Top Ten Tuesday (#6)

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where they post a new top ten list every week and ask bloggers to share their picks as well. 

Today's Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings in Books 

1. Hogwarts - The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling 

In all honesty, this should probably read "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" because every setting mentioned within these books is phenomenally vivid - the Ministry of Magic, Hogsmeade, Grimmauld Place, Azkaban, Diagon Alley, Malfoy Manor - you name it! It's hard for me to imagine a list without Hogwarts on it though because, as Harry always says, "Hogwarts is my home." I feel so comfortable amongst its moving staircases, hidden rooms, and tall towers, that it really is one of my favorite book settings of all times. 

2. Middle Earth - The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien 

C'mon, who doesn't think of Middle Earth when the word "vivid" comes to play? Tolkien's world is nothing if not atmospheric and the entire realm, whether it be the dingy Mines of Moria or the beautiful forests of elves, is beautifully written and depicted. 

3. Narnia - The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis 

The World Within the Cupboard. After Hogwarts, Narnia was one of the first magical lands I became familiar with and I loved getting to know it changed from book to book - how the land was as much a character as the protagonists themselves and how it not only shifted and changed with time, but how it was eternal and ever-lasting as well. C.S. Lewis is one of those rare authors who manages to pack so much more into a children's novel than other people can, and I love his writing and world dearly. 

4. The Dells - Fire by Kristen Cashore 

I love Kristin Cashore's writing and her world-building is no different. While I love the Seven Kingdoms in Graceling, I love the beauty and atmosphere of the Dells even more, especially as we see their beauty through the eyes of Fire. Not only is the land with its vibrant colors appealing, so are the multi-colored animals that grace its lands. Beautiful.  

5. Dublin, Ireland - Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning 

Karen Marie Moning is a fantastic author and her ability to create a realm of fey in the heart of Dublin is phenomenal. Although I have never been to Ireland, I can imagine her settings with clarity and love the depth of world-building that can be found in her novels. 

6. Melbourne, Australia - Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley 

Australia is another place I have never been to but feel as if I have been. Graffiti Moon really seemed to transport me on a midnight whirlwind adventure on the streets of Melbourne and I loved every minute of it! Cath Crowley is another one of my favorite authors and her writing sucks you in and makes you never want to leave, much like Australia itself I'm sure! ;) 

7. SOAP - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Admit it - you want to live in Paris. Or at least go to school there. Or at least meet someone as swoon-worthy as Etienne St. Clair in your life - I know I do! ;) The setting of Anna and the French Kiss is not only deliciously foreign and filled with baguettes, pastries, and other mouth-watering delights, but it is beautiful and truly transports you into the heart and culture of France. I love it! 

8. Icemark - Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill 
Icemark is one of those unfortunately unknown settings, but one I love for its harsh climate, formidable woman warriors, deadly vampires, ghostly tree spirits, giant talking snow leopards, and loyal wolf-men, not to mention the occasional warlock or two! ;) It's a beautiful land that you grow to love and defend as a reader and I wish more people knew about and appreciated this epic tale.
9. Jellicoe Road - Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Jellicoe Road, despite being an imaginary lane, is one that I know so vividly and personally. Marchetta's writing is beautiful and her tale of this road and its story over three generations, how it grows and changes gradually, is heart-wrenching. It is impossible not to feel akin with this atmospheric setting and love it with all your heart. 

10. Guatemala and Central America - Wanderlove by Kristen Hubbard 
Wanderlove is one of my favorite books, mostly because of its characters and romance, but partly because of its multiple destinations. I have never traveled to Central America, but Hubbard writes so descriptively that I feel as if I have. Furthermore, despite the fact that our protagonist changes cities constantly, Hubbard never makes us feel the loss of setting which I love.

ARC Review: Midnight City by J. Barton Mitchell

Title: Midnight City (Conquered Earth, #1)

Author: J. Barton Mitchell

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Release Date: October 30th, 2012

Young Adult Fiction these days is split very neatly into multiple genres, multiple “types” and multiple shelves. Yet, every so often a book will come along that doesn’t have one genre, one “type”, or one shelf it belongs to. If anything, it belongs to all genres, all “types” and all shelves. In my opinion, Midnight City is one such novel. While it is primarily a dystopian, it contains its fair bit of supernatural elements, action, survival, and romance. Yet, it would also equally appeal to all ages and genders and is one of the most unique tales to have been written in the past few years. In other words, I didn’t think it could go wrong and I am thrilled to report that I was right – it didn’t disappoint.

It has been eight years since an alien race, The Assembly, has landed on Earth and wiped out the entire adult race. Now, children scourge the dead lands, struggling to survive until The Tone, a deadly disease that caused the entire adult generation to become brain-washed and walk into airships of The Assembly, takes them too. Holt is a young bounty hunter running away from the price on his own head and struggling to survive, but he contains rare genes that have enabled him to escape The Tone and live to old age, alone and surrounded by young children. When Holt manages to catch Mira, a freebooter with more than a few tricks up her sleeve, he also unwillingly rescues Zoey, a young girl, from a fallen Assembly airship. But, transporting Mira and Zoey, along with his faithful companion dog Max, is more than Holt bargained for and as he will soon find out, the Assembly is after him. Or rather, after Zoey, an eight-year-old girl who may just have the power to destroy the alien race once and for all.

I’ll admit it - Midnight City exceeded even my highest expectations of it. I was sucked into this rich, futuristic, and original world that Mitchell had created and I didn’t want to leave. In fact, one of the main aspects of this novel that truly struck me was how complex and cleverly written the world-building was. It wasn’t all dumped at you in one go, but it also wasn’t withheld for too long. Mitchell gives you just enough information at just the right time and employs the ‘show not tell’ method very effectively in my opinion. This can especially be seen in the portrayal of his characters – he doesn’t tell us that Holt is strong and self-reliant, he shows us through his actions. He doesn’t tell us that Mira is kick-ass and brave, he shows us.

While Midnight City was very much a plot driven novel with a heart-pounding pace and something worse happening at every turn when you thought it couldn’t get worse, I admired how it was, in equal parts, a character driven novel. Mitchell tells his story in third person and shifts perspectives, allowing us to see into Holt, Mira, and even Zoey’s mind from time-to-time. I thought this was a purposeful literary technique that worked very effectively in further developing these characters. I really enjoyed how the pasts of Holt, Mira, and Zoey, an important aspect that truly helped shaped them into the fighters they had become today, unfolded slowly and methodically throughout the novel. In fact, by the end of Midnight City I felt as if I truly understood these characters very well, but not too well that I wouldn’t still be wondering about them until the sequel came out. I thought the pacing of this was perfect – not only in terms of the plot, but in terms of the character development as well.

I think one of the areas I was most apprehensive about before delving into this novel was the romance, but, like everything else about this book, I needn’t have been worried. Mitchell develops the relationship between Mira and Holt in a very realistic manner – they both know that they are captor and captive and in the beginning, they are more than a little hostile towards one another. Yet, as The Assembly comes charging down on them and their mission to survive becomes more dire and pressing than their current relationship of captivity, they began to slowly work together to keep Zoey alive and form a mutual respect and admiration for one another that slowly grows into something deeper. Yet, what I love the most about their romance is that they are not in love – there is still so much about each other that they don’t know and even the future of their relationship is very precarious, but they make the best of what they have. Furthermore, Mitchell truly takes the personalities of Holt and Mira into account. Holt, for one, is used to being alone, so for him to suddenly begin to care about not only Mira, but Zoey as well, is a huge leap of faith. I thought Mitchell developed this inner dilemma very well and realistically portrayed Holt’s growth, as well as that of Mira.

Ironically, despite the fact that Zoey is the most important character in this novel due to her special abilities, she has gotten the least amount of discussion time in this review. Yet, there isn’t much I can say about her. Zoey has powers that she doesn’t know about – she can sense other people’s emotions and has strong, intense gut-reactions that never lead her astray. Still, there is so much more to her than just that and the journey to seeing her mature, become brave, and face on her scary abilities head-on is nothing short of miraculous. Zoey is very easy to like and while she may be just a tad bit clichéd and too-good-to-be-true for an eight-year-old girl, I think it remains true to the type of environment she grew up in and her strange powers. Of all the characters, the reader still knows the least about Zoey, but I think I like it that way. I’m curious about her and can’t wait to see how much more she develops in the sequel.

For all my praise of it, Midnight City is, by no means, a perfect novel. I thought the pace of it sped up a bit too much after the half-way mark and as events began to occur at greater and greater speeds, the conversation, witty banter, and heavy details that nicely balanced out the action previously seemed to disappear. Thus, I found a couple dozen pages of the novel to be a little hard to get through. In addition to that, I thought that the intensity of feelings that Holt had for Mira were a little too strong. I suppose that, for a first love/romance, they remain realistic, but I was a tad bit annoyed that we knew the intensity of Holt’s feelings for Mira, but we were kept in the dark about Mira’s true feelings towards Holt. I suppose, in a way, it’s a bit of a cliffhanger ending, and it’s definitely one I can’t wait to find out more about. Furthermore, I found that the quality of the characters seemed to drop once the trio made their way into Midnight City. I know this was because the characters mentioned at that point in the novel were trivial, but I wish that the pace could have been slowed down just a tad bit to give them a bit more depth.

Nevertheless, these qualms are really only a slight dent in the creative masterpiece that is Midnight City. I am an avid Doctor Who fan, so of course, any novel about aliens was sure to go down well with me, but Midnight City proved to be far better than I thought. With rich descriptions, vibrant characters, and a break-neck plot that will leave you flipping the pages frantically, Midnight City is a fantastic and original new addition to the realm of dystopian fiction. It is definitely a novel whose sequel I am already eagerly anticipating and one whose world I am dearly missing. I cannot wait to immerse myself into this rich realm once again and cannot recommend Midnight City enough. It is a novel that has something in it for everyone and simply one that cannot be missed.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.  

Showcase Sunday (#5)

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits and Tea. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.

For Review: 

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff 

I've actually finished this one since I picked it up early last week and I loved it! It's a definite 5 Star Rating for sure and while I would love to put my review up now itself, I can only post it by August 15th-ish, so stay tuned! :D 

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry 

This is another ARC I picked up in the middle of last week and I devoured it in one sitting. You can read my review for it here. 

Ironskin by Tina Connolly

I know! This one was my WoW Pick last week and I luckily found it and got approved for it on NetGalley, so I'm excited to start it soon!

Bought:

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 

I managed to pick up a copy of this at my local library book sale, so I'm thrilled to finally have it on my shelves! I'll definitely need to start this one soon! :) 

The Blue Sword (Damar #1) by Robin McKinley 

I have heard nothing but phenomenal things about Robin McKinley and her novels, so I thrilled to finally be starting this one this week. 

Blood Red Road by Moira Young 

Moira Young has been getting quite a bit of attention around the blogosphere lately with ARCs of her new book, Rebel Heart, the sequel to Blood Red Road, being released. I figured it was about time I began reading Blood Red Road so I could get my hands on its anticipated sequel and see what the hype was about for myself. 

Insignia by S.J. Kincaid 
I've had my eye on this one since its release last week, but my bookstore sold out of it by the time I got there, so I had to wait another week to get my hands on a copy. I can't wait to start this one though!

Shadows (Rephaim #1) by Paula Weston 

I'll be honest - this is my friend's. BUT, she's overseas on vacation, so I'm hoping to finish it before that. Plus, I technically did buy it for her since she ordered it from Australia and she's paying me back when she returns, so for now, this is mineee! ;) 

Unwind by Neil Shusterman 

I'm not one for creepy/horror stories, but I've heard too many good things about this one to pass it up. I found it in my library book sale as well and picked it up at a bargain price, so I can't wait to begin this! 

What did you all get this week? I can't wait to begin reading my novels and I hope you all got fantastic hauls as well!(: 

Review: Chime by Franny Billingsley (Flashback Friday #5)

Flashback Friday was originally an idea I came up with - or thought I came up with at any rate. Since I'm a new book blogger with dozens of reviews on GoodReads, I thought Flashback Friday would be a great way to feature some of my older reviews on my blog. However, it turns out that there are tons of different bloggers out there who feature a Flashback Friday of their own. So, I am taking ideas from two such bloggers - Clean Teen Fiction and Skyla11377 - and meshing them together to create my own version of Flashback Friday - a version which features some of my favorite books from the past year and provides a review for them. You don't have to be a new blogger to participate in Flashback Friday though. This is simply an opportunity to showcase novels we've read in the past and enjoyed, even if there is no written review for it, so feel free to grab my button or make your own and participate! :)

Today's Flashback Friday Pick: Chime by Franny Billingsley 

Title: Chime 

Author: Franny Billingsley 

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Briony Larkin has grown up hating herself. Before her stepmother passed away, she told Briony a secret: Briony is a witch. Briony is wicked. Briony is responsible for hurting her sister Rose. Briony is guilty. Briony must not tell her father. Briony must not tell anyone. If Briony tells, she will be hanged. Thus, Briony believes in her own inherent evil - she despises herself. Yet, when Eldric, a boy who is as different from her as sun and moon, arrives from London, Briony starts to question everything she's ever been told. Slowly, secrets begin to surface - secrets about Briony. Secrets about her life. Secrets she doesn't know.

Chime is dark, haunting, and utterly original. Billingsley's writing style can be strange at first, but it soon grew on me. I found myself devouring the pages, unable to stop reading until late into the night.

Briony, despite her own self-loathe, is an intelligent and self-reliant new heroine, able to fend for herself. Furthermore, she does everything she can to take care of her twin sister, Rose. Rose lives in her own world, acting like a child after an accident that affected her mind when she was young. She tells Briony that she has no birthday although they are twins, doesn't allow her to listen to the clock chime twelve, and has a plethora of secrets of her own. Although Briony often doesn't want to take care of her sister, she does anyway, showing an admirable sense of loyalty. Briony has so many notable characteristics that one cannot help but love and sympathize with her even though she despises herself. She is intriguing and, as the narrator, provides a refreshing new perspective.

Briony and Eldric's blossoming romance was captivating and - dare I say it - something that had not been done before. Eldric calls himself a resident "bad boy,"; yet, he is unlike any other "bad" boy we have come to know in YA literature. Eldric is a gentleman who is kind, honest, friendly, and funny. He becomes Briony's friend first and Briony, believing that she in incapable of love, does not see him as anything more than that for much of the novel. It is evident to the reader that Eldric likes Briony very much; however, as the novel is told from Briony's perspective, we cannot help but doubt him and question Briony's own feelings towards him as she does not know them herself. Eldric is so easy to fall in love with and, despite his evident weaknesses and flaws, has become one of my favorite male characters in YA literature.

To be honest, I was originally very skeptical about reading Chime. The cover is gorgeous and I wanted to like it so badly, but most reviewers had simply been unable to read it because of the writing style. I didn't want to be one of those readers. Thankfully, I was sucked in my the writing and thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything about this book is unique - its characters, its plot, its romance. Although it seems like just another paranormal romance, it is so much more. It is thought compelling, strange, and beautifully written. Certain scenes are written with such poise that they stand out, immediately making this novel one with writing that may not necessarily be poetic or beautiful, but certainly striking.Billingsley's talent for writing is evident throughout the story as she never makes Briony come across as whiny or annoying for hating herself - she truly develops and adds depth to her personality. Some authors are simply good, Franny Billingsley however, has true talent.

Chime may not be a novel that everyone may necessarily like, but it is haunting and deserves to be read. If you are looking for something that will completely blow your mind away, leaving you pondering the novel long after you are finished with it, read Chime. You won't regret it.

ARC Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits 

Author: Katie McGarry

Rating: 4.5 Stars 

Release Date: July 31st, 2012

                       

For some reason, Pushing the Limits took me completely by surprise. I expected a typical, run-of-the-mill contemporary romance with teasing banter, heavy romance, and a plethora of family issues that would most likely work side-by-side or take a backseat to the blooming love story at stake. However, with her debut, McGarry pushed aside whatever assumptions I had previously made and delivered a novel that was heart-wrenching, raw, and painful, all while containing a bittersweet romance that took a glorious backseat to the pressing issues in these teens lives and only added to the flavor and essence of this remarkable tale. In all honesty, I think McGarry’s debut is by far my favorite contemporary debut I’ve read so far this year and I cannot wait to see what this talented new author has in store for the future.

Ever since the death of her older brother and a freak accident that happened with her bi-polar mother, Echo has retracted into herself and lost her standing as Ms. Popularity. All she wants to do now is remember – remember what happened that night with her mother, remember how she got the bruises that frame her arms and force her to wear long-sleeved shirts, and remember how life was before her father re-married and started up a new family along the way. For Noah, all he wants is to bring his family back to together. Ever since Noah’s parents died in a house fire, he has been separated from his two younger brothers and paraded around to foster home after foster home. When Echo and Noah strike an unlikely alliance seeded in tutoring and a common goal to attain their top-secret files which contain secrets both of them want, neither of them counts on one very unpredictable thing happening – love.

Pushing the Limits has got to be one of my favorite dual narrative contemporary novels. While I’m not a huge fan of multiple perspectives, I loved how both Echo and Noah’s voice was distinct, remarkable, and lively. Yet, what I admired the most about McGarry’s writing, is the fact that she was able to introduce us to two characters who are broken and torn in ways that most of us cannot even begin to imagine, yet she enables us to understand them. I don’t know anyone in my life who has gone through some of the traumatic events that Echo and Noah have, but reading their narration, I felt as if I could relate to them on a deeper level. I truly loved how McGarry enabled the reader to understand that while we could not fathom the surface situation these two were in, we could come to terms with their more rooted feelings of loneliness, abandonment, loss, and confusion. I think it is very rare for an author to be able to do this effectively with characters so vastly different and torn, but McGarry did a remarkable job.

In addition to their utter realistic-ness however, the love story between Noah and Echo managed to be true to this theme of realism as well. Their romance was slow-to-build and I truly enjoyed how Echo and Noah got to know each other through conversation, trial and error, and multiple meetings. I also really liked the unique manner in which their relationship unfolded. Unlike most novels where the two main characters get together and all their problems begin to mysteriously solve themselves, McGarry made her characters work for their “forever”. We were able to see the culmination of Echo and Noah’s relationship as they ventured into each others’ vastly different worlds and struggled to do what was right for them, their families, and their multiple obligations. I thought the tough situations in this novel were handled extremely realistically and I admire McGarry for taking on such broken characters and making them heal in a manner that was wholly satisfying and not the slightest bit cliché.

Echo and Noah aside, I loved the exemplary cast of secondary characters in this novel. I liked that McGarry made Echo and Noah’s friends such a huge part of their lives. I see so often in contemporary novels that the story seems to only revolve around the two love interests and their parental situation, so I was glad to see that Isaiah and Beth, Noah’s best friends, and Lila, Echo’s best friend, also got to play a large role in their lives. Furthermore, the school therapist, Mrs. Collins, was easily one of my favorite characters because of all the time and energy she devoted to Noah and Echo. Both Noah and Echo needed different things in their lives to get them back on track; Noah a promise to be with his brothers again and an incentive to work for it and Echo a much-needed closure and resurfacing of her suppressed memories. Mrs. Collins was like their guiding angel during this time and more than being a simple social worker, she was their friend.

All the angelic people aside, this novel had more than its fair share of villains. Echo’s parents were definitely a piece of work and I liked how McGarry left Echo’s relationship with them still open towards the end. It is hard to elaborate without giving too much away, but as bits and pieces of Echo’s memories begin to return to her and layers of her past come crumbling down, she begins to realize that the people she thought she could trust really weren’t there for her after all, and this realization is like a kick in the gut to both Echo and the reader. I found her story to be the most heart-wrenching because of all its pain and torture and unhappiness, but I do admit that I cried far more while reading Noah’s story as I kept imagining my own younger brother and myself in his situation. I really liked how Noah’s story unfolded though and while his issues affected the romance between these two, I think they were stronger for working over that hurdle and Noah went through immense character growth and maturation as well.

In all honesty, I could keep telling you about this remarkable story. I could tell you how it had my eyes tearing before I’d even reached the hundredth page. I could tell you how I much I admired the growth I found, not only within both these characters, but many of the secondary characters as well. I could tell you how Noah’s interactions with his siblings were like pulling a heart-string or how Echo’s slow revival into her artwork and her determination to stand up to others was incredibly inspiring. I could tell you all that and much more, but I won’t. Pushing the Limits is a story that demands to be felt and experienced and while it isn’t a novel that changed my world upside down, it is one that I will remember, cherish, and would love to re-read. It is, by no means, perfect – a few phrases that Noah uses are unnecessarily repeated, a scene or two tended to drag, and some of the actions were too melodramatic – but none of that affected the brilliance of this story. Pushing the Limits is a sparkling debut with a talented new author whose sequel I am already waiting to get my hands on and I can bet, so will you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing me with a copy of this in book in exchange for my honest review.