The Mad Man’s Daughter – Megan Shepherd (review)

Hardcover, 432 pages
Expected publication: January 29th 2013 by Balzer + Bray
Source: Edelweiss

Synopsis:
In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father’s handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it’s too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Review:

I recently read a book called The Mad Scientist’s Daughter and I thought that instead of Mad Man, this book deserved the title of the previous novel. The sanity of the father was much discussed in this novel but there was never any in depth discussion with the person in question. I wonder why conversations with the mad man were never more than him coldly reiterating his inhumanity and her gasping her outrage at his inhumanity.

Anyway, sorry, this is a review. I am writing a review, yes I am. I am entirely unfamiliar with Moreau and his island so I went into this book without any expectations or perceptions about how the book would unfold, plot-wise at least. The opening of the novel is particularly interesting and I wish the setting had remained London because it was so well done. The eerie atmosphere of the hospital, the scary doctor, the rather promiscuous best friend (she was portrayed as such, I’m not making any judgments), the tension, the pace, the danger, everything was perfectly portrayed. I had no problem with Juliet and was rather intrigued by her darker self. It is when she sees Montgomery and has him take her to the island on which he lives with her father that things get murky.

The novel has promise. Some people will like it more than others. The love triangle is kind of intriguing but the whole inconsistency of Juliet’s feelings is deeply annoying. Her penchant to vacillate between the two men are annoying and strangely occur at inappropriate moments as you know, there are times when romance is the last thing on your mind. If the romance had been a little less focused on than it was I would have liked the book better. No, well, I think Juliet’s character was inconsistent. She hated her father, she didn’t, she loved Montgomery but she was attracted to Edward.

I don’t know if Shepherd does this intentionally but there are times in the novel when Juliet’s character is seriously unlikeable. For instance, with that poor girl whom she perceives a threat to her lasting happiness with Montgomery and then that moment at the end, her willful deception of a helpless, childlike character. I had less than kind feelings for her which is always a risk when you want a reader to continue reading the novel. The ending of the novel does make me want to continue reading the series because I know things are not as simple as they look and the outlook for Juliet is just so damned bleak. Where is she going to go and what is going to do? I am curious so I will read the next one in the series.

The novel is a lot of running in the jungle and the pace lags a bit because of all this running around. The themes explored are interesting – the meaning of being human, humanity, duty, filial, romance, gender – and were I writing about gender in one of my classes, I would totally use this novel. Ooo, I can still use this novel somehow. Anyway, to put it simply, this book is entertaining in the end. Intriguing in the beginning and rather frustrating in the middle. Still, it was an interesting read and if Moreau’s island was your thing, give this a try.

Broken – A. E. Rought (A Review)

Paperback, 384 pages
Expected publication: January 8th 2013 by Strange Chemistry
Source: ARC provided by publisher

Synopsis:
Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry’s boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she’s intrigued despite herself. He’s an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely… familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel’s.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there’s something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks’ estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

 

Review:

I feel that authors should have this mantra running in their heads when attempting lyrical prose or any prose that attempts to be poetic: less is more.

Well, that is one of them anyway. While Broken did not lead the terrible assault on my senses as Mafi’s Shatter Me did, it came close. The trouble with poetic prose is that it must be used sparingly in order to have the most impact – I am learning this lesson myself as I study writing. However, poetry does not give a writer the right to string together metaphors that make no sense when analyzed. Metaphors, similes etc are present for a reason other than just to look pretty. I think that many recent authors who attempt this style tend to forget this. When you study literature, read the poetry of the olden times, try Alexander Pope or John Donne (who is my personal favourite). Read Shakespeare. Their rhetoric is brilliant and gorgeous but more than the superficial beauty of the words strung together, it is the meanings held within these words that elevate these poets to the status of masters of their periods.

So stuff like windows hurling themselves may sound pretty but do not hold up to further thought. If I were to give my professional opinion on this novel, I would say it seemed like the first draft of a potentially interesting novel. This novel needs work in the pacing as well as the writing. Ignoring the technical bits, the most detrimental to this novel is its unnecessarily slow pace. There are characters whose roles are limited but who keep on making appearances just to bolster the main characters’ appeal. The locker deal? Been there, done that. Move on. Then there is the pathos, oh the pathos, kill me dead and gone. The most ridiculous of everything is Emma’s insistence on hanging around a cemetery when her dead boyfriend doesn’t even have a grave. She talks about how much she wishes there was a grave…and I wasn’t convinced. I have read other books that depict grief in a very raw form and there was never any need for a grave – just the sense of loss that is prominent in everything the grieving character does, from breathing to eating to existing.

The slut-shaming is also prominent in this novel. The stereotyping and blanket assumptions of a girls’ sexuality turned me off further. The novel does pick up its pace in the last stretch but by then it was too late. My attention had been truly lost and I was reading more for the sake of getting it over with than any desire to find out what happened to Emma. This novel was most certainly not for me. I don’t know how younger readers may feel about it but I wasn’t enamored.

Scarlet – A. C. Gaughen (Review)

Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: February 14th 2012 by Walker Childrens
Source: Net Galley

Synopsis:

Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

Review:

A C. Gaughen’s reimagining of Robin Hood’s tale is electric, compelling and absolutely brilliant. I’m sure the story started off from a “What if…” question…what if Scarlet was a girl? What would have been her story? How did she become who she was? And how exactly does it complicate her relationship with the merry men?

Scarlet is a very strong tale that manages to insert humour into a dire situation – more relatable, perhaps, with the Occupy movements, the recession and the poverty that seems to be creeping up on us in contemporary society. Solidly written and minutely imagined, Scarlet tells a story of a girl pushed to extremes, a girl who is a survivor in all the ways that count and a girl who knows how to be brave even when her very pores are quivering with fear.

The pacing of the novel is just right and the characterizations are done just so. The world building is exact and what can I say people, the novel is sure to be a success with the Robin Hood aficionados and those who like historical novels. There is a lot of heart in this novel and it really is impressive for a debut novel to be this strong in both the execution and the premise.

The only thing I didn’t like was the love triangle. (Can we really not get away from it?) I felt that it was rather unnecessary in the grand scheme of things but perhaps the next book will prove me wrong. If you read any debut novel this year (actually, you must read Fracture and Cinder too, I insist), you should read this one (and the other two, too) because you will be losing out if you don’t. Find a corner you won’t be disturbed or intruded upon, get comfortable and lose yourself in the green forest that hides more than just animals.

Zombie Fairy Tale Princesses? Yes, please!

So I was wandering around the internet and I came across these illustrations of zombified fairy tale characters. My favourite is Jasmine. Which re-telling (it is, of a sort, don’t you think?) do you like best?

Juliet Immortal – Stacey Jay (A Review)

Hardcover, 304 pages
Published August 9th 2011 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Source: Library

Synopsis:

The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn’t take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn’t anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she’s fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she’s forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

Review

“Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo?”
“Why, right here, my love!”
“Oh Romeo, whyfore dost thou kiss me so?”
“All the better to suck your soul away, my love.”

I couldn’t resist, okay! And I know Shakespeare is turning over in his grave (I feel obliged to apologise to Krystle too) but people, Romeo and Juliet! In a YA novel set in contemporary times. How awesome is that? And Romeo and Juliet on opposite side of the spectrum with Romeo batting for the bad guys! Even more awesome. But (and Shakespeare certainly did roll over for this one) Romeo and Juliet are out to annihilate each other. (You can’t kill someone who’s already dead. You have to annihilate them.) So yes, fantastic premise. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it and examine it in great detail and with great delight.

And I liked it. I did. It was very readable and there was only one thing that jumped out at me (which took away two stars) but honestly? As far as entertainment goes, it was very entertaining. Juliet has a strong, clean voice and I appreciated that she made time to work out her body’s Mommy issues – and wow, yeah, body, host, you get the idea, right? I liked the atmosphere set, the absolutely chilling feeling that accompanies you when you see a ghost of yourself. Jay does this is all very well and I liked that she did it all very well. The mean girl trope sort of goes through a metamorphosis and changes in ways I’m not sure I approve of but apart from an occasional mutter about the stupidity of it all, it’s not as offensive as it has the potential to be. And this is totally girly of me but the love interest? Totally swoon-inducing. At least to me. I thought he was hotness personified which might, in some way, explain this rambling thing that I’m trying to pass off as a review.

But. And you ought to have known it was coming.

The thing that detracted from the novel in a big way, in my opinion solely, is the deus ex machina (which, if you are like I was and clueless about what deus ex machina is, Wikipedia provides a definition: is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object). The ending seemed too abrupt, too neat and way too contrived to be satisfying in any degree. It felt forced. I didn’t like that. I really didn’t. I mean, you go through the book trying to make your brain forget the fact that Juliet is, you know, 14 in a 16 year old’s body but mentally more than a 100, wow, it gets convoluted but you make your Brain ignore that and then, the ending. And you are like…

Oh no… what? Where? How? WHY? (It’s not a sad ending though.)

However, it seems that Romeo gets to have his own story so we should look forward to that. Well, I am anyway. Looking forward to it, I mean.