Ravenous Bookshelf

Rating: 4 / 5 stars (I blame myself)

Marcus Sedgwick is excellent at being terrifying. And suspenseful. And basically the complete opposite of tranquil restfulness.

Do not read his books at night if you want to actually sleep, OK?

Structurally, this book was excellent, balancing three different perspectives and two different timelines and using them to ratchet up the tension.

Plotwise, it is the fairly straightforward tale of Father and Daughter Driven By Tragedy to Small Town with Its Own Dark Secret.

Not to say that I didn't enjoy this! I did, because Sedgwick is a master at unraveling mystery and building atmosphere.

But, well...see rating parentheses above. Maybe I read it too fast. Or I just wasn't in the right mood.

One of my main frustrations is actually a compliment: I wanted more of the characters. Rebecca, (Daughter and...heroine?), and Ferelith (Native of Small Town, and...???) are very complex, and their relationship is this weird, daredevil love/hate tangle that was a pleasure to follow.

I wanted more pages of this. Many more.

After all, Ferelith is seven different kinds of crazy, and Rebecca is hurt and confused and lonely and they have this entire creepy town to run around in -- which is, by the way, slowly falling into the ocean -- so I felt like the ending came on a bit more abruptly than it had to.

Then again, maybe I did read too fast.

So I'll waffle a star mostly on reader's error and recommend this as a gothic suspense story with highly creepy elements.

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Briony Larkin is a witch, and she'd prefer to be hanged now, if you please.

She'd rather not relive her crimes in the retelling; just believe that everything is her fault. Yes, Stepmother's injury and the stirrings in the swamp, Mucky Face attacking the parsonage and Rose being...well, Rose.

This is a twisty tale best enjoyed with little warning, so here are some of the players:
Briony Larkin, witch
Rose Larkin, twin sister
Father, the Parson
Stepmother (deceased)
Eldric, boy-man who ruins everything

The two things I loved most about this book:
1) Briony's voice
2) Briony and Eldric

The narrative voice is like nothing I've seen before; this fairytale, simple rhyme-style that takes joy in twisting words and imagery around into something far more complex. This is a book I would love to hear aloud, preferably in the evenings during a cold autumn.

Briony shines darkly in her cleverness and self-loathing, and part of the delight of this story is following the twisted paths her mind takes in her observations of herself and others. It's fascinating to see how such a keen observer can be so blind in some areas, and even if you figure things out before Briony you'll want to see how she reacts to it all.

And then there's her relationship with Eldric, which wins for Most Favorite Couple this year. There is banter! There is boxing! There is a Bad Boy's Club (in Latin)! It's beautiful to see how these two interact and by the end of it I defy you not to love them both.

You may have to invest in this one - it could take some time to get into the pace of this strange, beautiful book, but it's worth it.

Jump in! Well, don't jump, actually, because there are the Old Ones in the Swamp and the Dead Hand and you'll probably be swallowed up with or without a Bible ball...

Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars

Warning: Spoilers for White Cat!

So you may remember my raving about Holly Black's White Cat earlier on, and you can rest assured: Red Glove does not disappoint. Cassel is still his charmingly criminal self, but now he's in an even tighter spot, dealing with the fallout from the first book and trying to negotiate a treacherous relationship with Lila. Because if you can't trust yourself with the one you love, who can you trust?

But even more than Cassel's personal turmoil, I loved the expansion of the Workers' world; the politics, the controversy, the relentless chipping away of human rights in the name of 'safety'... Black does a great job of putting our heroes in the headlights of history, showing how momentous changes tend to drown the individuals who get caught up in the flood - and how these movements invade everyday life no matter how neutral you might want to stay (*cough*Cassel*cough*).

We also get to see more of Sam and Daneca, and not just as members of the Scooby Gang, which is awesome. Plus, there's Lila. Oh, you could fill a whole review with Lila, not to mention her seriously twisted relationship with Cassel.

And if I thought Black couldn't top the tension of the first book, I was wrong: we've got a dead family member, the feds, and mobsters galore, and everybody (alive) seems to want a piece of our reluctant con man. I was caught up all the way to the end - this was a compulsive read, and of course it leaves you wanting more. But not in a bitter way.

So bring it, Holly Black. I have every faith in you and this excellent series.

Rating: 3 / 5 stars.

Warning: Spoilers! Really!

First of all: I wanted to like this book. And there were many things to like! The dusty little town of Cryer's Cross, complete with one intersection and a genuine one-room schoolhouse; the determined Kendall and her relationship with her best friend Nico; the Ominous Overtones.

But the Big Bad just didn't do it for me: a desk.

Granted, an Evil Possessed Desk, but my powers of disbelief suspension only go so far. Also, I am biased due to a torturous stop-motion video assignment in my Digital Media class - in which we had the desks frolicking through the classroom in all their jerky glory. So anytime I heard Evil Desk plotting, I just kept flashing back to that stupid video. (Did I mention it had a cheery 'yatatatata' soundtrack?)

But! My biases are not everyone's, so I'll grant that the Evil Desk may have legitimate menace factor. And it says something for McMann's skill that I kept reading, because yes I did want to know what happened in the end.

On another note, I really enjoyed Kendall's perspective on her OCD - a condition that she deals with in a strong, pragmatic way, without letting it run her life. The character development was also nicely organic, with a believable transition for Jacian from Mysterious Jerk Character to Actually Decent Male Co-lead.

The ending didn't thrill me, but see above: Evil Desk Bias. Plus, I really wanted more backstory/explanation to the whole thing, and instead it's wrapped up very quickly.

Still, this has definitely gotten me interested enough in McMann to pick up some of her other works (Evil Desks Need Not Apply).

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Chloe has always been "Ruby's little sister" to everyone - even to herself. Ruby is a force of nature in their town, wild and alluring and capable of dragging anyone into her orbit. Especially Chloe knows that Ruby only has to proclaim something and It Is So -- no other explanation needed. Ruby's stories are legendary; she's even crafted an underwater town at the reservoir, the haunted remains of an old settlement that refused to relocate when the dam opened and the flood came to destroy them.

Chloe knows that Ruby has always been in control of the story; she'll be safe if she just follows her older sister.

Until Chloe follows Ruby to a party at the reservoir, and a girl turns up dead.

Chloe is sent away to her father's, far away from Ruby and their shared mother - but the memories of that dark night stay with her. She doesn't understand what really happened; somehow, she feels that London's death is tied to her.

And then, two years later, Ruby shows up to take Chloe back. Home, where something impossible and sinister is happening -- and Chloe thinks that Ruby is behind it all.

This was a deliciously creepy read, powered by the personality of the volatile, enigmatic Ruby throughout. Having Chloe narrate was a good choice, as she struggles to untangle her own identity in the wake of her sister's actions. Their familial closeness has a razor's edge - how much do we allow others to define us? How much control do we really have?

Suma's prose has a slow, dreamy quality that fits well with the story, as ugly shadows surface in the narrative and the atmosphere becomes more constricted - almost as if you were drowning.

An excellent choice if you want to venture into the darker sides of family and fate in YA fiction.

Rating: 2.5 / 5 stars

Ani is sick of being the good daughter, the polar opposite of her shameless, sex-crazed, hyperactive sister Colette. Ani may be named after a saint, and she may live in the town of miracles, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to slap her sister silly.

Still, Ani's biggest problems are manageable, such as keeping Colette from scaring away the tourists - Saintly Souvenirs is their main income, and helping their mother run the shop can be a full-time job. There's also the issue of keeping Colette from pouncing on every cute boy in sight. And the way Colette talks about sex all the time; frankly, it makes Ani squeamish. Everyone knows good Catholics are supposed to wait until marriage.

These become minor blips when a real disaster strikes the family, turning everything on its head and leaving Ani completely bewildered. What is she supposed to think when even living in the town of miracles doesn't protect you from tragedy?

There's the basic summary, and the book frankly isn't much more than that. I'm sorry to report that this one just didn't hold my interest, and not just because of the strong religious bent. Polak does acknowledge facets to faith, overtly dismantling some of the more pervasive stereotypes, but at the same time she reinforces them through Ani's shock. If people in her community were really so welcoming all along (sex is okay with protection! gays are people too!), then why is Ani so surprised when they say so? Polak wants to have it both ways: attacking prejudice without fully acknowledging it, building a false conflict that can easily be smoothed out by the end.

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh - after all, prejudice is a major hinge upon which the backstory rests - and Polak does take care to show the consequences of bigotry for individual lives. It may just be the audience level that's making this story feel too softball to me.

Mostly, the problem was a Telling Not Showing approach that turned the characters wooden and the situations dull. Ani comes across as a walking stereotype of virginal Catholicism, disgusted and embarrassed by her own bodily desires. And while she supposedly 'grows' throughout the book, I was so uninterested in her from the start that it didn't really register. Tellingly, Ani's most 'realistic' moment happens during a dream where she does all of the 'bad girl' things she's not supposed to -- and revels in every minute of it. If we had more of that Ani fighting to the surface at the beginning, then there might be some interest. Regrettably, this DreamAni doesn't show until 3/4 of the way through the book - and then DullAni wakes up.

Not much else to say about this one - it's not offensive or bad, it just didn't resonate with me. I'm willing to acknowledge that this one simply wasn't my Cup of Tea.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars

Ren Segura is the Hope of Ko; chosen at birth to lead her people into a new era, a representative of the corporation that hopes to become a global power, one of the elite in the new EarthGov.

There's just one problem: Ren's entire life is a lie.

We meet Ren, aka Jackal, on the worst day of her life, when everything she's ever known begins to crumble -- which turns out to be a perfect way to get to know her. Because Jackal is at her magnificent best under pressure, and things are only going to get worse.

I don't actually want to get into plot much, because I think the journey is an integral part of the book, with the reader sharing in Jackal's uncertainty and fear. And you will.

I tend to avoid 'adult' sci-fi because the whole 'Other' dynamic gets in the way of connecting with the characters -- I feel like I'm watching them from behind a glass, or through some slightly garbled translation. I know that part of it is due to the alien setting, and Ko is certainly different from today's world -- but there were enough similarities to keep me grounded, especially since Eskridge kept her focus on the human element. I think that is really the key to any good sci-fi: never let the shiny tech get in the way of the human heart of the story (or alien/cyborg heart, whatever). We connect to people, not computers, no matter what channels we're going through, and Jackal's experience makes this wrenchingly clear.

Eskridge's prose complements her story with a light touch, sparse without being sterile, balancing calm with sudden moments of sledgehammer force. And those moments hit hard -- this isn't a horror piece at all, but a few moments felt worse than all the zombies I've been slogging through lately. Possibly because I cared much more.

The worldbuilding is also elegantly done, with a neat trick of introducing how things work in Ko by showing characters' reactions as they start to fall apart. Plus, I'd just finished a management class and I was getting a real kick out of the 'Corporate Culture Eats the World' vibe. I was a bit hazy on the wider world workings but since my focus was on the main characters, I didn't really mind.

And what fascinating, lovely, challenging characters. My adoration goes out mainly to Jackal and Snow, but Scully and terrifying Chrichton and loon-bat-gorgeous Estar all deserve good shoutouts (and Jane, oh you are awesome!).

I'm glad that I got this book via Early Reviewers, because I honestly wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. And that would have been a shame.

Review: 4 / 5 stars

Cammie Morgan is basically invisible.

Despite being the daughter of the headmaster of Gallagher Academy, a boarding school for geniuses and other promising talent, Cammie 'the Chameleon' mostly slips by, unnoticed and unremarked.

Cammie loves this. She considers it her greatest asset, since Gallagher Academy is also a school for spies. In her world, being noticed is the first step towards being dead. And Cammie never wants to end up like her father: disappeared on a mission, body never recovered.

Cammie still wants to be a spy, despite her father's death -- after all, when your mother can disable bombs with bobby pins and runs a school for spies, there's a certain legacy to live up to. She's finally fifteen and ready to start Covert Ops field training with her friends, brainy Liz and tough-as-nails Bex. Only things aren't as easy as they seem, with the new Covert Ops teacher making pointed remarks about Cammie's father and running them all ragged...and then, Cammie gets noticed in town. By a boy. Named Josh.

This is bad.

Now Cammie's torn between two worlds, the spy world she grew up with and that weird thing called 'normal life,' and she really just wants to know if Josh is going to kiss her or blow her cover completely.

A cute, breezy read for the tween set, this belongs to the family of The Princess Diaries and other girl-teen dramas. Cammie's voice is light and easy to follow, even if she does have a fondness for excessive exclamation points. She doesn't take herself too seriously and she's a good guide to the World of Spies, letting you in on a shared secret. The pacing is brisk and the plot has enough twists to keep it interesting. Overall, a lovely antidote to the apocalyptic/brooding supernatural/cynical scion series crowding up YA fiction land.

Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Jessie doesn't have much of a face left, she's missing a fair amount of skin, her feet are black and bloated, and today her right arm fell off.

But they caught the deer anyway, so that's okay.

Jessie loves her life. Or, afterlife, I guess. She's not even really sure what to call it -- zombie is a stupid hoo term that she'd never dream of using, but undead lacks a certain flair. Her gang is called the Fly-by-Nights, so that's as close as she needs to a definition. Better than the Rat Patrol, skulking around the cities and dragging out luckless hoos for a terrified snack.

No, Jessie likes in out in the country just fine. It's peaceful, there's no maniacs with flamethrowers to worry about, the deer's good, and she has her gang with her. She's even got Joe, who has always looked out for her, right from the day she clawed her way out of the coffin.

But now things are changing -- there's a strange stink in the air and hoos are showing up all blue-tinged and wrong looking, and oh Mighty Leader Teresa's sneaking off on her own, acting more paranoid than ever. Worst of all, Joe isn't talking to her about any of it.

This is another nifty twist on zombies to add to my 'I Don't Like Zombie Stuff, But...' collection (right along with Shaun of the Dead and Feed). We've got Zombies with Stories here -- Jessie and her gang have their own language (it's all 'barg arrrgh' to the humans), along with dreams, fears, relationships and petty feuds. And they kick the snot out of each other a lot.

Jessie's a great narrator - no nonsense, sarcastic and sharp, but pulling these crazy stupid stunts for her friends so you know she really cares. She's living the end of the world, and all she wants is to keep the gang together and find a quiet spot to decay in peace.

Poor, dead Jessie.

The main thing I didn't like about this book was its tendency to draw things out. The gore I could deal with (note: eating while reading is NOT recommended), but there were several Fraught Moments where I was halfway hoping for a napalm strike to just End It Already. Overall, the story pulls through, and the atmosphere was a lovely mix of despair, decay, and defiance.

So I'd recommend checking it out, if you have a steady constitution. Hey, if the zombies are gonna take over the world, you'll definitely want Jessie on your side.

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Samantha Kingston wakes up late on Cupid Day and rushes down the stairs to meet her best friend Lindsay, barely sparing a moment to snap at her little sister before she jumps in the car. Morning greetings and coffees are exchanged; bets are made on who will get the most roses in school.

Sam's especially nervous today, since it's going to be the Big Night for her and Rob, her perfect-popular boyfriend. Her friends won't let her forget it, either; Elody is merciless, but Lindsay valiantly promises that her best friend won't die a virgin.

Fate was just waiting for that line.

Because by the end of this day, Sam will be dead.

Well, it's actually a little confusing -- she remembers the midnight rain and screaming and the skidding tires, but then her alarm is shrieking in her ears and her little sister is bouncing on her bed and Lindsay's yelling that she'd better not make her late for Cupid Day...

I'm sure someone has made this comparison before, but this book is Groundhog Day meets Mean Girls.

The first part is obvious -- Sam is caught in an endless loop of her last day on earth -- but the second bit becomes more apparent as we get to know more about Sam and her friends. Like Lindsay, who steals Sarah Grundel's parking spot and scrawls graffiti in the bathroom about Anna Cartullo and invented the infamous theme song for Juliet 'Psycho' Sykes, which they all sing whenever she comes near...

These are not nice girls.

Sam is a interesting narrator, brutally frank about the cruelties of high school even as she enjoys the perks of being on top, brushing off the 'losers' with cold efficiency. Of course, Sam has a past, and as you learn more, you may be more inclined to sympathy -- or you'll just want to smack her. It's more through Sam's repetitions of the same day, and how these experiences change her, that we get to see a real character to connect with.

The only weak point I found was the sheer length of the book -- the writing was smooth and engaging, with some poignant insights, but there just felt like one repetition too many in there. But that's no reason to avoid reading, because the whole experience is worth it.

So come along for the ride. Sam will take good care of you -- promise.

*Disclaimer: I received this as an ARC in the mail

Review: 3.5 / 5 stars

Riley Blackthorne has a pretty rough life. For one thing, she's training to become a licensed demon trapper, a profession that isn't known for pro-feminist traditions. For another, she's the daughter of Paul Blackthorne, a living legend in demon trapping circles. So there are some high stakes involved.

But Paul Blackthorne doesn't even want his daughter in the family business. Especially after his wife's death, he has an understandable objection to Riley dancing with demons. He hasn't managed to dissuade her yet, but Riley herself is getting discouraged -- there's only so much demon pee and public humiliation she can take, and botching her trappings is getting her nowhere towards fully licensed.

Still, Riley's convinced that she has all the skills, and she starts to wonder if something's standing in her way. Something besides Beck, her father's obnoxious apprentice/partner, a Southern hick who keeps needling Riley about her age, her inexperience, and oh, that little crush she used to have on him...

Turns out Riley's right. Demons are afoot, but they aren't just after her. After an attack rips her life apart, Riley has to figure out who to trust and what's really going on - and how to shake the annoying new guardian who's suddenly manifested in Beck. Oh, and there's another cute boy involved: Simon, a fellow apprentice who seems almost too golden to be true.

This book was written as a series starter, and it shows -- there's a lot of buildup and not much conclusion, with many loose ends to be resolved. This wouldn't be a problem, except that the worldbuilding was a little sparse, with not enough fully explained (why are the demons here? what are the protective properties of metal? who are these demonkillers from Rome?). There was a lot of Talking About How Things Are, but not enough Showing -- and the start of a series is the place for it.

The characters were engaging enough, but I'm going to snark at the dialogue -- we don't need to hear Beck's 'deep South' accent in every sentence, and Oliver's representation of a Scottish brogue made me cringe.

I'm reserving judgment a bit due to the obvious series-ness, but I really wanted more organic backstory and more balanced pacing in the first installment. This may really find its feet later on, but Riley hasn't trapped me yet.

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Yes, another werewolf book. But this one felt like an ideal combination of Blood and Chocolate and Raised by Wolves, in that we have a very sexual heroine who isn't afraid of being dominant and in touch with her wolfy self -- but who also is very pack-responsible and not a self-centered whiny princess (*coughViviancough*).

Calla has a lot on her plate, even for an alpha female. Not only is she betrothed to the alpha of another pack who insists on pushing the boundaries of 'friends,' she also has to deal with an annoying human boy who knows her Pack's secret...see, she sorta-accidentally saved him from being grizzly-meat in the mountains, but she shifted forms to do it. Right in front of said Boy in Peril.

Werewolf fail.

Meanwhile, uniting with the Bane pack is bringing its own set of politics, as Calla begins to realize that being an alpha mate will restrict her freedoms even further. She's grown up with the double standard that Ren, the Bane alpha, can sleep around all he likes (after all, he's a growing boy) but she must remain 'pure' for the union. But as their Samhain engagement approaches, Calla begins to question many of the 'givens' in her life -- not least being the ever-present Keepers who determine mating rules and pack orders. The lore explains that the Guardians (read: werewolves) protect the Keepers, who in turn keep the world from falling into chaos. This means that the Keepers basically rule Calla's life. But when Shay (re: Boy in Peril) shows up at her school, he starts digging into her culture and overturning all her truths.

Calla is not a happy puppy.

Shay has his own problems; he's been adopted by the Keepers, but he has no idea who they really are. And they seem to want something from him, which may be tied up in an obscure prophecy and a tattoo on Shay's neck that only Calla can see.

Oh, and if anyone finds out that Shay knows about Calla and the Keepers,* they're all dead.

Got it?

The best thing about this book is its fullness, in character and scope. All of the characters are nicely rounded, even Ren, who makes for a compelling male lead in his own right, instead of just The Other One in a typical love triangle. You'll like Calla's packmates, who are fighting their own battles of self-determination and getting caught up in romance (Mason and Neville, you have my vote). And Shay? Well, I've gotta love a boy who breaks into private libraries and approaches Peril with Research.

This isn't Anna Karenina, but it's impressively complex for a YA werewolf offering. And if the prose sometimes dips into the lust sparklefest zone, Cremer cuts in nicely with some self-deprecating humor. However, a warning: there is a major cliffhanger ending. It is painful. But it does seem to be planned instead of randomly tossed in, so that means I have to wait (curse you, series!) until the next installment in July.

---

*I've just realized that would be an awesome band name.

Rating: Four zombie bunnies and a ninja midget

So this book was full of crazy. Just, crazy everywhere. Not only do we have a protagonist who hears voices and hallucinates (all well and good), but she runs away to track down her mother who is arguably crazier than her and lives in a town that makes said Nutty Protagonist look plain-vanilla sane.

Did I mention the talking swan dolls and monsters in the windows and ghosts in the classrooms and the copious amounts of blood?

It makes for an interesting setup, since you're not quite sure how much of Hanna's experiences are a result of her own lack-of-pills reaction or the actual wackiness of Potero, Texas. But hey, why fight over the origins? There is plenty of crazy to go around. And as long as you go with it, you'll probably be fine. Or eaten. Whichever.

Hanna herself is a troubling character -- bipolar schizophrenic really doesn't begin to describe her. She has this terrifying capacity for both intense empathy and total disconnection that means you'll be feeling kind of sorry for her and then she'll go and bash someone's head in. Which leaves you as reader pretty conflicted most of the time, unless you decide to just go with it (see above).

But Hanna is nothing compared to her mother. Rosalee has this mythic status as Queen Badass in the Ultimate Town of Crazy, and she is not pleased to see her daughter. Hanna is determined to make her mother love her (also some disturbing implications here) and as Rosalee is completely lacking in a maternal instinct, has little self-control and possibly no conscience, this quickly gets messy.

And then Hanna goes to school.

There are monsters at school. And ghosts, and other weird stuff, and pretty much everyone is betting on Hanna getting mauled/devoured in the first week. This is high school angst with rabies, and you end up pretty grateful to have a crazy protagonist since anybody else would be lunch by now. But Hanna has wiles and guts and quickly settles on the speediest way to assimilate: snag the most popular boy in school, Wyatt. Who may actually be a bit of a monster himself.

This gets messy, too.

What I loved most about this book was actually the manic mixture of cultures; Hanna is biracial, speaks Finnish, cooks blood pancakes, and has absolutely no inhibitions about failing to fit in. Wyatt, lovely demon-hunter boy, takes this in stride and approaches Hanna on her own baffling terms, which is part of what makes their relationship interesting.

I was not particularly fond of the gore (there is gore galore), but the overall twisty, squishy fun (?) of this book made it worth a few showers of entrails. Not recommended for the queasy and not a tranquil read, but for those who'd like a bath of crazy: jump in!

Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

What happens when two hipsters fall in love? Over the holidays, no less?

Well, they probably get an awesome soundtrack.

This book was described by one reviewer as "a light, frothy, hot-chocolate read," and I agree on all points: warming, almost cloyingly sweet, and very little nutritional content.

But also fun, if you are in the mood to be pleased. And I was. However, if you are tipping towards the cynical side of life, you should probably steer clear. When I started reading, I had a moment of doubt: will I want to kill these characters within a few chapters? And I can see where word-nerd Dash and the improbably-upbeat Lily could drive you to violence. But the alternating POV's helped, and so did the fact that I was reading in small doses (Note: Do not chug the hot chocolate).

So, the premise: Dash is prowling the stacks in the Strand, that holy temple of bibliophiles, when he comes across a mysterious red Moleskin notebook tucked among his beloved Salinger novels.*

The notebook has a secret message that requires a word hunt through the Strand**; once he's decoded the message, Dash has a decision to make. Does he want to accept the mysterious Lily's invitation to play? Does he want to up the ante with a set of dares himself?

Of course he does.

Hijinks ensue in the grand city of New York, and it's best to sit back and enjoy the madcap zaniness that you've signed up for. Just don't think too hard!


*This is where I became Gravely Concerned.
**This is where I decided to keep reading, because I am a sucker for wordplay.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars

Quick clarification: Bryn was actually raised by werewolves. This causes no small amount of confusion in her life, since it's a bit easier to tell yourself apart from your wolfish siblings when you are the only one minus fangs and fur. But when your best werewolf friend and pack brother Devon has better fashion sense than you, it's trickier to draw the line between human and wolf.

Not to mention the Pack bond, a sort of psychic Twitter feed of werewolf emotion, which Bryn has done her very best to shut down since she was four years old.

Ever since the Rabid murdered her family, and she was adopted into the Stone River Pack.

So thanks to her upbringing, Bryn tends to growl a bit more than normal girls. Her social life at school is somewhat lacking. But she has plenty of Pack drama to make up for it. Not least is sparring with Callum, the Alpha who saved her. Think your home life is tough? Try dealing with a dominant male wolf who's upset about your algebra grades and wants you home every night before dusk.

This is just a fun, fast read overall. Bryn is delightfully pragmatic, so even when she's rushing off to Do Stupid Things, she knows that they are ill-advised and there will be consequences. And then she deals with the consequences, foreseen and otherwise.

But mostly, this book is about Pack. Which also means family. Because what lots of werewolf stories ignore is the wolf aspect -- wolves are naturally pack animals. The lone wolf is not a happy puppy, because wolves are drawn to each other, as mates and friends and rivals. Just like humans.

There is even Romance! Well done, with a side of mysterious, and yes, Chase is fascinating in his own right. He doesn't turn all Dominant Male in the relationship (of course, Bryn won't let him) and I'd be happy to see another novel from his perspective.

The only regret you may have from this book is that there isn't another one immediately to follow up. But don't let that stop you - Raised by Wolves is too good to miss.

Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Nimira grew up in a world of lush gardens, court intrigue, and the luxury of the palace. But after her mother's death and her father's debts, she finds herself on a dingy stage, singing the ballads of her homeland to a rabble of commoners who see her as an exotic sideshow. A trousergirl.

Not exactly what she had dreamed of, growing up.

However, Nim is resilient and determined, and she keeps her eyes fixed on her goal. Even if she could never compare to her own mother's brilliant performances, Nim wants to make a name for herself. She wants to earn true respect for her art, and make her audience recognize her as more than just a novelty.

Trouble is, Nim's career seems to have stalled. Until a Mysterious Gentleman appears in her audience and offers her a new job: singing accompaniment to a fairy-made automaton, to an audience of Lorinar's upper set.

There are a few problems with this scenario. For one, Nim isn't all sure that she wants to put herself in the hands of a stranger, having so little legal and financial protection herself, to become basically another set-piece to an exotic show -- the Machine and the Heathen. For another, Mr. Parry is said to have a tragic past, including a dead wife.

For a third thing, the automaton is said to be haunted.

Nim says yes anyway, and then things get complicated.

I enjoyed this book, especially for how Nim managed to maintain her autonomy and Get Things Done -- not by rebelling against her limited position and smashing things up, but by working within her constraints. This showed control and strength of character far more impressive than a "can't hold me down" tantrum ever would (not to mention: far more effective).

It was a bit sparse on supporting character details, and the world-building is not done, but I expect that shall be covered in later installments. There must, of course, be later installments. I'd have liked more solid character building and setting work, but you can't help but love and admire Nim.

So, I may be tepid on the overall book, but I am Team Nim all the way.

Rating: 5 / 5 stars.

Gemma doesn't understand why Ty chose her; picked her out in the airport coffee shop with his piercing blue eyes, drew her close, and swept her away.

It soon becomes clear, though, that he has planned this out carefully. The wig, the fake I.D., the drugs.

Ty didn't just kidnap her on a whim.

This book is brutal and stark and utterly beautiful, just like the Australian outback where Ty takes Gemma. He tells her there is no one else; he tells her that this place isn't on any maps. And if this could be true anyplace on Earth, it would be Australia. There are no roads. No telephone lines, no airplanes, no people -- just the sand and the sun and the endless sky.

The setting is a palpable force in the narrative, woven into the structure and the atmosphere and the characters themselves, and that is part of what makes this often grueling story not just bearable, but compelling. Christopher won't let you disconnect from this world; you are drawn towards both characters, Ty and Gemma both, fighting to survive in a harsh landscape that strips everything down to the bare roots. The second-person narration, which I usually find gimmicky, is intimate and claustrophobic and heartbreaking here.

I don't want to spoil anything more about this book, so I'll just say that Stolen is pitch-perfect, and you may never be prepared to read it, but you should anyway. Trust me.

Rating: 3 / 5 stars

Aura sees ghosts -- but so do a lot of kids her age. In fact, everyone born after the Shift can, which means people sixteen and under are constantly being pestered by the restless spirits of the not-so-departed. Which, of course, their parents and elders can neither hear nor see.

Talk about a generation gap.

Aura's aunt is one of the few 'adults' who could see spirits before the Shift, so she can sympathize with the constant pestering. Then again, she's built an entire career on the new vociferous status of the dead, creating a legal practice for ghosts to air grievances and settle unfinished business -- in court. Apparently, something about a lawsuit can bring most ghosts the closure necessary to move on.

In the meantime, most kids born post-Shift wear lots of red (a color that seems to repel ghosts) and try to ignore the spirits crowding around them.

Aura works in her aunt's office, taking notes and testifying for clients on the stand (it's a well-known fact that the dead cannot lie), but she tries to keep this part of her life from getting in the way of her real loves -- like her amazing musician boyfriend Logan, who is one gig away from breaking into the record industry and launching his Irish rock band into the big time.

While she knows that Logan loves her, Aura is terrified of losing him to the seductive world of rock stardom -- so for the night of the concert and his birthday, Aura is making some special preparations of her own.

She never expected the night to end this way: Logan's body down the hall, while Aura stands in his bedroom, staring at his violet-hazed spirit.

Her boyfriend is dead, but definitely not gone.

Logan's family wants him to move on. Aura's aunt wants her to testify in court about his death. But Logan still loves her, and Aura can't bear to lose him twice.

At the same time, Aura is being plagued in other areas of her life. She's working on a research project about prehistoric monuments (think Stonehenge and other cool places) which she suspects holds the key to the reasons behind the Shift -- and she is suddenly saddled with a class partner, an improbably attractive Scottish boy who is disconcertingly good at flirting.

Aura feels disloyal, but at the same time, what future can she have with a dead boyfriend? And who the hell is this Zachary anyway?

A good solid read, with a nice touch on the love-triangle aspect -- this could have been a disaster, but Smith-Ready handles a tangled emotional mess with the right amount of sensitivity, showing Aura caught in the in-between of grieving and moving on, holding on to who she loves and yet and needing more...

The only quibble I had was with the world-building -- great concept, but not nearly enough about the Shift and its implications. This is probably the build-up to the sequel, when things will really get moving, so we'll have to see. In the meantime, I'd recommend this for as a slightly spooky, romantic Halloween treat.

Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

If you're a vampire, hag, werewolf or faerie, you should probably stay away from Evie, because a) she can see right through your glamours and b) she has a taser.

It is pink, sparkly, and she calls it Tasey.

Avoiding Evie is going to be difficult, though, because she's a member of the International Paranormal Containment Agency, and her job -- actually, her whole life -- is about tracking down otherworldly creatures and neutralizing them. Which means a quick jolt from Tasey, clamping an anklet on the unlucky creature, and then reading them their rights.

For the hapless hag or vampire, this basically amounts to: stop eating people, or the anklet will trigger a lethal dose of electricity, holy water, silver, or what-have-you.

Most of the people Evie meets on the job aren't that happy to see her. Or count as people, exactly.

For a teenage girl, it's not an ideal life, but Evie has her best friend mermaid Lish and seasons of Easton Heights, her all-time favorite teen soap, back at the Center. And Raquel, her boss, is even kind of the mother Evie never had, in a disapproving-sighing way.

But then something starts killing off paranormals, and Evie runs into a boy who's even stranger than she is, and he seems to know something about what's going on, while hinting that the IPCA isn't maybe the awesome organization it pretends to be...

I liked this book as a light read, and it's all due to Evie. She's just irrepressible, and her natural optimism and friendliness somehow didn't come off as annoying or stupid or both, which is impressive. She even almost made me forgive her ridiculous love of pink. Almost.

I only had two real issues: the 'love triangle' setup that the marketing copy seemed to be pushing, and the lack of explanation on Evie's past. [Warning: mildly spoilerish]

I do not mind The Romance. The boy that Evie is Meant to Be With has many lovely qualities and is quite swoon-worthy in his way. The Other One is, frankly, abusive.

Okay, so he's a faerie, and they are typically uninterested in petty mortal things like morals. Reth has his own agenda, and that's all that matters to him, and that's fine. Essential to the plot, etc. -- I get it. But no way should anyone be portraying his actions towards Evie as anything romantic. Just no. The whole interaction is the picture of an abusive relationship, even to the part where Evie gets told she's "overreacting."

I nearly threw the book across the room. I realize this may be my personal issue. But I have to believe that there was no thought in the author's mind of Reth being a serious contender for Evie's affections, and the plot, thankfully, bears this out.

The other issue was just a case of "I want more!" whenever it came to Evie's background or the faeries or the various prophecies swirling around. The book may have been trying for mysterious, but the overall effect was frustrating. Perhaps a sequel in the works?

Excellent pick-me-up read if you'd like to hang out with Evie (and you will).

Rating: 5 / 5 stars, plus AWE

My eternal gratitude goes to the young woman at the ALA conference who convinced me to pick up this book and take it home with me. Where it shall now stay.

Andi Alpers is in Hell. Her brother is dead, her mother is insane, and she is about to be expelled from her prestigious prep school in Brooklyn. At this point, Andi really couldn't care less. The pills and her music are the only things keeping her here, but she's slipping further every day...

Until her famous geneticist father gets wind of her impending expulsion and drags her off to Paris to finish her senior thesis. Desperate to get home, Andi throws herself into her research, a project on the musical 'genetics' of Amadé Malherbeau, a 19th century French musician who composed the mysteriously-titled "Fireworks Concerto."

Andi just wants to get back to Brooklyn. She doesn't care about her father's controversial project: testing an ancient preserved heart that may have belonged to the son of the late Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette -- a little boy who saw his world crumble during the Revolution. But then Andi finds a beautifully-preserved guitar among the collection of artifacts. And inside the guitar case, she finds a hidden compartment with what seems to be a diary...

Trust me, this book is so much more than its plotline, although Donnelly does a flawless job of weaving two narratives together, as Andi reads the account of a girl her age during the Revolution -- Alexandrine Paradis is a street performer with aspirations to the stage, but she finds herself drawn into roles she cannot control as her countrymen tear each other to pieces. Until there is nothing left in her but the drive for one mission; this girl, who watched her world burn and her people close their eyes, becomes determined to set the skies on fire.

I loved how much of the story was interlaced with music, and its power to express when words fail us. And even though I'm not a total music nerd like Andi, she made me appreciate the complexity of the musical tradition, how musicians draw from each other and leave their legacies, so that even today a rock star can carry echoes of Beethoven in one haunting chord.

Really, this book is full of beauty as it circles around one ultimate question: Why? In a world choked with madness, cruelty, grief, fury, and despair, rolling endlessly along the iron rails of History -- why bother? Why try? Why even dare to hope?

Read this book. It may not stay with you in the same way; it may not change you or the way you see the world, even slightly.

But I doubt it.