[Review] Amplified by Tara Kelly

Title: Amplified {goodreads}

Authors: Tara Kelly

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 25/10/11

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
RRP: US$16.95

Source: Bought
Age: 15+ Sexual references and alcohol.

Pages: 290

My Rating:

Summary:

When privileged 17-year-old Jasmine gets kicked out of her house, she takes what is left of her savings and flees to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it. . .

In this fresh new novel by critically acclaimed author Tara Kelly, Jasmine finds out what happens when her life gets Amplified.

My thoughts: 

One word: Badass!

Tara Kelly strikes again! I loved this as much as I loved 'Harmonic Feedback', just in different ways. We've heard the story before: Teen gets kicked out of home because they're a disappointment to their parent/s. Teen goes off to fulfill their dream, whatever that may be. What really appealed to me though, was the musical aspects and the band and what the band brings to Jasmine, the protagonist.

'Amplified' is super atmospheric; Kelly really describes music perfectly. When I first started reading books with music in them, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to 'hear the music', but so far I haven't had such a problem. It would be really cool if some of C-Side's tracks got recorded somehow, but that's probably wishful thinking. There are a few terms that, should you not be so musically inclined, you might need to look up. A little research on industrial rock also wouldn't hurt. I'll admit I'd never actually heard of the sub-genre before, but that's exactly what I love about reading. New stuff.

The band members of C-Side are eccentric and they each have their own distinct personalities that just magically drew me to them. I adored Felix's wicked fashion sense, Bryn's biting wit, Sean's quiet allure and Veta's spunk and sense of pride. I found myself chuckling and laughing way too much. They just have way too much fun together and their dialogue and actions with each other are so natural that I was able to believe they were real people.

What I most loved about AMPLIFIED, however, is the journey that Jasmine takes. She goes through so much development and has to endure quite a few obstacles in order to actually get where she does at the end. She suffers from intense stage fright, which is a big deal when she's going to be filling in for one of the hottest lead guitarists in the local industrial rock scene. What shines through with her is her innate ability to rock out and make things work, make them different and innovative. Like I said before, I could actually HEAR what was playing.

There is a romance, and one that I enjoyed a lot. The guy and Jasmine just get off to a really bad start, and first impressions make quite the impression. But over time they just start warming to each other and before we all know it, they're friends and leaning into something more. They had great chemistry; they're safely one of my top 5 fave couples for this year. Realistic - no insta-love going on ANYWHERE in here.

AMPLIFIED is fired-up and passionate, and is sure to catch interest of musically inclined readers. Kelly's sophomore release plays a familiar tune to her debut, but is a much lighter read - you might even chuckle a couple times. Jasmine is a great heroine whose endurance and strength of will persist time and time again.

Quotes:

""Are you waiting for the bathroom? 'Cause it looks open."
"I need to talk to Sean. I'm just waiting for a good time . . ."
Bryn walks past me and slammed his fist into Sean's door. "Hey!" The music inside cut off.
Sean answered, crinkling his brow at Bryn. He was already dressed for work--blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, cargo pants, and boots. "What?"
"Jasmine said she's waiting for a good time. Does now work for you?" Bryn slapped Sean in the chest and sauntered off, chuckling his way down the stairs.
Sean's eyes widened at me, his lips parting. This was not the opening I had in mind. (pp. 118-119)

Buy:

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INTERNATIONAL READERS

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I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: ---

[Review] Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty

Title: Feeling sorry for Celia {goodreads}

Authors: Jaclyn Moriarty

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 01/01/00

Publisher: Pan Macmillan
RRP: 

Source: Swapped
Age: 14+

Pages: 250

My Rating:

Summary:

Life is pretty complicated for Elizabeth Clarry. Her best friend Celia keeps disappearing, her absent father suddenly reappears, and her communication with her mother consists entirely of wacky notes left on the fridge. On top of everything else, because her English teacher wants to rekindle the "Joy of the Envelope," a Complete and Utter Stranger knows more about Elizabeth than anyone else.

But Elizabeth is on the verge of some major changes. She may lose her best friend, find a wonderful new friend, kiss the sexiest guy alive, and run in a marathon.

So much can happen in the time it takes to write a letter...

My thoughts: 

I love these kinds of books! Feeling Sorry for Celia is written in the form of letters. While this may detach the reader from its characters, it surely was not the case this time. In fact, I loved this book even more for it.

The book doesn't seem to have much direction at the beginning. Elizabeth 'receives' a letter from The Association of Teenagers who declare that she really isn't much of a teenager at all, is she? She has one (best) friend, who is MISSING, and no one else cares because it's just her way; she doesn't rebel or party; basically, she's an embarrassment to teenagerhood. The book follows through with letters from different associations (but of course she's writing the to herself, to mirror how she feels at the time), as well as letters back and forth between several people. The one thing that was lost on me as caused by the letter format, was time. Anyway . . .

Elizabeth was so easy to relate to, so real and honest her voice was. I liked the easygoing nature of the book - I didn't feel the need to sit there on the edge of my seat, gaping at the pages. I didn't need to; I kept coming back to the book anyway. It was almost like I was just sitting down and reading a pile of letters from a stranger, and I could just pick up where I left from at any time.

That's not to say the book wasn't at all exciting, because it certainly was. It's through the connections that were made between me and Elizabeth and her friend (and soon-to-be-friends) and family that I actually cared about what was going to happen next. Whether Celia was going to come home; whether Elizabeth's family would ever be whole again; whether her new pen-pal and her were ever going to meet; and so forth.

The humour and little quirks really shine a light through this book. I cannot count the number of times I smiled or chuckled throughout. The letters exchanged between Elizabeth and Christina . . . it's almost like they could have just been passing notes during class. The relationship between Elizabeth and pretty much everyone she comes into contact with, was so easy to relate back to myself. And yes, there is a romance, and a pretty cute and funny one at that. It did take a backseat among all the other stuff, but it was nice to have another dimension added to the plot.

Basically, what I'm saying is READ IT. This is an Australian novel, but it has been published in the US so you have no excuses. ;)

Quote:

First lines

"Dear Ms Clarry,
It has come to our attention that you are terrible at being a teenager.

Buy:

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INTERNATIONAL READERS

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I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: ---

[Review] All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

Title: All These Things I've Done {goodreads}

Authors: Gabrielle Zevin

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 03/09/11

Publisher: Pan Macmillan
RRP: $16.99

Source: For review from publisher (thanks!)
Age: 14+

Pages: 350
ISBN: 9780330537896

My Rating:

Summary:

Sixteen year-old Anya becomes the head of a mafia family after her parents are both murdered by rival gangs. Although Anya is embrolied in the criminal world, she is determined to keep her brother and sister out of the mafia family, but her father's relatives aren't so keen to let them go. When Anya's violent ex-boyfriend is poisoned with contaminated chocolate – chocolate that is produced illegally by Anya's mafia family – she is arrested for attempted murder and sent to the notorious jail on Manhattan Island.

Eventually she is freed by the new D.A. in town, who believs she has been framed. But this D.A. is the father of Win, a boy at school to whom Anya feels irresistibly drawn, and her freedom comes with conditions. Win's father wants to be mayor, and he can't risk having his ambition jeopardised by rumours spreading that his son is seeing a member of a notorious crime family. Anya knows she risks the safety of her family by seeing Win again, but the feeling between them may be too strong to resist...

My thoughts: 

It is the year 2082. Anya Balanchine gets a lot of attention at school, and from the media and cops. Her parents were murdered, making her, and her sister and brother, orphans. It was only a matter of time; they were leading men in an illegal chocolate smuggling business, and while they made lots of friends since the chocolate ban, they also made many enemies.

When a chocolate poisoning goes underway, Anya is deemed the top suspect. And why wouldn't she be, considering her seedy background and motive. The victim is her ex-boyfriend, to whom she dumped a tray of lasagne on just the other day. And things get complicated when she falls in love with the District Attorney's son.

---

First off, I love the boldness of the font for this book! Despite the dark tones, it makes the book very striking, something I would want to know more of if I saw this on a bookshelf. Do I like this more than the US cover? I think the US cover looks more like a Gabrielle Zevin cover. The chocolate heart would make me super hungry if I were to read it though. I don't love the girl's face on this cover: I didn't picture Anya with so much makeup on, though the actual features are pretty spot-on. Let's move on, shall we?

This book has the now well-known premise and hook: What if chocolate was illegal? It's hard to call this book a dystopian and despite the resource shortages, it is only 71 years in the future and there is not much of an idealised utopia happening over there. All These Things I've Done came off more to me as a romance/mystery/crime thriller YA novel, with a peek at the future.

ATTID is set in New York, and the coffee speakeasies in the book mirror the speakeasies of the '20s, so it was nice to see a clear link between past and future. And of course the chocolate smuggling and organised crime syndicates mirror ANYTHING where something has been banned or illegalised. Just kind of stating the obvious there, but I like being able to see a historical link in dystopian novels.

The plot was great; I could not stop reading it! Every chapter has a little heading/tagline thingy that made me curious and want to find out what happened next. While the fast-paced and riveting storyline consumed all my attention, I couldn't help wonder: why? Why has this society placed a ban on coffee and chocolate, and how did things come to be? [This is the reason I had to bump the book down to 4 stars] I'm just hoping that more will be explained in the next book.

Anya Balanchine is a realist and a practical person. This is HER story. Her strong, snarky personality leave much room for characterisation. The Anya at the end is far changed from the girl we meet at the beginning of the book. At only sixteen, Anya takes on so much crap that it's hard to comprehend how she doesn't just break down. Despite her devout Catholicism, so much goes wrong for her.

Other characters include the members of her immediate, and extended, family; her best friend Scarlet; Win, the DA's son; the DA; Yuji Ono, Anya's Japanese friend; and probably some more. For the most part, they were all great characters, and they really came to life. I can't wait to see what's in store for them all in the next book.

All These Things I've Done is written in first person, in Anya's perspective. At times she speaks directly to us, which I've never seen before in a YA novel. As my first Gabrielle Zevin novel, this really does set the bar high for her other books. Since I love contemporary as much as, or maybe even more than dystopian, there's no way I can be disappointed. :)

In All These Things I've Done, Zevin draws up a strong premise -- It is 2082 in New York and chocolate is ILLEGAL -- and matches it with a strong protagonist and cast. While the rationale behind such a decision for the society to make it so could have been explained, the speedy plot and star-crossed romance makes up for the missing piece in the story.

Quote:

First lines

"THE NIGHT BEFORE MY JUNIOR YEAR - I was sixteen, barely - Gable Arsley said he wanted to sleep with me. Not in the distant or semi-distant future either. Right then.
Admittedly, my taste in boys wasn't so great. I was attracted to the sort who weren't in the habit of asking permission to do anything. Boys like my father, I guess.

Favourites

"   'Why are you here?' I asked him.

   'That's an awfully big question, Anya.'

   'No, I meant here outside this office. What did you do wrong?'

   'Multiple choice,' he said. 'A. A few pointed comments made in Theology. B. The principal wants to have a chat with the new kid about wearing hats in school. C. My schedule. I'm just too darn smart for my classes. D. My eyewitness account of the girl who poured lasagne over her boyfriend's head. E. The principal's leaving her husband and wants to run away with me. F. None of the above. G. All of the above.'

   'Ex-boyfriend,' I murmured.

   'Good to know,' he said.

(p. 16 - this one's a biggie, but a goodie)

Win and Anya are in Forensic Science II together, and they are examining teeth for a project.

"   'I think you're right, Anya. Our girl was making herself sick.'

   I smiled at him. 'Her whole life story right there, waiting for us to read it.'

   He agreed. 'It's sad when you think about it, but also kind of beautiful.'

   It was a strange thing to say, I suppose. But I knew what he meant without having to ask. All these teeth had once been in real, live people. They had talked and smiled and eaten and sung and cursed and prayed. They had brushed and flossed and died. In English class, we read poems about death, but here, right in front of me, was a poem about death, too. Only this poem was true.

(p. 52)

"   'It's not tragic,' I assured her. 'This is nothing. Tragedy is when someone ends up dead. Everything else is just a bump in the road.' For the record, that was something Daddy used to say, but I'm pretty sure Shakespeare would have agreed, too.

(p. 178 - Shakespeare is still alive in 2082!)

Buy:

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INTERNATIONAL READERS

Amazon | The Book Depository

All links from Booko, because I'm too lazy to search each individual store anymore.

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: ---

[Review] The Karma Club by Jessica Brody

Title: The Karma Club {goodreads}

Authors: Jessica Brody

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 27/07/11

Publisher: Pan Macmillan (Square Fish)
RRP: $16.95

Source: Publisher for review
Age: 14+

Pages: 260 (& extras!)

My Rating:

Summary:

Madison Kasparkova always thought she understood how Karma works. Do good things and you'll be rewarded, do something bad and Karma will make sure you get what you deserve. But when Maddy’s boyfriend cheats on her, nothing bad comes his way. That’s why Maddy starts the Karma Club, to clean up the messes that the universe has left behind. Sometimes, though, it isn’t wise to meddle with the universe. It turns out Karma often has plans of its own.

My thoughts: 

THE KARMA CLUB was very reminiscent of THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB, but instead of just "giving up boys until the end of high school", these girls take it upon themselves to payback those who have wronged them to "balance out recent Karmic imbalance" . . . though the members of The Karma Club also vow to give up boys until the end of high school.



Very fun, very cute, The Karma Club really just delivered exactly what I wanted at the time - something light that didn't require my brain to work too hard.


Maddy wants more than anything to be popular - imagine her luck when her gorgeous but modest boyfriend gets featured in a hotties list in the popular teen magazine, Contempo Girl! Granted instant access to popularity, Maddy takes this opportunity to get into the place to be: The Loft. Enter snippy queen bee, and we get disaster. Cheated on and defeated, Maddy is whisked away to a spiritual clinic with her mum, where she learns about Karma. You make your own luck. And so The Karma Club is born.



I didn't like Maddy at the beginning, just because I lose respect for people who only want to be popular. However after she is betrayed, she becomes a half-way decent/likeable character. She assumes that sarcastic witty voice in a way that can come across as whiny and annoying, but doesn't. She just sounds like a real teenager.


This book has a killer trailer - Jessica Brody knows how to get good trailers done. I could easily see it become a movie, and of course it would be a total teen chick flick. The soundtrack that accompanies this book suits the book really well. There are some nice tracks on there - I would not mind if more books had accompanying OFFICIAL and original soundtracks.

And lastly, I just did not like this cover. I didn't love the first cover either, but I don't know... I like the spine though, just because it's clear and simple.

The Karma Club is an extremely quick, fun book that may just get readers thinking about that "larger than life" philosophy of making your own luck. Brody has created a colourful cast of characters as well as a predictable plot, but actually knowing the details of The Karma Club's schemes and downfalls is really what makes this a worthwhile read.

Quote:

First lines

"I can tell you right now. It's all Karma's fault.
    Yes, Karma. You know, that unmistakable force in the universe that makes sure good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds are punished."

Buy:

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AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS

Fishpond * | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

INTERNATIONAL READERS

Amazon | The Book Depository

All links from Booko, because I'm too lazy to search each individual store anymore.

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: Debut Challenge 2011 (AU)

[Review] Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Title: Starcrossed {goodreads}

Authors: Josephine Angelini

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 03/06/11 (UK/AU)

Publisher: Pan Macmillan
RRP: $16.99

Source: Publisher for review
Age:

Pages: 530

My Rating:

Summary:

Destiny brought them together. The Gods will keep them apart.

When shy, awkward Helen Hamilton sees Lucas Delos for the first time she thinks two things. The first: that he is the most ridiculously beautiful boy she has seen in her life. The second: that she wants to kill him with her bare hands.

With an ancient curse making them loathe one another, Lucas and Helen have to keep their distance. But sometimes love is stronger than hate, and not even the gods themselves can prevent what will happen...

My thoughts: 

COVERS

US: I really love this cover. The finished copy has this colourful sheen to it, as well as a stunning cover image and text.

AU: The cover focuses on the romantic aspect of the book, but also does implicate quite strongly that there is a Greek mythological twist to this story. The lightning also goes really well with the book, which becomes apparent when you read it.

~~~

I have no idea what to say about this book. It was really, really good. I think I did let the hype heighten my expectations to unrealistic levels though and for that I ended up perhaps hoping for something a bit more groundbreaking. Well let's just say that I hoped for tears. Not just out of the characters' eyes, but mine. And while I loved the characters I just didn't shed a tear even when tragedy struck.

I was really able to escape with STARCROSSED. Angelini was just really good at creating the settings and the characters and the whole Scions family in a way that engrossed me completely.

For 500 pages, I'm sure any normal (I use this term loosely, given how 'normal' a bookie is, haha) YA reader would find that pretty intimidating. However, once you really get into the book, it's really easy to see why Angelini has written so many words.

The prose has that easy-to-read quality that YA generally pertains to, but the amount of detail that Angelini put into it allowed me to see the scene unfold before me.

As said earlier, the characters as a whole were well developed so that I liked them. I think that the character who did face tragedy (who was supposed to draw upon great emotion to the reader) just wasn't known enough for me to really care about them.

Helen was a great protagonist. While I did find her stubborn and immature at times, I don't think those moments were really unwarranted. She has had to go over a lot over the course of this book. What I did like was that when she made a decision she stuck to it to the end. She was also PRO equality in a relationship, always good to see.

Speaking of her relationship (with Lucas), I think with the AU cover, people will go into the book expecting a lot of romance. It really did take a backseat, or at least in my mind. I liked that the pair thought rationally, that given the forbidden-ness of the relationship they didn't just go full-out and screw everyone over to be with each other.

The actual plot of this book would be really hard to summarise, because it goes all over the place. First the story arc is this, and then that gets solved or is developed further, and so on. Every aspect of Helen's life is explored - her family and school life, her future, her past, her gifts and training and heritage. Her new family, the situation at hand, and so on.

STARCROSSED is a great start to a new supernatural series that throws Greek mythology into modern day. The ending strongly leads up to the next book that I will not hesitate to pick up when it does release itself into the wild. I implore anyone who is interested in Greek mythology, supernatural powers and/or epic romances to check this one out.

Buy:

* cheapest Australian e-store price ($10.51)

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS

Fishpond * | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

INTERNATIONAL READERS

Amazon | Book Depository

All links from Booko, because I'm too lazy to search each individual store anymore.

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: Debut Challenge 2011

[Review] Entangled by Cat Clarke

Title: Entangled {goodreads}

Authors: Cat Clarke

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 01/03/11 (AU)

Publisher: Pan Macmillan
RRP: $16.99

Source: Publisher for review
Age: 16+

Pages: 370

My Rating:

Summary:

The same questions whirl round and round in my head:

What does he want from me?

How could I have let this happen?

AM I GOING TO DIE?

Seventeen-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper – and no clue how she got there.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?

A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendships and electrifying attraction.

My thoughts: 

ENTANGLED is quite an unusual book, and I admit that by the end of the book I became quite taken with Grace the main character. I was by no means accepting of her behaviour, but seeing all of the pieces fit together really gave me some perspective and the ability to understand how someone could come to the decision to end their life.

MY SYNOPSIS

On the night Grace Carlyle attempts to take her life she is kidnapped by Ethan. He's gorgeous, and there's something familiar about him. She finds herself in a white room, with a pen and paper, willed to writing about what's been going on in her life.

Grace Carlyle's life changes the moment she meets the two people who would come to be the most important people in her life - Nat and Sal. She's never cared about a guy before Nat, and she's never had a best friend before Sal. Entangled in a messed up web, things get complicated when secrets start bubbling to the surface. And her home life? Trash.


So why is she here? And who is this mysterious, but alluring, Ethan?

~~~

I was expecting a pageturner, but it took a while to get into it. I think even a little part of that is due to the confronting nature of such a book as this. I am no stranger to the "deeper" topics discussed in YA, but it has been a while since I've read a book that addressed such things as suicide and sex and cutting and heavy drinking. At many times I just questioned and felt saddened that there are real teens out there who do parttake in these activities, usually as a way of compensating for something.

Grace for the most part was an annoying character, but she still managed to gain sympathy from me because of what she'd gone through. Despite her bitchy attitude. In some way, I was not able to connect with her character - nor did I want to - and it was better off that way. By the way that she was forced to look at her life objectively, she falls at the seams and the person behind all the facades and drinking was someone broken and empty.

Nat and Sal are fleshed out quite well. Through Grace's writing about her life, we see one side to the story and the other side is never really revealed to us. I was frustrated by how open the book ended. I really wanted to see whether things get patched up if Grace did wake up.

Ethan remained a mystery to me for the whole book, right up to the end. I really had no idea who - or what - he was, and so I had to do a Google search and felt like a fool afterwards. There were just so many clues all throughout, (view spoiler)[like when she felt as though his voice were emanating in her head. I actually thought that he was some supernatural being or something! (hide spoiler)]

The writing is really nothing too special. Some of it is VERY British (and being from Australia I was able to understand most of those little words and phrases) - some words that stood out in my mind are "knackered", "taking the piss out" and "knickers". Grace is an undisputed lover of books and reading and writing, so in her introspection she appears a tad more mature (than when she were to speak to others) as she uses large words. Despite that however, much of the writing in general is casual and "un-quoteable" for a contemporary book.

I did like how the book was structured though. The book moves along in chronological order to how many days she is held captive in that white room. Every "chapter" followed one day.

In retrospect, the book is really well thought out. Every single detail from her time in that white room, to her personality and behaviours in her past life in between the pages. The most insignificant of words said. Most of it related to or mattered towards unveiling something new.

Even now, the book is just buzzing in my brain so strongly that it's going to be difficult to get to sleep tonight. It's already 1:30 am as I fervently write this. It probably won't be re-read by me anytime soon, but it's a good debut and was just fleshed out really well. Say all you want about hating Grace to bits, it still remains that Clarke's ability to mesh everything together so effortlessly is admirable. I wish that the ending were more definitive, which is mostly why I can't let go of Grace's story just yet.

I'm glad I did get around to reading this book, and I will eagerly await her second book, TORN. To my knowledge (and this is a really crude accustation), much Brit YA Lit isn't as deep, or at least quite deep as this one. Clarke's debut is so startlingly realistic that I have a feeling that she's going to be like a British Courtney Summers. ;)

Trailer and Music:

So music played a very minor part in this book, but while I was reading I felt inspired to look through my music and here are just some songs that I think fit kind of well to the book.

- Big White Room by Jessie J (absolutely perfect for this book - even the voice!)
- Cut by Plumb (also really suited to this book)
- All Around You by Flyleaf
- Here I Am by Marion Raven (and most others by her!)

Buy:

* cheapest Australian e-store price

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS

Fishpond * | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

INTERNATIONAL READERS

Amazon | The Book Depository

All links from Booko, because I'm too lazy to search each individual store anymore.

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: Debut Author Challenge 2011, Contemps Challenge 2011

[Review] Winter's Shadow by M.J. Hearle

Title: Winter's Shadow {goodreads}

Author: M.J. Hearle

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 01/06/11

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Source: ARC from publisher
Age: 14+

Pages:420

My Rating:

Summary:

Blake Duchamp...

He's all that Winter Adams can think of. Ever since their fateful meeting at Pilgrim's Lament. Ever since he looked at her with those emerald eyes. Ever since he saved her life.

But Blake isn't all that he seems. There is a strangeness about him, something dark and otherworldly. Something dangerous. In his attic is a secret he would kill to defend, but Winter seems to have a special ability to make him forget his duty. And he is her only protection against the gathering darkness.

The only problem is, to protect Winter, Blake must risk exposing her to an even greater danger. Himself.

My thoughts: 

One of the best paranormal I have read, hands down. Hearle's originality in creating this exhilerating tale, about supernatural creatures that I have never heard of before, is really something to be commended. While the cover suggests a typical paranormal, I believe that this author stepped it up and pulled Winter's Shadow way above many of the recent popular paranormal YA books.

I love that this is written by an Aussie author, because this just made me proud to be an Australian. It may not be set in an Australian place - in fact, it felt to me more American than anything else - but Winter's Shadow is a stimulating, intuitive novel with a storyline that wouldn't let go. I was flying through the pages with such ease . . . with 400+ page books I usually struggle keeping interest, but by the end of the book I was just hoping that there was more.

The whole book is written in third-person omniscient narration, which seemed to be a very clever decision. Despite that objective perspective, the actual voice was easily read and relatable to any average teenage reader. It really is just a great example of what I find great about [(some) paranormal] YA - fastpaced and illustrative, and full of the impact needed to support the booming storyline.

I'll admit that the beginning really gave me too many opportunities to drawn on comparisons with other paranormals out there. There's the attraction-at-first-sight thing happening, as well as the mysterious new guy in school. However, after the plot picked up it was easy to forget and just get lost in what problem Winter would run into next.

Winter felt like a genuine character, with some real development throughout the book. I liked her, and found her actions and thought patterns reasonable enough. I loved that she was clumsy, and that she was consistently "unpopular" (no love triangles, I mean!). Her friendship with Jasmine was also nice - Jasmine is so different to Winter but they complement each other well. At times I found her hard to stand, but she was a great secondary character because she offered support for her friend and their friendship follows a "typical" trend. That's not to say that I didn't want further development of the two - believe me, I did. I hope that in the sequel (!) we'll be able to see more.

Now, onto Blake. I actually read this pretty blindly. I didn't read the synopsis (mostly because it wasn't attached with my ARC), or any reviews, SO expectations towards him were pretty minimal going into this book. The meeting scene between Winter and Blake was really endearing. It was by no means a steamy kind of paranormal romance, but there was something deep growing between the two of them that I enjoyed. I enjoyed seeing their closeness and bond and passion progress.

The last 100 pages. Absolutely edge-of-your-seat crazy! I found the ending and resolution a tad bit rushed, and I didn't feel as teary as I believe I should have. Nevertheless, I just could not stop reading, and it really flew as quickly as if it were on a movie screen.

~~~


PS. THERE IS A SEQUEL! The ending suggests that there should be a sequel, but my suspicions were confirmed by M.J. Hearle himself on Goodreads. This is definitely a book that you'll want on your bookshelf - see for yourself whether the hype is well received!

If you liked: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain, Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink - what I've read. What I haven't read, but am assuming will be for those who have - Die for Me by Amy Plum, Sisters Red by Jackson

Quotes:

First Lines

"Madeleine Bonnarie fled beneath the flickering street lamps of Rue Descartes. Victor was coming. She could no longer hear him, but ran on, afraid of what she might see if she turned around - Victor lumbering through the darkness, breath fogging in the cold night air. Her husband was nothing if not persistent. It was how he'd first won her heart, and now Madeleine feared this persistence would drive him on until he caught her, and stopped its beat forever."

Favourite Lines

"Apart from the low hum of Jessie's engine, the streets seemed eerily quiet, as if the town has opened itself up for her and Blake alone. They didn't pass another car or pedestrian as they rode past the jetty, didn't see any othe rlights cutting through the shadows ahead.
The night was theirs."

(p. 214)


"'...a life with no end loses meaning. Death defines life.'"
(p. 289, Blake)

Buy:

Live in Australia?

Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

Live elsewhere?

Amazon | The Book Depository

Links:

Author Site



I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: Debut '11 Challenge, Aussie YA Challenge

[Review] Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly

Title: Harmonic Feedback

Author: Tara Kelly

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 19/05/10

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Price: $17.99

Source: Won
Age: 16+

Pages: 280

My Rating:

Summary:

Sixteen-year-old, music- and sound design-obsessed Drea doesn’t have friends. She has, as she’s often reminded, issues. Drea’s mom and a rotating band of psychiatrists have settled on “a touch of Asperger’s.”

Having just moved to the latest in a string of new towns, Drea meets two other outsiders. And Naomi and Justin seem to actually like Drea. The three of them form a band after an impromptu, Portishead-comparison-worthy jam after school. Justin swiftly challenges not only Drea’s preference for Poe over Black Lab but also her perceived inability to connect with another person. Justin, against all odds, may even like like Drea.

It’s obvious that Drea can’t hide behind her sound equipment anymore. But just when she’s found not one but two true friends, can she stand to lose one of them?

My thoughts: 

Drea has never been good with people: always the "odd sock", the social misfit, the freak. She doesn't need her mother to remind her, and others, of her additional "disclaimer" -- that she has been admitted, by professionals, with a hint of Asperger's. Drea doesn't get why she's always had such a hard time understanding the unspoken language of being socially adept; she prefers to stick to her love of music over conforming along with all the "common denominators" anyway . . . . But along with her latest move with her mum, for the first time she finds people who seem to care about her.

That cover is perfect for the book. It really takes on a new meaning once you've read through it. Sure, one look at the cover and I knew I needed to read it, but now? Now, it's become more, a little bit more special. I've always loved this cover, and the presentation of the book in itself is lovely. The jacket flap has a sort of sheen to it. Not incredibly shiny (like Unearthly), but really smooth.

The characters are well-drawn out and have depth and complexities to them that I really appreciated and is really, really important in a contemporary novel. Drea is snarly and keeps to herself. I liked her character a whole lot, and I found it hard not to as Kelly so very easily gave Drea vulnerabilities that elicited sympathy towards her. Her neighbour and to-be best friend, Naomi, was a little bit different. She had that same love of music that Drea had, but she's airy and reckless and fun. Then there is Justin, who Drea meets on her, and his, first day of school. He's cool enough and I love their moments together. The interactions between these best friends seemed genuine and realistic.

The story is groundbreaking and chilled me to the bone. Kelly knows how to create a quiet story that slowly creeps up on you. You don't even realise that something has changed until something big has occurred. To me, a great contemporary novel is one that is quiet and full of precise little moments, and dramatic and life-altering scenes when the author has built the characters up with personalities and lives and you get them. There was a lot of head-shaking in this book, because drugs and smoking and booze play quite a big part in among all the music and friendship and boy-craziness. And that's fine, because it shapes the characters and gave the book a whole different edge, claiming a place in with the title, "older YA". This is one of those books I can see getting censored in the future, which would be a shame because it's powerful and is so much more than the partying and drugs.

At its core, Harmonic Feedback is about finding a place in the world: having friends for the first time in for ever; hiding inside a hobby or passion (e.g. music); not wanting to let a supposed mental disorder define who you are. Kelly understands this. She knows what it's like to be thrown into a box for being different. This book is quite a heavy read, but it's one I'd definitely read again, and I'll be looking out for Amplified, which is Kelly's second novel coming out in 2011.
 

Quotes:

First Line

"ONE IN THIRTY-EIGHT. Bet on a single number in roulette, and those are the odds of winning. Getting struck by lightning is a little more difficult--one in seven hundred thousand. Winning the lottery? Forget it."

Buy:

Live in Australia?

Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

Live elsewhere?

Amazon | The Book Depository

Links:

Official Site
Goodreads Page


I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: --