The books for
this compilation have been spread out over many months. I first saved this
document, nicknamed “YA Reads 2,” back in April. It’s now already November!
Yes, the following books all fall into the category of young adult. As before,
I hope that you’ll read this post whether you frequently read YA titles,
occasionally read them or refuse to read them but know people who do.
Revenge is sweet
in the fictional town of Ascension, Maine, but who’s on the receiving end?
Emily Winters should be enjoying winter break. There’s no school, there are
parties to attend, and handsome Zach McCord is finally noticing her. Perhaps
he’ll invite her over to his house. But wait. Em shouldn’t want that, because
Zach is the boyfriend of Gabby Dove. And Gabby Dove is Em’s best friend. Then
there’s Chase Singer. He lives on the other side of town, but he doesn’t like it
to show. He wears the right clothes, is star quarterback on the football team
and can get pretty much any girl he wants. After all, he belongs. But Chase has a secret of cruelty. Luke 6:31 states, “Do
to others as you would have them do to you” (NRSV). That may ring truer than
Chase could ever believe. Who decides their fate? Enacts the revenge? In this
case, three beautiful, mystifying girls. They’ve come to Ascension for a
reason. They want to make people feel sorry for their wrongdoings … But
sometimes sorry isn’t enough.
Although I mentioned the verse from
Luke, “Fury” isn’t at all biblical. Think more mythological. The concept is a
good one, and the writing is solid; strong language is used more than
infrequently. The three girls really are as cold as deep winter and are deadly
to boot. “Fury” didn’t seduce me, but it held my attention most of the time.
While there are paranormal elements, it isn’t only young adult paranormal
fiction. It can also bring about discussion of bullying and vengeance. The
girls are all about the latter and sometimes even the former to reach the
latter. Perhaps it will be addressed in later books, but the big question for
me was: Why them? What makes them any worse than anyone else performing the
same cruel or devious acts? Why choose someone who covets another over one who,
say, takes lives? And why do these girls get to decide? Can they be bested?
WARNING: UNAVOIDABLE* SPOILERS INCLUDED
Big secrets are
fun, right? Emma McIntosh already knows about the Syrena and what it is to be a
Half-Breed, but of course the news doesn’t end there. Now she’s trying to
digest the fact that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess. Nalia has
momentarily returned to the sea, but Emma has to stay on land. Where does she
belong? She’s a freak amongst humans and an abomination amongst Syrena. But it
turns out her mom isn’t having an easy time of things, either. She’s been gone
for so long, and seeds of doubt have been planted by someone in the Poseidon
camp. Seeds that say that Nalia isn’t Nalia the long-lost, long-thought-dead
Poseidon princess, even though King Antonis is convinced she’s his daughter. He
would know his own progeny, right? The troublemaker, unfortunately, is doing a
better job of turning his Loyals against the Royals than the Royals are
convincing them of the truth. A Tribunal, unheard of for Royals, has been
called upon them. Things don’t appear to be in their favor, which could mean a
trip to the Ice Caverns for them -- for their eternity. Emma may be the only
one who can show them that the Royals are telling the truth and the
troublemaker is the liar. But will she reveal her Gift to both Syrena kingdoms
and let all the pieces fall where they may?
Like its predecessor, “Of Triton” is
told from the alternating viewpoints of Emma and Galen. Also like its
predecessor, it is infused with humor, teenage sarcasm and overall literary
entertainment value. The romance between Emma and Galen continues to blossom,
though it’s not steamy. There aren’t any new, major, supporting characters
introduced in this installment, but we do get to know some of the other supporting
characters a little more (e.g. King Antonis). I highly recommend this book to
anyone with watery intrigue interests.
Book One in the trilogy: Of Poseidon
* Might the
spoilers actually be avoidable? Perhaps. But considering the spoilers I listed
are included on the inside of the dust jacket, I deemed them ‘unavoidable.’
Sapphire Blue (Oct. 30, 2012) by Kerstin Gier. Anthea
Bell, translator.
Oh, to be a
time-traveling member of the Circle of Twelve! But really, Gwen Shepherd would
rather be a normal teenager. Instead she’s having lessons of historical period correctness
with the dramatically unpleasant grouch called Giordano (“just Giordano”) and her horrid cousin Charlotte Montrose. The
striking, green-eyed, time-traveling counterpart of Gwen’s, Gideon de Villiers,
is also around, but Gwen doesn’t really know what to think of him half the
time. Sometimes Gideon’s as hot as a blazing fire, and her mind is more
blancmange than actual mind. Other times he’s as cold as ice, giving her such
frigid glares that her heart could shatter like glass. No one knows what the
Circle’s completion really means, and any other truths out there are being kept
from Gwen, which she thinks is hardly fair. Most of the members don’t trust
Gwen. Where does Gideon stand? Does he see her as a trustworthy person or as a
traitor? At least she has her best friend, Lesley Hay, on her side. And don’t
forget her new friend Xemerius, a stone gargoyle that’s the ghost of a demon
that no other living person around her can see.
Questions remain unanswered in this
second book, though some are coming to light. This YA novel of light science
fiction is one I find captivating. There’s also light romance, secrecy,
adventure and more than a few tense and embarrassing moments. There are reunions
in the past, if that makes sense; there’s even a Japanese kitchen knife (for
protection, of course). “Sapphire Blue” contains plenty of humor, though I feel
I chuckled aloud more reading the first book. Either way, I found this novel to
be entertaining. And Gwen is a [mostly] typical teenager who’s filled with
gumption and worries, not to mention schoolgirl crushes. She seems more real
than not, which is not a small thing in a world of science fiction.
Book One in the trilogy: Ruby Red
It’s one thing
to feel invisible and another to actually be invisible. Just ask Fiona McClean.
Invisible from birth, Fiona is a criminal syndicate baby, daughter of Jonas
O’Connell. He controls Las Vegas and the northern west: Sacramento up to
Seattle and over to Boise. Due to a drug called Radiasure, an antiradiation
pill, much of the population has at least some mutation in their genes. Fiona’s
the only invisible person, though, while her dad is a charmer. Her mom’s ability
lies with telekinesis. After her dad makes a demand unlike one he’s yet given
her, Fiona and her mom flee to Arizona and the territory of Juan Torres. She
enrolls at a place as normal as Madison High School, where most people are
wary/afraid/jealous of her. She makes a couple good friends in the process –
Bea and Brady – and befriends many others. She’s gone through life with no
friends and suddenly she has The Pack. All it took was a change of scenery and
the strength to get away. But can she stay away forever? Jonas doesn’t want
Fiona and her mom back because he misses them; they are valuable tools, and he wants his possessions.
Debut author Natalie Whipple takes
the awkwardness and pain of being a teenager and turns it on its head by adding
in a drug and genetic mutations that run the gamut of fantastical abilities
(e.g. Strong Arms) and strange phenomena (e.g. a green person or a baby born
smelling like roses). It’s whip-smart, fast-reading and totally entertaining.
There’s a cuss word here and there, but it shouldn’t make anyone cringe too much.
Fiona frets more often than I would like, but it’s easy to ignore with
Whipple’s fun writing. She’s definitely gained a fan in me!
Venice, Italy,
is La Serenissima: the most serene.
But underneath its veneer of serenity lies a Venice that is dark and dangerous,
sensual and sinful. Cassandra Caravello is a young noblewoman of society,
though she lives with her aunt outside of Venice on nearby San Domenico Island.
She is grieving the death of a young countess friend, but when she goes into
the cemetery to say goodbye, she discovers the body of a viciously murdered
woman who’s definitely not Liviana. That same night she crosses paths with a
handsome artist. His name is Falco da Padova. Falco stirs feelings in Cass that
she has not felt before. That’s very troublesome on two levels: First of all,
he’s a commoner. Second, she’s already betrothed. Her fiancé’s name is Luca da
Peraga. Luca is away studying in France, so together Falco and Cass turn into
amateur sleuths. Because it’s apparent that the murderer knows who Cass is, and
he wants her dead. But why? Will the killer be captured before more bodies turn
up? For all of Renaissance Venice’s beauty, Cass is going to find that the most
serene city can be quite dirty and ugly. And no, I’m not just referring to the
emptying of chamber pots into the street … though there is that, too.
“Venom” is Paul’s debut historical
mystery and romance novel. I like how each chapter was preceded by an “excerpt”
from The Book of the Eternal Rose.
Nothing is mentioned of that fictional book within the novel, but my guess is
that it will come into play before the trilogy’s end. I think Paul’s
world-building is believable; I could picture Venice vividly through reading
the author’s writing. However, I felt like this book was 100 pages too long,
but it is full of detail. There are some potentially steamy and/or more mature
moments (for any concerned). “Venom” is fairly predictable, but this is not a
bad story, as the reader can tell that Cass is emerging from her affluently
naïve cocoon and learning about the world outside her, even when that world is
next door.
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