Book Review: Between by Jessica Warman

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: August 2011
Pages: 447
Series: no
Acquisition: BEA 2011

Summary:

Elizabeth Valchar--pretty, popular, and rich--wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday on the yacht where she'd been celebrating with her closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, she finds her own drowned body is hitting the side of the boat. Liz is dead.

She has no memory of what happened to her, and can only observe in horror the fallout of her death. She's also soon joined by Alex Berg, a quiet boy from her high school who was killed by a hit-and-run driver. The two keep each other company, floating in and out of memories and trying to piece together the details of what happened to each of them. In her regular life, Liz was a runner. It wasn't abnormal for her to run 8-10 miles per day. But as memories from closer to her death begin to surface, Liz finds that she'd been running much more than normal, and that she'd all but stopped eating. Liz's mother, who died when Liz was nine, had battled with anorexia as well, and those around her worried Liz was following in her mother's footsteps. But something more sinister was consuming Liz from the inside out. . . . (from Goodreads)

My thoughts:
Ghost story, murder mystery, love story - Between has a little of all of these and more. I know I was in for a good read when after, only intending to read a page or two, I realized I had read about 100. The story was always moving and there seemed to be something waiting around every turn of the page that even with the slightly hefty weight of almost 450 pages, Between never dragged along. Instead I was pretty much at the edge of my seat the whole time.

I'm actually surprised I liked Between as much as I did because I really did not like it's MC, Liz. She's conceded, shellfish and shallow and she thinks she is better then pretty much everyone else. And after she dies, she doesn't really get much better. I almost felt like, as a reader, we were suppose to feel sorry for her and I never did. Even after finding out all the details of her life and her death, I didn't have much compassion for her. Might sound harsh, I mean, she is dead and all but...read it for yourself and maybe you'll see what I mean.

Between was a really easy book to get lost in. After Liz dies, she has very little memory of her life. She knows who she is and who her friends are but the details are all a little fuzzy. When Alex appears he explains to her that it was like that for him at first as well. By revisiting old memories, Liz might find out what exactly happened to her life.

As a reader, we're seeing things as Liz remembers them. Her knowledge is ours. I really liked knowing I would get answers only when Liz did.

I had figured out the 'twist' ending before it actually happened but it didn't really take away from the overall quality of the book for me. Some things might have been wrapped up a little too neat and clean and quick but again, it kind of worked with the story so it didn't really bother me.

All in all, I very much enjoyed Between. A different take on a ghost story mixed with a pretty classic murder mystery. Don't be daunted by it's size as it's definitely worth your time.

Overall Rating:

4 / 5 Stars

Linkage Love:
Bloomsbury
Author's Website
Goodreads

Book Review: In The Arms of Stone Angels by Jordan Dane

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: April 1, 2011
Pages: 320
Series: no
Acquisition: NetGalley

Summary:

Two years ago, Brenna did the unthinkable. She witnessed the aftermath of a murder and accused her only true friend--the first boy she ever loved--of being a killer.

Now sixteen, Brenna returns to Oklahoma only to discover that Isaac "White Bird" Henry isn't in juvie. The half-breed outcast is in a mental hospital, frozen in time, locked in his mind at the worst moment of his life. And when Brenna touches him, she's pulled into his hellish vision quest, seeing terrifying demons and illusions she doesn't understand.

Feeling isolated and alone, she's up against the whole town, targeted by bullying former classmates, a bigoted small town sheriff, and a tribe who refuses to help one of their own. But when Brenna realizes she's as trapped by the past as White Bird is, this time she won't turn her back on him. She's the only one who can free them both.

Even if she has to expose her secret--a "gift" she's kept hidden her whole life. (from Goodreads)

My thoughts:
I didn't really know what to expect when I started this book. Was it a paranormal mystery? A coming of age teen story? A romance? Well turns out, it was a little bit of all of these...and much more!

At times, the pure injustice of the story was really hard for me to read. The fact that no one seems to care about White Bird or what happens to him. The fact that Brenna and her mother are seen the  town pariahs and the sheriff made up his mind about them a long time ago. These things got to me. I wanted to yell and scream! People jump to conclusions and a few horrific things happen to the characters and as a reader, there was nothing I could do. I wanted to help! That's how invested I was!

But, with all this injustice, AND the horrible things that happened to Brenna, her mother and White Bird...the way it's all resolved? I have to say, it was weak. A few words and half hearted actions and poof! Everything is right with the world. I mean, really? Even the good but extremely bigoted 'bad' guy came out clean in the end. And the bullies? The ones who traumatized Brenna? "Oops! We hated her for all the right reasons - it's all good now though, right?" For me? No, no it's not.  More complex then that of course but I don't want to give too much away.

For the first half of the book I was mad at the injustice thrown at Brenna and White Bird and for the last part of the book I was mad at Brenna and White Bird for not seeking out more justice for themselves.

So, not a perfect read for me. I had some anger issues and Brenna's 'gift' seamed a little out of place to me - like it didn't really need to be there. But, the friendship / relationship that Brenna and White Bird have - it was so sweet and it felt very natural and I fell in love with them both! Even if they pissed me off a little.

AND! The fact that this book made me so mad - made me want to reach through the pages and either slap or hug a character (maybe both at the same time) -- THAT’S what made this book awesome!

Overall Rating:

4 / 5 Stars

Linkage Love:
Harlequin
Author's Website
Goodreads

Book Review: Family by Micol Ostow

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: April 26, 2011
Pages: 336
Series: no
Acquisition: received ARC for review

Summary:

i have always been broken.

i could have. died.

and maybe it would have been better if i had.

It is a day like any other when seventeen-year-old Melinda Jensen hits the road for San Francisco, leaving behind her fractured home life and a constant assault on her self-esteem. Henry is the handsome, charismatic man who comes upon her, collapsed on a park bench, and offers love, a bright new consciousness, and—best of all—a family. One that will embrace her and give her love. Because family is what Mel has never really had. And this new family, Henry’s family, shares everything. They share the chores, their bodies, and their beliefs.  And if Mel truly wants to belong, she will share in everything they do. No matter what the family does, or how far they go.

Told in episodic verse, family is a fictionalized exploration of cult dynamics, loosely based on the Manson Family murders of 1969. It is an unflinching look at people who are born broken, and the lengths they’ll go to to make themselves “whole” again. (from Goodreads)

My thoughts:
I've never read a book told in episodic verse before. I didn't even know what episodic verse was before picking up Family. I think I've been missing out on something here. It's amazing that by using fewer words, Micol Ostow as managed to tell more story.

Family is exactly what the synopsis says it is. A story in verse based loosely on the Manson Family murders of 1969. The story itself is tragic, but it's the emotion behind the story that really needs to be told. It's the emotion that leaps off the pages and stays with you. Gets inside your head and makes you understand just how this tragic story came to be.

Beautifully told. I felt like I was reading a diary or a autobiography rather then a work of fiction.  Very raw, which lead to the feeling that this story could be true. Maybe it was true for a some young girl once.

At no time did I feel hatred for Melinda even though it was very obvious that she was putting herself in a bad situation. Micol managed to not only make me feel a deep emotion for Melinda and her troubles but also a deep understanding. The horrors of what she went through and what she did are just that - horrible. But I understood how she got there and why she couldn't walk away.

A powerful story and by far, one of my favorite works of young adult fiction read this year.

Overall Rating:

5 / 5 Stars

Linkage Love:
EgmontUSA
Author's Website
Goodreads