Follow Friday (11)

It's Christmas Eve-Day!!  I can hardly wait, and this year, for the first time in over a decade in Eastern North Carolina, we're looking at a white Christmas!  A warm holiday welcome today to anybody stopping by my blog for the first time via Follow Friday (found weekly over at the fantastical Parajunkee's View), as well as to any old followers dropping in to say hi. :)

We're having a 'light' Follow Friday this week, so the question Parajunkee asks is, "What are your plans for this fabulous day? 

My answer: I'll be doing the usual thing for Christmas: going to my grandmother's house and opening presents with all my family, eating a lot of desserts, and listening to those of my family graced with good singing voices (most definitely not me) sing Christmas carols in the kitchen.  Today-- Christmas Eve Day-- though, we're going to be heading to Charlotte for some last-minute shopping in the gigantic skyscraper mall.  Yes, we are all mad here, going shopping in the city mall on the day before Christmas.  I probably won't be posting tomorrow, as things will be really busy, but I want to wish everybody around the blogosphere a very Merry Christmas!  

While you're here, feel free to enter my latest giveaway.  The prize pack is a hardcover copy of the US editions of each Incarceron and its sequel, Sapphique, by Catherine Fisher.

Across The Universe by Beth Revis

Genre: YA, science-fiction
Page Count: 400 (hardcover)
Published: January 11th, 2011 by Razorbill
Recommended for: absolutely anyone, even readers who don't normally like sci-fi
*Disclaimer: Review copy provided by Penguin in exchange for honest review-- thanks*

(from Goodreads):
A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone--one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship--tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next. Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming. 


My Take: 


Across the Universe is an immediately engrossing, all-consuming debut novel which had me scrambling to keep it with me at all times whilst I was voraciously devouring the story.  This clingy-ness led to awkward situations in which I was discovered smuggling the book along in the pocket of my jacket or in a tiny travel bag alongside a toothbrush, but I do not regret it for a moment.  There are many YA books, there are many science fiction books, dystopia books, and even a fair amount of books which take place aboard a spaceship (to say nothing of certain cult television series).  But none of those ships are as enormously complex and intricate as the bizarre society to be found aboard the spaceship Godspeed; and very few of the books populating the rapidly-expanding YA fantasy and science fiction shelves of bookstores are as intriguing, fantastical, and altogether amazing as Across the Universe.  


Normally I tend to gravitate towards character-driven books.  This novel is primarily plot-driven, and world-driven, given the genius of Beth Revis's Godspeed setting, but I loved the characters, too.  The story is told from alternating points of view, that of Elder-- the young leader-to-be of Godspeed who feels conflicted and suspicious of whatever secrets his mentor Eldest isn't telling him; and Amy, a teenage girl who long ago chose to be frozen for the next three hundred and one years in the hull of Godspeed with her parents, and in doing so left her life and love on Earth behind forever.  The premise of the sacrifice that Amy has had to make-- literally leaving everything behind on Earth to colonize an unknown planet-- is a great one.  The dreams and memories and worries that Amy experiences while between the realm of living and death give her, as well as the book, depth beyond that of a dystopian love story aboard a spaceship bound for a new planet.  

Amy and the other passengers are caught in a sort of coma-like sleep, except that her heart isn't even beating, she isn't breathing.  Across the Universe kept me thinking and puzzling over the possibilities of a not-so-distant future long after I finished the book: how many people might choose to become frozen cargo aboard a ship like Amy's in order to wake up hundreds of years later, if such a thing was possible?  Would it be worth leaving your life on Earth behind, and what would you do if you were suddenly wrested from your long, long sleep into a bizarre and foreign society where you were considered an outsider at best, and a freak at worst?  I absolutely had to ask everyone I know, though I received quite a few odd stares in reply. (Must have been something to do with the way I kept waving the book under their noses and loudly reading passages from its pages in the check-out line of a holiday-crowded mall.)  

I feel Amy's incredible dilemma-- that of literally being stuck between the Earth she knew and the new world, Centauri Earth with no end of the journey in sight-- is one of the most captivating to be found in a YA novel-- or any novel-- for a long time.  I could go on and on about this book-- about how I loved the way the story unfolds, and the complexities and details of Godspeed's inhabitants' lives, and just literally everything, even the painful (though delicious) cliffhanger ending.  I just discovered that Across the Universe is the first book of a new trilogy, and the prospect of reading more of Beth Revis's fantastical, brilliantly-constructed world and beautifully-realized tale is an exciting one to say the least.  I simply cannot recommend this book enough.

Qi by Elizabeth A Svigar

Genre: YA fantasy
Page Count: cerca 120 (avaliable in Kindle and e-book format)
Published: October 2010
Recommended for: fantasy fans and fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
(Purchase this book on Amazon here.)
*I received this book free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.*

(from Goodreads): Thirteen-year-old uber-archer Samantha is thrilled to qualify for Xenith, the most prestigious -- and mysterious -- Olympic training facility in the world. Much more than an athletic camp, it's a fantasyland where living dolls and the Baba Yaga abound. Plus there's Dr. Nine, a master alchemist whose magical laboratory is very well guarded indeed. But not all that glitters is Olympic gold. When dangerous secrets begin to surface, Sam must fight to expose Xenith's dark underbelly to save her friends and family...if she survives herself.

My Take:

Qi-- the title of which refers to a 'force of life' similar to 'chi' in Eastern cultures and martial arts-- is a fantasy filled with mythic figures and strong teenage characters, magic, and mystery. Sam and her sister Abby are champion archers and fencers, respectively, and local celebrities.  When their father announces that the girls are ready to travel to Xenith-- a world-class Olympic training camp which is far more than it seems.  At Xenith, Sam and Abby are reunited with their mother-- also an Olympic athlete-- and their old childhood friend Eli.  Sam immediately begins falling for Eli, but longs to uncover more about the mysterious disappearance of his brother, Jonah.  Sam encounters age-old camp traditions, meets the wise old witch Baba Yaga and Will-- a living doll with a witty sense of humor--, along with Bianca, a rival archer and rival for Eli's heart.  Sam makes several startling discoveries which drastically change everything she thought she knew about herself and her family. 

Qi is an immersive book-- I found myself immediately pulled into the story and did not resurface until after rereading the final page.  I loved the feel of Sam's world and Xenith Academy, which was not unlike that of Percy Jackson's Camp Half-Blood.  Elizabeth Svigar writes adeptly, but at a very fast pace that pulls readers into a thrill ride of a fantasy that will not fail to please fellow fans of mythology.  I loved how she combined the mythologies of different cultures-- Eastern and Slavic, for example, and also how the story dips into alchemy with Dr. Nine's fantastical gold-making methods. 

Sam is a very likeable heroine and somehow I even found myself warming up to her nemesis, Bianca.  Now, my pet peeve for this book is that most of the adults are less than helpful to Sam and Abby as they are discovering the strange and magical world of Xenith, even bordering on annoying the heck out of me in a few scenes.  Their father, in particular, seemed to argue consistently with his nemesis, Dr. Dante, and the teenagers tend to seem a lot more mature than the older characters. (Baba Yaga being the exception.)  That aside, I liked all the characters-- Eli, Abby, and especially Will, the living doll.  His quips made me smile again and again as I read.  A series of twists near the finish line round-out this well-crafted novel and exciting fantasy adventure.  Everything about Qi, from its pleasantly quirky characters and mystery-driven plot, to its unique mythology and short, intriguing title, marks it as a fresh and different addition to YA fantasy.  I definitely recommend it to any fantasy fan looking for a unique and fun read, especially a fellow Percy Jackson fan looking for a similar, enthralling read. Qi does not disappoint.

My Rating: 4/5

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

  "Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly blogging event hosted at Breaking-The-Spine.com that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.  This week I'm waiting on...  

Huntress by Malinda Lo 
To Be Released: April 5th, 2011

Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn’t shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people’s survival hangs in the balance.

To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Taninli, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet the two girls’ destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever.

The exciting adventure prequel to Malinda Lo’s highly acclaimed novel Ash is overflowing with lush Chinese influences and details inspired by the I Ching, and is filled with action and romance. 


Huntress is the prequel to Malinda Lo's wonderful book Ash, which I'm reading right now.  I love books with an Asian setting and feel, and especially books with romances that transcend the YA norm.  The cover is one of my favorites for 2011 so far. 




So, what are you waiting on this Wednesday?

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Genre: YA fantasy
Page Count: 362
Released: 2009 by Houghton Mifflin
Recommended for: anyone looking for a fresh, funny twist on vampires

(from Goodreads):
Think vampires are romantic, sexy, and powerful? Think again. Vampires are dead. And unless they want to end up staked, they have to give up fanging people, admit their addiction, join a support group, and reform themselves.
Nina Harrison, fanged at fifteen and still living with her mother, hates the Reformed Vampire Support Group meetings every Tuesday night. Ev...moreThink vampires are romantic, sexy, and powerful? Think again. Vampires are dead. And unless they want to end up staked, they have to give up fanging people, admit their addiction, join a support group, and reform themselves.

Nina Harrison, fanged at fifteen and still living with her mother, hates the Reformed Vampire Support Group meetings every Tuesday night. Even if she does appreciate Dave, who was in a punk band when he was alive, nothing exciting ever happens. That is, until one of group members is mysteriously destroyed by a silver bullet. With Nina (determined to prove that vamps aren't useless or weak) and Dave (secretly in love with Nina) at the helm, the misfit vampires soon band together to track down the hunter, save a werewolf, and keep the world safe from the likes of themselves.
The perfect antidote to slick vampire novels, this murder-mystery comedy of errors will thrill fans of Evil Genius. 


My Take: 


Vampires, bloody and seductive and batty and immortal and sparkly as they may be, are long overdue for a dose of reality.  I present it to you in the form of The Reformed Vampire Support Group. 

In Nina's world, vampires are to tall, dark, and dangerous vamps as stained bedsheets are to ghosts.  The colorful characters of her Support Group include Horace (a real wannabe-vamp who goes around dressed like Spike from Buffy), Dave (fanged after a gig at a local bar), Bridget (the nicest old lady in the world who spends far more time peacefully knitting than careening around in the form of a bat), and Father Ramon, their resident support group adviser/ Catholic priest.  Nina herself lives with her (seventy-plus-year-old, ex-bartender) mother and spends her waking nights churning out vampire fantasies on her laptop exactly like those devoured by paranormal readers.  She can't go out during the day without wearing hardcore sunglasses and her version of a night out on the town is carpooling to the weekly Support Group meeting.  

The existence of vampires is a complete secret, granted that there's always at least one psycho wannabe-vampire-hunter on the loose, and Nina and her fellow vamps are by no means up to protecting themselves from anything more threatening than, say, a bunny rabbit.  They survive, not on human blood, but on the blood of hamsters which they raise themselves.  Mildly disgusting, yes, but the book never gets too graphic concerning the poor little rodents. Fifty-plus years is a long time to be dead, so when a member of the Support Group is mysteriously dusted (none-Buffy-addicts READ: killed), the gang set out to discover the murderer before one of them ends up being next. What ensues is a murder mystery which is really more of a series of hilarious, unfortunate coincidences and misconceptions.  And yes, werewolves are included, which only adds to the feel of (an intelligent) Twilight parody.  I recommend this smart, funny yarn of 'real-life' vampires to both vampire addicts and those readers who are really kind of exhausted with the whole craze.  I'm reading the sequel, The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group now, and haven't gotten very far, but so far, so freaking hilarious.  


My Rating: 4/5

Matched by Ally Condie

                                                       Genre: YA dystopia
Page Count: 366 (hardcover)
Released: November 30th by Dutton Juvenile
Recommended for: dystopia fans, particularly the Hunger Games

(from Goodreads): Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

My Take:

I'm a little slow in reviewing Matched, simply because I've been bombarded with enticing books lately.  Besides, this is the kind of book which stays with you long after you read the final page, the kind of story you can really mull over and think 'What if..', and anticipate the sequel long before the release date is even close.  Matched is most definitely one of my favorite reads of the year, and its hype is well-deserved.

Cassia is a protagonist you can cheer for-- she defies the airtight restrictions and guidelines of the Society, without actually going all Katniss Everdeen about it.  This book reminds me of The Hunger Games for several reasons besides its dystopia feel-- Cassia's voice in the present tense has a similar feel as Katniss's--, but it's no tail-coat-riding book.  The Society isn't as brutal as the Capital, but they have their own methods of cruelty-- they restrain the freedom of the people in their Society so completely and indifferently, but not so outrageously that their people revolt. (Yet.)  The scary thing was that I can see these kind of changes, the kind of guidelines that the Society forces people to live their lives by, being put into place in the not-so-distant future.  I'm not sure exactly when Matched takes place, but it probably isn't too far along the timeline.  The story also reminds me a lot of Lois Lowry's older YA novel, The Giver.   

The hero behind the story of Cassia's defiance and even her growing, forbidden love for Ky is her grandfather.  In Cassia's world, people die the day they turn eighty, and they believe it should be this way.  This, for me, was one of the worst cruelties of the society, because I simply could not imagine knowing the exact moment when you were going to die, when everyone you knew was going to die.  Cassia's grandfather doesn't stand up and deft the Society, but he's so obviously a hero in his own way, advising Cassia to not 'go gently into the night' and becoming the basis for her questioning of the Society's ways and labels.

Ky, the boy Cassia falls in love with despite her being Matched with her best friend Xander, is an Aberration-- set apart by the Society due to a mysterious infraction committed by his father.  Aberrations aren't entered into the Matching pool-- they can never get close to any 'normal' member of society, and they have the worst jobs and lifespans while most people live comfortable, sheltered lives.  I liked the depth of Ky's emotion and the way he connected with Cassia, but I wish we found out a little more about his past and exactly what was so terribly tragic that his parents died and he was forced to relocate from his country home.  The end of the book leaves you wanting more and the story is wide-open for the sequel, Crossed (coming next November according to Ally Condie's blog.)

One last thing-- I love, love the cover of this book.  Browsing it on Amazon, I thought it was a strange choice, but after having read the book, I think the cover could not possibly have been better.

My Rating: 5/5 
 

In My Mailbox (December 12th-18th)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.  The idea behind IMM is not only to put new books on our radars but also to encourage blogger interaction. IMM explores the weekly contents of our mailboxes: books bought, received, won, and borrowed, along with other goodies and swag. 

This week my mailbox was stuffed with book-shaped parcels and other goodies.  I'll never be able to finish all of these before Christmas, but I'll certainly try my best! :)

Bought:

ARCs received for Review:


Won:

Thanks to:

-- Good Golly Miss Holly ARC tours

-- Razorbill Penguin Publishing

-- Amanda @ Amanda's Writings

So, what's in your mailbox this week?



Giveaway!: Incarceron & Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

All the holiday cheer and giveaway love going on around has inspired me to host a new giveaway! 

The prize pack: hardcover copies of both Incarceron by Catherine Fisher and its highly-anticipated sequel, Sapphique (which will be released on December 28th in the US.)  This giveaway is open to US and Canada only-- sorry to everyone else, but in this case I will be ordering from Amazon. 

Goodreads Summary: Incarceron is a prison unlike any other: Its inmates live not only in cells, but also in metal forests, dilapidated cities, and unbounded wilderness. The prison has been sealed for centuries, and only one man, legend says, has ever escaped.
           
Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, can’t remember his childhood and believes he came from outside Incarceron. He’s going to escape, even though most inmates don’t believe that Outside even exists. And then Finn finds a crystal key and through it, a girl named Claudia. Claudia claims to live Outside—her father is the Warden of Incarceron and she’s doomed to an arranged marriage. If she helps Finn escape, she will need his help in return. But they don’t realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost far more than they know.
           
Because Incarceron is alive. 

Goodreads summary: The only one who escaped . . . And the one who could destroy them all.
Incarceron, the living prison, has lost one of its inmates to the outside world: Finn’s escaped, only to find that Outside is not at all what he expected. Used to the technologically advanced, if violently harsh, conditions of the prison, Finn is now forced to obey the rules of Protocol, which require all people to live without technology. To Finn, Outside is just a prison of another kind, especially when Claudia, the daughter of the prison’s warden, declares Finn the lost heir to the throne. When another claimant emerges, both Finn’s and Claudia’s very lives hang on Finn convincing the Court of something that even he doesn’t fully believe.
Meanwhile, Finn’s oathbrother Keiro and his friend Attia are still trapped inside Incarceron. They are searching for a magical glove, which legend says Sapphique used to escape. To find it, they must battle the prison itself, because Incarceron wants the glove, too.

  

A recent development makes the fantastic YA dualogy of Incarceron and Sapphique even more exciting: Incarceron is currently in production to become a movie.  Twilight star Taylor Lautner (aka teen werewolf Jacob Black) is already slated to play Finn, and is rumored to have a part in producing the film as well!  Now, I'm not really the biggest Twilight fan, but even I don't have a problem with Taylor Lautner. ;)  Get the full scoop here.  

_________________________________________________________

To Enter Giveaway: Leave a comment with your total entries, and tell us what actor/actress you would love to see starring in a movie adaptation of one of your favorite books. (Last day to enter is December 27th.)

Rules: 

1. You must be a follower to enter the giveaway. (+ l entry automatic) 

2. Open to residents of the US and Canada only.  

3. The extra entries are more generous this time around:

Take +5 extra entries for adding a link to this giveaway on your sidebar; +3 for a tweet or facebook post, and +10 for a blog post helping to spread the word. (Please leave me the links in your comment.) 

The winner will be chosen via random.org and, following notification, will have 48 hours to respond to my email.  (If the winner doesn't respond, a new winner will be chosen, you know the drill.)  Good luck to everyone, and happy holidays!