Review: The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

Title: The Girl With All the Gifts
Author: M.R. Carey
Genre: horror, zombies
Series: N/A
Pages: 416
Source: I got this book for free at Book Expo America in for a review. This in no way affects my rating or thoughts.
Rating: 4.5/5

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius." 

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh. 

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

"She's lived in Plato's cave, staring at the shadows on the wall. Now she's been turned around to face the fire."

The Girl With All the Gifts is a weird, disturbing, creepy, and fun book. It somehow manages to be both thoughtful and gory, without overdoing either. It has a story that manages to freak you out while making you think about human nature and humanity in general. M.R. Carey refuses to do what you expect and this odd and satisfying post-apocalyptic gem is the result. Pandora may have opened the box that let the darkness out, but M.R. Carey explores the shadows of humanity so well it was worth it.

The best way to read The Girl With All the Gifts is with an open mind. In daytime. The blurb is small and bland for a reason. The author has a lot to cover with the four hundred pages of the novel and he puts on one hell of a show for the duration if you have the patience for the story to build. But, if you must have a spoilerish comparison: It felt like reading Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go mashed up with Mira Grant's Parasite. It's not all action-packed or hungry gorging, but also a thoughtful and philosophical exploration of people. Carey has an even hand with all of that and with the steady characterization of Parks, Justineau, Gallagher, and Melanie. It's a lot to juggle with any kind of satisfaction, but Carey manages it with aplomb and finesse.
  After everything, it's hard to discuss the finer points of the novel for the reasons stated in the previous paragraph. I would hate to spoil anything of the total effect and atmosphere that The Girl With All the Gifts carries. So that makes it hard to to register my few complaints. The first was that the villain was slightly too one-dimensional to be entirely believable or for my taste and that what would the food source be now that Melanie has turned everyone into hungries? How will there be a full second generation or third if there is no food? Besides those small issues, I was overjoyed with the unconventional routes that Carey continued to take with his story up until the very end.

 The Girl With All the Gifts is a near-perfect novel. I loved it from the beginning until the end; I wanted to know what happened and I simultaneously never wanted to stop reading. The characters are complex and often unlikeable, the story is bleak and still compelling, the ending is unexpected and totally authentic. A very enthusiastic and happy 4.5 stars.

Book Tour Review: Love & Treasure by Ayelet Waldman

Title: Love & Treasure
Author: Ayelet Waldman
Genre: historical fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 352
Published: April 1 2014
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for review
Rating: 3/5

A spellbinding new novel of contraband masterpieces, tragic love, and the unexpected legacies of forgotten crimes, Ayelet Waldman’s Love and Treasure weaves a tale around the fascinating, true history of the Hungarian Gold Train in the Second World War.

In 1945 on the outskirts of Salzburg, victorious American soldiers capture a train filled with unspeakable riches: piles of fine gold watches; mountains of fur coats; crates filled with wedding rings, silver picture frames, family heirlooms, and Shabbat candlesticks passed down through generations. Jack Wiseman, a tough, smart New York Jew, is the lieutenant charged with guarding this treasure—a responsibility that grows more complicated when he meets Ilona, a fierce, beautiful Hungarian who has lost everything in the ravages of the Holocaust. Seventy years later, amid the shadowy world of art dealers who profit off the sins of previous generations, Jack gives a necklace to his granddaughter, Natalie Stein, and charges her with searching for an unknown woman—a woman whose portrait and fate come to haunt Natalie, a woman whose secret may help Natalie to understand the guilt her grandfather will take to his grave and to find a way out of the mess she has made of her own life.

A story of brilliantly drawn characters—a suave and shady art historian, a delusive and infatuated Freudian, a family of singing circus dwarfs fallen into the clutches of Josef Mengele, and desperate lovers facing choices that will tear them apart—Love and Treasure is Ayelet Waldman’s finest novel to date: a sad, funny, richly detailed work that poses hard questions about the value of precious things in a time when life itself has no value, and about the slenderest of chains that can bind us to the griefs and passions of the past.

Certain times in world history will always interest hold an interest for me, and I readily admit to being a fan of quite a lot of WWII-era fiction. The trick to being a fan of such a popular genre with such widespread appeal is to find the books that are unique; ones that tell different stories than the well-worn narratives we're heard and read so often. Love & Treasure by Ayelet Waldman is just that kind of historical novel. Set against a familiar backdrop, Waldman's historical fiction novel focuses on a pretty unexplored era and experience of the global war.

The multigenerational family story frame has been done before, but Waldman's set of main characters are more than able to bear up under the close scrutiny of a three hundred fifty page story. Though the Holocaust looms large over the plot and the characters, it never overwhelms either element. Both Jack and Natalie make for compelling and complex protagonists; when they make mistakes you commiserate and hope they learn. When they succeed, it almost feels personal. The goals that Natalie and Jack set for themselves seem impossible, but it's hard not to root for them and believe in their quest for redemption/peace/solace.

Love & Treasure is a novel that wears many hats and takes on many themes over the course of its length. Waldman is a clever, able author and the opinions and messages presented are as subtle as the questions and ideas she raises with her story. The circumstances in Love & Treasure canseem hard to imagine, but Waldman, with Ilona's lifestory especially, brings that historical horror to an immediate reality. I have to say that Jack's earlier story was the more intriguing timeline/storyline for me personally, but that Natalie grew on me the longer I read her narrative.

Like a lot of historical novels, this can be hard to read. A lot of the characters in the book suffer, and there aren't always happy endings. I liked the harsh honesty of Waldman's novel; Love & Treasure is a creative historical novel. I also enjoyed that it was not afraid to veer a little humorous when needed, but always kept pace with a clear plot and story.

My First BEA: The Haul

Let's not be coy, shall we? I know why you're here. So let's jump right into the pictures and hashing out of AWESOME BOOKS I received/found/fought for at BEA.

The totes. Everyone talks about the books of BEA, as they should, but the hidden gems are the totes. You will get a ton. You will always find another one you want. (Little Elliott bag, we just were not meant to be....)

So, here are the ones I ended up with (minus an Epic Reads tote I gave to Lyn and an Underwater Puppies bag that wasn't home in time for a picture):

Thanks to Chronicle, Quirk, Abrams, the NYPL, and Bloomsbury!

And now... the books. 

40 books over two days, some of which are signed to me (or Lyn because she is the best.) But more on that later. Here's the rundown.

Blue is YA, green is middle grade, purple is adult fiction.

Stack #1
Compulsion by Martina Boone (signed to Lyn, given to me)
Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant
Tape by Steven Camden
The Question of Miracles by Elana K. Arnold
Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes
Thrones and Bones: Frostborn by Lou Anders (given to me by Kara of Great Imaginations)
A Plague of Unicorns by Jane Yolen
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin (signed to me)
The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis
Stitching Snow by R. C. Lewis (given to me by Bekka of Great Imaginations)
Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King (signed to me)
Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson (given to me by Kara and Lyn of Great Imaginations)
The Swift Boys and Me by Kody Keplinger (won by Debby of Snuggly Oranges, given to me, also signed to me)
The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (I already read this and hooolyyy shiiiiit guys)

Stack #2
Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews
On a Clear Day by Walter Dean Myers
Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick
Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater
Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper
A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
The Jewel by Amy Ewing
Rooms by Lauren Oliver (signed to Lyn and given to me)
Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson (signed to me)
Rebel Yell by S.C. Gwynne (nonfiction)
This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner (given to me by Bekka of Great Imaginations)
A Sudden Light by Garth Stein 
The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue

Stack #3
Unmarked by Kami Garcia (haven't read the first, uninterested so look for a giveaway)
Hold the Dark by William Giraldi
Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer
Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle (signed to me)
The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde
Falling into Place by Amy Zhang
Mortal Heart by R.L. LaFevers
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes (signed to me)
Clariel by Garth Nix 
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (signed to me)

 
And just the signed copies.

 I am so happy with everything I got. Not a bad haul for two days of BEA, and none of BookCon. 

I also came home to three lovely presents from Macmillan:

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

A finished copy of She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick.

and Evidence of Things Not Seen by Lindsey Lane.

 


Whew. It's a lot of books and I came nowhere near the BEA Mastery that some of my friends exhibited. However, I am really excited for every book I got except for two (one of which is intended as a gift for my dad and the other was a random pickup) and I plan to read and review every one.

That said.

There are, of course, some I am more excited about than others. And the top ten I am most excited to read are:

1. Mortal Heart by R.L. LaFevers (His Fair Assassin #3)

2. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #3)

3. Clariel by Garth Nix (Abhorsen #4)

4. Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

5. Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes

6. Rooms by Lauren Oliver

7. This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Starbound #2)

8. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

9. Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper

10. The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Genre: contemporary
Series: none
Pages: 337
Published: January 1, 2012
Source: borrowed from friend
Rating: 2 out of 5

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Reviewed by Danielle. 

The Fault in Our Stars is an undeniable phenomenon. The book has sold millions of copies. John Green is routinely five of the NYT top 10 YA books. The movie made $48m in its first weekend. My beloved co-blogger gave it four stars and has shared how emotional it makes her.

Sorry nerdfighters, I can’t stand this book.

The hype train got me, and with the movie coming out, I wanted to give it a chance, but there’s a lot working against TFIOS and me. First, I knew the twist going in. That probably sucks a lot of the emotion out of the reveal. Second, I’m only just becoming a fan of the contemporary genre and I still don’t like melodramas. But unfortunately, the biggest problem with the book is the writing and characterization.

John Green has spent a lot of time waxing about how he doesn’t write manic pixie dream girls, and I’ll agree, Hazel is not a MPDG. No, in this book, Mr. Green has written the first manic pixie dream guy in Augustus Waters.

I was completely unable to invest in Hazel and Augustus’ love story, because Gus is so inherently unlikable. He’s vain, pretentious, and doesn’t listen to what Hazel actually wants. He continually calls her “Hazel Grace”, despite being repeatedly told it’s just Hazel, because it’s what he likes. He plans this way over the top picnic and puts her on the spot, without thought of what she likes, how the food tastes, or the fact that such a big gesture makes it impossible to say no. The only time the character ever feels human is as the plane takes off. That’s a huge issue.

I did like Hazel, though I wish she’d shown a bigger array of emotions. She faces crushing disappointment and loss with the same apathy she applies to being forced to go to her support group. I actually liked that she got mad at her parents, terminally ill people are allowed to get mad, I just wish there’d been a bit more. Still, she felt like an actual person, (of course that’s because she is and that’s a whole other kettle of fish,) unlike her “love” interest.

I’ll admit, I teared up twice. Once during Isaac’s pre-funeral eulogy and once during his actual eulogy. I liked Isaac. In those two scenes, I actually felt humanity in Augustus. Why didn’t his girlfriend make me feel those feelings?

There’s just too many problematic things in the book. Gus’s pushiness. Hazel’s passiveness. That fucking kiss. No, seriously, that kiss killed any chance this book had. I was disgusted. And to have the Dutch people clap at the disrespectful American teenagers? Cancer perks indeed.

Book Tour Review: Baudelaire's Revenge by Bob Laerhoven

Title: Baudelaire's Revenge
Author: Bob Van Laerhoven
Genre: historical, mystery
Series: N/A
Pages: 268
Published: April 15 2014
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for review
Rating: 3.5/5

It is 1870, and Paris is in turmoil.

As the social and political turbulence of the Franco-Prussian War roils the city, workers starve to death while aristocrats seek refuge in orgies and seances. The Parisians are trapped like rats in their beautiful city but a series of gruesome murders captures their fascination and distracts them from the realities of war. The killer leaves lines from the recently deceased Charles Baudelaire's controversial anthology Les Fleurs du Mal on each corpse, written in the poet's exact handwriting. Commissioner Lefevre, a lover of poetry and a veteran of the Algerian war, is on the case, and his investigation is a thrilling, intoxicating journey into the sinister side of human nature, bringing to mind the brooding and tense atmosphere of Patrick Susskind's Perfume. Did Baudelaire rise from the grave? Did he truly die in the first place? The plot dramatically appears to extend as far as the court of the Emperor Napoleon III.

A vivid, intelligent, and intense historical crime novel that offers up some shocking revelations about sexual mores in 19th century France, this superb mystery illuminates the shadow life of one of the greatest names in poetry.

Bob Van Laerhoven is an accomplished, convoluted mystery writer. That much is evident from the way he sets his scenes, uncovers the various angles, explores all the possible avenues before the end of the story. The mystery (and the blurb) are what drew me to this book in the first place, and Baudelaire's Revenge was a tricky, interesting read from the first. The palpable and tense atmosphere of a Paris at war only adds to the pervading atmosphere, making this a memorable novel.

I admit the novel's lack-of-length made me nervous at several points of the story. At the beginning. when I didn't see how it could be tidily wrapped up in just 200 more pages. And also at 210 pages in, when I still didn't know who the antagonist was..... that was one of the charms of reading a Laerhoven mystery. Despite the slim length, the mystery is a complete creation. It's convoluted and unsolvable until the author wants it solved, which is refreshing and frustrating (in a fun way) for readers who like to fancy themselves sleuths. 

Though the focus of the novel is clearly on the murders and the subsequent attempts to uncover the culprit, Laerhoven gives his readers an excellent idea of what Paris could have felt and looked like at the time. The atmosphere is well done, with characters from various aspects of the city lending voice to createa real feel for the locations shown. I never really felt the war as a pressing and imminent concern, but that could be because I was entirely caught up in the investigation into Baudelaire's Ghost.

Baudelaire's Revenge succeeded at confusing me and surprising me. It's a thriller and a mystery and a historical fiction novel. I could have used some more characterization for the two main characters, but overall, I finished this novel impressed with the authorial sleight of hand on display.

Book Tour Review: Murder by Misrule by Anna Castle

Title: Murder by Misrule
Author: Anna Castle
Genre: mystery, historical fiction
Series: Francis Bacon Mystery #1
Pages: 350
Published: June 8 2014
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for review
Rating: 3/5

Francis Bacon is charged with investigating the murder of a fellow barrister at Gray's Inn. He recruits his unwanted protégé Thomas Clarady to do the tiresome legwork. The son of a privateer, Clarady will do anything to climb the Elizabethan social ladder. Bacon's powerful uncle Lord Burghley suspects Catholic conspirators of the crime, but other motives quickly emerge. Rival barristers contend for the murdered man's legal honors and wealthy clients. Highly-placed courtiers are implicated as the investigation reaches from Whitehall to the London streets. Bacon does the thinking; Clarady does the fencing. Everyone has something up his pinked and padded sleeve. Even the brilliant Francis Bacon is at a loss — and in danger — until he sees through the disguises of the season of Misrule.

An inventive new historical mystery, Anna Castle's foray into the scheme-filled world of power and politics with her first Francis Bacon mystery is sure to please fans of both genres. Murder by Misrule is by turns engaging, amusing, thrilling, and exciting. It's a well-plotted mystery that boasts a cast that is just as well defined; one that is easy to get involved in but hard to solve. The book comes in at just about 350 pages and it took nearly all of them for me to figure out the villain at the heart of it all.

Using the viewpoints of both real (Francis Bacon) and imagined people (Tom Clarady, etc.), Castle shares the narration of the story out amongst her cast. The story can feel a bit diluted with all the different perspectives, but each narrator does bring something new to the story. Clara, for example. seemed at first a random addition but her importance to the story is uncovered in due time. The third person POV feels pretty removed from the story despite whoever is telling it and it becomes easy to distinguish Tom from Francis or Caspar easily.

I did struggle a bit with the writing at times. Castle has an even hand for characterization, setting, and plot but the dialogue used can be dry and a tad... obvious. It's a minor issue in the midst of everything one well, but the stiff manner in which the characters think and interact was a bit off-putting for me.I also have to mention the awesome twist Castle unveils three-quarters into the novel --- it was wholly a surprise, but Castle both hints at it and sells it once the cards are on the table.

The first in a series, Anna Castle's debut is a tautly plotted, creatively managed mystery. The historical element works well for both her writing and her characters. The research put into the story is obvious and is reflected in so much of the narrative. If you're looking for something along the lines of C.W. Gortner's Spymaster Chronicles series, then you'll likely find Murder by Misrule to be a good fit for your reading tastes.

Virtual Book Tour Schedule

Monday, June 2
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Book Blast at Mari Reads

Tuesday, June 3
Interview at Flashlight Commentary
Guest Post at Historical Fiction Connection

Wednesday, June 4
Book Blast at The Musings of ALMYBNENR

Thursday, June 5
Book Blast at Our Wolves Den

Friday, June 6
Review at Book Nerd
Book Blast at The Mad Reviewer
Book Blast at A Dream Within a Dream

Saturday, June 7
Book Blast at Kelsey’s Book Corner

Sunday, June 8
Review at Carole’s Ramblings

Monday, June 9
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Tuesday, June 10
Book Blast at West Metro Mommy

Wednesday, June 11
Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book
Book Blast at Literary Chanteuse

Thursday, June 12
Review at Curling Up By the Fire

Friday, June 13
Book Blast at Cheryl’s Book Nook

Monday, June 16
Book Blast at Closed the Cover
Book Blast at To Read or Not to Read

Tuesday, June 17
Review & Giveaway at 100 Pages a Day
Book Blast at A Book Geek

Wednesday, June 18
Book Blast at CelticLady’s Reviews

Thursday, June 19
Review at Bibliotica
Book Blast at Historical Fiction Obsession

Friday, June 20
Review at A Bibliotaph’s Reviews
Interview at All Things Girl

Saturday, June 21
Book Blast at Griperang’s Bookmarks

Monday, June 23
Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway at A Bookish Affair
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story
Book Blast at So Many Books, So Little Time

Tuesday, June 24
Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Wednesday, June 25
Book Blast at Susan Heim on Writing

Thursday, June 26
Review at A Bookish Girl
Review at Layered Pages
Review at Kinx’s Book Nook

Friday, June 27
Book Blast at Caroline Wilson Writes

Monday, June 30
Book Blast at Historical Tapestry

Tuesday, July 1
Interview at Starting Fresh

Wednesday, July 2
Book Blast at Kincavel Korner

Thursday, July 3
Review & Giveaway at The True Book Addict
Guest Post & Giveaway at Bibliophilia, Please

Friday, July 4
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Review: Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Title: Curtsies & Conspiracies
Author: Gail Carriger
Genre: steampunk, supernatural fiction
Series: Finishing School #2
Pages: 310
Published: January 1, 2013
Source: purchased
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy--won't Mumsy be surprised? Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a field trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

In this sequel to New York Times bestselling Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail's distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.

Reviewed by Danielle. 

If you recall my review of Etiquette & Espionage , I liked the setting and characters, but had a problem with what I considered a non-ending. Fortunately, I think Ms. Carriger has hit her stride with the second in the series.

Once again, Sophronia is aboard the floating finishing school, learning the not-all-together-different arts of society and espionage. Monique, the Picklemen, and the vampires all continue to cause trouble, but now with a new, greater threat: boys.

Mademoiselle Geraldine’s will be escorting a few Bunson students to London for the unveiling of a new technological marvel that has all the players in a twitter. And with no one telling her anything and a Duke's son paying special attention to her, Sophronia's launched into another complex plot involving two boys, violent sofas, explosive spiders, and career sabotage. Luckily she can always count on her friends...oh, wait.

The actual spy work is much tighter this time around. I love the test with the oddgob machine. It starts off very strange and disjointed, but once the grading starts and you can see Sophronia's thought process, it's brilliant. There's also a lot of investigation, eavesdropping, rumor planting, but I liked seeing the things the girls don't know, like codes and fighting. Gives the book a direction for the future.

I also like that the Picklemen are finally explained and their, and all the villainous parties, motives are much clearer. It's still not all wrapped up, the prototype is obviously going to be important through the whole series, but I was much happier with where we leave off.

But the book truly earns it's extra half star over book one for an amazing, delightful Lord Akeldama cameo that has me bubbling for Waistcoats and Weaponry, and the best description of a penis in the history of literature. I think Ms. Carriger's fans won't be disappointed.