure, the story of friendship and family, and depending on the route you take, the romance. All the ingredients for things I like in my fantasy stories. And pros first, the author did have a creative take on how adapt what is a story about children into a young adult novel. It was entertaining to see the nods to the originals (though the on-the-nose naming conventions were a bit much at times. Wylie is a coyote, not a teenage girl protagonist. There’s even a bit where she talks about how much she likes her name as if, very secretly, the author could see my eyebrows raising into my hairline…). The close sibling relationship between Wylie and her brothers is sweet and reminiscent of the original, as well.

Sadly, that’s about it for things I liked from this book. My biggest problem was the writing and plotting of the story. Listen, I have read a good amount of fanfiction in my day, and there is a lot of really great stuff out there. But this? This read like the worst kind of generic, stereotypical Peter Pan fanfiction: clunky dialogue, the author’s hands all over the plot which you can spot from outer space, the worst kind of tropes. Tinka (these names!) is everything you’d guess for a Tinkerbell-like character in this type of story. At one point, Wylie, out loud in her own head, admires Tinka’s “perky breasts.”

And the story never recovered from the very first few chapters where Wylie made repeated decisions that earned her a too-dumb-to-live badge of honor. At a party, Wylie meets a strange boy who has been staring at her from across the room. And then what does she do? Immediately leaves the party with him! Sure, she tells her friends that’s she’s leaving, but I’m awarding her zero points for this as it is still inexcusably dumb. She later consumes a very sketchy plant that he just  casually offers her at McDonald’s (where he took her, which should have been her…well, not first sign, that was much earlier…how about tenth sign to get the hell out of there). And then, after convincing her brothers to also take this plant-drug (it allows them to fly, you’d never guess!), it turns out the plant also, conveniently, knocks them all out cold when it wears off. And they wake up being born away on Phynn’s super sweet sail boat. So…Phynn pretty much rufied them all and then kidnapped them. But don’t worry, this doesn’t hinder Wylie’s insta-attraction to him.

What we all wanted from a Peter Pan lead:

What we got from Phynn:

I won’t bore you with a review for the rest of the book. There was a decision towards the end of the story that did finally bring a bit more creativity to the novel, but nothing could save it from what was, sadly, very poor writing. Of course, there will be sequels. I won’t be checking them out.

Rating 3: A ridiculous heroine, a creepy hero, and writing that did the story no favors.

Reader’s Advisory: This is a very new book, so it isn’t on many lists. But, as it happens, I have read some Peter Pan fanfiction in my day and much of it was lightyears better than this. One of the best Peter Pan fanfic authors I’ve found is “weezer42.” Here is her page of Peter Pan stories. “Whither by Moonlight” is probably my favorite.

Book: “Unmade” by Sarah Rees Brennan

Publishing Info: Random House, September 2015

Where Did I Get this Book: the library!

Book Description: Kami has lost the boy she loves, is tied to a boy she does not, and faces an enemy more powerful than ever before. With Jared missing for months and presumed dead, Kami must rely on her new magical link with Ash for the strength to face the evil spreading through her town.

Rob Lynburn is now the master of Sorry-in-the-Vale, and he demands a death. Kami will use every tool at her disposal to stop him. Together with Rusty, Angela, and Holly, she uncovers a secret that might be the key to saving the town. But with knowledge comes responsibility—and a painful choice. A choice that will risk not only Kami’s life, but also the lives of those she loves most.

Review: I finally got around to picking up the last book in the “Lynburn Legacy” trilogy. And, while I was left a bit cold by the second book in this series, I am happy to report that “Unmade” pulled the series back from the edge and ended on a solid note.

But first, before I go into any details about the book itself, can we take a moment to be aghast together at this cover? For the sake of discussion, here are the three covers in the series:

Obviously there was a huge shift between the first book and the second. My guess is that the first cover was coming across as “middle grade” and the publishers thought to “age it up” by switching cover art. But to this? Generic back-of-girl-walking-into-distance artwork? At least the first was interesting and unique. The second two just look like every other book on the shelf. I’ve never been a fan of the titles of these books, either. They say next to nothing about what the story is (what genre is this? what time period? what’s unique here?). And this problem is only exasperated by these generic covers. And what’s worse, by the time we get to the third one, the generic cover actually makes no sense! There is absolutely zero reference to the ocean or to Sorry-in-the-Vale even being anywhere near the ocean in these books. While the second cover at least draws feelings of mystery and suspense with a creepy woods (there is at least a creepy woods in the story), the third cover looks like something from Spring Break: Hawaii!! It’s truly awful. I have many feelings re: book covers, and usually I’m good at tamping it down, but this time…

But, enough of that, on to the review! Kami and co. start off this book in a pretty low spot. Rob Lynburn has taken control of the town, Jared is missing, presumed dead, and Kami sharing a sorcerer/source bond unwillingly with Ash. It’s all very awkward and uncomfortable. First off, I commend Brennan for “going there” with the darkness in this book. It doesn’t pull any punches with the horror of what the Lynburn legacy of magic and might stands for, and the type of rule that Rob hopes to usher back in. With that, however, comes a challenging hole to be dug out of. I was concerned that some type of magical out was going to appear, but for the most part I was satisfied with the direction this story took in its final third. While I’ve always wished for a bit more explanation into the magic system (it seems like people just “have” powers and can then do anything. Harry Potter has spoiled an entire generation to fantasy reading where we expect to hear about our characters “learning” their magic!), over all I the expanded ideas with regards to connections between sorcerers and sources was entertaining and interesting.

As I’ve said in my previous two reviews, the characters are what drive this story and the reason I kept returning to the series. Kami is such a healthy, balanced teenage girl protagonist. She struggles with not only the fantasy elements of the story, but problems that many teenagers face: shifting relationships with parents, connections with siblings, evolving friendships, and, of course, romance.

The romance is probably the weakest element of this story for me. By the end of the second book, I thought things had been largely resolved in that area and I was looking forward to a story more closely focused on plot than on the romance angst. Unfortunately, it is made a thing again. And really, because it had been seemingly resolved in the second book, it felt like hoops and out-of-character behavior had to be used to create drama in this department, a writing trope that I never appreciate. At this point in the story, especially when there were serious events going on in life, the relationship angst felt contrived and I almost was rooting for Kami to just slam the door in Jared’s whiny, mopey face once and for all. Alas, she did not. Ultimately, this also resolved itself in a surprisingly satisfying manner by the end of the book, but I feel like a lot less page time could have been devoted to the whole plot line to begin with.

There are moments of this story where the dialogue is laugh-out-loud in its witticisms, but I’ll be honest, there were a few parts that were cry-worthy as well. All in all, it was a very satisfying conclusion to a solid trilogy in the YA fantasy genre. If any of these elements are up your alley, I definitely recommend checking out this series!

Rating 7: A satisfying conclusion full of witty and fun characters!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Unmade” is included on these Goodreads lists: “Diversity in Young Adult and Middle Grade” and “What a Wonderful World – A Celebration of Imaginative World-Building.”

Find “Unmade” at your library using Worldcat!

Previous review: “Unspoken” and “Untold”