Carrier of the Mark (Carrier of the Mark #1) by Leigh Fallon

Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 352
Series or Stand Alone: Book 1 in the Carrier of the Mark trilogy
Summary: Their love was meant to be.
When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRÍs.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

Review:

Carrier of the Mark was another book presented at the Teen Buzz Panel at Book Expo that I missed out on getting due to the great book box fiasco of ’11. I intended to read at least four out of five, if not all, of the books presented. The presenting editor at Book Expo explained the elements-based concept and Irish setting of Fallon’s debut novel, making me want to read this one the most out of all of the books. Meh.

Basically, the story goes like this: Megan moves to Ireland with her father. She meets the (of course) mysterious, dreamy Adam DeRis and his twin sister Aine. She is immediately and inexplicably drawn to them (of course). She later find that she is drawn to them because she, like the DeRis twins and their older brother Rian, is one of the “marked ones,” basically the guardians and controllers of the four elements of earth. Many, many moons ago, the Celtic goddess Danu created Tuatha de Danann, humans that controlled earth, water, fire, and air. There was a bunch of complicated lineage stuff, none of which I remember at the moment. The main problem with these bitchin’ powers: there are people in an organization called the Knox hunting them down for a nefarious purpose. Oh, and Megan and Adam cannot be together for a completely justifiable reason—it’ll endanger the fate of the free world. Adam doesn’t see the issue and chucks a fit. The introduction to the series, a lot of buildup more than anything else.

The concept behind this book is great. Having a Celtic goddess be the origin of humans that can control the four elements was a good way to combine mythology with paranormal elements. This was a very different idea—and I’m always on the lookout for new concepts in paranormal books. I commend anyone who doesn’t go for straight up vampires, werewolves, faeries, or, as the case seems to be these days, angels. Fallon certainly created a fresh new concept in the paranormal world, one that dipped into a pool of mythology not often heard from in young adult literature.

Unfortunately, the fresh concept was not able to cure the paranormal romance syndrome that seems to rear its ugly head far more than I would like it to. The heroine of the story, Megan, is  shade of beige made famous by one Ms. Isabella Swan in a series that shall remain nameless. She’s pretty average, never-had-a-boyfriend being her number one characteristic. Of course, to the mysterious “bad boy” Mr. DeRis, she’s speeeecial. The be-all end-all. Blah, blah.

Adam DeRis. The supposedly rebellious mystery manwhore that wanders the halls of Megan’s new high school. Here’s the thing: Mr. DeRis suffers from one bad case of paranormal romantic lead syndrome (a related disease to paranormal romance syndrome, but they are not always found together). I need more personality in my male leads. I get that he’s attractive and showers Megan with compliments, but I can’t see him, nor is he complimenting me, so I’m going to need a personality to hear about if I am to care about him on a deep, readerly level. Also, the brooding type just doesn’t interest me anymore, not if there’s not much reason behind/some snarky girl joyously mocking him for it.

I’m also tired of the leads being warned to stay away from each other because it’s not going to be safe for (insert female character’s name here). Why is it always dangerous for the girl? Why can’t the boy be in grave danger? I don’t generally associate with ardent feminists but I’m going to wield their sword on this one.

All and all, I found myself disappointed by Carrier of the Mark. There was a really good premise behind it, but it suffered from the general vague, beige qualities that plague other paranormal romances. Sigh.

Rating: 2 – meh. the book didn't thrill me.

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 352

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone!

Summary: Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.

Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It's harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?

As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy--or as difficult--as it seems.

Critically acclaimed author and National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr delivers a heart-wrenching story, told from dual perspectives, about the many roads that can lead us home.

Review:

There were multiple reasons that I chose to read Sara Zarr’s How to Save a Life. The number one reason was the cover—I love the snow (and the far off benches). This is the same reason I’m going to read Wintertown by Stephen Emond. I also heard that Sara Zarr writes good quality contemporary books, something I’m always looking for now that I’ve rediscovered my love for contemporary YA lit. One last thing: at some point I became a sucker for books written from multiple points of view.

Prepare yourselves. I’m about to gush something fierce about this book. I absolutely loved it. Adored. Tracked down an ARC so I could keep it on my shelf and read it whenever I wanted. But first, what it’s about.

How to Save a Life tells the stories of Jill, a teenage girl still dealing with the death of her father and the idea that her mother wants to replace his presence with a new baby, and Mandy, the teenage mother of the baby Jill’s mother Robyn is openly adopting, who is coming to live with them before the baby is born. Jill doesn’t trust Many, and against the advice of her boyfriend, Dylan, enlists the help of an old high school acquaintance named Ravi to dig up dirt on Mandy’s past. Mandy’s goal in all of this is to escape the toxic environment in which she lived in order to ensure that her baby is raised out of love. The more Jill finds out about Mandy’s past that doesn’t match what she has said, the closer the girls become. The girls, along with Jill’s mother, Robin, end up discovering that family is a concept that is fluid and it can mean whatever that choose it to mean.

I adored Jill’s voice. The most important thing for me when it comes to the likability of a character is that the character isn’t beige (so maybe this also applies to real life as well. Don’t be boring, just…don’t.) Jill, right off the bat, is far from being mundane. She’s cranky, intimidates others with her attitude, and has a punk style that doesn’t make her too much of a caricature. At the same time, she wholeheartedly misses her father and grieves for him often—mostly when she believes no one is looking in her direction. Snarky chracters that demonstrate great emotional depth are the absolute best (see also: Veronica Mars from Veronica Mars).

Mandy’s voice, while entirely different from Jill’s, it was just as awesome to read as Jill’s. One thing I’m always impressed with when it comes to books with dual points of view is when an author is able to create two entirely distinct voices with which to tell a story. Sara Zarr accomplishes this impeccably—it is almost as if two different people are actually writing Jill’s and Mandy’s voices. Jill’s jaded, raw-emotion-filled voice is totally different from Mandy’s optimistic, almost emotionally-detached voice. Despite the horrors and emotional abuse she experienced, Mandy’s voice is pretty much consistently level and optimistic. Also—Jill speaks mostly in the present, whereas a lot of Mandy’s narration provides information about her past. I just thought that distinction was really cool.

All of the characters were real and incredibly likable (with the exception of Kent, Mandy’s mother’s boyfriend, but it’s not like he was supposed to be likable). The story never becomes melodramatic as a result. These characters are real and experience raw emotion without the theatricality that could have messed with the brilliance of this book. One of my favorite aspects of the book is what some might call a “love triangle” because it was able to further endear me to both of the boys in Jill’s life. Neither Dylan nor Ravi even comes close to being a jerk in this book—echoing real life more than any young adult love triangle example that I can think of. Dylan legitimately loves Jill but they aren’t right for each other any more. Ravi cared for her from afar but was only recently able to see if they could be together. They are both good people and both care for Jill, just in different ways.

Sara Zarr’s How to Save a Life was the best contemporary young adult book I read in 2011. It may have actually been my favorite book read in 2011. With its raw emotion, realistic characters, and heartbreaking connections, How to Save a Life certainly went far and above my already high expectations for Sara Zarr. Excuse me while I go off and read everything she’s ever written.

(Also—Sara Zarr’s Story of a Girl e-book is on sale this week for its five year anniversary. I already bought it, you should too.)

Rating: 5  - fan-freaking-tastic. Shelf of favorites status.

Top Ten Tuesday (2)

Top Ten Authors I Wish Would Write Another Book:
1. Dorothy Parker: poet, critic, short story writer, and crowned queen of snark forever, Parker wins a place in my Favorite People Ever List. As far as I know, she never wrote a full length novel! So I would like her to. Although, I'd easily trade this for a time machine so I could meet her.
2. F. Scott Fitzgerald: All of the recent 1920's-based YA books make me want to revisit Fitzgerald. I feel like the world can only get better with more of F. Scott's works in it.
3. Holly Black: This is my way of expressing my desperate need for the third Curseworkers book. I know it's already written and coming out in the summer or something, but whatever. I just need it.
4. Megan Miranda: Technically speaking, Fracture isn't even out yet, but I burned through Miranda's debut novel so fast it was ridiculous. I'll read anything she writes in the future.
5. Alexandra Bracken: I know that she has The Darkest Minds coming out later this year, but I'm going to Veruca Salt this one and say, "I WANT IT NOOOOW." Brightly Woven was so fresh and different, I want to see what else Bracken has for us.
6. Suzanne Collins: I love The Hunger Games and would be interested to see Collins tackle another YA project.
7. Kathryn Stockett: I read The Help last year and adored it. More books about southern life and people, please.
8. Roald Dahl: My favorite children's writer and author of Matilda, along with a myriad of others. Dahl understands children perfectly and I wish that there were more books by him around.
9. Stephanie Perkins: I know Isla and the Happily Ever After is in the works, but still. Perfect contemporary novels are perfect.
10. Rosemary Clement-Moore: I very much enjoyed both The Splendor Falls and Texas Gothic. She does a good paranormal with a bit of romance book that isn't the usual cliche paranormal romance nonsense.


Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

In My Mailbox (2)

RECEIVED:

Winter Town - Stephen Emond

LIBRARY:

Mostly Good Girls - Leila Sales

The Near Witch - Victoria Schwab

Beautiful Darkness - Kami Garcia &Margaret Stohl

The Girl of Fire and Thorns - Rae Carson

Beautiful Chaos - Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

KINDLE:

Insatiable - Meg Cabot

Return to Paradise - Simone Elkeles

Destined - Jessie Harrell

The Giver - Lois Lowry

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood 

IMM is hosted by The Story Siren

Surrender (Haunting Emma #3) by Lee Nichols

Publisher: Bloomsbury Teens
Pages: 272
Series or Stand Alone: Book 3 in the Haunting Emma trilogy
Summary: After a devastating battle at headquarters in New York, the ghostkeeping world is in shambles. When Emma and Bennett return home, they are determined to defeat the wraithmaster, Neos, forever. But it's not going to be easy. Bennett's parents kick him out when they realize he is still using drugs to enhance his powers. Emma is convinced her aunt has come back from the dead to warn her of a new threat. And worst of all, Neos is using wraiths to possess the students at Thatcher Academy. If the ghosts manage to take over the entire school, even Emma won't be strong enough to stop them. But if either she or Bennett sacrifice his or her powers, they might be able to save the ghostkeeping world once and for all-and break the "ghostkeepers lose their powers when they fall in love" curse. The question is: who will be the one to surrender all power? 
Fast-paced and romantic, this conclusion to the Haunting Emma trilogy will thrill readers as it brings the ghostly mystery to a close.


Review:

The third and final installment of the Haunting Emma novels, Surrender, culminates in the battle between ghostkeepers and Neos and his band of evil wraiths. And, go.

More people are dead. Bennett’s parents, AKA the uptight sticks in the mud, are now in charge of Emma, Natalie, and Lukas at the mansion. They kicked Bennett out with the condition that he had to kick his asarum habit—and his attachment to dear Emma (which may or may not have had to do with their walking in on the young couple in a compromising position—JK. It’s because they don’t want their son to lose his powers to her). In the meantime, Emma and the other teen ghostkeepers are placed under the strict tutelage of the Sterns. There’s a lot of tense situations, trying to understand one another, and heart to hearts between everyone that lead up to the major conflict at the end. Emma and Bennett must find a way to destroy Neos before he kills Emma and everyone else.

This one continued in the same vein as the second—the characters and storyline were slightly more developed that they were in the first. I found that more action played out instead of being brushed over by Emma’s narration (as it had been in the first one). I liked Natalie and Lukas still—I thought their relationship was an interesting addition to the series. It would have been easy to use Emma’s and Bennett’s relationship as a deterrent, but I liked that they were going against all the warnings and the example as to why it couldn’t work that existed right in front of them. The back story provided for the two of them made each the most well-established characters, and therefore my favorites. I found that some of the characters were less than well-rounded still (Bennett, this is still me looking at you, though the asarum addiction keeps you off my boring paranormal romantic lead list) but at least some of the characters were well-explored.

The concluding battle was satisfactory and definitely more well done than some of the previous action scenes. Surrender provided for a good conclusion to the Haunting Emma books. I’m still not totally in love with this series, but I’d probably recommend it for younger young adult readers. It’s a different take on the whole paranormal ghost stuff.

Rating: 3 – okay/good. 

Betrayal (Haunting Emma #2) by Lee Nichols

Publisher: Bloomsbury Teens
Pages: 288
Series or Stand Alone: Book 2 in the Haunting Emma trilogy
Summary: Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great when she's battling the wraith-master Neos, but terrible when she's flirting with fellow ghostkeeper (and soul mate) Bennett. When ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power, and that's not something Bennett can handle. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school with fellow ghostkeeper, Natalie. When a new team of ghostkeepers arrive-one a snarky teen
boy, the other a British scholar-Emma finds solace in training for the battle against Neos. But as the team grows stronger, they are threatened by an unknown force. One they thought was good.
As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page. No one is safe from suspicion as Emma closes in on the traitor.

Review:

Betrayal is the second installment in the Haunting Emma series. Due to my series thing (i.e., the desire to continue a series even if I’m not crazy about the plot or characters) I moved on to the second book.

Not thrilled with the idea of losing his powers as a result of being with Emma, the most powerful ghostkeeper of their times, Bennett goes off in search of a solution to his increasing weakness. This solution happens to be asarum (wild ginger), which acts as a drug for ghostkeepers, but we’ll get back to that in a bit. Emma starts training as a team with her bitchy human friend Natalie from California (who is actually a ghostkeeper that helped Bennett get Emma away from the danger around her home), the rebellious Lukas, and Simon, their slightly older British mentor figure. At first less than thrilled with the new situation, Emma learns to work within her team. She also trains with the Rake—the original Bennett Stern who hangs around as a ghost, punishing himself for failing to keep the original Emma safe. The training for the battle against Neos is gong well until Emma experiences a BETRAYAL at the hands of a friend (title mention! Take a shot!)

While these books still are not my favorites, I must say that I enjoyed this one far more than the first. The writing became more consistent and Emma became less annoying. Bennett’s absense from the majority of the book forces her to actually forge connections with other living people (and some dead ones). I especially enjoyed her friendship with Natalie. They are alike in many ways (both being teenage girl ghostkeepers that end up ripped from the lives they’ve known in order to bring down some sort of big bad) but Natalie’s scary-religious-to-the-point-of-abusive parents brings an interesting dimension to their relationship. Emma was brought into this life but can still return to her family whenever they pop up—but Natalie is completely, on hundred percent in this. She doesn’t have a choice anymore, and that causes some strain every once and awhile.

Emma’s relationship with ghost Coby is far more interesting than their relationship was when he was alive. While he was alive, he was the all-American boy next door who liked Emma even though she didn’t really return the feelings. In death he becomes her companion, a source of guilt or friendship depending on the day. His death made their relationship far more complex than his (unreturned) crush on her in book one.

One thing that bothered me was that Emma and Bennett never quite dealt with the whoe are-we-only-together-because-we’re-damned-to-repeat-the-patterns-of-the-Emmas-and-Bennetts-that-were thing. I think the whole “destined to be together” thing is incredibly problematic and usually raises free will questions in those to which it applies. However, Bennett and Emma’s relationship was more interesting this time around. I’m still not thrilled with Bennett’s characterization, but Bennett on asarum is far more interesting than his former self. I know that other reviewers were upset with his prior life choice but I found his drug addiction endearing. Before, he didn’t have much of a personality outside of his Britishness and adoration of Emma, but the drug addiction adds at least a hint of mystery. Also, at least he’s getting shit done.

Betrayal stepped up the game for the Haunting Emma series. Nichols added characters that fleshed out Emma’s character a little and brought more of her ass-kicking potential to the surface. Bennett’s life decisions make him more intriguing and I became a bit curious about what was going to happen with his and Emma’s relationship in the third one, though I’m decently sure that they end up together. Regardless. Betrayal was better than Deception.

Rating: 3 –  okay/good.

Deception (Haunting Emma #1) by Lee Nichols

Publisher: Bloomsbury Teens
Pages: 330
Series or Stand Alone: Book 1 in the Haunting Emma trilogy
Summary: When Emma Vaile's parents leave on mysterious business trip, it gives her the perfect excuse to be a rebellious teen. Throw some parties, get a tattoo (or maybe just a piercing), and enjoy the first few weeks of her junior year. Then her best friend stops talking to her, the cops crash her party, and Emma finds herself in the hands of a new guardian—her college-age "knight in J.Crew armor," Bennett Stern—and on a plane to his museum-like mansion in New England. After enrolling at Thatcher Academy, Emma settles in by making friends with the popular legacy crowd. But she can't shake the strange visions that are haunting her. She has memories of Thatcher she can't explain, as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Emma doesn't trust anyone anymore—except maybe Bennett. But he's about to reveal a ghostly secret to Emma. One that will explain the visions . . . and make Emma fear for her life.


Review:

I'm not going to lie, I read this book because when I first heard of it, it was recommended for fans of the Private series by Kate Brian. Even though by the end of that series I was SO ANNOYED by those books (WHO INTRODUCES MAGIC TWELVE BOOKS INTO A SERIES?!) I still believe that the first four, even the first eight, were entertaining reads. I decided to take the suggestion and read the Haunting Emma books.
This book opens on Emma Vaile, a teenager experiencing every teenager's dream: a vacant house due to parental vacation. Everything's fine and dandy for awhile, but eventually she starts to miss them. Due to a rager she throws at the request of her "friend" Natalie, Emma almost ends up in foster care. Thanks to Bennett, a former friend of her older brother, she instead ends up living in a mansion under his "care"--clear across the country from her home. Bennett disappears on her and leaves her to discover her ghostkeeping ability with a house full of friendly ghosts. Unlike most ghostkeepers, Emma has multiple powers--she actually has all the ghostkeeping abilities, wrapped up nicely in her little blonde form. Throughout the story, Emma must deal with her newfound ghostkeeping abilities, the knowledge of the host of secrets her family kept from her, an evil that has been a threat to her since childhood--and her mounting feelings for Bennett, who confusingly enough, runs hot and cold on her.
I really liked the ghostkeeping mythology that Nichols outlined in this book. My favorite piece of it was the idea that ghostkeepers cannot be together unless one of them wants to sacrifice their powers. I enjoyed that ghosts were not the romantic interests of the spirit variety--that meant that there was far less paranormal romance-y nonsense with which to contend.
I also liked the idea that ghosts and ghostkeepers were not looked at as equal (but different) human beings. Emma was the only one that treated the ghosts in Bennett's house as if they were still human beings because she was the only one that could directly communicate with them. The rest could only compel them. She dislikes compelling them, since she believes that ghosts should retain their free will.

And now for some things that did not thrill me about this book. Emma’s voice bothered me a tiny bit. In the beginning she was effortlessly teenager-y—she wasted time on facebook, talked about how bitchin’ it was to not have parents around, etc. I realized a bit later that her voice was leaving something lacking. I just did not think some of the events were making enough of an emotional impact through Emma’s eyes. Within the first book of this series, Emma’s family goes missing and is presumed dead. She deals with two separate deaths of people that are close to her in her new life. Emma cried every once in awhile, but I felt that she would all but forget about the incidents a few chapters later. This is especially true for Emma’s parents’ disappearances; she mentions missing them once or twice, but not enough for me to really believe her.

Also, I know Bennett’s supposed to be swoonworthy or whatever, but I don’t feel like he has enough personality for that. Let me rephrase: I did not see enough personality for that. I hope Nichols explores more of his characters in the ensuing novels.

I have mixed feelings about Deception—Nichols has some great, unique ideas about ghost stories, but the writing is choppy. I felt like Emma was glossing over some of the action in order to prattle on about nothing important Still, the ideas were there, and I plan to continue reading the series in order to see how the characters (hopefully) develop.

Rating: 2.5 - okay.