Afterglow Stick Review

I'm not posting today, and comments are off, because you should just go read my review, at Afterglow Book Reviews, here.

Across The Universe Review

I finally finished Across the Universe, by my friend Beth Revis. It's been over six months now since I read that powerful first chapter, and I want to share with all of you how much I enjoyed this book.

Before I get to the story, I want to talk about the level of production and design that went into this novel. I'm a bit of a detail and design freak, so I noticed some special things in this book. And I'm not talking about the cover. Sure, the cover is beautiful, and it's reversible too, which is pretty amazing. But the cover has been oohed and ahhed over before. Not that it doesn't deserve it, but I'm not going to go into that here.

I have two hardcover copies of this book. One I bought on the release day, and the other Beth signed and sent to me as a very kind thank you for my launch day post. Except for the signature they're both the same. The cover of the book has an embossed symbol, kind of a stylized Eagle:

Beneath it says GODSPEED OS v1.2. This is not something you often see on a book's cover, and I find it to be very unique, and extremely well done. Next, after the title page, there is a quote from the Lennon/McCartney hit song of the same title. Having owned a record label in the past, I know that you don't quote from a Beatles song without permission, and permission does not usually come free, or even cheap. I don't think the quote really changes the story much, but I think it says a lot about Razorbill/Penguin's opinion of the book, and how committed they were to making it a success.

Finally, once the story begins, the page layout is one of the most interesting I have ever seen. The chapter heading font, and the POV character font are both beautiful. Futuristic enough, but not cold or clinical. I'm not sure what font the normal text is typeset in, but it feels appropriate and there are several spots where different fonts come in to play to go along with specific situations. The title and page number headers are also beautiful, featuring a greyscale gradient background that gives just the right taste of technology.

Now on the the story.

I don't want to talk about the plot really, because at it's heart this story is a mystery, and it is full of wonderful twists and surprises that I don't want to ruin. I will only say that you will not be disappointed. Whether you like romance, whodunit, sci-fi, or adventure, there is something in this story for you.

It's often called a dystopian novel. In fact Beth is a member of The League of Extraordinary Writers, a group blog for published authors of dystopian fiction. I believe they all write YA as well, but I would have to double check that. I would argue that AtU is not exactly dystopian. I consider it more of a microcosm of dystopia. I mean the ship certainly has elements of that kind of society, and the Sol-Earth they left behind sounds like it was probably pretty far gone, but it works even better, in my opinion, because the population of the ship is so small by the time the story begins that you don't get overwhelmed by the idea of this society which cannot possibly be resisted. I thought the whole thing worked very well.

There are two main POV characters, Amy, and Elder, and they contrast each other interestingly, as well as going together perfectly at the same time. I won't go too deeply into things, because again I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that Amy and Elder start out at the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to knowledge of, and trust in, the society aboard Godspeed, and it sets up their relationship in an excellent way.

The writing reminds me a lot of Suzanne Collins. It is direct, without a lot of flowing or detailed description, and yet Beth seems to have that same gift of saying so much with so few words. Here is a passage I found particularly intriguing:

Steela catches my eyes with her cloudy ones, the color of milk mixed with mud. She looks warily at me for a moment more, then her wrinkled lips spread into an even wrinklier smile. Her teeth are stained and crooked, and I can smell onions on her breath, but still it's a nice smile. It's a true smile.

It's subtle, sure, but the strength of meaning is there, veiled by the power of simplicity. Beth writes very well for young adults because she conveys powerful ideas without getting things too complicated, and yet there is still enough high concept thematic background that I never once felt bored or lead on, or like she was trying too hard.

This really is a Universal book that will appeal to just about any reader. Well done Beth! I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and am so happy to bear witness to your success.

I know most of you have already read this, but if you haven't, get it. Now. You won't regret it.

Ship Breaker

Today I will be discussing this wonderful new novel I just recently finished reading, Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi. First, I need to thank Karen Amanda Hooper, whose blog I won my copy on. Thanks Karen!

Anyway, this is the author's first young adult novel, but Paolo's writing has appeared in High Country News, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Salon.com, and Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. He is a Hugo and Nebula Award winner, and a National Book Award finalist.

From Booklist: This YA debut by Bacigalupi, a rising star in adult science fiction, presents a dystopian future like so many YA sf novels. What is uncommon, though, is that although Bacigalupi's future earth is brilliantly imagined and its genesis anchored in contemporary issues, it is secondary to the memorable characters. In a world in which society has stratified, fossil fuels have been consumed, and the seas have risen and drowned coastal cities, Nailer, 17, scavenges beached tankers for scrap metals on the Gulf Coast. Every day, he tries to “make quota” and avoid his violent, drug-addicted father. After he discovers a modern clipper ship washed up on the beach, Nailer thinks his fortune is made, but then he discovers a survivor trapped in the wreckage—the “swank” daughter of a shipping-company owner. Should he slit the girl's throat and sell her for parts or take a chance and help her? Clearly respecting his audience, Bacigalupi skillfully integrates his world building into the compelling narrative, threading the backstory into the pulsing action. The characters are layered and complex, and their almost unthinkable actions and choices seem totally credible. Vivid, brutal, and thematically rich, this captivating title is sure to win teen fans for the award-winning Bacigalupi. Grades 8-12.

Book Details
Title: Ship Breaker
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 326
Year: 2010
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-316-05621-2
First published: 2010

The QQQE take: I certainly won't disagree with any of that, and the characters are in fact very compelling, but the thing that really drew me into this tale was the voice of the narrator, and the language of the world in which Nailer lived. Instead of injecting these very real characters full of foul language that honestly would have been perfectly believable, Bacigalupi gives them their own unique slang. Phrases like "grind that," "blood and rust," "sliding high," and "crew up" replace contemporary oaths and exclamations.

The writing is pretty straight forward, not too literary, but the description does have a few very lovely moments. Just the kind of stuff I like to read. Here is a passage that was selected for the inside jacket flap:

Even at night, the wrecks glowed with work. The torch lights flickered, bobbing and moving. Sledge noise rang across the water. Comforting sounds of work and activity, the air tanged with the coal reek of smelters and the salft fresh breeze coming off the water. It was beautiful.

There are also some underlying themes about the environment, socio-economic issues, human rights and other things, which although I found them very interesting, I won't have time to go into here. I did find an excellent review on another blog if you are interested in reading more: Val's Random Comments.

Anyway I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA, and even many who don't. Let me know if you have any questions.

Nightshade City Review

Today I will be reviewing Nightshade City by Hilary Wagner. I finished the book over a week ago and have wanted to write and tell you all about it ever since but work and life have been getting in the way a bit lately. This post may end up being a little long, so I won't be sharing another picture of Hilary or the beautiful cover, but I've written about this book before, with pictures, so please see here, here or here if you are curious.

Nightshade City is a Middle Grade adventure story about a subterranean society of rats. I won't go into the plot here, because I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but suffice it to say that there is intrigue, espionage, and political infighting aplenty between the two factions within the rat culture.

One of my very favorite things about this novel is the characters. Their personalities, their voices, their quirks, and their appearances really jump off the page at you. This book is written for children, and the language, voice and writing style is certainly direct enough for them, but there is also a subtle skill with description that really drew me in, even as an adult. Here is an example of what I mean, from when we first mean one of the main characters, Clover:

She was quite lovely, with smooth cocoa skin, and light fur, buff in color and downy soft, more suited for a snow hare than a rat. She had a short, rounded nose and a sculpted, refined muzzle. Eyes the color of citrine offered up various hues of yellowy brilliance, round and open. Despite her beauty, she had an approachable sweetness, modest and shy.

I hope that illustrates my point well enough. Hilary obviously knows her rats. She describes several of them in a similar manner throughout the book, and I must say that one of the things I was most impressed with was her ability to use a different comparison every single time to convey the appearance or color of a particular rat's fur. It's delightful.

Another thing I enjoyed a great deal was the wealth of characters and their truly original names. We've already met Clover, of course, but there is also Juniper, Vincent, Victor, Mistress (or Mother) Gallo, Suttor, Carn, Julius, Cole, Oard, Noc, Lali, Texi, Ragan and Ulrich from the good side. These names are very original and perfectly suited, but I think you'll agree they are slightly outdone by the incredibly clever names of the evil characters. There is Major Lithgo, Major Foiber, Major Schnauss, and of course, the highly detailed and complexly sympathetic leaders, Killdeer, and one of the most memorable villains from children's literature, at least for me, Billycan.

Hilary does an excellent job of sprinkling in just enough backstory in the right places so that we know and understand the characters. We don't get it for everyone, but we do get it for everyone who matters. The pacing is perfect and I love how she weaves three or four different main characters' storylines in such a way that we end up with several great protagonists.

I could go on, instead I will just recommend this book. If you have children who enjoy animal adventures in the vein of Watership Down and The Wind in the Willows, then this book is an absolute must have. If you're just an adult who loves to read and thinks they would enjoy a fun adventure full of adorably charming characters, then I can certainly highly recommend this book.