This review will not contain spoilers for The Death Cure, but may contain spoilers for the first two books in the series, The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials.

Thomas has endured the Maze. He has survived the Scorch. He is now faced with the ultimate decision – does he trust WICKED and go along with their plans? Are they “good,” as Teresa keeps saying they are? Can he even trust Teresa? And will he ever understand the full extent of his involvement in the Trials?

I know that’s not much of a plot synopsis, but, trust me, you don’t want this spoiled for you. Part of the genius of this series is the way Dashner doles out information, bit by bit, allowing the reader to attempt to put the pieces together for him- or herself.

Honestly, I had my doubts about this book. I wasn’t sure if Dashner would be able to wrap it up to my satisfaction, but he did. I finished reading the book aloud to my boys this morning, and during the last two chapters, I simply couldn’t read fast enough, stumbling over the words as Noah tapped his toe nervously and he and Jonathan and Josiah hung on my every word. We were all very happy with the way it ended, the way things were wrapped up – except for one plot point toward the end that it may take me years to forgive Dashner for, even if I understand his reason for going in that direction.

Did every single loose end get tied up in a neat little bow? No, and I think that is the basis of some of the dissatisfaction I’m seeing on the book’s Goodreads page. Do I understand why the subjects were sent through the Maze and the Scorch, what WICKED was trying to accomplish? Yes, absolutely. Do I know if WICKED is good or not? Well, I won’t spoil anything, except to say that good and evil are black and white, and the world is made up of grey areas.

I also think that Dashner will wrap up even more of those loose ends and answer a couple of my unanswered questions when the prequel, The Kill Order comes out this summer. The boys and I just might be ready for another roller-coaster read-aloud by then.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dystopian fiction, science fiction, YA fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

While this review will not contain spoilers for Dust and Decay, it will contain spoilers for the first book in the series, Rot and Ruin.

In the six months since Benny Imura, along with his zombie-hunter brother Tom, and Benny’s girlfriend Nix, defeated Charlie Pinkeye in the Rot and Ruin, they have been training and preparing to leave their home forever. Determined to travel east to find the jet they saw in the sky, Tom has been training Benny and Nix to survive outside the safe walls of their home town, to understand what it means to live in the wilderness that is infested by zombies, and by human pariahs who are often worse. Lilah, the lost girl, will accompany them on their trip – her survival and battle skills will be indispensable.

In spite of all of Tom’s planning, however, things go wrong their very first day in the Rot, and they discover that Gameland has been rebuilt. And why does Benny think he saw Charlie Pinkeye, a man who is supposed to be dead?

Jonathan Maberry has done it again (I thoroughly enjoyed book one in this series, Rot and Ruin) – written a work of zombie fiction that is character-driven, intelligent, and funny, without losing any of the page-turning plot and action. I love the way he writes the different relationships in the book: Tom’s love, protection, and good-hearted exasperation at his younger brother; the young, awkward romance between Benny and Nix; the constant ribbing yet fierce loyalty between Benny and his best friend, Chong.

The point of view switches between characters, and this gives the reader real insight into some of the characters. I loved the sections from Lilah’s point of view, and the emotional journey she travels in the course of the story is especially poignant. There are some new characters that also add to the story – especially the entertainment value: bounty hunters Sally Two-Knives, J-Dog, and Dr. Skillz. And as creepy a villain as Charlie Pinkeye was in the first book, Maberry has upped the ante with Preacher Jack, a man who embodies evil.

Dust and Decay was a total page-turner, and the ending (which had me in tears, not something I usually expect with zombie fiction) left me hungry for more. Flesh and Bone, the third book in the series, comes out in September. In the meantime, for those of you who are as impatient as I am, there is bonus material available online: a short story prequel to the first book called “First Memories”, and some deleted scenes from the beginning of Dust and Decay.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2012. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: paranormal fiction, YA fiction, zombie fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

It starts with an itch you just can’t shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you’ll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in. And then you’re dead.

When a strange virus starts infecting people in her community, sixteen-year-old Kaelyn finds herself facing a situation most adults would find harrowing. Her island is quarantined, leaving the people stranded with dwindling supplies, little or no communication, and no hope of a cure. Kaelyn’s father is a doctor at the hospital, and as he spends all his time caring for patients and searching for a cure, Kaelyn is left at home to care for her sick mother. As her community falls apart, people begin to experience fear and paranoia. Some people will surprise her by becoming their best selves, while others will descend into brutality. Kaelyn writes her experiences down in an ongoing letter to her best friend, Theo, who recently left the island.

The Way We Fall is compelling YA fiction. I was reading it during a time when I had very little time to read, and it was so hard not to just sit down and read until I finished it and discovered how things turned out for Kaelyn, Gav, Tess, and Meredith.

Crewe increases the sense of menace and impending doom by placing Kaelyn in an island community that is virtually cut off from the rest of the world. As some of the townspeople go “Lord of the Flies,” others find the best of their nature. Kaelyn becomes friends with Tessa, a girl who she had previously been jealous of. She finds it in herself to be a mother-slash-sister figure to young Meredith. And when she finds herself in the midst of a romance, she wonders how to go about the normal rituals and stages of teenage life when nothing about life is normal anymore.

The outbreak and its aftermath are believable and realistic, which was one of the scariest things about this book. Kaelyn’s response was an authentic one. Strength, weakness, hope, defeat – Kaelyn’s experiences make for a page-turner of a book.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2012. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contemporary fiction, YA fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I am re-posting this review as today is the book’s release date. When I originally reviewed it, I didn’t realize it was still several months until it would be available.

Joy is a child of privilege. She has a gorgeous boyfriend, a father with a high-paying job, and a family who loves her. But instead of being happy, Joy is being suffocated – by her scarily controlling boyfriend, her asthma, her over-protective parents who are afraid she’ll stop breathing the minute they turn their backs. When her boyfriend, Asher, crosses a line, Joy sees no way out – except to leave. She runs away to the streets of Seattle, where she is taught how to survive as a homeless person by Creed, Santos, and May. But how long can she keep hidden, keep running, keep healthy on the streets? What secrets are her new friends keeping from her? And will she ever have the courage to face her own?

Last year, I was privileged to interview Holly Cupala and to review her first novel Tell Me a Secret, which I loved. With Don’t Breathe a Word, Holly has again written a beautiful work of contemporary YA fiction.

This book deals with issues like over-protective parenting, psychological abuse by a partner, and homelessness – all while telling the story of a breath-taking young woman. Joy takes the name Triste (“sadness” in French) as her street name, and it epitomizes what this young woman is going through. She is haunted by fear, shame, and despair – so much so that she is willing to give up her family and the comforts of a home rather than face her demons.

On the street, she meets a makeshift family, led by the talented Creed, whose ultimate dream is to become a musician. I love the way that music plays such an important part in both of Holly’s books. The relationship between Triste and Creed is so tentative, so fragile and complicated, but beautiful all the same. As I read, I was completely invested in their story, and couldn’t stop reading until I found out how things ended for them.

One of the things I most appreciate about both of Holly’s books is the authentic way she deals with the Christian faith. There are characters of faith in both books. Some have the kind of faith that is stifling and judgmental and, ultimately, hateful. Others show what it truly means to follow the teachings of Christ – to reach out to the poor, the needy, the hungry simply because they are valuable people worthy of love, not because they can be one more conversion to add to the list. In the real world, we see people of both of those kinds of faith all the time – but it seems that the former kind are the ones who get the most press. Kudos to Holly for showing that there are religious people who are also trying to be genuine people.

Thanks again to Pam for sending me this book. I highly recommend both of Holly’s books to those of you looking for YA fiction that deals with contemporary issues with beautifully written stories and characters.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2012. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contemporary fiction, YA fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Where She Went by Gayle Forman
From my review: “Fans of If I Stay need not worry: Where She Went is a worthy follow-up, giving not only Adam, but fans, resolution. Adam and Mia are two characters who will stay with me for a long, long time.”

Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington
From my review: “Alice Bliss is such a timely book. As I read, I couldn’t help but think about all the girls – and boys – here in the US who are worrying for their mothers and fathers in the military. They will need stories to read about people like them, and I believe Alice’s story is an important one. Highly recommended.”

You Are My Only by Beth Kephart
From my review: “For the last few days, since I turned the last page and read the final words, Emmy and Sophie have been continually in my mind. I find myself imagining the next scene, and the next, and the next, because I don’t want to say goodbye to them. You Are My Only is that kind of book.”

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
From my review of Forge: “I absolutely loved Chains and was very excited to read Curzon and Isabel’s continuing story. What I didn’t expect was that I would love it even more, and that I would have to wait for the rest of their story in book three, Ashes, which doesn’t come out until October of 2012.”

Wither by Lauren DeStefano
From my review: “Wither is dystopian fiction at its best. Lauren DeStefano has created a truly scary world with a horrifying premise – each person knows that they will never grow old, never enjoy the pleasures of a long life. Rhine is a terrific character – a teenage girl who has been imprisoned but is determined not to live as a victim. Her curiosity and strength propel her through the story.”

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
From my review: “I am a science fiction fangirl – have been since college – and I also love dystopian fiction. This book takes the best things of both genres and the result is an excellent novel about a possible future, one in which humankind has been forced to look beyond their home planet for their survival.”

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
I didn’t review these because they’ve been reviewed a lot – but finishing this series was how I spent some of my most enjoyable reading hours of 2011.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
From my review of Beautiful Darkness: “I will simply say that this is rapidly becoming one of my all-time favorite YA series. Star-crossed lovers Ethan and Lena, the gothic South, singular characters like Amma and the Aunts – the authors have combined all of these elements and then crafted a story that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could.”

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: favorites, YA fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I love the premise of this book: two high school friends in 1986 sign up for America Online, back when the internet isn’t in every home. They are automatically logged in to Facebook – which doesn’t exist yet – and see their profiles for 15 years in the future. They also discover that every time they hit refresh, their profiles change. Understanding how the decisions they make resonate into the future is most of what this story is about – but it’s also got a great love story, too.

Title: The Red Badge of Courage
Author: Stephen Crane
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Various
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: Frank Muller
First line: The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting.

This was my last pick for the War Through the Generations Challenge this year – and it was just okay. The audiobook reader did a great job with the narration; I’m not sure I could have made it through in print. The author refers to the main character as “the youth” and this tactic distances the reader from the character and the things he is experiencing. I know this one is a classic, and the descriptions of the conditions in the Civil War are very well-written – and disturbing – but it wasn’t a favorite.

Title: A Place on Earth
Author: Wendell Berry
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Counterpoint
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from my personal library
First line: The seed bins are empty.

What can I say? I am so glad I hosted the Wendell Berry Challenge this year. I’m not sure that anyone else completed their challenge goal – not many people signed up to begin with. But if the only thing the challenge accomplished was to prompt me to read more of this amazing man’s work, it was more than worth it. Coming in a close second to Hannah Coulter, A Place on Earth is my second favorite of his books. It isn’t a linear novel, but a collection of scenes that describe the conditions of Port William and the emotions of its inhabitants during World War II. Focusing mainly on Mat Feltner as he waits for word of his son Virgil, who is in Europe fighting, Berry shows how the war devastated not only the young soldiers, but their parents, wives, and families left behind. It is truly a beautiful book.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiobooks, historical fiction, science fiction, YA fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

For as long as Deuce can remember, she has wanted to be a Huntress, to be given her true name and no longer be one of the nameless brats. But when she achieves her goal, she is assigned Fade as her partner. He grew up outside the enclave, and his strangeness causes Deuce to start to question what she’s always believed, what she’s always been told. I enjoyed Enclave very much – Deuce is a complicated, fierce character, and the transformation of her world and worldview made for a fascinating story. The world-building is also excellent, as well as the interaction between Deuce and Fade. This book works as a stand-alone, but I see that the author has a sequel coming out in 2012. I’m excited to read it – not because she left me hanging at the end of Enclave and I HAVE to read it – but because the world she has built and the characters that people it are worth revisiting.

Title: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
Genre: Dystopian, science fiction
Publisher: Crown
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: Wil Wheaton
First line: Everyone my age remembers where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the contest.

Sandy was right – this book is amazing! I’m not a gamer, so I wasn’t initially interested in reading Ready Player One. Then, Sandy posted her review, which told me everything I needed to know: chock full of 80s nostalgia, action-packed, and narrated by the brilliant Wil Wheaton. Like Sandy, I am the target audience for this book – and so is my husband. He will be reading it soon – all I had to say was: Joust, War Games, RUSH’s “2112″ album, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, etc. etc. etc.

Title: Explosive Eighteen
Author: Janet Evanovich
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Bantam
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public libary
Audiobook reader: Lorelei King
First line: New Jersey was 40,000 feet below me, obscured by cloud cover.

Stephanie is back, baby! I wasn’t all that thrilled with the seventeenth book in the series, but I found Explosive Eighteen thoroughly enjoyable. Sure, Stephanie is still torn between Ranger and Morelli, but there was less about that and more Stephanie and Lulu attempting to be Rangeresque bounty hunters, and that makes for lots of humor. And, of course, these books are all read by the incomparable Lorelei King – I wouldn’t experience them any other way.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiobooks, dystopian, janet evanovich, lorelei king, mysteries, non-fiction, science fiction, stephanie plum, wendell berry, YA fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I love this series on audio. The readers for the four main characters were perfect. The resolution of this series was a bit ambiguous, but I think I know where the author was going, and I’m choosing to believe in the ending I wanted. And I really enjoyed the way the characters of Cole and Isabel were developed, the way their relationship unfolded. In fact, I’d love to see a spin-off series focusing on the two of them.

Title: Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile
Author: Bill Willingham
Genre: Graphic novel
Publisher: DC Comics
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from my personal library
First line: Once upon a time.

What a fun premise for a series! Fable characters have come to live in the mundane world after their homelands were taken over by a mysterious enemy. In this first volume, Snow White, who runs things, must depend on Bigby Wolf, her chief detective, to solve the murder of her sister, Rose Red. Great art, too, even if the women do embody the comic-book idea of perfection – tiny waists, huge boobs. Definitely not one for the kiddies, but a lot of fun anyway.

Title: Beautiful Chaos
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Genre: YA paranormal fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from my personal library
First line: I was standing on top of the white water tower, with my back to the sun.

Is it possible to love and hate authors at the same time? Because when I turned the last page on this one, that’s exactly how I felt about Ms. Garcia and Ms. Stohl. They wrote another completely fantastic book – even better than book two! – and then ended with a total cliff-hanger. I mean, jaw-dropping, “No. they. did. not!” type of ending. And I have to wait a year for the next book! Aaaarrrrggggghhhhhh…………

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiobooks, fantasy, graphic novels, paranormal fiction, YA fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

The books in this series about kids trying to survive without adults have given my sons and I many enjoyable hours of read-aloud time. While we have enjoyed every title, we all agree that this is the best one since the first. The series is very dark, and books two and three had very little to alleviate the darkness. This book, however, had Nutella and Pepsi, which will only make sense to you after you’ve read it. Our only beef is that Michael Grant doesn’t write faster, and we have to wait until next year for book five, and until 2013 for the final book in the series.

Title: Minding Frankie
Author: Maeve Binchy
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Publisher: Knopf
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: Sile Bermingham
First line: Katie Finglas was coming to the end of a tiring day in the salon.

Oh, how I love Maeve Binchy! After Whitethorn Woods and Heart and Soul, I feel like I know the characters in this little corner of Dublin that she writes about. At the heart of Minding Frankie is a motherless baby girl. Her stunned father, Noel Lynch, is trying to get his life together – giving up the “gargle,” going back to college in order to get a better job – but isn’t equipped to do it on his own. Enter his cousin, Emily, from America, who organizes the residents of St. Jarlath’s Crescent to help with baby-minding duties. But can they help convince the ever-vigilant social worker Moira that Frankie belongs with her father?

I haven’t read all of Binchy’s books that include these familiar characters (Quentins, Scarlet Feather, Nights of Rain and Stars), but I plan to. I just wish my library had them all on audio, because Sile Bermingham’s beautiful narration has spoiled me for reading them in print.

Title: In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin
Author: Erik Larson
Genre: Non-fiction, history
Publisher: Crown
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: Stephen Hoye
First line: It was common for American expatriates to visit the U.S. consulate in Berlin, but not in the condition exhibited by the man who arrived there on Thursday, June 29, 1933.

In 1933, William Dodd, a history professor with no diplomatic experience, became the first American ambassador to Hitler’s regime. His family accompanies him to Berlin, and his daughter, Martha, quickly becomes a hit in the round of social affairs attended by the diplomatic community – and top-ranked Nazis. This is an interesting picture of Hitler’s rise to power, and a disturbing affirmation that different choices by Americans in power could have changed the course of history, and possibly prevented the magnitude of the atrocities committed by the Third Reich. While I found the subject fascinating, the story became dry and slow in places, which kept me from rating it higher than three stars. However, I still recommend it to readers interested in World War II.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiobooks, contemporary fiction, dystopian fiction, history, irish fiction, maeve binchy, non-fiction, science fiction, YA fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Annie’s life is just the way she wants it. She has her job writing a syndicated travel column, a job that allows her to travel all over the world. She has Nick, her long-time live-in boyfriend, and their home in Los Angeles. Her future is all set – until Nick announces that he wants to break up. Still reeling, Annie meets chef Griffin, and he seems to be just what she needs. Three months later, they’re married and Annie is living in rural Massachusetts, wondering what on earth she has done. Author Laura Dave writes with humor and intelligence. I enjoyed every single page, even though I was kept wondering how things would turn out until almost the very end.

Title: Nathan Coulter
Author: Wendell Berry
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Counterpoint
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy borrowed from my mom
First line: Dark.

I don’t think I’ve ever rated a Wendell Berry book less than four stars. Until now. Nathan Coulter simply doesn’t have the brilliant way with words that I loved in Hannah Coulter, Andy Catlett: Early Travels, and That Distant Land: Stories. I was excited to read the story of Hannah’s husband, especially his experiences in World War II, but this was the story of Nathan’s childhood. I appreciated the connections to other Port William characters, but it simply didn’t work for me as well as his other fiction has. Of course, he is still Wendell Berry, and a lesser book of his is leaps above the best of many other authors; thus, the three-star rating.

Title: Beautiful Darkness
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Genre: YA paranormal fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from my personal library
First line: I used to think our town, buried in the South Carolina backwoods, stuck in the muddy bottom of the Santee River valley, was the middle of nowhere.

This really, truly deserves a full review, but I let myself get too far behind. I will simply say that this is rapidly becoming one of my all-time favorite YA series. Star-crossed lovers Ethan and Lena, the gothic South, singular characters like Amma and the Aunts – the authors have combined all of these elements and then crafted a story that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. Only the best of sequels match the greatness of the original – Beautiful Darkness is one of those sequels.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contemporary fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, paranormal fiction, women's fiction, YA fiction

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh