The Gypsy King – Maureen Fergus (review)

Hardcover, 400 pages
Expected publication: January 22nd 2013 by RazOrbill Canada
Source: Net Galley

Synopsis:
A runaway slave with a shadowy past, sixteen-year-old Persephone has spent four long years toiling beneath the leering gaze of her despised owner and dreaming of a life where she is free to shape her own destiny. Then, one night, a chance encounter with a handsome chicken thief named Azriel changes her life forever.

Sold to him for a small bag of gold coins, Persephone soon discovers what she already suspected: namely, that Azriel is not what he seems. And when she realizes that he believes Persephone has a special destiny—she is determined to escape him and his impossibly broad shoulders.

But things are no longer as simple as they once were. Torn between her longing for freedom and her undeniable feelings for the handsome thief with the fast hands and the slow smile, Persephone faces the hardest choice she will ever have to make. And no one least of all her—could have imagined the shocking truth her decision will reveal.

Review:

So I just wrote a shorter version of this review for reasons I will reveal later. And while I was writing that, I remembered just how much I love this novel. I think I may love this one as much as I loved Seraphina. And you know what that means? I’m going to have to buy a hardcover copy and get Maureen Fergus to sign it for me. Now, I don’t even know whether she’ll be making any appearances in Vancouver but if she is, I’m going.

Anyway, let’s talk about this book because it is the reason I am holding on to your attention. If you like strong heroines who are flawed and behave in flawed ways sometimes, then you will like Persephone. Persephone is nothing like the Greek goddess (of Spring) she shares a name with. She is a slave and her thoughts are naturally preoccupied with a desire for freedom in the true sense of the word. I cannot pretend to know what it means to not own one’s own person but I can empathize with her feelings. Fergus creates a vibrant world where Gypsies are hunted and killed simply because of who they are. This genocide is a contemporary issue and Fergus does not dress it up prettily or try to excuse it. She portrays the horror of a people who are being eradicated through no fault of their own. Azriel is a gypsy who, with all his charm, buys Persephone from her owner. Not that she thanks him for it, of course.

Their relationship is engaging, fun and complex. The romance is present but it doesn’t take over the narrative. In fact, Persephone’s feelings are deliciously ambiguous and I get the feeling that if she had to choose between Azriel and her freedom, she would choose the latter. There is a prophecy (that Persephone snorts rudely at) and there are animals who are blindly devoted to Persephone. Her eccentricities and flaws make her into a likeable character despite some of her more dubious decisions. (Keep in mind, these decisions are not stupid and nothing damning.)

All the characters present in the novel are individuated and have their own personalities. The courtly intrigues and the young king who is very interested in Persephone spice of the narrative significantly. The villain of the piece is a most intriguing character. He is deformed but for he has a beautiful face and it is his desire to be whole again that motivates his actions. He is one of the creepiest and yet saddest villains I have come across in literature recently. He is dangerous because he doesn’t seem to have a conscience that separates good and bad, and his greed for power at any cost, but at the same time, he is completely vulnerable due to his deformity. I have a feeling that he may not be the villain in the end because he is a bit too easily deceived. No, I think it is the captain of the guards who will become most dangerous for the protagonists of the piece.

The novel is gorgeous written, the pacing is quick and keeps the reader’s interest and the plot turns and twists in the most unpredictable ways. I was literally shocked at the end because I did not expect the novel to go where it did. And it went there in a good way. It takes all expectations and shakes it around and presents to you in a shape you didn’t think it came in. There is friendship between girls, a sisterhood of sorts, and a positive portrayal of women. Themes of identity, physical beauty and perhaps even love are present in the novel. Fergus has created a complex world peopled with complex characters that battle both inner demons and physical enemies in their attempt to right so many wrongs. Questions of duty versus desire will have to be answered. What is freedom? Can a person ever be totally free? I don’t know but I am looking forward to finding out how Persephone’s story unfolds. Do I recommend this? Really, I have to spell it out?

Okay fine. I recommend this strong. Go read it.

The Archived (The Archived #1) – Victoria Scwab

Hardcover, 336 pages
Expected publication: January 22nd 2013 by Hyperion
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous-it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

Review:

I am happy to announce (to all who have been eagerly awaiting my verdict) that The Archived, which is Victoria Schwab’s sophomore novel, is far more intriguing and far more entertaining that her debut (in my opinion). I liked The Near Witch, I did, I just didn’t love it. But The Archived, I do love and unashamedly at that. It is not perfect by any stretch but that is precisely why I love it.

The novel, if you’ve read the synopsis, is very original and the premise is one we have never seen before in a YA novel – okay, one that *I* have never seen before. Someone else may have read something comparable in terms of the myth in the novel. Anyway, a library full of drawers that contain memories in the shape of the human beings they used to belong to is just so amazingly innovative. The world building is detailed and convincing and I could see the sunlight streaming in the Archive that is full of these seemingly innocuous drawers that are full of…bodies. I am not a big fan of Mackenzie but I empathized with her. I felt her pain and I understood her motivations. Her remarkably easy capitulation to Owen was a bit suspect and I did not like it but I accepted it. The one character I love unabashedly is Wes. He is the most awesome love interest/friend/character to have come along in a while. I liked him more than I liked Mac which is funny because usually I’m all about the female protagonist. He’s funny, loyal, quick witted and yes, hot. He is very human and I love that Schwab took such care to develop him so thoroughly. While Mackenzie is ruled by her grief and loss and brings more intensity to the narrative, Wes is a breath of fresh air and lightness. A necessary yin to Mac’s yang.

The plot itself is interesting but the denouement is, again, a bit shaky as it points to Mac’s total credibility. I would have liked her to be a bit smarter, a little less easier to manipulate but I guess some lessons are learned the hard way. Oh and I totally love Roland whose formality just makes him hotter. The Narrows are brilliantly imagined and portrayed and spring up in my mind as dark hallways filled with doors and ominous sounds. I also liked the presence of Mac’s parents in the novel. They have a fractured existence since the death of their son and Mac’s brother but you can see them healing by the end of the novel and I liked that. I also liked that Mac admitted that she was a terrible best friend and I do so hope that Schwab brings back the best friend for a larger part in the next novel because she seems like an awesome character and one I’d like to spend more time with. This is a series, right? It had better be, I’m not ready to say goodbye to Wes yet.

So the verdict? Preorder your copy now, guys. It is totally worth it.

 

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.

Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles) – Marissa Meyer (Review)

Hardcover, 464 pages
Expected publication: February 5th 2013 by Feiwel and Friends
Source: ARC provided by Raincoast Books

Synopsis:
Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Review:

The second installment in the Lunar Chronicles introduces various new characters into the exciting world created by Marissa Meyer. I have many things I want to say about this novel so bear with me.

As one of my friends, Stephanie Sinclair, said in her review, (paraphrased) it felt like Meyer attempted to do a whole lot more in one book than was possible. I really liked some of the things she did and I understand why she wanted to do everything she did but it just felt like there were too many things to focus on. As a reader, I felt that too many separate things wanted my attention and the things I really wanted to pay attention to weren’t granted enough page time. Know what I mean? No? Well, maybe you will sooner or later.

I loved Scarlet. She’s kickass, badass and all sorts of spunky. I loved how much she adored the farm she lived on and how close she was to her grandmother. In fact, while I knew the story was a retelling of Red Riding Hood, I felt that Scarlet, her grandmother and the world she lived in were totally original. I appreciated the troubled relationship she had with her father, it made Scarlet more multifaceted than she would have been. We’ll talk about Wolf later.

I was SO glad to see Cinder, you guys! I had been afraid that most of the focus would be on Scarlet and Cinder would be reduced to having a cameo in the book, with like ten pages dedicated to her troubles. I didn’t need to worry about that at all as she was very much present in the novel as was Kai though both were separated. The new character introduced, the unrepentant, irrepressible Carswell Thorne who is redeemed by his good heart and his willingness to help Cinder, adds a much needed lightness to the fare. More pieces of the puzzle that is Cinder as the Lunar princess fall into place and we get an intriguing look into the evil queen’s mind. I found that portion to be very satisfying as that glimpse into her thoughts made the queen more than a random villain and gave her motivations that are still reprehensible but understandable.

The pacing is swift, oh how swift it is. It moves at a breakneck pace and things happen whether you are ready for them or not. Scarlet’s Wolf is both interesting and not. His twist was unexpected and I thought his real colours show a brilliant sleight of hand by Meyer. I didn’t think too much of their romance as it happened too fast and there was never enough time for Scarlet and Wolf to develop the feelings that would have been necessary for them to achieve that level of emotional intimacy. I would have been satisfied with ambiguity where their feelings were concerned with the hint that they may have something more to them than could be shown. Then in the third book there could have been a continuation of their love-fest.

What I really wanted, I did not get. I wanted a sisterhood of sorts to spring up between Scarlet and Cinder. I hope it happens in book three though I am not sure there will be enough page time for it to happen. Cinder is faced with some existentialist questions in this installment – like who is she, what is she, can she accept who she was born to be – stuff like that and I think it is about time she sat down and had a good think about what it means to be her. I wasn’t too surprised by the ending and I had gathered Kai would make the decision he did from the desperation that seemed to rule him after Cinder disappeared. I’m certain it won’t go through but it does give the narrative a lot of tension which makes for wonderful reading.

All in all, I liked Cinder a bit more than I liked Scarlet simply because Cinder gave me a lot more time to get to know the characters in and out and empathize with them. However, Scarlet is a very strong installment to the series, developing the primary narrative in very strong ways while bringing another fairytale heroine into the melee. I can’t wait to see what happens in Cress because I know lots of things will. If you haven’t read Cinder yet, what are you waiting for? Seriously!

Orchards – Holly Thompson (review)

Hardcover, 336 pages
Published February 22nd 2011 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Source: LIbrary

Synopsis:
After a classmate commits suicide, Kana Goldberg—a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American—wonders who is responsible. She and her cliquey friends said some thoughtless things to the girl. Hoping that Kana will reflect on her behavior, her parents pack her off to her mother’s ancestral home in Japan for the summer. There Kana spends hours under the hot sun tending to her family’s mikan orange groves.
Kana’s mixed heritage makes it hard to fit in at first, especially under the critical eye of her traditional grandmother, who has never accepted Kana’s father. But as the summer unfolds, Kana gets to know her relatives, Japan, and village culture, and she begins to process the pain and guilt she feels about the tragedy back home. Then news about a friend sends her world spinning out of orbit all over again.

Review

This verse novel by Holly Thompson flips the perspective on bullying and shows what happens to the bullies when their bullying has tragic consequences. Thompson’s novel follows Kana’s displacement from New York to an orange orchard in Japan, her mother’s place of birth and home. The novel is particularly successful in portraying the various degrees of culture shock felt by Kana and how immersion into her new life affects her feelings of guilt over what happened to her classmate.

The verse is sparse and not so much lyrical as restrained. The style works particularly well for the themes explored in this novel: the cohering of an identity and the consequence of actions. I liked how Kana starts off defensive but gradually realizes and regrets the role she played in the things that happened. When tragedy strikes again, Kana is better equipped to handle it and the conclusion is more life-affirming than one would think.

On a more analytical note, the book also criticizes, to a minor extent, the parenting by Westerners and with good reason as you will see if you read the novel. On the whole, I liked this novel. It has a gentle feel, a sort of awkward coming of age tone that fits in perfectly with the main character. Recommended.

The Calling – Kelley Armstrong (Review)

Hardcover, 1st Edition, 326 pages
Published April 10th 2012 by Harper
Source: Library

Synopsis:
Maya Delaney’s paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is -a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they’re kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.

Review

So I scrolled down my friend list on Goodreads on this book’s page and I felt that I had either read something vastly different from the rest of my friends or we have totally different tastes in books because I was utterly unimpressed by this novel. Nothing happens. I mean, you’ll argue that a lot does happen, they get caught, they shipwrecked, then there’s a forest or woods or the Canadian equivalent, there are, I don’t know, secrets shared, more forest working etc etc. But nothing happens! They don’t leave the forest!

Honestly. This just seemed like such a shabby follow up to what was possibly one of my favourite novels of last year. And the romance. Okay, fine. If Rafe is the one with whom the main character is going to have a HEA, please make things less ambiguous where the best is concerned. I mean, Armstrong is clearly setting things for a romantic reveal or confession for feelings where the best friend is concerned but I don’t know understand, if this is going to happen, why it has been postponed till the last in the trilogy. I mean, does the guy’s feelings not warrant more soul searching then will be possible within the limits of the conclusion? Or, if I am wrong and there is nothing where the best friend is concerned, then why are we being led to think there is?

Because honestly? Rafe doesn’t do it for me. I’m going to read the next one only because I want to know how this ends but I’m not as enthusiastic about it as I once was.

A Midsummer Tight’s Dream – Louise Rennison (Review)

Hardcover, 246 pages
Published June 26th 2012 by HarperTeen
Source: Library

Synopsis:
Performing Arts college, here I come again! Hold on to your tights!! Because I’m holding on to mine, I can tell you.

Tallulah Casey is back and ready to Irish-comedy-dance her way through another term at Dother Hall, but now that she’s been officially admitted to the performing arts program, that won’t cut it anymore. Especially if she’s going to help raise enough money to keep the school from closing at the end of the year.

There are also some . . . distractions to worry about: The boys of Woolfe Academy are lingering about. And they are still boys, so they are still confusing.

Will Tallulah be able to test out her new snogging skills and ace her performance in this term’s project, A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Only time and more Irish comedy dancing will tell.

Review

I have said this before and I will say it again: Louise Rennison’s writing style is not for everyone. For one thing, she’s funny. She’s really funny. The kind of funny where you snort out a laugh in a crowded area, say a bus, if you were reading this book and then have to pretend for the rest of the ride that you are not creepy or crazy. A Midsummer Tight’s Dream is the second in the Misadventures of Tallulah Casey series. Tallulah is Georgia’s cousin and as expected of anyone related to Georgia Nicholson (Angus Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging), she is a bit batty. Okay, a lot batty.

There is something so charming in the story that Rennison weaves with so much humour and shades of experiences, that you cannot help but go along with whatever craziness she cooks up. In this novel, we return to Dother Hall where budding actors, singers etc of the female variety find themselves. We meet Tallulah and her coterie of crazy friends, the boys, the owls and the dangerous Cain. There are mean girls (the Bottomleys) and there is a sex god who finds a Cassandra and leaves Tallulah heartbroken. There is snogging and there are walnut shaped breasts (there is a hope for growth).

While I did not like this one as much as the first in the series, I still thought it was pretty amazing. I mean, any book that can make me laugh out loud in public has to be good. It’s so unexpected and the novel takes itself seriously which makes it funnier. I mean, the novel has the equivalent of a comedian’s straight face, if you know what I mean. If you want something light, funny, romantic and crazy, read this series.

Shadowlands (Shadowlands #1) – Kate Brian (Review)

Hardcover, 336 pages
Expected publication: January 8th 2013 by Hyperion
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:
Rory Miller had one chance to fight back and she took it. Rory survived… and the serial killer who attacked her escaped. Now that the infamous Steven Nell is on the loose, Rory must enter the witness protection with her father and sister, Darcy, leaving their friends and family without so much as a goodbye.

Starting over in a new town with only each other is unimaginable for Rory and Darcy. They were inseparable as children, but now they can barely stand each other. As the sisters settle in to Juniper Landing, a picturesque vacation island, it seems like their new home may be just the fresh start they need. They fall in with a group of beautiful, carefree teens and spend their days surfing, partying on the beach, and hiking into endless sunsets. But just as they’re starting to feel safe again, one of their new friends goes missing. Is it a coincidence? Or is the nightmare beginning all over again?

Review:

Oh, this book you guys. I can already predict the mixed reaction people will have to it. Personally, I liked the novel but thought it quite confusing and fractured until I reached the end. You could have heard an audible click as my brain turned gears and things suddenly made sense. All those loose ends, all those “I don’t quite know what’s happenings,” all of those questions are suddenly answered and it’s a long moment of “Oh snap.”

The book is a thriller, featuring a serial killer with a penchant for nubile young things who will not fight back, a father who cannot get over the death of his wife and two sisters who mix together like oil and water. I liked Rory and Darcy anyway. Though they are not exactly the ideal sisters, they are realistic ones and for once, I was totally on board with the decision Rory makes where the boy is concerned. Even though she likes him and he likes her back, she recognizes on some intrinsic level (or you know, decency) that going out with your sister’s ex-boyfriend is wrong. She chooses her sister over the boy and you know what? This may be the first time I’ve come across a YA novel in which such a thing happened.

Applause!

Anyway, I thought that was awesome. The setting is well described and there were many times while reading the novel that I wanted to be there where it was warm and sunny and not here where it is cold and rainy but c’est la vie. The other characters are eerie and interesting but you won’t know what their deal is till the end so I won’t say much about them. Reading this novel is an experience that I think you should have without considering anything else. There are so many things about this novel I can’t say without giving it away but I did enjoy how love and romance take a backseat to the primary narrative: that of the serial killer…who is not as frightening as Libba Bray’s villain but is sufficiently creepy.

Anyway, read this book. It may seem a bit fragmented but it’s really cleverly structured. Things don’t fall into place until the end but when they do, they do with a bang. I’m not saying the novel is perfect, it isn’t, but I do think this novel is one of the more interesting ones out there. I can’t wait for the second one in the series.

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.

Undead (Undead #1) – Kirsty McKay (Review)

Hardcover, 272 pages
Published September 1st 2012 by The Chicken House
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:
Out of sight, out of their minds: It’s a school-trip splatter fest and completely not cool when the other kids in her class go all braindead on new girl Bobby.

The day of the ski trip, when the bus comes to a stop at a roadside restaurant, everyone gets off and heads in for lunch. Everyone, that is, except Bobby, the new girl, who stays behind with rebel-without-a-clue Smitty.

Then hours pass. Snow piles up. Sun goes down. Bobby and Smitty start to flirt. Start to stress. Till finally they see the other kids stumbling back.

But they’ve changed. And not in a good way. Straight up, they’re zombies. So the wheels on the bus better go round and round freakin’ fast, because that’s the only thing keeping Bobby and Smitty from becoming their classmates’ next meal. It’s kill or be killed in these hunger games, heads are gonna roll, and homework is most definitely gonna be late.

Review:

Undead is like a summer teen flick (that is set in winter, there is a castle as well) which contains zombies, unlikely friends and an evil corporation. Bobby is finding life in England a wee bit difficult after her mother uproots her from America and returns them to their starting point in England. Her classmates seem to disapprove of her lingering American-ness and so when out on a field trip to um, Scotland? I think, she stays on the bus instead of getting off at a café with the rest of her classmates. Smitty, the resident bad boy, accompanies her (he isn’t given a choice as his bad boy-ness results in café-outing privileges being stripped from him). Then everyone dies apart from the school nerd (who is universally bullied) and the school mean-girl. It wouldn’t have been so bad except that they all rise again…as zombies.

I want to say it’s rollicking good fun with lots of running, tension, danger and all that delicious stuff. There are hints of romance, some jealousy and a lot of dead people. There is very little logic and substance to the novel itself but the book is about zombies. You cannot expect it to be proselytizing on the meaning of being human. Well, maybe you can but you’d be reading the wrong book. Anyway, unlikely friendships do prop up and while Bobby is not especially memorable as a heroine, she is very likeable and easy to empathize with. She could be you or me or any other normal person trying to survive high school. Some revelations are interesting and I do think that there may be more to the whole thing than we are told but as this is a series, I have no doubt more interesting hijinks are in store for us. And zombies too, of course.

All in all, if you are looking for something lighthearted, marshmallow kind of novel that is easy to read, Undead is the book for you. Enjoy.