Review: The Name of the Star

Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: May 3, 2011

Pages: 372
Source: Purchased
Why I read it: I love anything to do with historical mysteries and/or Jack the Ripper.

Summary:

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London, it's the start of a new life at a boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. 

What I thought: This book revolves around Rory (Aurora) a teen from Louisiana. Her family moves to England, where Rory decides to attend boarding school in London, at Wexford, a school in East London. While she is attending school there and adjusting to English/London life, a Jack the Ripper copycat begins killing on the same dates as the Ripper and leaving the bodies in the same locations. Rory begins seeing a mysterious man that no one else can seem to see, and finds out that she may be the Ripper's next victim.

This book really lived up to my expectations, especially after the disappointment of my last book. It had a nice blend of a mystery/thriller, some history and also a contemporary YA. The book is almost two genres in one. It starts out as a YA contemporary with a little romance and then morphs into a historical mystery/paranormal/thriller. I was expecting the paranormal from the blurb on the book jacket, so this didn't come out of the blue and surprise me. Rory also realistically dealt with the shock of realizing that she could see ghosts. Johnson had a nice balance between YA contemporary and thriller/mystery at the end.

One thing about the book that I loved was that the romance was not overdone. And it wasn't a love triangle! I have become very tired of books where the main character's life is in danger, but she cares more about what her love interest is doing or thinking and kissing her love interest. The hint of romance was nice, and I am so grateful that it didn't overpower the story, because honestly, I was reading this book for the serial killer madness, not romance.

There was a little info dumping, especially in regards to the history of Jack the Ripper, but it was done in snippets of newscasts, and in the character of Jerome, the main love interest of Rory. However, I thought his infodumping was fairly realistic, because I know I have a similar personality, and I have an interest in Jack the Ripper, as well. I also probably info dump about topics I'm interested in, like Jerome.

As for the other characters, they were all well developed, and I especially enjoyed that Johnson, in a nod to modern English culture, features an English/Indian character, Bhuvana, or Boo, as she likes to be called. I thought Jazza was a nice counterpoint to both Rory and Boo, but she wasn't a caricature. And I also liked Alistair, and the little twist with his story. I am excited about the ghost police and the dynamics of the group and their mission, especially in regards to the next book.

I thought the cover was misleading. The girl on the cover is definitely not Rory and the shadowy "Ripper" behind her harkens back to the original Ripper, but doesn't really pertain to this particular novel. I assume that the girl is possibly one of the victims, but I feel like the cover doesn't accurately reflect what is actually in the novel.

While I think Johnson did do a good job of making this a standalone novel, she did set it up at the very end for a sequel, and I can't wait for it! She has left me wanting more, with that little twist at the end and I'm interested to see how the next book will play out.

Overall, I give this book 5 stars. I really loved it.

Review: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: May 3, 2011

Pages: 487

Source: Purchased a used copy.

Why I read it: There was so much hype around this one with the second book coming out and I jumped on the bandwagon.

Summary:

In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

What I thought: I had really been looking forward to reading this book. I have read nothing but good reviews and the premise of the book sounded compelling. Plus I heard the book compared to The Hunger Games, which should have made me wary, but actually made me want to read it more. I need to learn to ignore the hype. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in the book.

Beatrice lives in a "dystopian" Chicago and is a member of one of five factions, Abnegation (selflessness). There was a great war and after the war, the citizens of Chicago decided to split into five factions. The factions based on a trait that the members deemed important for humanity. So there is one for bravery, one for peace, one for selflessness, one for intelligence and lastly one for honesty. Beatrice finds herself to be Divergent, after she undergoes the "sorting" test, which means she shows traits for more than one faction. She chooses to be in Dauntless, however. Ok, so I was intrigued! This seemed like an interesting dystopia and I wondered what Roth would do with it.

Unfortunately, the world building was not very strong. I was first very frustrated by the portrayal of the different factions. They were so horribly stereotypical, especially Dauntless (bravery). Wearing black? Tattoos? Piercings? Guns? Jumping out of trains? Jumping off buildings? UGH! These do not make someone brave! The Dauntless seemed more interested in being cruel and tough rather than being brave. I realized that Roth was trying to make some sort of point, but it still frustrated me nonetheless. Oh and the Abnegation only wearing grey? UGH to that, too! I was happy when Four/Tobias finally made the connection between being selfless and being brave. More connections could have been made in the beginning between the utopian idea of having 5 factions and the dystopian reality. I figured out the dystopia before Beatrice was able to and her lack of any awareness until the end was frustrating. As she supposedly is Erudite (intelligence) as well, that seemed like something she could have picked up on sooner.

I also find it very hard to believe that any group of people would collectively decide to divide in factions NOT based on family ties. This was the hardest part of the world for me to believe. NO WAY would (most) people agree to abandon their families for living in these factions. Also, it was hinted at that something lay beyond the walls, and I wanted to know more about the world.

As for the characters and plot, the world building frustrated me so much that I could barely get through the book and the plot felt a little thin to me. I wasn't very engaged by the book until Beatrice figured out that her mother had been in Dauntless. The latter half of the book was better with Tris making connections between the reality versus the ideal of the factions. I felt frustrated that this connection wasn't made until later. Maybe it was a device to show how Tris grows through the book and starts to question her world, but it didn't really seem that way to me. I also felt some of the side characters like Peter and Eric were cruel with no explanation on how they came to be so cruel. Maybe jealousy? Jeannine on the other hand, while she was one of the main villains, had reasons behind her cruelty. I did appreciate that Roth is not afraid to kill off characters, however. I was a little surprised, but it is a crapsack world where anyone can die.

As for the romance, I'm tired of girl falling for mysterious boy with a troubled past. Oh and he was also conveniently Divergent, too. Luckily the romance didn't take over the book, but still, I'm of the opinion that there doesn't need to be a romance.

Overall, I would give the book 1 stars, maybe 2ish, because I do want to read the next one, to find out what happens.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Books I'd Like to See Made Into a Movie

Top Ten Tuesday

This weekly meme is from The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week is Top 10 Books I'd Like to See Made Into a Movie.

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman - I've heard this will be made into a series on TV and I'm super excited about it

2. Zoo City by Lauren Beukes - I would love to see this world translated into a movie.

3. The Fables Series by Bill Willingham - I also heard that this was to be made into a TV series, but unfortunately that did not happen. I would still love to see it.


4. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins - It's been forever since I've read this, but I think this is one of Tom Robbins' books that really needs to be adapted into a movie.

5. The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson - I think this could be a great movie, but unfortunately it might be adapted badly.

6. Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door - Same comment from above applies here as well.

7. Laika by Nick Abadzis - I think this would be an interesting movie about the history of the Space Race between the United States and Russia from the point of view of Laika and her keepers. Very sad, but an important history that I think a lot of American don't know about.

8. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie - And why hasn't this book been made into a movie yet?

9. Little Red Riding Hood - The last adaptation of this was pretty disappointing, and I would like to see something in the vein of the short film that was made years ago with Christina Ricci. And something that would especially explore all the subtext of the fairy tale.

10. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - I think this would make an interesting movie to add to the already large pile of World War II/Holocaust movies.

Waiting On Wednesday: Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature at Breaking the Spine.

My pick this week is the upcoming book Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge

 
Summary:

Writing in free verse honed to a wicked edge, the incomparable Ron Koertge brings dark and contemporary humor to twenty iconic fairy tales.

Once upon a time, there was a strung-out match girl who sold CDs to stoners. Twelve impetuous sisters escaped King Daddy's clutches to jiggle and cavort and wear out their shoes. A fickle Thumbelina searched for a tiny husband, leaving bodies in her wake. And Little Red Riding Hood confessed that she kind of wanted to know what it's like to be swallowed whole. From bloodied and blinded stepsisters (they were duped) to a chopped-off finger flying into a heroine's cleavage, this is fairy tale world turned upside down. Ron Koertge knows what really happened to all those wolves and maidens, ogres and orphans, kings and piglets, and he knows about the Ever After. So come closer - he wants to whisper in your ear.

Why I picked it: I love, LOVE updates on fairy tales. I also like the cover. I hope this is a good one!

Book Review: Struck

Author: Jennifer Bosworth

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR

Release Date: May 8, 2012

Pages: 373

Source: ARC from a local librarian
Why I read it: Interesting concept and it was a gifted ARC

Summary:

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

What I thought: Mia Price is a lightning strike survivor/addict who has been struck multiple times, and even has a dubious lightning based past. She is living in Los Angeles after the "big one" and trying to hold her family together and avoid the coming storm. Two opposing groups, the Seekers and the Followers, try to win Mia over to their side, as they both are anticipating the end of the world happening in Los Angeles.  

While I really liked the premise of the book and I like apocalyptic novels, I felt this one fell flat, especially at the end. There was a lot of buildup in the beginning and then at the climax, nothing, or barely anything and the ending felt a little rushed and wrapped up a little too nicely. This was a little disappointing. I also felt like there was a lot of explaining and not enough action. Of course, the reader comes in after the earthquake hits, so some explaining is necessary, but all the explanations to catch the reader up slowed the story down.

I'm really sick of romance in novels that don't really need it and while I liked Jeremy having dual motives, I didn't like the romance. It didn't add anything to the story for me, and I liked the dynamics between Mia and her family more than between her and Jeremy. Jeremy also started out as a mysterious bad boy, even to the point where he sneaks into her room to try to kill her. I did like when more of his background came out and whether he was someone Mia could trust. As for Mia, I felt like she was older than a teenager. While this isn't a bad thing, she just didn't seem very teen-like to me, except maybe for her unwillingness to sacrifice herself.

I did like some of the current themes running through the novel. A lot of it seemed very realistic, and if some huge catastrophe happened, well, of course there would be a prophet/preacher taking advantage (or helping, depending on your perspective) people and converting people to their cause. The prophet was very well done, and the scenes with him were very chilling. I thought he was one of the more interesting characters. I could see someone very similar happening after a catastrophic event, and well, people like him already exist. The Seekers were a little too much stereotypical occult group for me and as someone who is into tarot, the tarot themes were a little tired. Yes, the Tower card is perfect for a story like this, but a little obvious and the Lovers is way too obvious. I wish authors would expand out into the tarot and refrain from using the most stereotypical cards, espcially if they don't really understand the meaning and archetypes behind the card.

I would give this one 3ish stars. The book had some interesting ideas, but the ending was kind of blah. I didn't feel any sense of urgency as I got towards the end, and I wanted a little more ommph at the end.

Review: The Girl Who Owned a City: The Graphic Novel

Author: Joëlle Jones & Dan Jolley
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Expected Release Date: April 2012
Pages: 120
Why I read it: I recieved an eGalley from Netgalley and I'm into graphic novels right now

Some horrible disease has spread over the United States, only afflicted those over 12 years old. The only survivors are children, obviously. They must become resourceful or starve to death. Lisa and her brother are surviving on their own, but must face gangs that want to steal their food and resources. Lisa bands together with her neighborhood and they create a "city" in an former school.

Apparently this graphic novel is taken from the original book by O.T. Nelson. I've never read this book, so I can't comment on the original. This book was originally published in the 1970s and I thought the illustrations had a retro feel without being dated. It was a nice nod to the original. Lisa is a strong character almost to the point of it being a fault. She creates a city and claims it as her own, to the point where she doesn't want to admit that others helped her create the city. I felt like this could be a realistic mindset of an eleven year old.

Lisa, and many other of the characters are strong and resourceful and are able to survive despite their being no adults. I did a little research on the original book, and it looks like O.T. Nelson wanted to write a book with children in charge, to show children that they have their own power and agency. I think he accomplished this, because the children are able to survive on their own.

The ending seemed open ended and I don't know if the original book is like that, but I do want to know if anything else happens to these characters. It does seem to be left open to have a sequel, and I would be interested to know more about the disease (which baffles me that it could only kill adults), what is happening in Chicago (briefly referenced in the book) and whether Lisa's city is able to survive the onslaught from the other gangs.

Overall, I give this graphic novel 3 stars, I liked it.

Book Review: Zoo City

Author: Lauren Beukes

Publisher: Angry Robot

Release Date: April 29, 2010

Pages: 384

Source: Borrowed from the library

Why I read it: The cover.

What I thought: This book is my first foray into urban fantasy, and wow! I loved the world that Lauren Beukes created, but at the same time, some things confused me. That may be because I read too quickly and miss important details. However, I would love to see her write another book taking place in this world. The cover is wonderful and was one of the main reasons I wanted to read this book. The description and some of the key words on the back cover such as "Gangster Shamen" also helped my enthusiasm for reading this.

The plot centers around Zinzi December, a scam artist and criminal. Because of her criminal status, she carries around a sloth. This "aposymbiotic" relationship gives Zinzi magical powers. She is able to find lost objects, and this talent sets the plot in motion. She is hired by two other "zoos" who want her to find a missing pop singer. I felt that Zinzi was the force driving the book and the plot with the missing singer seemed very secondary and not important, until the reveal at the end of the book. The plot seemed more like a way to show off this world that Beuke created, but she does tie the loose ends together at the end, as far as the plot goes. The ending was a little unexpected, and somewhat sad, but was fitting for the gritty reality that Zinzi lives in. I didn't hate the plot, but it wasn't my favorite part of the book.

Zinzi isn't a great person, but Beukes' characterization is so good, that I wanted to know more about Zinzi and her past. Zinzi isn't sugarcoated, and it's clear why she has a sloth. I would love another book set in this world and centered around Zinzi. The book ends ambigously, thus setting Zinzi up for a second book. I don't know if this was her intention, but I do hope she revisits Zinzi and her world.

However, the plot did leave me with many questions. Beukes exposes her world slowly and incorporates it into the story, as well as including other pieces of writing such as emails or news articles interspersed among Zinzi's voice. Because of this sort of reveal, I spent a lot of time flipping back and forth and piecing all the facts together. Beukes also uses many words that are in another language and unfamiliar to me, so I sometimes wasn't able to glean the context. When I first started reading, I got the sense that only criminals/former criminals were "animalled." As I read more, it appears that it may be a disease or disorder, with a resulting magical power, but that doesn't explain why it only affects criminals. However, by the end of the book, it's pretty clear that only criminals are the ones "animalled." I was also confused about the Undertow, the process where zoos are killed after their animals die. There were several descriptions of it, but I found it a little vague. That seems to be the point, because the "zoos" don't really understand it either. Zinzi also mentions at one point that a "animalled" human can die, but their animal can live on for a few months afterwards, but is never the same. One of the keywords on the back is "Symbiotic Familiar" and this definitely describes the relationship between humans and their animals. The animals don't talk but they do react to their human's emotions and actions. I also wanted more information into why only criminals have animals and the process in which the animal is forced on them. Zinzi at one point describes it as her "scarlet letter" and non-criminals fear "zoos." Also, where do the animals come from? Are they part of the human's soul or something else? I think I will reread this book, because that might clear up some confusion. I think the author's point was to keep things somewhat vague, because even the characters in the book don't understand everything.

Overall, I give the book 3.5ish stars. I really, really loved the character of Zinzi, and I think the author did a good job of making a not sympathetic character very sympathetic. But I had a lot of questions about the world and Zinzi's past.