Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz + David Hayward

Genre:Mystery, Crime
Publication.Date  April 5th 2011
Pages:302
Where to get: Barnes and Noble, Amazon,
Published By:  Putnam Adult (Penguin)
WebsiteLisa Lutz, David Hayward
Heads You Lose
My review copy:Received from the publisher (Thank you!)





     New York Times-bestselling author Lisa Lutz conspires with-or should we say against?-coauthor David Hayward to write an original and hilarious tag-team crime novel. 
 
     Meet Paul and Lacey Hansen: orphaned, pot-growing twentysomething siblings eking out a living in rural Northern California. When a headless corpse appears on their property, they can't exactly dial 911, so they move the body and wait for the police to find it. Instead, the corpse reappears, a few days riper . . . and an amateur sleuth is born. Make that two.

     When collaborators Lutz and Hayward (former romantic partners) start to disagree about how the story should unfold, the body count rises, victims and suspects alike develop surprising characteristics (meet Brandy Chester, the stripper with the Mensa IQ), and sibling rivalry reaches homicidal intensity. Think Adaptation crossed with Weeds. Will the authors solve the mystery without killing each other first?
(goodreads.com)




"Well, he's definitely dead," Paul said.
"Thanks for confirming my diagnosis," Lacey replied. "Now what?"
"I'm thinking."
"That could take forever."
"Do you know him?" Paul asked.
"He's missing a head!" Lacey shouted. "How the fuck do I know if I know him or not?"
"Good point."
He pulled off his gloves and told his sister to do the same.
"What will we do with all this plastic?" Lacey asked.
"Burn it," Paul replied.
"We can't burn plastic. Do you know how bad that is for the ozone layer?"
"Our DNA is all over the gloves, Lacey. The ozone layer can suck it."
Walter looked at him for a while. Then said, "Look, Paul, I'd say you should probably just let it go, but that's what everyone says. The part they leave out is that it doesn't mean shit if the thing you let go of isn't ready to let go of you"









     Dangerously witty and deliciously captivating, Heads You Lose is a true must-read for anyone who enjoys reading well written and witty crime novels.

     Let me start off by explaining how this book came to existence. Sometime in Spring of 2009, Lisa Lutz --the bestselling author of crime series, the Spellman Files-- decided to try something different. She thought it would be fun to collaborate on her next novel with another writer. But then it turned out that all the writers she asked were either truly busy or claiming to be busy, so she ended up working together with David Hayward,  a freelance editor and poet, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend.
They agreed to write alternating chapters - Lisa got the first one and all the odd numbered chapters, and David got the rest. They were not to outline or discuss the plot, but to go with the flow and construct the plot chapter by chapter, as it goes.
Are you intrigued yet? Well, it gets even better! Not only we get a brilliant plot filled with twists and turns, but we also get a great insight into the whole writing/creating the storyline process. In between the chapters we get the back and forth notes between the writers, containing snarky comments and mean (but hilarious!) jokes. All that often on a very personal note. There are also the footnotes in which the authors comment on each other's work. These, too, will crack you up!

     And then there's the craziness of the plot...
It's undeniably a big part of what makes it so fun to read this novel.
Imagine detective Poirot from Agata Christie's novels trying to solve a murder mystery. Got it? Now instead of the dignified, elderly detective imagine two siblings, Paul and Lacey, whose main income comes from growing pot in their basement. Yup, these are our protagonists!

     The story kicks off with Lacey discovering a beheaded corpse in their front yard while taking out the trash. Not wanting the police poking around their pot-growing haven, Lacey and Paul decide to dispose of the body on their own. They pick a good spot to drop off the headless corpse - far enough from their house not to be connected to the murder, but at the same time frequently visited by hikers, to ensure the body will eventually be found by someone.

     Imagine their shock when the corpse shows up on their property again few days later! And like that wasn't enough, having a "second look", Lacey recognizes it as her former fiance! It soon becomes clear to Paul and Lacey that there's no easy way out of this. With people dropping dead all around them and the number of suspects growing every hour, Paul and Lacey will have a hard time solving the murder case and staying alive.

*
     Phew! What a crazy ride that was! I didn't really know what to expect from this book, as I haven't read any of Lisa's previous novels and wasn't at all familiar with her writing style. Neither did I know the collaborator, David Hayward. Needless to say, I wasn't in the least prepared for what I was about to be served!

     Brilliant in so many ways, Heads You Lose is a witty, snarky, unpredictable and absolutely fascinating novel. The plot turned out to be fantastic, full of twists and turns, gripping from the very first pages. Both authors are phenomenal at building up the tension. The conclusion of the story will leave you totally dumb-founded. I didn't see it coming at all, and trust me when I say, neither will you!

     As much as I loved the plot, I think what I enjoyed the most was the insight into the writing process that Lisa and David's correspondence provided. I loved the back and forth between them. A lot. Even though, at times, it seemed a little bit overdone or perhaps staged, nevertheless they had great negative chemistry (is there even such a thing as negative chemistry? oh well, now there is!). Their comments where hilarious, I was laughing out loud many times (much to my husband's bafflement!).

     In conclusion, Heads You Lose is no doubt a prodigious and highly entertaining read. And a memorable one, too. I do hope Lisa and David will decide to collaborate again. Would love to see it turned into a series of books!

 




Thursday, May 26, 2011

Redheart by Jackie Gamber (Book One of The Leland Dragon Series) (Review)

Genre:YA Fantasy
Publication.Date  April 6th 2011
Pages:294
Where to get: Barnes and Noble, Amazon,
Published By:  Seventh Star Press
WebsiteJackie Gamber
Redheart - Goodreads
My review copy:Received from the publisher (Thank you!)





Enter the lands of Leland Province, where dragon and human societies have long dwelled side by side. Superstitions rise sharply, as a severe drought strips the land of its bounty, providing fertile ground for the darker ambitions of Fordon Blackclaw, Dragon Council Leader, who seeks to subdue humans or wipe them off the face of the land.

As the shadow of danger creeps across Leland Province, a young dragon named Kallon Redheart, who has turned his back on dragons and humans alike, comes into an unexpected friendship. Riza Diantus is a young woman whose dreams can no longer be contained by the narrow confines of her village, and when she finds herself in peril, Kallon is the only one with the power to save her. Yet to do so means he must confront his past, and embrace a future he stopped believing in.

A tale of friendship, courage, and ultimate destiny, Redheart invites readers to a wondrous journey through the Leland Dragon Series.
(goodreads.com)




"First I'm a beggar, then I'm a field mouse. I'm skinny. I'm trouble. You don't know anything about me, but you're always angry with me. You watch me as through I'm going to do something criminal-"
"You believe that taking risks in life will lead to sorrow. You believe that death is a bitter end to a bitter existence." 
"Hawk spit! I'm no spy, you pale runt!"




     Redheart is the first book in Jackie Gamber's Leland Dragon Series published by Seventh Star Press. It's an excellent YA fantasy adventure, full of magic, intrigue, excitement, love and fast-paced action. This beautiful and heart-warming story will no doubt enthrall readers of all ages!

     Kallon Redheart is a red dragon, last in the line of reds and a rightful leader of the Leland province. He's a loner, who long given up on dragons and humans alike. After witnessing his parents being murdered, he decided he's better off on his own, far away from any human villages or dragon communities. He does not wish to be bothered by anyone, he enjoys his self-imposed solitude and the sense of peaceful emptiness his secluded cave provides.

     Riza Diantus is in many ways Kallon's opposite. She's a young female on a quest to find meaning in life. She always felt that life was more than just getting married at young age and bearing children. Her mind was constantly wandering beyond the borders of the village she lived in. Her father often scolded her for not thinking like a normal girl should. He wanted her to marry, have children and lead an ordinary life. Refusing to consent to her father's wishes, aching to explore the world beyond her hometown and experience some unforgettable adventures, Riza escaped from home and set out on a journey that would change her life forever. She's brave and strong-willed, but her uncontrollable curiosity often gets her into all sorts of trouble and so she frequently needs to be rescued. Needless to say, she's in trouble when she first meets Kallon and she becomes the sole reason for our red dragon to finally leave his cave and face the world.

     Kallon and Riza develop a strange, but wonderful bond. Annoyed with Riza's noisy and nosy attitude at first, Kallon soon realizes that he's enchanted by her genuine and caring character. As the story progresses, these two get more and more attached to each other and they find their strange and unique friendship oddly comforting.

     But of course, it would all be too easy without the bad guys throwing obstacles in their way, right? And so we're introduced to Jastin Armitage, a vicious dragon hunter, who has some serious beef with the dragon kind. He, too, lost his family when he was a child. His family was mercilessly killed by a dragon, and since then Jastin is a sworn dragon hater, set on killing every last one of them. And if he gets payed for that? Well, that's even better! As bad to the bone as he might sound, Armitage is in truth a very complicated and hard to read character, who at times shows a great capacity for affection and love. He's not your typical black character, who is evil for the sake of being evil. Quite to the contrary, he's the kind of character that often makes you wonder which path would he have chosen to follow, if his parents haven't been brutally killed in front of his eyes.

     Things get even more complicated when Jastin meets Riza and seems to be smitten with her from the very first moment that he lays his eyes upon her. Being dark and evil as he is, he doesn't let his feelings show easily, but he does a great deal to help Riza every time our damsel fins herself in distress.

     Tension rises between dragons and humans, the province is on the verge of war. The Dragon Council Leader, Blackclaw, is using the situation to strengthen his leadership and fulfill his self-seeking ambitions. Riza finds herself thrown into the chaos of the human-dragon conflict. Accused of being a spy, she's held captive in the Wing Valley, the oldest of all dragon communities. Not only her freedom, but also her life is in great danger. To free her, Kallon has to get out of his comfort zone and find in himself how to be the leader he's destined to be.

*

     Redheart is a captivating and enthralling book. A lot of things were done right; the language is beautiful, the writing is solid, the pacing is great, the characters, while sometimes their actions were a little haphazard and unpredictable, are fully fleshed out with their own unique complexities. That's especially true in Jastin's case. What a brilliant character he is! He's not 100% bad, nor 100% good. Just when you think you have him all figured out, he does something so unpredictable that you find yourself gasping or pulling your hair out. I think Jastin is one of the main reasons I thoroughly enjoyed this book, he turned an already wonderful fantasy story, into a total page-turner. I just had to keep on reading to find out what will happen to him! I do hope there will be plenty of Jastin in the second installment of the Leland Dragon Series.

Jackie Gamber has a fantastic way with words. She doesn't just tell the story, she paints it with her words. The scenes, the characters, the places.. they're so vivid and real, you can almost taste the fresh lake water, feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your skin! It's like she was born to write fantasy stories!

     It truly is a great and enjoyable piece of YA fiction that promises a lot from future books in the series. Jackie built a wonderful world filled with colorful dragons, magic, interesting characters and intriguing places. Her book, even though intended for younger readers, can easily be enjoyed by adults of all ages. In my opinion Leland Dragon Series has a huge potential and if Jackie keeps up the great work I'm pretty sure that the next books in the series will be even better. I'm so looking forward to reading them!



 




Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Highway to Vengeance by Brian Springer (Review)

Genre:Action Thriller
Publication.Date  March 29th 2011
Pages:286
Where to get: Smashwords, Amazon,
Published By:  Ann Egan Publishers
WebsiteBrian Springer on Goodreads
Highway to Vengeance - Goodreads
My review copy:Received from the author (Thank you!)





          For fans of Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, and George Pelecanos: When ex-Navy SEAL Thomas Highway's wife is murdered right in front of his eyes, he sets out to find the men responsible. His investigation leads to Ferdinand Montoya, the former kingpin of a powerful Mexican drug cartel, but before he can exact justice, the Department of Homeland Security steps in and orders him to back off. Despite the threats from the Homeland Security, Highway presses on, and soon finds himself caught up in a conspiracy involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, underground cross-border tunnels, and a shady government agency intent on using Highway to execute their own agenda. From the sun-drenched beaches of San Diego to the crime-ridden streets of Tijuana, HIGHWAY TO VENGEANCE combines a hard-boiled first-person Point Of View with modern thriller elements and a dash of real-life SEAL training to create a novel that explores the darkness within us all, the lengths one man will go to avenge his lost love, and the very nature of vengeance itself.
(goodreads.com)




Listen to you, going all Dirty Harry and shit.
Now, if you talk to me, the people that you're in bed with might find out, and they might catch up with you, and they might do some terrible things to you. I understand. But let me make something very clear. If you don't give me some information that I can use, I'll kill you. Right here. Right now. And it won't be quick.




     Highway to Vengeance by Brian Springer is a fast-paced and gripping action thriller. Well written and with a solid plot, it's a perfect read for long summer evenings with a cuppa coffee!

     The protagonist of this story, Thomas Highway is an ex-Navy SEAL. He decided to join the Navy ranks after the 911 attacks, but was forced to drop out not long after finishing his training, due to a life-threatening health issue. The story starts with Thomas and his wife, Josie, having their weekly lunch at a BBQ place in San Diego. It's a beautiful, sunny day, the food was fantastic and everyone is in a great mood, especially Tom and Josie, who seem to be as in love with each other as ever. Everything is just perfect. After the meal they separate, as Josie has an important meeting at her office. She leaves first and Tom, still sitting at the restaurant's patio, is watching her cross the street. That's when everything comes tumbling down. From where he sits, Tom witnesses Josie being hit by a speeding car. She dies in his arms few minutes later. Highway is convinced that the so-called car accident wasn't an accident at all, but a deliberate murder. Devastated and desperate for vengeance, he's set on doing everything he can to find the person behind Josie's murder. With help from his best friend, Willis (who owns a Security and Investigations Company), Thomas will do whatever it takes to avenge his wife's death.

     As he goes deeper into his investigation, he realizes that the murder of his wife is actually a conspiracy on a much bigger scale than he ever expected. Before he knows it, he's caught up in a situation involving Homeland Security, Mexican drug cartels, Weapons of Mass Destruction and a suspicious government agency intent on using him as a pawn in their conspiracy game. Not knowing who to trust, Highway is going to have to make some tough choices. It will take everything he learned during his Navy SEAL training to get out of this alive.

     Highway to Vengeance is a quick and pleasant read, which I enjoyed a lot, but would have enjoyed even more if it was a bit longer. I loved how gripping the story was and I definitely had a lot of fun with all the twists and turns in the plot, but at the same time I found myself wishing that the author would give us a little bit more insight into what was going on in Highway's head. It lacked the emotional depth. Don't get me wrong, the book really is a great piece of action thriller, packed with kick-ass adventures and life-threatening situations that will keep you on the edge of your chair, but I just couldn't get emotionally involved with it, as it didn't offer much of anything else but action. Nonetheless, Highway to Vengeance is no doubt a well-written and believable action thriller, with no loose ends. I liked the BUD/S training interludes, they made the whole thing a whole lot more interesting and dynamic.

     Final verdict: It's a bad-ass story, that slams into you at full speed from the very start and takes you on a wild thrill ride. It tears along at breakneck speed, has plenty of obstacles, and the bad guys get what they deserve in the end. It might not be the most original story ever, after all vengeance is quite a popular subject in both movies and books, but it's definitely worth reading!



 



Sunday, May 22, 2011

(GPT) Pants-ing Yourself, Or: The Joys of (Not) Plotting! by Rusty Fischer


I'm very excited to welcome Rusty Fischer to Bookish today!

Rusty is a phenomenal new YA writer, author of absolutely fantastic novel, Zombies Don't Cry.  To read my review of Rusty's book, please go here: Zombies Don't Cry review.

My interview with Rusty combined with a giveaway of a printed copy of his book is coming up soon! Stay tuned!

Guys, please give a warm welcome to Rusty...



About Rusty:
Rusty Fischer is the author of Zombies Don’t Cry: A Living Dead Love Story (Medallion Press, 2011).
Visit his blog,
www.zombiesdontblog.blogspot.com, for news, reviews, cover leaks, writing and publishing advice, book excerpts and more! And look for his next book, Vamplayers, due out from Medallion next year!







Pants-ing Yourself, Or: The Joys of (Not) Plotting!
A Guest Post by
Rusty Fischer

When it comes to writing YA, are you a plotter – or a pants-er?

In other words, do you write it all down ahead of time and then follow that plot to the end of your story (a plotter)?

Or do you just sit down with a blank Word document, ala Carrie Bradshaw on Sex & the City, and wait for inspiration to strike and then write the whole thing by the seat of your pants (a pants-er)?

I like to think I’m a little bit of both.

Case in point: almost nothing that appears in the published version of my new YA supernatural romance, Zombies Don’t Cry, was there in the original plot!

Even the title was different for the very first draft. (It was originally called Have a Nice Afterlife.)

The original outline for Zombies Don’t Cry-slash-Have a Nice Afterlife called for Maddy to already be a zombie when the story started.

There was a brief Prologue that explained how she became a zombie – Ferris wheel, broken chair, electric pole, fade out – and then, boom, you go into this story where this badass zombie chick is hunting down other zombies in a graveyard.

There was still a football kicker named “Stamp” involved, but he died way in the beginning and, not to give too much away, there was no love triangle because the zombie character who would eventually come to be Dane started out as Maddy’s ZFF (Zombie Friend Forever), a chill, slacker zombie dude named Phil.

There was no Bones, no Hazel, no Dahlia, no Chloe, and the bad guy was this reanimated serial killer who… okay, okay, enough. Now, you don’t have to have read Zombies Don’t Cry to get my point: plotting is really, really important – but so is flying by the seat of your pants.

I absolutely need a plot – a beginning, a middle and an end – to complete the first draft of ANY story. I even plot my short stories because I always like there to be some “twist” at the end and, well, planning ahead makes for better twists.

Part of that plot is the central cast of characters – I like to keep this list down to around 6-8 people if humanly possible – and a central setting with various minor settings, i.e. Barracuda Bay High School, the locker room, the Fall Formal, Dane and Chloe’s trailer, etc.

Lastly, I have a bullet list of about 15-20 loosely organized “chapters” that tell me how I’m going to get from Point A (the beginning) to Point B (the end). Sometimes they’re a sentence, sometimes a paragraph, sometimes simply a phrase or mental reminder.

I might say something like, “Maddy waiting for Stamp by his graveside.” Or it might even be simpler if I’ve already dreamed up the scene in my head, “Maddy + graveside.” Or it might be ornate to remind me of various details, like, “Maddy waits at Stamp’s graveside; she has a picnic basket with ‘zombie treats’ for when he wakes up a ‘good’ zombie and weapons if he wakes up bad…”

And I list these “scenes,” one after the other, until I’ve fleshed out the story in my mind.

Once I get these variables locked in, I can start writing. The problem is, every inspiration, every “aha!” moment I have along the way makes me change course. Okay, so that’s not really a “problem” for me because instinctively if I give into a temptation to fiddle with the original plot/outline, I know – I just “know” – it’s going to be better for the story.

I’ve tried it both ways. Several times I’ve started with a very strict plot and followed it to the letter. I even get all the way to the end of the book that way. The problem is that usually after I’ve had a few great ideas that would have helped the story but didn’t follow them because I was “sticking to the plot,” I’m uninspired by the way the story develops and generally the books don’t turn out so hot.

On the other hand, I’ve sat down with a blank Word document and just gone to town and, inevitably about 20-pages in I give up because I just don’t know where the story is going.

I have no character list so I don’t know who’s who or what they look like to describe them or why she is meeting him or what his exit strategy is or her end game.

I have no “bad” guy so there is no tension, and I have no three or four fight scenes or twists and turns or betrayals so there is no conflict.

So what do I do? Write an entire book according to a plot that’s no longer fun, relevant or engaging, or get really excited about the first 20 pages and then… move onto the next 20 page no-plot, half-start?

So over time I’ve learned to plot like crazy and give into the “pants-ing” when it happens. To trust my gut when it comes to plotting AND pants-ing and really enjoy both. That way I can finish every book AND be excited about what I’ve just finished.

So, how about YOU? The secret, I think, is to find what works for you. I know many of my writer friends who hate outlining, who never do it and are far more creative than I about plotting, pants-ing and everything in between. The lack of an outline does little to hamper the twists, turns, drama, conflict and characters that inform their stories.

Likewise, I know other writers who plot down to every detail and create wonderful stories thanks to their forethought and careful planning. I can’t imagine writing a mystery, for that matter, without knowing who the killer is first, right? Then again, sometimes it’s nice to be surprised; even as the writer!

Bottom line, there is no “right” or “wrong” answer; what works for you works, and that’s the secret to plotting, pants-ing… and everything in between!


What do you guys think? Are you plotters or pants-ers?
Both Rusty and I would love to see your comments!

Rusty, thank you so much  for taking the time out of your busy schedule to join us here today! I'm so looking forward to reading your next book~!




Published May 1st 2011 by Medallion Press

Maddy Swift is just a normal girl—a high school junior surviving class with her best friend and hoping the yummy new kid, Stamp, will ask her out. When he finally does, her whole life changes.

Sneaking out to meet Stamp at a party one rainy night, Maddy is struck by lightning. After awakening, she feels lucky to be alive. Over time, however, Maddy realizes that she’s become the thing she and everyone else fear most: the living dead. With no heartbeat and no breath in her lungs, Maddy must learn how to survive as a zombie. Turns out there’s a lot more to it than shuffling around 24/7 growling, “Brains.” Needing an afterlife makeover is only the beginning of her problems. As Barracuda Bay High faces zombie Armageddon, Maddy must summon all of her strength to protect what matters most—just as soon as she figures out exactly what that is.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok (Review)

Genre:Contemporary Fiction, Semi-memoir
Publication.Date  April 29th 2010
Pages:307
Where to get: Barnes and Noble, Amazon,
Published By:  Riverhead Books (Penguin)
WebsiteJean Kwok
Girl in Translation - Goodreads
My review copy:Received from the publisher (Thank you!)





          Introducing a fresh, exciting Chinese-American voice, an inspiring debut about an immigrant girl forced to choose between two worlds and two futures.

When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life--like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family's future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition-Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles.

Through Kimberly's story, author Jean Kwok, who also emigrated from Hong Kong as a young girl, brings to the page the lives of countless immigrants who are caught between the pressure to succeed in America, their duty to their family, and their own personal desires, exposing a world that we rarely hear about. Written in an indelible voice that dramatizes the tensions of an immigrant girl growing up between two cultures, surrounded by a language and world only half understood, Girl in Translation is an unforgettable and classic novel of an American immigrant--a moving tale of hardship and triumph, heartbreak and love, and all that gets lost in translation.
(goodreads.com)




We were paid 1.5 cents per skirt. For years, I calculated whether or not something was expensive by how many skirts it cost. In those days, the subway was 100 skirts just to get to the factory and back, a package of gum cost 7 skirts, a hot dog was 50 skirts, a new toy could range from 300 to 2000 skirts.
There's a Chinese saying that the fates are winds that blow through our lives from every angle, urging us along the paths of time. Those who are strong-willed may fight the storm and possibly choose their own road, while the weak must go where they are blown. I say I have not been so much pushed by winds as pulled forward by the force of my decisions. And all the while, I have longer for that which I could not have. At the time when it seemed that everything I'd ever wanted was finally within reach, I made a decision that changed the trajectory of the rest of my life.




     Deeply moving and heart-wrenching, Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok is an intriguing and poignant semi-autobiographical story of a Chinese girl and her mother struggling to build their life from the ground up in Brooklyn, NY. 
 
     With the help from Aunt Paula, Kimberly and her mom are able to leave Hong Kong and move to New York, in hope of finding a better life there. When they arrive in America, Kimberly is only 11 years old and neither she nor her mother can speak any English. Kimberly’s mom feels greatly indebted to her older sister, who paid for her expensive tuberculosis treatment and lent them money for the plane tickets. Aunt Paula, who moved to US after marrying an American man, is now a well established sweatshop owner. To repay the debts to her relatives, Kim’s mom starts working at her sister’s factory. She soon realizes that meeting the unbearably strict deadlines won’t be possible if she works alone, and so she asks her daughter for help. Kim starts coming to the factory straight from school and the two of them work exhausting shifts till late night hours.  They return to their flat only to get few hours of sleep. Their workplace conditions are grueling and inhumane, but the apartment they go back to after work is even worse. Infested with roaches and mice, with broken windows, cracked walls and paint flaked off in most of the places, without heating and hot water, the place they’re forced to live in offers no comfort and no protection whatsoever.  Their living conditions are abominable, but until they pay off their debts there is no hope of finding a better place, and so they patiently endure the cold and the vermin.

     Kimberly attends school, but with her limited English abilities the first few months there are a constant struggle. Discouraged by both her classmates and her teacher’s initially negative and bullying attitude, Kim comes close to giving up her school carrier. For almost a week, afraid of being misunderstood and laughed at, she skips classes and hides out in the freezing-cold and damp apartment. It doesn’t take long, though, for Kimberly to realize that this is not a permanent solution to her problems. She is aware of the fact that her and her mom’s future depends directly on her succeeding at school and making a career for herself. Kim takes upon herself the responsibility of being the breadwinner (or should I say “ricewinner”) for her family and she makes herself a promise, that she will take care of her mother as best as she can.  Thanks to her determination and hard work, Kimberly earns a spot and a full scholarship at an exclusive high school. This, however, is not yet the end of the story, as she will still have some very hard decisions to make. These very important decisions will determine the course of her life.

*
     Girl in Translation is a truly phenomenal semi-memoir and coming-of-age story. I absolutely loved it. It’s written with a simple, yet beautiful language that speaks right to your heart. The phoneticization of English phrases unfamiliar to Kimberly allows you to experience the language barrier for yourself. 

     Deeply compelling and engrossing, it’s a book to savor, not one to quickly read and forget. It’s the kind of book that makes you reflect on your own life and how it compares to the life of others. It deals with so many important issues, like child labor, racial discrimination, bullying, alienation, poverty, worker abuse and many, many more. Through the passages of this book we become vividly aware of the terrible realities of life and labor of Chinese immigrants. The images that Jean Kwok paints with her words shatter the myth of the American Dream. She vividly depicts all the challenges and hardships that Kimberly and her mother are forced to face while they’re trying their best to make a place for themselves in the United States. And to think that this book was in some part based on Jean Kwok’s personal experiences just breaks my heart. Meaningful and moving, Girl in Translation is a wonderful eye-opener!



 


Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Advice Girl by L.A. Shaw (Review)

Genre:Young Adult, Paranormal
Publication.Date  March 27th 2011
Pages:173
Where to get: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Lulu
WebsiteL.A. Shaw
The Advice Girl - Goodreads
My review copy:Received from the author (Thank you!)





          Kira and Sophia have been best friends since they were five years old. They share an apartment together, and tell each other everything.

Everyone loves Sophia, and she is often called the advice girl by people who know her. Kira believes she knows her friend better than anyone. But in a mysterious accident, Sophia loses her life.

Kira is mourning the devastating loss when she finds a note addressed to her from beyond the grave. Kira realizes she doesn't know her friend as well as she thought, as she starts to uncover the truth. She falls into a deep depression, confused and lost, until a visit from a strange man puts her in the middle of a war between two secret societies.

Kira soon understands that she is in danger, and doesn't know who to trust. She has to fight for her own life now.
(goodreads.com)




"Put some clothes on woman, do you want to die naked as well?"
"Absolutely dangerous, he thought, this angel will be the death of me."
"She drew in a sharp breath of panic, the realization that she had just committed murder swept over her, and she looked at me. I knew what this look meant, and I knew my friend was about to break down."




      The Advice Girl by L.A. Shaw, is an exciting and suspenseful paranormal novel. With original plot and interesting characters, it's definitely a breath of fresh air in the YA genre.

The story revolves around two best friends, Sophia and Kira. These two were BBF's since they can remember, always doing everything together, sharing good and bad moments, supporting each other, having fun together and sharing secrets. They live together as roommates and they're basically inseparable. The bond they share is deep and strong, sibling-like. The story kicks off with Kira returning home from work to find the building surrounded with police cars and fire trucks. It turns out that the apartment she shares with Sophia was almost completely burned (at least Sophia's side, Kira's side wasn't damaged all that badly), and that the police discovered unidentifiable human remains inside. Kira, convinced that her best friend died in the fire, suffers an emotional breakdown and falls deep into depression. She blames herself for Sophia's death, as she was the one who advised her to take a day off work and rest. The funeral is held, Kira moves in with her parents and after a few weeks-long grieving period she decides to visit her apartment in hope of recovering some of her and her friend's belongings. What she discovers, though, is Sophia's backpack (untouched by the fire) and a note hidden under a loose floorboard in her friend's room. A mix of dread and relief washes over Kira, as she learns from the note, that her friend did not die in the fire, but is still very much in danger of losing her life. In her letter, Sophia explains that she was targeted by some sort of mysterious organization and so she was forced to fake her own death and flee. And like that wasn't hard enough to stomach, Kira soon learns that she herself have become a target and now her life is in danger, too.

     Both heroins find themselves thrown into the world of mysteries, supernatural powers and secret societies. This is where the real fun begins!

 *
     The Advice Girl, being less than 200 pages long, is a fast and pleasant read and I had a lot of fun getting through it. The story has a huge potential and I think it would be even more enjoyable if it was a little bit longer. The friendship between Sophia and Kira was beautiful, strong and unbreakable. It was believable, which is great. Unfortunately I can't say the same about the quickly unwinding romance between Sophia and Ethan. It was just so unnatural to think that a girl, who not so long ago almost lost her life, and found herself on the run, separated from her family and friends, would jump right into flirting, teasing and basically throwing herself at a guy she just barely met! Na-ah, this is just unthinkable. Kira was the one who did all the worrying and crying and grieving, while Sophia acted like a brainless, lust-driven creature. There was such a huge contrast between Sophia's and Kira's emotional response to the whole situation, that I was dumbfounded and baffled.

     The strongest selling point of this story is it's unique and refreshing plot. It is solid and well-thought-out, very original and gripping. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and paranormal parts of the novel, they were fantastic! L.A. Shaw definitely knows how to captivate her readers with fast-paced action and unexpected twists.

     The characters are well developed and likable (even Sophia, despite her light-heartedness, was overall a positive and lovely heroine). The narration of the story gets a little bit confusing at times, as it varies from being told from Kira's first-person perspective to third-person perspective, but thankfully it does not affect the story flow in a negative way.

     To sum it all up: Packed with action, secrets, romance, friendship and supernatural abilities, The Advice Girl has the potential of becoming the next bestseller YA series that everyone will be hyping over. I loved the story, there are, however, parts of it that need some brushing up and for that reason I'm giving it 4/5. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the Dalara series.


 




Monday, May 16, 2011

Zombies Don't Cry by Rusty Fischer (Review)

Genre:Young Adult, Paranormal, Horror
Publication.Date  May 1st 2011
Pages:371
Where to get: Barnes and Noble, Amazon,
WebsiteRusty Fischer- Zombies Don't Blog
Zombies Don't Cry - Goodreads
My review copy:Received from the author (Thank you!)





          In the sleepy small town of Barracuda Bay, Maddy Swift leads the life of a fairly typical teenager, but while attending a party one night, Maddy is struck by lightning and awakens to realize she has been reanimated and turned into a zombie. While becoming acquainted with her new "lifestyle," Maddy stumbles upon two unexpected undead chaperones, fellow students Dane and Chloe, who begin to teach her the ways of zombie life, including defending the populace from Zerkers—the bad zombies. Together, on prom night, the three teens must ultimately defend Barracuda Bay High from an all-out zombie Armageddon.
(goodreads.com)




"I can tell I'm a little stiff. Okay, but who wouldn't be after a nighttime jaunt in a tsunami? I mean, lightning strikes nearby, you get knocked on your butt, you're gonna feel a little bad, right? It isn't until I get home that I realize I'm not just stiff. I am a stiff.
"We can smell for miles, see in the dark, and hear a mosquito fart two towns away.




     Rusty Fischer is officially my new hero! The story he created is simply phenomenal. Original and so unbelievably fun to read, it's a MUST-HAVE not only for every Zombie fan out there, but for anyone who loves great YA paranormal/horror books with amazing sense of humor.  

     Maddy is a super likable character. She’s more or less an ordinary teenage girl, who doesn’t wear tons of make-up and prefers khaki pants over flashy dresses. She might not be the most popular girl in school, but she gets by just fine, having her best friend, Hazel, and her open-minded and understanding dad at her side. And then things get even better, when she literally runs into the "new, hot guy", Stamp, who just recently moved to the town. Stamp asks her to accompany him to a party at a friend's house and Maddy gladly accepts the invite. Everything seems to be going just peachy, she even manages to sneak out of the house without her dad noticing and she almost makes it to the party... Almost, because then something unexpected happens. It starts raining and Maddy can hear the thunder approaching. It's getting closer with every minute and then it hits somewhere not far away from where she stands, and Maddy collapses to the ground. After awhile she wakes up face down in the puddle of mud, all drenched in muddy water, with her makeup streaking down her face. Not only, though, her clothes and make up are ruined and she missed out on her chance to spend the evening with her prince charming, but she suddenly realizes that her heart is not beating, like, AT ALL, and she's not breathing either. As it turns out the lightning didn't strike somewhere close to Maddy. Maddy was stricken with the lightning. And now she's turned into a living dead, a zombie!

     It would be an understatement to say that her life was about to be turned up-side-down. She's an undead now and she has to learn how to survive as one. On the Internet she learns that she has to consume some brains within 48 hours from being turned, otherwise the transition to a zombie won't be completed and she will die.  Again. And so Maddy goes for a “midnight-snack run” to the local grocery store and orders 10 pounds of goat brains (because these are the only brains available). While waiting for her order to be prepared, she's joined at the store by two of her school-mates, Dane and Chloe. These two, as it later turns out, are both zombies, too, and they take Maddy to meet the Council (Zombie Elders). As a new Zombie she must vow to uphold the Zombie laws and fight the Zerkers (Zombies gone wild!). She’s told that she can continue "living" like she used to, but she can't let any human know about the existence of the "unholy" kind. Much to her desperation, she also learns that she's not allowed to date Normals, and if she breaks any of the rules, she will die. Again. Maddy might be a zombie, with her body ice-cold and her heart dead in her chest, she might not be able to cry, sweat or gain weight, but she is still capable of feeling the very same emotions she used to feel before turning into a living-dead. Zombies don't cry, but they most definitely would if they could.

*

     I loved it, loved it, loved it!!! It's not just another Zombie flick, this book is so much more than brain-eating zombies roaming around and groaning "brains... eat brainssssss..", it's a refreshing and original new take on the Zombie world, based on a solid, gripping plot, with fantastic characters and positively geeky sense of humor. I got sucked into the story from the very first page and, much to my husband's annoyance, wasn't able to put it down until I literally passed out on the couch. I picked it up first thing in the morning and finished it before even eating breakfast, that's how great it was! (I mean, come on, you gotta appreciate the fact that I chose this book over my husband's strawberry waffles, right? It never happened before!). 

     Zombies Don't Cry is nearly 400 hundred pages long, and yet there's not a single passage that would come across as boring or unnecessary. Every word accounts for something. And the humor.. you just gotta love the humor! I was constantly cracking up and shaking my head in pure amazement. Even the way the chapters are named already suggests that you're about to be taken on a crazy zombie-coaster ride (Chapter 5: Rainbows keep falling on my dead; Chapter 13: Cloudy with a chance of gray matter; Chapter 23: Any grave will do). Rusty's writing style is superb, light and extremely enjoyable. I started reading expecting a humorous and witty story, and I wasn't disappointed, but what I didn't at all expect was the ending, which actually made me cry. All of a sudden this book got so much more depth and I realized how well-thought-out the whole story was. The ending really got to me!  

     And Maddy.. Maddy is just such a great character. She goes through so much and yet she’s still strong and positive, she keeps a healthy distance to herself and she even manages to joke about all that has happened to her. She's definitely one of my favorite female characters! All the other characters, even the smallest ones, were vivid and real. Each and every single one of them was very essential to the story. 

     I’m thankful to Rusty that he didn’t do to Zombies, what Stephenie Meyer did to Vampires, i.e. he didn’t embellish them,  didn’t make them all lovely, pretty and friendly (and sparkly!).  He depicted them as they were, with gray skin and dark circles under their eyes. It worked really well, making the story more believable. These are not beasts that need to feed on human brains, but choose to SACRIFICE THEMSELVES  and limit their diet to goat brains. They just don’t really care where their brains come from, as long as they can eat some! Isn’t that just so much better? Thank you, Rusty!  

     I thoroughly enjoyed reading Zombies Don’t Cry and can’t wait for more of Rusty Fischer’s works.  It’s a breath of fresh air in the Zombie department and you definitely don’t want to miss out on it!



 


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