I'd Suffer Through an Apocalypse to Get the Next Book!

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick (September 6, 2011, EgmontUSA)
Review by Kenzie Helene

When a book is attempting to instill fear in me, there is one thing that always works: being realistic. Werewolves, vampires, and zombies aren’t going to send shivers up my spine, but the idea of nuclear war or science gone wrong will leave me aching for a nightlight and my teddy bear. Ashes made me want more than a nightlight and it totally beat out the monsters hiding in my closet. In fact, it made the monsters under my bed want to crawl underneath the covers to hide with me!

Alex is just trekking across a mountain and trying to come to terms with her parents’ deaths when an electromagnetic pulse destroys all the technology that the world has become used to. Some people crash down to the ground, dead on the spot, others turn into malicious cannibals that have lost their humanity, and the rest are spared. Except being spared doesn’t make life any easier. With all electronics disabled, communications are down and so are chances of survival.

Musings

As a firm fan of the Saw movies, Ashes freaked me out. There were a few scenes that were described in such detail that I started to worry that I’d be eaten next. During these scenes, I’d try to put the book down and watch something cheerful, but the plot would beckon me to the next point, urging me forward, despite my dismay at the gore.

Alex is everything I’d hope to be in a desperate situation. She thinks rationally and makes decisions that the reader can understand and sympathize with. While she tries to blot out her emotions entirely, she cannot achieve it and it makes the book a touch more realistic to see her suffer because of contradicting feelings. Partnered with eight year old Ellie, who has been forced to mature quickly, and a young soldier, Tom, the characters remain dear to your heart while reading.

Be warned, Ashes is the beginning of a trilogy. While I’m looking forward to both Shadows and Monsters, waiting has never been my strong point. If you’re like me and will end up begging the author for hints, small passages, and leaks from the next book, you might be better waiting to read the whole series in one go.

With so many new dystopian-esque novels being released, Ashes cuts away from the cloth to reveal something that is so authentic that you’ll find yourself wandering online to order a stockpile of supplies.

Author Interview: Victoria Schwab Talks Near Witch and Narwhals!

As many of you already know, I’ve been obsessed with The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab for a very, very long time. And now it is HERE, and I am so happy, I keep hugging my copy and dancing. I hope you are all reading YOUR copies right now.

Before The Near Witch was among us, when I was still a quivering mass of excitement while I waited for its release, I asked Victoria to stop by for an interview, and she was sweet enough to oblige!

Laura: Victoria, thank you very much for agreeing to this interview! I know you're terribly busy and very stressed with touring and edits, so it means a lot that you'd take time out of your schedule to do this. I am head over heels for The Near Witch, and I know I could talk all day about my love for it. What would you like readers to know about The Near Witch?

Victoria: The Near Witch is not really paranormal romance, but it's not really high fantasy either. It's a fairy tale, and fairy tales exist in this odd, wonderful gray space between genres. It's a tale of witches and ghosts, of trust and fear and magic and strangers. I hope people pick up not knowing what to expect. Too clearly these days by the time we've lifted a book from the shelf, we think we know what we're in for. I don't want people to know. I just want them to read. Maybe for a little while, the world goes away.

Laura: What has been your favorite author experience to date, and what part of being a newly-published author are you looking forward to the most?  

Victoria: Oh man, I'm not sure I can pick. It's been so surreal, having authors I respect, and whose work I love, treat me as an equal, chat with me, welcome me into their world. I hope I never get used to it. I will say that I'm a huge Laini Taylor fan, and the first time she spoke to me on Twitter, I might have done a dance in my kitchen.

Laura: I consider myself a student of cover art, which is a nice way to say that I spend a lot of time staring at covers and analyzing them. A lot of time. How well do you feel The Near Witch's cover expresses the story?

Victoria: My favorite part about The Near Witch's cover is actually its lightness. It's by no means a light story, but it's whimsical, even in its dark moments. It's an odd cover, especially for paranormal/fantasy, which tends toward dark palettes, but I love it for that. The Near Witch is different, and the cover is different. There are these faint gloss filigrees you can only see when you get close, and I love that, too. It's meant to draw you in. A little unassuming, perhaps, but up close, layered. I like the think the book is like that, too. Plus, the moorscape on the back makes my heart happy.

Laura: In The Near Witch, the setting is a vibrant and active part of the story. Was Near or the moor inspired by a real place you’ve visited?

Victoria: I've spent a bit of time in England (the north of which is most often associated with moors) but Near was a mix of things. The isolated, airy feeling inherent in fairy tales, the rolling, tall-grass hills that make land like sea, the weedy, unkempt wild and the old stone and wood, stacked-together structures. I wanted the tangled feel of it all.

Laura: Which character came first, Lexi, or the Near Witch, and did one inspire the other?

Victoria: Lexi came first of the two, but Near and Cole preceded both. The first things I knew of the book were the town and the stranger, but I heard them described in Lexi's voice. The Witch came last :)

Laura: projects are you working on now? This is an obvious ploy to trick you into telling us more about your mystery project, Vagabond Puppies.

Victoria: Haha, it will take more than that to get me to spill about Vagabond Puppies. But I'm just about to start edits on my next contracted book, The Archived. The only way we've been able to describe it so far (the mash-up is constantly twisting and changing) is Buffy meets The Shining meets If I Stay. Believe me when I say I CANNOT WAIT to share more. As for Vagabond Puppies... my lips are sealed.

Laura: Do you have a favorite drink or snack for when you’re writing?

Victoria: TEA. Tea and some form of baked good, preferably a cookie, to go with it :)

Laura: Who are some of your favorite authors? And can you tell us which books you think nobody should miss?

Victoria: It is a long, and ever-growing list, but always at the top are Neil Gaiman, Laini Taylor, Suzanne Collins, Patrick Rothfuss...

Laura: You have a whole army of narwhals...what is their mission? Should we be afraid?

Victoria: YES. BE VERY AFRAID. My narwhals wander out into the world and whisper witchy things ;)

Laura: The Zombie Apocalypse has begun: What is your strategy for survival?

Victoria: Eat as much sugar as humanly possible. I've heard zombies prefer salty over sweet.

Laura: That is very good advice... *opens bag of cookies*

You can pick up this brilliant book at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. OR, PREFERABLY, from your favorite indie bookstore! Really, you should order this book last week because it is just that great. I can't stop giving it out at the library.

Thank you again for stopping by, Victoria!

Let's Add This to the Curriculum

Tankborn by Karen Sandler (October 1, 2011, Lee & Low Books)
Review by Kenzie Helene


It is rare that I come across a book that I would love to teach. I'm not headed out to be a teacher, or to make lesson plans of any sort, but there have been a few times that I've come across a book so perfectly written that it is made to be in a classroom. A book that has lessons that need to be taught with a plot that can capture the heart of a high school student set against reading. Tankborn is one of these novels.

Summary

Kayla is a GEN, a Genetically Engineered Non-human. Loka, Kayla’s planet, is run on an archaic caste system, one where GENs are the lowest tier. In her fifteenth year, Kayla  is given an assignment that she is told will make her happiest in life because of the skill set she was engineered with. Kayla is sent to take care of Zul Manel, an old trueborn, but before she can go, a series of codes is downloaded into her annexed brain and upsets the course of her future.

Musings

Tankborn brings up the biggest question in history (and literature): what does it mean to be human? Is being human having the traits that we consider to own as ours? Is it being able to think past biology, to make decisions based on reasoning deeper than the need to breed and pass on genes? Or is it DNA and DNA only? By providing the best medical care that we can, are we somehow taking away what makes a person human? Tankborn questions all these  theories and how far we should go in genetic engineering if we wish to remain on top.

Beyond the idea of humanity itself, Tankborn delves into the controversial subject of religion.
Trueborns and lowborns have kept the one thing that unites Islam, Christianity, and Judaism by believing in a Lord Creator. Kayla and other GENs, however, believe in a different religion, one ruled by the Infinite. Tankborn makes readers question the origin of religion and rediscover why they believe in their faith, or why they do not.

Author Karen Sandler has come a long way with this plot, starting Tankborn off as a play and eventually adapting it to the brilliant novel it has become. Tankborn’s plot is enrapturing. The first fifty pages go a bit slow, but all of it is needed to show the reader the language style and lifestyle that is on Loka. By the end of the book, you’ll be thinking in terms of GENs and trueborns more than proletariat and bourgeoisie.

Her characters are built so solidly that you could reach out and bop them on the head when they make bad decisions. Sandler spent quality time with these characters, learning about them and talking to them enough that it feels like she’s writing about her best friends more than make-believe people. Each character’s motivations and confusion is documented within the pages, revealing the inner turmoil they go through. Devak’s, Zul Manel’s great grandson’s, mental war between enjoying Kayla’s company and having been taught that GENs are lesser is fully understood by anyone who has ever been confronted with a new idea. Mishall’s, Kayla’s best friend’s, bewilderness about the sketchy people she works for makes the reader squirm with sympathy. Kayla’s self esteem issues about her looks is something any teen can relate to. All these intimate problems make reading Tankborn feel more like a memoir than fiction. When a book is loved, the writing is so much better and well thought-out. Tankborn was obviously loved to pieces.

Whether you read every day or once a year, Tankborn is a book that you need to run out and get.** And if you love it, make sure to share it with a friend.

** On October 1st, of course!