rules of prey

rules of prey
lucas davenport #1
john sandford
berkeley
published 1989

The "maddog" murderer who is terrorizing the Twin Cities is two things: insane and extremely intelligent.  He kills for the pleasure of it and thoroughly enjoys placing elaborate obstacles to keep police befuddled.  Each clever move he makes is another point of pride.  But when the brilliant Lieutenant Lucas Davenport - a dedicated cop and serial killer's worst nightmare - is brought to take up the investigation, the maddog suddenly has an adversary worthy of his genius.

It has been over 20 years since I first read this book and started the wonderful journey through John Sandford's prey novels.  These are among my most favorite books and after the last few books I kept thinking, I should re-read this series.  So that's what I'm doing.  One down, twenty-five to go.

I love the way that Sandford has Davenport thinking.  Even though he's fishing he's plotting out what he's going to do to trap this guy.  Sometimes it works, and sometimes shit hits the fan, but it's always entertaining.  I sit there sometimes and try to figure out if and how he's going to get away with stuff he pulls.  It's fantastic.

I love that it's been so long that I've forgotten the details enough that the book is still fun to read.  There are still surprises and at the same time there's the familiarity with the characters.  I did get a little sad when certain characters who met their demise later in the series showed up, but like greeting old friends, it's nice to see everyone.

This is certainly a great introduction to Lucas.  It has all the things about him that I love about him and I remember why I love this series and kept reading it for twenty years!

gathering prey

gathering prey
lucas davenport #25
john sandford
fiction/mystery/thriller/suspense
gp putnam's sons
published 2015

They call them Travelers.  They move from city to city, panhandling, committing no crimes - they just like to stay on the move.  And now somebody is killing them.

Lucas Davenport's adopted daughter, Letty, is home from college when she gets a phone call from a woman Traveler she'd befriended in San Francisco.  The woman thinks somebody's killing her friends, she's afraid she knows who it is, and now her male companion has gone missing.  She's hiding out in North Dakota, and she doesn't know what to do.

Letty tells Lucas she's going to get her, and, though he suspects Letty's getting played, he volunteers to go with her.  When he hears the woman's story though, he begins to think there's something in it.  Little does he know.  In the days to come, he will embark upon an odyssey through a subculture unlike any he has every seen, a trip that will not only put the two of them in danger - but just may change the course of his life.

Another freaking winner by John Sandford.  I wait in anticipation hoping that when Letty finishes college and becomes whatever career badass she's going to be Sandford will give her her own series.  Please, please give Letty her own series.

Anyway, lots of crazies here in Gathering Prey and Lucas has kind of gone off the rails.  It started with the events in Field of Prey and we've seen it before throughout the series.  Lucas needs something.....but he's not sure what yet.  All he knows that what he has now isn't working.  So he puts everything into finding these killers.  But about 98% is born from a kind of stupid thing Letty does that seemed slightly out of character, (but then again not) that sends Lucas into a protective father rage.  It's hard to talk about without giving too much away.

The humor is always there, the reality of these people.  The instances that make them seem like real people that you could encounter or know in this life.  After a bad experience Lucas tells Letty he's going to call Weather.  Letty warns, 'She's gonna scream,' to which Lucas replies, 'Yeah, well - it's her turn.'  And later when Lucas is vaguely outlining his plans to Weather she says to him, 'All right, if you say so.  I reserve the right to smirk when it all goes wrong.'

Sandford's writing is just so perfect.  And the problem with that is for awhile after I've finished a Prey or Virgil Flowers novel everything else I pick up to read just kind of sucks.  So I have to take a break from reading for a bit.  I've said I was thinking of restarting the series and I wonder if now is a good time to start.

the cousins o'dwyer trilogy

dark witch
shadow spell
blood magick
nora roberts
fiction/fantasy/romance
berkley
published 2013-2014

With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance.  From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends. 

Ireland.

With the legends and lore of Ireland running through his blood, falconer Connor O'Dwyer is proud to call County Mayo home.  It's where his sister, Branna, lives and works, where his cousin, Iona, has come, and where his childhood friends form a circle that can't be broken.

County Mayo is rich in the traditions of Ireland, legends that Branna fully embraces in her life and in her work as the proprietor of The Dark Witch shop, which carries soaps, lotions, and candles for tourists, made with Branna's special touch.  Her strength and selflessness hold together a close circle of friends and family - along with their horses and hawks and her beloved hound.  But there's a single missing link in the chain of her life: love.

This is one of those trilogies that just felt kind of like the same book over and over again.  Not that they were boring reads.  They're quick and fun and full of Irish.  It's just that everything was pretty predictable.  I mean, they're fighting an evil witch and there's three books so you know the first two times they try they're going to fail so.....not much to guess at.  It did get a little too repetitious by the third book and I just wanted them to get on with it.  To be honest, the story of Sorcha and her children was more interesting than the present day witches.

Not my favorite trilogy from Nora Roberts, but let's not kid, of course I would have read them no matter what!

crazy rich asians

crazy rich asians
kevin kwan
fiction/contemporary
doubleday
published 2013

When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry.  What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back.  Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should - and should not - marry.

I don't know what I expected when I finally got my hands on Crazy Rich Asians, but I wasn't quite prepared for what I got!  Crazy Rich Asians was like a cross between Gossip Girl, Sex and the City and Pretty Little Liars.  I have no dislike for fashion or reading about the ridiculous opulence, but it did get kind of monotonous having to hear every designer of every piece of clothing, jewelry, handbag, shoe, glasses, china, table, bedding, car, etc. etc. etc.  If something could be expensive we were battered on the head with its pedigree.

On the other hand, I loved Astrid, liked Rachel a lot and really had fun with the story.  Sure, it's not anything new (except the insertion of Asians) - girl meets boy who she thinks is just a normal guy, turns out he's filthy rich and doesn't tell her until she's confronted with his rich, snobby family - but the characters were colorful and fun.

I listened to the audiobook as well as read though it on my kindle.  I liked being able to hear the Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciations, but the reader's British accents and male voices (she's a female) were slightly distracting.

Kevin Kwan's second book China Rich Girlfriend comes out in June, a sequel to Crazy Rich Asians and I'm sure I'll read it.  I have to find out what happened to Astrid!

yes please

yes please
amy poehler
autobiography/humor
dey street books
published 2014

In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read.  Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry, photographs, mantras and advice.

I'm 80% sure I have never seen any movie that Amy Poehler was in.  I have never seen an episode of Parks and Rec.  But she was in my two all time favorite SNL skits, Debbie Downer's first appearance where everyone broke character, and in the same episode when Lindsay Lohan and Kaitlin have a sleepover.  So good.  Oh wait, I just remembered I saw They Came Together.  But I hated it.

Anyway, I decided to listen to Poehler's memoir because I had listened to Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling's books and they both talk about how great she is and since she also reads her book I thought, why not?

There were some funny parts, I loved her 'Birthing Plan'.  Loved it!  I loved her chapter My Boys.  And Patrick Stewart reading her haiku - so good.

I'm going to watch me some Parks and Rec now.

big little lies

big little lies
liane moriarty
fiction/contemporary/mystery
putnam
published 2014

Sometimes it's the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal....A murder, a tragic accident, or just parents behaving badly?  What's indisputable is that someone is dead.  But who did what?  Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

This book was fantastic!  I've never read any of Liane Moriarty's books despite owning two of them so this was my first.  Someone in my book club had raved about it as she had just finished it and I thought I'd pick it up.  I checked on Amazon and it was on sale for the Kindle for $2.99!  I took that as a sign and snapped it up.

From the start you know someone dies at the school trivia night, but you don't know who, how or why and it's maddening!  But in the most delicious way.

The story focuses on three women and as I got to know them I desperately didn't want them to be the victim who meets her demise.  There was so much that reminded me of the gossiping and backstabbing that goes on with school moms.  Of course, no one has died at our school auction, but I could see glimpses of real life in so much of Big Little Lies.

Of course, now that I've read this book I've got to finally read her others.  One is already on my tbr list for that challenge!

personal

personal
jack reacher #19
lee child
fiction/thriller/suspense
delacorte press
published 2014

Someone has taken a shot at the president of France in the City of Light.  The bullet was American.  The distance between the gunman and the target was exceptional.  How many snipers can shoot from three-quarters of a mile with total confidence?  Very few, but John Kott - an American marksman gone bad - is one of them.  And after fifteen years in prison, he's out, unaccounted for, and likely drawing a bead on a G8 summit packed with enough world leaders to tempt any assassin.

Things I loved:
Jack Reacher
Casey Nice
Jack kicking ass as usual

What I didn't love:
I don't even know what happened

Well, that's not true, but it kind of is.  Reacher is looking for Kott.  We know he's looking for Kott and we know that someone is helping him, hired him, and they have to go through them to get to him.  So there are approximately 270 pages dealing with the gangs, one gang in particular mostly and 3 pages dealing with Kott.  I felt cheated.

There just wasn't much to this one.  I didn't feel that same ole' Reacher magic and it made me sad. :(

the long way home

the long way home
armand gamache #10
louise penny
mystery
minotaur books
published 2014

Happily retired in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec, has found a peace he’d only imagined possible. On warm summer mornings he sits on a bench holding a small book, The Balm in Gilead, in his large hands. "There is a balm in Gilead," his neighbor Clara Morrow reads from the dust jacket, "to make the wounded whole."

While Gamache doesn’t talk about his wounds and his balm, Clara tells him about hers. Peter, her artist husband, has failed to come home. Failed to show up as promised on the first anniversary of their separation. She wants Gamache’s help to find him. Having finally found sanctuary, Gamache feels a near revulsion at the thought of leaving Three Pines. "There’s power enough in Heaven," he finishes the quote as he contemplates the quiet village, "to cure a sin-sick soul." And then he gets up. And joins her.

Together with his former second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Myrna Landers, they journey deeper and deeper into Québec. And deeper and deeper into the soul of Peter Morrow. A man so desperate to recapture his fame as an artist, he would sell that soul. And may have. The journey takes them further and further from Three Pines, to the very mouth of the great St. Lawrence river. To an area so desolate, so damned, the first mariners called it The land God gave to Cain. And there they discover the terrible damage done by a sin-sick soul.

I've loved Louise Penny's Armand Gamache books.  I picked up one because the photograph on the cover was gorgeous.  Found out it was a series so I found the first one and off I went.  I am now caught up with the series and oh so sad.  For one, to be done with the series (so far, hopefully another one will be forthcoming) and two this was, well, it was shocking.

Peter is missing and you know that something terrible must have happened to him to keep him away from Clara.  So the entire time I'm dreading what they will find.  Now, Peter was always my least favorite villager from Three Pines.  I think he was meant to be the opposite of Clara and their balance kept each other in check, but still I always felt there was no balance there.  I felt like Peter didn't deserve Clara and I was so proud of her when she asked him to leave.

All the books in this series have been slow burners, but this was the most extreme of all of them.  It took so long to get anywhere and most of it seemed to be everyone staring at art, the same art, over and over for pages and pages.

But it was so twisted up I remained unsure the whole time.  I couldn't imagine that Peter was dead, but I couldn't understand why he wouldn't return to Clara so I was in limbo the whole time and everything about the ending was unexpected to me.

Holy cow.

not my father's son

not my father's son
alan cumming
memoir/audiobook/nonfiction
harper audio
published 2014

With ribald humor, wit, and incredible insight, Alan seamlessly moves back and forth in time, integrating stories from his childhood in Scotland and his experiences today as the celebrated actor of film, television, and stage.  At times suspenseful, at times deeply moving, but always incredibly brave and honest, Not My Father's Son is a powerful story of embracing the best aspects of the past and triumphantly pushing the darkness aside.

I have always been a fan of Alan Cumming, but not in a 'he's my favorite actor' sort of way.  When I finished my last audiobook I knew I needed something else to listen to while I crocheted and this book was available from the library.  I tend to enjoy audiobooks more when they're memoirs and read by the author and it's even better read in Cumming's gorgeous Scottish brogue.

Cumming is honest both about his father's behavior toward his two children and wife and about his own coming to terms with accepting his past and moving on.  His memories of his father's abuse are broken up with his quest to learn about his maternal grandfather.  His grandfather had died in mysterious circumstances far away from home while Cumming's mother was still a child and when Cumming is approached by the BBC show 'Who Do You Think You Are?' he realized he could maybe solve the mystery for his mother and himself.

The stories he tells are gripping and wrenching.  His love for his mother, brother and husband are palpable and at times it's that love shining through that keeps the book from being merely brooding and depressing.

I loved this book.  I could have listened to him tell stories all day long (and I did).  I wanted to just have it on a loop and fall asleep to his voice!

the kite runner

the kite runner
khaled hosseini
fiction/drama/historical
penguin
published 2002

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed.  It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption: and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons - their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

This is one of those books that I generally steer away from.  Books I label 'socially conscious' books.  I don't even think that's a real term, but it's always what I think of when books like this.  To me it means that this book is about something we should know about.  Like reading about current events.  Or, books Oprah raves about.  If Oprah is raving about a book I know I probably don't want to read that book.  Oprah and I do not have the same taste in books.

But at a book club meeting with women I love and respect they all unanimously voiced their love of The Kite Runner and one mentioned it was a great audiobook listen because then you weren't stumbling on the unfamiliar words and names.  I like to listen to books when read by the authors also, and this one was.  I was also made more curious after I discovered that Khaled Hosseini grew up in my hometown after moving to the States and even graduated from the other high school in our district.  So I set aside my prejudices about socially conscious books and checked out the audiobook from the library to listen to while I crocheted.

I did not love it.

I don't even understand why people like this book.  The main character, Amir is one of the most irredeemable, disgusting protagonists I've ever had the displeasure of reading about.  I was literally disgusted with him.  It made my stomach roll and at times I would exclaim in frustration because I just wanted him to shut up.  Are we supposed to learn to like him?  Have sympathy for him?  What is the point of creating a character so far removed from human decency?  I kept waiting for the moment when he would step up and atone for his past behaviors, but that didn't happen!  AND EVERYONE KEPT FORGIVING HIM!  He was treated as 'poor Amir' as if these things had happened TO him, when in fact he was the catalyst for ruining the lives of so many people who loved him.  And even in what should have been his great moment of redemption he once again proves to be a coward and useless.  When he should be a protector, he instead terrifies and then kneels idly while screaming instead of attempting to get help.  Waste.

The book dragged on for me with repetitive moments like when Assef is telling Sohrab to put down the slingshot.  It went like this:

"Put it down."  "No."  "Put it down."  "No."  "Put it down!"  "No."  "Put it down!"  "No!"  "Put it down!"  "No!"  "Put it down!"  "No!"

I almost went crazy in that moment.

Then there were the times when he would say something like:

"I have something important to tell you.  It will change your life.  It may be too late."  "What is it?!"  "Well, it may be too late."  "What do you mean?"  "I will tell you, but it may be too late.  Would you like a cigarette?"  "No, thank you."  "Let me ask you first, why do you want to know?"  "It's personal."  "But why do you want to know?"  "I have my reasons."  "But why?"  "It's personal."

Wasn't it painful reading that right now?  That's how I felt.  You may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm really not.

I was not surprised by anything.  Amir's actions and the repercussions of these actions were so obvious it was nearly unbearable.  Ugh.

But all was not terrible.  I loved reading about the Kabul in the 70's.  I loved getting that glimpse of  Afghan culture and traditions.  I enjoyed when Amir and Baba moved to the States and settled in the Bay Area reading about places I had been, like Lake Elizabeth and the Berryessa Flea Market, staples of my childhood.  I could clearly picture the stalls at the flea market and imagined Amir and his father maybe passing by my childhood home on their way back to Fremont.  I did love some of the characters, Hassan and Ali, of course, Baba, Soraya and her mother....but in the end it wasn't enough.

last winter we parted

last winter, we parted
fuminori nakamura
mystery/thriller
soho press
published 2014

A young writer arrives at a prison to interview a convict.  The writer has been commissioned to write a full account of the case, from the bizarre and grisly details of the crime to the nature of the man behind it.  The suspect, a world-renowned photographer named Kiharazaka, has a deeply unsettling portfolio - lurking beneath the surface of each photograph is an acutely obsessive fascination with his subject.

He stands accused of murdering two women - both burned alive - and will likely face the death penalty.  But something isn't quite right.  As the young writer probes further, his doubts about this man as a killer intensify, and he struggles to maintain his sense of reason and justice.  Is Kiharazaka truly guilty, or will he die to protect someone else?

This could have been a really good book.  It had a mystery, a possibly wrongly convicted man, a twisted romance, murder and insanity.  But there wasn't much to the book.  It was a very quick read and I think that's why I continued to read.  Not because it was hard to put down, but because it was so short I figured I might as well finish it.  I think I read it in a few hours.

The synopsis talks of this young writer and you would think that his character would keep the mystery going for you, but in truth I don't really know what that writer was doing.  And then all of a sudden he solves the mystery.  It's all rather abrupt.

I don't know.  I really liked the idea behind the book, but I felt the execution fell flat or maybe something was just lost in translation?

all the bright places

all the bright places
jennifer niven
ya/contemporary
knopf publishing
published 2015

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself.  But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.  Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom.  And when they pair up on a project to discover the "natural wonders" of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It's only with Violet that Finch can be himself - a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who's not such a freak after all.  And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them.  But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink.

There is not a lot I can say about this YA debut from Jennifer Niven.  It is a depressingly good representation of bipolar disorder and the feelings of being in love with someone who suffers from it.  Grief is a huge player in this book and while there are bright spots the book barrels towards the dark without apology.  I didn't cry, much because mostly I was frozen.  Tense and waiting to see what became of Violet and Finch.

One thing that really stuck with me in is how everyone in Finch's life (besides Violet) dismiss his behavior as 'that's just Finch'.  Part of this is a testament to how the few friends he has are kept at arm's length.  They don't know what's going on in his home life, they're not close with him.  Even as they disparage everyone around them in the end, they are not much different from the herd.  His sisters are both caretakers and dependent on him and it is in her love for her brother that Kate shoulders a lot of the responsibility.  Had she not fielded all the questions from school maybe things would be different?  But then you get to his parents.....his mother who is basically useless.  One of those people who only reacts when they feel like events are happening to them.  And his father, who plainly is just an asshole.

It is truly no wonder that Finch's mental health progresses as it does and it's heartbreaking to watch.

green angel

green angel
alice hoffman
fiction/ya/supernatural
scholastic
published 2003

Left on her own when her family dies in a terrible disaster, fifteen-year-old Green is haunted by loss and by the past.  Struggling to survive physically and emotionally in a place where nothing seems to grow and ashes are everywhere, Green retreats into the ruined realm of her garden.  But in destroying her feelings she also begins to destroy herself, erasing the girl she'd once been as she inks darkness into her skin.  It is only through a series of mysterious encounters that Green can relearn the lessons of love and begin to heal enough to tell her story.

I'm curious as to just how many young adults enjoyed this book because I don't think this was a book that would widely appeal to the young adult set.  It is lyrical and magical, but it is painfully slow and very, very thoughtful.  The book is a quick read, but I felt like the pacing was too drawn out.  Nothing happened, and yet everything happened.  There are no details, but it was almost as if this was a novella that takes place between two books in a series.  Like how Veronica Roth wrote short stories focusing on other characters between her Divergent books.  I was a lovely book, albeit sad, but it was a beautiful little story about forgiveness.

malice

malice
keigo higashino
fiction/mystery
minotaur books
originally published 1996
translated to english 2014

Acclaimed bestselling novelist Kunihiko Hidaka is found brutally murdered in his home on the night before he was to leave Japan and relocate to Vancouver.  His body is found in his office, a locked room, within his locked house, buy his wife and his best friend, both of whom have solid alibis.  Or so it seems.

Malice is told from two different perspectives: Osamu Nonoguchi, the victim's best friend and Kiyochiro Kaga, the detective assigned to the case.  It's an interesting, if somewhat simple whodunit and I think that maybe some of the intricacies were lost in translation.  This one was a super quick read, I finished in a couple of hours and it thoroughly entertained me from start to finish.  If you're looking for a fun, quick read you will find it here.  I'd love to write a bit more about it, but the plot is so twisty I'd hate to give anything away.  What I did find coincidental and kind of funny is that middle school plays a big part in this plot and the last Japanese book I read, Confessions also focused a lot on middle school.  Weird.  Anyway, for a book that I picked up mostly because of the cover it was a good pick!

dancing home

dancing home
alma flor ada & gabriel zubizarreta
young readers/family
atheneum
published 2011

When Margie's cousin Lupe comes from Mexico to live in California with Margie's family, Lupe must adapt to America, while Margie, who thought it would be fun to have her cousin there, finds that she's embarrassed by her in school and jealous of her at home.

Our library hosts a series of events called Silicon Valley Reads.  Books are chosen and events are planned around them like author visits and peer discussions.  This year's theme is Homeland & Home: The Immigrant Experience.  I picked up a few of the book choices for this year and Dancing Home is my first read so far.

Dancing Home is written for young readers.  The story follows Margie, or Margarita mostly as she comes to terms with what it means for herself having her cousin come to live with them.  We get glimpses now and then into Lupe's mind as well.  Her confusion with her cousin's attitude towards her, her joy at her sense of belonging with her aunt and uncle and her fears of how different everything is in America.

Margie is determined to be as 'American' as she can and when her non-English speaking cousin joins her at school she is mortified to be associated with her.  She's done her best to erase her Mexican heritage from the eyes of her fellow classmates and all Lupe is doing is shining a light on their ethnicity.  And not only is she getting teased at school, but she finds herself being left out at home as well with her parents speaking more Spanish to her cousin than English to her.

Just like American Born Chinese, you have characters who want to strip away their culture to fit in with who they think everyone is.  And just like Jin Wang, Margie discovers that maybe she's missing out by denying her culture.

I loved this book in the way that I checked it out from the library again so Emma could read it.  I want her to read about what it's like to be different so that maybe she can recognize that in others as well as appreciating her ethnicity and what it means to be Mexican or Japanese, or Irish or English or whatever!

confessions

confessions
kanae minato
fiction/suspense/horror
hachette book group
published 2014

After an engagement that ended in tragedy, all Yuko Moriguchi had to live for was her four-year-old child, Manami.  Now, after a heartbreaking accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation.

But first, she has one last lecture to deliver.  She tells a story that will upend everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a maniacal plot for revenge.

Confessions begins with a narrative by middle school teacher Yuko Moriguchi.  You are reading as if you are just listening to her speak, without any descriptions other than what she offers.  It takes a bit of getting used to.  I felt like I was missing a part of the story, I couldn't see what and who she was talking of, but when I got used to it I was intrigued.

At each chapter the reader is inserted into the mind of another character, all part of the story with different perspectives on the events Yuko initially introduces you to, but also with narration of events before and after Yuko's revelations.

The story is not an easy subject matter and the ending left me sort of in disbelief.  Yuko's revenge plot was brilliant, but I wondered if I would have the stomach for a scheme such as this.

atlantia

atlantia
ally condie
ya/dystopian
dutton books
published 2013

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above - of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia.  But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below.  Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio's true self - and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden - she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother's death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea.  Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and speak long-hidden truths.

It's been a couple of days since I finished this book and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

Rio and Bay live in Atlantia, an underwater city that was created back when the air on Earth was becoming so polluted people were dying from it.  Atlantia depends on the people Above to provide them with food and other necessities they cannot provide for themselves down Below.  Every year teenagers can volunteer to go Above and leave Below forever.  It is considered a great sacrifice and only one person from each family can go.  After Bay chooses Above after making Rio promise to stay Below (basically tricking Rio) Rio cannot do anything but find a way to get Above to her sister.  Along the way she's confronted with truths she never asked for.  Does it change how she feels about getting to the Above?

I feel like maybe every conflict could have been solved had there been better communication.  Simple as that.  So many unnecessary secrets and no one trusts anyone.  It was a slow, slow read.  It took so long to get to the actual plot that there were several times I just simply lost interest.  There were too many questions.  What was happening to Atlantia? What is Above?  Why did Bay leave Below when she loved it so much?  What's Rio's secret?  Who is the boy who left with Bay?  What really happened to their mother?  What happened between their mother and her sister?  Can Maire be trusted?

There were so many questions and when you finally get answers it's kind of quick and then she moves on because there is so much going on.  And then it just kind of wraps up and there are still a few loose ends.  It was quite unsatisfying.

The world of Atlantia was fascinating and the scope of the project, how far reaching it was....that was interesting, but we never really get much info on that except that they no long exist.  I'm glad this is a stand alone novel because I'm not sure I feel invested enough in the characters to read another book.

zac & mia

zac & mia
aj betts
fiction/contemporary/ya
text publishing
published 2013

"When I was little I believed in Jesus and Santa, spontaneous combustion, and the Loch Ness monster.  Now I believe in science, statistics, and antibiotics."

So says seventeen-year-old Zac Meier during a long, grueling leukemia treatment in Perth, Australia.  A loud blast of Lady Gaga alerts him tot he presence of Mia, the angry, not-at-all-stoic cancer patient in the room next door.  Once released, the two near-strangers can't forget each other, even as they desperately try to resume normal lives.

When I was a teen I used to read Lurlene McDaniel books.  Have you ever heard of her?  Every book I read was about some teenager who had some sort of chronic illness.  They were tearjerkers and at that age I could read them and just wallow in the sadness because as a teen, I was a sad kid.  Now, these books are harder to read.  Not because I can't relate (being a full grown nearly middle aged adult) but because now I see my children and it's terrifying.

That doesn't stop me from reading, of course.  I read The Fault In Our Stars and loved it, but I read it because it was a John Green book, not because of the subject matter so much.

Now I've seen people comparing Zac & Mia to TFIOS which makes sense.  Two sick kids with cancer drawn together.  It's a natural comparison, but I also think it's slightly unfair.  Despite the tragic ending, TFIOS had a certain fairy tale air about it.  I felt like Zac & Mia was a little more realistic.  You have a tried and true veteran who has seen so many other cancer patients come and go.  Then you have the one who is in denial and angry about everything.

You always read about the kids with cancer who are wise beyond their years and they're fighters and strong and admirable.  You don't hear too much about the ones who can't get over that this is happening to them and blame everyone else for it.

I didn't really care for Mia at all at first.  Even with Zac's sort of rosy way of looking at things I didn't like her, but into her narrative for awhile she grew on me.  But the best came in the second to last paragraph in the book and that was really the only time I really cried.  I really did enjoy this one.  I didn't want to stop reading.  I loved Zac's voice and I was curious about Mia's even though I didn't like her.

high heat

high heat
jack reacher
lee child #17.5
fiction/novella/crime
delacorte press
published 2013

July 1977.  Jack Reacher is almost seventeen, and he stops in New York City on the way to visit his brother at West Point.  The summer heat is suffocating, the city is bankrupt, and the mad gunman known as Sam is still on the loose.  Reacher meets a woman with a problem and agrees to help her....but then the power grid fails and the lights go out, plunging the lawless city into chaos.  What does a visiting teenager do in the dark?  If that visiting teenager is Jack Reacher, the answer is plenty.

An interesting little snippet into Reacher's life more than 30 years ago.  There is absolutely no reason to write these stories about him as a teenager, except, I think to insert such events as the terror that David Berkowitz caused in the 70's.  I say this because there is no difference between him as a 16 year old and him as a 46 year old.  You would never think that you were in the mind of a 16 year old because he think exactly like he does as an adult.  He's basically the same size as he is now so even that isn't different.

Of course, that's not to say that this isn't a fun Reacher read.  He's coming to the rescue and the results are....surprising.  I was a little disappointed in the ending, but it is what it is.  Reacher's not really known for his happy endings, right?

full house reading challenge

I loved the Full House reading challenge last year so I'm going to try again!  You can sign up here if you'd like to read along.  Let's see who can get a blackout first!

In my list there are some books I've earmarked for certain categories already.  I might change them, but they're what I'm working on right now.

Here's the board for this year:

1. Library Book: 
2. Novella: High Heat - Lee Child
3. Author outside your own country: A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny (Canada)
4. Won or borrowed: Four - Veronica Roth (borrowed)
5. 2nd book or more in a series: The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny (book #8)
6. A top book of 2015 for you:
7. Setting that you now want to visit:
8. Book by author you really like: Festive in Death - JD Robb
9. Book set in northern hemisphere:
10. Been on your TBR 'forever': 
11. You heard about the book online: All The Bright Places - Jennifer Niven
12. Award winning: A Visit From The Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan (Pulitzer 2011)
13. Free choice:
14. Debut novel by author:
15. Published in 2014: Atlantia - Ally Condie
16. Set in the southern hemisphere: Zac & Mia - AJ Betts (Australia)
17. First in a series:
18. Published 2000-2013:
19. Published pre-2000:
20. Type of book you rarely or never read:
21. Published in 2015:
22. A keeper:
23. Outstanding hero or heroine: How The Light Gets In - Louise Penny (CI Armand Gamache)
24. Author new to you:
25. You love the cover: