ARC Review: A History of Glitter and Blood - Hannah Moskowitz

Title: A History of Glitter and Blood
Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Pub Date: August 18th, 2015
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Page Count: 280

Sixteen-year-old Beckan and her friends are the only fairies brave enough to stay in Ferrum when war breaks out. Now there is tension between the immortal fairies, the subterranean gnomes, and the mysterious tightropers who arrived to liberate the fairies.

But when Beckan's clan is forced to venture into the gnome underworld to survive, they find themselves tentatively forming unlikely friendships and making sacrifices they couldn't have imagined. As danger mounts, Beckan finds herself caught between her loyalty to her friends, her desire for peace, and a love she never expected.

This stunning, lyrical fantasy is a powerful exploration of what makes a family, what justifies a war, and what it means to truly love.

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Unlike a lot of others, I loved the unreliable narrator. What I couldn't enjoy was the plot, or lack thereof. - Nova @ Out of Time

I already knew what this book would entail. I've read a bunch of reviews - some were gushing and some were one stars. To be fair, I saw the even split between love and hate and I knew that this was the kind of book that was heavily dependent on taste.

The story is about a girl named Beckan but while I was led to believe it's in third person, sometimes, the narrator will refer to themselves as, "I." Yes, it was weird but it also made me question, "who is the person narrating?" They had their own personality, occasionally adding in some side comments. What also really struck me was that they admitted to getting the story wrong a few times. While this might bother some readers, I absolutely loved it. It was unique and interesting and if I had more patience, I would have found out what is going on.

However, while others DNFed for the unreliable narrator, I DNFed because it was boring and I didn't understand what was going on.

The first thing that made no sense to me is how this book is set in a world outside our own. [Please note, if I get anything wrong about the facts of this book, it's because I'm not certain of what happened - yes, I was very confused.] The problem with the worldbuilding is how it felt like Earth to me but it... wasn't? The characters went to a laundromat and they went grocery shopping? There were magical creatures but how was this world different from Earth?

Something else that made no sense was the overall plot. I can't even describe it completely, I didn't get it. All I know is that gnomes like to eat faeries and faeries don't die, even if parts of their physical bodies get eaten. Beckan and her friends live in a world ruled by gnomes. Why? I have no idea. Then Beckan meets a "tightroper" [which I also don't know is what] and they begin to have a relationship. All I know about tightropers is that they their feet look like a regular foot but instead of five toes, they have two. Um??????? Also, they're good with rope[?]

I spent so much time trying to figure out the story [to no avail] that I couldn't even focus on characters. I don't know anything about the characters, save their names. There was so much going on in this book that I tried to focus on one thing and ignored the others. Worse? I couldn't even understand that one thing I was trying to focus on.

I think I gave up halfway? By then, there wasn't a plot. I was bored, confused and ready to give up. So, unfortunately, I did.

Hannah's Goodreads | Twitter | Website

Hannah Moskowitz wrote her first story, about a kitten named Lilly on the run from cat hunters, for a contest when she was seven years old. She was disqualified for violence. Her first book, BREAK, was on the ALA's 2010 list of Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, and her book GONE, GONE, GONE won a Stonewall Honor in 2013. She graduated from the University of Maryland in 2013, and now lives in New York City.

 

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Book Review: Eve and Adam

Title: Eve and Adam
Author: Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Pub Date: September 10th, 2013
Publisher: SquareFish
Page Count: 304

And girl created boy...

In the beginning, there was an apple--

And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker's head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother's research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal.

Just when Eve thinks she will die--not from her injuries, but from boredom--her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy.

Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect . . . won't he?

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It isn't that this book angered me. It's that this book did the complete opposite. By the time I realized that I didn't care for the story, it was time to DNF. - Nova @ Out of Time

Confession, dear readers: I picked this book because of the cover. I mean, I read the back and it seemed interesting but what got me was the cover. You can't see it in the image above, but the cover is shiny and I am a crow. Shiny things are good. Nova likes shiny.

Unfortunately, the writing was not shiny. It sucked. It felt so... weird. I can't even think of a good way of describing it. In some instances, it would be like a diary or a monologue. These times would usually feature innuendos and jokes that were more of a mood-killer than a person telling me they hate Ed Sheeran. Like, please, stop. There's nothing I hate more than terrible humor. And why? The plot doesn't even open a good passage for humor. It felt so out of place. Needless to say, I detested how try-hard this book was from the start.

The characters, oh God. I was done with them before they even spoke for a full chapter. The main character was so not human-like, none of them really were. She didn't sound like a person at all. First, when she was in an accident [and no, it wasn't like a papercut], she didn't really give a crap. "Oh, my leg might be gone and my fingers are crushed? Ugh, I can't go to school now!"
Not to mention that her mom is a slut-shamer, her best friend is a crazy "party girl" type and Solo is just plain creepy. When you see a girl fresh out of an accident, I'm sure your initial thoughts are: damn, she's hot.

But like what I said in the quote: this book didn't really anger me. Obviously, as I type, I'm getting a little annoyed but that wasn't why I DNF-ed. I DNF-ed because I realized that this book didn't have my attention. It had a weak foundation and badly written... everything. Plus, I was about a third in and there was no solid plot. I read the end and rolled my eyes at how predictable the plot mainly was.
Huge disappointment for this one. But hey, it's my fault for doing the whole "judge a book by its cover thing."

Michael's Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website |

Who is Michael Grant? He's this old dude. Bald. Out of shape. Kind of cranky.
If you met Michael Grant on the street you'd probably think, "Man, that old dude has got himself one giant bald head." Then you'd probably think, "Seriously, old man: stop wearing jeans and sneakers and a black t-shirt. I mean, please, you're embarrassing yourself."
And if you happened to see him while he was with his family you might think, "Are those two kids his grand-kids or what? The boy looks 13, the girl maybe 10. I'll bet instead of playing catch in the back yard he probably plays 'find my teeth' or something. And when you have to study the Civil War, hey, he was probably there and can remember it."
Of course while you're thinking all of this, Michael Grant would be thinking, "Why is that kid staring at me? It's kind of creeping me out."
Michael Grant was born in California. From there he's lived pretty much everywhere in the US, plus three years in France and most of a year in Italy and the Azores. He spent most of his life being a lazy screw-up before finally deciding to be a writer. Because his wife, (K.A. Applegate) told him he had to grow up and get a career.
Since then, Michael and his wife have written roughly 150 books. No, that's not a typo. 150. He started late, but then he worked extra hard to catch up. What can we say? He's kind of a slow starter. Maybe he's just not very bright, you know?
Anyway, eventually he started writing and then he and his wife had a big hit series with ANIMORPHS and then he took some time off, and then he got back to writing and wrote the GONE series. And THE MAGNIFICENT 12 series.
He says he wrote GONE to creep you out. And THE MAGNIFICENT 12 to make you laugh. Some screaming and some laughing. He wants kids laughing and screaming. He's probably kind of messed up, when you think about it.

You can write Michael if you wish. But he's busy and gets a lot of letters, so although he will definitely read your letter, he may not answer it. If that's okay with you, then feel free.

Katherine's Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website |

Applegate was born in Michigan in 1956. Since then she has lived in Texas, Florida, California, Minnesota, Illinois, North Carolina, and after living in Pelago, Italy for a year, she has moved back to Southern California. She has an eleven year old son named Jake Mates, although she says the Animorph leader is not named after him. In 2003 she and her husband, Michael Grant, her co-author on many projects including Animorphs, adopted their daughter, Julia, in China.[citation needed] Following the end of Animorphs, Applegate took three years off. She is back at work and has written a picture book called "The Buffalo Storm," a middle reader novel called "Home of the Brave," and an early chapters series "Roscoe Riley Rules" with Harper Collins. Her book "Home of the Brave" has won the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street 2008 Josette Frank Award, and is a Judy Lopez Memorial Award honor book.

 

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The Book Hits the Wall: The Paradox of Vertical Flight - Emil Ostrovski

Title: The Paradox of Vertical Flight
Author: Emil Ostrovski
Pub Date: September 24th, 2013
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Page Count: 272

What happens when you put a suicidal eighteen-year-old philosophy student, his ex-girlfriend, his best friend, and his newborn baby in a truck and send them to Grandma's house? This debut novel by Emil Ostrovski will appeal to fans of John Green, Chris Crutcher, and Jay Asher.

On the morning of his eighteenth birthday, philosophy student and high school senior Jack Polovsky is somewhat seriously thinking of suicide when his cell phone rings. Jack's ex-girlfriend, Jess, has given birth, and Jack is the father. Jack hasn't spoken with Jess in about nine months—and she wants him to see the baby before he is adopted. The new teenage father kidnaps the baby, names him Socrates, stocks up on baby supplies at Wal-Mart, and hits the road with his best friend, Tommy, and the ex-girlfriend. As they head to Grandma's house (eluding the police at every turn), Jack tells baby Socrates about Homer, Troy, Aristotle, the real Socrates, and the Greek myths—because all stories spring from those stories, really. Even this one. Funny, heart-wrenching, and wholly original, this debut novel by Emil Ostrovski explores the nature of family, love, friendship, fate, fatherhood, and myth.

BUY LINKS

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That's mainly why it didn't work for me. I read so many good reviews and actually got this book from Cuddlebuggery's LBBA. I received this from Oh, Chrys! (so thanks so much!) It seemed like a very unique idea that I wanted to like, but didn't.

My main issue was that it was so rushed and because of the weirdness, became sloppy and hard to follow. I read about halfway before giving up. And the only reason I gave up was because the story lost me and I didn't want to re-read from the beginning.

It starts with a boy thinking about suicide. Then he realizes that he doesn't really want to kill himself; he wants the attention and people to acknowledge his presence. A page later it goes to him wallowing about facebook or his birthday... or something. And it's so jumpy that I was completely turned off. It's also somewhat irritating for someone who's dealt with suicide to see it played off as casual. I wasn't "pissed off" but I was a little more cautious.

After that, it gets really weird. MC (Jack)'s ex-gf has a kid and she wants to put him for adoption. Okay, sure she's like 18 so that's a justifiable action. But it goes to him reminiscing and smarties are involved and... *facepalm*But it doesn't stop there. This (out of whack) MC kidnaps the baby and tries to run away. I don't know about you, but I don't really want to read about a character like this. Sorry.

And don't even get me started on the use of "f***". Okay, cool, they're 18 and they swear. I'm going to take that into account but once you have 3 F-Bombs in a page, you're going to start rolling your eyes. Either they actually talk like that or this author has no idea what he's doing. And if it's the first, I don't really care for this MC. Excessive swearing in a book doesn't make it YA, it makes it stupid and desperate.

I feel like this is one of those stories that will appeal to people and maybe someone else will see the brilliance in this but it's not me. It was a complete waste of my time. I can't even clearly remember what happened. I just know that this book will be sitting in my closet and collecting dust in my 2- box. (Box of books that are 2* and under)

Emil's Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website |

I'm twenty-three.

Rather than give you a witty, self-deprecating account of the trials and tribulations of my twenty-three year old, suburban, upper-middle class, went-to-a-girl's-liberal-arts-college life, I'll admit that I haven't really done anything much worth reading about.

So in lieu of providing you with my biography, I will recommend that you read Desmond Tutu's. Here.

Why Desmond Tutu?

Well, I've always liked his name.

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Book Review: Die for Me - Amy Plum

Title: Die For Me
Author: Amy Plum
Pub Date:May 10th, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Count: 341

In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

BUY LINKS

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

WOWZA. This book was downright terrible. It was so bad that I just HAD to DNF. I couldn't do it.

This book hit the wall at about page 50. I initially read the testimonials at the book. One stuck out in particular because it stated that "fans of Twilight will enjoy this novel". I actually really didn't like Twilight, so that should've been a red flag for me. I'm so stupid.

I felt like this story had nothing appealing at all. At least to me. The plot was so rushed and annoying that I didn't even know what was going on. In one moment, MC (who's name I'm not even bothering to remember ) has moved to France and the next she's following our ML (Male Lead) around like some lost puppy. And when I thought this book was contemporary, it surprised me in a way where I was like "really? taking a trainwreck and adding some paranormal? As if it needed that." Amy could've stuck to mellowing out the plot and pacing.

Next up? Characters and their relationships. Relationships are built and then strengthened, like in real life. This book? Girl meets boy and goes "you're hot. I'm allowed to think you're my boyfriend and get jealous in less than 30 pages!" That totally isn't instalove. You know what I'm saying? GAG ME. I'm the kind of girl who loves to roll her eyes at the cheesiness of some novels. Go figure. 

I'm actually quite proud of myself for holding out so long. I made about 50 pages and I feel like I should've probably done like 30 at most. *pats myself on the back*

Amy's  Goodreads | Twitter | Website 

Amy Plum is the author of the International Bestsellers DIE FOR ME (Indie Next List pick, Romance Times top pick, and recipient of a starred review from School Library Journal), UNTIL I DIE, and IF I SHOULD DIE. The books have been translated into eleven foreign languages. The trilogy is accompanied by an eNovella entitled DIE FOR HER.

Amy grew up in Birmingham, Alabama before venturing further afield to Chicago, Paris, London and New York. An art historian by training, she can be found on most days either daydreaming or writing (or both) in a Parisian café. Visit her at http://www.amyplumbooks.com and check out http://www.youtube.com/user/revenantc... for videos and extras.

After being raised in Birmingham, Alabama, in a rather restrictive environment, AMY PLUM escaped to Chicago to an even more restrictive environment at a university that expelled people for dancing. (And where she was called to the dean’s office for “wearing too much black”.) After all of that restrictiveness, she was forced to run far far away, specifically to Paris, France, where she only wore black and danced all she wanted.

After five years in Paris, she ventured to London, where she got an M.A. in Medieval Art History, specializing in Early Sienese Painting (1260-1348) mainly because it promised almost no hope of finding a paying job afterward.

Amy managed to find work in the world of art and antiques in New York. But after almost a decade of high-pressure lifestyle in the Big Apple, she swapped her American city for a French village of 1300 inhabitants.

After signing with HarperCollins for the DIE FOR ME series, Amy left her job as an English professor at Tours University to write full-time. She now lives in Paris with her two kids and big red dog Ella.

She is a huge fan of Edward Gorey and Maira Kalman (and collects both of their books/art), as well as David Sedaris, Amadeo Modigliani, and Ira Glass.

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