Review: Down with the Shine

Down with the Shine
By Kate Karyus Quinn
Published April 26, 2016 by HarperTeen
Reviewed from e-ARC

Lennie has had a rough life and has never really looked forward to inheriting her family's moonshine tradition. In the aftermath of her best friend's murder, she decides she needs to live life more fully, so she sneaks some of that moonshine to a party. She shares it with everyone she sees, making a traditional toast each time. But when she wakes the next morning, she learns that the family legacy is much more than just making the moonshine - and she finds herself wishing she hadn't made so many toasts the night before.

I read Quinn's previous novel, Don't You Forget About Me and felt a bit conflicted about it. When I spotted her latest available in galley form, I figured I'd give her another shot. It sounded like my kind of weird.

I wasn't wrong - I very much enjoyed this one. It is a strange journey, but also quite amusing and, at times, heartfelt. It was a very quick read and had me laughing at loud in parts. The focus is definitely on the plot and less on the characters, which I think is part of what makes this a quick read. It is dark and funny - two of my favorite things - so really, it would have been pretty hard for me to not enjoy this one. That being said, I can see that this has a very specific appeal - in fact, I can think of several people who, despite loving YA, humor, or darker stories would not enjoy this one. That being said, I tend to think that teens really go in for black comedy, so I hope it finds its audience. As a bonus, I thought the ending was very clever and really worked with the book as a whole. I definitely recommend this one if you like your funny on the dark side.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via Edelweiss.

Review: Their Fractured Light

Their Fractured Light (Starbound, book three)
By Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Published 2015 by Disney-Hyperion

Potential spoilers ahead. Read my reviews of books one and two.

Gideon is a pretty fearless hacker. Sofia is a con artist with a grudge. When these two criminals are forced to work together, they discover something in common - they both want to take down LaRoux Industries. But this is easier said than done - LaRoux is one of the most powerful forces in the galaxy. They'll have to team up with some old allies if they ever hope to succeed.

After having read and enjoyed books one and two and wanting to actually finish up some series that I've started and then forgotten about, I happily checked out this third and final book. Unfortunately, it took me quite some time to finish - I got about halfway through before having to return it to the library. But, I've finally finished, so I suppose I should share some thoughts.

Unfortunately and unexpectedly, I didn't love this one as much as the previous two. While I struggled with aspects of the romance in book one, I very thoroughly enjoyed book two and was anxiously awaiting this title. I think I had a much more difficult time with the new main characters and their story in this volume - it just didn't grab me the same way the previous characters and plots had. I spent most of the first part of the book waiting to get to the part where this one would tie into the other two and the whole bigger conspiracy plot would come into play. Then, when that finally did happen, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I didn't love the big gigantic twist the plot takes and the ending - honestly, it's been a couple weeks since I finished this and I can't really remember what happened.

Overall, I found this a pretty disappointing end to a series I had unexpectedly enjoyed. After the strength of book two, this was especially a let-down.

Review: Wolf Hollow

Wolf Hollow
By Lauren Wolk
Published May 3, 2016 by Dutton Books for Young Readers
Reviewed from e-ARC

Annabelle lives a quiet life until the day Betty walks into her life. Betty is a bully, and has chosen Annabelle as the object of her torment. While it's not pleasant, Annabelle thinks she can manage. But then, Betty sets her sights on Toby, a reclusive and odd veteran who has always been kind to Annabelle. As the situation quickly escalates, Annabelle learns to find her voice.

Nearly all of the reviews I've seen for this one include nothing but praise. For better or worse, this review is not that. Objectively, I can see that this is a finely written coming of age tale. But, as someone reading this book for pleasure, I just didn't like it. My first problem with this is that it's narrated by an older Annabelle telling the story of this pivotal moment in her life. While I think this can be a powerful narrative device, I always find it an odd choice in books marketed to a younger audience. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like this puts a distance between the reader and the narrator and makes a book that might already be a tough sell - historical fiction, bordering on didactic plot, slowly paced - an even more difficult one.

As I said, it's a well-written piece of literature, but sometimes I wonder also at the choice of a prose-heavy story in a book for young readers. In my experience as a youth librarian, it is a small portion of a young audience that is going to value a lushly written story over one that is action-packed.

Perhaps my biggest personal stumbling block comes simply because of my stage in life. Of course, I remember what it's like to be a kid and be afraid of speaking up on the side of right; certainly, I was an extremely shy kid and hated having to speak to authority figures. However, I couldn't help but think that if Annabelle had only told her parents when Betty's bullying first began, the subsequent tragedies might have been avoided. From what we're given in the text, Annabelle has a very close relationship with her parents, so her hesitancy at speaking to them from the onset struck me as a bit odd. Once again, this may have more to do with my reading this as an adult, but it was something that bothered me throughout the entire reading.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this one, and will have a hard time selling it to my readers. Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via Netgalley.

April Check-In

Time to see what I've read this month!

Early-chapter: 0

Middle-grade: 5

Teen: 6

Adult: 3

Picture books: 35

Library books: 40

Books owned: 9

Read Harder Challenge: 11/24

Non-fiction goal: 8/25

Series goal: 2/5

Short stories/Novellas: 16

Overall, a pretty middle of the road month for me. I'm focusing my audiobook choices on finishing up the Read Harder challenge right now, mostly because I really want to try to read more of the books in the house. I've decided there's no way I'm moving them all again, so I either read them while I have them or I end up getting rid of them unread. I'm aiming for the former, but we'll see how it goes. I feel like my series goal might fall by the wayside here, but we'll see what happens.

Review: The Legend of Sam Miracle

The Legend of Sam Miracle (Outlaws of Time, book one)
By N.D. Wilson
Published April 19, 2016 by Katherine Tegen Books
Reviewed from e-ARC

Sam Miracle has strange dreams. Sometimes, they even feel real. Soon, Sam will discover that these dreams are more than that - they're memories of the lives he's lived in pursuit of destroying someone so evil, he's been fighting him for hundreds of years. But, this life, this time, may be his last chance. With help from a new friend, Sam Miracle is going to try to finally put an end to this battle once and for all.

You know, I don't even really know what I want to say about this book. My first experience with N.D. Wilson was Dragon's Tooth, book one in another series. I went on to read book two (but still haven't gotten to book three), as well as a stand-alone title of his. I very much enjoyed them all, so I fully expected that I'd enjoy his newest title.

Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me. Much like the Ashtown Burials series, there is a lot happening in this world that Wilson has created. Maybe too much for me. I actually frequently found myself skimming because the explanations of how this world worked were not holding my interest. Additionally, I did not connect with Sam as a character at all; I found myself with little to no investment in whether or not he survived this next battle. Likely, my inability to engage with Sam is because Sam himself doesn't fully know or understand who he is. It's an interesting idea to explore, but it felt alienating to read about someone who is so ambiguously characterized.

On a similar note, I found the secondary characters to be wholly disappointing, if not downright troubling. The female characters in this book exist only to help the development of Sam: his sister has been repeatedly tortured and killed, driving Sam's motivation for seeking vengeance. Glory, who initially begins as a pretty independent female character, soon devolves into being Sam's keeper, monitoring his safety and well-being through their adventures. There are several Native American characters as well, but none of them seem to rise above the "magical Indian" stereotype. I'd be interested in seeing other people's reactions to these characters - most of the Goodreads reviews I've seen are overwhelmingly positive, and a quick search of Deb Reese's American Indians in Children's Literature site doesn't seem to turn up a review for this title yet.

Overall, I'm sadly disappointed in this one and unsure if I'll read book two. If others have a different opinion, feel free to let me know in the comments. Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via Edelweiss.

Review: Somewhere Among

Somewhere Among
By Annie Donweth-Chikamatsu
Expected publication April 26, 2016 by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dhouly Books
Reviewed from e-ARC

Ema has never felt like she belonged. With a Japanese father and an American mother, she has been between two worlds. This summer, she and her mother will be staying in Japan with her grandparents - her mother is having a baby and the pregnancy has not been easy. Things only get more difficult when the tragedy of September 11th strikes. Will Ema and her family find a way to cope?

I'll read pretty much anything told in verse, so the pitch for this one caught my eye when I saw the galley available for download. I haven't read much fiction dealing with 9/11, but, as the 15th anniversary approaches, I've seen more and more middle grade books dealing with the topic. This one had the interesting perspective of a girl in a foreign country trying to understand her feelings (and the feelings of those around her) about the attacks. The details of life in Japan are interesting and will likely be new information to young readers. The book begins several months before the attacks take place, so there is some time of relative normalcy that will give readers insight into Ema and her family's lives. I thought Ema's inner struggles were realistically portrayed - her complicated feelings about her grandmother, her concern over her mother, her excitement over the new baby. It all felt very authentic.

However, the first part of this book moves very slowly. As I said, it begins several months prior to the attacks, so some readers might not be able to drag themselves through the start to get to that point. Additionally, this book seems to be one tragedy after another. I feel a bit how I felt while reading Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper - great book, with wonderful characters and a necessary perspective but did that last tragedy really add anything other than an overwhelming sense of hopelessness? Sad books seem to be more and more prevalent in middle grade fiction. I don't think this is a bad thing - fiction can often give us insight on how to process situations that make us feel complex emotions. But sometimes, when a book is one tragedy after another, it can feel a bit much for me, as an adult reader. Maybe I shouldn't be too surprised that kids love tragedy fiction - the "sad dog" books never sit on my shelves for very long.

Overall, this is a unique perspective on the attacks of September 11th, but might work best for readers willing to persevere through the first half. Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via Edelweiss.

Review: Red

Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood
By Liesl Shurtliff
Published April 12, 2016 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Reviewed from e-ARC

Red's granny is the most powerful witch she knows, but Red has sworn off magic herself. When Granny falls ill and magic seems to be her only hope, Red must make the difficult decision to search for a magical cure - after all, she can't lose her granny. Will Red find the way to help?

Having previously read and enjoyed Shurtliff's other fairy tale retellings, I was pleased to see her tackle Red's story in more depth. Red was one of my favorite characters from the earlier titles, so I fully expected to enjoy her solo journey even more.

As with my reading of Rump, this one began to feel a bit repetitive and draggy - essentially, Red does the same thing three times, with slight variations. Really, that's a very traditional fairy tale component, but, for some reason, I found it tiresome here. After so looking forward to hearing more about Red's story, I was disappointed to realize that my favorite thing about this book was a new character (her name is Goldie - perhaps she's familiar to you?). Beyond the bits where Red explains why she doesn't practice magic, I felt her character was underdeveloped - most of the book is about her journey and is really just a telling of what she undergoes. It didn't often delve deeper as I would have liked. In fact, most of the secondary characters were more intriguing to me than Red - maybe Shurtliff does that on purpose to guarantee an audience for the next one? Mostly, I'm kidding, but with appearances by Goldie, the Huntsman, and Beauty and the Beast, it wouldn't surprise me.

This is still quite a fun and amusing read and the way Red and Goldie play off each other is quite a joy to read. i also liked Red's connection with the wolf and those appearances by other characters were, as I said, quite intriguing. I just expected to love this more than I did.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via Edelweiss.