Young Adult Archives - Page 10 of 16

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld: Book Review

Tally lives in the future, in a world where, at the age of sixteen, everyone is made superhumanly pretty. The thinking is that by leveling the playing field, so to speak, racism, bullying, low self-esteem, and all the negative things that can be associated with personal appearance can be eliminated. But not everyone wants to be made pretty. I love, love, LOVE the idea behind this novel. A book that points out how obsessed we are with appearances, is very readable, and is aimed at a young adult audience? In a way, I wish there were more of them. This is a terribly important message. Add to that the less-obvious-but-still-there message about sustainability and the environment? Sounds like a winner to me! And it kind of was. Westerfield pulled off the "preachy" stuff without sounding preachy at all. The story was pretty action-packed and I really did keep turning pages. There was just something missing. I'm having a very hard time putting my finger on it. Partly, this truly felt like a young adult novel. I do read a fair amount of YA, so that's not typically an issue for me, but this really did feel young. I think I wanted a little more meat to the story. (I really am having a hard time with this.) I felt like there should have been more history between Tally and Shay in order for everything to happen the way it did, but then that would probably have changed everything. So I guess the storyline feels a little forced initially. I think I was partly frustrated with Tally for just not telling everything she knew. I'm a firm believer in confessing what you did wrong, getting it over with, and then generally finding out that things go a little easier for you…

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor: Book Review

Karou is a blue-haired high school art student, living a double life in Prague. By day she deals with her jerk of an ex-boyfriend and hangs out with her best friend Zuzana. By evening, or whenever duty calls, she does odd jobs for her secret family, a group that she calls the Chimera. They seem to exist only in their own little antechamber, accessed from portals all over our world, but not a part of it. They are all part beast and part human. Brimstone is her father figure. Karou doesn't know how she came to be with the Chimera and she doesn't remember any other family. Brimstone incessantly collects teeth from around the world. He trades wishes big and small for them. He often sends Karou out to collect for him. It's not an entirely easy job, so she has learned to watch her own back. And then one day, the angels come. What a crap ending! I have learned to hate cliffhangers! Argh! Seriously, if you're going to write a story for me, please make it a story, not just a fragment! The fact that I care should tell you that I really liked this otherwise. Hush, Hush left such a bad taste in my mouth that I had pretty much sworn off angel books. Seriously. But then one day I was browsing my library's digital catalog looking for my next audio book, and this gorgeous cover caught my eye. I'd heard good things about it in the book blog world. I went tearing over to GoodReads to see what my friends thought. Four- and five stars almost across the board! Okay, you guys haven't steered me wrong before, so I decided to break the angel ban and give this a try. I'm so glad I did! I…

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst: Book Review

Cassie Dasent is growing up in an Arctic research station with her dad and his team. Her grandmother has always told Cassie stories about her mom and how the family lost her to the North Wind and the Polar Bear King. When Cassie was younger, she believed these stories, but as she's grown older, she hears them as a metaphor for her mother's death. Until she meets the Polar Bear King. Cassie has a chance to save her mother. All she has to do is marry the King. Can she be that brave for a woman she doesn't even remember? I enjoyed the way that this fairy tale has such a very scientific background. I forget sometimes, but I did earn my biology degree back in the day, so to have that mixed in with a fairy tale was absolutely perfect for me. Don't get all weirded out by that. There's nothing difficult to understand (I promise), it's just that Cassie has been trained as a scientist all her life and suddenly she's in the middle of a fairy tale. I liked seeing her adapt to that and shift her world view. I also liked the way that her training made Bear's job easier. Now that I think about it, having the book set in the modern world makes me feel like magic can be around any corner. And isn't that nice to think about? I liked Cassie as a heroine because she was feisty and because she took this changing world in stride. She knew what she wanted to do and she went for it. Absolutely nothing stood in her way. I even liked Bear and how much he cared about his duties. There is one scene that really bothered my latent feminist tendencies though. I understand where he's…

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Aza was abandoned at an inn when she was an infant. Luckily, the innkeeper and his wife decide to adopt her as their own. Aza grows up to have an unbelievably beautiful singing voice, but she does not have a pleasing appearance, to put it nicely. Other Ayorthians value her for her voice, but they're appalled by her looks. They like beauty in every aspect of their lives and are downright offended by non-beautiful things and people. Aza, in a strange twist of fate, finds herself attending the King's marriage, where she becomes the Queen's lady-in-waiting. But Queen Ivi has her own plans for the country, and those plans might just spark a revolt. Can Aza help to save her beloved country? I can't quite make my mind up exactly what I think about this audio. I loved the full cast narration, and this book was perfectly suited to that. Sarah Naughton did a fantastic job as Aza, and I also really liked the voice of Prince Ijori. The Ayorthians are constantly singing. Constantly. Just everyday conversations will randomly have a sentence or two sung. For that reason, I think I did a little better with the audio than I would have with print. I find it frustrating to read songs in the middle of prose. (I'm looking at you, J. R. R. Tolkien. That's probably part of the reason I never finished reading The Lord of the Rings. You and your endless songs.) I love to watch musicals, so this should have worked a little better for me than it actually did, and I can't put my finger on why. The singers all did a great job. The lyrics weren't always perfectly metered, for lack of a better word. I could hear the singers trying to fit that extra…

Dingo by Charles de Lint: Book Review

Miguel is working in his dad's comic book/record store one afternoon when a girl he doesn't know wonders in. Lainey is beautiful, with a sense of humor, intelligence, an Australian accent, red-gold hair, and a matching dog--excuse me, dingo. The two hit it off immediately, but weird things start to happen--and it all seems to center around the dingo. I love, love, love Charles de Lint's books. I'm just starting to wish that he would get away from writing young adult books. They're probably a good introduction to this wonderful author for young fantasy fans, but I know de Lint can write stuff that is so much better. There's not really anything technically wrong with this. If I were a 14-year-old girl, I would probably adore it. But I'm not 14 anymore (thank goodness!) and I'm really missing the Charles de Lint characters I fell in love with a long time ago. If you're a fan of Charles de Lint, go ahead and read this. You might even want to buy it for any young fans of fantasy you know. But please don't start with this one if you're an adult wanting to see what Charles de Lint is all about. Start with Someplace to be Flying or The Onion Girl instead. Reviewed August 17, 2008 Find author Charles de Lint on his website, Twitter, and Facebook. Buy Dingo at Malaprop’s | Better World Books Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if…

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder: Book Review

Yelena is now in Sitia, where she meets her long-lost family and starts to learn how to control her magical powers. But life isn't really any easier for her here than it was in Ixia. Sitians believe she's a spy from the north, sent to pave the way for the Commander's takeover of their country. Others believe that her magic is too powerful and think she should be...neutralized. While she's trying to acclimate to her new surroundings, a serial killer starts preying on young women, and Yelena is next on his list. Too much. Just too much. I still love Yelena, and I was a little lost without Valek (although I still dislike his name). But this book seemed to lack focus. I know that life is rarely neat and tidy with only one thing going on, but there are so many people out to get Yelena for wildly different reasons that it just got a little ridiculous. I did enjoy seeing Yelena learn to interact with her family and her tribe again. She's so endearingly awkward and uncomfortable that you can't help but feel bad for her. It's nice to see that she's not perfect! Her relationship with her brother is not what I expected and it bothered me at first, but it's explained toward the end of the book. But Yelena is still Yelena with all that implies. I loved watching her kick some butt and readjust some nasty attitudes. The Sitians really don't know what to make of her. I liked that she has a big heart and will do pretty much anything to help someone out. It can be small, like helping beggar children, or big, like laying her life on the line for someone else. She stays true to herself no matter the external pressures…

Fire by Kristin Cashore: Book Review

Fire lives in a country known as the Dells, and she is a human monster. There's a strain of wildness in the country that leaves some of the animals and people with impossibly seductive beauty and power. Fire is so named because of her hair. She can enter minds and control people and animals. But she is constantly in danger because other monsters want to prey on her and other people either love her or hate her too much. She does have a small group of friends that are like family though, and her world, while small, is as safe as she can make it. Yet she chafes against it. When she is invited to King's City to discuss how her power could be used to prevent a civil war from erupting, she jumps at the chance to go, despite the personal danger she puts herself in. I'll get my complaints out of the way first. Leck (from Graceling) is worked into this story and he does not fit. I don't see any purpose to his character at all. I kept expecting something more from that storyline but it just fizzled out. It is entirely possible though that I've forgotten something from Graceling that would have made it apparent why he needed to be in this story. The other thing is about Fire herself. I loved her as a character. She has almost limitless power yet she's afraid of herself. She has not had an easy life by any means, yet she does try her best to help where she can. She loves those in her circle with a love so intense that it's almost scary. She is willing to lay her own life on the line for them. But about three-quarters of the way through the book, she has…

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling: Book Review

This book is the one that Hermione inherited from Dumbledore. It contains the "Tale of the Three Brothers" that was told in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It also contains notes about each story written by Dumbledore and J.K. Rowling. I'll be honest here. True, morbid, Brothers Grimm fairy tales are just not my thing. I much prefer the fully fleshed out, happily ever after Disney versions. So, this book was just okay for me. Rowling did a good job of staying true to the form of real fairy tales, I have to give her that. It just wasn't for me. They were mostly mildly entertaining. I liked that Rowling points out that the heroines of her stories are not helpless females that things just happen to while big strong men rescue them. Her heroines rescue themselves. Dumbledore's comments did add some insight. Some of Rowling's comments felt unnecessary. This book is aimed at Harry Potter fans. What true Harry Potter fan doesn't know what a Muggle or a Squib is? But then some comments could have been explained further. I would have liked to be told about an Ashwinder instead of being referred to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. That happened several times and felt like an attempt to push up sales of that book. This doesn't really have anything to do with anything, but I loved the feel of this book. It's such a nice, neat little book and the pages feel so smooth! Call me weird. I know. I don't regret reading this, but I don't feel like I gained much from it either. I did like that the proceeds from the book are being donated to a children's charity that Rowling co-founded. That's really probably justification enough for me. Reviewed December 28, 2008…

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: Book Review

Nobody Owens is being raised in a graveyard. His "parents" are two ghosts. His guardian is a man who only comes out at night and who seems to be neither dead or alive. His real family was murdered and the murderer is still looking for Nobody. As long as he stays in the graveyard, he's safe. But what growing boy isn't curious about the wider world? He has lots of adventures and near-misses, both in and out of the graveyard. Honestly, I loved this. It was a fun, imaginative book with a hugely loveable main character. Think a tiny bit of "The Boy Who Lived" mixed with a slightly bigger bit of Odd Thomas but a charm that is all his own. Nobody made this book. The other characters were all slightly screwball and they each added to the book in his or her own way. For example, there's the poet Nehemiah Trot who took revenge on a critic by refusing to publish his (Nehemiah's) poems and having them buried with him. He's still waiting on the public to exhume him to publish his lost work. He's been dead over 200 years. So, mostly this book was character-driven for me. But the stories were fun and interesting too. My biggest complaint is that I could have used a little more explanation as to why Nobody's family was killed in the first place. There is an explanation, but it felt a little weak to me. Maybe there will be a sequel? This book definitely stands alone, but there's always room for a sequel. I would definitely read it if one was published. I recommend this to anyone who thinks the synopsis sounds interesting. If it sounds like a silly premise for a book, you probably will never enjoy it. Reviewed December…

Graceling by Kristin Cashore: Book Review

I'm having a hard time summarizing this without either giving away the story or making it sound like something it's not. Katsa is a fighter with almost supernatural abilities. This is the story of how she grows into her power and herself. Not the greatest summary, but at least it doesn't sound like a book about a woman who does nothing but fight. That's what I got from the "official" summary, and that does this wonderful book no justice. I'm so glad I listened to Allison and gave this a shot! I loved Katsa. What a great name for this character! She seems to be so strong and self-reliant, but really she's kind of clueless, insecure in some things, and afraid of herself. I loved watching her grow past all that and realize that she's more than just a fighter. I loved seeing her realize that she was living her own legend. Whether it was a good story or a bad story was entirely up to her. And then there's Prince Po. Wise, funny, mostly humble, lovable, sometimes cocky, Prince Po. I adored him. My one problem? His name. I could not get past Po in Kung Fu Panda. I did finally stop seeing a fat panda in my head whenever I read his name, but that was replaced with Chow Yun-Fat. Not too bad, but I got the feeling that Po was supposed to look more Spanish, or maybe even like a gypsy. Not so much Asian. But I could not get past that name. I did have a few minor problems. Katsa's amazing fighting abilities come from her Grace. Not everyone in this world is Graced. I would have liked something, even if it was some sort of mythology, explaining why some people have an ability that makes…