Draw the Dark by Ilsa J. Bick

Title: Draw the Dark

Author: Ilsa J. Bick

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books

Copyright: Oct. 28th, 2010

Pages: 328 (Hardcover)

To Buy: Amazon.com

Obtained From: NetGalley

There are things in Winter, Wisconsin, that people just don't talk about. 17-year-old Christian is one of them. Ever since he was little, he's had the ability to draw other's thoughts and memories, perhaps even influencing their actions. But sometimes, he has no control over his power. Lately, he's been having vivid dreams where he inhabits the body of a child in the 1940s. One night after one of these disturbing visions, he wakes up to find that he's been blamed for painting swastikas on the side of a barn. Punishment for this event leads him to meet Winter's last surviving Jew and uncover one more thing that people just don't talk about: the day the Nazis came to town. Christian' ghostly visions lead him to uncover a forgotten murder from 1945 that could forever change the town of Winter if revealed. Steeped in mystery, Draw the Dark is a dark fantasy that blends elements of a thriller to create a rich story about reclaiming the forgotten past.

The main issue that I had with Draw the Dark was that Ilsa failed to properly explain the supernatural elements of her world. The reader is given snippets of information throughout the story which are enough to piece together the basics, but still, every time there was a scene where some information of significance came up it concluded prematurely with an incomplete thought or a flashback. Even though these flashbacks were entertaining and crucial to the overall storyline, a proper explanation of the rules of the world would have been nice since there is some genre bending that goes on. Things that should have made sense were often confusing, and Christian's abilities were unclear. Yes, he can tap into people's memories and draw the visions of their past, but somehow his power is also connected to the "Sideways Place," an alternate reality that he can tap into with his drawings? I end that sentence with a question because I'm not even sure if that was the case.

There were pieces of this story that I think worked very well. Though Ilsa took some liberty with the research and historical elements of this book, watching Christian try to solve a murder that took place in 1946 was really interesting and I learned a lot about POW camps in the US after WWII. In addition, Christian was a great character, and Ilsa does a good job describing his transition from a boy to a young man. He starts out as an outsider, feared and scorned by the residents of Winter for his odd behavior and artistic talent (he has a thing for drawing creepy eyes). As a result, he's a bit of a Debbie Downer and doesn't do anything to befriend anyone around him (even when they extend a kind hand). This made him hard to relate to at first, but his emotions and thoughts felt so real and dripped with such lonliness that it was hard not to feel bad and cheer for him towards the end when he decides to set aside his depression and take control of his problems and power.

Really, I think the book just needed a tighter editing job. There IS a great story here, but it was a bit hard to find. Elements of a thriller, murder mystery, historical fiction, and paranormal fiction are combined to create a completely new experience for the reader. Seriously, I have no idea how you would categorize this book since it was so unique, but in a sense, Ilsa's innovation got crushed by the weight of everything she tried to accomplish. Will there be a sequel? I hope so. Ilsa certainly left it open for a second book, and I'm very curious to see if she expands on this "Sideways Place," that seems to be connected to Christian's power. Overall, it was bit of a disappointment but an interesting read nonetheless, and one that I'm not soon to forget. (Especially since it takes place in Wisconsin. As a native Sconnie, I love it when my state is mentioned!)

Say What, I Was Nominated?!

Dudes and dudettes, I'm proud (and a little shocked) to announce that I was nominated to be on the ballot for the Best New Blog of 2010! Seriously, I didn't even know that I had been nominated, so whoever nominated me, THANK YOU. I finished my last final yesterday so coming home to hear the news was a wonderful pick-me-up! I'm still in awe over it.

If you'd like to vote for me, fill out the form at Mindful Musings. Heck, even if you don't vote for me, you should still head on over there and vote for somebody! There are a ton of really great blogs listed, and each and every one of them deserves your vote. :D You can vote twice; once for the Best New Blog of 2010, and once for the Best Blog of 2010. Don't think its worth your time? Well, everyone who votes gets a chance to win their choice of a book from The Book Depository courtesy of Natalie. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. If I could vote a gazillion times, I would!

So once again, thank you very much for all of your love and support over the last few months. I'm honored to have each and every one of you as a follower, or even just as a random visitor. It means a lot to me and is one of the reasons why I keep at this blogging thing.

Also, If you look over to the side bar, you'll see that I'm quickly coming up on 100 followers. You know what that means, right? 100 FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY! I'll be holding a contest soon, so keep your eye out for more information. It probably won't begin until after the first of the year (I'll be on vacation in FL from Christmas Eve till New Year's Day), but you can get a head start by following my blog on Twitter, Facebook, and by adding me as a friend on Goodreads. (Following me will count for extra entries). I've been collecting a lot of neat things over the last few months (including signed copies of books) to giveaway so hopefully there will be at least one prize you're interested in winning. Anyway, more to come soon, and thanks again for all of your support!

Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

Title: Shadow Hills

Author: Anastasia Hopcus

Publisher: Edgemont USA

Copyright: July 13th 2010

Pages: 400 (hardcover)

To Buy: Amazon.com

How obtained: Bought at a bookstore

After her sister's tragic death, Persephone "Phe" Archer has been haunted by a series of disturbing dreams. Hoping to make sense of her sister's death, she enrolls in Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts--the subject of her sister's final diary entry.

Once she steps on campus, Phe realizes that there's something very different about the place. Not only does Shadow Hills' history contain an unexplained epidemic that destroyed the town in the 1700s, but its modern townies seem to posses eerie supernatural powers. Even Zach--the gorgeous stranger Phe meets in a cemetery and immediately feels connected to--seems as if he has something to hide. But the more questions she asks and deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills and finding what links her and her sister to this town might just be the end of her.

First of all, I'd like to take a moment to dedicate this review to Kristina over at the Frazzled Book Nommer. She has been--literally--waiting months to read this review. (Ok, you can stop bugging me now. ;D)

I really wanted to like this book. Really, I did. I mean, think about it: Mysterious epidemic? Townies (Phe's word for the Shadow Hill natives) with supernatural powers? Creepy dreams that connect Phe to the town? Sounds epic. The whole mystery intrigued me and I was looking forward to seeing how it unfolded. But that's the problem--there was no unfolding to be done. Phe solves the mystery behind Shadow Hills (roughly) a fourth of the way into the book, and the plot is taken over by a fairly familiar style of YA romance minus a lengthy period of courting: Girl sees Guy in her dreams, Girl meets guy in real life, Girl thinks Guy is hawt, Guy thinks Girl is hawt, they get together and, after deciding that they can't stand to be apart from each other, combine their super special awesomeness to defeat a bad guy. The End.

Now, I am a fan of romance, but only when it is done well and the relationship is interesting. Though it is clear that Phe and Zach are made for each other, there is no challenge that they must overcome to be with one another, and nothing to produce roadblocks in the way of exchanging their love. Even Zach and Phe's powers don't keep them apart, which was kind of disappointing because Phe's powers are unique and make her a 'special snowflake,' even among the townies in Shadow Hills. While Zach's powers are rooted in science, Phe's powers fall on the mystical side of things, and in this case I don't think the blending of the two worked well because the differences were not exploited to their full potential. The lack of conflict between them made parts of the book...well, boring, for lack of a better word. Eventually the two stumble onto another mystery (somebody is murdered on the school grounds) towards the end of the book, but by then the action felt almost out of place.

Though the novel is well written (I really enjoyed Hopcus' writing style) and concludes solidly, there were still a lot of lingering thoughts about Phe's newly-discovered powers and her connection to Shadow Hills. I'm assuming Hopcus did this to leave room for a sequel, but--and I feel bad for saying this--I'm not sure I'll pick it up. However, I know many fans of the paranormal genre will enjoy this book because what it does offer is unique to the genre. It just didn't turn out to be my cup of tea, especially since I was expecting something much different than what was given.

Follow Friday (5) & Book Blogger Hop (6)

Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Rachel at the Parajunkee's View. Every week, book bloggers have a chance to connect and check out each other's blogs. Check it out to sign up and participate, or just check it out to check out some great blogs! This is my fifth week participating. This week's question:

What are you studying in college?

I'm a junior studying English with an emphasis in Creative Writing (fiction). If my school offered it, I'd probably dual major as an English and Library and Information Studies student. They offer the cooooooooolest classes about children's and young-adult literature. Talking about trends and themes in those books gets my blood pumping, you know? I had the opportunity to take a class on children's lit this semester, and absolutely LOVED it. I'll probably apply to a LIS graduate program after I graduate. Maybe Simmons? I dunno. Anyone out there have any recommendations? I know all about UW Madison's LIS program, so no need to tell me about that. (Now you get three guesses to guess where I go to school and the first two don't count.) :P

And if you do one Follow Meme, why not do two? The more the merrier! This is my sixth Book Blogger Hop.

The Book Blogger Hop is a meme hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books. Like Follow Friday, It's a place for book bloggers to connect, and "hop" from one another's blogs to get to know each other. Check it out to sign up and participate! Even if your blog doesn't get listed this week, you can view other people's blogs and make some friends. :P In addition, Jennifer also asks a question to kick off the conversations. This week's question:

What do you consider the most important in a story: the plot or the characters?

Ooooooh, this is a tough one. On one hand, I can't really get into a story if I don't care about the main character. But then again...I could be reading about the most interesting person in the world but be totally bored out of my skull of nothing happens to him/her/it. I think it really is a combination of the two. All of the great stories have characters with strong voices and engaging plots. After all, when you read a book, you read it for the whole package, right?

To all of you returning visitors, thanks again for stopping by my blog, and to all you new visitors, welcome! If you leave a link to your website I'll be sure to check it out over the weekend. Until then, happy Friday! I hope everyone's holiday planning is going well. I dunno about you, but I am sooooo behind on my shopping. I'll have to brave the weather and coffee-stimulated crowds to get some stuff this weekend.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

Series: Chaos Walking #1

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Copyright: May 5th, 2008

Pages: 496 (paperback)

To Buy: Amazon.com

Acquired from the library

In a world where everyone can hear each other's Noise, there is no privacy. No lies. No silence. At least, that's what Todd Hewitt, the last boy in Prentisstown, has grown up believing. But when he and his dog, Manchee (who's thoughts he can hear as well) stumble upon a pocket of silence in the swamp, his world is turned upside down. Now, without completely understanding why, he must flee the town in order to keep the silence a secret.

I really, really, REALLY enjoyed reading this book. A thriller at its finest, The Knife of Never Letting Go's plot is dark, mysterious, and action packed. Todd's transformation from a whiny, bored, and somewhat selfish boy is really well done. He is the kind of character that you start cheering for towards the middle of the book rather than right from the beginning, and Ness couldn't have done a better job with the narration. Narrated in first person, the gritty style of it reflects the bleak state of the world. Some words are spelled phonetically, extending the idea that Todd can't really read. He narrates like he hears, and often breaks the fourth wall to directly address the reader (usually to tell us to shut up our own Noise), bringing the reader into the story. In addition, the other characters' Noise is expressed with scratchy, overlapped writing, sometimes covering the whole page to describe the chaos. It made this book sort of like a picture book, and overall created a very unique reading experience.

Though I admit that the ending was somewhat depressing and unsatisfying, I can't lie and say that I didn't see it coming. After all, this is a dystopian novel, and nobody is allowed to be happy until the very end of the series (its like writing law 101). The Knife of Never Letting Go leaves the reader with an awful cliffhanger, which is to be picked up as soon as book two begins. The good news is that readers will not have to wait a year to continue the series because the books are already out (thank gods). Regardless, it was an excellent novel, and one that I highly recommend to those who enjoy the genre.

Terrier by Tamora Pierce

Title: Terrier

Author: Tamora Pierce

Series: The Legend of Beka Cooper #1

Publisher: Random House

Copyright: Oct. 24, 2006

Pages: 592 (Hardcover)

To Buy: Amazon.com

Acquired from the Library

Beka Cooper is a rookie with the law-enforcing Provost's Guard, commonly known as the "Provost's Dogs," in Corus, the capital of Tortall. To the surprise of the veteran "Dogs," and her fellow "Puppies," Beka requests duty in the Lower City. The Lower City is a tough beat, but its nothing she can't handle. After all, its where she grew up. But when Beka's magical informants--which include dust spinners and flocks of pigeons that carry the voices of the dead--reveal the deaths of eight missing citizens, she realizes that she's stumbled on an underground conspiracy that is bigger than her or her assigned Dogs could have imagined. Someone in the Lower City is terrorizing its citizens into submission and silence, and now its up to Beka and the Guard to figure out the identity of this new underlord before the death toll rises and more people disappear.

Hundreds of years before Alanna ever drew her sword, Tortall had another heroine named Beka Cooper. This is the story of her legend and her legacy...

As a die-hard Tamora Pierce fan, I'm sort of ashamed to admit that it took me this long to get around to reading Terrier--especially since it takes place in Tortall, my all time favorite high fantasy world. But later is better than never, right? And thank the gods. I was reminded of why I fell in love with Pierce's stories all those years ago.

For those of you familiar with Pierce's work, you'll be happy to hear that once again she has created a medieval world rich with detail unique to the realm of Tortall. All of her characters are memorable, and the dialogue is saturated with slang and specialized jargon. In fact, its so saturated that it was like reading an entirely different language. Thankfully, Pierce was kind enough to provide her own Rosetta Stone: Tortall Edition at the back of the book, and eventually I came to enjoy the soldier's colorful (and when I say colorful, I mean colorful) language. Though it did some time to become accostomed to, I felt like the vocabulary used gave the characters a certain kind of depth that made them sound more authentic, given the nature of this world and its rules.

Though the line between good and evil in the Lower City was very thin (unusual, given the nature of Pierce's other books), Beka was a delightfully balanced main character. The girl was incredibly level-headed, focused, brave, and persistant in everything that she did, not to mention forgiving. Though she believes in the law above all else, she doesn't entirely condemn those around her that do what they need to do in order to get by (so long as they don't hurt those around them). Beka's pragmatic way of thinking was very refreshing for the YA genre, and I couldn't help but understand and approve of the logic in every one of her decisions. It was easy to see bits of of Alanna, Daine, and Kel in her character (characters from Pierce's other Tortall series), but yet she was completely original.

However, the one thing that I wasn't terribly fond of was the diary format that the novel was written in. Beka's entries are long, and because of the way that they're written it was easy to forget that I was reading something that Beka wrote. For most of the time, I felt like I was reading just a regular ol' first person narrative. That's not to say that the writing was bad--no, no, it was really very good--but I don't think the book would have lost anything if Pierce had just decided to forgo Beka's time stamp. I dunno. Maybe I'm just biased since I'm so used to the style of her other Tortall books, which are written in the third person perspective.

Overall, I really enjoyed returning to the realm of Tortall, and felt that the plot that Beka stumbles upon was the perfect way to introduce the reader to the trials and tribulations of the Lower City of Corus. I was completely immersed in the investigation, and found myself guessing 'whodunit' up until the very end. I am so glad there there are more books in the series, because only one book with Beka just wouldn't be fair. I cannot wait to read Bloodhound and find out what's in store for her next.

THE RATING: 6/8 TENTACLES

In My Mailbox (2)

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. The idea is to post what books you got this week, be they a gift, prize, from a bookstore, from the library, or from a publisher to review. The purpose is to let other people know what books are on your radar and encourage blogger interaction. :3 This is my second week participating!

Ok, so I cracked this week and bought books. I had told myself that I wasn't going to buy anything until after the holidays, but I'm weak and caved less than a few days after I had promised myself I wasn't going to open my wallet. Le sigh. At least I'm really happy with what I bought.

Books Bought:

Matched, by Ally Condie

3/4 of The Shamer Chronicles, by Lene Kaaberbol

Books Received in the Mail:

I'd Tell You That I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You, by Ally Carter

Books From The Library:

Bloodhound, by Tamora Pierce

So many books, so little time! I'm about three chapters into Matched right now, and loving it so far. Anybody else pick that up this week? What other books fell into your loving arms? Leave a link to your IMM post and I'll check 'em out! Happy reading everybody~

Follow Friday (4) & Book Blogger Hop (5)

Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Rachel at the Parajunkee's View. Every week, book bloggers have a chance to connect and check out each other's blogs. Check it out to sign up and participate, or just check it out to check out some great blogs! This is my fourth week participating. This week's question:

What do you do besides reading/reviewing as a hobby?

I do a lot of things. I write fiction, draw cartoons, watch movies (like, Harry Potter), play RPG video games (Pokemon, Harvest Moon, Tales of Symphonia, and Ace Attorney mostly), think about dinosaurs, hang out with friends, eat food, stalk Kristina, think more about dinosaurs, watch Bones, watch videos of octopi on Youtube...like this one:

That is one awesomely awesome octopus.
So yeah, I pretty much do whatever when I'm not reading!

And if you do one Follow Meme, why not do two? The more the merrier! This is my Fifth Book Blogger Hop.

The Book Blogger Hop is a meme hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books. Like Follow Friday, It's a place for book bloggers to connect, and "hop" from one another's blogs to get to know each other. Check it out to sign up and participate! Even if your blog doesn't get listed this week, you can view other people's blogs and make some friends. :P In addition, Jennifer also asks a question to kick off the conversations. This week's question:

What popular book and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?

I actually can't think of any hyped books that I haven't enjoyed recently. Well, wait, I take that back. I'm not sure if it was hyped around the blogosphere, but I didn't really enjoy reading Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus. It was getting pretty good reviews on Goodreads, so I assumed I was going to enjoy it. But I was disappointed in the end because the mystery that was advertised on the jacket of the book got solved quickly and then put on the back burner so the plot could focus on the main character's love life. A shame, really. The mystery was so cool! Anyway, I plan on writing a review about it this week, so you can get the whole scoop then.

So what about you guys? What do you do in your free time besides blog and tweet about what you read? What books have you been recently disappointed with?

To all of you returning visitors, thanks again for stopping by my blog, and to all you new visitors, welcome! If you leave a link to your website I'll be sure to check it out over the weekend. Until then, happy Friday, and go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows p.1 if you haven't already!

Zombies vs Unicorns by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier

Title: Zombies vs. Unicorns: The Anthology

Author: Holly Black, Justine Larbalestier, Garth Nix, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Naomi Novik, Carrie Ryan, Margo Lanagan, Maureen Johnson, Diana Peterfreund, Scott Westerfeld, Meg Cabot, Cassandra Clare, Kathleen Duey and Libba Bray

Publisher: McElderry Books

Publication Date: Sept. 21st, 2010

Pages: 415 (Hardcover)

To Buy: Amazon.com

I'm not usually a fan of short story anthologies and normally wouldn't bother to write a review for one, but Zombies vs. Unicorns was so much fun to read that I couldn't help myself. You'll have to forgive me for not writing a proper summary like I normally do, but really, its pretty straight forward. The title says it all. But for those of you who would like a little more background... Zombies vs. Unicorns started out as an internet argument between Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier over which was better: zombies or unicorns? Black argued in favor of unicorns and Larbalestier argued in favor of zombies. Then some of their author buddies joined the debate, and they decided to write a bunch of short stories to try and prove which of the two creatures was better. Thus, Zombies vs. Unicorns: The Anthology was born. I'm not going to summarize every single short story that shows up in the anthology because if I did, you'd be sitting at your computer all night, and we don't want that. Especially when you could be spending your time reading them.

The quality of writing presented throughout the anthology was top-notch, and it was interesting to see how some of everyone's YA fiction authors tackled the short story format. (Personally, I was really excited to read Scott Westerfeld and Cassandra Clare's stories.) Many chose to put a unique spin on the traditional conception of each creature, creating a smörgåsbord of tales that will delight readers with any kind of taste. Not into brain-sucking zombies? Well, maybe you'll enjoy reading about zombies falling in love. Think pretty, rainbow-farting unicorns are lame? Well, maybe you'd prefer to read about killer human-eating unicorns. Really, as I mentioned before, there's a story in here for everyone. In addition, the narration in between the stories by Black and Larbalestier was hilarious. They pretty much created a new definition for the term, "inside joke." Really, listening to (er, technically, reading) them argue about zombies and unicorns was probably the best part of the book, and, believe it or not, both teams made very convincing arguments to support their case.

Because there were some stories I liked more than others I'm not going to rate this book. But just know that from page 1 to 415, I couldn't stop smiling. I highly recommend Zombies vs. Unicorns to anybody who's seeking a good gut-clenching laugh.

Oh, and as a side note, I'm totally Team Unicorn. Anybody care to challenge me? I'll gladly take you on!