Category Young Adult Books

May 29 2014
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Book Review: Dragon’s Blood by Jane Yolen

Dragon's bloodTitle: Dragon’s Blood

Author: Jane Yolen

Series: The Pit Dragon Trilogy #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: Dragons are trained to fight to the death, and two determined teens help free them in this spellbinding saga. Training a dragon to be a fighting champion is the only way to freedom for fifteen-year-old Jakkin.

[One of the worst overviews ever. Essentially, picture the craggy, wasteland plains of Mars being converted into a penal colony. A gritty society has formed  around the economy of training and fighting dragons. It’s a pretty cool concept. -Niki]

Dragon's blood 2

The Review:

This was actually my second read-through of Dragon’s Blood, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time around. It’s book one in a four book series, and I wanted to refresh my memory on everything that happens before continuing on. As it turns out, I really hadn’t forgotten much, just that the book was a lot shorter than I remembered it being. Because of that, this review is also going to be short and sweet. :-)

It’s no secret that I love anything to do with dragons. The fact that this series sat gathering dust on my shelf for so long should be considered an ultimate shame in my household. It had an incredibly cool and original concept, some fun and likable characters, a unique setting (for a dragon book), and a plot that had me engaged right from the start!

As I mentioned in the overview, the concept really was my favorite part of Dragon’s Blood. These people were originally sent to the planet as prisoners, but after several generations had formed a gritty, functioning society. Dragons were already native to the planet, so it was only a matter of time before someone thought to capture one. From that grew an economy of selling dragons and their eggs, and training studs to fight each other in the pits. I found the entire thing fascinating and loved how thoroughly imagined Yolen’s society came across. The story starts out with a young slave boy trying to figure out how to steal a dragon egg from his master so he can raise a fighting dragon and win his way to freedom… it was awesome!

The only thing I had a hard time wrapping my head around was the all odd names. There were a lot of double k’s, and I found myself having to reorient a couple of times to make sure I was thinking about the right character. This was by no means a deal breaker, however, as the weird spellings actually had significance – communicating lineage and slavery status. I can get on board with just about anything if it serves a cool purpose, haha. In any case, other readers should probably try to read it a bit more carefully than I did.

Overall, this book had the same essence that made me fall in love with Anne McCaffrey, but was just different enough to feel like something original. If you enjoy Dragon books, I highly recommend adding this one to your list!

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

May 25 2014
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Book Review: The One by Kiera Cass

The OneTitle: The One

Author: Kiera Cass

Series: The Selection #3

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: The Selection changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. And now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen. America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the competition approaches its end and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she’ll have to fight for the future she wants. From the very first page of The Selection, this #1 New York Times bestselling series has captured readers’ hearts and swept them away on a captivating journey… Now, in The One, Kiera Cass delivers a satisfying and unforgettable conclusion that will keep readers sighing over this electrifying fairy-tale long after the final page is turned.

The One 2

The Review:

Even though The One was the book I was most looking forward to reading in 2014, I stalled on picking it up for almost 2 weeks after the release date. You see, I was terrified it wasn’t going to live up to my high expectations, and was also concerned I’d forgotten elements from the first two books. Luckily, I’d saved reading The Selection Stories (novellas) until right before this one came out. Not only did they remind me about what was happening in the story, but got me all fired up about this series and how much I loved the characters and writing style. It also so happens that my Escape Reality Book Club voted The Selection as May’s Book-of-the-Month, and I knew I had to kick myself into gear to read The One before our next book club meeting – the chance that someone could accidentally give me spoilers of this much-anticipated book was too horrifying to consider! Needless to say, I finally got brave enough and picked up The One… And was completely enthralled from the first page!

Oh my gosh, this story pulled at my heartstrings in every which-way possible. There were just so many places where my heart ached for these characters, and I was so invested I couldn’t put it down. There are very few books that can make me truly lose myself. I’m almost always conscious of how far I am and how many more pages I have to go. With every book in the series, I lost track of all time and place. I fully intended on pacing myself through this book, savoring it, but ended up devouring it in half a day (so much for that plan!). Because these are among the few books that can affect me so profoundly, they will always be among my favorites… even though this final book didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

This series definitely has a few issues with the broader conflicts – the entire segments revolving around the rebels requires a “just go with it” mindset and weren’t nearly as well-imagined as they could have been. I know that’s bothered a lot of people, but it never bugged me too much because the narrower, interpersonal conflicts were so well done – I’d go so far as to say they’re among the most interesting of any series I’ve ever read. So even though this series lacks that rich world building usually present in dystopian novels, it more than makes up for it through engaging writing, fun characters, and fantastic internal conflicts.

I do have to say that as much as I was anticipating the ending, I didn’t totally enjoy it. Without delving into any spoilers, I feel like the story lacks a little conflict resolution and there were a few key points that I thought could’ve been done differently. After finishing it, I sat there for a good long while thinking about the a few simple changes the author could have made that would have significantly changed how I felt about the ending. Since I’m sure Cass isn’t planning on rewriting it just to satisfy me, I decided I’m just going to pretend it ended the way I thought it should and leave it at that.

So, even though The One didn’t totally live up to my expectations (sigh), this series is still one of the most engaging stories I’ve ever read and I will always hold the first book on a pedestal. While I didn’t enjoy the rest of the series nearly as much as I enjoyed The Selection, I’m still incredibly glad I read them and will probably delve into them again in a few years.

I hope you have enjoyed this last week’s tribute to The Selection series! :)

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

May 22 2014
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Book Review: The Selection Stories by Kiera Cass

The selection storiesTitle: The Selection Stories: The Prince & The Guard

Author: Kiera Cass

Series: The Selection Novellas

Genre: Teen Dystopian (sort of)

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: The Prince and The Guard both offer captivating views into the hearts and minds of the two men fighting to win America Singer’s love. Before America arrived at the palace to compete in the Selection, there was another girl in Prince Maxon’s life. The Prince opens the week before the Selection begins and follows Maxon through the first day of the competition. Raised as a Six, Aspen Leger never dreamed that he would find himself living in the palace as a member of the royal guard. In The Guard, readers get an inside look at Aspen’s life within the palace walls—and the truth about a guard’s world that America will never know.

The selection stories 2

The Review: 

Reading these novellas was the perfect way to amp myself up for The One – the conclusion to the The Selection trilogy. These short stories show a bit of behind the scenes action surrounding the two love interests within the trilogy. The Prince is from Maxom’s perspective that takes place within the timeline of The Selection (book 1), while The Guard is from Aspen’s perspective and takes place alongside The Elite (book 2).  As it had been over a year since I read books 1&2, these novellas were the perfect way to refresh my memory before diving into the conclusion.

My favorite story was The Prince. Reading from Maxom’s POV was totally delightful, and I would especially love it if an entire book was written from his perspective. It was neat getting an inside look to the selection process and experiencing some of the mixed emotions Maxom felt while entering into it. I always liked him, but this novella made me love him even more. While The Prince is not essential to the main story, I still recommend it highly, as I think most Selection fans will enjoy it.

The Guard was an interesting story, but it wasn’t anything profound. You see, in my mind, Maxom is so right for America that I haven’t ever entertained Aspen as a real possibility. I often find scenes America shares with him frustrating, and just don’t agree with many of his decisions. That said, however, it was great to read about his interactions with the other people of the castle and to see what a positive influence he had on all of them – specifically America’s maids. While I recommend The Prince for purely entertainment purposes, I recommend The Guard for certain plot points that will help make The One (the final book) more enjoyable.

What’s next? I am going to hole myself up in a room for a day and completely devour The One. I want to savor it, because it’s the trilogy ending I’ve been most anticipating for the past year, but I know it’s not going to take me much longer than that to read. If you’re like me and are sad to see this series come to an end, keep hope, as Cass is releasing the novella, The Queen (detailing Queen Amberly’s own selection journey) which will be released in early December. I, for one, am stoked to get my hands on that, even though it’s just another novella. Heck, I love the concept behind the story so much I’d be willing to read books about all of the selections within this world – keep them coming Kiera!

If you haven’t read The Selection and want to, now’s your chance – our YA Escape Reality Book Club (which anybody can join, provided they love YA novels), has chosen The Selection for May’s official book, and I can’t wait to talk about it!

Otherbooks you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

May 8 2014
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Book Review: After the End by Amy Plum

After the endTitle: After the End

Author: Amy Plum

Series: After the End #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future. World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They’ve survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there. At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life. When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie. Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she’s trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

 The Review:

Those of you who follow my blog regularly might remember that I went on a digital arc requesting spree back in January – a rather greedy decision that I’m still paying for in May. After the End was one of those titles I probably shouldn’tt have asked for, considering I hadn’t yet read anything by the author. However, I’m glad I did because it drew me in on the first page and didn’t let up until the end.

The dual POV was easily my favorite part of the book, as both Juneau and Miles brought their own flavor to the story. Juneau’s plight was interesting, and I felt intellectually drawn to her throughout the story, but Miles was the character that sold it for me. He was just so funny and I found myself thinking “just one more chapter” to see what would happen with him next. I would go so far as to say he’s one of my favorite characters read about so far this year. He was earnest and vibrant, and I love how distinct his voice was from Juneau’s.

Another thing I really liked about the story is that it took place practically in my own backyard. Not to say that the setting was in Southern Utah, but Plum described places I’ve been and highways I’ve traveled, and it made the story have an extra element of fun because I could picture them perfectly! I’ve also always been incredibly fascinated in Alaskan culture (Eskimos!), and although Juneau’s clan wasn’t indigenous, her people lived off the land and had a great connection with nature… something I’ve always admired but could never bring myself to do (maybe if the yurts had electrical outlets?). Anyway, that bond with nature provided the basis for a cool magic system, and I look forward to exploring it further with Juneau in the second book.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy about this book was the ending… the story stops in kind of an odd spot and I didn’t find it particularly climactic. As this is a series, the ending isn’t a deal breaker, but I can think of the few things that would have made it stronger. I will leave it at that to avoid spoilers. :-)

Overall, I may not have read anything else by Plum before, but I am strongly considering picking up her other series now because of how much I liked the writing style and the voice of her characters. The writing had this great effortless feel, and was a lot of fun to read. If you’re in the mood for an entertaining story that’s not quite like anything else, this would be a great pick!

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

May 2 2014
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DNF Review: The Eighth Day by Dianne K. Salerni

The eighth dayTitle: The Eighth Day

Author: Dianne K. Salerni

Series: The Eighth Day #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy… maybe.

Rating: DNF

The Overview: In this riveting fantasy adventure, thirteen-year-old Jax Aubrey discovers a secret eighth day with roots tracing back to Arthurian legend. Fans of Percy Jackson will devour this first book in a new series that combines exciting magic and pulse-pounding suspense. When Jax wakes up to a world without any people in it, he assumes it’s the zombie apocalypse. But when he runs into his eighteen-year-old guardian, Riley Pendare, he learns that he’s really in the eighth day—an extra day sandwiched between Wednesday and Thursday. Some people—like Jax and Riley—are Transitioners, able to live in all eight days, while others, including Evangeline, the elusive teenage girl who’s been hiding in the house next door, exist only on this special day. And there’s a reason Evangeline’s hiding. She is a descendant of the powerful wizard Merlin, and there is a group of people who wish to use her in order to destroy the normal seven-day world and all who live in it. Torn between protecting his new friend and saving the entire human race from complete destruction, Jax is faced with an impossible choice. Even with an eighth day, time is running out.

The eighth day 2

The Review:

I try not to post DNF reviews unless I think something in my reading experience might make a difference for someone else (either a positive or negative influence… pretty much whatever helps the reader out the most). In this case, I actually think a lot of people are going to enjoy this book despite my personal objections. It had an original concept, entertaining writing, and interesting characters – there were just a few things that kept me from fully appreciating it.

It started out with a really cool concept and a mildly futuristic, technological feel. The idea that time stands still for an eighth day of the week – which only a few people get to experience – was evoking, and I found myself engaged in the story right from the start. However, somewhere around 1/4 of the way through the book, the story suddenly shifted from that mildly futuristic feel to suddenly revolving around Arthurian lore… it was really bizarre. Up until that point, there was zero indication that this was where the story was heading. A few drop-in references of King Arthur and Merlin earlier on would’ve gone a long way in marrying these two very different plot ideas together (thereby preventing me from feeling totally blindsided).

I realize if I had read the overview more carefully before requesting this book, I probably could have saved myself a lot of time, as I don’t particularly enjoy reading anything Arthurian. That said, what the author did with the lore had an interesting twist, and I might have stuck with it if not for my biggest issue with the book. You see, by the time I stopped reading – about halfway through the book, the main arc (as in, the purpose of the story) was only just starting to be hinted at. Up until that point, the book had good elements, but no clear direction. I don’t ask much: just a general inkling of who the bad guy is and what danger that bad guy holds for the characters (heck, in this novel I would’ve settled for just one). I think it would’ve been really easy to incorporate early on, and might even have fixed the blindsided effect I mentioned earlier. In any case, I just got tired of waiting to find out what the book was about. As a general rule, the sooner you can bring in your main conflict, the better. I felt this book lacked a lot of organization and focus.

If you couldn’t tell, The Eighth Day didn’t work for me. Aside from the fact that I don’t care for Arthurian lore (a preference issue that probably won’t affect most readers), there were many things that sucked my enjoyment out of what could have been a really cool book – after all, it had interesting characters, a cool basic concept, and Salneri had a great writing voice… for me too many other elements fell short. The beauty of this review is that I don’t think my issues will bother many other readers. If you like Arthurian lore and don’t mind waiting until the second half of the book for the story to really start, give this one go… but don’t say I didn’t warn you. ;)

Other books you might like (better):

by Niki Hawkes

Apr 28 2014
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Book Review: Rush by Eve Silver

RushTitle: Rush

Author: Eve Silver

Series: The Game #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

Rush 2

The Review:

Based on the premise of Rush – involving live-action video game battles against invading aliens – I’m actually surprised I hadn’t picked it up before now. I love competitions (I know, you guys are sick of hearing that) and have always wondered what it would be like if the contents of video games were reality. Now, if I were to pick one to bring to life, it probably wouldn’t be a scary shoot-em-up alien game because I’m a wimp, but watching others live it was super intense and exciting!

The sequences that took place in the “game” were my favorite parts of the book. It set a cool atmosphere right from the start, and the way Silver presented it really drew me me into the story. I like the framework behind how everything worked and the rules within the game. It sounded like fun… you know, provided you weren’t actually living it. I enjoyed watching Miki, an ordinary girl, draw on strength she didn’t even know she had in order to adapt and survive. I will say, as much as I enjoyed the action sequences in Rush, I have a strong suspicion the bits found in Push will be even more fascinating. I won’t ruin the plot or anything, but suffice to say Silver set things up strongly for her sequel.

One thing I’m looking forward to in the sequel is going in with more information right up front – which is something that could’ve made Rush a lot stronger. I know you need an element of discovery to keep your readers engaged, but the back-and-forth Q&A in Rush seemed like it went on forever (when you get to the last couple chapters of the book and your main character is still trying to get basic answers – who, what, when, where, why – there might be a problem). I actually think including that information early on and cutting some of the lengthy Q&A sections would have added a great deal to the plot, and perhaps solved some of my dissatisfaction with the reality sequences…

While half of the novel takes place in the game, the rest takes place in reality where teenage drama and romance unfold. I have to say, the teenage drama part was okay, but I didn’t enjoy the love story as much as I thought I would. I hate to admit that I think the problem was an instalove – the sort with no compelling reason why the main character would be drawn to a guy… unless her only criteria was “he was hot.” After the fifth or sixth time she called him an asshole (and meant it), I just couldn’t wrap my brain around why she all of a sudden thought “Ooooooh, I really want to date this guy!”

Now, of course as with any teen drama, the boy she liked was not as awful as the façade he showed the world, blah blah blah, but that doesn’t change his behavior towards Miki, and I didn’t buy in to her sudden fawning, even knowing how these things usually go. Maybe if I was more convinced of their relationship at first, the reality scenes wouldn’t have drug out quite so much, but it is what it is. There is a silver lining though – even though I couldn’t understand the initial attraction, I can definitely see what’s holding the relationship together, so I might be able to enjoy the romance in the second book a lot better.

My rant about the insalove aside (which I swear I’ve never cared about before… I guess the blogosphere is rubbing off on me), the way it was done actually fit in well with the framework of the story, and I can see why Silver presented it that way. All of the story elements worked well together and it was nice to see how one thing built off of another.

Overall, despite a bit of dissatisfaction with the love story, the action scenes were enough to make Rush an enjoyable read. The author left things off in a way that makes me doubly excited to pick up the second book, so there’s hope any issue I had will disappear in the next installment. I’m sure I could find people to recommend this too – it had enough strong points and all the negatives were preferential. It’s definitely different… I think it would be perfect for someone who likes action in books, but doesn’t want all the depressing baggage that comes along with full-blown dystopians/post-apocalyptics.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes