Angels Aplenty

Angelfall

By Susan Ee

Angels. Those damn angels.

Penryn lives with her mentally unstable mother and physically disabled little sisiter, just trying to survive. The world was attacked by Angels and any semblances of man's civilization is crumbling. Why they attacked, no one knows for sure. Day to day living is rough, but Penryn is a survivor. 

She's keeping her family together, until she meets Raffe. Attacked by fellow angels, he falls from the sky in front of her. When the attacking angels see her try to help him they fly off with her beloved, defenceless sister. In order to get her sister back, she must ally with the angel, Raffe, for only he knows where her sister's being taken.

Action packed. The lulls are few and far between. From page one, things are happening and they just keep coming. Supernatural beings are overdone for me and rarely do I find myself wanting to read stories about them. Well, here. This one. Pick this one.

Penryn is strong, sarcastic, loyal, and takes charge. She never feels sorry for herself, she keeps on trucking. A disaster happens, she thinks, “Ok, what do I need to do now”. Her mother is incredibly scary. You can never tell when she's acting rationally or not. And the beautiful, glorious, angel Raffe is an enigma. He lets nothing show and it frustrates Penryn, as it does the reader.

Susan Ee's writing is beautiful and detailed. You never misunderstand what she's describing. It's clear and concise, a mix of poetic descriptions and driving dialogue.

I will definitely pick up the sequel, and the next, and the next. (5 total projected in this series)

5/5 STARS

Classroom: Nah. Keep this one for a weekend to read on your own.

Wolf Girl and a Fiery Princess

Elske

By Cynthia Voigt

Elske begins her life in a cruel, male-dominated tribe called the Volkaric. Soon she finds her way across the mountains to a modern trading village where the customs are so different that Elske must learn to adapt quickly. Her story intertwines with that of Beriel, an exiled princess with a fiery spirit.

Every year, I have a list of books I reread. Every year I read one called “On Fortune's Wheel” by Cynthia Voigt. It is book two in The Kingdom series, and “Elske” is book four. I have read book one, “Jackaroo” as well, but not book three “The Wings of a Falcon”. This could be confusing, but the series are all separate stories that take place within the same world. You can read each separately without having read the others. “Elske” can be read on its own.

Elske is a very difficult character to like. At first, she's dull and only the events surrounding her make us read hungrily. As a result of her strange upbringing, she asks questions bluntly. When Beriel enters the scene, suddenly Elske blossoms and we see her virtues blossom – loyalty, ingenuity, and fortitude.

Only after finishing reading this novel did I want to reread the beginning. It was a slow start and I was indifferent to Elske. I was not invested. Now that I know the outcome, I would enjoy to read her start again.

Beriel is my favourite character. She's fighting for her kingdom, The Kingdom, that she believes is rightfully hers. The relationship that she has with Elske is that of a servant and a princess. Elske is the kindling and Beriel is the spark, together they make a roaring fire.

There are darker underlying issues. At times, the content was so dark that I was caught off guard. To us, the Volkaric are barbaric but to Elske it's a way of life she's always known. There is much in the challenging of what is normal and what is normal that shouldn't be. The reader is given many perspectives, letting us make our own judgements about each culture's customs.

4/5 STARS

Classroom: Not appropriate. Save this one for personal reading.

Cover Comments: Simon Pulse printed this series with matching covers, each bearing an object of supposed significance on a white background. Elske bears a crown. While I understand the crown, I believe it's a horrible choice. First off, it's a delicate, dazzling tiara of diamonds. It makes me instantly think this is a typical princess, fairy tale book. If you take into account that Beriel is a princess, ok fine. BUT the story isn't really about her. It's about Elske. The title even clues us in. A more fitting “object of significance” would be a wolf pelt or a pair of wolf pelt boots. Elske's culture uses fur in much of its clothing. Elske wears wolf boots for the whole book. Probably more fitting....

The Atheneum Books company used Vermeer paintings. For Elske, The Girl with a Pearl Earring was the chosen painting. It works better than the tiara. At least that girl is mysterious and we long to know her story.

Why I Read: Fantasy & YA

There are thousands of blogs and vlogs out there of people who are passionate about reading. Each person has their own preferences and stories that they are drawn to. For me, I am drawn to two major areas: the genre of fantasy and the demographic category of young adult. Why those two? Better question, why not?

As of late, I've been reading more and more fantasy, both adult and YA. Though not the first genre I fell in love with, it certainly has remained as my top favourite genre since I was twelve. (Thank you Tamora Pierce) A quick glance over to my blog tags will reveal that the majority of my reviews are fantasy. I do love most genres, but fantasy just pulls me back in.

With reading more adult books, it means that my reviews become few and far between, as I have cited this as a YA Review Blog. The thing to blame for my exploration of adult fantasy is GoodReads. Their recommendations, suggested from books I've read, have proven to be reliable and accurate. A couple extremely good picks I've read as of late: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and Green Rider by Kristen Britain.

But why do I read these genres? Would I not be content with reading about “real people” with “real life problems”?

My answer is no. I read to escape and escape fully from the real world. I need a break from my work and regular person problems. I want problems that involve a kingdom, a lost prince, magic, or a dragon. Yes please A DRAGON! There are still human problems, but they involve elements of fairy tale imagination.

In YA novels, the protagonist is usually quite young (almost always 16), and hilariously, the parents are NEVER around. There's also a case of “you are the chosen one” (ie Harry Potter) and “only you will defeat this corrupted government” (ie Hunger Games, Divergent). The stories in these books flow easily and often I can read one in a weekend … or a day if I'm really ambitious.

I am a huge advocate of reading for pleasure. I enjoy a fast paced, easy read with YA. I enjoy the complete and imaginative escapism of fantasy. Even better when they're combined (again, Tamora Pierce).

It's good to move outside of what you love, give yourself a challenge. But if I read books that didn't provide me with enjoyment, I think I wouldn't read as much as I do now.

I cannot wait to continue on this adult fantasy kick. Never fear, YA is here to stay. Love what you read and read what you love. Life is too short to spend time slogging through the dull stuff.

Side Story Time:

Recently, I had a conversation with an acquaintance of a friend. I was introduced to him as “Oh you read, so does he.”. So I'm making conversation and asking him what kind of books he reads. He says, “Classics mostly.” I'm nodding. Cool cool. “Like what?” I ask. “Well, recently I finished War and Peace,” he answers.

I joke with him that he's now got bragging rights on reading that tome and compared it to having read the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. His response was, “Yeah, but that's fun reading.” My face seriously was this:

Inside my head I'm screaming WHAT DO YOU THINK READING SHOULD BE?!?! Fun reading? Psh. This guy was serious. I'm sorry, but if you're not enjoying what you're reading, you're doing it wrong. A challenge is one thing, but he can't really only read non-fun books. Needless to say I didn't talk anymore about books with him.

Brrrr, It's Chilly In This Town

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

By Holly Black

Tana lives in an alternate reality where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave. After a regular high school party goes horribly wrong, Tana is set on a journey to one of these Coldtowns with a vampire, an almost vampire, and two wannabe vampires.

I never read vampire books. I read this one as it was marketed as one of the better vampire stories for Young Adult. It was really good. I enjoyed the interpretation of vampirism and the effects it might have if it spread like a pandemic disease.

Tana gets herself out of trouble. She never relies on anyone else. And even when she does, she goes ahead and does it for herself anyway. It is both her flaw and virtue. I certainly enjoyed her interactions with all the characters introduced. I wished there were more scenes with her, Jameson, and Valentina.

This book had a very slow start. It does begin in the aftermath of action, but the time it took Tana to get to the Coldtown dragged on for 130 pages. I wonder what would happen if the reader started at Chapter 15. Would much be lost?

My favourite part is all the parts with Lucien. Deliciously cruel.

Nice touch or superfluous detail?:

Each chapter begins with a quote about death. Did those quotes have to do with the chapter at all? Nope. Just cool tidbits that added nothing to the story... except maybe to show humans' fascination with death has always been around.

Start at Chapter 15 and you'll be set!

3/5 STARS

Classroom: Not recommended.