[Review: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia]

"Made You Up"
Author: Francesca Zappia
Series: None
Pages: 448
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Thriller
Date Published: May 19th, 2015
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Format Read: eARC provided by publisher (via Edelweiss) for honest review

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Summary:

Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, Silver Linings Playbook, and Liar.

Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal.

Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.

-Goodreads

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My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To Made You Up,

You were a weird one. On some levels I really liked you a lot. It was interesting to be in someone's head that didn't know what was real and what was made up. You had a couple really cool moments where I didn't even know what was going on, and I liked that feeling. Though I will say that some of you was very predictable for me. I liked you, even if I didn't love you!

-The White Unicorn

I love unreliable narrators, and that's just what Alex is. I thought that this book was refreshing, though I also thought that the story got a bit out of hand at moments. Zappia is obviously an author who is willing to think outside of the box, and I think that even though every element of the story didn't work for me, she has a really interesting voice. Needless to say, I was impressed with her debut.

Alex has schizophrenia, and she's learned how to make sense of the world around her. No one in her new school knows that, and she plans on keeping it that way. She has so many little quirks, like taking pictures of things that might or might not be there, asking deep questions and looking for answers in a Magic 8 Ball, and questioning everything. So she's basically a regular teenager, but it's her carefully created voice that makes you feel like something is a bit off. I have to admit that I loved living in her head for the duration of the novel.

Zappia's way of writing characters fit the book perfectly. I liked that we got to know each one of them really well, while also questioning every single motive that they had. Were they really Alex's friends? Was she making them up? Were the people she was surrounding herself with even there in reality? I had all of these thoughts rolling around in my head as I read, but I still found myself liking the people in Alex's life. Real or not.

I did have some issues with the story. While it worked well for the book, I found that the high school setting was odd. I found the scenes that took place outside of the school worked much better for me. Meaning that a good portion of the novel felt a little forced for me. I wish that wasn't the case, but it totally was. 

In the end, the good outweighed the not as good for me. If you like books that leave you guessing and are told through the eyes of an untrustworthy narrator, give this one a shot!

Rating:

3 Unicorns = I liked it a lot but it had it's issues!

[Review: The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings]

"The Murder Complex"
Author: Lindsay Cummings
Series: The Murder Complex #1
Pages: 400
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Date Published: June 10th, 2014
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Format Read: eARC provided by publisher (via Edelweiss) for honest review

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Summary:

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

-Goodreads

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My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To The Murder Complex,

Well, flux this! Book, you came at me and let me know that I have pet peeves when it comes to reading that I would have never known of otherwise. You allowed yourself to "fake swear" all over the place and I couldn't stop complaining about it. So, thank you? Luck for you I did enjoy your story and all the gore held inside of you, so that helped. You're kind of a mess for me, but I don't dislike you, even if I'm not your biggest fan. 

-The White Unicorn

Okay, let's start out with the good. Cummings has created a really fast paced, gory, twisted dystopian mystery. It's got a lot going for it and the pacing that she chooses to use is perfect. Parts of this book didn't work for me at all, but Cummings' writing style kept me interested. She knows how to weave a story and she's not afraid to write about murder, which is convenient, looking at the title of this book. Her story and the plot where a total delight. I didn't realize that the book was 400 pages as I was reading it, which I think is good thing when you're reading a longer novel.

Now things just get confusing. I have a big bag of mixed feelings about all of the characters. At times they are some of the strongest that I've read in awhile and then just like that a switch flips and they seem very wishy-washy to me. 

Meadow is a total badass, and there is nothing better then that. She knows how to kill, she doesn't fear anything, she's hard and doesn't know what love is like. And then on the other hand she's unsure, she's worried about what people think and she's not the smartest. She becomes a muddle of inconsistency and it bummed me out. 

  

Zephyr had the same issues. I don't want to spoil what happens, but at one point he seems like he doesn't want to deal anymore and he does something not so brilliant that affects a lot of people. But then as you get to know him you're supposed to see him as this caring guy who puts others before himself, even though he contemplates making that same mistake again. He's all over the place.

Which leads me to whatever was happening between the two of them. It seems like insta-love, it looks like insta-love, it feels like insta-love, but I still can't tell you if it's really insta-love or not. They have this weird "connection", that's for sure. There is love happening and it comes on quick. It makes what they have seem fake, and I just didn't buy them as more then friends. I think Zephyr had way better chemistry with Talen, which says a lot.

I also didn't feel like I could really get a grasp on what was happening emotionally in this book. There are a lot of complex emotions happening, but they fall flat. I think this could have been an issue because of my confusion about the characters in general. But it was an issue for me.

This leads to my least favorite thing about the novel. The "wooden swearing". I'm not sure why Cummings made up swear words for this book. Every time I read Flux, or Skitz, or Stars, or Chumhead it pulled me out of the story. It didn't feel authentic, it felt weird. You'd be reading and all the sudden one of these words would pop up and it would get weird. I guess I prefer that characters cuss like pros, or that they don't cuss at all before I read anymore made up swear words. I think I commented on this about a million times as I was reading. I wish it wasn't a thing.

When I get down to the bones of my feelings about this book. I liked it? See I'm still not entirely sure. But I know that I'll be reading the other books in the series, because even though there was so much I didn't like, I kinda of love Cummings' main story and need to find out what happens.

Rating:

3 Unicorns = I liked it, but it had it's issues!

[Review: Salvage by Alexandra Duncan]

"Salvage"
Author: Alexandra Duncan
Series: None
Pages: 520
Genre: YA, Science Fiction
Date Published: April 1st, 2014
Publisher: Greenwillow Press
Format Read: eARC provided by publisher (via Edelweiss) for honest review

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Summary:

 Ava, a teenage girl living aboard the male-dominated deep space merchant ship Parastrata, faces betrayal, banishment, and death. Taking her fate into her own hands, she flees to the Gyre, a floating continent of garbage and scrap in the Pacific Ocean, in this thrilling, surprising, and thought-provoking debut novel that will appeal to fans of Across the Universe, by Beth Revis, and The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood.

-Goodreads 

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My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To Salvage,

Hey there book.  I didn't know what I was going to get when I opened you up.  I haven't been having the best of luck with YA Sci Fi lately and so you kind of scared me.  Well let me tell you, I didn't need to be scared of anything.  You're one heck of an epic book.  You remind me of the Sci Fi I loved as a High Schooler and you have strong female leads.  Basically, you're a beast of the a book and I mean that in the best way possible!

-The White Unicorn

Salvage was such a unique reading experience.  There was just something about the story in the pages that captured my heart and wouldn't let it go.  It's not to say that the book is perfect, but there is a breath to the story that is really special.  Duncan has created a world that is so detailed that our main girl, Ava even speaks a strange version of English.  It takes a little getting used to, but once it snaps onto your brain, it gives things an authentic vibe that is missing from so many Sci Fi books I've read lately.  It might not work for everyone but I thought it made Salvage truly one of a kind.  

This space age tale is mostly character driven, but I have to give it to Duncan for her world building as well.  She's taken things that we already know about and strung them together in different ways, creating something really special.  She gives us spaceship societies where men take multiple wives, marriages are arranged, women are kept separate from the men and forced to work on small tasks.  Then she gives us Earth, were we also get a floating landmass in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (which would have made me constantly seasick) and even a futuristic Mumbai.  These places all have a huge role in the story.

The characters really stand out, which is a feat when you look at all the other awesome things happening in the book.  Ava goes on a journey, not only physically (though there is spaceship flying and all) but also one in her personal character.  She starts out as this girl who only knows what those around her let her know and by the end of the book she has grown into someone strong and sure of herself.  Sure she has to go to hell and back to get to that point, but it's a ton of realistic character growth that will have you cheering for our main girl Ava.  The things that she goes through are tough.  Mistakes are made and the fall out is huge, leaving a girl who thought her life was planned out for her reeling and running for her life.  

The book is about Ava, but that doesn't mean that you won't fall in love with the secondary characters as well.  Snarky and feisty Captain Perpetue and her daughter Miyole are key players in Ava's journey.  I really adored both of them.  Perpetue takes a chance on Ava and the bond between the three of them is glorious.  Ava's Aunt Soraya also graces the pages.  Her life has been one of her own choosing, growing up on Earth and not on a spaceship and their differences create a lot of authentic tension.

There are two gents in this novel, but a love triangle never surfaces.  Luck is the man who has a hand in the events that lead to Ava running away and he's her first love.  Their passion is built from lust, but it doesn't mean it's not real.  Then we have Rushil.  Their relationship springs up out of friendship and mutual respect.  I adored them.  It's a ship I can fully get behind.  It's the kind of slow burn romance that I love!

Salvage is a wonderful standalone novel that is full of so many awesome things.  Ava's journey is one that I know will stay with me for a long time.  It's a coming of age tale that will tug at your heart strings in the strangest of ways while also giving you tons of girl power moments.  I'd say snag yourself a copy of this one, strange dialogue aside.

Rating:

        4 Unicorns = Close to perfect!

[Review: The Crown Of Embers by Rae Carson]

"The Crown of Embers"
Author: Rae Carson
Series: Fire and Thorns #2
Pages: 410
Genre: YA Fantasy
Date Published: September 18th, 2012
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Format Read: Hardback copy from library

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Summary:

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

-Goodreads 

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My Thoughts:

Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire and magic and stress!  If there is one thing I can say, it's that Carson doesn't hold back in her second installment of the Fire and Thorns series.  This book is a pretty wonderful and also as equally exhausting read.  She ups the action, she ups the death threats and she ups the feels.  The Crown of Embers is one of those second books that doesn't slow down and become a semi boring filler book.  Nope it's epic and fast paced and action packed and will leave you reeling in it's last moments!  This book, as well as the first has forced its way into my top series and that's saying a lot.

Carson brings us an interesting a complex plot once again.  She builds on the events of the first book (The Girl of Fire and Thorns) and doesn't look back.  The Crown of Embers keep propelling you forward into Elisa's story.  The intrigue  is building.  Who are the new Queen's friends and who are her foe?  Carson does a good job at hinting and also hiding bits of the truth from her readers.  Though I don't think she ever purposefully withholds info, her storytelling still leaves you with questions.

Elisa is still as awesome as ever.  She's got a whole lot more on her plate this time around, like keeping people calm and trying to stop wars and all that good stuff.  The fact is, once again she's kind of scared, but she also extremely brave in the way that makes her pushes through her fears.  We see some more of her personal doubts this time around, but she still doesn't ever really feel sorry for herself, even with all the new emotional baggage she has.  Needless to say, I'm still a fan.

The rest of the cast is awesome as well.  I loved getting to learn more about Mara and Belin.  Both are fierce warriors in their own way.  And both extend their friendship to the Queen in different ways.  Belin is trying to get on her good side and Mara is trying to become her friend.  

And HECTOR!!!  Let's talk about one of the best love interests that I've read in a really long time.  Can you say the feels?  Cause I can!  He doesn't baby Elisa like so many other people do and he thinks that she's the cat's pajamas.  It's pretty much one of the best slow burn romances that I've read in a long time!  I'll admit it, if I was Mary Murphy, Hector would definitely be on my hot tamale train.  (Yes, I just went there)

So, if you couldn't tell I loved The Crown of Embers, even more than I liked The Girl of Fire and Thorns!  Read these books.  Just read them!

Rating:

5 Unicorns = Get your hands on this one!

[Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson]

"The Girl of Fire and Thorns"
Author: Rae Carson
Series: Fire and Thorns #1
Pages: 423
Genre: YA Fantasy
Date Published: September 20th, 2011
Publisher: Greenwillow Press
Format Read: Hardback copy from the library

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Summary:

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

-Goodreads 

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My Thoughts:

I have no idea why it's taken me so long to read this book, but I wish that I hadn't waited till two years after it was first published!  "The Girl of Fire and Thorns" is just my type of fantasy/high adventure story that I love!  Carson has a way of weaving humor into the bleakest moments and writing a story that feels as if it rings almost too true.  She doesn't make things so crazy and odd that you can't see yourself in the characters that she's created and yet she still reminds you that this story isn't real by throwing in a dash of magic.  Brutal, strange magic.  

Carson also tells her tale with a heavy dose of religion.  The battle of God and the barer of the Godstone against this brutal magic is an interesting one.  It doesn't really get fully fleshed out as this is the first book in Carson's series, but I like where she's taking it all.  She's created an interesting faith and used it well in her story telling.  Giving Elisa someone to lean on even in her darkest moments and also buildings Elisa's faith in herself at the same time.  There is an almost Spanish touch to the world building as well and all of these things together give us a fully fleshed world that you can get lost in.

I really loved Elisa.  She's this girl who gets thrown into things that she's never really wanted, but instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for herself she does what she needs to do to survive.  So often a protagonist dealing with Elisa's hardships, being the less pretty princess, being more than a little overweight and being totally out of their element find a way to sit and wallow.  Elisa does just the opposite.  Does this mean that she's perfect, no it doesn't.  She faces her fear face on but also allows herself to feel it.  Every single bit of it.  She's the protagonist who when life gives her lemons, she chucks them at her enemies.  Who doesn't love a girl like that?

Carson uses Elisa and all the other characters in the novel to tell her intricate story.  There is political intrigue, kidnappings, marriage, war, social unrest and just about everything else.  The tale is layered in a way that makes even the simplest things hold extreme importance to the plot.  Plus, there are even moments that are fairly swoon worthy.  Though I'm interested to see what happens next in the romance department (for reasons that will remind undisclosed).  The pacing is fast, though at times it slows down just enough to allow you to breath! 

To put a cherry on top of the "this is an epic book" cake, Carson also knows her away around being brutal to her characters.  No one is safe.  No one is sacred.  If she's written you into the pages, she can just as easily write you out of them, without even blinking.  It's a talent that not everyone can pull off and Carson does it as well as the best of them!

Without a question I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves a really strong, yet equally flawed heroine, detailed worlds and gut wrenching moments.  This book has it all!

Rating:

      5 Unicorns = Get your hands on this now!