Book review: 2013 Printz Award Winner "In Darkness" by Nick Lake

Title: In Darkness
Author: Nick Lake
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's, 2012 

In this powerful story, we learn how circumstances can shape who a person becomes. This is the story of a teenage gang member stuck under the rubble after the Haiti earthquake in 2010 told in tandem with the story of Toussaint L'Ouvreture, the man that freed Haiti's slaves. Shorty, a 15-year-old gangster in the most dangerous part of Haiti, finds himself trapped beneath tons of rubble after the earthquake of 2010, with nothing but darkness and death surrounding him. He begins to tell us, who he calls the "voices in the darkness," his history. We also read, through third-person narration, the story of the slave Toussaint, who led his people to freedom and their own government.

It is clear why this was the winner of the 2013 Printz Award. The story is compelling, both of them together; Shorty has grown up in terrible poverty, surrounded by gang violence and political unrest. He has seen family members, friends, and neighbors killed, to the point where it is almost normal. And so, he falls in with the gang of his neighborhood, because he believes that way he will get his abducted sister back and get his revenge.

Meanwhile, we're learning how Toussaint was successful in some things, but not in others. It's history, so it's not a spoiler, but we are living the revolution along with him. What really made this fictionalized history stand out was Toussaint's spirit connection with Shorty and the Haiti of 2010. In visions, he sees Haiti through Shorty's eyes, and knows what he dreams is possible, though perhaps not as peaceful as he hopes.

The writing is superb, though it helps if you know a little bit of French or Creole. There is a lot of vernacular throughout Shorty's sections, and you can see what most of it means in the context of how it's used, but it makes for a more challenging reading experience.

What really got me with this title is the characters. It was hard to read about how violent they all are, and the evil acts they all do, but I have to say Lake wrote them in such a way that I understood why they became what they did, and still see their humanity. I could see why Shorty fell in with the Route 9 gangsters. There was one scene I couldn't stop thinking about where Biggie talks to his mother on the phone, and I cried.

If you're up for the challenge of the dark content and the difficult language, this is a book not to be missed.

Disclosure: I got this book from the library.

Audiobook Review: "Because It Is My Blood" by Gabrielle Zevin

Title: Because It Is My Blood

Author: Gabrielle Zevin

Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners, 2012 (print available from Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Narrator: Ilyana Kadushin

In book two of Gabrielle Zevin's Birthright series, we pick up Anya Balanchine's story after she is released from her summer incarceration at Liberty prison. This second installment had all the excitement and action of the first, as well as some great twists, but toward the end it fell victim to second-book syndrome.

Because of her prison time, Anya finds that not many schools will allow her to enroll with her checkered past. Eventually she finds herself in a situation she never envisioned herself in—she is sent to a different country, one where cacao is legal, to learn about how it is grown. But the longer she stays abroad, the more heated things get at home, until she must return to the life she has been condemned to live.

We come back into Zevin's futuristic America where chocolate and coffee are illegal and organized crime revolves around these two substances. I was struck by how much cacao's existence in this world mirrors marijuana's existence in ours, and I think that was what Zevin was aiming for, especially with some of the questions on the ballot in this upcoming election. It's an interesting parallel and does indeed make you think about illegal substances in our society, regardless of whether you believe they should be illegal or not.

The change of setting was welcome for me, as I'm not a huge fan of NYC anyway. Plus the new cast of characters that comes with the change of place is wonderful. Theo is my favorite character in the entire series so far now—love him. I'm interested to see where the next book will take us as far as the relationships between characters. Who will become allies, who will become enemies? It's pretty clear that Zevin has set up for something big in the next book.

That said, because of all the setup, the action tapered by the last pages of the book. We know something series shiz is about to go down, as Anya pretty much tells us so, but we are left with a short argument between Anya and another family member and then that's pretty much the end. Luckily the beginning and middle were gripping and full of action.

Ilyana Kadushin, as always, does an excellent job narrating Anya's story. Though her voices for other character's aren't always the most distinct, it doesn't really matter because Anya is the one telling it. Her narration is measured and calm, just what is needed for Anya.

I'm mostly looking forward to the next book in the Bloodright series, though I am also pretty apprehensive. I'm not a huge fan of violence, and I have the feeling there is going to be a lot in the next book.

Disclosure: I received this book for review from the publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Review: "All These Things I've Done" by Gabrielle Zevin

Title: All These Things I've Done
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners, 2011
Narrator: Ilyana Kadushin

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal substances. Manhattan is rife with crime, and speakeasies and black market trade are rampant. Sixteen-year-old Anya Balanchine is caught up right in the middle of everything, not because she happens to be alive in this time, but because her family owns the famous Balanchine Chocolate company, and because her father, now dead, was one of the most notorious crime bosses in the city.

Still, Anya tries her best to keep a low profile, since she doesn't want to bring attention to the fact that her bedridden elderly grandmother is their sole guardian, and her brother Leo is a bit mentally handicapped due to an accident when he was a boy. Unfortunately, when her ex-boyfriend is poisoned by chocolate that she gave him, she's all over the news and in a lot of trouble. It doesn't help that she starts a relationship with the district attorney's son. And all the while, she needs to maintain some sort of control of her brother and younger sister, Nattie, and keep them away from the influence of her mafia family.

The feel of this book is a mixture of dystopia and old-school gangster, what with the prohibition on chocolate and coffee. I never really read anything about organized crime, but I found the way Anya handles things and the way her family operates fascinating. She is incredibly cool-headed, and mostly seems completely in control, even when she's going crazy inside. I truly admired her character, and I loved how she took all of her father's words to heart. She was always recounting some piece of wisdom her father imparted when he was alive, and I actually found them to be truthful and/or valuable.

All of the characters are well-written, and I found myself caring for even the most dangerous characters. Except Gable; he's a jerkface.

The dystopian society itself is not too far off from where we could be headed. There is a water problem, but one not large enough to have water rationed—yet. It's just very expensive, sort of like gasoline today. And the illegal substances of our time parallel very well with the illegal substances of this world. Organized crime developed around the chocolate and coffee industries because of their illegality, and people get a "high" off both of them, much like drugs and alcohol today. Interestingly, alcohol is widely available for all ages here.

Zevin's language is, for lack of a better word, delicious. Something I want to sip slowly. I loved the atmosphere of her world.

As far as the audio version goes, Ilyana Kadushin does an excellent job. She sounds spot-on for Anya, not too old or young. Her voice is soothing with no annoying quirks that I find happens often in audiobooks. And, she does a great Russian accent for Anya's older family members. It's very easy to tell the difference between each character's dialogue.

I highly recommend the audio version of All These Things I've Done, and certainly recommend the book itself. I fully plan on reading the rest of the Birthright series when they are released.

Disclosure: Macmillan sent me a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.