Rutabaga's Reads 2013: Part 2

Welcome to Rutabaga’s Reads 2013: Part 2. Thanks to everyone who left comments about books you’ve read or are looking forward to reading.

Beautiful Redemption (Oct. 23, 2012) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl.

The first novel in the series, Beautiful Creatures, is a motion picture that will hit theatres on Valentine’s Day. Will you read the books now? Won’t you? Either way, I don’t want to put in spoilers. But please indulge me as I blurt out a smattering of words regarding this fourth and final novel.

            Curses and secrets. Trials and tribulations. A button like a pile of bricks. Cake like cement. Love. Regret. Fear. Hope. Pain. Determination. Two times goodbye. Always loved.

            Confused? Read the books! Know what I’m talking about? Post a comment! When you enjoy a series, there is always something a little sad about reading the last lines of the last book. But “Beautiful Redemption” is executed well. Occasionally it borders on almost-too-sappy, but at the same time, that sappiness helps carry a main character through the book. Love conquers all. Love supersedes all. For Ethan and Lena, love feeds their story of beautiful redemption.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (Sept. 12, 2006) by John Boyne.

I saw the movie well before I read this book, but that didn’t make reading the book any easier. Bruno is the nine-year-old son of a commandant-father who’s been assigned leadership of “Out-With,” a concentration camp in Poland, by the “Fury.” Bruno has led a sheltered life when it comes to his father’s “job” and is therefore naïve about the land beyond the fence. His naïveté holds even when he meets Shmuel, one of the multitude in striped pajamas beyond the fence. He doesn’t realize the awful reality of why Shmuel “lives” there. He only wants to play games with him. Will Bruno visit Shmuel? Even though that would be forbidden? … And No Exceptions?

            Despite the extremely tough subject, it is not a graphic book. The storytelling is simple when the history is not. It is haunting and poignant. The story is seen from the viewpoint of a nine-year-old … but it’s certainly not a book for nine-year-olds. Junior high students and above, perhaps. Whatever you think or feel about the book, I anticipate that you’ll find it thought-provoking and discussion-worthy.

Cemetery Girl (Oct. 4, 2011) by David Bell.

Tom and Abby Stuart led seemingly idyllic lives until their twelve-year-old daughter, Caitlin, vanished. Abby has made plans to move on, but Tom refuses to believe she’s dead. Four years later, Caitlin is found alive. Already a child who disclosed little, she refuses to give up details as a now-sixteen-year-old. Tom’s desperate to get the facts, Abby is torn between the alive-Caitlin and the memorial-service-honored-Caitlin, and other characters involved range in level of interest. What truths will be uncovered? And what does Caitlin’s attitude toward her captor say about her psychologically?

            “Cemetery Girl” did not capture my interest. My lack of interest in the novel was due to annoying characters (the only character I liked was the dog) and a lack of the unexpected, though the storyline initially appeared promising. The book isn’t good, bad or ugly. It’s just okay.

            (For those concerned, there are multiple instances where one might want to clean characters’ mouths out with soap.) (Adult fiction.)

Days of Blood & Starlight (Nov. 6, 2012) by Laini Taylor.

Blue-haired Karou is back in the sequel to “Daughter of Smoke & Bone.” She is tasked to create revenants for the chimaera and is stuck in a “land of dust and starlight.” She is supremely angry with Akiva. The seraphim and the chimaera are ever at each others’ throats -- and too often, quite literally. Is there any end to the slaughter occurring on both sides? Why does so much blood spill? For vengeance? For power over the land of Eretz? For sick sport?

            Akiva struggles, too. He’s disgusted with himself and with his “people” (the seraphim). He’s torn and broken, but he’s also hopeful and sympathetic. “Mercy breeds mercy,” he says, and it begins with himself. Will other seraphim take to his cause? And help the “enemy?”

            This installment is as terribly violent as it is exquisitely imagined. It’s cunning. Brutish. Brutal. And yet beautifully written. “Death, death, death,” I said aloud one night, succinctly summing up what was happening and the violence of it, the carelessness and ugliness of it. This is not a book for the faint-hearted. Fortunately, Karou’s tiny, ferocious friend, Zuzana, brings much-needed humor to the story. I am definitely looking forward to the concluding novel!

Water for Elephants (May 26, 2006) by Sara Gruen.

The story is told from Jacob Jankowski’s point-of-view. He is ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other. Most chapters center on his life as a twenty-three-year-old almost-veterinarian. He finds himself employed as part of the Benzini Bros Most Spectacular Show on Earth as their vet. However, employed is a loose term, as he never gets paid. The circus isn’t just a circus of performers and animals, but bosses as well. There’s circus owner Uncle Al, who’s desperate to be like the Ringling Bros; superintendent of animals August Rosenbluth, who’s as charismatic as he is violent; and Marlena, August’s wife and a star circus performer. Jacob is immediately drawn to Marlena, which is most noticeable due to August’s extreme paranoia. When August’s abuse gets out of hand, and it’s seen that Uncle Al only cares about his circus, will Jacob heed his employer’s demands? Or will he attempt to do what he feels is right?

            “Water for Elephants” is as much an historical romance novel (Great Depression Era) as it is a novel of self-discovery and mental growth. I didn’t love this book, and sometimes, I didn’t even like it, but it is vivid and well-written. It’s not always an easy book to read. The novel volleys from charming to intense and from honest to sleazy, sometimes all within the same chapter. (For those who might like a heads-up, there are occasions of explicit material and expletives.) This is not a relaxed read, but it is rich in detail. What was your take on this book?