White Space

by Ilsa J. Bick
2/5 stars
Egmont USA, 2014
550 pages
YA Horror Fantastical

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

I have read several Bick novels and appreciated how they were challenging unique titles that tackled topics not frequently seen in YA and didn't follow a cookie cutter mold. So while I knew to expect something out of the norm when picking up this latest release, I didn't really have any way to prepare myself for what was to come.

The book was very confusing in the beginning, purposefully so as we are introduced to a wide assortment of characters and their connections are not immediately obvious. As the book progresses, their narratives start to overlap and some things begin to make sense. Luckily the characters themselves explain a lot instead of just leaving it up the reader. If I had to piece together everything on my own, I would have understood far less. As it stands though, I spent much of the book confused and, because this is first in a series, I am still left puzzled by some aspects albeit with zero interest in continuing the series to find out more.

At this time in my life, it was a struggle to read this massive book with all of its meandering passages and seemingly unconnected plotlines. It did move faster as I got further in to the book but my attention span was not well suited for this story. Another hindrance for me was the extended horrific imagery. Some terrifying things happen in this book and Bick does not stint on the details. There is oozing and creatures of the dark and of the mind. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to sleep tonight but if not, I know what will be causing my nightmares!

Still I can point out some of its virtues. Generically it is very meta, looking at the nature of stories, writing, and characters. I can't provide any concrete examples for this because they might end up being spoilers so you will just have to trust me. Specifically it seemed to reference other works of literature, primarily HP Lovecraft, Charles Dickens, and Sylvia Plath. I am only familiar with Dickens so I'm not sure I got the full benefit of these allusions. In general the writing was more literary than my usual taste but that will be a good thing for some readers. And as I referenced above, it is quite unlike the YA I usually read and see around the blogosphere. These positives were not quite able to outweigh my early confusion and its horror genre but I can see there being a passionate audience for it.

Recommended: for the ambitious reader, well-versed in literature; the lover of horror stories; the patient reader who is in it for the long haul.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

by April Genevieve Tucholke
3.5/5 stars
Dial, 2013
360 pages
YA Fantastical Horror

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

My favorite covers tend to have pretty dresses on them (see Wither for example) but something about the font for this one immediately caught my interest and had me positively salivating for its release. I'm so glad I've finally had the chance to pick it up!

Now that I've finished, I'm of two opinions. On the one hand, I loved the writing. I found it absolutely atmospheric and arresting, nearly impossible to put down. But I hated the characters and the fact that the plot felt pretty aimless for the majority of the book before ratcheting up the horror.

Violet and her twin brother Luke live in a falling apart mansion unsupervised while their parents pursue their art abroad. Desperate for some cash, she advertises for a renter and soon enough along comes the charming River West. Coinciding with his arrival are some strange occurrences, ones that have Violet mistrusting her senses as River seems to possess extraordinary powers of persuasion. But he's not the only devil in town...

We'll start with the good, which was the beautiful writing. I found myself completely sucked in and nearly incapable of putting the book down for long. I'd set it down after a chapter, intending to do something else but kept finding myself drawn back to find out what would happen next. BUT then we reach a plot twist that would be a spoiler that led to me thinking what was the point?! We were all set up to believe one thing and then that is taken away and twisted. True, that is the point when things really start getting horrifying and really had me clutching my pearls but it also negated a lot of the information that had previously been shared with us. And not in a way that had me doubting the reliability of the narrator, which was already shaky; rather it is in a way that left me upset with the author for this poor contrivance.

Moving on to the distinctly negative, I didn't feel much of anything for any of the characters and when I did, it was anger with them. I never got much of a feel for Violet outside of her relationship with River, Luke is so disgusting with his machismo, and their neighbor/friend Sunshine seemed to be entirely defined by her sexuality without being allowed a brain. River's manipulation rubbed me the wrong way and obviously I hated that other character who shows up.

Overall: Beautiful writing with some truly horrific events, the writing about which only drives home their horror but with poor characters leading the way. I'm still inclined to check out the second book in this two-part series if only to see if the characters can be deepened and redeemed enough for me to care.

Other Opinions: Again my blogging friends had a lot of thoughts, here are just a few
A Reader of Fictions
Candace's Book Blog
In Bed With Books
Jen Ryland/YA Romantics
The Book Swarm
The Flyleaf Review

ARC Review: Engines of the Broken World

Engines of the Broken World by Jason Vanhee
2/5 stars
Henry Holt and Company, 2013
262 pages
YA Horror
Scheduled to release November 5

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not entirely sure why I decided to give this a read as I'm normally someone who assiduously avoids horror, being quite the scaredy cat. But I must have seen something intriguing to get it on my review calendar.

The book was very hard to get into and I found the plot a bit difficult to follow. Merciful and her brother Gospel Truth have just seen their mother die. As the world ends, they say goodbye to their two remaining neighbors, wrestle with the Minister, a preacher in animal form, and deal with the fact that their dead mother's body still seems to be moving around singing a haunting lullaby.

In fact the mother's body seems to be possessed by someone else and that is where my difficulty lies as I became confused about the rules of the possession. There also is a deadly fog and the disintegration and depopulation of earth so that only these four people are left alive (and not all of them even make it to the end.) So I would also classify this as a darker book, not just as in the horror genre but also for the themes it brings up and wrestles with. I think there were supposed to be some questions about faith and God especially in a Christian context but though I am Christian, I didn't really follow these conversations. I really did find the writing style confusing and distancing.

Well, what about the characters? They're okay-I don't see many unique personality traits to distinguish them among the sea of other characters I've read so don't go looking here for a character-driven narrative. I feel like this one is maybe a bit more philosophical, which may be another reason for my distaste.

Overall I respect what this book is doing and its very different writing style and subject matter; however it is very much not my kind of book and I did not enjoy reading it nor would I recommend it to people with similar reading taste.

Asylum

Asylum by Madeleine Roux
4/5 stars
Harper, 2013
310 pages
YA Horror Thriller

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

I am a complete sucker for books with historical photos included so upon discovering that Asylum was one of those books, I was eager to check it out. As an ARC, it was missing a few pictures but for the most part they were present and really added to the creepy vibe.

The whole premise is pretty dark and creepy though to be honest. Dan is thrilled to be spending his summer attending a college prep course, to be surrounded by other people with a healthy intellectual curiosity instead of being derided for his smarts. Almost instantly he hits it off with two people, one being the prettiest girl he's seen. That night they decide to explore the office of their dorm, formerly a mental asylum for the seriously deranged. This triggers many unpleasant occurrences and leads them to fear for their lives as they attempt to unravel the dark history of this asylum and end up fearing for their own mental health.

See-doesn't that premise promise some thrills? And while I'm admittedly a wimp, I thought this book was very atmospheric and successful in delivering on that. I had no idea what was going on as ghosts seem to threaten their lives...or is it all in Dan's imagination given his own fragile mental state? I had my suspicions and the fast pace of the book and easy writing style quickly confirmed or shot them down.

I don't think this book could be characterized as being heavy on drawing the characters' personality being more interested in spooky going-ons so if you're a reader who likes vivid characters whose souls you get to know inside out, this probably isn't the book for you. If you like a breakneck pace though, you can slip easily into this book for a few hours, coming out at the end with your neck tingling. Could be a fun read for October/Halloween!

Other Opinions:
Ems Reviews Books
Good Books and Good Wine
Moirae (the fates) book reviews
Once Upon a Twilight

Conjured

Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst
3.5/5 stars
Walker, 2013
358 pages
YA Horror Fantasy

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I saw a lot of wildly varying opinions for this book before starting it. Personally I was drawn mostly by the reputation of the author, someone I think of as writing very atypical books that don't fit a YA mold. And now that I am finished with this, I stand by that assessment. I'm not really sure where to go in my review or how to sum up this remarkable book.

Eve is in the witness protection program with no memories, which is a problem as it seems that she is the only one who could bring a serial killer to justice. Adding to her woes is her mysterious ability to do magic, which completely saps her of energy leading to days or even weeks with memory loss. Meeting Zach though changes all that as he seems to be a way to channel her magic. But the forces after the serial killer cannot afford to let Eve rest and will push her until the killer is caught, no matter the cost.

My summary may make this book seem a bit more focused than it felt while reading; personally I felt like it meandered a bit and then gave us loads of details before everything came into view (basically when Eve gets closer to the killer, not long before the end.) Man, did those pages drag! I tried to be patient, having read some reviews and wanting to trust in the author but that is just not the kind of reader I am.

The bright spot was definitely Zach, a total chatterbox and bookworm, filled to bursting with imagination and knowledge. He's not going to bring the swoon to the blogosphere because he's not dark and mysterious; instead he's remarkably open and honest and completely loyal to Eve through all her uncertainties. I wish we had gotten some more development of him though as I feel he started and ended as the same.

There are a ton of mysteries here (Why can't Eve remember? Why does she keep passing out? What is her history? Who has been killing people? Will Eve survive the forced remembering or succumb to the serial killer?) and I'm not really sure anyone could solve them. As the pieces were revealed, I was gasping at some of the revelations and I really enjoyed how everything played out. This book gets pretty dark and horrific, drawing many gasps from me.

Overall: A refreshing divergence from the usual YA fare despite not quite being to my taste. The reader who perseveres through the slow beginning is definitely rewarded though so don't be put off by my assessment of that-see if this one sounds to your taste!

Cover: Not really sure how I feel about this though my initial thought of what to put on the cover would be pretty spoiler-y.

Other Opinions:
Books and Things
Inspiring Insomnia
Jen Ryland/YA Romantics
Once Upon a Twilight
The Book Smugglers

Passion and Poison

Passion and Poison by Janice M. Del Negro
4/5 stars
Marshall Cavendish, 2007
64 pages
YA/MG Horror Story Collection

Source: Received a copy from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

Lately I've been really into short stories so I was excited to see this available for review. I like how there is a woman on the cover as well as mentioned in the subtitle. This is a collection of seven stories with various horror themes, intended by the author to be read aloud as I discovered when I read the author's note at the end. I only had myself so I read silently but I wonder how a crowd would respond to them especially if they were told around a campfire or on a dark and stormy night.

I'm not going to go in-depth to any of the stories as I had basically the same impression for all. This is certainly competent writing with some killer closing lines (inevitably the line I wanted to highlight for almost all of the stories was the last one.) But it wasn't very scary, if that was in fact the intention, which I assumed it was due to the creepy cover and mention of ghosts. That's why I wonder if the setting in which this was read would play a factor in how you processed it.

Of further interest was the author's note, which explains how she came to compose these stories and her purpose in reclaiming some ground for the anonymous women who populate folklore. Each of the women here do have a name and their agency is clearly revealed to the reader, if not to the other characters of the story. Inspiration for each story is also cited so the curious can research more.

Overall: A well-done short story collection-though were standouts, all were good on about the same level. Maybe a fun library read for a camping trip?

Identity Theft

Identity Theft by Anna Davies
3/5 stars
Point Horror, 2013
250 pages
YA Horror Contemporary

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't tend to read much horror being a huge wimp but I liked that the premise for this book mentioned sisters, a soft spot for me. I also liked that the one sister was an overachiever bent on an ambitious goal for college, something I always admire. So I decided to give it a shot.

Honestly I did not find this book that thrilling. There was the brittle Hayley who has forsaken everything in pursuit of her academic goal (including sport, boys, and friends) and maintains her discipline behind a humorless disposition. Until pictures of her on social networking sites partying start popping up and it becomes clear to Hayley that someone is trying to ruin her life. Further research reveals that it is her previously unknown twin sister and she wants to take over Hayley's life no matter the cost.

Man, I thought I could connect with a girl who is into academia but I just could not get behind Hayley. Her rigidity drove me crazy. I mean, I loved school and studying but it cannot be all that one does. Another reason I may not have liked her is that there's this cute boy who obviously likes her but who she ignores as competition while fawning over a guy with whom she has very little in common. Her mother's presence is limited despite ostensibly being an important part in bringing the twin girls into the world and I found the logic behind their separation...odd and difficult to swallow.

What I did like was the chilling premise around one's online presence. Although I tend to think of it more in terms of what you're doing being captured online and potentially haunting your future rather than someone maliciously attacking you, I know that's also a possibility. It really made me think about I do online (I try to keep my blog somewhat low-key and not too detailed about my personal life but if someone wanted to go after me, I don't know how I could stop it.)

Overall: I was not impressed-the story wasn't very strong nor was it thrilling. This might be better for fans of 80s teen horror novels but I was never much of a fan.

Cover: Suitably creepy with red eyes that aren't really relevant to the book.

ARC Review: Another Little Piece

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn
4/5 stars
HarperTeen, 2013
422 pages
YA Contemporary Paranormal Horror
Scheduled to release June 11

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

The blurb for this book teased Pretty Little Liars, a series I've never read but I am a fan of the show (I think the cover model brings to mind Spencer) and became interested in trying this book despite also noting the promise of horror, my least favorite genre.

Well, I'm glad I gave this a shot as I found it refreshingly dark and unique although I was right to be wary of the horror aspects, which are quite gruesome although not unmanageable. This story is twisty covering years as it follows a main character plagued with memory problems and a serious disconnect from the people she should know best. As the story unfolds, she discovers just how far people are willing to go for love or revenge and what price they have to pay to exact them.

I did have trouble slipping into the book, which opens with Anneliese Rose Gordon appearing thousands of miles away from where she disappeared a year ago. But she is not Anneliese despite her appearance and visions only encourage her to investigate what the real story might be. What she uncovers is a cycle of violence and selfishness and destruction that she *might* be able to end if she can only find the strength.

For much of the book, I felt a certain level of disconnect to this book, partly because of Anneliese's own disconnect. She knows that is not her life and can barely stand to be around the parents of Anneliese although they all try. She knows she doesn't belong and is uncomfortable and that transferred to me as well. Her confusion also wore off on me although we eventually figured things out, I think. A lot of pieces of information are slowly unraveled and the way it all ties together is very impressive.

This book is definitely not for everyone but those who loved it, really loved it and it is a very welcome addition to YA horror so I would encourage you to carefully consider giving it a shot.

Content warning: Language, drugs, and sexual situations abound in addition to violence so if you're sensitive to any of those, I would advise you to investigate further and proceed with caution.

Other Opinions:
Finding Bliss in Books
Katie's Book Blog
The Book Geek
The Midnight Garden