Of Poseidon – Anna Banks (A Review)

Hardcover, 324 pages
Expected publication: May 22nd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends
Source: Net Galley

Synopsis:

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . .

Told from both Emma and Galen’s points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

Review:

This is going to be an incredibly difficult review to write for a multitude of reasons but especially because I hate giving a not so positive review to a debut author. However, I cannot, in good conscience, let these things pass me by so if you are reading this, keep in mind that the following are my opinions and ones you may not necessarily agree with but are, nevertheless,  opinions I have a right to express.

Of Poseidon promises a lighthearted story dabbling in the mythology of mermaids and some faint Greek myths that, superficially, has all the elements of an entertaining YA novel. The dialogue exchange is rapid and there is a lot of wit and humour in the construction of the novel that is, ultimately, very readable.

However, there are some troublesome issues in this novel that, try as I might, I cannot overlook. Emma’s best friend, Chloe, is black and she [happens to be eaten by a shark ]. She’s also a flirt and sabotages Emma’s potential happiness before she [was eaten by a shark (hide spoiler)]. I don’t see the purpose of the former as it has no consequence in the narrative and since I was left to draw my own conclusions on Chloe’s actions, I drew them. However, Chloe being black by itself would not have mattered as much to me had it not been for the fact that Banks keeps on reiterating Emma’s porcelain colour. Not once, not twice but many, many times. And I haven’t been reading texts closely for the past few years without learning something about reading, ya know? Why the emphasis on colour? Why is Chloe black? If you think I’m being too sensitive to the issue, please. You should be aware that any time a non-African American writer writes an African American character, she or he has to be supremely aware that they are writing from a position of privilege and that yes, colonization, neo-colonization, years and years of history of slavery, everything is right there, observing their seemingly innocuous characters. The reiteration of colour may not have been intentional and in fact, I don’t think it was but honestly? The emphasis of the porcelain skin tone on the main character who gets the happily ever after (I’m assuming) when juxtaposed with the [dead (hide spoiler)] black best friend speaks a lot. To me, anyway.

Now that I have spoken at length about the issue of colour, let me talk about how Of Poseidon does what Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick does: that is, both novels bring up murky issues in contemporary courtship particularly where the actions of the male love interest is concerned. Galen’s sister has no say in who she wants to marry. In fact, she is quite adamant about the fact that she doesn’t want to marry anyone. Does anyone listen to her? No. In fact, she is “married” against her will and WITHOUT her knowledge to a guy who insists that “no” means “yes.” Um. As another reviewer (Katya, read her review, it’s kinda awesome) stated, Toraf’s actions are justified by the assertion that Rayna is just playing hard to get. Am I complaining too much? Okay, fine, you can think that.

Let’s move on to Galen. There are several instances in the story that I found the love interest to be a supreme douchebag. He wasn’t redeemed in any satisfactory manner and in fact, by the end of the novel, I was questioning Emma’s sanity. I used to read a lot of romance novels. Harlequin or rather the Australian version: Mills and Boons. In those books, there was this trope of the overpowering and supermasculine oil tycoons who were possessive, rich and took care of the hapless heroines who just melted to putty in the face of their physical looks and domineering manner. I believe I’ve just described the actual romance in this novel. Apart from the oil tycoon part. Emma’s opinions and outrage “amuses” Galen suggesting that her being offended or angry with Galen is not so much concerning as entertaining. She stomps her foot so I guess I can’t blame him for being amused. But the point is, I had the overwhelming feeling that Emma was treated more like a child to be mollified rather than an adult to be taken seriously and you guys, serious ire at these instances. Not that Emma was such a wonderful character. Once and again, she goes on an internal monologue, listing the problems with her actions and with Galen’s actions – for instance, Galen shows up on a date Emma is with a perfectly nice boy and makes “serial killer eyes,” I’m not even lying, that is the exact term used and threatens to bodily harm the guy amongst other things if he doesn’t realize that Emma belongs to him. And Emma well realizes the stupidity of her actions even as she is going along with Galen but, again as the other reviewer (Katya) said, all it takes is for Galen to confess his love before she forgets everything she had been objecting to.

Excuse me while the feminist in me throws up.

I wanted to like this novel. A lot. But I didn’t. Though this novel may, superficially, hit the right spot, reading it closely and paying attention to the subtext brings up uncomfortable questions. Do I recommend this to you? I can’t say. As I said, the novel is readable but the lack of the plot, the characterizations and the other issues make me unable to tell you either way. You may not be offended by the same things I am. So. Make up your own mind.

Dreaming of Clothes – Lee Jong Im

Okay, I don’t know if I told you guys this before but I minored in Asian Language and Culture, emphasis Korean which means I have studied Korean, the language for the past four years. The last class was a translation one for which I translated a story from Korean into English and I thought I’d share it with you guys. The story belongs in its entirety to Lee Jong Im and I so wish I could contract him or her to see if I have completely butchered it but since I did get a good grade in the class, I’m going to assume I did not do too badly. Anyways, here is the story. I recommend you read it. It’s very different, very magical realism (though this wouldn’t be the term I’d use officially). If you like Murakami, you might like this story a lot better than if you don’t. It’s relatively short and the mistakes are all mine.

Born Wicked – Jessica Spotswood (A Review)

Hardcover, 330 pages
Published February 7th 2012 by Putnam Juvenile
Source: Library

Synopsis:

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word… especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Review: Letter

Dear Cate,

Let’s talk, you and me. We’re both women, we’ll definitely have no problem finding at least one topic to find common ground in. We started off as friends, you and I. I quite understood and empathized with the horror you felt concerning the chauvinistic bastards who organized themselves as the Brotherhood and whose main aim was to ensure that women did not move out of their place in the supposed “natural” order of things. I was quite disgusted and I dare say, felt your anger at the crimes constantly perpetrated against women. I felt your pain as you tried to be a mother to your sisters, one of whom needed a good slap that you managed to restrain yourself from giving. And the freedom of the Arab girls? So clever. I enjoyed a chuckle though I don’t know if that was what was intended. Anyway, we were good friends.

Until you started being annoying. This was due to two main things. Two main people. Two boys. I feel bad for Paul. I really do. First there is a flashback where I am led to believe that Paul holds more meaning to you than he apparently does. My bad. His arrival is heralded with a lot of fanfare and anticipation and I thought I’d hold your hand and squeal as your heart palpitated. I guess not. Of course he’s handsome and totally in love with you despite other girls wanting him oh so badly. Unfortunately, you have a thing for the gardener. Finn. Who seems perfectly nice but if you have a thing for him, why the heck do you lead on Paul? Why do you promise not to marry anyone else, explicitly mind you, and then in the next chapter, you are oh so blithely agreeing to marry Finn. Why do you do that, Cate? That’s not cool. This “best friend” of yours, Paul, surely deserves more than the shoddy treatment you insist on giving him.

But Cate, I think our relationship failed entirely when you continued not doing anything even in the face of annihilation. What is the point, I ask you, of having so much power when you are standing there, doing nothing and waiting for the bad guys to win. And the Sisterhood? Psht. I actually admire them more than I admire you. At least they use the agency they have to do shit that is actually bigger than them. You are selfish, Cate, and the ending is supposed to make me empathize with you? It didn’t. It just made me roll my eyes a lot more at the insistence on pathos in a series that really could have been organized into something that flowed on its own. Because Cate, as you waffle and wibble about true love and all the sacrifices you are making, you are being forced to make, there are other girls, some even the ages of your own sisters, who are being killed, yes Cate, that means not alive anymore, while you bemoan the fact that you have to actually think beyond yourself. Yes, I realize there’s no one as important as you are, not even the two unlikely witches who mind you are cooler than you, but when you are the heroine of a novel, you gotta do shit to be shit, like say, I dunno, Katniss does for Primrose? If you had to be Katniss, you’d never volunteer because what if that vixen to whom you sell beavers (or something) stole Gale while you were away fighting for your life? So for all the proselytizing you do about doing anything (ANYTHING) for your sisters, you don’t actually do anything. You are forced to which is a markedly different from volunteering to. So Cate, you fail.

And that’s why, Cate, you and I part ways and I don’t think we are ever going to resurrect our relationship. It’s a shame but I did so enjoy the pretty cover you appeared in. Here’s hoping you grow some balls in the sequels. Not that I’ll be around to witness it.

Sincerely,
Nafiza.

The Best Friend Blues: The Curse of the Best Friend in YA Novels

Dearest Reader,

Today I bring to you a great concern over a group of YA characters who figure prominently in most novels and yet, are the most overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Yes, I am talking about the often suffering, often killed Best Friend of the Female Protagonist.

First though, we must define what a best friend is and to do that, I present to you this meme:

(http://www.the-joke-box.com/pictures/friend-vs-best-friend.jpg)

A best friend is someone who gets you, who loves you despite the fact that you share no blood, with whom you are soul sisters (or brothers or um siblings, we will NOT talk about how male best friends (for girls) are boyfriends in disguise, thank you) and all that jazz. She knows and keeps your secrets and she has your back. But this is not a one way street – unless, of course, you are the protagonist of a young adult novel. Let’s talk about the Best Friends in YA novels.

They come in two sizes.

Either they are beautiful, much more beautiful (charming, rich, interesting) than the protagonist OR they are chubby, not so attractive (their status as Best Friend prevents the use of the word “ugly”) as the protagonist. They can’t be somewhat attractive, oh no, for them, extremes are a way of life. Oh and more often than not, they are not very picky when it comes to the opposite sex so they are much more confident than the protagonist which functions in two important ways:

1. It contrasts them with the protagonist and builds up the moral character of the protagonist. Presenting the preserved virgin who shines only brighter in her lily-whiteness when placed next to the scarlet woman of scarlet morals.

2. It reconfirms the age old myth that chaste women get their happy endings while the sexually liberated women don’t get endings at all. They get pauses and abrupt extinction. Sometimes they don’t even make it to the last chapter. :\

Sometimes they get their boyfriends stolen.

Especially if that boyfriend is not an Ex yet. It’s just not done. However, the Poor Best Friend somehow always ends up becoming the bad girl in this love triangle. She’s just not good enough for the SuperAwesomeJockBoy and ends up boyfriendless, bestfriendless and almost certainly consigned to Mean Girl status for the rest of the book, if she doesn’t die first, of course. That is always a distinct possibility.

Being a best friend is hazardous to a person’s life.

If there is a vampire wandering around, chances are it’s your neck he is going to chomp on next. Werewolf? Guess who  gets bitten? Black hole that sucks people in? Well, you always wanted to experience a vacuum cleaner. A sacrifice? You look good in white – sacrificial white, that is. Twist needed to provide pathos and tragedy in a protagonist’s life? Bye bye Best Friend. The Best Friend goes through all manner of horrific incidents just to build the character of the protagonist. He/She has been raped, murdered, been in an accident, trampled by a camel (okay not really but give it time, it’ll happen). No matter what the process, the result is always the same: Dead Best Friend.

The Protagonist Makes a Terrible Best Friend

Here’s the thing about Protagonists in YA novels. As soon as the Love Interest appears, their brain cells seem unable to work to keep two people at the same importance level. No, the Poor Best Friend slides several rungs down. The Love Interest who didn’t even know of the Protagonist’s existence until yesterday in Biology Class somehow becomes the center of the Protagonist’s life and the Best Friend who has been by the Protagonist’s side since forever, who has stood by her, who has listened to the sob stories again and again is somehow consigned to the margins. There’ll be broken promises, there’ll be an underestimation of the Best Friend’s intelligence (she’ll never believe/understand/accept but HE will). She’ll be stood up, ignored (sometimes for her own good) and while the protagonist might protest that it is all for the good of the Best Friend, you and I both know that THAT is simply not how the cookie crumbles.

It makes one wonder why the Best Friend is even friends with the Protagonist.

I love how Best Friends in novels are not treated as people in their own right but as accessories whose existence hinges on the Protagonists. I give you a conversation between two Protagonists of YA Novels:

“Ooo, what’s that shiny new thing twirling around you?”
“It’s my new best friend!”
“Fantastic! How’s she working out for you?”
“Oh lovely, always around to love me, cheer me on, hold my hand and I don’t have to return the favour. Ever!”
“Any cons to this set up?”
“Short shelf life. But hey, I can always replace her!”
“I want one!

In conclusion, if someone offers you the best friend position and there are suspicious elements like werewolves, vampires and stuff around, decline. And move to Canada. We only have sasquatches. (And they don’t sparkle in the sun.)

When the Sea is Rising Red – Cat Hellison (A Review)

Hardcover, 296 pages
Published February 28th 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Source: Library

Synopsis:

After seventeen-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend, Ilven, kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven’s death has called out of the sea a dangerous, wild magic. Felicita must decide whether her loyalties lie with the family she abandoned . . . or with those who would twist this dark power to destroy Pelimburg’s caste system, and the whole city along with it.

Review:

People do not seem to like this one too much so obviously I, contrary creature that I am, like it a lot. I liked how courageous the book and obviously it’s author are to present something that is so very different than what is flooding the market nowadays. All books try to be different but ultimately conform to the standard. Ms. Hellison’s novel, in my not so humble opinion, succeeds in not just being different but being different in a good way.

Felicita is a very likable protagonist and as a woman, I immediately felt myself able to empathize with her predicament. Whether I would have gone to the lengths she did to extricate myself from the future her brother laid out for her…well, I don’t know but the fact that she does, that she has the courage to go forth and take her destiny in her own hands shows the spunk and um, guts she has and I find that very admirable. (We’ll get to you later, Cate.) The attraction of the book came from the careful and detailed world building. There is a strong sense of whimsy, a sense of surreality that surrounds it – a parallel universe that is full of magic and strange creatures – the imagery is very strong and I found myself easily calling to mind the streets, the beaches and the people described in the novel.

Felicita’s attempt to become Firel, to become someone with a whole lot less than she is used to makes for an interesting read. The strange motley of people who give her a home and offer her friendship and new experiences are also fascinating. The plot is perhaps my favourite part of the book and I can’t say too much about it without giving it away. The Sea is Rising Red very much resembles a fairytale come to life with its intriguing mix of legend and supernatural creatures.

The reason most people probably have trouble with this novel is the interesting way in which romance is approached. If you want fervent confessions of true, everlasting love, you might want to give this one a miss. The romance in this is a bit capricious, a bit playful and, maybe only to me, a bit exploratory in tone and even execution. There are two love interests but not quite a love triangle. I sincerely hope that this is a series because one of the love interests fascinates me. None of the characters are superhotbeautifulgorgeous and I love, love, love that.

You will like this book if you like curious things, if you are open to something different than hot boy notices plain girl, there are fireworks and then a kiss. The folklore-ish feel of the novel will be a hit with some and a miss with others. Ah, if you liked The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley, you will certainly like this one.

The Last Princess – Galaxy Craze

Hardcover, 295 pages
Published: May 1st 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

Happily ever after is a thing of the past.

A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless.

When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year-old Princess Eliza manages to escape.

Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope—and to love—once more. Now she must risk everything to ensure that she not become… The Last Princess.

Review:

This is going to be crazily difficult to write because, as I have said before and will reiterate again, I dislike writing negative reviews. However, I cannot compromise my integrity so here’s the thing, I found it impossible to like The Last Princess and I will list the reasons in the next few paragraphs.

The holes in the logic made it very difficult for me to continue reading the novel without pausing to wonder about what was happening in the narrative. For instance, in the very beginning of the novel, Eliza is sitting and observing the soldiers which establishes the presence of armed and trained fighters whose primary job is the protection of the royal family. Yet, when Eliza discovers the note written by her six year old brother (mind you, the note is written by a six year old with extraordinary writing skills and does not at all read like a child who is running away from home in the state of mind that the brother is said to be in), she takes her horse and makes for the forest which is apparently where her brother has run away to.

There are two issues I have with this:

1. Why does Eliza make no use of the soldiers to look for her brother who has run away in a time of great civil unrest? Why is SHE galloping after her brother?
2. The brother is sickly. How did he manage to cover that much distance by himself when he cannot move for long periods without medicine?

See the gaps in the logic? And there are more, a lot more that detracts from the reading experience. The oil has run out. Eliza talks about it once and again. But they are driving in Ashton Martins. After the “17 Days of Terror” when the world is remade and life changes drastically, someone presents the Queen with fruit and she takes it and eats it. Why? Would not the people allowed to present food to the royals be carefully vetted?

And it gets even more farfetched as the novel progresses. The King assures his daughter emphatically that no one will ever hurt them again but in the next instant, there is shattering glass and the king is dead, giving a surer lie to his words than…yeah. Oh, and the world is dying around them, yet the royals are having a feast. It is enough to make one agree with the rebels.

There is no characterization. All characters, Eliza included, seem very hollow stereotypes of other characters and I really am sorry to say this but the writing itself was not conducive to reading with choppy sentences and awkward segues that is just…painful.

Maybe it’s because I started this book with a lot of hope. I wanted to be blown away by the story. By the characters. By the writing. However, unfortunately, the book failed to deliver, at least to me. Whether you will have the same reaction as me depends on what you expect from a novel. I can’t, not in good conscience, recommend this to you and I’m sorry for it.

Hemlock – Katherine Peacock

Hardcover, 400 pages
Expected publication: May 8th 2012 by HarperCollins
Source: Edelweiss

Synopsis:

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

Review:

Hemlock has many strengths but one of the most fascinating aspects of it is the atmosphere that infuses the narrative intermittently and fragments the novel in a way that, instead of making the novel choppy, makes it flow smoother. Peacock’s imagery is very strong but there is subtlety to it that I liked very much. This subtlety is most apparent in scenes when Mackenzie is conversing with Amy in one of her dreams. The stillness of the setting coupled with the Amy’s ghostly visage that has a mixture of cruelty and vulnerability to it is superbly transmitted through Peacock’s writing.

Moving into the review proper, let me discuss the aspects of the novel itself. Even though it is constructed as a paranormal romance, at the heart of it, the novel is a whodunit. A crime story that has a reveal that I, for once, did not predict. Mackenzie is an easy protagonist to empathize with. Her fierceness where her friends are concerned sound sincere and work in her favour. There is a love triangle but for once, I did not have much trouble working with it as Mac does not lead on one of the guys. This is not to imply that there is no ambiguity in her feelings in the beginning because there is but for the most part, Mac’s romantic feelings are very clear and I appreciated that.

That said, there were still some issues that I had with the novel. The first was that the mythology, the werewolf-ery is not very well explored. That might be because Peacock is saving that for the next book (which very well might be the case) but I would have liked a lot more information on what being a werewolf entails. The other is the presence of the multiple Mean Girls. I wish authors would realize that perpetuating this mean girl trope works to create divides in girls and while I’m not from the school of naïve thought that teaches all girls share a common sisterhood, I do believe that the portrayal of such characters lead to normalizing them. So yeah, no bueno.

These issues aside, I really did enjoy the novel. I thought it was well constructed, paced and characterized. The trackers were frightening and gave a glimpse to the depths humanity can sink to defend itself. I recommend this to anyone who likes a good murder mystery populated by werewolves, crazy people and spunky heroines.