Throwback Review: Green Heart

Another Throwback Review - this time from back in 2012! Enjoy!

Green Heart is the combination of two YA novels Green Angel and Green Witch by Alice Hoffman.

The day it happened, fifteen-year-old Green was angry and refused to speak to her family as they left. She had wanted to go with them to the city, but they needed her to stay home.

Her father, mother, and sister all died in the terrible disaster – leaving Green all alone, and plagued by the memory of her last moments with them.

She struggles to survive in a world turned topsy-turvy, a place where nothing wants to grow among the ashes. Green becomes one with the thorny, lifeless realm of her garden – but finds she must allow herself to open back up to life, to possibility… to magic.

Even though all she can see is pain.

Green Heart was a majestic read!

I read The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman years ago and was dumbfounded by it – so I had high expectations, and, my, were they reached!

The haunting, mournful, poetic sentences create an almost ethereal, atmospheric tone – a poem that goes on and on with grace and elegance.

As I read the Green Heart, or I should probably say absorbed, I hoped for a happy end, for healing, but I knew that anything Alice Hoffman created would be more complicated than that, more real.

Green Heart is a novel of lovely, wistful, staggering simplicity of words that brings a quiet power to this otherworldly tale. This is especially true when it comes to the allure and hypnotic pull of nature and animals (Animal lover, here!). There’s a sense of magic, of wonder, of hurt and hope intertwined.

Both Green Angel and Green Witch are beautiful, the sequel taking us deeper into a surprisingly revealing and exquisite story that is tonally the same.

If you’re a bit sick of reading about the apocalypse, various dystopias, that really just kind of depress you (I know that I have started to be), Green Heart is a refreshing read.

Here we have a book that is touching, transcends genres, and brings lightness to the dark.

If you haven’t already, you should definitely read Green Heart!

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Throwback Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Due to time restraints, instead of a new review I am doing a throwback! This review was originally posted back in April 2011 - and is definitely a great read! Here goes:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a YA post-apocalyptic, literary zombie novel by Carrie Ryan.

I know what you're thinking - "literary" zombie novel? Yep, never read anything like it!

Well, that's not exactly true. The whole reason I became obsessed with reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth (beyond the amazing title) is the short story Carrie Ryan wrote in Kiss Me Deadly, a compilation of a bunch of stunning stories written by some of today's best YA paranormal authors. It was called Hare Moon and it took place in the same world, the same village as The Forest of Hands and Teeth - and it was flat out spectacular. So I knew that I absolutely had to read The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

So, lets get to the synopsis, shall we?

Mary lives in a village surrounded by a fence. The fence keeps out the Unconsecrated that live in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, those who have Returned after being Infected - and whose hunger and moans never cease. The Guardians protect the fence, make sure it holds, make sure there won't be a breach. There hasn't been a breach in years. The Sisterhood knows best, and directs the village towards the survival of mankind.

The time is coming when Mary will be claimed and her life of commitment with a husband will begin. After all, in order to survive there must be children. And in a village plagued with miscarriages and barrenness, this is prized above almost anything else.

Yet Mary has never been like other villagers. Her mother has told her of the ocean, a place so many believe is nothing but a ridiculous dream - an impossibility. Mary longs to leave the village, to know of more. To see that they are not the last of mankind, as they've always been told. That there is hope. But secrets begin to reveal themselves to Mary, and what she has always known to be true is thrown into questioning and suspicion.

But then the unthinkable happens. The fence is breached. The Unconsecrated get in. And everything and everyone is in chaos. Mary is faced with unthinkable choices - between the brother she yearns for and the brother she's bound to, between the falling village and the uncertain place the fences old and worn path leads to.

And the Unconsecrated just keep coming.

Oh my. Okay, so my expectations were high from the short story. And my expectations were met - and exceeded. But my, oh my... What an unsettling book! The Forest of Hands and Teeth is horror through and through, written superbly and uniquely - causing a gripping, insanely intriguing, and darkly disturbing result.

I was on pins and needles practically the entire time - totally freaked out by its delicately terrifying, lyrically and deceptively simple prose, and the nonstop shocking turn of events that kept leaving me breathless. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is intense (to put it lightly) and heart-poundingly scary - its horror done almost too well!

Carrie Ryan managed to horrify and sicken me with a world that felt too real to be filled with flesh-eating zombies. She brought it to an entirely different level than any shtick with zombies could be. There was absolutely nothing cartoonish about Mary's story, a heroine flawed but lovely, naive but wise beyond her years, strong and perfect as a main character.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth never ceased to stun me, leaving me with an unforgettably nightmarish experience that was sprinkled with enough humanity, love, hope, and beauty to make it as effectual as it was.

I was heartbroken and exhausted by the end. And ready to see what was going to happen next in the sequel The Dead-Tossed Waves. And all the more wowed by the new implications of the short story Hare Moon, which I now realize to be an incredible prequel, and a must-read to any fan of The Forest of Hands and Teeth!

Have you read it, my fellow bibliophiles? Were you as floored as I was? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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Uglies

Uglies is a YA dystopian novel by Scott Westerfeld.

Still an ugly, Tally is looking forward to her upcoming sixteenth birthday.

That is the day she will have her operation to become a pretty, as everyone does at sixteen, and move to New Pretty Town - the place all the newly gorgeous young people in society spend their time having fun all the time.

Her best friend Peris has already turned pretty – and the loneliness Tally feels as she waits for her day to join him is hollowing out a hole in her heart. She worries he forgets about her as he adapts to his new, pretty life.

When she meets Shay, Tally is shocked to learn that Shay is not as excited to turn pretty. She says odd things, such as not liking the idea of looking like everyone else – not liking that they are unable to consider their current faces pretty.

So, Shay running away right before her own operation stuns Tally – but not as much as it might have. Yet, when heretofore unknown authorities in their society approach Tally and offer her a choice – find Shay and the rebel group she joined outside their city limits or never have her own operation – Tally knows the world she knows will never be the same…

Uglies is a fairly popular book – there’s a good chance you’ve already read it or have heard of it. The concept of everyone being cosmetically altered to be pretty at the age of sixteen sounded interesting to me, so I finally jumped in. This is the first book in a four book series.

Though Uglies has an intriguing premise and some compelling dystopic details, I found myself not loving Tally. She was not all that likable to me. A bit boring, a bit too much of a follower sheep and just all together not interesting as a heroine to me.

As the story continued, my ongoing inability to get myself to care about Tally caused me to become more and more disenchanted, unfortunately. Uglies definitely felt like more of a plot driven novel, rather than character focused.

Instead of fleshing out its people and peeling back layers of information as to how this society came to be, what is truly going on, etc., I felt that not much was truly happening. There’s an odd little love triangle and romance that did not work for me either – no chemistry, no tension, no true suspense.

Despite having a hopeful bibliophile heart and still being attracted by the original premise, Uglies never lived up to the hype for me. Sad, but true.

By the end, I had a slight curiosity as to what might happen next – but I wish I’d liked it better. Unless I was handed the remaining three books for free, I do not see myself pursuing the rest of the series any time soon.

Definitely check it out for yourself, though! It’s a bestselling series that MANY readers have found extremely suspenseful! This is simply one book lover’s opinion alone.

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Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions

Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions is a YA anthology of stories by numerous best-selling authors and edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong.

Pulling together short stories together regarding journeys – whether physical or not – these authors provide plots featuring vampires, faeries, angels and more. Authors include such bigwigs as Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Carrie Ryan and more.

One of the main reasons I wanted to read Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions was for the short story by Kelley Armstrong. I’m a huge fan of her Darkest Powers trilogy and Facing Facts was a great little reunion with my favorite characters of hers – Chloe and Derek! Facing Facts did not disappoint!

Generally, however, Enthralled was a mixed bag.

Giovanni’s Farewell was a good, sweet story by Claudia Gray. Let’s Get This Undead Show on the Road by Sarah Rees Brennan and At the Late Night, Double Feature Picture Show by Jessica Verday were interesting diversions, both creative and with a little spunk.

Then there was Carrie Ryan’s Scenic Route – a quick but effective post-apocalyptic survival tale of two sisters. In fact the sisters theme was working for me in Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions, as one of my favorite stories of the bunch was Jennifer Lynn Barnes The Third Kind – an awesomely creepy, fast-moving story that was one of the few to feel like a completed tale. Gargouille by Mary E. Pearson had a great sense of being haunting and romantic, as well.

Some good offerings!

Sadly, the remainder of the stories were primarily samplers of the authors’ series, taking place in their existing novels as a side story. Obviously this worked for me with Kelley Armstrong’s Facing Facts – but as an outsider to other series, I found the other stories to have a varying degree of interest to me as a non-reader of their books. Oftentimes, that varying degree tended toward the lesser end.

Yet, the few strong contributions in Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions made the overall read a good one!

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Across a Star-Swept Sea

Across a Star-Swept Sea is a YA sci-fi, dystopian retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel by Diana Peterfreund.

Though this story stands on its own, it brings back characters from Peterfreund’s wonderful For Darkness Shows the Stars – so I personally would recommend reading that first. You can read my review of For Darkness Shows the Stars here – but there will be no spoilers for it in this review, no worries!

New Pacifica’s two separate islands are all remaining of the world after centuries of war and destruction. Even the prior horror of the Reduction – a brain disorder that caused many of the wars and left much of the population without fully-functioning minds – is a thing of the past.

After all, there is now a cure.

Yet on the island of Galatea, there has been a revolution – a revolution against the aristocracy that has morphed into the ultimate revenge. A drug has been created to cause Reduction – and the revolutionaries are forcing anyone who disagrees with them to take it.

However, the enigmatic spy known as the Wild Poppy is determined to stop this.

On the neighboring island of Albion, their political issues are fiery but they have not slipped into rebellion. Their brightly colored fashions and partying court do their best to blind themselves to the threat Galatea’s revolution poses to their island – and the true terror their invented Reduction drug could bring.

No one would guess that gorgeous, airheaded, party girl Persis Blake is the Wild Poppy – and that’s exactly how she wants it. Sometimes it is difficult to hide her clever mind and deep concerns with a superficial, silly socialite façade – but she knows it is the best way to continue her secretive work to save Galateans.

Meanwhile, Justen Helo has sought refuge in Albion – wanting to distance himself with the work he has done with the revolution in Galatea, and the direct impact he has had. To protect his reasons for leaving his island, he is tasked with pretending to be head-over-heels with Persis – which is difficult due to her ardent idiocy, though she is obviously attractive.

But when their respective secrets clash, they could cause New Pacifica to plunge into another dark age.

Perhaps one they could never recover from…

Diana Peterfreund has a marvelous mind. She has created here an expansive, believable, detailed futuristic world that is vibrant and vivid to the reader. Our characters, both the main characters and supporting, are well-constructed with full-fledged personalities and a grounded sense of realism.

Here we have a spy story, a war story and a story of love. Happily the romance is slow-building, based on knowing someone rather than being simply attracted to them, and is NOT the primary focus of this story.

No, the main plotline here is the suspenseful revolution and Reduction – the results of the drug that cured it and the drug that is returning it. It’s such a terrible, horrifying way to punish people – yet has an unsettling feeling of being all too plausible of the vengeful human race.

This is futuristic sci-fi at some its best with a cohesive, imaginative plot and great characterizations. I, myself, have not read or seen The Scarlet Pimpernel – but I am certainly more intrigued now.

And I will be waiting for more from Diana Peterfreund – who never ceases to amaze me with her absorbing, rewarding writing!

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Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey is a dystopian satire novel by Jasper Fforde.

In a world where color perception determines the hierarchy of a Colortocracy society, what you can see is everything.

That’s why Eddie Russet is trying to secure a marriage into the powerful Oxblood family to combine his better-than-average Red perception to their aristocratic name – yet those plans are upended when he and his father are sent to the fringe town East Carmine.

Manners, rules and accepted mores in the Chromatacia seem a bit more lax in East Carmine – dangerously so. Beyond the normal fear of lethal swans and lightening, the sneaky Yellows seem sneakier than ever, the deMauve’s are angling to marry their horrid Violet to Eddie and he’s finding himself fascinated by a Grey named Jane.

Riskiest of all is the knowledge Eddie begins to gather in East Carmine – truths behind the ordered, peaceful, rule-abiding Colortocracy that shed light on its deceptions…

And it’s that innate inquisitiveness that could lead him away from a life of conformity – of career and spouse – and into trouble.

Jasper Fforde has to be one of the most imaginative authors out there right now. Seriously, what a unique, wonderfully bizarre concept!

We are introduced to a futuristic world in which everyone is, essentially, color blind. What they can see leads to where they are ranked in society – who they can marry, what jobs they can do, etc. Education, preference and love have nothing to do with it.

Plus, there is the abundance of RULES. Rules ranging from the illegality of manufacturing spoons (therefore making all spoons currently in existence a high-value, high-demand item) to the time of day you are allowed to drink Ovaltine.

Eddie is, of course, a fully immersed member of this society and we get to watch him go from embracing and believing in it to beginning to question it. He’s a likable character that cannot seem to help his curiosity, yet fears it as well.

Characters in Shades of Grey have, dare I say, colorful personalities! They burst from the pages with snappy dialogue and make the wacky world around them easier to accept – though the intricacies of Chromatacia are still confusing at times.

I loved it. It’s so absolutely different in every way. It’s hilarious, insightful, suspenseful and even a little romantic. There are supposed to be two more books – rounding out a trilogy – yet it has been six years since the release of Shades of Grey.

That’s okay. I will be patient. I am immensely interested in where this story will go – and willing to wait as long as it takes!

In the meantime, Jasper Fforde’s other novels will continue to sweep me away into a level of intelligent creativity that is not so easily found in today’s literature.

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Cinder

Cinder is a YA futuristic sci-fi fantasy retelling of Cinderella, and the first book in The Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer.

Being a cyborg is almost as shameful as being an android – despite the fact that Cinder knows she is human, there are many in New Beijing who would argue that fact.

So, as she spends her days utilizing her gifts as a mechanic to provide income for her derisive adoptive mother and sisters, Cinder doesn’t advertise her cyborg parts. Not good for business.

Yet, she’s never felt the weight of being a cyborg as strongly as when her path crosses with Prince Kai – an admittedly attractive and charming young man. Not to mention royal.

Soon, Cinder is pulled deeper into the most concerning struggles of Earth – a ravaging, deadly plague that they’ve been trying to find a cure for without success in twenty-five years and a possibility of war hinging on nothing more than the whims of a mad queen from the country Lunar, on the moon.

There are secrets to Cinder’s past that make her far more unusual than she ever realized…

I really, really, really liked Cinder!

Cinder is a breath of fresh air – impressive, effective, exciting and different! I loved the reimagining of Cinderella as an intelligent, down-to-earth cyborg mechanic. She felt so relatable – sympathetic without ever being self-pitying – and lacking any of the superficialities that can be a blight in fairy tales.

Plus, it creates many new avenues – making it an entirely different story with some of the main stalwarts being featured in unique, new ways.

First, the Lunar planet and people? Super creepy. I thought the presentation of the Lunar’s as a threat was very well done – and fascinating. Secondly, the disease that is tearing the people of New Beijing apart felt effectually frightening.

Really every aspect of Cinder was intriguing to me – so much happens yet it wasn’t lacking character development and world building amongst all that plot. Truly awesome.

I have to say I am very eager to read the next books – which I hear will feature twists on other fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood, in this same world, while continuing Cinder’s story also.

Cinder is a GREAT read!!!

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Guest Post with YA Author Roselyn Jewell!

Hi everyone,

My name is Roselyn Jewell and I wanted to let you know about my newly released YA eBook! Its dystopian fiction, set in a world where a lot of the population was wiped out by a pandemic and of the people left, about 75% of them have what's called The Roving, which is similar to ADHD. People with The Roving have trouble focusing and short attention spans. The post pandemic society is completely government run; the government decides everything, from where you'll live once you turn 17 (the age they consider you an adult) to who you are paired with and expected to marry and produce children, and what career path you will be put on. You can request certain pairings or careers but ultimately you must take what you're given and once you have your assignments, you cannot even request a change for 5 years.

This book focuses on Hillary, the main character, who turns 17 and is not at all happy with any of her assignments. Not only that, she's seriously struggling with who she is as a person and with desires she has that are considered not normal by society. The book is basically the story of her trying to figure out who she is and along the way realizing that the so called "perfect" society is really far from it. There is friendship, romance, mystery, and lots more. I've included an excerpt below:

Excerpt:

A blank screen on my tablet now glares back at me, my own face reflected on the black screen in the bright overhead light of my small, beige bedroom. I look into the scared blue eyes of a girl who’s been keeping a secret for several years now. A secret desire that—while it can’t exactly get me into trouble, per se — it can never, never, be fulfilled. But now the secret is wiped away. I have a clean, blank page to fill with new musings, new yearnings, and wishes—attainable ones—and I have a chance to start over, build a new me, sans secret desires. The Sorting is now less than two days away. I’m leaving all that kid stuff behind me.

Buy links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U9R76QK

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121345318?ean=2940151430012

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Roselyn_Jewell_unFocused?id=zwTvBgAAQBAJ&hl=en

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/524757

If purchasing via Smashwords, code HR72V will get you a 50% discount ;)

I hope you all will enjoy it and if you'd like to contact me with any questions, feedback, or anything at all I can be reached at roselyn@roselynjewell.com or on social media as jewellromance.

Thanks,
Roselyn

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Savage Run

Savage Run is a YA futuristic dystopia by E. J. Squires.

In one of the last hierarchical societies, Newland has a set standard of classes – and seventeen year old Heidi Cruise, being both a Laborer and a female, is in the lowest ranking set.

She has already seen her best friend suffer under the ruthless hand of her Master in less than a year and soon it will be Heidi’s turn to be assigned a Master, as well.

But she refuses to accept that.

It is the time of year that the Savage Run begins – a brutal, male-only obstacle program that offers the lower classes to compete with one goal in mind: survive and become a Master.

Determined to find freedom, Heidi is convinced their only chance is to pretend to be male and enter the Savage Run. Yet before they are even able to register, things begin to fall apart.

Is it possible for a Laborer, and a female one at that, to ever be free?

I will say that occasionally the writing and editing of Savage Run felt like it could use some improvement – but the story is gripping and absorbing enough to move beyond that very quickly.

This is, in my opinion, a very well developed futuristic dystopia – a little shades of Hunger Games but different enough to not be too similar.

Savage Run is suspenseful and vigorous with some romantic elements that are strong but happily do not overwhelm the survival plot.

It’s a horrifying cruel obstacle course – in which you feel that the higher level of society is only giving this “opportunity” by gritting their teeth and bearing it.

With these nail-biting elements and a likable heroine, the very present-tense “in the mind of” narration works very well.

I found that I liked Savage Run quite a bit – every time I sat it down I looked forward to picking it back up. Very good!

And, um, I would like to read book two!

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The Well of Ascension

The Well of Ascension is the second book in the high fantasy trilogy Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.

If you haven’t read Mistborn yet, I would strongly suggest you do not read this review. Instead, go read Mistborn!

Though Vin and her group of thieves-turned-rebels have ended a tyrant government that had been held for a thousand years, the final words of the Lord Ruler haunt Vin.

She may not want to believe that the Lord Ruler was holding something even worse back, but she cannot ignore the growing threatening nature of the mists and the figure that is watching her amidst them.

Beyond the supernatural concern, Elend’s new freedom-focused government of Luthadel is being confronted with multiple outside armies who’ve decided they’d like to take the kingdom from the young king.

Defeating the Lord Ruler was only the beginning…

The Well of Ascension was quite something.

Just as when I entered into Mistborn, part of me wondered if The Well of Ascension could possibly be worth the time consumption of 750+ pages.

And initially, with the natural digression of memory regarding the particulars of the allomancy magic and multiple characters, the action sequences at the outset felt tiresome.

Yet with just a teeny tad bit of patience, the novel sparks the memory and you suddenly remember just how fascinating it all is – and yes, just how awesome it is.

The Well of Ascension brings back the complex characters that are multi-faceted, sometimes hard to like but always amazingly believable. The fantasy aspects, the fact that this word is a hinted at future, the original and often creepy creatures and nail-biting intrigue is to die for!

I’m surprised just how attached I am to the characters and as a deep suspense builds the intrigue to the max, I was turning pages never knowing what would happen next. And my goodness was there some doozies of twists!!!

Wow, wow, wow.

Unforeseen revelations gut wrenching shocks and edge of your seat epic storytelling has me in its grips.

Yes, The Well of Ascension was very good. A gamechanger.

Here I come The Hero of Ages!

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Mistborn

Mistborn is the first book in the high fantasy epic The Final Empire trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.

Sixteen-year-old Vin knows that you cannot trust anyone. Her mother tried to kill her. Her brother abandoned her. And now, in order to survive, she works with a group of poor Skaa thieves – the group leader utilizing her as a sort of “good luck charm”, due to her strange ability to be able to make people less scrupulous than normal.

Kelsier is a Mistborn that Snapped after a sequence of terrible incidents. Now he’s using his abilities and brash confidence to begin an uprising against the tyrannical thousand year reign of the Lord Ruler. But how do you get a people – the Skaa – to stand up and fight after they’ve no will to do so any longer?

When Vin meets Kelsier, her life dramatically changes. She is roped into their planned rebellion – a scheme that is so outlandish to Vin she can hardly believe they’re attempting it – and is told that these odd powers she has are actually the result of being one of the very few, very rare Mistborn.

Becoming part of something bigger than her – something with a purpose – is intoxicating.

Yet she can’t quite let go of the belief that no one is to be trusted…

Wow.

First off, this is a big book.

At over 600 pages, this is quite a start to a trilogy!

Brandon Sanderson has created fascinating, original concepts of magic – involving metals and “burning” them to utilize different abilities. Also, another type of magic too, that was only semi developed in Mistborn but is equally refreshing.

This hefty novel features likable, complex characters that are fully fleshed out and made to be three-dimensional. The plot is detailed and intricate with an engrossing slow build that allows the reader to witness every facet of a daring revolt in the works.

Definitely nerve-wracking. Definitely innovative. Definitely high-quality high fantasy.

And, golly, the twists!!!

When a book is as massive as Mistborn it needs to be good – and, thankfully, it was very good!

I will look forward to reading book two.

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