Review: The Gift

The Gift
by Andrea J. Buchanan

Book Description:
High school sophomore Daisy Jones is just trying to get by unnoticed. It doesn’t help that she’s the new girl at school, lives in a trailer park, and doesn’t even own a cell phone. But there’s a good reason for all that: Daisy has a secret, unpredictable power—one only her best friend, Danielle, knows about.

Despite her “gift” (or is it a curse?), Daisy’s doing a good job of fitting in, and a gorgeous senior named Kevin even seems interested in her! But when Daisy tries to help Vivi, a mysterious classmate in a crisis, she soon discovers that her new friend has a secret of her own. Now Daisy and her friends must deal with chilling dreams and messages from the beyond. Can Daisy channel the power she’s always tried to hide, before it’s too late?


Review:
This book, originally self-published, could probably have benefited from a thorough editing job. While the premise had moments of promise, there were too many small extra plotlines that were actually distracting from the main story. I also think that it seemed to take a little too long for the two major arcs of the story to come together. That *could* be partially attributed to the fact that I listened to this as an audio book, so the whole story took some time, but I really think the ghost/energy connection was too hard to piece together the way that the author presented it. 

Even though I didn't really enjoy the story, I was happy to find that the author included the songs that Kevin "performed" and also Danielle's diary entries (which I thought would have made a nice addition perhaps interspersed within the story...). It made for a more interesting end.

Review: Hokey Pokey

Hokey Pokey

by Jerry Spinelli

 

Book Description:

Welcome to Hokey Pokey. A place and a time, when childhood is at its best: games to play, bikes to ride, experiences to be had. There are no adults in Hokey Pokey, just kids, and the laws governing Hokey Pokey are simple and finite. But when one of the biggest kids, Jack, has his beloved bike stolen—and by a girl, no less—his entire world, and the world of Hokey Pokey, turns to chaos. Without his bike, Jack feels like everything has started to go wrong. He feels different, not like himself, and he knows something is about to change. And even more troubling he alone hears a faint train whistle. But that's impossible: every kid knows there no trains in Hokey Pokey, only tracks.

 

Review:

I had a really hard time with this book. When you start reading it, it's as if you are waking up and have entered a dream.  Nothing is explained very well and Spinelli reveals the way things work veerrrryyyy slowly.

 

At first I really had no idea what Hokey Pokey was supposed to be - why were the kids there, what IS this place?  I was SO confused. It took until more than halfway through the book for me to understand enough to realize that Hokey Pokey was a metaphor for the land of childhood!

 

Not the book for me. :/

Review: Brave New Love

Brave New Love
ed. by Paula Guran

Book Description:

Young love has always had its challenges, but even so, the world falling apart at its seams is a pretty big obstacle. This stellar collection of YA dystopian tales explores survival of the fittest in terms of love, passion, and humanity. When the survival of the human race is at stake, what will it take for the bond between two people to hold strong together?

Featuring some of the most well known and best-selling names of the dystopian genre, as well as the hottest up-and-coming authors, this anthology includes works from Jeanne DuPrau (City of Ember), Kiera Cass (The Selection), William Sleator (Interstellar Pig), Jesse Karp (Those That Wake), Diana Peterfreund (Secret Society Girl), Carrie Vaughn (The Kitty Norville Series), and Carrie Ryan (New York Times bestseller The Forest of Hands and Teeth).

Review:

I enjoyed each of the stories that I read in this anthology separately, as their own entities. Each was interesting, creative, and engaging. I'm going to break it down and tell you about some of the ones I liked the best... I do want to note, though, that overall I felt the tone of this book was depressing! I do not think I would ever recommend that anyone read this book straight through in one shot. This is a book to read one story at a time...to parse out between other books...trust me.


The Stories:
In the Clearing by Kiera Cass - I liked this short story about a society where people are drugged into complacency through their food. I thought it was plausible and intriguing. I liked both main characters and thought the romance built well.

Now Purple with Love's Wound by Carrie Vaughn - I thought this story was really powerful. I loved the concept, even as it totally creeped me out. It gave me chills to think of a society where girls were drugged into feeling lifelong love for someone who claimed them. Short, but extremely effective.

Berserker Eyes by Maria Snyder - This had the feel of a longer dystopian novel excerpt...or maybe it was just that I wanted it to be... I would read a whole novel set in this world. I also loved how the romance built through their quest to beat the government that was abusing them...

Foundlings by Diana Peterfreund - Oooh! The perfect example of when "helpful" government agencies go wrong. WOMB is supposed to protect babies and their mothers...but then it begins to help babies at the cost of their mothers. This was a story I could actually see happening in our distant future.

The Dream Eater by Carrie Ryan - This story broke my heart. I felt bad for *everyone* involved and wanted to rail out at the city that allowed this poor girl to sacrifice herself for thier happiness. I loved how Ryan kept the absolute realism that I love in her zombie books, even as I felt so sad reading the story...

Those were the standout stories for me, though as I mentioned I would not read them all in a row...it might make you want to close your eyes and pretend that there is no future!!