REVIEW: THE RAVEN BOYS BY MAGGIE STIEFVATER

Published by Scholastic, 2012. Hardcover, 408 pgs

      Blue Sargent's family is full of seers and fortune tellers. While she doesn't share these abilities, she amplifies energy and enhances her relative's psychic powers. Every year on St. Mark's Eve (April 24), she and her mom (in one case her aunt) travel to the church graveyard and wait for the parade of near dead souls- those who will die in the coming year. This year Blue actually sees someone in the graveyard for the first time. This boy, Gansey, is from the prep school Aglionby. The school mascot is the Raven. Through a series of events, Blue becomes involved with these Raven Boys to satisfy some of her curiosities, and becomes their friend. I can't take credit for this since I saw it on an Amazon review, but it's accurate: "This book is like if Edgar Allan Poe taught the boys from The Dead Poets Society." 

       I love books featuring fortune telling. It can be a tricky writing subject, because if not told in a certain way, it can sound campy and completely absurd. I listened to Jodi Piccoult's Leaving Time on audio and loved the story of a young girl trying to find her missing mom through a fortune teller. Stiefvater also delivered in writing a quirky, heartfelt family who just happened to have these psychic abilities. I loved all her crazy aunts and cousins at 300 Fox Way. Also, here's a random lovely quote: "She recognized the strange happiness that was sometimes so big it felt like sadness. It was the way she felt when she looked at the stars."

      I'm from Virginia, and always appreciate reading about this location and the beautiful surrounding mountains. Since privileged characters can leave the reader feeling cold, I think it's important for the author to make them distinguishable in some way to make us care. In this case, Stiefvater creates Gansey, a boy bent on finding ley lines- invisible energy lines that connect spiritual places. An eclectic interest indeed! "From his father, Gansey had gotten a head for logic, an affection for research, and a trust fund the size of most state lotteries." I liked Gansey and his friend Adam immediately, but also disliked the Lynch brothers (Declan and Ronan) from the start. Big props to Stiefvater for addressing the issue of money and the class system in a heartfelt way through Adam. Money can create an unintentional divide among friends, and whether wealthy or poor, everyone has their own awful crap to deal with. 

    Blue's relationship with Maura (her mom) was of particular interest to me. Blue says when she is expected to do something it is never demanded, but the question is "phrased more as an imperative." Another scene in the kitchen where her mother is quiet "in that heavy way that was louder than talking"could describe a lot of tense teenage girl/mother mornings and interactions.

     I highly recommend this book. I found it unique, and I cared about all the characters so much that I would have been really sad if they died. This might seem a callous barometer, but some characters being killed off doesn't bother me in any way (besides kids and animals of course!). I do have one complaint. I must say I wasn't crazy about the supernatural story line. I found it a bit odd that people would go to such lengths for the reasons given. I felt it was silly and too contrived- but I liked the characters so much I forgave it, even though it probably dropped the star rating from a 5 to a 4. Looking forward to book 2- Dream Thieves!

REVIEW: THE GIRL IN 6E (DEANNA MADDEN #1) BY A.R. TORRE

Published by Orion, 2014, Kindle Version, 336 pgs

**This is an erotic thriller. Violent content and extremely graphic sex scenes are present throughout most of the book so be warned.

I heard about this on Lindsey Rey's Booktube channel, as well as seeing it on a To-Be-Read video for Rachel for her Booktubeathon challenges. I was in between books, and on a whim downloaded it to my Kindle. I read it until 1 am  (rarely do I stay up that late), and immediately finished it when I woke up in the morning.

Deanna has some problems. The major one being constantly plagued with the desire to kill everyone she encounters in the slowest, bloodiest way possible. Part of this is a result of horrific family trauma as a teenager. As a freshman in college, she decides she can no longer control her urges and rents an apartment, installs a steel door, and conducts her life solely through the internet.

What ensues is a fascinating, compulsively readable book about a lifestyle that is unimaginable to me. We hear about her means of financial support, the profession of webcamming. We are given descriptions of her 900 square foot apartment, and what her day-to-day existence has been for the last three years. This includes how she acquires food and basic necessities, the strict daily schedule, the personalities and requests of her vast clientele, her continuous internal monologue, and discussions with therapists. Her loneliness, occasional despair, and lack of outside stimuli is palpable.

We also get the perspective of Jeremy, the UPS driver who leaves packages outside her door and wonders about the mysteriousness of the girl who lives in 6E. Besides this content, (which is more than enough to sustain the novel), we have a mystery/action plot line that allows us more glimpses into Deanna's tendencies and how she might possibly train herself to control them. 

There was an instance with Jeremy that I found pretty unbelievable given the circumstances, and the likelihood of her carrying out one of the tasks was a bit unrealistic, but I found the story so gripping it didn't affect my overall rating. The inner demons she struggles with on a daily basis sound terrifyingly plausible, and the book makes you wonder how many people we are surrounded by that have killing tendencies. The writing wasn't super literary, but perfect for the fast-paced story. A.R Torre spent time researching the sex industry and interviewing popular webcam girls to make the story be a realistic representation of what the job would entail. This is great read if the content won't offend, and you are searching for a can't-put-it-down book. Already downloaded book two, Do Not Disturb.

REVIEW: THE FOX (INDA #2) BY SHERWOOD SMITH

 Published by Daw, 2008, mass market paperback, 772 pgs.

Goodreads Review of Inda (Inda #1)

SUMMARY: It feels good to be doing written reviews after a couple weeks hiatus for the amazing BookExpoAmerica experience! I won't write an in-depth summary of The Fox here since it's a sequel and I don't want to spoil readers for book one. Suffice it to say that Inda is still on the high seas and fighting pirates. Crew changes, battles, and political intrigue still run rampant throughout the various parts of the kingdom as the Venn continue to threaten the waters.

 WRITING: If each book weren't so long, I would definitely have marathoned the series. This is no fault of the writer, rather my lack of time the past couple of months to devote to a large page count series. Smith puts great detail and thought into her work. You can tell that these characters have lived inside her head for quite some time due to the detail provided in their personalities and family connections. At times this seemed a hindrance- as the reader got their bearings on the place and characters in question, more were added and muddled the mix a bit. However, her writing is rich and detailed, if cumbersome at times. She also provides good dialogue on character motivations and what shapes personalities (page 88).

CHARACTERS:  I love the ladies in this series. They are really coming into their own from the shadows. Hadand, Joret, Tdor, and Queen Wisthia are smart and cunning, and Smith delighted this reader with further exploration of their inner turmoil and plans. This novel satisfies certain "comeuppances" that have been brewing for royal characters (male and female) for some time. Since the story is told from an omniscient narrator, we get the perspective of those in power...which is not always an enviable position. I hope I'm being sufficiently cryptic so that you'll pick the book up!

PLOT:  The plot thickens...hahaha. Seriously though. Ramis the Knife, the magic of Norsunder, and the and illusive Sea Dags and Mages add to mysteriousness of the story and battles. A large betrayal by a supposed ally drives the story forward by solidifying a questionable relationship, and creating another course of direction for Inda and his friends.

WORLD-BUILDING: As I mentioned in the writing portion, Smith obviously loves this world due to her painstaking attention to detail and connections throughout the kingdoms of people. Physical descriptions of a region's citizens, occupations, smells of the region, and types of food preferred are normally mentioned for each major area.

PACING: I still had the same trouble with book two as the first one. The slew of names, situations, and house histories often bogged down the action. However, I felt so accomplished when I made the proper connections and finished the story.

FINAL RATING:  4 STARS

Here's the biggest takeaway for me and advice for potential reader's of this series: Don't drive yourself crazy with the details. If you try to memorize everything you will drive yourself bonkers. Think big picture stuff unless you have a freakishly good memory (which sadly, I'm not blessed with). Know 1) who's fighting who, 2) the general location said fighting is occurring, and 3)outcome and implications. I felt more emotionally invested with these characters and the series with the completion of this book...partly because of the massive number of pages I've read, but mostly because I simply enjoy the story more after learning the proper way to read it. If you're looking for a world to get completely immersed in and don't mind a more challenging read, this series will suit the bill nicely.