Linger review

Linger

by Maggie Stiefvater

Scholastic

July 2010

First line: "This is the story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who was becoming one."

This sequel to Shiver continues with Grace enjoying her relationship with Sam, newly cured of his lycanthropy, while Grace's best friend Isabel still grieves over the recent death of her brother. Sam is struggling to deal with the permanence of his new situation, while still worrying over which of his wolf "family" will return to human form in the spring. In the meantime, a few of the new wolves that Sam's adoptive dad Beck recently created are having troubles. Recovering addict and famous rocker Cole is angry that his wolf change doesn't seem to be sticking... he'd been hoping to escape his human life by turning wolf. Cole's friend Victor, unwittingly turned wolf, seems to be having trouble staying in one form.

Sam is, in every way, the perfect boyfriend... sensitive, poetic, genuinely thoughtful, undemanding. There is some tension as he's been sneaking into Grace's bedroom every night, not for prurient reasons, but just to snuggle. It isn't explicitly said, but implied, that despite their attraction, their frequent kisses and and despite their absolute rightness for each other, Grace and Sam are probably still virgins. When Grace's parents discover him in their daughter's bed they react with feelings of hurt and rage. They promptly assume the worst and ban Sam from their household, letting Grace know in no uncertain terms how disappointed they are in her. In the meantime, Grace and Sam both feel strongly that they want to get married. I thought this was interesting, because it's plenty common for high school girls to fantasize about marrying their boyfriend... but I'm not sure if young men usually harbor those same thoughts.  Grace, predictably, feels embittered that her neglectful parents choose to get involved in her life at this late date.

Grace, and to some extent, Sam, become desperate and emotional during their enforced separation. With Grace's 18th birthday only a few months away, they have very little to lose by simply lying low and waiting a little while until they can be together, even without Grace's parents blessing. However, they both feel the pain of separation keenly, and unable to bear even a few days without him, Grace runs away to stay with Sam at Beck's place at the edge of the woods.

Linger adds the viewpoints of Cole and Isabel, who play counterpoint to Grace and Sam.  While it's clear that Grace and Sam are meant to be, together forever, soulmates; Cole and Isabel, on the other hand, have a purely animal attraction, lending a dangerous feel to most of their interactions.  Cole questions the whole premise that the change to wolf is caused by cold temperatures... he sees too many exceptions to the rule.

Heavy foreshadowing with Grace's exposure to a werewolf bite as a girl made the ending totally predictable, but surprisingly I didn't mind.  Even though I knew, pretty much from the second page, where the book was going, I still enjoyed the journey.

Compare to:
Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce
Vesper - Jeff Sampson
Nightshade - Andrea Cremer
The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group - Catherine Jenks

I borrowed this book from the library.

Forever review

Forever
by Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic
July 2011

First line: "I can be so, so quiet."

I can't believe I haven't written a review for this book yet. It's one of those books that is so... wow, terrific, over-the-top wonderful. I don't feel like anything I can say will do it justice! It's one of those rare books that I'm not afraid of overhyping, because it's better than any description I can summon.


And I know others have said it before, but it's true, so I'll join in the chorus, and say that this book was poetic, lyrical, magical and completely amazing.


Obviously, readers should go back and read the first two of The Wolves of Mercy Falls books if they haven't yet. Shiver and Linger establish memorable characters and magical, yet somehow believable scenarios for an active werewolf population in Minnesota. I loved that the werewolves are not controlled by the moon - rather, their shapechanging abilities hinge on the temperature. The finale of the trilogy hinges on the relationships between rock-steady Grace and Sam, and the more electric and unstable Isabel and Cole. Mad werewolf Shelby stirs up trouble by randomly attacking people and Isabel's blustering father forces the issue when he organizes a chopper hunt to shoot down the wolves outside Mercy Falls.


Grace and Sam have a really strong connection, and even if I was a little surprised at how much Sam was ready and willing to marry Grace right away, I did appreciate that Grace finally confronts her parents for essentially abandoning her to raise herself. They forbid her to see Sam, and predictably, once she's eighteen, she pretty much moves out. The story wraps up most major plot points, but what I wouldn't give for another chapter or two to hash out a few of the finer details!


Normally, I'd recommend a slew of other werewolf books (and there are plenty out there, believe me) but this time around, I'd say what makes this book really distinctive is the beautiful language, so I'll recommend some equally lyrical paranormal/fantasy/horror YA titles instead.

Compare to:

Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor


I purchased this book.

Sisters Red review

Sisters Red
by Jackson Pearce
Little Brown Books for Young Readers
June 2010

Teen sisters Scarlett and Rosie March are incredibly close, because they share a secret: they are both werewolf hunters. Evil Fenris live to seduce and kill young women and Scarlett and Rosie are a few of the only people in the world aware of and fighting this menace. The comparison to Buffy: the Vampire Slayer is pretty obvious: young girls who secretly fight monsters in hand-to-hand combat, even though though the world probably never appreciates it.

First line: Strangers never walk down this road, the sisters thought in unison as the man trudged toward them.

I liked that the story begins with a prologue, giving readers a sense of history between the sisters, and explaining right away why Rosie feels so indebted to her sister. Scarlett sustained scars to her face, disfiguring her eye while she was protecting Rosie from a Fenris attack when they were children. Aside from the fact that the Little Red Riding Hood character is essentially split in two, this story borrows heavily from the original fairy tale. The woodsman, the grandmother, the red capes, it's all there. The girls live in rural Georgia, but after hearing about a string of suspicious sounding murders, they relocate to Atlanta. I liked the way the wolf packs were organized, each with a distinctive tattoo, it was a great detail.

I had trouble picturing Scarlett as being truly ugly. I wondered if it was the kind of thing that she was really self-concious about, but other people noticed much less than she thought. Despite her missing eye and scars, she's able to entice the Fenris into chasing her, simply by wearing a red cloak with a hood that hangs over one eye. Granted, it's nighttime, and maybe the Fenris aren't looking too closely. But, still, it's hard to believe that Scarlett is as hideous looking as she thinks she is. There are obvious comparisons to Hester Shaw from Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines series, as she's scarred, bitter, intense, good at heart, but hard to be around.

I liked that in contrast to so many of the vampire/werewolf paranormal romances being published these days, this story clearly sets up humans as the good guys, werewolves as the villains. And I liked the twist on the love triangle. Both of the girls have an interest in Silas, the woodsman and close family friend. Rosie's interest is more overt (at least, to him,) and Scarlett has a kind of unrequited thing going on, because she doesn't feel worthy. As the chapters alternated, I found myself really torn - I was half-way rooting for both of the sisters! I was ready to be surprised at the ending, but instead, Silas makes a fairly predictable choice on who he'll end up with.

The part that bothered me most was how the sisters referred to the Fenris victims as "dragonflies" - they see them as flitty, pretty and not-too-witty. I was annoyed by the idea that just because they were young, pretty and dressed to go clubbing, the sisters seemed to think it was all their own fault. Fail.

The other part that I quibbled with was what makes a "potential" werewolf. It's a purely magical process, kind of a seventh son of a seventh son kind of thing, and I was hoping for a more scientific reason, like a virus or something.

I love, love, love books with alternating chapters, and really enjoyed that aspect of this story. I'll recommend this to fantasy YA readers, especially those who enjoy Alex Flinn's fairy tale retellings. Although, with this fantastic cover, this book pretty much sells itself!

I borrowed this book from the library.

Vesper review

Vesper 
by Jeff Sampson 
Balzer + Bray 
January 2011

Geeky Emily Webb has no idea what to make of her recent personality changes after the death of one of her classmates, also named Emily. By day, she's her normal, shy, hoody-wearing, sci-fi loving self. But at night, she finds herself transformed into a dangerous, thrill seeking bombshell, raiding her older sister's closet for racy outfits and taking outrageous risks, slipping out of her bedroom window for late-night shenanigans. She makes some futile attempts during the day to control her Jekyll and Hyde type transformation, but finds herself spending longer and longer as "Nighttime Emily" gaining more super-strength and coordination each night.

While most of the book is effectively a flashback, as Emily is being interrogated by a mysterious intelligence organization regarding her involvement in events leading up to the denouement of the book, Sampson handles the tension exceptionally well. Sampson does a great job of getting inside this young lady's head. Ultimately, Emily's dead classmate, and even her risque nighttime changes turn out to be a huge red herring, leading readers down the wrong track until the sudden reveal close to the very end of the book. It is (almost) a spoiler to say that Emily discovers her nighttime self presages her turning into a werewolf. The mythology of the world was well organized, and readers see everything gradually unfolding from the naive main character's point of view.

The ending of the book sets things up nicely for a sequel, as we begin to see that there are several different kinds of paranormal powers suddenly cropping up, shapechanging foremost among them, and there's a mysterious government organization dedicated to stopping them or at least, capturing and controlling them. I have the idea that the second book will be very different in feel to the first, as most of this novel was about unwrapping the mystery of what is happening to Emily, the next book, surely will be about her working with a new team of helpers against the government consipiracy and testing the limits of her newfound powers. This was a highly enjoyable book. I'll recommend it to anyone who likes paranormal fantasy.


I borrowed this book from the library.

Monster High review

Monster High
by Lisi Harrison
Poppy
September 2010

This bubbly, light-hearted, humorous book alternates chapters between teen girls Melody and Frankie. Melody Carver is a Beverly Hills refugee whose family has recently moved to a sleepy Oregon town to give her a fresh start after her nose job. (Her former schoolmates nicknamed her "Smellody" because of her giant nose.) Unimpressed with the way her improved looks affect the shallow people around her, Melody spends a lot of time brooding. Frankie Stein, on the other hand, is merely 15 days old, but appears to be 15 years of age. Her parents, both monsters themselves, have brought her to life in a lab, and she's had little company other than her genetically modified pet mice, the Glitterati. In order to blend in at the local high school, Frankie is forced to wear make-up to cover her green skin, something which irks her to no end, as she's proud of her unusual looks. At school, Frankie meets with other monsters living undercover, Lagoona Blue (a mercreature), Draculaura (vampire, of course), Deuce Gorgon, (this one speaks for itself) D.J./Jackson Hyde (split personality), Cleo de Nile (an Egyptian mummy) and Claudine (a werewolf). All of them are R.A.D.s, or Regular Attribute Dodgers. Not having experienced the years of discrimination that the other monsters have faced, Frankie is eager for the R.A.D.'s to come out of the closet and mingle more openly with the "normies." 

Frankie's favorite saying is "Voltage!" and she is frequently embarrassed by losing a sewn-on body part at a critical moment. Near the book's end, at the big school prom, she kisses a boy, and her head pops off, a scene which is played for laughs. What I hadn't realized when reading this was that the story is actually based off a line of dolls by Mattel. Now everything makes much more sense. Although the book is about high school students, it will probably have more appeal for a younger, tween audience.

True fans of supernatural fiction or paranormal romance will probably be disappointed by the hyper-giddy characters and the conspicuous name-brand dropping. I might recommend this to readers who enjoyed Meg Cabot's Airhead series. Readers who enjoyed Harrison's other works, such as The Clique or The Alphas, or Cecily Von Ziegesar's Gossip Girls or The It Girl series, who are willing to dip their toes in paranormal waters might also enjoy this book. There is a sequel, The Ghoul Next Door, which is due out in April.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Nightshade review

Nightshade

by Andrea Cremer

Philomel

2010

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew that I had to get my hands on it. High-school student Calla lives in an isolated Colorado mountain community, with other hereditary werewolves such as herself. As daughter of the pack leader, she is considered an "alpha" among her peers. Her upcoming arranged marriage to Ren, son of one of the neighboring wolf clans is something that has been carefully planned for nearly all of her life. Together, they will start a brand-new pack, a very rare opportunity. As magical and otherworldly as all of this sounds, all of it is played out in a relatively normal high school. There are some human students, but the wolves and their liege lords, cruel wizards known as Keepers, mainly keep to their own cliques.

For a group of werewolves, these guys sure act a lot like vampires. They go to exclusive nightclubs, wear beautiful clothing, appear to live upper-middle class or better, they bare their fangs in human form when annoyed, they scorn most humans as being beneath them, and they even drink each other's blood when they need healing. I liked the fact that when the wolves change back and forth into their human forms, it is more magical than physiological, allowing them to work around the whole clothing issue. Their clothes remain a part of them, and changing back, they remain clothed in whatever they had on before.

Cremer plays with a lot of gender roles and expectations here. Calla is continually chided by her mother - she must look more feminine and enticing. But she mustn't do anything unladylike, either. Ren runs around like quite the man-whore, but only receives the lightest of warnings. Calla, on the other hand, is expected to enter their union totally pure, something which causes the members of her pack to keep her at arm's length.

Of course, in a world so focused on breeding future wolves, and selecting appropriate mates, it only goes to reason that the difficulties of being gay are exacerbated. Calla is shocked when she learns that her friend Mason has been hiding his relationship with Nev for quite some time. There is an additional storyline about Calla's younger brother, Ansel who has been crushing on his big sis's best friend Bryn for a long while.

This is a much spicier read than I am used to. It verges on romance novel territory. The only explanation that I could find for Calla's quick arousal at the touch of any guy is that she must be in heat! Ren came off as a gross jerk to me. He sleeps around, he's pushy and bossy, he insists on "re-naming" Calla, calling her "Lily" even after she tells him not to. Yet, every time Ren manhandles her, Calla swoons. It's clear that Calla prefers new guy, human Shay, but she just has a lot of difficulty putting aside the duty she feels she has to her family, especially as she's been planning on getting married to Ren for so long.  Not to mention, she's fearful of the undead wraiths the Keepers may sic on her if she doesn't comply with their plans for her union.  Curiously, a lot of the reviews I'm reading seem pretty split between the two guys, with some readers seeing Ren as the guy she "should" be with, and Shay as the random interloper.  Put me on Team Shay, for sure.  I am already eagerly awaiting the sequel, Wolfsbane coming out next July.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Linger review

Linger

by Maggie Stiefvater

Scholastic

2010

I raced through this sequel to Shiver. The story continues with Grace enjoying her relationship with Sam, newly cured of his lycanthropy, while Grace's best friend Isabel still grieves over the recent death of her brother. Sam is struggling to deal with the permanence of his new situation, while still worrying over which of his wolf "family" will return to human form in the spring. In the meantime, a few of the new wolves that Sam's adoptive dad Beck recently created are having troubles. Recovering addict and famous rocker Cole is angry that his wolf change doesn't seem to be sticking... he'd been hoping to escape his human life by turning wolf. Cole's friend Victor, unwittingly turned wolf, seems to be having trouble staying in one form.

Sam is, in every way, the perfect boyfriend... sensitive, poetic, genuinely thoughtful, undemanding. There is some tension as he's been sneaking into Grace's bedroom every night, not for prurient reasons, but just to snuggle. It isn't explicitly said, but implied, that despite their attraction, their frequent kisses and and despite their absolute rightness for each other, Grace and Sam are probably still virgins. When Grace's parents discover him in their daughter's bed they react with feelings of hurt and rage. They promptly assume the worst and ban Sam from their household, letting Grace know in no uncertain terms how disappointed they are in her. In the meantime, Grace and Sam both feel strongly that they want to get married. I thought this was interesting, because it's plenty common for high school girls to fantasize about marrying their boyfriend... but I'm not sure if young men usually harbor those same thoughts.  Grace, predictably, feels embittered that her neglectful parents choose to get involved in her life at this late date.

I was a little surprised at how very desperate Grace, and to some extent, Sam, become during their enforced separation. With Grace's 18th birthday only a few months away, they have very little to lose by simply lying low and waiting a little while until they can be together, even without Grace's parents blessing. However, they both feel the pain of separation keenly, and unable to bear even a few days without him, Grace runs away to stay with Sam at Beck's place at the edge of the woods.

Linger adds the viewpoints of Cole and Isabel, who play counterpoint to Grace and Sam.  While it's clear that Grace and Sam are meant to be, together forever, soulmates; Cole and Isabel, on the other hand, have a purely animal attraction, lending a dangerous feel to most of their interactions.  Cole questions the whole premise that the change to wolf is caused by cold temperatures... he sees too many exceptions to the rule.

I will say that all the foreshadowing in the book in regards to Grace's exposure to a werewolf bite as a girl made the ending totally predictable, but surprisingly I didn't mind.  Even though I knew, pretty much from the second page, where the book was going, I still enjoyed the journey.  There is a cliffhanger, and I am very curious to see where Stiefvater will take us next.

I borrowed this book from the library.

New Stiefvater cover

The cover for the final book in Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy has been revealed.  I love it! Going for a red-theme makes sense.  With the green and blue, it's almost like a set of primary colors.  I'm in the middle of reading Linger now, and really enjoying it.  Read a full interview with the cover designer, Chris Stengel, on Publisher's Weekly.

Shiver review

Shiver

by Maggie Steifvater

Scholastic

2009

I'm finding this particular January in Los Angeles to be the coldest and rainiest on record. With the heavy drum of rain pounding on the roof this week, interspersed with the sounds of yipping coyotes... it was the perfect time for me to curl up in front of the fireplace with Maggie Steifvater's unique and mesmerizing take on werewolves, Shiver. The predominately white cover, with chiaroscuro blue woods and the spot of red blood punctuating the letter "i" in "shiver" is original and appealing.

I'd heard this lauded as just the thing for Twilight readers who counted themselves among Team Jacob so I moved this up on "high priority" on my "to read" shelf. I have to say, the first several chapters didn't initially rope me in. I stuck with it though, and I'm glad I did as the tone of the story quickly changes about a quarter of the way through the book.

16-year-old Grace is a bit of a loner, in Mercy Falls, Minnesota, with two best friends Olivia and Rachel. Her inattentive and disengaged parents seem happy to let her have the run of the household. Sam is a werewolf, who we soon learn, takes human form during summers and spends his winters as a wolf. All Grace knows (at least, at first) is that she was attacked by wolves as a child, and was saved by one of the pack. Ever since then, she's been fascinated by "her" wolf, watching and photographing him whenever she can.

Writing first-person narrative between two alternating characters can be tricky -- readers could be left struggling, wondering, "Now who is this speaking again?" but when done well, it's brilliant. Steifvater handles the transitions between viewpoints with aplomb. Each extremely short chapter is clearly marked with a heading of the protagonist that we are hearing from, along with a report of the current temperature (something which really amps up the tension, as temperatures steadily drop and Sam and Grace's fates hang in the balance.) In addition, Sam and Grace each have very distinct voices.

The language in this book is rich and lyrical. Once Sam regains human form (after being shot by local hunters), the romantic connection between him and Grace deepens. Grace meets the other members of his pack and we learn that Sam is being groomed to take over as "pack leader" once his mentor and father-figure Beck goes totally wolf. Both Sam and Grace struggle with issues from their parents -- while Grace has just been neglected, Sam's parents tried to murder him when they realized what he was.

I liked this new spin on a werewolf story. Jettisoning the full-moon component of the lore seems akin to the recent trend of getting rid of vampires aversion to sunlight, but adding the component of being so reliant on the weather really works here.

The sequel, Linger, will be out in July 2010, and from everything I've heard from reviewers who have snagged ARC's of it, it's not to be missed.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Vampire Week Day 7: Reformed Vampire Support Group

The Reformed Vampire Support Group

by Catherine Jenks

Harcourt Children's Books

2009

If "hell is being locked in a room with your friends" then 15-year-old Nina Harrison has served more than her fair share of time in hell. Turned into a vampire in 1973, Nina's spent the last 35 years attending an AA-style support group in the basement of a Catholic church with a small population of Australian vampires. They are catty and backbiting, and in general, sick of their situation, and sick of each other.

In a reaction against the shiny, super-powered vamps that are all the rage today, Nina and her rag-tag crew are complete weaklings. Vampirism is transferred by biting, and vampires don't age, but they must deal with debilitating malaise. They have about as much energy and enthusiasm as an Epstein-Barr sufferer. They crave human blood, but subsist on guinea pigs and endure stomach problems (including frequent vomiting) as a result. They slip into a unbreakable coma during daylight hours, and are so sensitive to light, they must wear sunglasses at night to avoid being blinded by car headlights or bright street lamps. In short, they are completely pathetic.

Most of the vampires struggle financially as well, finding it difficult to support themselves when they can only work night shifts and lack valid I.D.s. Nina probably has the easiest time, as she still lives with her elderly mother, and earns a decent living as the author of The Bloodstone Chronicles about Zadia Bloodstone, a fantasy vampire who is as sexy and energetic as the real vampires are not. Most of the other vampires turn to internet work from home jobs, or arrange shady under the table deals.

When Casimir, their vampire sire, is staked, Nina volunteers to travel with fellow vampire Dave, and their group leader, Father Ramon to investigate a lead on the case. Hoping to negotiate with the slayer, they feel certain when the person responsible sees how truly fragile and helpless they are, he'll give up hunting them. They soon uncover a werewolf fight club, and rescue good-looking Reuben from the menacing death match organizer Barry McKinnon. While I appreciated Nina's sense of humor, and enjoyed the Australian slang used liberally throughout the book, the sheer glumness of the vampires' situation made me feel like staking them would be a mercy. The sequel, The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group isn't due out until 2011, but I can't say that it will be eagerly anticipated.

I borrowed this book from the public library.