Book of the Month: April - This Shattered World

by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

The first book of this series, These Broken Stars, grabbed my attention because the cover looked amazing! But This Shattered World is more of a companion novel than a sequel because we follow two new characters on the war-torn planet of Avon. 

Captain Jubilee "Lee" Chase is a badass. She's good at what she does - being a soldier, being a leader, crushing the rebels - and she knows it. But when she meets the charming rebel Flynn Cormac, she's literally knocked off her feet as he captures her and brings her back to the rebel base. 

Decades ago, the rebels were given empty promises of a better life by the terraforming corporation, Terra Dynamics. Flynn's sister, Orla, led a notorious attack which she paid for with her life. And now with Flynn as the leader of the rebellion, his people expect him to be like his sister. Instead, Flynn struggles to convince his people that communication, not war, is the key to progress. He meets resistance with every choice he makes, like capturing instead of shooting Avon's most famous soldier, Lee. 

Their unlikely alliance begins when Flynn decides to help Lee out of the rebel base as the rebels prepare to execute her. Together they unveil the truth behind Avon's history and why the planet has stayed unchanged and swamp-like for the past two decades. 

I loved These Broken Stars. So I was disappointed that Tarver and Lilac weren't the mains in the second book and it actually took me awhile to get into This Shattered World because the two books are so different. This book has much more world and culture building which the first one lacked as it was so focused on the characters. It's also much faster-paced, with the only "breaks" being the flashbacks in between the chapters. That said, once you get going, it's a hard book to put down.     

One of the things that makes this book so awesome is that the romance doesn't take over the story. In fact, it takes a backseat to the plot because they're not supposed to be together. Soldiers and rebels shoot each other on sight. To be allies and in love? Well, let's just say that Kaufman and Spooner did a phenomenal job developing their characters. Never did I question these characters' thoughts and actions (and I do a lot of questioning and eyebrow-raising when it comes to romance-heavy YA novels) and it was fascinating to see them learn, grow, and work through their thoughts and feelings. 

The writing is beautiful (there's so much life injected into these characters through the chosen points-of-view and style of writing). The cover is beautiful. This entire world Kaufman and Spooner created is beautiful. And the fact that the characters from the first book actually make a significant appearance in this one? Beautiful. I don't have any bad things to say about this trilogy and I cannot wait to read the third book!

The first and third books in the Starbound series are These Broken Stars and Their Fractured Light. You may also enjoy Avalon, For Darkness Shows the Stars, Illuminae, and Starflight.

We Are All Made of Molecules

Stewart, the 13-year old narrator of this tale, is struggling with the death of his mother (and perhaps with his father’s complete acceptance and healing from it). He is socially inept but brilliant in academic ways. He has been in a special school for gifted children where he has excelled, and has a very close relationship with his dad. After his mom died, he still feels her molecules within their home.

Stewart`s one wish was for a sister, and it has finally come true, after his mother’s death, when his father decides to move in with Caroline—a woman he works with (who was acquainted with the recently deceased mother) and has been dating. With all of the tragic changes going on, Stewart has decided that he’d like to attempt regular public school, where he is bumped ahead a grade so that he will be challenged by the material.

Ashley, Stewart`s new stepsister, is also a narrator of this tale. In a he said/she said format similar to Flipped (Wendelin Van Draanen), Ashley tells us of the many problems of her own. Her social status at school is precariously kept in balance by the secrets she holds about her parents’s divorce. (Her father is homosexual, and she isn’t sure that she’s completely okay with that) and, due to the out of whack housing market in Vancouver, BC, he’s forced to live in the lane-way house behind their home.

This is a novel of a blended family and two teens working through school, family, and personal issues. There is content in it that may be disturbing to some, but when you read a book by Susin Nielsen you have to expect controversial issues. We Are All Made of Molecules is no different, beginning the book with a mom dying of cancer, then dead from cancer, next a grieving single dad, and his grieving son. It may be for some that the book suffers from too many issues, and the suspension of disbelief becomes difficult when the dad completely gets over the death of his wife in so little time. However, Stewart and Ashley are characters that easily grab your heartstrings and within a few chapters you`ll find yourself rooting for them.

Susin Nielsen won the Governor General’s Award for the Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen (Tundra Books, 2012), and many may remember her as both a writer for and actress in the Degrassi Junior High TV series of the 80s.We Are All Made of Molecules has been longlisted for the 2016 Carnegie Medal.

Violent Ends: A Novel in Seventeen Points of View

As the jacket description reads, "it took only twenty-two minutes for Kirby Matheson to exit his car, march onto school grounds, enter the gymnasium, and open fire, killing six and injuring five others."

This book is about a school shooting, but it's about much more than that, too.  Each chapter of the book is told from a different viewpoint, written by well-known authors, including Neal Shusterman, Beth Revis, Kenare Blake and Cynthia Leitich.  The shooting, and the person who carried out the shooting, draws the stories together, but this isn't a story about recounting exactly what happened in the shooting, or re-hashing what could've, would've should've after the fact. 

Because the chapters are written by different authors, you really get a sense of the different view points. I found myself wanting to keep reading to see how each of the stories, and the characters within, were connected to Kirby and the other people in the town. 

Book of the Month: March - The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

By Leslye Walton

In this award winning novel, Ava Lavender’s family has a history of tragic love stories. Her great-grandmother, Maman; grandmother, Emilienne; and mother, Viviane’s stories are all told through this multi-generational saga of love and love lost. A bad track record of foolish love does not forecast a hopeful future for Ava, and is further complicated by that fact that she was inexplicably born with a full-size pair of non-functioning wings. Is she a monster, a bird, or something else entirely? Her twin brother Henry is mute, highly sensitive and suffers from what is likely an undiagnosed form of autism. The siblings have a challenging road ahead of them, to be sure.

Following a childhood of isolation, sixteen-year old Ava is struggling to make sense of her family’s strange history and to find her place in the world. Driven by a desire to fit in, she ventures outside, doing her best to hide the wings she was born with. Her naivety is both her charm and her curse. Some will accept her, some will not…and then there are people like Nathaniel Sorrows. An evangelical preacher new to town, Nathaniel mistakes Ava for an angel and his obsession with her grows quickly and dangerously.

This story is magical realism at its best – disappearing people, ghosts, prophecy and birds are woven together by a magical thread that never feels illogical or out of place. Darker themes such as sexual abuse, depression, murder and betrayal make this better suited to mature readers. It is stunning, strange and certainly beautiful.

Find it here! You may also enjoy: Midwinterblood; Bone Gap; The Walls Around Us

#Scandal

#Scandal

By Sarah Ockler

From the author who brought us Twenty Boy Summer and Bittersweet comes a story about what can happen when a picture goes viral, #Scandal. In this digital age a picture is worth more than a thousand words and many of those words will be negative ones. Author Sarah Ockler captures social media hazards and teens in this novel. In this day and age there are so many issues with online bullying and #Scandal brings those issues to life.
Our main character, Lucy, finds herself at the prom with her best friends man and they find themselves in a compromising position. This wouldn't be so bad because they had every intention of confessing except before they have the chance to do so a picture as evidence goes viral around the school. This one night of fun brings Lucy's whole world crumbling down. This is a cautionary tale of teen life.
There is a strong message of honesty and standing up for yourself. With confidence Lucy works hard to gain back the trust of her best friend and hold her head up high in the judging halls of her high school. Real life, romance, friendship and confidence all come together in this high school drama.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Rae Carson

Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza, the younger princess of the kingdom of Orovalle, is wed in an arranged marriage to King Alejandro de Vega, of the neighbouring country of Joya d'Arena.  Joya d'Arena is embroiled in a war with another country, Invierene, and their situation is precarious.  Elisa has been marked by God with a blue gemstone embedded in her navel since birth to do something special, although no one knows what.  Yet.  All this and Elisa is only sixteen years old.

After Elisa arrives at the palace in Joya d'Arena, she's kidnapped by a group of rebels, and dragged across the desert. Once they arrive at the rebel village, Elisa embraces their cause, and uncovers a treacherous plot against King Alejandro.  Can she save Joya d'Arena in time?

One of the things I enjoyed the most about The Girl of Fire and Thorns was that Elisa wasn't a typical YA heroine.  She's not considered particularly beautiful, and she's also quite overweight.  Fat, in Elisa's words.  She uses food as a coping mechanism until she no longer has that option and has to figure out how to deal with any problems that arise using her own wits and intelligence.  Another thing that sets this medieval-themed fantasy novel apart is that the marriage is not something Elisa looks forward to.  She's terrified, the people in Joya d'Arena look at her as an outsider, her husband is not the least bit interested in her, and most people treat her like the child she still is.  Carson presents a rather realistic view of what it must have felt like to end up in a dynastic marriage.

There are lots of Spanish-language influences in the book and the religion of Elisa doesn't feel as if it only resides in an alien planet.  The familiar feel of the language and religion reader help ease you into the novel and quickly establishes the setting.  It think it's important to say here that you shouldn't let the heavy presence of the world's religion drive you away from the book.  It's absolutely  integral to the plot and Elisa as a character.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns is a great action-packed read with a relateable heroine, who repeatedly falls down, makes mistakes, and picks herself back up, because it's the only thing she can do. 

There are two more books in the series: The Crown of Embers and The Bitter Kingdom.

Book of the Month - February - Untwine

By Edwidge Danticat

This novel grabs you right from the beginning. The story of twins who were connected right from birth, emerging into the world holding hands. They have not been separated since...until a tragedy rips them apart.

As the red van comes hurtling towards the family car, identical twin Giselle slows the action in her mind, trying to prevent the inevitable from happening.

Told through Giselle's thoughts as she recovers, we slowly learn, along with Giselle, what has happened to the rest of her family in the accident,.However, when Giselle is out of the hospital, we find out that the accident may not have been an accident after all. This builds some mystery, but the investigation does not really have much to do with the main story, and is somewhat anticlimactic when we reach the conclusion, but it does serve as a way for Giselle to reconnect with her friends, post accident.

Giselle's recovery requires her to revisit the past, so she can move into the future. Everything is different now and she uses the past to remember things from a different perspective, almost like she is replaying the incidents as an objective observer. This helps her to gain strength from her friends, her family and from within herself.  Because of her renewed vision, she can move forward in her own life.

This was a good read, a tragic tale told well that keeps you interested. Here are some other books by Edwidge Danticat that might keep you interested too! Breath, Eyes, Memory; Krik? Krak!; and The Farming of Bones.