Ripple

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard
Razorbill, 2011
260 pages
YA; Paranormal
3.5/5 stars

Source: Library

I've had mixed experiences with Hubbard's previous books Prada and Prejudice and You Wish so I was a bit leery of this. However lured by the beautiful cover and Mimi Valentine's endorsement, I decided to take the plunge into this book.  I ended with mixed feelings, some things really pleased me but I thought that others didn't work.

What I loved was the idea of incorporating sirens into contemporary YA. Lexi is a siren whose family has been cursed for generations; on her sixteenth birthday, she called the boy she loved into the ocean and drowned him without being aware of what she was doing. My favorite part though was the romance between Cole and Lexi. She is unable to trust anyone and yet he wants to be the one she lets in. They were so cute together and Cole was super swoonworthy as he tried to get to know her and help her get over her guilt.  I also liked her commitment to protecting her grandmother-I'm big on family relationships.

But he couldn't quite overcome the things I didn't like. Namely the long stretch where nothing paranormal was happening; it was just Lexi complaining about high school cliques and vacillating between sadness at being an outcast and determination that she had to be an outcast in order to protect people from finding out her secret and dying. She was SO annoying and wishy-washy.

The other part I didn't like was the emergence of the villain. It was patently obvious who the villain was because who else would it be? He appeared late and his evil motivation unraveled fast, a little too fast but then I'm glad it wasn't drawn out.  Happily this is a standalone and I don't think that anything else needed to be added; I was satisfied with the ending.

Overall: Not quite as satisfying as I wanted but there were some good things.

Prada and Prejudice

Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
Razorbill, 2009
328 pages
YA; Time-Travel
2/5 stars

Source: Library

I was really excited about this book but in the end I felt way too old for the characters and misled by the title. Main character Callie is young, self-conscious, and has been made an outcast by the popular crowd. Now I think you're supposed to feel sorry for Callie because she only has one friend. But maybe she only has one friend because she gossips about people behind their backs-I certainly wouldn't want to be her friend! Then she decides to buy an expensive pair of Prada shoes in order to get in good with the in-crowd while on a school trip to London.

Then seconds after walking out the store in the shoes, she trips and wakes up in a forest. Turns out she has traveled back to 1815...into a world of lords and ladies, servants, and corsets.  Now I'm willing to accept the time travel but there were so many other things that I felt Callie ought to have known. For example, dukes are referred to as "Your Grace." Has she not seen Cinderella? Or read any historical fiction? She doesn't understand any etiquette (of course this is a girl who gossips behind people's back so...) and she makes so many gaffes that had me banging my head against the wall. Now admittedly I am a long-time reader of Regency romance and historical fiction, which has certainly helped with my understanding of behavior and decorum for the times. But Callie seemed to have no understanding of how things change over time and the fact that she may have to moderate her behavior.

Did I applaud her stands for woman's equality? Yes. Did I love the scientific facts she dropped on the unsuspecting crowd? Yes. Did I like how she unconditionally supported her newfound friend? Yes. But I kept thinking she was a moron and needless to say that really detracted from the story.

One other annoyance was the title which hints at a much stronger resemblance to Pride and Prejudice than I received. The setting is similar although I think Austen's work is supposed to be set a little earlier. Another similarity is her meeting with an incredibly arrogant guy who it turns out is very upstanding and honorable, a la Darcy.  Her first impression of him was wrong.  But while I liked this guy Alex, Callie is no Lizzie.  Happily she has some character growth but I don't think she had enough sense smacked into her by her time travel.

Overall: May be a better fit for a middle-grade reader as this is very clean and there are some wacky hijinks.

You Wish

You Wish by Mandy Hubbard
Razorbill, 2010
284 pages
YA; Contemporary; Supernatural
3.5/5 stars

Source: Library

For Kayla's 16th birthday, her mother throws her an unwanted birthday bash with pink galore.  Her best friend Nicole had let her down and she was secretly in love with Nicole's boyfriend Ben. As she blows out the candles, she wishes that her birthday wishes would come true.  The next morning, she finds a pink pony; the next day a year's supply of gumballs; the next day Raggedy Ann comes to life.  But Kayla must stop this because when she turned fifteen, she wished for Ben to kiss her.

WARNING: SPOILERS!

I remember getting so excited about this book last year with its adorable pink color and cute concept.  However I am less enthusiastic about the final result.  Kayla is so cynical and it was a bit unpleasant being in her head.  Like many YA females, she is unpopular but content with her one friend Nicole, a similarly unpopular girl who nonetheless is still hoping for popularity.  Nicole's radical transformation in appearance causes a certain bewilderment in Kayla and their different goals causes some splintering in their relationship.  About one-third through the book, I really hoped this wouldn't be a book where the one girl ends up with her best friend's boyfriend at the end.  Now the situation is not as cliched as that because Nicole gives her blessing for Kayla and Ben but I couldn't cheer for them because of how much Kayla had wanted him while they were dating.  I wasn't very pleased with this segment.

However the wishes were cute.  Raggedy Ann and a Ken doll come to life leading to Kayla re-evaluating her life based on their simplicity and optimism (also leading to some match-making).  Her childhood wishes force her to confront the cynicism that overhangs her present life and to radically alter her attitude and outlook on life.  I was pleased with this.

The other segment was Kayla's home life.  Her father left them when she was quite young (also connects with some wishes) causing her mother to become a workaholic and her brother Chase and her to harbor some serious resentments.  Through the wishes, Kayla becomes at peace with her father's (bonehead) decision to ignore his family and to work on strengthening the relationships with the family that remains.  I love YA stories with strong family bonds (they ring true to me because that's how my family is) so this was a plus to me.

Overall: Kayla's wishes provide some extraordinary comedic moments but I found her general attitude off-putting. I'm glad that she grows but that growth took too long for me to raise my rating.

Cover: I love the pink but I think many people would be turned off by the pink even if they would actually enjoy the story (I know my sister would hate this cover although I'm not sure how she'd feel about the story itself as she tends to like darker books.)