Unraveling

I feel bad writing this review because it's the first negative review I've posted. I must admit...I was very unimpressed with this book. I have never read a young adult book with so many swear words, and I don't think I've seen the F bomb dropped in a book that frequently ever. The story line was original, unless you've ever seen Veronica Mars, in which case, it wasn't. One of the reviews on the book says that it's something like Veronica Mars mixed with The X-Files. That's exactly what it is, really.

Janelle is a junior in high school whose mother is bi-polar and her FBI agent father is rarely around, so she gets to play mom to her younger brother, Jared. When she's hit by a car and killed instantly, she's brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a boy who Janelle has known from a distance for several years at school, but who has never even spoken to. After her return to the realm of the living, Janelle gets sucked into one of her dad's cases, in which people are dying by radiation poison at random. She has to figure it out before the end of the world.

The love story was sweet on his end and not believable for me on hers. I felt like I turned the page and she was suddenly declaring her undying love, when there had been no indication of it before that moment. The description of their physical attraction to each other also gets a bit steamy at one point.

Maybe it's because I really was just too turned off by all the foul words dotting the pages, but I really didn't enjoy this book very much. I was anxious to get it over with so I could move on to something else, and I closed it with great dissatisfaction.

Author: Elizabeth Norris
Recommended for: Is anyone ever old enough for a casual F-word smattering? Other than that, 16+
Cautions: Strong language (as I said), intense "love" scene, some very detailed descriptions of burned bodies.
Available in: Hardcover
Sequels: There will definitely be some. She left a big cliffhanger.
464 Pages

Shark vs. Train

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER.

Who would win if a shark and a train got into a fight? Well, it would depend, of course, on circumstances. Are they underwater? At the circus? Trick-or-Treating? The story is darling, and the pictures are outstanding (I love Tom Lichtenheld. Love him).

This book is especially great for little boys who love destruction and little boy things like trains and sharks.

Author: Chris Barton and Tom Lichtenheld

Recommended for: Anyone and everyone

Cautions: ....

Available in: Hardcover

Sequels: NA

40 Pages

Wings

This book is certainly unique. I bought it on a recommendation and then it sat on my shelf while I got distracted by other books. When Aprilynne Pike came to SLC with an author tour I was already attending, I fished it out and took it along to get it signed. I started reading while I was waiting in line, and finished within a few hours. It's really not a difficult read, and, as I said, it's very unique.

Laurel is your average 15-year-old vegan hermit, who has lived with her parents being homeschooled on a huge plot of land for most of her life before moving to a less-small town to attend public school. Everything is normal, except the fact that she seems obsessed with peaches and eating only one of them a day, until she gets a lump on her back. Initially, she believes it to be a tumor, until, of course, a flower springs from it a few days later. Turns out she's a plant. But not just any plant! She is a faerie, the highest evolved species of plant. ... Right.

Despite my charmingly sarcastic tone, I really did enjoy the unique storyline of this book. It was refreshing to have a fresh take on an old myth. I wasn't thrilled with the love triangle, but both of the guys were cute and likable.

Overall, it was a cute, quick read, and I liked it without having my world set on fire.

Author: Aprilynne Pike

Recommended for: Ages 12 and up

Cautions:It's pretty harmless.

Available in: Hardcover, Paperback

Sequels: Spells, Illusions, and Destined; not sure if there are more.

294 Pages

The False Prince

It just needs to be said. I love original stories. While I love fairy tales, folklore, etc. and all their many re-tellings, there's something so refreshing about a totally unique plot line every now and then. Nielsen definitely delivers something fresh.

The kingdom is on the verge of civil war. Unbeknownst to most of the peasants or peons, the King, Queen and eldest prince are dead, murdered by an unknown poison. To prevent the inevitable bloodbath of pretenders to the throne, four orphans are secretly taken by a member of the parliament to be trained as a prince. Whichever boy succeeds in the competition will be taken and passed off as the younger prince.

The plot seemed sketchy to me when I first picked it up, I will admit. But, like so many others, as soon as I did, I couldn't make myself stop reading. Sage, the protagonist, is smart. Knowing that losing the competition means certain death and winning means living as a puppet for the rest of his life, Sage works to outsmart his captor/mentor.

Because I read so many YA novels for work, it's hard for me to be surprised by a book. Oftentimes, though I still really enjoy the book, I can guess exactly what's going to happen. But The False Prince genuinely surprised me. I was thrilled. Another candidate for the next Top Ten list.

Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen 

Recommended for: Ages 13 and up

Cautions: None, really. Minor violence, I suppose

Available in: Hardcover

Sequels: There will be some (This book does NOT end on a cliffhanger, though. It leaves enough loose ends to make a sequel, but closes everything enough that you aren’t left dissatisfied)

352 Pages

Shadow and Bone

This book, you guys. THIS. BOOK. On the cover, Veronica Roth is quoted as saying that it’s unlike anything she’s ever read before. Endoresment enough for me (am I starting to sound like a Veronica Roth stalker?). Leigh Bardugo, the author, also happened to be coming to the Provo City Library that day. Bonus. So I picked it up. And I read a chapter. And I couldn’t put it down, but I did, because you have to put it down in order for the author to sign it. And then I picked it back up again.

And I didn’t put it down until it was finished. Even then, I had to go back and review.

Have I raved enough to show how much I love this book? Good. Let’s move on to synopsis. The book is all about Alina, an orphaned nobody who lives in a world inspired by Tsarist Russia. In the middle of her kingdom runs what is called The Fold—a dark, hopeless place where you can’t see your hand in front of your face and monsters will eat you should you be foolish enough to enter. Alina is drafted (like every other sixteen year old) into the army, and her platoon is sent to cross the fold to serve in the lower provinces. When their ship is inevitably attacked, Alina discovers a hidden ability to summon light, banishing the literal darkness and saving her companions.

Because of this new ability, Alina is taken by The Darkling, the leader of the magic wielding humans in the kingdom, to learn how to harness the power. The Darkling hopes that Alina’s power could be the answer to banishing The Fold forever and reuniting the kingdom.

Customers at the bookstore always ask me what this book is like, and I really have no answer for that question. Roth’s review was spot on: it’s unlike anything I have ever read before. It’s a book much like Ally Condie’s  Matched in that it leaves you thinking about it for days on end. When you first put it down you think, “Wow, that was amazing.” And then you find yourself pondering the questions it raises at random times in the following days.

I also had the fortune to meet Leigh Bardugo during the Fierce Reads tour when they stopped at the Provo City Library. She was such a funny, down-to-earth lady. I think I would have read the book even if I hadn’t already bought it just because she was so great.

Shadow and Bone, therefore has Leah’s stamp of approval for both book and author. I have nothing left to say other than READ IT!

Author: Leigh Bardugo
Recommended for: Ages 15 and up

Cautions: Minor language content, some violence

Available in: Hardcover

Sequels: There will be some (This book does NOT end on a cliffhanger, though. It leaves some loose ends, but closes everything enough that you aren’t left dissatisfied)

368 Pages