You can’t tell
from my posts in recent years, but I read more YA (young-adult) novels than any
other book type, and this includes picture books*! Since I made it a personal
goal to be more active on my blog in 2018, I decided I might as well put
together my second YA compilation of the year.
* I became an aunt last year, so
this could easily change.
*This is a standalone novel.*
Everyone wants a
miracle, but everyone fears what it takes to get one. For those pilgrims
seeking miracles, go to Bicho Raro, Colorado, a place filled with mysterious
saints, estranged relationships, transformations both amazing and terrifying,
miracle-hungry owls, a watchful desert and three Soria cousins. Daniel Lupe Soria
(19) is the current Saint of Bicho Raro, and he’s so good at it that even his eyes
are soothing. He wants so badly to help someone he is not allowed to help and
fears that this fierce desire could ruin his entire family. Beatriz Soria (18)
is an eerie and serene woman known as the girl without feelings who prefers
intellectual gratification over anything else. She wants to understand how a
butterfly is similar to a galaxy and fears being asked to do anything else.
Joaquin Soria (16) is suave and clean-shaven. He takes himself very seriously
and would prefer everyone else did as well. He has a phobia of dehydration and
so always carries enough water to last him for days. He wants to be famous (as
his DJ name Diablo Diablo) and fears dying alone in the parched dust outside
Bicho Raro.
Arriving in Bicho Raro of a night in
1962 are Tony DiRisio (a.k.a. Tony Triumph) and Pete Wyatt. Tony is a
household-fixture-of-a-DJ who wants to stop having dreams of a specific nature
and fears people watching him eat. He’s looking for a miracle. Pete is not.
He’s heading to Bicho Raro to talk to someone about a truck. He wants to start
a business that, summed up, makes him feel awesome and fears that the empty
feeling in his heart will eventually kill him. Miracles may be in store for all
of them, but the thing about miracles in Bicho Raro is that they’re never quite
what one expects, and they are never straightforward nor easy to obtain.
While I preferred Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series over this novel, this
one is still a tour de force, a spectacle of imagination. Much of her writing
is so lyrical, but not without light and logically-minded moments. It is clear
that Stiefvater is a master storyteller. The story does not focus on science
and religion, though elements of both shine through in the thoughts and
memories of characters from time to time, as the story astutely notes,
“Antonia’s kind of belief is not uncommon, but it has done both science and
religion a disservice. By relegating the things we fear and don’t understand to
religion, and the things we understand and control to science, we rob science
of its artistry and religion of its mutability” (p. 185). This fabulism
(magical realism) is eccentric but beautiful, dark yet radiant.
The Crown (May 3, 2016) by Kiera Cass.
*This is the final book in a series.*
In the past,
princesses born into the family were married to princes in other countries to
strengthen relations. This means that Crown Princess Eadlyn Schreave is the
first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection. What began as 35 potential
suitors has been whittled down to the top six. After a family emergency, Eadlyn
has dutifully taken on the role of regent and therefore makes all decisions of
state until further notice. She’s been training for this her entire life, but
it’s naturally more work than she imagined. She’s also trying to balance her
Selection process and do damage control since the people of Illéa do not
approve of her.
Someone wanting to read a light
romance reminiscent of a certain American TV show might have interest in this
series. “The Crown” is the fifth and final book in the Selection series. (Eadlyn’s story is contained within the latter
two novels.) Sadly, I never rooted for Princess Eadlyn, although I did want to
root for a few of the guys. When I first met her in the previous book, she was
very much the stereotypically uppity, pampered princess, and no matter how she
tried to emulate her beloved parents, I never felt she’d truly turned over a
new leaf.
Despite my less-than-stellar review,
I do not like to focus solely on the negative. Not wanting to give away
specific top six names, there were definitely suitors that I rooted for. In
spite of the number of characters, Cass did do some of them enough justice that
I felt like they truly were supporting characters and not passing fancies. The
ending is tied up in too pretty a bow thanks to the happy ending, both for love
and the Illéan monarchy moving forward, though that isn’t necessarily a bad
thing. It’s simply something I noted.
*This is a standalone novel.*
What would you
do if you lived your entire life in a house that you never got to leave? Madeline
Furukawa Whittier reads books, and “It doesn’t matter how many you’ve read.
I’ve read more. Believe me. I’ve had the time.” Madeline has Severe Combined
Immunodeficiency (SCID), also known as “bubble baby disease.” Madeline has just
turned 18 and a new family has moved in next door. When she starts interacting
with the teenage son, Olly, she gains her first nickname of Maddy. And in
knowing Olly, she’s definitely going to fall in love, and it will most likely
be a disaster. She has her secrets, as she doesn’t want to share the reason she
lives in a house that she never gets to leave, and he has his secrets. Chatting
with him through emails and instant messages helps pass some of the time – when
it’s after 8 p.m. and Maddy’s finally alone – but it is nothing compared to
human contact. She so rarely interacts with humans in person that she craves
it. Or at least craves Olly. And it appears that he is as curious about her as
she is about him. So you see? Disaster.
Because of how the prose is stylized
(as an actual story, as a diary page, list, graph, etc.), I found this YA novel
to be fast-paced. I like knowing how many chapters a book has, but this one
does not number the chapters; however, each “chapter” does have a heading, so
it at least has that going for it. This was Yoon’s debut novel, and the
construction of it is so like a new snow under sunlight that it sparkles. It’s
an easy story to get caught up in. Even if you’re not into “love” stories, this
novel is stunning in its creative writing.
Responding to Everything, Everything:
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if this idea has been done before in movies and other novels, and the only way for an idea to succeed if it's been done before, is to do it in a new way. It seems as if Yoon does weave the story in a new way, which I like. His style must be impeccable as well if you state that it was quite an enjoyable read. Thank you for the review of it!