2011 YA/MG Debut Author Challenge - Finished

This challenge was hosted by The Story Siren. This was the sign up page and this the FAQ. The books eligible for the challenge were in a couple of lists here and here.

Books Read for This Challenge:

• My Soul to Take, Rachel Vincent (22-Jan-2011) *
• Unearthly, Cynthia Hand (27-Feb-2011)
• The Iron King, Julie Kagawa (14-Mar-2011) *
• Firelight, Sophie Jordan (29-Mar-2011) *
• Across the Universe, Beth Revis (18-Apr-2011)
• Paranormalcy, Kiersten White (14-May-2011) *
• Waterfall, Lisa T. Bergren (21-May-2011)
• Angelfire, Courtney Allison Moulton (05-Jun-2011)
• The Iron Witch, Karen Mahoney (28-Jul-2011)
• Divergent, Veronica Roth (21-Aug-2011)
• Vesper, Jeff Sampson (27-Aug-2011)
• Forgotten, Cat Patrick (10-Sep-2011)
• Wither, Lauren DeStefano (25-Sep-2011)
• Hunting Lila, Sarah Alderson (16-Oct-2011) *
• Forsaken, Jana Oliver (27-Oct-2011)
• Spellbound, Cara Lynn Shultz (30-Oct-2011)
• Touch of Frost, Jennifer Estep (08-Nov-2011) 
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor (13-Nov-2011) *
• The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson (20-Nov-2011)
• The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin (25-Nov-2011)
• Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys (06-Dec-2011)
• Kat, Incorrigible, Stephanie Burgis (11-Dec-2011) 
• Darker Still, Leanna Renee Hieber (19-Dec-2011)
• Legend, Marie Lu (23-Dec-2011)
• Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi (29-Dec-2011)

As I gathered from the FAQ page, I could choose to read debuts as long as they hadn't been published before in my country, so I read mainly US debuts, but also some UK debuts (the books with a * in the list above are solely UK debuts).


As for the books I wanted to read, some were sadly left behind. Maybe I'll be able to read them later on. From the UK list, the following were not read:

• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
• Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
• The Duff by Kody Keplinger

From the US list, the following were not read:

• A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford
• Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton
• The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge
• Warped by Maurissa Guibord
• Timeless by Alexandra Monir
• Entwined by Heather Dixon
• Memento Nora by Angie Smibert
• The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
• Dark Mirror by M. J. Putney
• The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get to read some of these titles, since they seemed exciting, but as I mentioned before, I might tackle them soon.

We were required to read at least 12 books, and I managed to read about twice as that (25 books), so I can say I am quite proud of what I achieved. I didn't think I would be reading this many great books throughout the year, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: Reading books' descriptions and the expectations we build on them is a b**** deceiving. Not that it made me enjoy this book any less (I read it in less than a day, devouring the pages), but rather that I got a different story from what I was expecting.

Juliette has been locked away for almost a year. She hasn't talked or seen anyone for that amount of time. She committed a crime unvoluntarily, and because of what she can do with a touch, she has always been ostracized from normal human interaction.

But then she gets a cellmate, and everything changes. The Reestablishment, a shady organization that took over when the world almost destroyed itself, is interested in her, and in what she can do. But can they really own her, make her do whatever she does not want to do?

The first thing that people mention when talking about this book is the way it was written. Some may like it, some may not. I enjoyed it. Tahereh Mafi manages to convey the way Juliette must be feeling, a bit mad and incoherent, from her imprisonment. The "stream of consciousness" style translates well what must be going on in Juliette's mind, with all that self-censoring, and lack of commas, and how she gets lost in rambling about inconsequential things. It is toned down as the novel progresses, and as Juliette regains her freedom and reconnects with mankind.

I wish Juliette was a stronger character, though. She had her moments of awesomeness, but sometimes she just came across as whiny. That's what we get for being privy to her thoughts, I guess. Her and Adam were adorable as a couple, but their hormones! They were always ogling each other and making out in the most inconvenient moments. Besides, I wasn't a big fan of how they knew each other before, and were secretly in love with each other. It still felt like insta-love.

As for other characters... Warner was an interesting villain. His way of thinking almost made sense, despite the fact he wants Juliette to do horrible things. I wonder whether he will be somewhat redeemed or fall deeper into the pit of villainess and madness. One can hope for the first, if done right, but his actions suggest more the second. James, Adam's little brother was adorable, and Kenji had some interesting remarks, filling the role of smart alec quite nicely.

The ending... well, the X-Men vibe was nice, but I hope these books don't turn out into a comic knock-off, since I had already thought that Juliette's abilities resembled Rogue's. And Castle was like a Charles Xavier of sorts. Please, lets end the similarities end there. This could have a very cool (and hopefully unique) superhero angle, especially with what happens in the last chapter.

In a nutshell, this was actually very entertaining and enjoyable. I found myself flipping through the pages as fast as I could. The story is engaging, despite its minor flaws. I am interested to read the next installment and see where this is going.

Pages: 352

Publisher: Harper Collins

Balanço dos Desafios (Challenges) 2011

Pois bem, há cerca de um ano eu andava a começar a descobrir blogues internacionais, e dada a época, encontrei uns quantos posts sobre os desafios em que as pessoas tencionavam entrar. Adorei a ideia e decidi entrar em três: o 2011 YA/MG Debut Author Challenge, o 2011 YA Historical Fiction Challenge e o 2011 Fantasy Reading Challenge. Decidi fazer um balanço da minha experiência e dos prós e contras de todos.

Diverti-me bastante com o primeiro, o 2011 YA/MG Debut Author Challenge. Consistia na leitura de pelo menos 12 livros que fossem o primeiro livro YA/MG publicado do autor, e descobri imensos novos autores e séries que sei que vou seguir para o ano - alguns foram mesmo os meus favoritos do ano.

Acabei por ler a maior parte dos livros do desafio na segunda parte do ano devido a dois factores - negligência na primeira parte do ano, e porque só quando começaram a aparecer bastantes opiniões sobre os livros é que pude ver se me interessavam ou não. No entanto cumpri o desafio, lendo o dobro dos livros requeridos.

Pude escolher títulos de vários países (EUA, RU), desde que os livros em questão não tivessem saído aqui em Portugal, e isso foi muito bom, pois pude ler livros que me despertavam curiosidade e não estavam necessariamente na lista dos debutantes nos EUA.

O suporte por parte da organização foi bastante bom, com bastante listas que pudéssemos consultar; mas fiquei desapontada com os concursos mensais. Os prémios eram bons, mas a dona do blogue organizador tem por política não divulgar os vencedores dos concursos no blogue, e isso fez-me impressão. Não que ache que as pessoas estão a ter comportamentos fraudulentos, mas não consigo compreender esta opção, quando no ano anterior esse tipo de anúncio era feito.

Não vou participar no próximo ano por duas razões. A primeira tem duas partes - porque graças ao desafio deste ano fiquei com demasiadas séries que quero seguir e porque se seguir debutantes no próximo ano prefiro fazê-lo nos meus próprios termos, sem a pressão do desafio.

A segunda razão: porque este ano as regras mudaram. Uma das exigências é que se tenha um blogue em inglês, ou que se publique as opiniões em inglês no Goodreads. Nenhuma é impeditiva de que participe, podia perfeitamente criar um blogue ou publicar no GR, mas também não achei muita piada a esta exigência. (Já estava à espera dela, pois parece que alguns bloggers franceses e brasileiros se queixaram que não conseguiam obter livros debutantes. Não sei se estavam à espera do milagre de conseguir ARCs dos editores americanos, mas já ouviram falar do Book Depository? Envia para ambos os países.)

O segundo, o 2011 YA Historical Fiction Challenge, foi o mais divertido e o mais bem sucedido. Descobri imensos bons livros e uma paixão pelo género. É por isso que vou continuar a participar no desafio em 2012.

Também cumpri e ultrapassei o nível de leituras a que me tinha proposto (nível 1 - 5 livros), triplicando esse número e atingindo o nível 3 (15 livros). Também aqui acordei mais para o desafio no segundo semestre de 2011, pelas mesmas razões que no desafio anterior.

A organização também foi bastante boa, a organizadora disponibilizou listas de livros que podiam entrar no desafio e tinha um post mensal com um concurso e para reunir os posts dos participantes. Tenho pena que esses posts não tenham sido feitos nos últimos meses, não por causa dos concursos, mas porque dava jeito poder ir cuscar os posts de outras pessoas para descobrir novos livros.

O terceiro desafio, 2011 Fantasy Reading Challenge, foi o pior. A pessoa que o organizava deitou o blogue abaixo numas reviravoltas meio estranhas e criou um novo, logo os posts originais do desafio desapareceram, e eu deixei de seguir o blogue, e por essas razões estive pouco me importando com o desafio até há três horas, quando estive a "descobrir" livros entre as minhas leituras que coubessem nas categorias que faltavam. Foi o desafio que teve menos impacte nas minhas leituras e honestamente não me importo de o ver pelas costas.

Balanço dos desafios de 2011: dois foram bem sucedidos, um não. Dos que foram completados, vou continuar com um. (Embora o mais provável é que crie pequenos desafios/objectivos para mim para o próximo ano.)

Legend, Marie Lu

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: June is the Republic's prodigy, being the only one that has scored the maximum score on the Trial. Day is a slum boy, running from the Republic for being a trouble maker. June has recently lost her brother, Metias. Day is suspected of murdering him.

With this premise, Marie Lu creates an interesting struggle between these two characters - June wants to avenge her brother and capture Day, Day wants to run to live another day and to help his family. I think the pacing is a little off, since it takes half the book to get June and Day together and to get him captured.

I found this militarized world in which the story happens quite compelling, albeit I would like to have seen it more developed and better explained. The US were divided between the Republic (roughly the West Coast states) and the Colonies, and there is a conflict between them, but how did it start? We only see the Republic's point of view in this book (and it is filled with propaganda against the Colonies), so I'm eager to see how things are like in the Colonies.

The "mystery" June had to uncover was easy to figure out, and I think the time spent on it could have been used on developing what was going on with the Trail tests and June and Metias' parents. I was very curious about what's going on behind the scenes in the Republic, and many things are only hinted at, but they show promise.

As for June and Day, great characters. June is a kick-ass, smart girl who is trying to do the right thing, but she ends up having to reevaluate her beliefs and what she has been taught. Day is a street-wise kid who was wronged by the Republic and who struggles to give them hell and help his family at the same time.

To sum it up, this is a story which I truly liked, as it shows a lot of promise and kept me wondering about many things. I loved the main characters, and was intrigued and curious about the worldbuilding. I wish some things were better developed, and I hope to see them full-blown in the sequel.

Pages: 320

Publisher: Putnam

Darker Still, Leanna Renee Hieber

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren. I'm also submitting this to the YA Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by YA Bliss.

Description

Review: I didn't expect to like this as much as I did, and I didn't expect to turn the pages voraciously to find out what was going to happen. The author has a very engaging narrative style, and the diary form in which the book is written helps the reader connect with Natalie, the main character.

I adored Natalie. She is smart, and witty, and mischievious, and despite being mute in a time where she would be considered dumb, she doesn't let it define her and writes furiously in her diary as a way to express herself. She finds herself involved in a strange case, a mixture of The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

It all starts when a painting of Lord Denbury, a British young man who was recently reported dead, arrives at New York to be sold. Natalie finds herself strangely drawn to it, and soon finds herself through the looking glass painting to meet Lord Jonathon Denbury.

I really liked the story behind the painting and how Lord Denbury ended up trapped in the painting. I found it somewhat original and familiar at the same time. This book made me think of The Vespertine, because of its US historical setting and of its somewhat open ending.

As for the other characters, I found Mrs. Northe quite interesting, Maggie annoying, Natalie's father absent and I wish we could have met Lord Denbury a bit more. His and Natalie's story is told through her diary, and it doesn't give him a chance to show his personality better.

The last few entries were quite exciting, although they didn't turn out how I expected. The ending gives us closure, but it is open enough for the author to write more about these characters. Or about other characters. I think the author has another book planned, so it could be interesting to read more about some of the secondary characters (but please, not Maggie, I hated her).

Pages: 336

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

A Most Improper Magick/Kat, Incorrigible, Stephanie Burgis

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren. I'm also submitting this to the YA Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by YA Bliss.

Description

Review: In this book, Stephanie Burgis creates a charming little story about a 12-year-old girl, Kat Stephenson, who is not your typical Regency young lady. She is the heir to her mother's magical abilities, which may be frowned upon in Regency England - it is not proper for a lady to dwell in magical dealings. But between her overbearing Stepmama, her gambler brother, and her sisters' love troubles, she may not have any other choice than to rise to the occasion.

I enjoyed a lot this story, although this is a upper-MG/lower-YA book. Kat has a mature voice and her adventures are so amusing. She was a bit stubborn, but quite smart, and she was very determined.

I really liked Kat's sisters, Angeline and Elissa, and the dynamics between them, as all the bantering and arguing and the protecting each other felt very sibling-like. It was really cute how Kat managed to get both her sisters a fiancé in the end. It was funny how Angeline paid no attention to Frederick Carlyle until his spell was lifted.

The story felt a bit like an introduction to the following books, as the main conflict was solved easily and there was a lot of worldbuilding, but I enjoyed myself reading about Kat and how much trouble so got in. The idea of a Regency England with magic sounds enticing and I'll definitely keep reading Kat's unladylike adventures.

Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren. I'm also submitting this to the YA Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by YA Bliss.

Description

Review: What should I say about this book? Sometimes it seems that throughout the WWII there was some sort of competition to find out who could come up with the nastiest ways of hurting other human beings. For the Nazi side there seems to be many books and other documents that describe the atrocities of war, but that doesn't happen for the Soviet side. So, Between Shades of Gray was new to me, in the way that I had never read anything about the labor camps in Siberia.

Lina is a fifteen year-old Lithuanian girl that is taken away from her house and her country with her mother and brother. After a perilous journey by train, she is imprisioned in a labor camp, where she has to deal with hunger and cold, with worries for her family and the boy she cares for.

Reading about Lina's story, albeit fictional, was haunting and touching. To know that so many people went through this was so sad. I often wondered "what's the point of this?"; why send so many people to God-knows-where to do God-knows-what, in complete and utter isolation and just let them die? It seems such a waste.

The ending was left quite open, but the epilogue gives us some clues to Lina's life after the camps, and to when she was released. I loved this book and would completely recommend it.

Pages: 352

Publisher: Puffin Books

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: I did not see this one coming. This book has a rather unique plot, making you second-guessing what you've just read and complicating further Mara's story. It's rare to read a mystery/thriller in the YA genre, but I enjoyed every bit of it.

Mara Dyer is starting school anew. She has moved due a personal tragedy - her best friend, her boyfriend and his sister died, leaving her with no memory of what happened, except for these hallucinations, these visions that haunt her. She doesn't know how to get back to normal.

It was refreshing to read Mara's story. She's an unreliable narrator (one not very common in YA), due to her hallucinations, and she had me second-guessing everything she said that she saw and did, and even when I found out what was really going on with her, I was very skeptical at that particular revelation. The plot kept me suspicious until the very end, and I was a bit uneasy about how the thing with Mara turned out.

Noah, the male MC, starts out as the typical player, the hot and British guy - he's the kind of character that would annoy me for being such a cliché, but he and Mara had some chemistry and I was chuckling at every remark that they both threw at each other, usually sarcastic or with some sort of innuendo.

They come off a bit too intense, though. I wasn't sure if it was Mara's "craziness" or just teenage behaviour, but still, their relationship was a bit odd. And unique, as well - I was curious at how they were connected and what that means for them, as it could go either very right or very wrong.

I adored Mara's family, they were so supportive of her, especially her brothers, Daniel and Joseph. Jamie, the guy she befriends, was interesing and funny, although a bit cliché. I just lacked any strong female characters besides Mara. Her dead friends don't count, and the she-slut that tried to screw with Mara doesn't either.

As for the final chapters and the ending, I was shocked. At how Mara behaved, at what she was willing to do and at what she may have (or may have not) done. And also at what she was going to do before the big cliffhanger. Seriously, what is going on with these books? Cliffhangers are so exciting but also make me pine so much for the next book. I tell you, it is not a pretty sight to behold, leaving me hanging like that. September 2012 is so far away...

Pages: 464

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: Elisa is the chosen one. At her naming ceremony, she was marked by God with the Godstone, a stone that indicates those who are destined to accomplish great things. Yet Elisa is the younger daughter of two. The unpretty one. The fat one. The shy one. How she is to be some sort of hero, she doesn't know. On her 16th birthday, she marries a king, and she is to travel to his kingdom. And then, before she knows it, she is on the path to greatness. Or death.

Elisa is such an interesting character to follow. She starts as a quite pathetic girl, really, with self-image issues and a knack for stuffing herself with food. But then something happens to her that forces her out of her little world, and she grows up, and she shows her true strengths. She may not be a warrior, but she has a great mind. She may not be a diplomat, but she ends up being a great leader.

The world Rae Carson creats is also quite interesting. Everything is placed around a desert, and the desert dominates many people's lives, and the story also. I liked that everything seemed to be named in Spanish, giving a Latin feel to the setting.

Yet, I missed a map. This is Epic Fantasy, so a map is almost mandatory. It was hard to figure out where Elisa was heading to most of the time. The story is engrossing, especially in the second half of the book, but I also felt like something was missing. I can't explain what, exactly, but I felt the story could be... so much more.

I enjoyed how Elisa struggled with what was God's will, and what she should do to accomplish it. So many people in the book had a different idea of that will, and they all thought they were doing God's work. This isn't a preachy book, and it doesn't explicitly make reference to any particular religion (since this is Epic Fantasy, it shouldn't - I think Rae may have grabbed bits from here and there), but it was instructive on how people deal with religion in their lives, and what may come of it.

Pages: 432

Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: This book kind of hijacked my weekend, and I loved every minute of it! Laini Taylor had me enraptured with her writing and I suddenly developed an urge to read anything she's written (which isn't much, as of now). Besides, the story was great and I kept turning the pages, eager to find out what was going to happen next.

Karou is a girl with two lives. One where she is an art student in Prague, with a best friend and boy trouble. Another where she was created by a strange being, Brimstone, a chimaera - a being created of many animal parts. Karou doesn't know who she is, who were her parents, or why she sometimes fells so incomplete. She is, however, an errand girl for Brimstone, buying teeth all over the world for him. For what, she doesn't know. But then Brimstone's portals are marked all over the world, and soon Karou finds herself alone, trying to figure out the mystery of herself.

This book starts in a way, and one would never guess, in a million years, how it ended. It was such a wonderful and unexpected ride to follow Karou and to understand who she was, and what exactly had happened in the past. She and Akiva (the male MC) have many more things in common that I would have thought at first and I was heartbroken at their story.

Karou is an interesting character, but one I'd like to further meet, as she had to, say, divide the stage with someone on this book. Akiva, however, ends up much more fleshed out as a character, and we get to see what makes him who he is and why he made some choices.

The story was so captivating that I devoured the book in a day. Laini Taylor wrote in a way that you can't help but wonder what's really going on, and her writing is wonderful. The world created is amazing, and the way she spun some overused mythology (angelic and demonic), creating some mythology of her own, is just plain awesome.

The supporting characters are so captivating as well. Zuzana, for instance, is Karou's best friend and, albeit small, is quite the bulldozer, personality-wise. And she is so, so, funny. I loved her reaction when first meeting Akiva. And her remarks throughout her conversation with him, where Karou had to play translator between them.

Brimstone is another character I grew fond of. He was a bit of a mystery to me in the first three quarters of the book, but as I read the last quarter, and realized what he did for a living, and what he did for Karou, I just adored him. I hope I get to see more of him.

The ending was distressful and sad for me. Laini Taylor, you tell me this tragic, tragic story, and then you leave me hanging like that? I've finished reading this book at 3 A.M. this morning, and I'm already missing it. Oh dear, I'm really curious as to where this will go next, but I have to wait a whole YEAR? Besides that tiny detail, I would really, really recommend this. It's like a bright comet crossing the dark night sky - it doesn't show up very often, but it's gorgeous and different.

Pages: 432

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton UK

Touch of Frost, Jennifer Estep

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: This was a welcome surprise. I knew this book had mythology in it, but I didn't expect it to use mythology so well. For a mythology geek like me, it was a welcome read. Jennifer Estep creates a world where mythological (and not-so-mythologica) warriors like Vikings, Spartans, Valkyries and Amazons exist to fight the rise of the Second Chaos War, a war that would involve those warriors as well as gods from pantheons like the Greek and the Norse.

Gwen Frost is a Gypsy, a girl with the gift of psychometry. She ends up at Mythos Academy, a school for these mythological warriors. But Gwen is no warrior, and she doesn't fit at Mythos. She doesn't even believe in all this gods and warriors nonsense. Then the most popular girl in the school shows up dead, and as Gwen starts to investigate the murder, she discovers that she may belong in Mythos after all...

I really enjoyed Gwen as a character, she is dealing with her mother's death while feeling guilty for it - yet she keeps going on. She has a snarky attitude and a good heart. I also enjoyed meeting Daphne, she seemed like just one of the mean girls, but she turned out to be so much more. The love interest, Logan Quinn, is a bit too much on the dark and mysterious side, but he has some chemistry with Gwen and I am curious about him.

The plot was never dull and always speeding forward, with the main mystery being easier to guess than what it took Gwen to figure it out. There were a couple of times that Gwen seemed to almost grasp what was going on, only to be interrupted and delay the big reveal. The world building, as I mentioned, is pretty cool, with all the mythology, although one may have some Harry Potter dèjá vu's with the whole "school for gifted people" concept.

Pages: 384

Publisher: Kensington Publishing

Spellbound, Cara Lynn Shultz

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: This book had many clichés that might have made me dislike it - girl with a tragic past, an elite private school, a super-ultra-extra gorgeous guy, almost instant attraction, mean girls, gossip, ... But yet, Cara Lynn Shultz uses said clichés well and created a fascinating story, that I ended up enjoying so much.

Emma, as the protagonist, was quite believable. There's a balance between the tragic side of her, having been through so much, and the teenage side of her, where she frets over a boy, and is vulnerable and insecure. But she also packs some strength of character, as seen in the scene where she defends her cousin Ashley and in a scene towards the book's end.

Brendan was also a surprise. He fits the "tall dark and handsome" bill, but as we see him through Emma's eyes, he actually gains some substance, and it becomes lovely to see them interact. Both Emma and Brendan are so obviously teenagers when we see them falling for each other, and yet they have to deal with something else, something much more serious.

That is the book's mystery, and I'm afraid I can't write much about it, as I would spoil it entirely. I was somewhat spoiled by reading the stupid blurb in the book's back cover. The book's description is safe to read, though.

Back to the mystery and the supernatural part of the story, I liked that it was a bit "outside the box". It made for a fresh take on paranormal romance. I loved to read Lord Archer and Gloriana's story, and how their story was so important for Emma and Brendan's story. Not all things are answered right away, but as there is a sequel planned I didn't mind.

I also loved to read the short story at the end of the book, in Angelique's POV, as it gave me an insight into her thoughts - she is a very interesting character, so it was nice to read her snark. Also, we got a peek into another story in Hadrian's Medieval Legends, a book mentioned in Spellbound, and that was crucial to its story, so it was nice to see such book featured.

Pages: 352

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Forsaken, Jana Oliver

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: Welcome to Atlanta. It's 2018 and the city is bankrupt. To make matters worse, demons roam the streets, and it's up to the city's Demon Trappers to catch them. Riley is the first girl to become an Apprentice Trapper, so she wants to make her father, a Master Trapper, proud. But soon everything goes wrong, and Riley is soon

My mind set while reading this book was something like "OMG this is so cool! This is awesome! *squee*" Yes, I loved it. This book blends just the right amount of urban fantasy and slight apocalyptic tones. Besides, the YA part of it is not annoyingly angsty and isn't full of YA clichés, which is a good thing in my book. Also, the setting, with a city bankrupt that is falling apart, makes for the perfect and believable playground for demons escaped from Hell.

Riley Blackthorne is a great character. She knows how to trap a demon and kick ass, but she is also feminine and vulnerable. She got through so much, and yet she keeps going. Denver Beck is another great character. He's one of those characters you can't help being mad at the author for putting them through so much crap. But that's what makes him so interesting. Well, that and his "no bullshit" attitude. And the fact that he and Riley bicker so much, and misunderstand each other ocasionally, and then they bond over trapping and her father. The chapters kind of alternate between them, so we get to be in both of their heads. The sentences introduced in the chapters that convey their unspoken thoughts toward each other are pure gold.

Simon is adorable, quite interesting and a great love interest for Riley, but I don't see it lasting. Characters named Simon always end up being the third wheel. Or jerks. And who this guy named Ori? If he is supposed to be yet another love interest for Riley, he certainly didn't show up much, just for the last fourth of the novel. Besides, he gave me this "tall, dark, handsome and stakerish" feeling. I'm wondering if he may be something else entirely. Besides, between all these guys and Riley's best friend, Peter, what are you trying to do, Ms. Oliver? A love pentagon? I might faint of all that craziness. And yet, this didn't bother me as it should - I guess all the romantic stuff is just gleamed and hinted at.

The Trapper crowd is quite interesting, and they actually reminded me somewhat of the Hunters in the TV show Supernatural. Many of them have some personal tragedy, and they are a group of people fighting evil underhanded and overwhelmed. Harper stood out for me, thanks to his not-so-lovely attitude. I wonder what his personal tragedy is.

The story's pacing didn't leave me much time to breathe, actually. The author raises many questions and creates a very interesting world. I'm quite eager to learn more about what going on with the demons, and what's this big game Riley's apparently involved in. The ending... oh dear, all hell breaks loose. Again, I'm looking forward to see (read) where this is headed.

I'm already pining, itching and extremely impatient to read Forbidden, book #2, but then again people in Goodreads are talking about a big cliffhanger at the end of that one, so I'm not sure I should read it yet, since book #3 only comes out in February. What's a book lover's gonna do? Decisions, decisions...

Pages: 448

Publisher: Macmillan

Hunting Lila, Sarah Alderson

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: I loved this book, but I'm not sure I can sure explain why. I'll try, though. Lila lives in London with her father, to where they retreated when a family tragedy occurred. They left behind her brother Jack, who stayed in the US living with his best friend Alex. Now the thing is, Lila has been in love with Alex for what it seems like forever.

Meanwhile, she discovered some latent superpower of telekinesis, and when she fears she has no control over it, she runs to California, where her brother and Alex are Marines in a special Unit doing all kinds of top secret stuff. Only, it turns out Lila has more to do with this Unit than expected, and guns, shootings, fast cars, and being on the run from the Unit and from a group of psychic dangerous people ensue.

And that's why enjoyed this book. I mean, between psychics, and Marines, and being on the run, and shootings, and all the drama in between, this book felt utterly exciting, with a cinematic feel about it. The first half is a bit slower, setting the stage to the second half, just full of action, where you feel you can't quite keep up with Lila. The paranormal aspect is quite refreshing, and seeing it mixed with a military tone even more so.

About Alex and Lila... I think I felt bad for Lila, yet amused with her as well. She carried this impossible crush for so long, she daydreams constantly of Alex, she almost can't control herself when he is near... unrequited love can have a bit of an obssessive, pathetic quality to it, and yet the author manages it well, showing us how lost Lila is in that love without losing her personality.

Besides, the both of them are quite cute together, and how things develop between them is just awesome. Though all the book's action catches up with them just when things are getting interesting, so I'm definitely curious to see what happens in the next book.

The secondary characters are very promising in general, but I'd really like to further meet the group of psychics, Demos and Suki especially. As for the ending... sort-of-cliffhanger alert! To avoid spoiling it, I'll just say that August 2012 (when the sequel, Losing Lila, will be published) seems very far right now. I may have to check the other Sarah Alderson book expecting publication, Fated, in January 2012.

On a side note, can I just say how droolworthy this cover is? I really like the use of color, the red shoes and the blue dress (I think Lila wears a dress like that in the book), and the font just suggests me all the action in the book. Besides, the image represents very well a certain scene in the book, and also the book's feel throughout the second half. So, perfect cover.

Pages: 320

Publisher: Simon Pulse (Simon and Schuster UK imprint)

Wither, Lauren DeStefano

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: This one got a lot of mixed feelings from me. The best way to explain it for me is to compare it to a beautiful crystal sculpture: it's lovely, and brilliant, but as you start to poke it and pick it apart, you end up finding flaws, or even shattering it.

Rhine is a girl that was kidnapped to become a wife of a wealthy man, in a world where girls live up to 20 years old and guys to 25. But she longs for her freedom, and she is keen in running away, back to her childhood home and her twin brother, to live whatever years she has left.

I liked how Rhine never lost focus of what she wanted along the way, despite having a priviledged life now, and I became a fan of Linden, her husband, because he was sort of alone and really blind to what was actually going on. I also enjoyed to meet the other wives, Jenna and Cecily, as their personalities were so well defined for me.

But I didn't enjoy how it passed so many time and Rhine seemed to do nothing to run away, as she said she wanted. I didn't like that there was so much foreshadowing on Vaughn being a bad person, and we don't directly see him do anything evil... there's just rumors and whispers.

I also didn't like that Rhine became first wife (the "favorite" wife to a husband, the one that gets to go out the house with him and such) so easily, and without developing a real relationship with her husband, Linden, which was so ridiculous. I don't mean this in a way that she should have "sold" herself, but it would have been so interesting to see her actually care for Linden, and have sex with him.

It just would have made for great character development. The way it happened, it just seems the author shied away of sex, as many YA authors do - but in a world where people die when they reach adulthood, teens would absolutely have sex. And to expect us to believe that Linden was married to her about a year, and nothing happened between them... I think that even with Linden being essentially a good guy, he would have forced himself on her.

And this a was lot of the book for me, second-guessing the author and imagining how the story should have been written, or how this world should have been built, in order to make it a more enjoyable read, a more satisfying story. And don't even get me started on the world building, as I would never shut up about it.

But I also enjoyed the book, in the sense it has a bittersweet and melancholic streak to it that really appealed to me. It felt like A Forest of Hands and Teeth in that way. Wow, the way mankind really screwed up things and now all that is left is despair... And this was a compelling read, as I read it through a couple of afternoons.

I should praise the person responsible for the graphic part of the book. The cover is gorgeous, and the motifs with all those circles and lines in the cover are very well used throughout the book.

If you're still reading this after all the complaining, I would say that I wouldn't recommend this book if you are a plot and world building kind of person. However, if you don't mind these, and are more of a character-driven reader, you might find this book quite enjoyable. I, myself, am still a bit on the fence about it, but I have hope that the second installment, Fever, is more tight story-wise, while keeping the characters interesting.

Pages: 368

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Forgotten, Cat Patrick

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: At 4:33 AM every morning, London forgets the day that has passed and remembers what is to come. Every day at night, before sleep, she has to make notes to herself about what is important to remember about that day, and what she should know about the following day.

London's condition is so crazy. I can't imagine what it must be to forget everything that happened that day. And to read tons of notes everyday! But somehow, she manages. I got curious as to how memory is linked to our emotions and knowledge. How does London still care for the people she cares even if she doesn't remember them at the beggining of the day?

Also, because she forgets what she learned and what homework she did, I wonder how she keeps a pretense of normalcy at school. I figured the key might be repetition, because she overviews her homework and school subjects before school, and that might be enough to learn it? I don't know, the author should have made both matters more clear.

But I liked to read about how London met Luke and how she struggled with not remembering him and taking notes about what had happened. I also liked how their relationship developed, a normal teen boyfriend and girlfriend. That the paranormal aspect was so low profile in the story made their growing attachment more natural and cute.

Her friend Jamie drove me nuts. Why must the best friend always be a slut? She could have gotten into so much trouble, and she didn't care. Worse, when London tried to warn her about what could happen, she just wouldn't listen. I understand her need not to know what future has in store for her, but she could avoid doing certain very stupid things.

The mystery within the story is developed a bit late, although clues are presented quite soon. But it comes to a quite satisfying end, albeit it all turned out to be very unrealistic. But I liked how it was linked to London's memory problem.

A satisfying read, with a very cute teen romance, a very interesting premise, although the ending could be better, and the mystery could have also been better developed.

Pages: 316

Publisher: Little, Brown

Vesper, Jeff Sampson

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: This book wastes no time in starting its story, with the main character, Emily, finding herself doing strange things, very unlike herself. Dressing her stepsister's clothes, sneaking out of the house to go to parties, doing crazy stunts. It's like she has a whole new personality that comes around at nighttime. The thing is, Emily is a geek, self-conscious and with a low self-esteem. She would never do that kind of thing.

Vesper felt quite realistic to me, as Emily is a very relatable character, because of her self-esteem and because of her self-proclaimed geekdom (she had me at mentioning her TBR pile). I was also surprised at this book, because in a genre full of repeated tropes, it felt fresh; and another interesting thing is how the book deals with becoming someone else - faster, bolder, more extroverted, outspoken. It's everyone's fantasy, to wish to become other person.

One downside of the book is that it slows down in the middle and drags on too much the situation of Emily trying to find out what's going on. Her friend Megan also got me really mad with her singlemindedness about popular people and Emily starting to resemble them. But she grew a bit on me when I saw how she forgave Emily for her craziness without having any explanations.

The final chapters pick up the pace again and it was very exciting to realize what was going on with Emily and with the underlying mystery. I'll just say that the notion of a teen pack wandering around in a quiet neighborhood sounds promising.

The transcripts in-between every few chapters are quite interesting. And the last transcript and the last page of the last chapter made me more eager to read the next installment, as they did drop a few bombs on my lap. I'm very curious to read how it turns out.

Pages: 304

Publisher: Balzer+Bray (HarperCollins imprint)

Divergent, Veronica Roth

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.

Description

Review: How do you know when you're loving a book? Well, you stay up late, into the wee hours, reading it because you just need to know what happens next. Then, when there's only about 100 pages left, you stall, because you are enjoying it too much and don't want it to end. And when it finally ends, you still obsess over the book over a few days. And for me, that's what happened with this book.

Divergent is a book about a society that divided themselves into factions that embody qualities. The factions' creators believed that that those qualities would be the solution to avoid conflict. And so they divided into Abnegation, the selfless; Amity, the peaceful; Candor, the truthful; Erudite, the intellectual; and Dauntless, the bold. The irony is, as we see during the book, the division into factions only causes more conflict.

Beatrice was born in Abnegation, but as she nears the ceremony when she has to choose the faction she's joining for life, she feels she's not selfless at all, and she joins the Dauntless. I loved to read about the Dauntless initiation process, because it's so crazy dangerous. People have compared this book with The Hunger Games, and I think that the initiation is one of the reasons why, because you get the same sense of danger and that someone's going to die any minute.

I really liked Beatrice (Tris). At first she struggles with being in a faction that she feels she doesn't belong in, and then the initiation process is hard for her as well. At least in the beginning, because as time passes she proves herself over and over again. And she shows that she still has something of Abnegation as well. Tris suggests us with her actions that maybe people aren't made to be divided in factions.

I also liked how Veronica Roth wasn't afraid of putting Tris into situations that would require her to do some very wrong things. YA authors tend to shy away from going that path, even when characters are put into dire situations.

The secondary characters are quite interesting. Tris makes a few friends among the other initiates, but also makes enemies. But even among friends things aren't perfect, and I appreciated that reminder. Tris' mother was a character I loved to read about in the few times I met her. I guessed that thing about her early on, at some time I was practically screaming at Tris because she hadn't guessed yet. It was the one thing that annoyed me in this book, a couple of times Tris takes too long to guess something for plot's evolution purposes.

On another instance, I really enjoyed that Tris wasn't inserted into a silly love triangle, and bonus, there is no instaromance as well! You can actually see things evolving slowly between them, and guess way before them where it's headed. Four lets Tris be strong and brave for herself, and I thought it was incredibly cute how protective she was of him. Also, it was easy to guess his true identity, but it was fun to let Tris guess in her own time.

The final chapters... oh dear, all hell breakes loose. I'll just say it was crazy good, and crazy dangerous, and other crazy things too. And that I'm crazy impatient that April/May 2012 comes and I'll be able to read Insurgent, book 2 in this series. I wish I could say more about the book, and the things it made me think about, but this is becoming too long and words fail me right now. I'll just say I loved it and that I recommend it.

Pages: 496

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)