In My Mailbox (25)

In My Mailbox is a weekly Sunday meme by The Story Siren where participants show what books and swag they received this week through a store, library, or publishing house.

Won

Swag from Lori at Pure Imagination, Candace at Candace's Book Blog, & Angela at Reading Angel
Swag from Joelle Anthony & Denise Jaden

Bought

The Ivy (Laura Kunze & Rina Onur)
Silver Phoenix (Cindy Pon) 




Did you do an In My Mailbox today? Post your link in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out!

Another Pan by Daniel & Dina Nayeri

Title: Another Pan

Author: Daniel & Dina Nayeri

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Release Date: October 12, 2010

Date Read: July 20 - 25, 2011

Rating: 4/5 stars 

Source: Personal ARC

Goodreads

Summary

Sixteen-year-old Wendy Darling and her insecure freshman brother, John, are hitting the books at the Marlowe School. But one tome consumes their attention: THE BOOK OF GATES, a coveted Egyptian artifact that their professor father believes has magical powers. Soon Wendy and John discover that the legend is real—when they recite from its pages and descend into a snaking realm beneath the Manhattan school. As the hallways darken, and dead moths cake the floor, a charismatic new R.A. named Peter reveals that their actions have unleashed a terrible consequence: the underworld and all its evil is now seeping into Marlowe.

Daniel Nayeri and Dina Nayeri return to reimagine Peter Pan as a twisty, atmospheric, and fast-paced fantasy about the perils of immortality

Review

I adore fairy tale retellings. They're so magical and reminiscent of childhoods long forgotten. I loved Peter Pan as inspiration rather than a direct retelling. Throw in Egyptian mythology and some readers might shy away thinking the Nayeris are trying to shove too much into one book. Instead it's such a creative explanation for Peter's immortality and gave the original Peter Pan so much more depth. How they incorporated Tina as Tinkerbell, the Lost Boys, happy thoughts, and Peter's shadow were brilliant!

I have one small complaint. I would've liked more prose or emotional reflection to describe Wendy and Peter's relationship. Since the characters weren't "cookie-cutter" stereotypical there needed to be more development, maybe using flashbacks, to establish everyone's motives and perspectives. For example, I didn't really understand why Wendy was attracted to so many terrible men and some sort of hint from her past would've helped a bit. 

Another Pan is a companion novel to Another Faust. While it isn't necessary to read Faust first I would definitely recommend it. They work wonderfully together as sequential plots. I love that both of them are technically standalones. There needs to be so many more standalone fantasies and paranormals in YA lit. 

Recommended: Another Faust (Daniel & Dina Nayeri), Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie), Sisters Red (Jackson Pearce)

Roadside Assistance by Amy Clipston

Title: Roadside Assistance

Author: Amy Clipston

Publisher: Zondervan

Release Date: April 11, 2011

Date Read: July 17 - 19, 201

Rating: 3/5 stars 

Goodreads

Summary

A very bumpy ride.

Emily Curtis is used to dealing with her problems while under the hood of an old Chevy, but when her mom dies, Emily's world seems shaken beyond repair. Driven from home by hospital bills they can't pay, Emily and her dad move in with his wealthy sister, who intends to make her niece more feminine---in other words, just like Whitney, Emily's perfect cousin. But when Emily hears the engine of a 1970 Dodge Challenger, and sees the cute gearhead, Zander, next door, things seem to be looking up.

But even working alongside Zander can't completely fix the hole in Emily's life. Ever since her mom died, Emily hasn't been able to pray, and no one---not even Zander---seems to understand. But sometimes the help you need can come from the person you least expect.

Review

I'm really glad that there are still YA authors willing to write religious fiction. It seems to be a bit of  a taboo to include any religious affiliation so I'm happy that there's books available for people who want them. Unfortunately I am not one who really enjoys Christian books and found Roadside Assistance to be really preachy. I didn't like how everyone convinced Emily that the only way to cope with her mother's death was through trust in God rather than a school counselor or any other option. 

I love reading about assertive, proactive, kickass female protagonists. While Emily was mostly shy and insecure, her fascination with cars was awesome! I know next to nothing about them so learning all about engines and whatnot was great. My feminist side adored Amy Clipston for making this such a big part of Emily's life. I also love narrators that appreciate and love their families, so while Emily didn't exactly fit into that category, a lot of emphasis was placed on the importance of family. It was great to read about a loving family rather than the oh-too-common alcoholic, distant, ignorant, or abusive ones in YA lit. 

The most unrealistic thing were the coincidences. I know that a love interest has to be presented somehow but he the car-loving, Christian, next-door-neighbour who goes to the same high school seemed way too obvious. A few more things not in common would've been appreciated. I also thought it was highly unlikely that everyone Emily befriended or met had the same faith and went to the same church except for one girl at school. There should have been way more people of varying faiths and beliefs. 

Quote: "'And neither of you,' I began, looking between them, 'asked me how it felt to have my first birthday without Mom.'

Recommended: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares), Angels Watching Over Me (Lurlene McDaniel)

Swag: How Do You Display It?

Swag. 

We love getting swag from our favourite authors, publishers, and bloggers. It's awesome! But how do you display it?

I recently won two huge bags of swag from giveaways. Wahoo! I was just going to put it all in a ziploc bag with the rest of my swag but now it seems sort of pitiful that it's all in a bag on the bottom of my bookshelf.

I've heard that some people are putting their buttons on corkboards which sounds awesome! Great idea! It's something I can take with me to university and display it. Plus it's super easy to add more buttons.

Bookmarks are pretty self-explanatory. Use them to bookmark things! I found a cute little container to put all of mine in on the bottom of my bookshelf. Now they're all neat and organized.

But what about postcards? Notepads? Mini-posters? Keychains? Business cards? Haven't found too much about that!

I'd love to see how you display your swag! Write a post, send me a tweet, talk about it in the comments! Let me know how you show it off. 

Waiting on Wednesday (29)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly Wednesday meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  Participants highlight an upcoming unpublished novel they're interested in.

Title: Betsy Wickwire's Dirty Secret

Author: Vicki Grant

Release Date: August 16, 2011
Publisher: Harper Trophy Canada

Goodreads

Summary

Betsy’s life is officially over: Dumped by her boyfriend, betrayed by her best friend . . . how is she ever going to show her face again?

Determined to avoid everyone and everything from her previous life, Betsy stumbles into an unusual café and an even more unusual girl. Dolores Morris—a mouthy, green-haired outsider Betsy can’t quite remember from school—talks her into starting a cleaning service. Before she knows it, Betsy is down on her knees, dressed like a dust bunny, scrubbing strangers’ toilets.

It’s a long way for the most popular girl in school to have fallen. But Betsy finds comfort in the wine bottles and prescriptions and other dirty secrets she finds hidden in her clients’ homes. She also finds love with a client’s son, friendship with Dolores and a liberated sense of herself. Her new life soon falls apart, though, when valuables begin to go missing from some of the homes she and Dolores have been cleaning. Betsy discovers the hard way that not all dirty secrets can just be swept under the rug

I found this one on someone's In My Mailbox post last week. Sounds very cute! And it's Canadian!

Did you do a Waiting on Wednesday this week? Post your link below and I'll check it out!

Top Ten Tuesday (6)

Top Ten Tuesday is a Tuesday book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish to make lists of our favourite books or book-related topics. For this week's theme I picked five trends I'd like to see more of and five trends I'd like to see less of in YA lit. Great theme!

Top Ten Books Trends You'd Like to See More/Less Of

More Of

1. International settings. While fictional locations in fantasy books are the most enchanting and desirable, I still find real-life settings to be great. I'd love more variety though. I haven't read many books set in international countries without them being about cultural differences or history (i.e. Germany in World War II). Anything not set in the States would be awesome!

2. Mythology. There's been a recent uprising in mythology-based novels but barely enough to make a dent with all the contemporary and paranormal romances. Maybe something based in Rome rather than Greece? Or something Chinese? There are so many myths and stories to use as inspiration!

3. Platonic/non-romantic relationships. In almost every YA book the main character is in a romantic relationship. That's why books like How to Say Goodbye in Robot or Witchlanders are so shocking and different. Purely platonic relationships? No hints of romance at all? So refreshing! I'd love to see more authors explore friendships as relations rather than romance as the default.

4. Adult authors writing a YA novel. There's been a few adult authors writing their first teen novels lately and producing some top quality lit. They're bringing over their adult audience, being recognized by a larger audience, and usually arriving with a bigger reputation than most debut YA authors. I hope more adult authors take the plunge and try it out!

5. Based on true stories. Freaks and Revelations was the first YA book I read based on a true story and I was immediately drawn to the reality of the scenario. I did a bit of research afterwards into the lives of the protagonists and it was great to find out more about their lives. YA novels are a great way to introduce teens and YA readers to real events like the Ecuadorian slavery (Queen of Water) or the Holocaust (Anne Frank).

Less Of

1. Unplanned series. When writing a book I would assume that the author intends to end it at the end or leave it open for more books. I understand that not all books are sold as series or sequels but it's frustrating when so many books are becoming 5-10 book series when it's obvious there were only supposed to be 2 or 3. I wish authors stayed true to their original thought about "I want a quartet!" straight from the start.

2. Best friends falling in love. While it's the age old romance that makes your heart soar, it's really annoying and predictable when the best friends end up together. Why can't people meet at school and go on dates, or be introduced by friends? There doesn't always have to be some magical revelation that we all saw from the first chapter.

3. Hypersexuality. Teenagers have sex. Yes. But it's not necessary to portray all your main characters as sex-crazed maniacs. I've read one too many books where the characters can't wait to finally have sex for the first time, or all they do with your partner is sexually related. There's more to teenage relationships and while many of them do involve sex, not all of them are to this extent. 

4. Forgiveness. This might seem like an odd one to add but I'm a little bored of protagonists making huge life-altering choices/mistakes and everyone else just forgiving them right away. Killing someone? Oh, it's okay, you were possessed, no harm done. No! Even in paranormal fantasies we shouldn't just expect supporting characters to rally around the protagonist after they do terrible things just because they're the main character. There should be more consequences for actions. 

5. Love triangles. Everyone else was gonna include it so I had to too. Girl emotionally torn between her nerdy best friend and handsome "new-kid-at-school"? Yawn. I'd love to see it reversed to one guy torn between two girls. That'd be awesome! Or maybe something like in Love Inc. where the main character dates several people and has many love interests sequentially. It does happen in real life!

Did you do a Top Ten Tuesday? Post your link in the comments!

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

Title: Inexcusable

Author: Chris Lynch

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: May 8, 2005

Date Read: July 17, 2011

Rating: 2.5/5 stars 
Source: Library

Goodreads

Summary

I am a good guy.

Keir Sarafian may not know much, but he knows himself. And the one thing he knows about himself is that he is a good guy. A guy who's a devoted son and brother, a loyal friend, and a reliable teammate. And maybe most important of all, a guy who understands that when a girl says no, she means it. But that is not what Gigi Boudakian, childhood friend and Keir's lifelong love, says he is. What Gigi says he is seems impossible to Keir....It is something inexcusable — the worst thing he can imagine, the very opposite of everything he wants to be.

As Keir recalls the events leading up to his fateful night with Gigi, he realizes that the way things look are definitely not the way they really are — and that it may be all too easy for a good guy to do something terribly wrong.

Chris Lynch has written a no-holds-barred story about truth, lies, and responsibility — a story that every good guy needs to hear.

Review

I found Inexcusable at the library and was drawn to its stylistic and engaging cover. I really wanted to like it, especially after so much hype for Chris Lynch books. Unfortunately while there were many excellent points about the ethics of the book, I didn't connect to the writing or the characters.

There are a number of YA books about rape incidents but not that many from a male perspective, so I applaud Chris Lynch for taking the plunge. I'm glad that the focus of his novel was to understand what might drive a boy to rape and what he might be thinking, rather than justifying his actions. While technically there is no gray area in rape (i.e. if she says no, it's rape) it was interesting to see how people could make gray area and therefore semi-complicated events to try in court.

Inexcusable was told in alternating chapters between Keir's past and the present. I thought the present chapters were too predictable and repetitive and it would've been better if it had been maybe 3 chapters of history per 1 chapter of present. There was a great analysis of good vs. evil as Keir tried to argue his whole life that he was a good person who just happened to make wrong choices and do terrible things. Another really good point was throwing alcohol into the scenario. In a few YA books alcohol is something fun and it's awesome to get plastered, so this was great to read the opposite where drinking it contorted Keir's mind to an unforgivable point. Once again Keir used this to his advantage to say that he was a good person who just made a mistake by drinking too much. 

Unfortunately, these awesome points aside, there wasn't much else I really connected to in Inexcusable. I thought the dialogue was too dry and straightforward, sounding forced and out-of-character most of the time. If there had been more metaphors, emotional turmoil, descriptive paragraphs about thoughts, or a complex plot that mirrored a recent/past event I might have been more drawn to Keir's life. Instead I couldn't justify or empathize with him at all and it's very frustrating to constantly hate the narrator/protagonist. 

Recommended: Freaky Green Eyes (Joyce Carol Oates), Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson)