Review: The Dead Tossed Waves - Carrie Ryan

Gabry lives after the Return. In the town of Vista, she and her friends grow up behind a barrier. A barrier that keeps them in, and the bloodthirsty Mudo out. Except, that is, for the ones who wash up on the shore and are swiftly dispatched by her mother Mary.

But when Gabry lets herself be talked into sneaking out of the town one night, past the barrier, the life she's always known is shattered forever. The Mudo come, and Gabry sees how fragile her existence really is. Her friendships. Her life. The future she thought she'd have, with the boy she's always loved. In an instant, everything changes.

Suddenly, Gabry's place isn't in Vista anymore. Her place is out there, on the forest paths her mother once travelled, with the Mudo pressing in against the fences. And though she doesn't know what awaits her, Gabry knows it's a journey she has to take. No matter what the dangers.

One of my absolute favourite novels of 2009 was Carrie Ryan’s The Forest of Hands and Teeth, making The Dead-Tossed Waves one of my most anticipated titles of 2010. Ryan has opted for a change of protagonist in this instalment, which is a companion novel rather than a direct sequel. Although we do catch up with original MC Mary, this book is set some years in the future and told through the eyes of her daughter Gabry, who has grown up in a quite different environment and has a very different outlook on the world. In the first book we saw very little of life beyond Mary’s village, and we never really learnt much about how the events of the initial zombie outbreak. This time around, there’s a definite sense of a wider society of survivors, and through Gabry – whose village know the undead as Mudo rather than Unconsecrated – we get a little more background about what has brought humanity to this point. There’s also the occasional reminder that this fragile, dangerous world used to be ours - satellites orbiting uselessly in the sky, an abandoned amusement park. It’s eerie stuff.

Among Ryan’s greatest achievements in The Forest of Hands and Teeth was the way she put the reader on edge – and kept them there. Like protagonist Mary, we knew that even in the quietest moment, the Unconsecrated could make an appearance at any time... and then all hell would break loose. If anything, Ryan has stepped this up a gear in The Dead-Tossed Waves. Now we have Breakers, the superfast breed of Mudo that (for reasons I won’t spoil for you) are practically guaranteed to turn up just when the characters are at their most relaxed. Which, bearing in mind they’re living in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, really isn’t that relaxed at all. For the reader, this is great news. What we get is an action-packed, exhilarating journey – complete with plenty of macabre sightseeing along the way – as Gabry leaves the relative security of her village and ventures into the terrifying world outside. That feeling of never being safe reaches out of each page and fills us with a sense of foreboding that’s strangely addictive.

As in The Forest of Hands and Teeth, this companion novel also offers us a romantic dilemma. Gabry is torn between Catcher, a boy she’s grown up with (and the brother of her best friend), and the mysterious Elias, who she encounters on her first trip out of Vista alone. In The Dead-Tossed Waves Ryan illustrates that she really is darn good at creating the kind of love triangle you just can’t make up your mind about. My preference switched from Catcher to Elias and back again numerous times throughout the story, as Gabry’s journey throws everything she thought she knew about life and love into question.

The Dead-Tossed Waves is a triumphant return to the dark and compelling world that Carrie Ryan introduced us to in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like all good sequels, it raises the stakes and it answers some of those intriguing questions that piqued our interest the first time around. Tense and intense, it’s the kind of story that will get under your skin. A must for zombie fans.

Out: now, UK and US

Review: The Skin I'm In - Sharon G. Flake

Ever since a school trip to Washington D.C., Maleeka Madison has been alone. Her boyfriend ditched her when the other kids began to mock her dark black skin, and now she thinks she's a freak. She's different, and nobody will let her forget it. So she tries to fit in. Borrows clothes in exchange for homework. Lets Char treat her like dirt so she has someone to hang out with. Doesn't let on how smart she really is.

Then Miss Saunders arrives at Maleeka's school. She's different too, but she doesn't let anyone tell her who to be. And she doesn't think Maleeka should either.

The Skin I'm In is a book with emotional impact. It's a small volume - the edition I read clocked in at 188 pages - but it packs a surprisingly hard punch. Told through the eyes of Maleeka Madison, it's the story of a teen girl who is suffering at the hands of her classmates. Rejected, taunted and treated with contempt, Maleeka is hassled about everything - but most painfully, the dark black shade of her skin.

Reading The Skin I'm In, I was instantly struck by the presence of the novel's main character. Within a few pages, I felt that I was truly experiencing events as Maleeka did. I became her. For such a short book, this is no mean feat on the part of Sharon G. Flake. From the first page Maleeka's voice is raw and honest and you know that as a narrator she is telling it exactly like it is. Not that she can be that upfront with her classmates: knowing that she's a freak in their eyes, she feels forced to let herself be put down and used by bully Charlese in exchange for a small amount of protection. Although Maleeka tries to be strong and to stand up for herself against her peers, her words betray the hurt and isolation that she's feeling. And for the reader, that close connection means that they don't just read about these emotions, they feel them too.

I'm sometimes dubious about novels that try to tackle the complex and painful subject of bullying. I don't think teens want to read a book that pretends to have all the answers, and neither do I. Thankfully, The Skin I'm In doesn't patronise the reader. The message of this book is not only about making sure that others' treatment of you doesn't make you hate yourself, but also that it doesn't stop you from being who you want to be. In contrast to Maleeka we also meet John-John McIntyre, the smallest seventh grader who also happens to have skin as black as hers but hassles her relentlessly about how dark she is. Ultimately, his treatment of Maleeka doesn't define her - but her treatment of him does. Although I did feel that more attention could have been given to the way the external conflict was resolved, Maleeka's inner journey is portrayed convincingly and with real depth of emotion.

The Skin I'm In also raises the theme of internalized racism. Although at least some of the classmates behind Maleeka's suffering are black or biracial themselves, there's a definite sense that she's treated as a freak because she is the darkest. While I hated characters like Charlese and John-John when they were treating Maleeka so badly, it was easy to see that they don't feel that comfortable in their own skin either. And though there's a happy ending on the horizon for Maleeka, we're left feeling that the one character whose future won't be so bright is the one who can't find self-acceptance - or the acceptance of others that goes with it.

The Skin I'm In is an insightful, powerful and hopeful novel. It's difficult to read at times, simply because it's painful to share the kinds of emotion that Maleeka feels at the hands of her tormentors. However, the journey is worthwhile and truly moving. I'd urge all readers to pick this one up.

Time Travel Tuesday: Luisa Plaja on Freaky Friday

Today, I'm handing over my Time Travel Tuesday spot to guest reviewer and utterly fabulous YA author, Luisa Plaja.

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“You are not going to believe me, nobody in their right minds could possibly believe me, but it's true, really it is! When I woke up this morning, I found I'd turned into my mother.”

This is the opening of Freaky Friday, the novel by Mary Rodgers. Published in 1972, this story of a thirteen-year-old New York girl who finds herself in her mother’s body for the day has been adapted into three movies (in 1976, 1995 and 2003) and has generated numerous spin-offs. It has also been a big influence on my writing, as it was a book I adored and read hundreds of times in my childhood. In fact, the first thing I did as soon as I got the go-ahead to write a body swap book of my own, Swapped by a Kiss, was to buy myself a copy of Freaky Friday (a 1976 version with Jodie Foster on the cover, to be specific) and settle down to read it again. And, since it’s Time Travel Tuesday here on I Was a Teenage Book Geek, it’s time to answer the all-important question: did one of my favourite childhood novels stand the test of time for me?

In a word: yes! In three words: yes yes yes! This book was everything I remembered and more. Light and funny but with a hint of realistic family drama and a dash of potential romance, it captured my imagination all over again. There were a few things I’d forgotten about the book; things that are very different from the film versions. For example, I quickly remembered that the whole book is written from Annabel’s point of view and her mother is barely in it. In fact, there’s a mystery as to who exactly is in Annabel’s body and where it has gone. I’d also forgotten that the body swap itself is completely unexplained (which happens to be a fiction device I love – though possibly Freaky Friday is the origin of that love!) There are no magic amulets or incantations in this story. Lastly, I only had hazy memories of the wonderful ending which brings the book triumphantly full-circle.

The things I remembered were still there, too, and not in any way dulled by time. The chatty writing style and the way Annabel addresses the reader directly – complete with a small amount of fourth-wall-breaking – feels right up to date. The author’s creative use of parentheses, all-caps and jokey asides was surely ahead of its time. Annabel Andrews is as witty and inventive with her language and thought processes as Louise Rennison’s Georgia Nicolson, and I warmed instantly to her all over again. I totally sympathised with Annabel over the perfection of her little brother, ‘Ape Face’, and the trials of her family and school life. I was right with her as she struggled to cope with being a grown-up, too – heck, I think I related to her even more than I did when I was a child, seeing as I now frequently do feel quite a lot like a teenager trapped inside the body of a responsible mother-type. Those issues Annabel had with washing machines and ringing people to repair things? Yup. I’m so there.

Sure, the vocabulary in this book is occasionally a little dated, but just as Lauren said about Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret? in her recent Time Travel Tuesday review, it was probably already dated when I first read it. If anything, the seventies slang added to the book’s charm, especially in scenes like Annabel’s hilarious parents’ meeting with her own teachers. This scene is tied with another one for the position of my favourite part of the book: the final revelation about boy-next-door Boris and the meatloaf he’s cooking to help Annabel out. Even though I knew what was coming – it’s possibly the thing I remember most clearly about the whole book – it had me in stitches all over again.

If you’ve never read this book, or if you haven’t read it for years, I recommend picking it up for a reading treat that’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face. It’s lively, silly, funny, imaginative, escapist. It’s everything I loved about fiction as a child, and everything I still love now.

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Thank you Luisa for a brilliant guest post!

Luisa Plaja's own body swap novel, Swapped By A Kiss, is published in the UK on April 29th 2010.

Book news: Restoring Harmony by Joëlle Anthony

A few months back, I read (and fell in love with) Joëlle Anthony's debut novel, Restoring Harmony. With the book's US publication now just a few short weeks away, I wanted to share the official book trailer and some wonderful extras that are available on Joëlle's website.



One of my favourite aspects of Restoring Harmony is the way that our protagonist Molly uses music to build emotional bridges. In the novel's dystopian world, music is one of the few things that has survived the 2031 Collapse intact. Now Joëlle has given us the opportunity to listen to the music that Molly plays on her violin, courtesy of musicians Sarah Tradewell and Victor Anthony. Click here to visit Joëlle's site, where you can find a selection of tracks from the Restoring Harmony soundtrack.

You can find my review of Restoring Harmony here. (Hint: I loved it!)

Restoring Harmony is published in the US on May 13th 2010.

In My Mailbox (37)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

For review:

The Other Countess - Eve Edwards

I used to think I didn't like historical fiction. I did however love time travel stories. Then last year I had one of those 'duh' moments when I realised I one of the reasons I loved time travel stories was all the historical detail. So I was incredibly excited to hear about this tale of forbidden love set in Tudor England. I love the Tudor times. Also, Eve Edwards is a debut UK author and I like those.

Thanks to Puffin for this one.

The Carrie Diaries - Candace Bushnell

Two words: hello, summer! I have probably seen every episode of Sex and The City, as well as the big screen version. I've had those lengthy conversations with friends about which SATC character we all are. And now I'm psyched to discover that there is a YA novel about Carrie herself, set way back in her senior year of high school. Fingers crossed for a sunny spring, because I'll be hitting the beach with this one.

Thanks for HarperCollins for The Carrie Diaries.

Bought:

Frozen In Time - Ali Sparkes

In 2009, a pair of teens stumble upon a hidden underground vault with two cryogenically frozen figures inside... from the year 1956. Now this is my kind of premise. I'm a little bit obsessed with cryonics, and there aren't that many books about it so this is a real find. It's middle grade, so I'm expecting something light-hearted, with a focus on adventure rather than romance. As a child I read a lot of books set in the fifties, so I'm also looking forward to seeing how characters from the fifties deal with the 21st century. Plus: another UK author. Yay!

In other news, I had an email today from a fellow blogger who was wondering if I'd thought of doing Time Travel Tuesday as a meme that others could join in. The short answer is, a few people have asked before, and I have considered it. But I've decided against it, since I think people like to take part in memes because they usually only require a quick, short post - and my TTT's are really more of a review length (with added memoirness). Also, it's not like I invented rereads or retro reviews (or talking crapola about my teenage years), and plenty of other people do their own variation from time to time. Plus, it's not the most original title ever and I'm probably not the first or last person to think of it. So if anyone else ever wants to do one or many using the same format or a different format or whatever I would not think of it as encroaching on my turf or copying in any way. I would however like to read it, because I adore retro reviews.

And you know what? I have a guest TTT coming up this week from Luisa Plaja. If you like the retro stuff you will want to be here for that.

So... what did everyone else get in their mailboxes this week?

Book news: Triskellion 3

This week I received an email from Walker books about the release of the third book in Will Petersen's Triskellion series. Triskellion 3: The Gathering was published in the UK on the 5th April and to coincide with this there's been a bunch of fun stuff happening online. Here's what Walker sent me...

"The final and thrilling instalment in the paranormal Triskellion trilogy, The Gathering, has arrived. The hunt for the final Triskellion turns deadly as a story that began in a far distant place ends high above the streets of New York City, and the power of the Triskellion is finally unleashed…

In the Triskellion books you can join twins Rachel and Adam in the search for the Triskellion amulets, brought to Earth millions of years ago by visitors from outer space. But there is still one Triskellion out there!

Enter the Triskellion Quest, watch the video clues and collect the amulets for your chance to win an iPod touch, iTunes vouchers and a signed set of books. Plus, get bonus content! Complete the Quest successfully and you’ll receive an exclusive Amulet Finder certificate and a free eBookdownload of Triskellion, Book 1*

You can check out the cool Triskellion TV advert on Nickelodeon from 6 – 19 April; take a sneak peek here and if you like it, pass it on to your friends!

Want to become a fan? Join our facebook fan page here and get cool downloads, breaking news and extra behind the scenes content.

Plus, for a limited time only** you can download the iphone app for the first in the trilogy, Triskellion, for free here.

Good luck in your quest!

*Terms and conditions apply. Closing date 14/5/2010

**Closing date 14/5/2010"

I have already popped over to complete the Triskellion Quest and not only is it really fun, but I was thrilled to get my free ebook of the first book in the Triskellion series. It sounds awesome!

Review: The Prophecy - Gill James

A thousand years in the future, Kaleem Malkendy lives in an underground cave and is teased by his classmates for his dark complexion and fair hair. He doesn't look like his other Terrestran friends, but when his teacher begins to explain that the world used to have different nations, she's stopped in her tracks. The Terrestran authorities don't take kindly to the sharing of Hidden Information.

When Kaleem is contacted by Razjosh, one of Terrestra's Elders, his life changes forever. Suddenly, he has access to information that he never previously suspected the existence of: Golden Knowledge, passed down by the Elders to their successors. And at the heart of that Golden Knowledge is the Babel Prophecy, and the role that the Peace Child must play in it. That Peace Child is Kaleem.

The Prophecy is a novel I hadn't heard much about until I picked it up last week. As someone who adores all things futuristic the premise defintely appealed to me, but I hadn't seen many reviews and so I wasn't sure what to expect. As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised by this absorbing and unusual story set in the Earth's far distant future.

As a main character, Kaleem is an underdog you can't help but root for. He's the son of a single mother - a rarity in a world where natural conception is unheard of - and lives in a cave-dwelling with outdated technology compared to that of his friends' homes. His society forbids certain knowledge and considers the pursuit of this knowledge tantamount to theft. History is out of bounds, and so is information about life on other planets in the universe. For Kaleem, as for the reader, the effect of all this secrecy achieves one thing only: major curiosity! Luckily for us, when Kaleem is chosen as his generation's Peace Child he is granted all kinds of knowledge and experiences that he would never otherwise have known about. Most importantly, he learns to speak the languages of the different planets in his universe, meaning that he alone can acquire knowledge from the people of other planets. As his world expands, Kaleem learns more about who he is and discovers just how much different nations have to offer each other. It's a message that is sure to resonate with the 21st century reader, as our societies become more multi-cultural than ever before.

On to my very favourite part: the world-building. Or in this case, universe-building. As well as a fascinating cave-dwelling society on the future planet Earth, now known as Terrestra, we encounter virtual reality constructions of life on other inhabited planets and get to travel with Kaleem on his mission to the planet Zandra. Wherever the story takes us, there's mind-blowing technology, intriguing local customs and a sense of the history that has moulded and shaped these very different civilisations. It's all richly drawn and satisfyingly complete, with a generous sprinkling of those tiny little details that can make readers truly believe in a sci-fi world. We learn that Terrestran teenagers socialise at a bar which serves nectar laced with mind-altering chemicals, and that Zandran men have no problem with receiving bouquets of Black Tulpen from female admirers. We taste breakfast on the planet Tarentet, and it's delicious.

The Prophecy is the kind of novel that truly satisfies that desire to explore new worlds. It's thought-provoking and it's unique. I enjoyed it whole-heartedly, and will be looking forward to visiting Gill James' vision of the future again in the second Peace Child novel. Those who enjoy stories set in the future should definitely consider giving this out-of-the-ordinary tale a look.

Out: now in the UK.

Thank you to Red Telephone Books for providing me with a review copy of this book.

YA Community Thanksgiving

I'm British, so I don't get to join in the awesomeness that is the American holiday of Thanksgiving. That makes me sad. No turkey, no cranberry sauce, and no sweet potato pie? No fair.

So when I saw that Adele from Persnickety Snark was declaring today an international YA Community Thanksgiving, I decided to jump right on that bandwagon. After all, I love blogging. I do.

Adele has suggested that we share the things that make us thankful in our community. I'm a big sharer, so here goes...

• New bloggers. Whether they're brand new, or just brand new to me, I love discovering an amazing blog. (New-to-me and fantastic: Voracious YAppetite and Girls Without A Bookshelf.)


• The British contingent. It's possible I'm not familiar with every British YA blogger, but I know a lot of them and they are all lovely. It's like a community within a community, and I started to write a list here of what I'm thankful for about each one but it got really long and sentimental... so I'll save it for another time, and just say that I'm thankful for all of you.


• The non-British contingent. Adele pretty much covered this one, but I also love the fact that there are YA bloggers from all over the world and that as a result I get the most amazing variety of book recommendations. Without you guys, I would never have read anything by Isobelle Carmody or Maureen Johnson or Jacqueline Woodson. It makes me happy to receive a comment from Audrey in France or Japan or Shweta from India or Steph or Ari in America or Nina in The Netherlands. Or a tweet from Rhiannon in Australia berating me a little for not having read Patrick Ness yet. Even that makes me thankful! It really does.


• The fact that you guys get my Time Travel Tuesday posts. I can write up a post about how much I loved Sweet Valley Twins back when I was the lamest high schooler that ever walked the Earth, and you guys get that. We know how important books are to each other. We know how they've made us all who we are. We know that they can change the way we see the world. We know that a book doesn't have to be published in 2010 or even this century to be worth a look.


• Authors. You are my inspiration. You're why I do this. I love that you occasionally stop by my blog or drop me an email. Very occasionally, but I love it.


• YA bloggers. You know, YA bloggers who are actually YAs. I am amazed and impressed by bloggers who are still in their teen years and writing way better than I was back then. Or better than I write now. Maybe I should be envious, but I'm not. I'm thrilled. I know how much work blogging is. The fact that teenagers work this hard at blogging when I could barely manage my homework at that age makes me thankful. Because if they're the authors of tomorrow, we're in for a treat.

I'm going to stop gushing now. :)

Adele has also asked that participants in this little community event make a promise to comment on five blogs that we're unfamiliar with. Now, this is hard... because I am familiar with a lot of blogs. So if you happen to know of a great new one, please feel free to comment giving me the heads up.

Happy Thanksgiving! I've always wanted to say that.

Giveaway: win a signed copy of Kiss & Break Up by Kate Kingsley

Thanks to the awesome folks at Headline, I have three signed copies of Kate Kingsley's Kiss & Break Up, the third book in the Young, Loaded and Fabulous series, to be won.

That's signed copies! And you know what else? This giveaway is open internationally.

Want to know more about the book? You can read my review of Kiss & Break Up here.

If you would like to be in with a shot of winning one of the three signed copies, please complete the form below. But first please check out my blog policies and these all-important rules:

• This contest is open internationally
• Entrants must be aged 13 or over
• Entrants under 16 must have a parent or guardian's permission and must provide that person's email address instead of their own
• There will be three winners, picked at random using an online randomizer
• Winners' names and addresses will be forwarded to Headline to send out the prizes
• Closing date is April 30th 2010

In My Mailbox (36) and contest winner

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

I took a bit of an impromptu break from blogging for a few days this week. My granny died the week before and we had her funeral on Thursday. It was a really sad day, but at the same time it was lovely to have all my family in one place and to hear some of the old family stories again.

I've still been reading a whole lot, and there will be a heap of reviews once I'm caught up again. I've kicked this catch-up off with a review of Kat Falls' unique debut novel Dark Life, which you can find here.

In terms of goodies, I'm really happy with my haul this week...

Just visiting:

13 to Life - Shannon Delany

At the risk of sounding immature: squee!

This one's on loan via a travelling-arc type situation, and I can't wait to get stuck into its werewolfy romancey goodness.

Saving Francesca - Melina Marchetta

This is my first ever Melina Marchetta book, and I chose this one to start with because Carla from The Crooked Shelf recommended it. Carla's one of those folks who writes reviews that seem to come straight from the heart, and if you haven't checked out her blog yet you so should.

The Dead-Tossed Waves - Carrie Ryan

This companion novel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth was always going to be a must-read for me. Much as I try to avoid hardback novels (because I read on the move and they're heavy to cart around everywhere) there was just no way I could wait for the paperback of this one.

In other news, the winner of my 300 follower contest has now been chosen. The winner is Maya, and she's already been contacted and chosen her three books which will be winging their way to her this week. Thanks to everyone who entered, posted, tweeted etc. You all rock. :)

Review: Dark Life by Kat Falls

In a future where the rising seas have left humankind crammed onto what little land is left, the brave have begun to migrate to new homes on the ocean floor.

Ty is the only teenager in the undersea Benthic Territory, where his parents farm crops to sell to those still living on dry land. It's a perilous life, especially when Ty accidentally stumbles into the path of the dangerous Seablite Gang.

But when Ty meets Gemma, a runaway topsider looking for her missing brother, Ty is determined to help her. No matter what secrets may lie beneath...

Dark Life is a YA dystopia influenced by the Western genre. I have to confess that before I read this one, I was little bit apprehensive about this particular combination. By itself, Western isn't a genre I'd ever venture into. However, the sci-fi elements sounded irresistible: a human society living under the ocean, farming the ocean floor and evolving in previously unseen ways? It's unfamiliar territory for YA, and I was definitely looking forward to exploring it.

As it turns out, the sci-fi and Western elements of Dark Life are a match made in YA heaven. Main character Ty is the only teenage resident in Benthic Territory, which is basically frontier country... under the ocean. Ty's parents are farmers, and when he gets to eighteen, he'll be allowed to stake his claim on his own patch of undersea land. But like any pioneers, they face the perils of the unknown. There are outlaws on the loose, dangerous animal predators, and it's also rumoured that those who live undersea from an early age are developing 'dark gifts' unknown in the world above. So although Dark Life is firmly futuristic, there are also echoes of more familiar stories about pioneers in centuries gone by. And although the outlaws of Benthic Territory travel by submarine rather than on horseback, they still conjure up the kind of dangerous, lawless feel that calls to mind all those Sunday afternoon movies about the Wild West.

Despite the Western elements, Dark Life also has a stronger sci-fi feel than most YA dystopias I've encountered recently. As you'd imagine, there's a lot of technology involved in enabling human beings to live at the bottom of the ocean - and considerable suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader. So Ty's house has tentacles and resembles a jellyfish, but is made of modern materials and fenced off by a dense stream of bubbles to deter predators. It's all amazingly imaginative and not like anything I've read before. At the same time, the references to the rising ocean levels - for example, at one point a character mentions a desire to move to 'the Colorado Islands' - had me pondering how much our landscape could change in the future and just how humankind would deal with this threat to our survival. Although I don't think that Kat Falls' vision of the future is a real possibility, I was definitely won over by the innovation and the thought that our species might evolve with the changing planet rather than be wiped out by it.

In the midst of all this, there's the beginnings of a really sweet romance between Ty and gutsy topsider Gemma. Main character Ty is a courageous and curious boy who has spent more time than most exploring his undersea world - largely without his nervous parents' permission. Gemma, meanwhile, is as much of a rarity undersea as Travis is on his few visits topside, and through her backstory we get disturbing glimpses of what it's like to live on dry land when there's barely enough of it for the population to live on, let alone to produce crops to feed themselves. It's easy to see why the majority of land-dwellers would be too afraid to become pioneers and move undersea like Ty's parents, but Gemma is the kind of character who has been able to swallow her fears in her quest to find her missing brother. Some of my favourite moments are those where Ty shows Gemma the true landscape of the undersea world, in breathtaking scenes full of wonder, colour and majestic beauty.

I think Dark Life will find its ideal audience in the younger end of the YA readership, with both male and female readers. However, it's also one for all those of us who never quite grew up. The emphasis is on adventure and the exploration of unknown landscapes rather than the romance, and the world-building is absolutely first class. Although the ending is a truly satisfying one, I was left with the feeling that there is so much more to explore in this vivid and fascinating world. A unique and fun dystopian offering.

Out: April 29th 2010, UK

Big thanks to the awesome folks at Simon and Schuster UK for sending me a review copy of this book.

Time Travel Tuesday: The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

The truth is (and I don't admit this often), I'm ordinary. It's not a bad thing, and it's not all I am, but it's true. I'm not one of those girls with shiny blonde hair and a roses-and-cream complexion, and I never have been. When I walk outside on a spring morning, you won't find trails of cartoon hearts and bluebirds dancing in my wake. I'm kinda average looking. And before this post turns into the ultimate pity party, here's the thing: I'm cool with that. And I think I can attribute this well-adjusted coolness, at least in part, to one book...

On my seventh birthday, my mother gave me a copy of M.M Kaye's The Ordinary Princess. It's the story of the youngest princess of the Phantasmoranian royal family, born as beautiful as her six older sisters but seemingly cursed by a temperamental fairy at her own christening. The cheek! Princess Amythyst won't fall asleep for a hundred years or anything alarming like that, but she will be ordinary. Her golden hair turns mousy brown, the tip of her nose turns up, and her skin turns freckled instead of peachy. She's known as plain old Amy, and prefers talking to woodland creatures to other more royal pastimes. As she grows, her parents fret about how they're ever going to marry her off to an eligible prince when she's so... unprincesslike. Sick of it all, Amy runs away and becomes a kitchenmaid at the palace of a nearby kingdom, where she meets an equally ordinary man-of-all work who might just be her prince charming.

Aged seven, this book instantly became a firm favourite of mine. I was enchanted by Amy's story. I don't recall specifically relating to Amy because of her ordinariness, but even then I had a sense that this was a way more relevant fairytale than the ones I was used to. Some would see Amy's ordinariness as a curse, but Amy sees it as the gift it was intended to be. It leads her to have adventures that her refined and beautiful sisters miss out on, and prompts the lovely Perry to fall in love with her altogether more worthwhile qualities like wit and charm.

Rereading The Ordinary Princess, what strikes me is that my seven year old self was actually really smart, way back before hormones and peer pressure got in the way. I wholeheartedly believed that beauty was only skin deep and that it was better to have adventures than admirers, and The Ordinary Princess fit that ethos perfectly. It inspired me to be the kind of girl who doesn't sit around simpering and waiting for a suitor to rescue me - because honestly, what kind of suitor does that attract anyway? Not one you can spar with, like Amy's Perry. A fairytale princess who responds to her parents' old-fashioned demands by moving out of home and getting a job? Now that's a good role model.

And as well as being inspiring, this book is brimful of fairytale charm, despite its modern take on the genre. It's got a super romance with a twist you'll see coming but still love. In fact, I'm even willing to overlook the fact that Amy talks to animals, and usually I have no patience for an MC exhibiting that kind of behaviour.

Verdict: this book is a classic. It's sweet and sincere, with a smart and sassy heroine. It's a book that says happily ever after is about more than the union of beautiful and handsome. A must-read for anyone who enjoys fairytale retellings.

Review: Kiss and Break Up (Young, Loaded and Fabulous) - Kate Kingsley

Alice Rochester and Tally Abbott have it all. They're loaded, young and fabulous.

At their exclusive British boarding school, St Cecilia's, they're used to breaking the rules and getting away with it. And they like it that way. Now the holidays are over, they're looking forward to some major partying with the boys of equally exclusive Hasted House. Queen bee Alice has plans to leave school grounds for intimate liaisons with her boyfriend, the handsome Tristan. Not wanting to be left out, Tally has her eye on his gorgeous mate Rando.

But new housemistress Mrs Hoare has other plans. Plans that involve curfews and confinement to school grounds.

Alice is not impressed. And she's determined that Mrs Hoare isn't going to cramp her style, no matter what it takes...

Young, Loaded and Fabulous follows the It girls of St Cecilia's boarding school, where for a considerable fee, super rich parents can enrol their offspring to get the best education money can buy... and get rid of them for the duration of the school term.

As Kiss and Break Up is the third book in the series, it did take me a little while to get the characters and their backstories straight in my head. However, Kate Kingsley does a great job of catching new readers up on the events of the previous books, and it only took a few chapters for me to pick a favourite character: Alice Rochester, the super glam queen bee who isn't quite as self-assured as she seems. Like all the best teen queens, Alice is the kind of character who sometimes has to get nasty to keep her crown... but every now and then, shows a softer, vulnerable side that can't fail to win the reader over. Her arch enemy is American Dylan Taylor, who just happens to be the ex-girlfriend of Alice's seriously fit boyfriend, Tristan.

In fact, reading Kiss and Break Up made me wish I had read the previous books in this series, simply because this one is so much fun. Every now and then a character would mention an intriguing snippet about another character's past, and I'd find myself wanting to know more. The scandalous behaviour of the St Cecilia's girls - and their Hasted House boyfriends - makes for a light and entertaining read about characters that seem to have stepped right out of a tantalising gossip column. Don't get me wrong, some members of Alice's crew do have some serious issues to deal with - like adjusting to their mum's new relationship, or parenting the troubled little sister who's also been offloaded into the care of St. Cecilia's - but they do it with style.

One thing that did surprise me is that these characters are every bit as wild as the cover blurb suggests. I'm used to reading YA books about characters who are described as rebellious but use cleaner language than your Great Aunt Doris - and Kiss and Break Up is not one of those books. The boys and girls of Young, Loaded and Fabulous may be posh, but they're not exactly what you'd call polite society. They party, they take risks, and they behave badly. And you know what? It's all terribly fun.

I'd recommend Kiss and Break Up for anyone who enjoys escaping into a glamorous world of scandal, drama and betrayal. Like the warning on the cover says, it's 'not for the prim and proper'. A juicy read.

Out: April 1st 2010, UK

Big thanks to Headline for sending me a review copy of this book.

In My Mailbox (35)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

For review:

Wintercraft - Jenna Burtenshaw

From publishers' website: Ten years ago Kate Winters’ parents were taken by the High Council’s wardens to help with the country’s war effort.

Now the wardens are back...and prisoners, including Kate's uncle Artemis, are taken south on the terrifying Night Train. Kate and her friend Edgar are hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane – the High Council’s most feared man – recognises Kate as one of the Skilled; a rare group of people able to see through the veil between the living and the dead. His spirit was damaged by the High Council’s experiments into the veil, and he’s convinced that Kate can undo the damage and allow him to find peace.

The knowledge Kate needs lies within Wintercraft – a book thought to be hidden deep beneath the graveyard city of Fume. But the Night of Souls, when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest, is just days away and the High Council have their own sinister plans for Kate and Wintercraft.

This one was a surprise arrival on Friday, but it's actually a book I've been looking forward to for months. When I got home Friday night and saw I had a parcel, I was excited. Then I saw the sticker on the parcel, which read 'ATTENTION: this package contains WINTERCRAFT - HANDLE WITH CARE'. And you know what? There was some squealing. Thank you Headline, you made my day.

So... what did y'all get?

Review: The Summer That Changed Everything - Anne Brashares

It's the summer before high school, and three girls who were once the best of friends are going their separate ways.

One is heading off to her first job at the beach. One is about to find herself stranded in the wilderness. And one will be left alone.

For the first time, they're on their own. Free to make their own way. To kiss the wrong boy, put their life in someone else's hands, and discover who they are. And maybe, to find their way back to each other after all.

I've never read a book by Anne Brashares before, but I have seen the movie version of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. I loved the strong sense of friendship between the four very different leads, and I picked up The Summer That Changed Everything hoping to find a similarly unbreakable bond between main characters Ama, Polly and Jo.

At first, this wasn't what I found. The story opens on the last day of junior high, when the girls run into each other on the way home. The atmosphere between them is awkward, and although we learn that the three were once inseparable there's little sign of it now. They've already gone their separate ways, and stopped visiting the three willow trees they planted together in third grade and tended lovingly for the next few years. As Ama, Polly and Jo hail from the same hometown as the Sisterhood themselves, there are references to the legendary jeans - and the fact that this new group of MCs even tried (unsuccessfully) to recreate the magic with their own pair of denims. And a jacket. And a then scarf. But somehow it just didn't work, and since then they've drifted apart.

This wistful sense of a good friendship lost continues as the girls head off separately to pursue their own summer plans - without so much as a pair of travelling pants to connect them. Overachiever Ama has won a summer study grant that isn't at all what she anticipated, and finds herself having to brave the great outdoors (and a sheer drop down the side of a cliff) minus her emergency hair rescue products. Self-assured Jo has taken a summer job at the beach, and distracts herself from her parents' breakup by pursuing a reckless flirtation with an older boy. Finally, lonely Polly longs to follow in the footsteps of the grandmother she never knew, and sets her heart on going to modelling camp - whatever it takes. I soon found myself enchanted by all three and utterly captivated by their stories. Perhaps most enchanting for me was the story of Polly, who has been left behind as Ama and Jo drifted away and found new friends, and misses them both deeply.

Interspersed throughout the narrative are curious little facts and myths about willows - the same type of trees our MCs planted five years ago when their friendship was just beginning. Initially it's unclear how they relate to the stories of the girls' separate summers, but by the end of the book everything clicks beautifully into place. These three girls don't have a pair of possibly magical jeans, but they do share something else that's truly heartwarming and, if you're anything like me, will have you wiping away a few tears of the happy variety.

The Summer That Changed Everything is a novel about friendship, growing up, and finding strength in your roots. Its honest voice and easy-to-relate to characters make it likely to strike a chord with most readers, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining story with an uplifting message at its heart. A perfect read for spring or summer.

Out: 4th March 2010, UK

Many thanks to Corgi / Random House for sending me a review copy of this book.

Time Travel Tuesday: The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike

In the nineties, one of my favourite 'guilty pleasure' authors was Christopher Pike. Unlike many of my friends, I was never really a fan of his The Last Vampire series, but I did read several of his other novels that have stayed with me ever since. Top of this list is The Midnight Club, a book about a group of teenagers who are all dying. They're residents of the Rotterham Hospice for sufferers of terminal cancer, aged between seventeen and nineteen. To escape from their pain and isolation, they form the Midnight Club, meeting each night to tell each other stories. They begin to speculate about life after death, and promise each other that the first one to die will give the others a sign.

The first time round, The Midnight Club made a big impression on me. I hadn't read many stories about teens suffering from terminal illnesses, so my understanding of the subject was pretty much all drawn from the experiences of Melissa in Too Young to Die by Lurlene McDaniel. In all honesty, I'm sure I initially picked up The Midnight Club thinking that it would have an entirely supernatural focus, but the issue of life after death is really just a small part of the book. It's also a story about what it's like to face the knowledge that you have only days to live, and about storytelling itself.

On my reread this week, I was impressed by the way that Pike conveys main character Ilonka's desperation, denial and eventual acceptance without ever sensationalising her experience or resorting to cheap sentimentality. He manages to capture a sense of the way a person gradually says goodbye to the world of the living that's quite definitely about their journey rather than those they're leaving behind.

Then there's the Midnight Club itself. The stories-within-the-story that the members tell each other are vivid and dark, and lend the book a certain lingering ambiguity. There are stories of pain and regret, of actions taken in anger and of lessons learnt. And for Ilonka, there are also stories about the past lives she thinks she remembers. Though I've found myself dwelling on some of them a few days after rereading the book, I can't say I'm exactly sure what they all mean or how they fit together.

But my favourite aspect of The Midnight Club is the romance between Ilonka and fellow club member Kevin. Made all the more poignant by the fact that Pike's real name is Kevin, it's a story of a love that may be doomed and short-lived... or may be destined to last forever.

Verdict: The Midnight Club is not a great literary work by any means, but it does hold a strange power that's hard to define. It's comforting and haunting in equal measure. Fans of Christopher Pike will want to give this one a look.

Review: Kissing Kate - Lauren Myracle

Ever since Kate and Lissa were paired as gym partners in seventh grade, they've been inseparable. They dress alike, they do everything together, and they can tell each other everything.

But that was before the kiss. At a classmate's party, drunken Kate kissed sober Lissa, and now everything has changed between them.

Kate wants to pretend that nothing happened.

Lissa doesn't think she can.

I've read several 'coming out' novels, the majority of which have followed the story of the main character's first ever same-sex relationship. While I enjoy romance as much as the next reader, I think that Kissing Kate, about sixteen-year-old Lissa's unrelationship with her best friend, more closely reflects the early experiences of many teenage girls who find themselves questioning their sexuality. The narrative picks up a few weeks after Lissa's best friend Kate kisses her at a party, and the two girls have been avoiding each other ever since. For Lissa, who is neither popular nor especially confident, it's a lonely time. She doesn't have other friends to hang out with, her parents are both dead, and she's not about to confide in her uncle Jerry (scared of the word 'bra') or kid sister Beth (desperate to fit in). It's a novel about the early stages of coming out, which for Lissa means being honest with herself - no matter what Kate's feelings are.

Aside from Lissa's mixed up feelings about her sexuality, this is also a story about friendship. When Lissa finds herself working with kooky schoolmate Ariel at her Saturday night job, she's not interested in making friends. Especially not with someone who seems to embrace being different in a way that Lissa has never been able to. But Ariel isn't the kind of person to be put off easily, and the two form an unlikely bond over a mutual interest in lucid dreaming. And as Lissa struggles with her feelings for Kate, she learns the difference between a good friendship and a bad one.

Ultimately Kissing Kate is a novel that doesn't over-simplify sexuality. We're left knowing that although Lissa has been true to her feelings for Kate and become more self-aware and confident, she still has far to go. However, there's a sense that she's set out on the right path, and that she's learned to form empowering friendships instead of confidence-sapping ones. Actually, I think that's a pretty fantastic example for teenagers in itself: if your friends judge you, don't change - get new friends. In contrast, Kate's journey is a less optimistic one, as she pushes away a genuine friend in the interest of protecting her self-image. This book doesn't sugarcoat reality, and I think that readers will trust its message all the more for that reason. It's hopeful and honest, and it reminds us that it's better to find self-acceptance than strive to conform to other people's limited expectations.

In My Mailbox (34)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

I just love the selection of books I got this week. They're each quite different but one of them is an old favourite, and I've been wanting to read the other two for a while now.

For review:

The Gardener - S. A Bodeen

From publishers' website: Mason has never known his father, but longs to. All he has of him is a DVD of a man whose face is never seen, reading a children’s book. One day, on a whim, he plays the DVD for a group of comatose teens at the nursing home where his mother works. One of them, a beautiful girl, responds. Mason learns she is part of a horrible experiment intended to render teenagers into autotrophs—genetically engineered, self-sustaining life-forms who don’t need food or water to survive. And before he knows it, Mason is on the run with the girl, and wanted, dead or alive, by the mysterious mastermind of this gruesome plan, who is simply called the Gardener.

Will Mason be forced to destroy the thing he’s longed for most?

I featured this one recently in a Waiting On Wednesday post, so I was incredibly thrilled to be offered a proof copy for review a few weeks back. I'm a major fan of S.A. Bodeen's first novel, The Compound, and I absolutely love the sound of this premise.

Thanks to Feiwel and Friends / Macmillan for this one.

Bought:

The Midnight Club - Christopher Pike

From book cover: They went to Rotterham Hospice to die. They formed The Midnight Club to try to deal with their pain and anger. They told stories of love, life and the after-life. Then the stories became reality. Terminal illness doesn't have to mean the end. They were victims of life. Victors of death...

There was a time when I read a lot of Christopher Pike, including this novel about a group of teenagers who all have a short time left to live. I remember it being a bold read, but way more sensitive that the summary suggests. I couldn't find a photo of the cover my copy has online, but in any case I like the retro appeal of the one pictured. I'll be rereading this for a Time Travel Tuesday post soon.

Kissing Kate - Lauren Myracle

From book cover: It was just a kiss. Kate and Lissa were best friends. Then one night last summer at a drunken party, Kate leaned in to kiss Lissa, and Lissa kissed her back. Now Kate is pretending Lissa doesn't exist. Confused and alone, Lissa's left questioning everything she thought she knew about herself, and about life. But with the help of a new friend, Lissa is beginning to realize that sometimes falling in love with the wrong person is the only way to find your footing.

I keep hearing that Lauren Myracle is made of awesome, so I figured I should read one of her books for myself. This was her first novel, and it's been out for several years already, but I just love the summary.

So, what did everyone else get?

Review: Uglies - Scott Westerfeld

Tally Youngblood lives in a future society where everyone becomes pretty at sixteen, thanks to some extreme cosmetic surgery. Fifteen year old Tally is counting the days till her birthday, when she'll have the operation and be reunited with her best friend Peris, who recently had his surgery and entered the non-stop social whirl of life in New Pretty Town.

But as the days drag by, Tally meets a fellow Ugly named Shay who sees things differently. Shay tells Tally about the Smoke, a secret town inhabited by runaways who don't want to undergo the pretty operation. At first Tally can't understand why anyone would want to stay Ugly, but Shay doesn't see it that way. She thinks people look fine the way they are, and that there's a sinister side to the pretty operation. She decides to run away before her sixteenth birthday, despite the fact that Tally refuses to go with her.

On the day of her operation, Tally's anticipation is clouded only by the fact that Shay won't be joining her in New Pretty Town. But Tally's excitement soon evaporates when she's hauled in by the mysterious Special Circumstances, who give her an ultimatum. Lead them to Shay and the Smoke, or stay ugly forever.

I'm a big believer in the importance of writing objective reviews, but I'd like to start this one with a confession: I love Uglies. I loved it the first time I read it, three years ago, and I've loved it each of the six or seven times I've reread it since. It's a vivid, relevant and exhilarating dystopia which somehow manages to be thought-provoking and wicked good fun at the same time. It's official: I'm an Uglies fangirl.

First up, there's the fascinating premise. Scott Westerfeld has created a vision of the future which addresses issues about self-perception that today's teens commonly face, and gives us food for thought about our own society. In Tally's world, anyone under sixteen has had it drummed into them that before surgery they're all ugly, since being pretty is really a matter of conforming to mathematical ideals like perfect symmetry which we're programmed to seek out in others for the good of the species. Genetic traits are viewed as the cause of all injustice in archaic societies like that of the 'Rusties' (that's us), but the leaders of Tally's society say that human beings can't help it - it's hard-wired into our brains. So instead of trying to build a more enlightened society, they decided to turn everyone into the model of wide-eyed, clear-skinned beauty that everyone else would naturally adore. To Tally, who's been raised on stories about the horror of Rusty society, this sounds like progress. Her world doesn't have wars, the people are happy, and besides - who wouldn't want to be pretty?

In addition, Uglies has some of the most outstanding world-building I've encountered in a YA dystopia. It's detailed and thorough, with the kind of wish-fulfilment technology that'll make gadget enthusiasts green with envy. Take transport: since the Rusties' civilisation ended when a manmade virus destroyed the world's oil, cars are no longer an option in Tally's time. So she and her friends get around using solar powered hoverboards, wearing magnetic 'crash bracelets' to stop them smashing themselves up when they take a spill. Aside from technology, Uglies also contains some highly infectious slang and an intriguing rebel society in the form of the Smokies - who, unlike the city-dwellers, horrify Tally at first by eating meat and killing trees for firewood.

But my absolute favourite thing about Uglies is the characters. Tally Youngblood is a product of her society, and a result she's a far cry from most of the MCs you'll meet in YA dystopia. She doesn't start out with unshakeable integrity or the ability to see through her society's ideals. She initially follows Shay to secure her own pretty future, and so her inner journey in this book is very much about becoming her own person and learning to take responsibility for her actions. The initial friendship between Tally and Shay becomes gradually more complex as the story unfolds and they become caught up in a love triangle with the legendary David, making for some interesting conflict and setting the tone for the rest of the series. In Uglies we also meet the chilling Dr Cable, head of Special Circumstances (think secret police) who illustrates that there's a fine line between pretty perfect and pretty terrifying. It's the first in a series where the relationships between characters can often be ambiguous and complicated, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions about some difficult moral grey areas.

As Uglies is the first book in a series, I have to warn potential readers that it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I have mixed feelings about this, as with a more satisfying ending Uglies could have made a brilliant standalone novel. Much as I love it, I can't help but think that some of the impact of Uglies was sacrificed to set up the rest of the trilogy. However, my repeated rereading of this one is evidence that this is by no means a deal-breaker. The first time I read it, I found myself staring at the last page, utterly bereft, for the entire thirty seconds it took me to decide that I was heading straight out to the bookstore to get myself a copy of book two. Luckily, the whole series has now been published, so there's no need for an agonising wait between instalments. I'd recommend Uglies to all fans of YA dystopia, particularly those who are looking for an immersive read with substance. This one has 'modern YA classic' written all over it.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for providing a review copy of the reissued Uglies with its gorgeous new cover (pictured).