White Cat by Holly Black

Title: White Cat
Author: Holly Black
Series: The Curse Workers #1
Published: May 4th, 2010
Publisher: McElderry
Pages: 310 (hardcover)
I purchased this book.

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen. --Goodreads

Ok, so my first thought after I finished this book was, “Da-yum, Holly Black wrote this?” Not that I have anything against Holly or anything, but White Cat wasn’t like any of her other work. Though it was dark and charming, it lacked the sort of gritty, under your skin PNR plot that she’s most well known for (think of the Modern Faerie series). But honestly, this feels like her best series yet. Black has created a completely unique magic system that fits into a slightly altered version of our world, with characters that simply thrive in the deception that accompanies it. As a result, most of this book is shrouded in mystery. Awesome, original mystery, like Mafia meets wizarding world kind of mystery. But don’t let the Sopranos vibe scare you off—White Cat is really a story about uncovering the secrets in one’s own family, and having the strength to define yourself even when you don’t fit in.

What I enjoyed the most about the book was Cassel's character. It was a really nice change of pace to read a PNR book (if you would even categorize White Cat as such) with a male main character. Cassel is thoughtful, dark, lonely, loyal, caring, strong—but not in the macho, bad-boy kind of way. I know many authors these days choose to create male leads who have pectorals made of flawless marble with eyes that change color every time they blink, and as a result, we’ve come to expect the bad boy with a heart of gold sort of character in this kind of fiction…which is why I’m happy Holly decided to keep Cassel the way that she did. He felt very real to me. He’s flawed yet likable at the same time, and it made his struggles much more emotionally gripping. It was fun watching him discover what was really happening behind closed doors.

Even though I really enjoyed the book, I wasn't entirely invested in Cassel's story until page 120 or so. There’s lots of back story and explanation about the status of the country with relation to how they deal with Workers. But I can deal, since it all paid off: all of the information that gets fed to the reader paints a very sad backdrop for Cassel (being the only member of his family that isn’t a worker) and the result is you immediately begin to suspect that things aren’t exactly as they seem. Anyway, if you haven’t had a chance to pick up the book, do so. The Curse Workers series is off to an awesome start!

The Sea of Storms by Mark Whiteway

Title: The Sea of Storms
Author: Mark Whiteway
Series: Lodestone #1
Published: April 12, 2010
Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com
Pages: 290 (paperback)
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Alli-Kar, a white-hole portal from another universe, rains meteoroids onto the surface of the planet Kelanni. But the so-called "lodestones" behave according to different physical laws, transforming Kelanni's society.

With the aid of the fearsome Keltar in their flying cloaks, the Kelanni are being put to forced labor to mine the lodestones.

Shann, an orphan with a fiery disposition, witnesses a battle between a Keltar and a stranger bearing a similar flying cloak. She tracks down the stranger, learning of the technology behind the Keltars' power and joining him on a mission to free the slaves and cut off their supply of lodestones.

Meanwhile Keris, a Keltar, is sent on a mission to track down the rebels. She is attacked by a flying creature and saved by the enigmatic Chandara. At their Great Tree, she learns that a mysterious "Prophet" is out to destroy the Kelanni people. Their only hope is a powerful instrument hidden in the distant past.

Pursued by Keltar, the party will encounter bizarre creatures, ancient technologies and terrifying dangers. Finally, they must seek to cross a massive storm barrier in order to reach the other side of their world, where a world-shaking revelation awaits. --Goodreads

One of my favorite things about books is that they have the power to transport the reader anywhere in the world, even if that means transporting them to a different world. Whiteway capitalizes on this power, and uses it to his advantage to bring the reader a creative story filled with crazy animals, gliding cloaks, and star-crossed destiny.

At first, the the book appears to be strictly science fiction. The story takes place in the world of Kelanni--a planet devoid of human life, yet incredibly human at the same time. Its inhabitants are being oppressed by the Keltar, guardians of the Prophet who have abused their power in the name of their savior. But when one of the characters receives an important message from the past, an epic journey begins and the characters embark on a quest to travel beyond the Sea of Storms. In the tradition of J.R.R’s Lord of the Rings, after the quest is received, the plot becomes fast paced and action filed. There is little down time to become bored, especially in between events like escaping a slave camp or rescuing a comrade from a giant lava snake’s den. The world was rich with its own customs, natural laws, crazy creatures and landscapes that, when combined, had me wishing that my jacket was filled with lodestones.

However, despite the exciting pacing of the plot and the amazing amount of easy-to-understand detail that Whiteway puts into the more alien aspects of his novel, reading the first 100 pages or so was difficult for me. Not because I didn’t like was I was reading, but because I couldn’t connect to the characters. There wasn’t enough background information given about most of the main characters to make me identify what drove them to embark on the dangerous quest, other than the reason that the world depended on it. I needed that emotional connection, the one that makes me go, “Aww…she has no other choice,” or “Oh snap, he’s going for revenge!” and really believe it. Regardless, Shann, Alando, Lyall, and Keris provided an even balance of skills to the group, and their personalities played well off of each other--especially towards the end. It was hard to choose a favorite, but if I had to, it would probably be Alando. His light-hearted comments relieved some of the tension of the story, and I enjoyed listening to his well placed words of wisdom.

Overall, the novel was very well done, and the end had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Even though the beginning was a little slow, once the edges of the plot were outlined it became a roller coaster of action and adventure. If you're into books that blend science fiction and fantasy (and blend it extremely well), then I highly recommend you pick up the first book in the Lodestone series. A fair warning, though: The end is a cliffhanger, and a seriously painful one! I know I’ll have to get my hands on the sequel as soon as I get the chance.

Am I A Wuss?

Am I a wuss for getting all misty-eyed whenever I see this?

*wipes a tear away* Ah, it gets me every time, especially when they reach the, "When everyone is happy, and there's nothing more to say" part.

What are your thoughts about the new Barnes & Noble "Read Forever" campaign? Do you like it? Hate it? Prefer Borders or Amazon to Barnes & Nobel? I'm just curious to hear what you think. Personally, I love the new campaign, and feel like it really captures the essence of reading. :) Share your thoughts in the comments!

(lol, random post is random, I know)

GIVEAWAY WINNER: Hex, a Witch and Angel Tale

And the winner is...

JINKY

The winner* has been notified and will receive their copy of Hex, a Witch and Angel Tale from Ramona. :) Thanks to everybody who participated!

*Jinky was chosen using Random.org

April 29th Follow Friday & Book Blogger Hop

Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Rachel at 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 tenth week participating. This week's question:

Keeping with the dystopian and apocalypse theme that seems to be running rampant on parajunkee.com, I have one very hard question for you: If you were stocking your bomb shelter, what books would you HAVE to include if you only had space for ten?

OH MY GOD HOW WILL I CHOOSE? Can a series count as one book? Cause if it did, that would be swell. No? It doesn't count? *grumbles* Fine...here's my list (in no particular order of importance):

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2. Eragon
3. Wild Magic
4. Wolf Speaker
5. Emperor Mage
6. The Realms of the Gods
7. Before I Fall
8. Paranormalcy
9. Little Brother
10. The Red Pyramid

I could totally tack on another 10 or 20 or 30 or you know, 100 books to this list, but these are the first that came to mind. I wouldn't mind rereading these ones over and over and over and over and over...

And if you do one Follow Meme, why not do two? The more the merrier! 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. Jennifer also asks a question to kick off the conversations. This is my tenth Book Blogger Hop. This week's question:

Summer is coming quickly - what 2011 summer release are you most looking forward to?

Supernaturally by Kiersten White. I keep crossing my fingers and hoping that an ARC will magically appear in my mailbox, but alas, I'm still waiting. *gazes out at mailbox, lovingly* At least July isn't TOO far away.

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! Also, be sure to enter my Hex, a Witch and Angel Tale giveaway. The deadline to enter is tomorrow. :)

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Title: Bumped
Author: Megan McCafferty
Series: Bumped #1
Published: April 26, 2011
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 336 (hardcover)
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents are forced to pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and had never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Until now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in religious Goodside, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to bring Melody back to Goodside and convince her that “pregging” for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common. –Goodreads

In response to the popularity of tv shows like MTV’s 'Teen Mom' and '16 and Pregnant,' McCafferty brings us a satire about teen pregnancy set in the not-so-distant future.

To be honest, it was difficult to get into this book because of the slang. To say, “There’s a lot,” doesn’t even begin to describe it. Every other word is specifically tailored to the teen-focused culture that McCafferty has created, and though the meanings of words like, “bumping,” “preggo,” and “neggy,” are obvious when read within the context, it still took some effort on my part to mentally shift to a state of mind where I could read through them quickly. But once I became accustomed to it (about 50 pages in) I was totally hooked. McCafferty’s dystopian is brilliant.

Melody and Harmony’s personalities provide balance and offer two completely different perspectives that explain the divide in the culture that they live in. While Melody has accepted her role as “the most important person on the planet,” for her working baby maker, Harmony’s religion drives her to want to rid the world of bumping sin, even if it means breaking the law. The two personalities clashed once they were in each other’s lives, but the conflict led them to expose what was wrong in both worlds. Personally, I liked Melody more than Harmony. She was smart, witty, and totally misled about what she wanted, but watching her accept what her gut had been telling her all along was worth the struggle I faced reading the first 50 pages of the book. Plus, she had a totally cute best friend. Zen was the kind of boy I always love to see in YA fiction—smart, friendly, and actually friends with the main character.

The only thing that really bothered me about the book was that I wasn’t sure what McCafferty was trying to specifically say about teen pregnancy until the very end. It left me feeling uncomfortable, torn between giggling at the absurdity of the situation and worrying about the issues raised in the text. It was like…the kind of feeling one gets when watching really bad Japanese ninja/samurai movies. You know the kind I’m talking about—the ones where someone’s head gets split open and gratuitous amounts of pink food dye paint the sky. Though it’s gruesome, you can’t help but chuckle because—in a disturbing way—it’s funny. Not saying that teen pregnancy is funny, but still. I suspect that the writing was structured this way on purpose, to motivate the reader to really think about about was going on.

Not as dark as some of the other recent dystopians out there, but Bumped offers a thought-provoking perspective on some current issues, and begs, begs, BEGS the reader to consider the implications of promoting sexual fads. It’s uncomfortable, it’s scandalous, and it hits home for those who are seriously following the trends in teenage pregnancy. In the end, I loved it, and definitely recommend it for those who can stomach the means of its message. However, I get the feeling that this book is going to be one of those ones that you either really love or really hate. But I’ll most definitely be looking forward to the next in the series!

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Wither

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Series: Chemical Garden #1

Published: March 22, 2011

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 358 (hardcover)
I purchased this book.

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left. --Goodreads

So, after hearing about this book for months, I FINALLY got my hands on a copy and made time to read it. But to be honest, even now I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

On one hand, DeStefano’s writing is brilliant, and her characters deep. Wither’s sister-wives bare their souls across the pages without actually ripping off their shirts and screaming, “THIS IS ME,” at the top of their lungs followed by a check list of facts. Through Rhine’s eyes, the reader really gets a good sense of the horror of the world that these people live in. I mean, knowing when you’re born that you’re only going to live to be twenty or twenty-five is scary as hell, and how these characters manage to stay hopeful or find joy (especially after being kidnapped) is amazing. It’s clear that everyone is a victim of this post-apocalyptic world,which DeStepano does an incredible job sharing with the reader without actually showing the world (since Rhine is trapped inside for most of the time). As frightening as it is to admit, I could actually see DeStefano’s world become a reality, since genetic engineering is such a hot topic right now.

However, by the end of the book I didn’t feel like anything really happened. There is a lot of waiting, a lot of mourning, and a lot of wishful thinking that goes on, but beyond that...eh...I guess there’s a cocktail party or two. Here’s the scoop: after Rhine gets kidnapped, she’s married off to Linden to become one of three new wives. She decides that the best way to escape to freedom is to earn Linden's trust and become the new first wife, after which she'll have a number of new resources and opportunities to run away. However, there’s one major thing standing in her way, and that’s Linden’s father (who, for some reason, I pictured looking like Frollo from Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame). I think this is where the source of my disappointment comes from. Everyone kept making references to the awful things he’d do to people in the book if they tried to escape, and I know they were all afraid of him, but to be honest, I just couldn't see why. We never see him punish anybody--just make some threats--and by the end, I just didn’t believe he was as scary or as much of a danger as everyone said he was. If Rhine really wanted to, she probably could have found a way to stand up to (or even physically fight) him sooner, which might have made for a more exciting read. But as he was, he wasn't around enough to be an actual obstacle in the plot. Sorry, I really don't mean to complain, but I love me some character conflict!

So overall, did I like the book? Yes. I did, and it’s another one that will get shelved with the other scary post-apocalyptic/dystopian novels that seem to be congregating on my shelf. But was it a favorite? No. Will I still read the sequel? Yes. I just wish that a little more happened in this first installment. Regardless, I recommend it, especially if you were a big fan of Ally Condie’s Matched.