THE CHURCH OF DEAD GIRLS BY STEPHEN DOBYNS {review}

Paperback, 388 pages

Published June 15th 1998 by Owl Books (first published 1997)

Rating: ★★★★★

Wow. That was a wild ride from start to finish. Intense, complex and unique, I thoroughly devoured The Church of Dead Girls. I often read on my walk to work in the morning but today I sat down at my desk and just had to finish the last few pages, I absolutely could not tear my eyes away from the page.

Ostensibly, The Church of Dead Girls is about the disappearance of three girls in a small New York town above the Finger Lakes. Told from the outsider perspective of a high school science teacher, the lives and secrets of his fellow citizens are revealed slowly, their layers peeled away as the tension between friends and neighbours ratchets up. The abduction of the girls is both horrific and a catalyst, the townfolk growing increasingly mad with frustration and suspicion, and fear. Not only fear of their daughter being taken next, but of their secret desires, their illicit actions being exposed and revealed to the cruel eye of the town's populace, the only judge that matters.

As I was reading I was often reminded of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects, to which The Church of Dead Girls seems to be a spiritual precursor. There's a creeping, unsettling feeling that only grows as you advance in the story. Like Sharp Objects the disappearance and probable murders of the missing girls, barely in their teenage years, is only part of a larger whole. The narrator relates decades worth of information, gleaned from years of personal interactions or heard secondhand from his friends, piecing together the story from what he's been told into a rich, meaty narrative.

The real story that lurks behind the abduction of the three teenage girls is the unknowable nature of the other. Even those closest to us have their secrets, the thoughts they keep to themselves, a persona they show the world that reflects only a portion of their true self. The mercurial nature of a community influenced by gossip and speculation, suspicion and fear, is as fascinating as it is frustrating. The 'other' is always targeted, the African college professor and his Marxist reading group, gay men, anyone who stands out from the 'norm' suffering from hysterical scapegoating.

Overall. The Church of Dead Girls is slow, but taut, deftly portraying the way a small community operates, the way lives intersect and affect each other. The way the town reacts to the missing girls as scarring and long-lasting as the abductions themselves, mob mentality showing the unintended dark sides of even the innocent.

THE RULES OF MAGIC BY ALICE HOFFMAN {ARC review}

Hardcover, 384 pages

Expected publication: October 10th 2017 by Simon Schuster

Rating: ★★★★

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Rules of Magic is a prequel to Hoffman's classic Practical Magic, perhaps even more beloved because of the 1998 movie starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. I confess that though I have seen the movie many times, I've never read the book it was based on. Luckily, as this is a prequel, it does not matter one whit whether you've read it or not.

In this story, you're treated to a previous generation of Owens siblings: Frances, called Franny; Bridget, called Jet; and the first son born to the Owens family, Vincent. All three are imbued with the magic of their bloodline and when the story starts they are curious teenagers shuffling from their Manhattan home to the small Massachusetts town where the Owens house on Magnolia Street has stood for 300 years. It's this summer that truly starts their journeys towards themselves, towards acceptance of who they are and the magic they wield. Many years pass within the novel, something that on occasion left me slightly confused as to the ages of the Owens, but you follow them along from teenagers until Sally and Gillian of Practical Magic come to live with them as children.

I was thoroughly enchanted by The Rules of Magic. It reads like a fairytale or a bedtime story being told to the reader, pulling you in, wrapping you in the lives of the Owens siblings. Each sibling is different, coming to accept themselves and their magic at different times, each of their voices unique. Romantic and gentle without venturing into 'romance novel' territory, Franny, Jet and Vincent each have vastly love stories that nevertheless leave their marks. I found each of them so enjoyable and my desire to know each character was fulfilled in such a satisfying way.

Three themes reiterate themselves throughout the novel: that being the most authentic version of yourself is important above all, not to live a little but live a lot, and that the only remedy for love is to love more. Vincent, Jet and Franny all struggle with each concept, taking steps forward only to take more steps backwards. As the reader, you're aware of where Jet and Franny end up, as aunties wise in the ways of magic and love, so to see these characters not only young but conflicted and combative about their own natures is fascinating. Vincent in particular is a revelation because he's unique to this story; it's easy to connect to him and the affection that Franny and Jet have for him matched my own.

Overall, I found The Rules of Magic to be a, well, magical story following the trials and loves of three intriguing characters.

SWEARING OFF STARS BY DANIELLE WONG {ARC review}

Paperback, 280 pages

Expected publication: October 3rd 2017 by She Writes Press

Rating: ★★★

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Swearing Off Stars is about a young American named Amelia, called Lia, in England to attend a semester of university in the 1920s. There she meets Scarlet, a beautiful aspiring actress and activist, who is part of a group pushing to allow women to actually matriculate and earn degrees. Lia joins the group, finding purpose in the gender equality group and finding love with Scarlet. However, Scarlet lives in fear of their homophobic society and of their relationship being discovered. Their relationship falters and Lia moves back to America, attempting to move on from Scarlet until she finds a letter in her father's study many years later that inspires her to seek Scarlet out and perhaps rekindle their love affair.

I wish there was more to the plot, but unfortunately that's pretty much it. Probably my biggest criticism is that Swearing Off Stars is too short. Far too short. I wanted to invest in these characters and once I realized that the book spanned decades I wanted to know far more than the story offered. Thirty years passes between the beginning of the story and the end, yet the characters seem to grow more flat and dull as the story progresses rather than richer and more vibrant. We learn the most about Scarlet and Lia as college students, but the years between their meetings are summed up in a few quick paragraphs. That was intensely frustrating for me as Danielle Wong is clearly not without talent but there just wasn't enough of the story to elevate it.

There's not much differentiating the narration of Scarlett and Lia, despite Lia being an American and Scarlett being British; both their internal and external voices sound alike. As the years wore on, I wanted their voices to become more distinct. Scarlet lived the life of a movie star and Lia was a journalist and, during WWII, a military medic. Their adult voices should have felt very distinct and distant from when they were naive university students. Scarlet's surprisingly short perspective chapters almost seem as if they're there to remind you that the their love is mutual. I'm not sure whether that works entirely.

One thing I liked quite a bit, but like everything else suffered from lack of development, was Lia's relationship with her boyfriend-turned-best-friend. He goes from being in love with her to a lifelong best friend that deeply cares for her and their relationship is sweet and steady.

As it is now, homophobia was a spectre hanging over the lives of the queer characters in the story. However, I found the characters' conitnued behaviour frustrating. Queer people have always existed and found ways to exist, yet Scarlet was unable to even attempt it. Back in New York, Lia maintains a long term relationship with another woman, even living with her. Scarlet's reticence felt less related to the sword of homophobic Damocles than to her own issues, but this was not fleshed out at all. It stood out for me because Lia and Scarlet seemed to live lives completely separate from any sort of queer community or connection as well as being met with acceptance from almost all who find out about their lesbianism.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Swearing Off Stars as queer historical novels aren't nearly as popular as contemporary ones and because Danielle Wong clearly has talent, but it was just too short, lacking the depth of character that I need to get really connected to a story.

SHARK ISLAND BY CHRIS JAMESON {review}

Paperback, 320 pages

Published June 27th 2017 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

Rating: ★★★★

This is what I want a thriller to be; quick, exhilarating, tense, and enjoyable.

Shark Island starts by introducing Naomi, as close to a main character as the book has, losing part of her leg to a shark attack while photographing seals off the coast of Cape Cod. Several months later has her joining a scientific expedition experimenting with a beacon that would lure the masses of seals, and thus the feeding sharks, to a remote island far from people. Throwing a wrench in their plans is a huge storm, environmental terrorists following them in another boat, and the discovery that the beacon while the beacon does entice the seals to move, it also drives the sharks into an intense frenzy. And it only gets worse from there.

The book is both tense and intense, with moments of real humanity. It's brutal in places and had me flinching, but I count that as a success as I was connected to the characters and I wanted them safe. There's a diverse cast of characters, there are queer characters, characters of different races, of different economic backgrounds, etc. All these things are important to the characters, yet also utterly unimportant in the face of furious great white sharks driven mad with bloodlust. Though Naomi is the de facto protagonist, there are numerous perspectives, some more major than others. Chris Jameson really managed to capture the right balance there, giving each character their own voices and motivations.

The plot moves along quickly and once teeth start gnashing at the characters, your heart starts pumping, in simultaneous dread and excitement. It's a wild ride from start to finish, thrilling even. Definitely a great summer book, but maybe not one you want to be reading by the seaside.

BEAUTY AND THE BOSS BY ALI VALI {ARC review}

ebook

Expected publication: September 1st 2017 by Bold Strokes Books

Rating: ★★

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I don't usually pick up lesbian romances because they're largely not to my tastes, but Beauty and the Boss sounded quick and fun. Unfortunately for me, it was neither.

Ellis is a famous fashion designer and Charlotte is an single mother and aspiring designer granted an internship with Ellis. Ellis, Charlotte and Charlotte's 10 year old daughter Sawyer, already a talented artist, soon take off for New Orleans to prepare for fashion week. Almost immediately one of two copies of the all important book of designs for fashion week is stolen by Ellis' vindictive coworkers and the entire line needs to be replaced. The tension rises as Ellis and Charlotte battle their pasts and their romantic feelings for each other, all while tirelessly work towards salvaging their fashion week.

The main characters, Ellis and Charlotte, work together and fall madly in love quickly, for no real reason as far as I can tell. The emotion just wasn't there. I couldn't connect with them at all and that was a huge disappointment for me. I wanted to like them so much but they were never elevated to vibrant characters who feel real.

Stylistically, the writing didn't do much for me. There are a few things that Vali did that I find amateur-ish, like how a character is always introduced in ways that felt like high school creative writing style.

Fashion designer Ellis Renoir...
Her best friend and partner Rueben Maddox...
"Do you have everything set?" Jennifer Eymard asked Dalton Burton as they had lunch at the Clocktower restaurant.

This sort of thing always pulls me out of a story, as it's an awkward and amateurish way to introduce characters and starts to stick out the more it's used. The sentences were in a simple, almost a fanfic-style, that prevented me from ever really connecting with the characters that I really wanted to connect with. I actually had a really hard time differentiating between who was speaking at any given time, that's how similar every character's voice was. The 10 year old girl sounded the exact same as worldly journalists and international fashionistas.

The main antagonists, Jennifer and Dalton, are hollow, evil caricatures when they're introduced and remain that way the entire story. I don't particularly expect villains to grow and change in the same way I expect the protagonists too, but there was no real explanations for their hatred of Ellis. Despite having a multitude of perspective chapters, I never felt like I understood more about them as people. They were both willing to enact horrible betrayals, ruin families and commit crimes, but their motives lacked any real emotional correlation. Why give them perspectives within the narrative at all if there's no complexities within the characters at all?

In the end, these things made what was actually a fairly short book feel like I was slogging through it, finishing more for completion's sake than enjoyment.

TRINITY, VOL I: BETTER TOGETHER BY FRANCIS MANAPUL {review}

Trade paperback, 144 pages

Published June 13th 2017 by DC Comics

Rating: ★★★★

Trinity isn't the absolute best DC Rebirth has to offer, but it has a lot of heart and that made it really enjoyable to read. This first trade paperback contains a self-contained story that is about building trust and friendship between the DC trinity and, for me, that really works.

To say I'm not a fan of Batman is a bit of an understatement but Trinity actually made me temporarily like him which is a wonder in and of itself. Batman's wanky dreariness is evened out by the goodness of Superman and Wonder Woman, the weight of the emotional burden he carries lifted when he is with people who have known pain as he had and carry the same burden.

The first and last issues are narrated by Lois Lane, who has asked Bruce and Diana to come to the Kent farm for dinner in order to facilitate a friendship between the three. The story is simple, featuring fan favourite anti-villain Poison Ivy, and a plant-induced dream world that forces Bruce, Diana and Clark to visit their pasts and interact with their younger selves.

The story is simple but pure, about parenthood and friendship. And features Lois Lane driving a car through a barn door in true Lois style. Manapaul's beautiful art really enhances the story as well, making reading the book a really enjoyable experience. I like heart and Trinity Volume 1 had it in spades.

NOW I RISE BY KIERSTEN WHITE {review}

Hardcover, 496 pages

Published June 27th 2017 by Delacorte Press

Rating: ★★★★★

Wow. Just wow. I have been eagerly anticipating the release of Now I Rise since the moment I finished And I Darken last year. It didn't disappoint, if anything it improved upon its predecessor and exceeded my expectations.

In The Conquerer's Saga Kiersten White takes on the very end of the Byzantine Empire with the fall of Constantinople and changing power in eastern Europe, but with her own twists. Here Vlad Dracul is a young woman named Lada, one of two main characters. The other is Radu, Lada's younger brother.

White gives Lada all the room she needs to be ruthless, brutal and yet also sympathetic. Her wildness cannot be tamed, her desire for Wallachia cannot be quenched, and she will kill or destroy anyone who attempts to part her from either. In a sea of very samey protagonists, Lada stands out; there is nothing she won't sacrifice to rule Wallachia, no brutality too far. Her love affair with Mehmed stagnates too as love falls to the steely strength of their twin ambitions.

Lada's younger brother Radu is a study in contrasts. Though by now he is no stranger to killing battles, Radu remains the clever, soft-hearted boy he once was. His love for Mehmed, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, brings him to Constantinople as a spy. Luckily, Nazira, our beautiful secret lesbian princess and Radu's wife, comes with him. Nazira is a breath of fresh air, for Radu as well as for the reader. She's deeply intelligent, both socially and emotionally, and is a bit like sunshine, really. In Nazira Radu has a friend, one that he can be completely honest with as she knows all his secrets and shares her own with him as well. There are moments where the friendship and affection between them is so strong and pure that you can't help but be protective of them both.

MUNRO VS THE COYOTE BY DARREN GROTH {review}

Softcover ARC, 288 pagesExpected publication: October 17th 2017 by Orca Book Publishers

Rating: ★★★½

This is the second book in a month I've read about a Canadian teenager grieving the death of a younger sibling. It wasn't a conscious choice, but rather chance; I won both Munro vs. the Coyote and Optimists Die First from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.

Munro Maddox has been struggling since the sudden death of his thirteen year old sister six months earlier. Munro hears a cruel, pessimistic voice in his head that he has named 'the Coyote' and, though it is never mentioned in the text, he also seems to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Munro's symptoms make it difficult for him to attend school, the place where his sister died, so he signs up for a school exchange program in Australia. In Australia he stays with a nice foster family that are more sympathetic to what he's going through than he expected and is assigned a volunteer position at a care community. The community is set up like a village, for adults who have developmental or physical disabilities. One girl in particular reminds Munro of his dead sister, who also had Down's Syndrome. At first this triggers Munro's issues, before eventually alleviating them. Munro's interactions with the residents are sweet and you can see how it helps him.

The story is quick and readable, the language accessible and, in many ways, quite simple. Munro's a sympathetic character, his pain is palpable and relatable, his confusion understandable. However, the length of the book made the story feel very rushed, particularly towards the end. That was a big drawback for me as it made Munro's recovery feel far too fast. I would have liked the setback Munro has towards the end of the book to have been focused on more. It felt like it wrapped up too early.

Other than that, I really liked it. There's minor romance that's sweet and doesn't overpower the story as well. The school exchange to Australia was a particularly nice conception; the location served as a reminder that you cannot run away from grief, while at the same time recognizing that sometimes the only way to come to terms with trauma is to remove yourself from the emotional triggers. Plus the culture clash was cute and fun.

CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY BY GUY GAVRIEL KAY {review}

Hardcover, 571 pages

Published May 10th 2016 by NAL

Rating: ★★★½

I enjoyed Children of Earth and Sky while at the same time wondering exactly what the point of the story was. Guy Gavriel Kay is a quality writer, so the near-600 pages felt quick and easy. Settings that echo the geography and history seem to be popular in the fantasy genre, though I admit I haven't read an overabundance of fantasy. Children of Earth and Sky is much the same; the Osmanli empire originates in the scorching deserts of the east, conquering cities like Sarantium (a clear Constantinople stand-in) and the city-states are reminiscent of Mediterranean city-states. I actually liked that aspect the most, as I found it fun to find the pieces from real history.

The things I liked were plentiful. I really enjoyed the main characters, particularly Danica, Marin, Drago and Leonora. They, along with Danica's long lost brother Damaz and the painter Pero Villani. I only wished we got more of their perspectives because they were all interesting. I particularly liked how Leonora and Danica became instant friends despite being such polar opposites: Danica is a tall teenage warrior, who simply wants to kill infidels in retaliation for kidnapping her brother a decade before, and Leonora is a young woman abandoned by her family, her child torn away from her and hired as a spy for a city-state.

I did find myself questioning what the point of the whole novel was. There's no great battle, no real plot or even a real resolution. Rather Children of Earth and Sky seems to be a slice of life, the politics of empires and city-states, following a short period in the lives of characters integral to a few different threads spread throughout the continent.

I also question the usefulness of the sheer number of perspectives included, at times giving the plot a quasi-Rashomon feel. Were they filler? A way to establish the disparity between the city-states? I would have greatly preferred more of the main characters than a few paragraphs of a random character's point of view of their own death.

Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot. It was interesting and compelling, and it definitely made me interested in reading more of Kay's books.

OPTIMISTS DIE FIRST BY SUSIN NIELSEN {review}

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published February 21st 2017 by Wendy Lamb Books

Rating: ★★★½

Review I didn't really know anything about this book when I received it from the Library Thing Early Reviewer program. Petula is sixteen and suffers from anxiety, depression and an compulsive obsession with avoiding potential accidents after the death of her younger sister. She attends an art therapy group with other teenagers that are struggling with their own issues. A new boy from Toronto with a bionic arm befriends the entire group, his own desire to pretend his past doesn't exist driving him to help Petula and the others come to terms with their traumas.

Despite being double the protagonists age, I saw aspects of my teenage self in her quite a few times. Like the protagonist, Petula, I also lost a sibling to a stupid freak accident as a teenager and I also struggle with anxiety and depression. I found myself relating heavily to Petula's anxiety-ridden habits, her avoidance of the people and things she used to love, her inability to connect in the ways she used to. The sides of grief that you don't often see in media.

The Art Therapy group that Petula goes to was one of my favourite parts. Though none of the kids in it truly want to be there or even like each other, they're all struggling with issues that set them apart from their peers. They're not all likable, but you sympathize with them anyway. At first, Petula isn't able to connect with them, but as Jacob befriends them all, each group member begins to find it easier to relate to the others, to cope with their own traumas and issues. The members of the art therapy group stand out, unique in their characterization even without major focus.

I've seen some complaints in reviews that other readers didn't like the tone of the book or didn't like that Petula's relationship with Jacob "cured" her anxiety. I'm usually the first to call these things out but I didn't find them egregious errors in Optimists Die First. I liked the tone a lot; grief is a nebulous, difficult experience and there are moments of levity within the tsunami of anger and sadness. Likewise, I didn't feel that there was some magical boyfriend fix for the way Petula's grief made her feel, in the same way Petula didn't heal the overwhelming guilt felt by Jacob. Having someone who is able to comprehend aspects of your own trauma is a large part of recovery after the death of a loved one, and I think Optimists Die First showed Petula managing a lot of that on her own, or with the help of her friends.

Optimists Die First is small in scope, its focus tight on Petula's world, but manages to have a lot to say about loss and grieving. The moments of levity keep the story from dragging or being too depressing despite the heavy subject matter.

THE ULTIMATES: OMNIVERSAL VOL I: START WITH THE IMPOSSIBLE {review}

Trade Paperback, 144 pages

Published July 19, 2016 by Marvel

Rating: ★★★

I think my biggest problem with Ultimates Omniversal: Vol I is that I wanted to like it just a little too much. America Chavez punched her way into my heart from the very first time I saw her and it's likewise hard not to adore the former and current Captains Marvel, Monica Rambeau (now Spectrum) and Carol Danvers. Rounding out the rest of the Ultimates team are King of Wakanda, T'Challa, the Black Panther, and Dr. Adam Brashear, an aged supergenius who goes by the name Blue Marvel.

SO many great characters, yet there was something that didn't quite connect with me. Whether it's that the plot didn't feel quite big enough or that the characters didn't interact enough, I'm not truly sure. It's possible that the roles Carol and T'Challa play in multiple other books as well as their own runs had an effect on the storyline. For example, I know the next volume deals with Civil War II. Now, Marvel burned me with the atrocious first Civil War a few years ago and I have absolutely zero interest in reading any other Marvel events ever so I'm not looking forward to that.

That said, there were a lot of things I really liked. America dancing with her date via their phones in the first issue to close a dimensional portal was cute and upbeat. Monica and Carol discussing how Monica feels about her powers and herself was a highlight for me; I want much more of that. I've always found that I relate the strongest to stories that base the emotional narrative on the relationships between the characters.

I also very much liked Adam's backstory and the way it tied in to the present. That he's 87 years old, a super genius, a former soldier, a father, all of that really added an emotional depth. What I'd really like to see is how his age and intelligence cause him to interact with someone like America, who is young, impulsive and likes to punch stuff. There was too much of Galactica just pondering. It felt like six issues of lead-up and personally I'd rather jump into a story.

All in all, Ultimates Omniversal Vol I was enjoyable, but didn't quite live up to its potential.

FOLLOW ME INTO THE DARK BY FELICIA C SULLIVAN {review}

Paperback, 320 pages

Published March 14th 2017 by The Feminist Press at CUNY

Rating: ★★

Follow Me Into the Dark reminded me of a lot of other books; a merging of Fall on Your Knees and Sharp Objects in particular, though I never felt like Sullivan managed to bring her novel fully into its own space. Perhaps my largest problem with the book is that the characters are chaotic but largely empty. Comparing to Sharp Objects where Camille Preaker's emotional and psychological emptiness is given shape and voice, Sullivan doesn't quite manage that level of connection between reader and subject, never truly delving into the characters and what makes them tick.

Follow Me Into the Dark was purposefully chaotic and confusing, skipping through time periods, narrative perspectives, and characters, in a way that never allows the reader to fully grasp on to anything. I read on more to find out why the hell it was so vague and choppy, not because I had a connection with any characters. I constantly felt as though Sullivan was at the cusp of something great, but pulled back for a not-particularly-surprising twist and an aura of mystery.

Follow Me Into the Dark left me with no more of idea of who the characters were than I had on the first page. Sometimes that's a totally viable option but in this case, with so few characters, I wanted more, so much more. I wanted to know why Kate chose to act certain ways, why The Doll Collector killed girls, why, why, why? There just never seemed to be enough psychological reasoning. Characters acted that way because they did.

Ultimately, I just felt like I'd read versions of this book before, but enjoyed them far more.

THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR BY NICOLA YOON {review}

Hardcover, 348 pages

Published November 1st 2016 by Delacorte Press

Rating: ★★★★

I won The Sun is Also a Star in a Shelf Awareness giveaway. I entered knowing very little about it beyond that it was a young adult romance. I don't often read romance, either adult or young adult. It's not really a genre that greatly appeals to me, particularly heterosexual romances. I feel like I'm inundated with them at all times, in life, in media, in everything. It gets tiring.

Despite that, The Sun is Also a Star still felt like a breath of fresh air that frequently caused me to smile while reading. To start with, neither of the lead characters, Natasha or Daniel, are white. That's certainly rare in a sea of blonde teenage adonises and blue eyed heroines. Natasha is an undocumented Jamaican girl on the cusp of being deported due to a drunken mistake of her father's. She loves science, believes wholeheartedly provable facts, and likes the crackling pain in 90s grunge music. Daniel is the American born son of Korean immigrants, struggling between his parents' educational desires for him and his own dreams of being a poet. They're both adorable, wholly fleshed out characters that I really, truly liked.

THE MYSTERY OF HOLLOW PLACES BY REBECCA PODOS {review}

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published January 26th 2016 by Balzer & Bray
Rating: ★★★★

The Mystery of Hollow Places is a deft little emotional mystery, featuring a likable teenage protagonist unraveling the mysterious disappearance of both her parents, one in her past and one in her present. It's about love, loss, mental illness, and the slippery illusion of self.

[W]ith enough time and the right conditions, precious stones could grow in hollow places.

Imogene Scott is seventeen and doesn't remember her mother, who left when Imogene was very young. All she really has of her is the fairytale-esque story her father told her every night as a child about how they met and fell in love. The centerpiece of this story is a stone heart, purportedly from the chest of Imogene's maternal grandmother, a representation of the illness that closed her off to the world. Imogene and her father are very close, and even the relatively recent addition of Lindy, their former therapist and her father's new wife.

The book starts with Imogene's father disappearing, leaving no note or explanation to his whereabouts except half of her grandmother's stone heart. Both Lindy and Imogene are distraught, but it is Imogene who decides to start with the clue the stone heart provides: she is sure that her father is looking for her mother. With her beautiful best friend Jessa in tow, Imogene starts piecing together parts of her mother's past from vague clues.

Imogene is a likable character. She's an introverted bookworm, content to spend time with her father or alone reading, particularly if the books were written by her father. Her mother's disappearance has left her with insecurity and fear related to abandonment. Imogene thinks her best friend spends time with her perhaps out of misguided childhood loyalty rather than simply because Jessa loves her. Imogene is mature and clever, but self-aware enough to recognize that she is still a child, especially when she allows herself to daydream that she will locate her mother and her father together and they will all be a family again, happy in their new roles.

I could forgive my mother for being cursed, and lonely and troubled waters. All of that made sense. But I don't think I'll be able to forgive her if she's happy.

Imogene is flawed but earnest, and I liked that. She doesn't serve as a symbol of resistance like the heroines of The Hunger Games or Red Queen, she doesn't have the highly sexed dark, pseudo-wit of teen murder mystery protagonists, she's anxious and self-conscious but smart and driven. She draws heavily on her father's books for inspiration in tracking down her mother, I thought that was a really nice character point as it really showed the closeness of Imogene and her father.

The Mystery of Hollow Places uses such strong metaphors for depression, weaving them in carefully in many places like the stories Imogene's father tells and the ways Imogene relates to everyone. Podos shies away from painting depression as any one thing; the suffering isn't beautiful, it's painful and consuming with each sufferer having to find their own path out.

I get closing up your heart because you're afraid to look inside and find out it's hollow. I get choosing to be alone because you're afraid that if the choice is out of your hands, you'll simply be lonely, and alone is okay, it's almost cool, in a way.

THE LITTLE MEN BY MEGAN ABBOTT {review}

ebook, 63 pages

Published September 1st 2015 by Head of Zeus
Rating: ★★★★

The Little Men is short. Very short. So short that it's probably better considered a short story than a novella. As such, this will probably be a very short review to match. The Mysterious Bookshop has published a series of short fiction from popular mystery authors that they're calling "Bibliomysteries". I'm definitely going to check a few more out, though I'll probably skip Anne Perry's because I may like murder in fiction but I'm not a fan of real-life murderers.

This story takes place in 1953 Hollywood, where failed actress Penny now works as a make-up artist on set. She's just been ditched by a Hollywood bigwig that uses and discards beautiful young women hoping that sleeping with him will grant them their big break on the silver screen. She rents a quaint little bungalow in Canyon Arms and befriends the elderly gay men living next door. They inform her of the bungalow's previous tenants, particularly a bookseller named Larry who committed suicide twelve years before, using the gas stove.

The furniture is still the same as it was when Larry lived and died there twelve years earlier, including all his books, and Mrs. Stahl, the landlord, admonishes Penny when she moves the bed a small distance from the wall. That's when things start to get weird. Penny is awakened every night at 2am by lights and noises. She begins to unravel, and we, the readers, become increasingly unsure of what is real and what is not, as she becomes sure that she is being tortured by little men and is being watched by Mrs. Stahl. The books and their former owner seem to awaken something in Penny, influencing her increasingly bizarre dreams and filtering into her everyday life, increasing her paranoia regarding the landlord.

Megan Abbott is great at creating a setting, her use of language and grimy descriptions of Hollywood transporting you there. It's easy to imagine. She deftly manages Penny's confusion and paranoia, cleverly weaving a possible murder mystery with a ghost story. The Little Men is fast and incredibly absorbing, a fun mesh of genres that you can read in a very short amount of time.

MY SUMMER OF LOVE BY HELEN CROSS {review}

Paperback, 248 pages

Published May 1st 2005 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Rating: ★★★

You could meet a crazy girl and truly believe her to be your saviour.

My Summer of Love is a bit of a bizarre read, a precursor to decadent novels of bored, awakening teenage girls like Dare Me and bares more than a few passing similarities to the real life crimes of Juliet Hulme (now crime novelist Anne Perry) and Pauline Parker. There's an almost surreal dissonance they exemplify: the obsessive, sexualized friendship between two girls, pushing the boundaries of every relationship, dispersing pseudo witticisms about men and sex in that under-experienced but over-aware teenage way, and the seemingly inevitable slide into violence and criminality.

Mona is a fifteen year old girl living above her father's pub with her stepbrother Porkchop in a small Yorkshire town. She's awkward, immature, ostensibly addicted to alcohol and fruit machine gambling, and vacillates between bold confidence and startling naivete. Though Mona is not particularly likeable, she's easy to fall into as even her internal monologue contains a strong Yorkshire dialect, allowing me to easily hear her voice in my head.

She meets Tamsin Fakenham a posh girl with a dead sister. She's beautiful, condescending, manipulative and controlling. Mona is instantly entranced by her and they become fast, if unsteady, friends. Together, they're explosive. In their absence, Tamsin's parents believe that she has gone to stay with an old aunt while she studies for her exam, but is instead living in a strange fantasy world with Mona where they are awake all night, starve themselves and have sex constantly. But their manic lifestyle is far from idyllic, their friendship unstable and volatile, each trying to gain the upper hand in an unending game of oneupmanship. Mona often comes up short.

Helen Cross's writing works wonderfully in developing atmosphere; you feel a sticky, cloying quality as you read, matching the heatwave that invades the setting. The entire novel takes place over a single month, so this works particularly well to generate the frenzied obsession the girls have with each other and their increasingly daring acts of criminality.

While Mona's chubby, sensitive stepbrother Porkchop is the only remotely likable character in the entire novel, it didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. It may even have enhanced it as the near-mania that overcomes Mona and Tamsin will inevitably end badly and I was at the edge of my seat waiting for it. Ultimately, My Summer of Love is a taut, if sometimes confusing, coming of age story teetering on the knife edge of thriller.

Look what arrived today! A hardcover, autographed copy of The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. It also came with a beautiful print of the cover art and four buttons!

Review coming soon!

KING'S CAGE BY VICTORIA AVEYARD {review}

Hardcover, 528 pages

Published February 7th 2017 by HarperTeen
Rating: ★★★

The Red Queen series is a pretty standard dichotomous dystopia and King's Cage is more of the same. North America has been divided into various smaller countries, most with two separate peoples: the Silver ruling class, who have silver blood and various superpowers, and the Red slave class, who have no powers, no money and no hope. Mare Barrow is discovered to have red blood and silver powers - the power to control electricity and lightning, and what resulted was a fairly standard YA novel. She was forcibly engaged to the second son of the silver king, Maven, while falling in love with his older brother and heir to the throne, Cal.

The second book improved upon that, spending more time on characterization and relationships, with a twist at the end. Mare trades herself to her tyrant ex-fiance, Maven, for the safety of her friends. Maven snapped a collar around her neck and led her about on a leash in front of Silver and Red crowds.

Mare comes across as a stronger character here. Red Queen was about hiding who she was from everyone; Glass Sword was her coming to terms with being the rebellion's figurehead (their very own Mockingjay) and the deconstruction of self; and in turn, much of King's Cage is Mare piecing herself back together and finding her strength even as she fades into a ghost. After his mother's death in the previous book, the reader is given the opportunity to see who Maven is without his cruel mother whispering in his mind, controlling him. What's left is not pretty. Maven himself is clever, cruel, and thoroughly obsessed with Mare. He's an interesting, if despicable character. I expect he gets romanticized a lot if these books have a prolific fandom.

THE RAVEN AND THE REINDEER BY T. KINGFISHER {review}

Hardcover, 191 pages

Published February 7th 2016 by Red Wombat Tea Co.
Rating: ★★★★★

There are not many stories about this sort of thing. There ought to be more. Perhaps if there were, the Gertas of the world would learn to recognize it.

What a delightful book. Quick and fun, The Raven and the Reindeer is filled with magic and wonder. A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, it is clever, modern yet wholly reminiscent of the fairytale I read as a child.

Kay and Gerta are born only days apart, their grandmothers the best of friends. Kay is born with frost in his eyes, blue like a husky's, and it leaves him cold, cold, cold. To Gerta, Kay is her best friend, the one person she loves most in the world. To Kay, she's the neighbour girl and is alright. Then one night Gerta wakes to see an ethereally beautiful woman in a sleigh pulled by giant otters, watches while Kay get into sleigh of the Snow Queen and is driven away.

Thus starts Gerta's adventure, as she loves Kay too much, she cannot leave him to the machinations of the Snow Queen and starts off north. She runs into a witch who enchants her, a talking raven, a clan of bandits, and a whole plethora of fantastical things and people. Among the bandits she endears herself to a beautiful girl with dark skin and a soft heart, who kisses Gerta and puts doubt in her heart about her love for Kay.

I adored the cadence of Kingfisher's writing. It's plain but very, very fairytale, in turns innocent and sweet, at times dark and bloody. Gerta is adorable; she's not the smartest or the prettiest but she's kind, hardworking, and determined, and that's endearing. Janna is a bright spark, brave and bold, changing Gerta's mindset.

The magic in the story is so interesting, mixing Finnish folktales and Sami culture, fitting naturally into the world, as natural as the trees. The idea of the snow queen and changing into animals is more fantasy, but the way it was weaved into the story felt more like magical realism. I liked that Gerta dreams of such interesting things, particularly when she dreams of the feelings of her surroundings.

"Words are like fish and you catch them and you get to keep them forever."

THE SWAN RIDERS BY ERIN BOW {review}

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published September 20th 2016 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Rating: ★★★

I spent the last 50% of this book raging in disappointment. The Scorpion Rules was excellent; an interesting premise, an engaging and strong main character, and a strong, sophisticated plot that brought you along at a slow but steady pace. None of that is present in The Swan Riders.

At the end of the previous book, to save her own life and that of her fellow condemned Prisoner of Peace Elian, the main character Greta willingly became an artificial intelligence. While the first bit of the book dealt with how she adapted to her new expansive intelligence and inhuman experiences, Greta quickly became a background character in her own story. She went from a quiet but compassionate and firm natural leader to a passive person who was largely reduced to saying character names in an admonishing tone. Taking away an aspect of a character needs to be countered with the elevation of another aspect, if it's not, you just end up with a shadow character. That's what we got in this book: a shadow character. Perhaps it was intentional, perhaps not, but it didn't engage me.

For me, the plot of The Swan Riders was weak for one reason: Talis. I found it very, very hard to care about an AI that had spent the last few centuries committing genocide, mass murder, and ritual child murder as ways to force peace onto a resistant world. I didn't care that he was in pain or his 'journey'. It's like how the Star Wars prequels tried to make Darth Vader a sympathetic character: sorry, but petulant fascism is not interesting to me.

THE SCORPION RULES BY ERIN BOW {review}

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published September 22nd 2015 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Rating: ★★★★★

Futuristic dystopian young adult novels are a dime a dozen, but The Scorpion Rules brought some new twists to old ideas.

It's at least five hundred years in the future, where the ice caps have melted and the face of the world has changed drastically. The countries we know are no longer, replaced by places like the Pan Polar Confederacy and the Cumberland Alliance. An oddly informal artificial intelligence named Talis keeps a peace, of sorts, by blowing up cities and maintaining a system of ritual hostage taking. The hostages, called the Prisoners of Peace, are the main characters of this story. All leaders of all nations must submit one of their own children to be a hostage in order to lead. When nations declare war on each other, the children are executed by the mysterious Swan Riders, the idea being that leaders are less likely to declare war if their own child's life is on the line.

The main character is named Greta Gustafson Stuart, Duchess of Halifax, princess of the Pan Polar Confederacy (basically, Canada) and has spent most of her life in one of Talis' preceptures, constantly watched over by AIs of all sorts. They look after goats and chickens, grow all their own food and live sparse, utilitarian lives being constantly prepared for ruling after their parents. Greta is strong, poised and quiet, though her mind is always working. Borders change in what used to be the United States and a new hostage, Elián, is brought to the precepture. Unlike the other Prisoners of Peace, Elián fights constantly, unwilling to accept their strict lives as lambs to slaughter and he is punished physically and mentally by the AIs for it.