Sunday, 22 November 2009

In My Mailbox (16)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

All bought this week, all because I just couldn't help it.

Dairy Queen - Catherine Gilbert Murdoch

Summary from Goodreads: When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. can't help admitting, maybe he's right. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn't so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won't even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D. J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.

What can I say about this one? It seems like D.J. Schwenk is everyone's favourite heroine. The cover's not as winning as the cow version, but it still radiates 'uplifting'.

Cycler - Lauren McLaughlin

Summary from Goodreads: As far as anyone at her high school knows, Jill McTeague is an average smart girl trying to get her dream date to ask her to the prom. What no one knows, except for Jill’s mom and dad, is that for the four days Jill is out of school each month, she is not Jill at all. She is Jack, a genuine boy—complete with all the parts.

Jack lives his four days per month in the solitude of Jill’s room. But his personality has been building since the cycling began. He is less and less content with his confinement and his cycles are becoming more frequent. Now Jill’s question about the prom isn’t who she'll go with, but who she'll be when the big night arrives.


I haven't heard that much about this one, but I love the premise. What I have heard suggests that this book is pretty bizarre. I love bizarre.

The Maze Runner - James Dashner

Summary from Amazon: When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

I've been seriously coveting this one for a few months now. It's had some awesome reviews, and up close the cover looks like something out of the videogame Ico.

Evermore - Alyson Noel

Summary from Goodreads: Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

Every time I see a blogger post about the second or third books in this series, I mentally berate myself for not having read this first instalment yet. I figure I need to read it now, so I can stop with the self-loathing already.

Friday, 20 November 2009

Review: The Dresskeeper - Mary Naylus

When Picky puts on an old dress she finds in her grandmother’s attic, she’s transported back in time to 17th century London. Suddenly she’s not Picky anymore. She’s Amelia, the dress’s first owner, who at that moment just happens to have a knife-wielding attacker trying to murder her. By the time Picky manages to get out the dress and back to her own time, she’s standing in a pool of blood.

Soon, Picky becomes obses
sed with finding out what happened to Amelia, and whether she survived. There’s only one thing for it: she’s going to have to go back in time again…

There’s something deliciously old-school about time travel stories. Maybe it’s wish-fulfilment: after all, who wouldn’t like to experience their favourite historical era first-hand? The beautiful long dresses, the horse-drawn carriages, the dashing young gentlemen with good old-fashioned manners… Sounds like a sweet deal, right? Drop a 21st century thirteen-year-old protagonist into the mix, and we’ve got a winning combination: old-school time-travel story meets new-school heroine.

Picky – yes, it’s a nickname, and she hates it too – is the kind of character that you can’t help but warm to. She’s not beautiful, she’s not popular, and she’s not a boy-magnet – but who really likes those things in a heroine, anyway? She’s gutsy, honest and sarcastic, and that’s what matters. There are definite perks to the time-travel situation – Amelia is beautiful, nobody in the 17th century thinks a size 14 is ‘hefty’, and her manservant just happens to be a complete hottie – but at the same time, there are downsides. And Picky is very vocal about the downsides.

A good time travel story is all about the world-building, and Mary Naylus does an awesome job of creating an authentic 17th century London – through the eyes of a modern day teenager, of course. There’s an impressive level of rich historical detail, and it’s clear the author has done meticulous research into what life was really like in London at that time. Picky’s verdict? It all stinks. Literally. And she’s not too keen on the lecherous old Earl she’s betrothed to, either.

As well as being really fun, The Dresskeeper is also a story about a character learning to take control of her own destiny. Bullied at school, Picky is used to taking the crap that the 'Demon Worshippers' dish out to her and the other non-supermodels in the class. It’s only when she travels back in time and meets people with real problems – think smallpox, starvation and slavery – that she realises she can make a difference in the 17th century and the 21st. Not in a holier-than-thou, personality-transplant way – she just finally knows what’s important to her, and does what she has to do.

Even if you don't normally go for books about time travel, this one is well worth making an exception for: half mystery, half time-travel story, and the snarkiest thirteen year old heroine I've ever encountered. Oh yeah, and way more fun than a history lesson. Read it. Seriously.

Out: 27 November 2009, UK
Thank you to Prospera Publishing for sending me a copy for review.

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

Waiting On Wednesday (15): Whisper - Phoebe Kitanidis

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week I'm waiting on...

Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis

Summary from Goodreads: I’d love a cup of coffee. I wish she knew how pretty she was. I wish I could drop this kid in the dryer sometimes. I just want her to be happy. I hope she didn’t find out what Ben said about her. I wish I knew how many calories were in a bite of muffin…

Joy is used to hearing Whispers. She’s used to walking down the street and instantly knowing people’s deepest, darkest desires. She uses this talent for good, to make people happy and give them what they want. But for her older sister, Jessica, the family gift is a curse, and she uses it to make people’s lives—especially Joy’s—miserable. Still, when Joy Hears Jessica whisper: I want to kill my Hearing dead, and kill me too if that’s what it takes, she knows she has to save her sister, even if it means deserting her friends, stealing a car and running away with a boy she barely knows—a boy who may have a dark secret of his own.

I know what you're thinking: this is all good. Love the premise, love the cover, love
the fact that the MC is called Joy. Really love the idea that a magical gift can be a blessing or a curse.

Also: sisterhood. In fantasy books, not many female characters seem to have sisters. I'm not sure why that is, because in real life a lot of us do. So I'm looking forward to this one. A lot.


Expect this one out in the US early 2010. And expect me to be making some noise about it.

Tuesday, 17 November 2009

Time Travel Tuesday: This Place Has No Atmosphere - Paula Danziger

Here's the thing: I was a teenager in the last century. Scary, but true. I belong to a generation that thought people might be vacationing on the moon by 2010.

Okay, so strictly speaking, I was a pre-teen when it still looked like routine moon holidays were on the cards. In the eighties, it all seemed so possible. The first space shuttle mission, the first female astronaut, the movie Space Camp... Why wouldn't we believe that they'd put a hotel on that big lump of rock someday?

This Place Has No Atmosphere was published in 1986, the same year as the release of Space Camp. I probably didn't read it until around 1990, but it always takes me back to a time when the future was about robots and flying cars instead of global warming. It's about a girl named Aurora whose parents decide to take up jobs in another town and relocate the entire family, despite the fact that our protagonist is currently enjoying popularity and romance at her old school. Basically your typical 'my parents are ruining my life' situation - except that Aurora's family are relocating to the moon.

Rereading this one, my overwhelming response has been that I'm kind of creeped out. Not by the book itself - it's as fun and easy-to-relate to as ever - but by the fact that we're a lot closer to 2057 than we were last time I read it. When I read it as a teen, the fact that Aurora's grandparents were born around the same time as I was didn't faze me. Why would it? The future was sooooo far away. (And yes, at that time, 'sooooo' was an acceptable way of expressing how very much 'so' something was. Moving on...) This time round, I was pretty much freaked out. The future is here.

On the bright side, I realise that I really have a lot to thank the awesome Paula Danziger for. This Place Has No Atmosphere is the perfect introduction to soft sci-fi, and I think it's in some way responsible for the love of the genre I have today. It's fun sci-fi, with characters you care about, and without all the space combat stuff that puts a lot of people off traditional hardcore stuff. People can live in malls; get tiny twinkling lights woven into their hair; be given detention by the school's robot monitor. Sure, Aurora's family could have just moved to Detroit, but the premise of her adjustment becomes a whole lot more palatable with the futuristic twist.

Verdict: A fun, easy and relevant read. Plus, its message is almost too cute: Aurora's journey to the moon sees her learning to appreciate the fact that she is not the centre of the universe. This one's the book equivalent of comfort-eating, and I'll always keep a copy on hand.
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