ARC Review: Panic

by Lauren Oliver
3/5 stars
Harper, 2014
416 pages
YA Contemporary Suspense
Scheduled to release March 4

Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Another tricky review to write. This was a flowing read that kept me engaged but didn't demand my attention when I had to put it down. I think I spent one whole day not reading it and didn't mind. So that gives you some insight into how I felt. When I love a book, I can barely put it down and I push other things in my life aside just to luxuriate in the world a little bit longer. And that was just not the case here.

In this book, we have the alternating perspectives of Heather and Dodge, two recent high school graduates in the town of Carp who embark on the game Panic, a tradition for the summer after high school. The high stakes jackpot draws the attention of all but the increasing danger also attracts adult attention to prevent the tragedies of previous years. Still determined youngsters with few prospects are dogged and will see the game through to the bitter end.

I guess there were several problems for me with this book, which can be summed up simply: characters, plot, and the end. These are all pretty big problems to have with a book so I think you can see why I was less than impressed.

First are the characters. Heather and Dodge are not particularly close but as participants in Panic (and with him having a crush on her best friend Natalie), their paths soon cross. I didn't have any specific problems with either but we never clicked. I always felt very distanced even though both have reasons for me to feel sympathetic toward them. Even now as I write, I have no strong opinions about them. They're practically ciphers to me. If you've read my blog for a while, you may know that I tend to have a very strong reaction to depictions of the relationship between sisters. So when I tell you that Heather is a protective older sister and it still didn't register with me may give you some insight into how little I cared for these characters.

The second element is the plot. I have no problem with this game of Panic overtaking the young people of this small town. But I do wonder about the adults that so many didn't seem to care what was going on despite tragedies in previous years and the fact that knowledge about it seemed to be disseminated pretty easily. I feel like more adults could have stepped in to stop the game.

Now don't worry, I'm not going to spoil the end, or at least I hope not. I thought the book was building to a big explosive finish but I thought it ended more with a whimper. Am I glad there was some optimism to end since there are many down moments in the book? Yes but it wasn't very exciting nor was it quite what I was expecting.

So that's how I feel about Panic-what about you? Have you read this yet? Are you looking forward to the newest release from Oliver (keep in mind I did not like her Delirium trilogy so this might still please fans of that series.)

The Spindlers

The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver
4/5 stars
Harper, 2012
246 pages
MG Fantasy Adventure

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Oliver's first middle-grade book, Liesl & Po, in fact, it was one of my top reads of 2011 so I entered this with pretty high expectations. It would have been difficult to meet those expectations and unfortunately The Spindlers did not. Still it was a fun jaunt.

One morning Liza wakes up and discovers that her brother, despite all appearances, is not her brother anymore. No, he wasn't taken by faeries as is sometimes the case but by the titular spindlers, evil spiderlike beings. Although Patrick can drive Liza crazy, he is still her brother and she bravely ventures Below to recover his soul after her parents refuse to believe the truth of what she says about his abduction. Once there she meets a rat and other creatures on her way to the confrontation.

If you think that summary sounds pretty familiar, well, you're right. I know I've read stories with this same basic plotline before and I'm sure I'll read more. Yes, the specific creatures, settings, and descriptions are different but the story follows very predictable beats if you've read other quest fantasy stories like this. I mean, I liked everything that was happening but nothing really stood out to help keep this story in my mind for years to come, especially when I compare it to my love for Liesl & Po.

I also had a question about something; in my ARC, on page 16, it says, "Spindlers were not like regular spiders. They had six legs, of course..."  If spindlers are supposed to be like spiders, shouldn't they have eight legs? This statement is repeated later in the book despite the picture on the cover of an actual spider with eight legs. Does anyone have a finished copy who can confirm if this was fixed or if it was intended to be six legs. That really bothered me because it's such a simple fact. If they're like spiders, then they should have eight. If they're more like an insect, then they can have six.

Cover: Liza definitely looks her age and this feels more like a MG than YA cover so I'm glad that is accurate although Oliver's name will probably draw some crossover like it did for me.

Liesl and Po

Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver
Harper, 2011
307 pages
Middle-Grade; Fantasy
5/5 stars

Source: Received an ARC from Amazon's Vine program in exchange for an honest review.

Before I Fall was one of my favorite books last year and while Delirium didn't quite work for me, I remain enchanted with Oliver's writing and I wanted to give her third book a shot, especially as it is the middle-grade category.

Liesl is the main character, a young girl living imprisoned in an attic by her evil stepmother who murdered her father. Soon she meets Po and Bundle, ghosts from the Other Side. Their paths are entangled when Will, an alchemist's apprentice, accidentally switches wooden boxes containing on the one hand, the most powerful magic ever and on the other hand the ashes of Liesl's dead father. When Liesl escapes to fulfill her father's final wish of having his ashes scattered by their old house, the plot kicks into high gear with various adult characters chasing after her.

My favorite part of the book was how the different characters and their wishes and schemes were first introduced and then became entwined. It always makes me think of Dickens, except in this case the prose is more manageable and less long-winded! There's the high-handed Lady Premiere and the scheming Stepmother, both mean social-climbers who are exposed and thwarted through their greed in following Liesl. But there's also the kindhearted guard Mo, who loves hot chocolate and cats (my kind of guy!)

I was also really excited about this being a middle-grade novel because it probably meant less romance, which was true! Although there is love in this book, it is familial and totally heart-warming. Friendships are fostered, good is saved, and evil is punished in appropriate ways.

As I look over what I have written, I realize that I have mostly neglected talking about the ghosts Po and Bundle. As they have been on the Other Side for a long time now, their earthly form has dissolved such that gender and species is difficult to discern; thus Po is referred to as it and Bundle might be a dog or a cat-we don't know and it doesn't matter. Because they are invisible to most (but not to Liesl), they are incredibly useful as guards and spies in assisting Liesl on her mission. But honestly I was more into seeing the wicked adults be punished so they weren't my favorite part.

Overall: A magical experience with sweet main characters, a fast-moving plot, and an easy writing style.

Delirium

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Harper, 2011
303 pages
Ebook Challenge
3.5/5 stars

Source: Uncorrected eproof from Netgalley

Summary: People used to think that love was a good thing, not realizing that their headaches, knee pains, strokes, etc were usually caused by love.  Now the situation is better because there's a cure, administered at the age of eighteen.  Lena cannot wait for the cure.  Her mother suffered from love all her life before dying and Lena wants the cure in order to become normal, calm, and dignified.  But just weeks before her scheduled treatment, her best friend starts acting oddly and she meets a boy with whom she actually falls in love.

Thoughts: There's been a lot of buzz in the blogosphere about this book and it's obvious why.  Oliver's first book Before I Fall was a critical smash and she continues her beautiful writing in Delirium.  However I was much less pleased with this book.

First it turns out that it is supposed to serve as the first book in a trilogy; I had thought it would be a standalone like Before I Fall.  Thus Oliver spends a lot of time creating the world and it is boring.  I kept waiting for something to happen and interest me in the story.  Then things do happen but I was pretty annoyed with Lena by that point.  I did not want to read about how good looking she found Alex, how nervous she was about what she was doing, and my personal breaking point was about halfway through when she sneaked out of the house, supposedly to go warn her friend out about regulators seeking the uncured after curfew.  I didn't believe Lena's rationale that she had to leave and I thought she was a complete idiot for doing so.

As the story progresses, it unfolds like many dystopians that I've read with the main character slowly coming to the realization that the government is manipulating people, is doing wrong, etc, etc.  I may be a bit tired of dystopians and am plunging into some more mysteries and contemporary in the foreseeable future.

However I do still like Oliver's writing, it's absolutely beautiful, and the ending was very shocking to me.

SPOILERS:
1. Super sad part: Lena comes across a dog that was shot by the regulators and is dying in the street-the saddest part of the book as far as I'm concerned.
2. Ending: Alex dies and I'm not sure I want to read the sequels without him in them, even though I did get tired of Lena gushing about his stupid eye color.

Someone else who reviewed this book with similar feelings to me (but who wrote about it better) is Small Review.

Overall: A very slow dystopian that some people might find more rewarding than I did.

Cover: I don't like this cover very much; I do think the blue is pretty and the basic concept could be used for all three books but it's not attractive to me.  If I hadn't read Before I Fall or hadn't been a part of the YA blogosphere, I probably would not have read it.

Out today in stores! Links for more info:
Goodreads.com
Bookdepository.com
Barnes and Noble
amazon.com

Before I Fall

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

HarperTeen, 2010

470 pages

YA; Contemporary; Supernatural

4.5/5 stars

Source: Library

Summary: Sam is reliving the last day of her life, seven times.  She has the opportunity to rethink the way she's treated her friends, her former friends, her boyfriend, her family, and her classmates.  Every small change affects her last hours and reveals how much power she has.

Thoughts: As I read this, I was reminded of Help! I'm Trapped in the First Day of School by Todd Strasser, which I loved in elementary school.  They have very similar premises in that the main character repeats one day, examines his/her friends and popularity choices, and sibling relationships.  The main differences being that Jake's death didn't precipitate the repetition and it's meant for MG so is shorter and absolutely clean.

At first I didn't like Sam; she's so image obsessed and she and her friends are mean-to each other and to everyone around them.  But as Sam repeats the day, she starts thinking more about other people and seeing how she has influenced people negatively.  She starts being nicer to her parents and her younger sister.  She tries to change the popularity status quo at her school.  The story itself was fairly predictable although the Spoiler explains a part I didn't expect.  At first she goes wild, doing absolutely out-of-character things and pissing everyone off.  Then she blows off school and hangs out with her sister Izzy all day (Loved this) and then she tries to figure out why she has this opportunity to relive the day.

Spoiler: I did not like the end-I didn't want her to die!  I thought the changes she made would save her.  Poor Izzy (her sister) and Kent (her former best friend and new crush after she dumps her loser boyfriend)!

Warning: Language, Drug Use, and Sexual Situations but nothing too graphic.

Overall: Outstanding debut!  I already have Oliver's Delirium queued on netgalley so expect that sometime next year.

Cover: I actually am not a big fan of the cover and found it creepy; that's part of the reason that it took me so long to get around to reading it-because I didn't want to buy a book with some creepy girl staring at me.