Review: Eve

       This creepy, futuristic novel, Eve, by Anna Carey, comes out in October, and it is sure to captivate many people, especially those who enjoyed Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale. Like that classic novel, Eve touches on the idea that women--or in this case teen girls--are being used as breeding machines in a world that is collapsing. As a young adult novel, I found this to be a heavy topic, but the idea was merely brushed upon and was not the central focus of the book. 

Instead, Eve’s story-line focuses on an intelligent young girl named Eve (surprise, surprise), who is in line to graduate from the secluded all-girls’ school at the head of her class, destined, or so she thinks, for great purpose and great service to the world, whose population has suffered due to plague and apocalyptic unrest. 

She finds, though, that horrors await, with young girls moving no further than to the next walled-in building to become brood mares to help repopulated the planet. Eve makes the bold move to escape beyond the perceived  safety of her confines to the great wild world, where she encounters what the girls have been told to fear above all else--a male, in this case a thoughtful and mysterious boy named Caleb.

Grand adventure begins, and Eve must learn to trust herself and those around her, in the hopes of escaping the ruling powers who are hunting for her. 

I found Eve to be fast-paced with characters that were richly imagined. If dystopia-themed novels are your thing, than look for this book in the fall.

~Karina

Review--The Carrier of the Mark

Ah! Scathing review time! What a magical time of the year! The Carrier of the Mark*, a YA book by Leigh Fallon, was one of the worst and most hilarious books I have read in a while. Poster child of the clichéd paranormal romance genre, The Carrier of the Mark stars rather bland heroine Megan, who has just moved to Ireland, and is suffering all the usual new girl problems. There she meets darkly handsome Adam DeRís,  for whom she feels an immediate and illogical attraction. And, of course, Adam and his family are anything but ordinary.  The characters are nothing special; Megan is nice... but that's it. She has no personality. Adam is gorgeous, perfect, and angsty, but boring. Also, this book had a lot of similarities to a certain popular paranormal romance I could mention. I would not recommend this book. I truly had trouble finishing it.

~Tessa

*Look (or don't) for this book in October, as it is not out yet.

Review--The Circuit

   The Circuit, Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child, by Francisco Jimenez, is a memoir collection of powerful short-stories, detailing the difficult life of a Mexican immigrant during the mid-20th century. Starkly-written and honest, this book educates and enlightens. Not since Grapes of Wrath have I read such a vivd account of the life of transient workers.
   At times amusing and charming, and often heart-breaking and shocking, Jiménez lays bare the ugly underbelly of the idealized American Dream, where bigotry and discrimination run rampant, and poverty and segregation are the norm. As rough as the lives of the migrants are, their sense of hope and their determination to make a better future for their children, is inspiring.
   This book was an eye-opening read for me, and frankly it should be required reading in schools. It's not to be overlooked.
~Karina

Review--Rotters

     Ok, this book really sent my emotions whirling, at times leaving me impressed with the unexpectedly good writing, and at other times disgusted with the subject matter, which happened to be grave-robbing, believe it or not. Rotters, by Daniel Kraus, is a grossly dark read, not only because a good deal of the story is spent six-feet under with too-accurately-described corpses, but even the peripheral events left me gagging and cringing.
     Filled to the brim with mature topics, I found myself marveling that Rotters passed as a young adult book. Though set in modern times, with all its usual problems of drugs, suicide, bullying, and promiscuity, the author threw in the disjointed and disturbing underworld of grave-robbing, which added a Gothic darkness to the already opaque setting.
     I found myself wondering what sort of person this Daniel Kraus is, who can write so vividly and at times eloquently about a world so disconnected from anything modern society would think is normal. That a modern teenager can so easily embrace the life of a grave-robber, with all the side-effects such a life-style entails--the smell of death that lingers, the caked dirt beneath the finger nails, the hooded eyes that have seen too much--well, I found it all just a bit too unbelievable, frankly.
     Unless you are a fan of gross descriptions just for the thrill of the impact it has on your psyche, I would leave this one buried, which saddens me, since the author is clearly a talented writer. Sigh, oh well, onward and UPWARD.
~Karina

Review--Revealers

   "Double, double, toil, and trouble...." witches, witches everywhere... in this case, even at the mall. Revealers, Amanda Marrone's modern take on a timeless theme--conniving witches--is entertaining, but shallow. Don't expect too much more than stereotypical teenage angst, albeit with a supernatural twist.
   Definitely for a more mature audience, Revealers reveals to us a world of butt-kicking teen witches who, often against their better judgment, help rid the mortal world of vampires, werewolves, and other similar baddies. All this takes place is the midst of high school chemistry tests, flirtatious romances, and annoyingly controlling mothers.
   This book was a quick summer read at best, and not very memorable, but reading it was at least less painful than being blown to bits by a pissed off sophomore with a pointy hat and a broom.
~Karina

Review--Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

   Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs, is an odd one indeed, but enjoyably so. This quirky tale of love and adventure is mingled with an bizarre, somewhat creepy, assortment of vintage photographs, and it is these images that truly make the book extraordinary.
   The story on its own is nothing special, in fact it is a tad rambling and disjointed. Rather, it is the presence of the many photos--assembled by the author from the collections of real people fascinated by the unusual moments in time captured in the images--that really adds quite an wonderful perspective to the story. I found myself wondering if the author simply spread out all the photos and built the story entirely around the images, or if a framework for the adventure already existed. I find it hard to believe that it could have happened any other way; the photos are that strange and evocative.
   It seems a second book must be in the works, for the the story was left with many unresolved issues, and I for one am looking forward to what comes next... though, I must admit, I am more curious about the upcoming photos than the story, itself.
   All in all, though, Miss Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children is worth a read, especially if you are craving something a little... peculiar.
~Karina

Review--Uglies

    Scott Westerfeld's book, Uglies, ended up being much more interesting, engaging, and thought-provoking, than I was anticipating. The title had me concerned; I feared a shallow romp through the teenage land of angst, with  cookie-cutter girls whipping their super-straightened hair to and fro. I was not entirely wrong, but the refreshing surprise came with the vigorous critique of this "culture of pretty".
    In Uglies, our fed-on-television culture has morphed into a world where the only goal in life is to become pretty, which is defined by a computer program that determines the optimal features for each person, whereupon they, as a teenage right of passage, undergo severe reconstructive surgery at the age of sixteen to turn them into members of the biggest clique in history.... New Pretty Town.
    Two-dimensional, air-headed adults populate this new reality, and they party their way through life, all the while being unknowingly controlled by the subtle alterations the doctors have made to their brains. To rebel against this culture is to become an outcast. Who would want to remain an "ugly", when life is so fun as a "pretty"? No more worries, no concerns, just blind faith in those who tell you what to do.
   In this first installment in a series, Scott Westerfeld lays out a blistering condemnation of the throw-away, wasteful, and shallow culture we have become.
   Part environmental rant, part thrill-ride, Uglies was a pleasant surprise, and I can't wait to see where the author takes things in the next book, Pretties, which I promise to review at a later date!
~Karina