In My Mailbox (23)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren in which we share the books we received for the week.

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
From Goodreads:
It starts with whispers.
Then someone picks up a stone.
Finally, the fires begin.
When people turn on witches, the innocents suffer. . . .
Tiffany Aching has spent years studying with senior witches, and now she is on her own. As the witch of the Chalk, she performs the bits of witchcraft that aren't sparkly, aren't fun, don't involve any kind of wand, and that people seldom ever hear about: She does the unglamorous work of caring for the needy.
But someone or something is igniting fear, inculcating dark thoughts and angry murmurs against witches. Aided by her tiny blue allies, the Wee Free Men, Tiffany must find the source of this unrest and defeat the evil at its root before it takes her life. Because if Tiffany falls, the whole Chalk falls with her.
Chilling drama combines with laughout-loud humor and searing insight as beloved and bestselling author Terry Pratchett tells the high-stakes story of a young witch who stands in the gap between good and evil.

I don't really need to go into detail about how ridiculously excited I am to read this. You probably heard me scream when I got it.

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce
From Goodreads:
Ever since Viola's boyfriend broke up with her, she has spent her days silently wishing—to have someone love her again and, more importantly, to belong again—until one day she inadvertently summons a young genie out of his world and into her own. He will remain until she makes three wishes.

Jinn is anxious to return home, but Viola is terrified of wishing, afraid she will not wish for the right thing, the thing that will make her truly happy. As the two spend time together, the lines between master and servant begin to blur, and soon Jinn can't deny that he's falling for Viola. But it's only after Viola makes her first wish that she realizes she's in love with Jinn as well . . . and that if she wishes twice more, he will disappear from her life—and her world—forever.

Jackson Pearce spins a magical tale about star-crossed lovers, what it means to belong . . . and how important it is to be careful what you wish for.

I've wanted to read this, despite the horrid cover fail. Miz Pearce's tweets are a delight. So I picked it up and gobbled it and all it's yummy goodness up. Review to come.

Grace by Elizabeth Scott
From Goodreads:
A fable of a terrifying near future by critically acclaimed author Elizabeth Scott.

Grace was raised to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom. In search of a border she may never reach, she travels among malevolent soldiers on a decrepit train crawling through the desert. Accompanied by the mysterious Kerr, Grace struggles to be invisible, but the fear of discovery looms large as she recalls the history and events that delivered her uncertain fate.

Told in spare, powerful prose, this tale of a dystopian near future will haunt readers long after they've reached the final page.

Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black, Justine Larbalestier, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Maureen Johnson, Carrie Ryan, Scott Westerfeld, Meg Cabot, Garth Nix , more...Kathleen Duey, Margo Lanagan, Naomi Novik, Diana Peterfreund, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare
From Goodreads:
It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

Yessssssssssss!

On My Wishlist (1)

I've been staring longingly at the books on my wishlist all week. As much as I'd love to just run out and buy each and every one of them, the bank demands my house payment be paid in full and on time each month. I've learned restraint but it doesn't stop the wishing. I've been watching this meme and thought it would be a fun one to join. This way we can all pine away for books together.

"On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where I list all the books I desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in with too - Mr Linky is always at the ready for you to link your own 'On My Wishlist' post. If you want to know more click here."

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Published:January 26th 2010 by Dial
From Goodreads:
Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison -- a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device -- a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born ...

Dystopian YA! Love it.

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Published:March 9th 2010 by HarperCollins Publishers
From Goodreads:
My father took one hundred and thirty two minutes to die.

‘I counted.

‘It happened on the Jellicoe Road. The prettiest road I’d ever seen, where trees made breezy canopies like a tunnel to Shangri-La. We were going to the ocean, hundreds of kilometres away, because I wanted to see the ocean and my father said that it was about time the four of us made that journey. I remember asking, “What’s the difference between a trip and a journey?” and my father said, “Narnie, my love, when we get there, you’ll understand,” and that was the last thing he ever said.

‘We heard her almost straight away. In the other car, wedged into ours so deep that you couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended. She told us her name was Tate and then she squeezed through the glass and the steel and climbed over her own dead – just to be with Webb and me; to give us her hand so we could clutch it with all our might. And then a kid called Fitz came riding by on a stolen bike and saved our lives.

‘Someone asked us later, “Didn’t you wonder why no one came across you sooner?”

‘Did I wonder?

‘When you see your parents zipped up in black body bags on the Jellicoe Road like they’re some kind of garbage, don’t you know?

‘Wonder dies.’

So many people have recommended this book to me and have sworn to its greatness.

White Cat by Holly Black
Published:May 4th 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry
From Goodreads:
Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love -- or death -- and your dreams might be more real than your memories.

I had the opportunity to get this book AND get it signed by Miz Black at the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour stop in Jackson week before last and I DIDN'T. I haven't read any of her work and I when I got home and read the synopsis for this book and I kicked myself. Want.

Click on the On My WishList picture above and join in on the wishing.

Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony

Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony

Published May 13th 2010 by Putnam Juvenile

More at: Goodreads





For Molly, the world is only how it is. Another world, from an earlier time, is written of in the history books, in forgotten yellowing newspapers, and in the minds of an aging population who can still recall things being other than how they are now. Life goes on, day to day happenings still must happen and the difficulty with which common, everyday needed things are obtained is just a fact of life.

The year is 2041 and Molly and her family try their best to be self sufficient in a world where simple comforts have all but run out. Food, fuel and safety are in short supply since the world collapsed ten years ago, leaving a stricken people struggling to remake their lives in its wake.

With borders tighter than ever before and transportation a thing of luxury now that the only available fuel is controlled by the government, entering the United States to find and bring home her grandfather is not an easy task for a sixteen year girl and once she crosses the border, there's no guarantee that she'll be allowed to come home again.

This is such a sweet, promising little story. One that isn't weighed down with a lot of "what ifs" and emotional baggage and tragedy of a world lost. Unlike some of the dystopian YA that I've read, this future is not all about survival, but simply about adapting and carrying on and continuing, with minor adjustments to our day to day life. Much like how I'd like to think it would be, with life adjusting gradually in response to the changing times until one day we realize that how things are, are how they have always been. I like to believe it would happen like this, where we would simply go about our business and get on with it. I never felt that Molly's world was horrible, just different and maybe a little bit scary in that it was very realistic. This could happen.

I loved that Molly battled fear and braved new experiences through her music. At first I laughed when Molly was losing herself in little ditties like "Turkey in the Straw" but as she continued to play her folk tunes it made sense to me, that these would be the songs of home and therefore the most therapeutic.

We have a very young romance here that is very sweet and innocent- fitting as that is very much how the story is. Our hero has an edgy dark side, but a good heart and even with his colorful past you never once wondered who's side he was on.

It's an adorable little story if you like a softer, younger YA.

Waiting on Wednesday (10) I Shall Wear Midnight

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, in which we share the book that we are anxiously waiting to be released.

Sir Terry Pratchett has a gift for us come the 28th of this month. He has written another Tiffany Aching story. If you are not familiar with these books, I can't encourage you enough to pick them up. Pratchett has a lot he'd like to teach you, and many wonders to show you. He is my favorite author, and one of my favorite people. His books for young adults include The Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents and one of my favorite books, Nation.

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
From Goodreads:
It starts with whispers.
Then someone picks up a stone.
Finally, the fires begin.
When people turn on witches, the innocents suffer. . . .
Tiffany Aching has spent years studying with senior witches, and now she is on her own. As the witch of the Chalk, she performs the bits of witchcraft that aren't sparkly, aren't fun, don't involve any kind of wand, and that people seldom ever hear about: She does the unglamorous work of caring for the needy.
But someone or something is igniting fear, inculcating dark thoughts and angry murmurs against witches. Aided by her tiny blue allies, the Wee Free Men, Tiffany must find the source of this unrest and defeat the evil at its root before it takes her life. Because if Tiffany falls, the whole Chalk falls with her.
Chilling drama combines with laughout-loud humor and searing insight as beloved and bestselling author Terry Pratchett tells the high-stakes story of a young witch who stands in the gap between good and evil.

Happy Book Birthday to The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Today is the official release day for The Replacement! If you haven't heard about this book, well then you most likely live under a rock and you'll be pleasantly surprised to find this story oddly familiar since it deals with dark, scary things that live underground.

It's a marvelously written little dark tale with a very unique hero.

Plus 100 points for it's astonding cover that perfectly fits the story.

For more, read my book thoughts on The Replacement, visit it on Goodreads and purchase it from your local Indie bookstore.

Then send Miz Yovanoff a congrats on Twitter @BrennaYovanoff.

Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

Published March 18th 2010 by Penguin

More at: Goodreads

His Anger stands alone
stands erect
in the
middle of the room.

We step gently around it,
a terrifying totem pole
bristling beaks, pinions, talons.

I can't remember
when it started
when firm hand
          became
          fisted liege
                    became
                    feral
                              tyrannical
                                        rage
                    more important than
                    the rest of us,
                    but
it didn't used to be this way
and that
keeps us tied to him,
guessing,
teetering,
waiting,
while stepping around his Anger
in the
middle of the room.

Anke's father loves her brother and sister, but not her. He must love them. He loves Darren enough to get angry and hit him. He loves Yaicha enough to visit her room at night but he never even notices Anke. She remembers a father who would laugh and read bedtime stories, who smiled at her when he came home. But he doesn't even see her now. Nor does her mother, who doesn't see Darren's bruises and doesn't hear the whimpers coming from Yaicha's room. She only sees him.

To her parents, Anke is furniture, simply part of the scenery, something used and dismissed without a thought. So Anke loses herself in volleyball, something she excels at, something that makes her seen. With her new found talent and self confidence, she emerges a pretty young lady, one the boys can't help but look at. Anke likes being seen, being visible, until her new image turns another head- her father's.

Reading back over that, not knowing the story as I do now, I would be terrified to read it. But I only know this now, and the possibility of the fear her story could instill in the reader must have been foremost in the author's mind because she artfully and meticulously protects both her character's and her audience's emotions. You want your reader to experience the fear and sadness the character is living, through the character. You do not, however want to terrify and sadden your reader. A very fine line and I'm grateful for the restraint shown by the author. She could have made this one sting long after the story was over. Instead, using, verse both soulful and lyric, the reader is able to push through some very harsh, vivid imagery, carefully muted by poetry.

Thank God.

Anke is such a strong, brave girl. Even confused as she is by what she considers to be her father's "expressions" of love, she understands enough to know that while she wants the love of father, she doesn't want her father's idea of love. Her mother, though she redeemed herself in the end, disgusted me. I was reminded of Meredith's mother in Such A Pretty Girl by Laura Weiss, a character I would like to naively believe couldn't possibly exist in real life. I know better- I know she's out there.

This is another of Penguin's remarkable Point of View books, a genre of YA that deals with the harsh realities that you don't want to think about and without the voice of some AMAZING authors, you wouldn't be able to stand reading. It includes some greats such as Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, If I Stay by Gayle Forman and several others that all need to be read. I'd very much like to see them taught in classrooms and I know that they have entered a few.



Visit Thalia Chaltas at her website
Learn more about Point of View books from Penguin.

Other POV books I've read:
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Looking for Alaska by John Green

In My Mailbox (22)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren in which we share the books we received for the week.

This weeks loot came from The Smart Chicks Kick It Tour and Lemuria Books.

Plain Kate by Erin Bow
From Goodreads:
Plain Kate lives in a world of superstitions and curses, where a song can heal a wound and a shadow can work deep magic. As the wood-carver's daughter, Kate held a carving knife before a spoon, and her wooden talismans are so fine that some even call her “witch-blade”: a dangerous nickname in a country where witches are hunted and burned in the square.

For Kate and her village have fallen on hard times. Kate’s father has died, leaving her alone in the world. And a mysterious fog now covers the countryside, ruining crops and spreading fear of hunger and sickness. The townspeople are looking for someone to blame, and their eyes have fallen on Kate.

Enter Linay, a stranger with a proposition: In exchange for her shadow, he’ll give Kate the means to escape the angry town, and what’s more, he’ll grant her heart’s wish. It’s a chance for her to start over, to find a home, a family, a place to belong. But Kate soon realizes she can't live shadowless forever -- and that Linay's designs are darker than she ever dreamed.

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
From Goodreads:
Only two weeks ago, life was all too predictable. But that was before I saw my first ghost. Now, along with my supernatural friends Tori, Derek, and Simon, I’m on the run from the Edison Group, which genetically altered us as part of their sinister experiment. We’re hiding in a safe house that might not be as safe as it seems. We’ll be gone soon anyway, back to rescue those we’d left behind and to take out the Edison Group . . . or so we hope.

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
From Goodreads:
Nick and his brother, Alan, have spent their lives on the run from magic. Their father was murdered, and their mother was driven mad by magicians and the demons who give them power. The magicians are hunting the Ryves family for a charm that Nick's mother stole -- a charm that keeps her alive -- and they want it badly enough to kill again.

Danger draws even closer when a brother and sister come to the Ryves family for help. The boy wears a demon's mark, a sign of death that almost nothing can erase...and when Alan also gets marked by a demon, Nick is des-perate to save him. The only way to do that is to kill one of the magicians they have been hiding from for so long.

Ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse, Nick starts to suspect that his brother is telling him lie after lie about their past. As the magicians' Circle closes in on their family, Nick uncovers the secret that could destroy them all.

This is the Demon's Lexicon. Turn the page.

The Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan
From Goodreads:
Mae Crawford's always thought of herself as in control, but in the last few weeks her life has changed. Her younger brother, Jamie, suddenly has magical powers, and she's even more unsettled when she realizes that Gerald, the new leader of the Obsidian Circle, is trying to persuade Jamie to join the magicians. Even worse? Jamie hasn't told Mae a thing about any of it. Mae turns to brothers Nick and Alan to help her rescue Jamie, but they are in danger from Gerald themselves because he wants to steal Nick's powers. Will Mae be able to find a way to save everyone she cares about from the power-hungry magician's carefully laid trap?

Smart Chicks Kick It @ Lemuria Books, Jackson, MS

The Smart Chicks Kick It Tour, featuring Melissa Marr, Cassandra Clare, Kelley Armstrong, Sarah Rees Brennan, Holly Black, Alyson Noel and Jessica Verday stopped in Jackson, MS Thursday and I was lucky enough to get to attend. Having never been to a book signing before, I wasn't quite sure what to expect but the staff from Lemuria Books, who organized the event, managed every thing so smoothly that the experience was a delight.

The ladies conducted a very entertaining question and answer session, and were all very friendly and open with their answers. It was a smallish group of readers so I think that made for a much more relaxed environment. And there were some book bloggers there as well! Jessilyn from Jessica's Vision and Mandy from The Well-Read Wife.





I instantly liked Kelley Armstrong, who for some reason reminded me of my mum (which is a compliment) and I couldn't help wanting to both hug her and pick a fight with her at the same time. When some brave soul from the audience asked if the authors ever found themselves struggling when writing YA when it came to a racy scene and if they ever said "No, I can't write that. It's too racy." she said No, she enjoyed it. Good for her :)



There was a question about writer's block which got some very interesting answers. Sarah Rees Brennan (who is outrageously funny) advised that when she gets to a point in her story where she's in danger of boredom, she finds it helpful to have her characters kill someone or either make out with someone, and in times of desperation, make out with a corpse. :) Melissa Marr handles writer's block by getting in the bathtub and sitting underwater with her snorkel. She was so nice and friendly (and has spectacular hair) I was waiting in the signing line for the next author and she just struck up a conversation with me and talked about the tour.

I behaved myself when I met Cassandra Clare, and didn't go all crazed fan girl on her, even when she told us that the book that inspired her to write was Pride and Prejudice. She was kind enough to have a chat with me about Jessamine, a character in her latest book Clockwork Angel. She had a purple streak in her red hair which equals awesome. I'm so glad I went and that I got to meet them all.

And I came away with PHAT LOOTZ!



Smart Chicks Kick It Tour
Lemuria Books
Visit Jessica's Vision for better photos. (I forgot my camera and had to use BB)

In My Mailbox (21)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren in which we share the books we received for the week.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
From Goodreads:
BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Jennifer Donnelly, author of the award-winning novel A Northern Light, artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.

Chalice by Robin McKinley
From Goodreads:
As the newly appointed Chalice, Mirasol is the most important member of the Master's Circle. It is her duty to bind the Circle, the land and its people together with their new Master. But the new Master of Willowlands is a Priest of Fire, only drawn back into the human world by the sudden death of his brother. No one knows if it is even possible for him to live amongst his people. Mirasol wants the Master to have his chance, but her only training is as a beekeeper. How can she help settle their demesne during these troubled times and bind it to a Priest of Fire, the touch of whose hand can burn human flesh to the bone?

My Booky Wook by Russell Brand
From Goodreads:
Russell Brand learned early on to make a joke of fear and failure. From a troubled childhood in industrial Essex, England, to his descent into addictions to alcohol, drugs, and sex in the seamy underbelly of London, Brand has seen his share of both and miraculously lived to tell the tale. In My Booky Wook he leads readers on a rollicking journey through his disastrous school career, his infamous antics on MTV, and his multifarious sexual adventures. But this irreverent memoir is a story not simply of struggle but also of redemption, a testament to the difficulty of discovering what you want from life and the remarkable power of a bloody-minded determination to get it. My Booky Wook is a giddy trip through the brilliant mind of one of Britain's most valuable exports.

Books I wanted to throw across the room (and some I actually did)

Warning: the post goes on forever.

In 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, she receives an edited copy of a book she requested. Expecting an actual unaltered manuscript, she was understandably agitated with the copy she received.

"WHAT KIND OF PEPYS' DIARY DO YOU CALL THIS?
this is not pepys' diary. this is some busybody editor's miserable collection of EXCERPTS from pepys' diary may he rot.
i could just spit.
i enclose two limp singles, i will make do with this thing till you find me a real Pepys. THEN i will rip up this ersatz book, page by page, AND WRAP THINGS IN IT."

And while I have never intentionally maimed a book, I have on many occasions, wanted to.

Now before you get all huffity and blackball me for saying something negative about a book. Remember: this book blogger behaves badly and if you can truly say that you've never been moved to angry fits and convulsions by a book, then I question whether or not you've been moved to bouts of joy and elation because of one either.

I'd like to think that any author worth his/her weight would view a passionately negative review in much the same light as a passionately positive one. Either way, their unique creation has moved a human being to experience extreme emotion and for that they should be IMMENSELY proud of themselves.

It's no secret that I loathe will all the loathing that one can possess, Breaking Dawn and subsequently hate the series that I once loved, because of it. I hate it whole heartedly, actively and resolutely. I will hate it forever. I wish it was never written.

I abhor the existence of a little book I once got suckered into reading by the name of She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. It was my second attempt to read something from Oprah's book club, which only served to remind me that I don't like books written about sniveling, whiny, weaklings who either get pregnant, fall down a well or some other form of Lifetime subject matter. It's about a miserable, self-loathing cow who panders along for a zillion pages about just what a miserable, self-loathing cow she is. She makes etch-e-sketch art, has a brief romance complete with anal sex and then gets married. That's about the long and the short of it. It's suppose to be impressive because a man was attempting to write a book from a woman's point of view and I guffawed at this because I don't know any miserable, self-loathing cows- unless you count the ones about the take up residence in the meat section of your local grocery store. Then I got really angry because I thought "THIS!? This is what women sound like to you?!?" I wouldn't have ANYTHING to do with the character in the book. There was nothing likable or redeemable about her!! She was grotesque and had the most repugnant personality. Piss on you, Oprah's-Book-Club-Author-Man!

Since then I've read some mediocre books. They didn't move me in any way shape or form and I forgot about them as soon as I closed them. This type of book happens a lot and maybe, in a way, that makes them worse than a really, really awful book because in the end, you've wasted all that time and you don't feel any emotional response to the story at all and you probably just forget all about them. I remember the books I hate.

Anyway. I still own my copy of Breaking Dawn only because it completes a set and I'm shallow and they look nice. She's Come Undone went to the trade bookstore many many moons ago and I'm happy that it doesn't live amongst my lovelies on the shelves.

But recently....I threw a book so hard against the wall that I worried about my Cinncinnatian Hotel Nichols Taupe paint. Then I picked it up and threw it in the trash. I wanted to rip it to shreds but at the time I was really just TOO ANGRY to get a good grip on it.


The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Published July 14th 2009 by Candlewick Press

More at: Goodreads


The book was The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Let me begin with a disclosure that some may feel renders all I have to say here null and void, though I will provide an explanation if you read on: I did not finish this book. It has taken me over a year of book blogging to come to grips with the fact that some books are simply unfinishable but even still I continue to feel a void in things whenever I abandon a book. I still chide myself for not completing something and in some instances, even though I won't revisit the story, I continue to be plagued with the "what if..." of the story. Not in this case. I feel no remorse for having abandoned this book, only regret for having gone as far as I did with it.

Our story begins with the boy Todd, who nearing his 13th birthday is on the verge of becoming a man. In the town of Prentiss, a smallish establishment of some 100 or so odd men, becoming a man is something ominous and kept very secret. In a place where all thoughts can be heard by all men, the fact that something can remain hidden makes it all the more foreboding. Todd is the last boy. The last boy in a post-apocalyptic world where a germ known as "Noise" infected all the men and killed all the women. The infected remaining men are plagued with the ability to hear every thought of every man and creature around them. A constant buzzing, an incessant hammering of the infinitesimal number of unvoiced thoughts, all day, all night, even in sleep. No quiet. No solitude. No peace.

When the boy Todd one day stumbles upon an unexpected and to him who has never experienced one, an unexplainable and sudden absence of sound hidden in the swamp, it takes only a moment for his own Noise to scream "Quiet" to those around him. Suddenly the authorities want him for questioning and for something...else. Todd is forced to flee the town and runs back into the swamp in search of the "Quiet." It's human, but something he has never seen before, only heard about in older men's Noise. It's something that isn't suppose to exist.

I was instantly sucked into this story from word one.

The writing is so in tune with the story- a frantic, wild assault on the senses that pushes you to read at lightening speeds. Remember, Todd can hear EVERYTHING and the reader hears it as he does, leaving you panicked and anxious and scared! It's perfect. Todd is running from so many things, most of which he isn't even aware of. The town of Prentiss is out to get him for something and he has no idea why. He heard the "Quiet" but what did that do? He runs for an unexplained reason, straight into a world he was taught no longer existed. A new world with people who have a different memory of what happened with the Noise germ. I was hooked.

**SPOILER WARNING**

But not on the main character. Todd is a detestable wretch of a boy- spineless, cowardly and just plain stupid.I never once liked him. He was mean to his dog, the only good creature in this absolutely horrible world. But I kept on reading because it's all just so intense! I kept reading while this young, stupid child, cussed and complained and cowered. I kept reading while adults, senselessly and continuously beat the hell out of him. I kept reading even when a grown man alluded to raping a little girl. I kept reading as an animal was repeatedly tortured. I kept reading until I had ENOUGH and I took that GOD AWFUL PIECE OF SHIT and I threw it against the wall. Then I got up and I put in in the trash. AND THEN- I cried and cried and cried. I cried great big noisy crocodile tears. I was absolutely devastated. That sick bastard killed the dog. Killed the only creature in the story who was actively doing something, the only one I felt anything for. And apparently, judging by the length of this post, I felt a lot.

I hate this book. I hate it with all the hate I can muster. I hate it for taking a thrill ride of a story, going nowhere with it and then doing everything deplorable imaginable. I'm expending time and energy despising this book.

The writing is really something to experience though- if you are a heartless reader who likes fiction a bit on the sadistic side- have at it. If you possess ANY SOUL AT ALL, skip it. In fact, this book makes bunnies cry:





P.S. Yesss, I took the copy out of the trash, it was still clean, dry and intact and I donated it. I'm a good girl.

In My Mailbox (20)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren in which we share the books we received for the week.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
From Goodreads:
Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.
When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.
Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.
Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa.
As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card
From Goodreads:
From the internationally bestselling author who brought us Ender’s Game, a brand-new series that instantly draws readers into the dystopian world of Rigg, a teenager who possesses a secret talent that allows him to see the paths of people’s pasts. Rigg’s only confidant is his father, whose sudden death leaves Rigg completely alone, aside from a sister he’s never met. But a chance encounter with Umbo, another teen with a special talent, reveals a startling new aspect to Rigg’s abilities, compelling him to reevaluate everything he’s ever known. Rigg and Umbo join forces and embark on a quest to find Rigg’s sister and discover the true depth and significance of their powers. Because although the pair can change the past, the future is anything but certain….