Audiobook Review: "Sapphire Blue" by Kerstin Gier

Title: Sapphire Blue
Author: Kerstin Gier
Translator: Anthea Bell
Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners, 2012 (print available from Henry Holt & Co.)
Narrator: Melisa Calin

After finding out she and not her cousin Charlotte is the carrier of her family's time travel gene, and the fallout of this discovery in Ruby Red, Gwyneth Shepherd is back in this second volume of the trilogy, which takes place immediately after the first in the series. Gwyneth continues her quick training, basically dance and history lessons so she'll fit in when she goes back in time with Gideon, the other carrier in her generation, and continues to try to understand what the heck is going on and why no one will answer any of her questions. Everyone seems to know something she doesn't, and everyone seems to be distrustful of her—not because of anything she's done, but because of what they think she will do in the future. Plus she's got this prophecy about being the raven and the ruby that she has no idea what to do with. So she begins to do some of her own detective work with her friend Leslie, and a wisecracking ghost of a gargoyle named Xemerius who does some spying for her, seeing as how no one can see him and he can walk through walls and all. (If you'll remember from Ruby Red, Gwyneth can see and talk to ghosts.) But will she be able to figure out the secrets that everyone is determined to keep from her, and other deeper, darker secrets, before she loses her own life?

Word to the wise, don't read this book unless you've read Ruby Red, because you will have absolutely no idea what's going on. I had a bit of trouble considering I hadn't read the first book for at least a year when I began listening to this one, although Gier did do a good job of inserting reminders and quick explanations without it being like the first chapter of the Babysitters' Club books and completely rehashing the story in a few pages.

I'm still struck with how brilliantly Anthea Bell did her translation. The humor is in full force, just like in the first volume, and there were very few if any phrases that didn't work. It makes me wonder what Gier's original German was like! I guess unless I learn German I'll never know, but Bell's translation is pretty fantastic anyway.

The action is back too, with plenty of still-unsolved mysteries and yet-to-be-revealed secrets. A few things come out here, but the tension has increased by the end of the book and the stakes have been raised. (Who is the nefarious Count St. Germain, and what does he want?) We know things could go really wrong for Gwyneth. Really, that's all you can ask for a second book in a trilogy, so I'm not disappointed. Certainly I'm looking forward to book three, Emerald Green, for the big reveals and finales. I have my own theory about a few things going on.

The one thing that really wasn't my favorite thing was the romance. I don't really get the whole Gideon/Gwyneth relationship, but to be fair, Gwyneth doesn't really know either. It's explained sort of by the end, but I wish he weren't so rotten to her when he decides he doesn't want to be her friend. I felt really bad for her and understood her confusion about him.

Melisa Calin was a decent choice for narrator. There were times when her English accent sounded strange to me, like she was actually putting on an accent, but I got used to it as the recording progressed. She did a good job of giving different voices to different people and I didn't really have a problem figuring out who was talking. I did, however, have trouble figuring out if Gwyneth was saying something out loud or thinking it, and I often had to relisten to portions because I wasn't sure if everyone else had heard what she said or if it was in her head. But that's more the issue of not having a clue within the text, and isn't really anyone's fault.

All in all, the audiobook of Sapphire Blue was a fun experience, and the book itself is a great continuation of the story. I am really eager to find out what happens in the final volume! (Hint hint: Anyone with a galley, I'd love to borrow it.)

Disclosure: I received this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: "Fathomless" by Jackson Pearce

Title: Fathomless
Author: Jackson Pearce
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2012

Lo is a woman of the sea, what one might call a mermaid (though she has no fins). She can't remember her life before the sea, just the vague thought that she had one. But she feels like she is happy under the water and tries to forget.

Celia is a triplet with the power to see a person's past with just a touch, though she feels her power is the most disappointing out of the three sisters—Anne can see a person's future, and Jane can see their thoughts in the present. Celia is shy and feels slightly useless compared to her sisters.

When the two girls meet and together save a boy from drowning, they discover how Celia can help Lo recall who she once was. But does Lo want to know? And what is the cost Celia will have to pay?

In this third installment of the Fairy Tale Retellings trilogy by Jackson Pearce, characters mentioned in the two previous books have their own story told. This isn't really a spoiler, so I'll tell you that Celia and her sisters are the much younger sisters of Silas from Sisters Red, and Lo is of course Naida, Sophie's sister from Sweetly. Finally the two stories come full circle, though that's not to say there isn't room for expansion down the road if Pearce decides to take that route.

I enjoyed the dynamics of the three sisters. Their mother is dead and their father has Alzheimer's, which is a terrible thing especially since they are only 17, so they are all each other has. It's very hard for Celia since she feels like the odd girl out, which leads her to take some risks she perhaps shouldn't when she discovers a use for her power. We see the sister relationships mature during the course of the book, giving more dimension to the characters in the process.

Fathomless rounded out what is now a trilogy very nicely. There was plenty of mystery and action, as Celia meets Lo at night on the shore and tries to read her past. We who have already read Sweetly basically know what has happened already, but it's still exciting to see Lo/Naida get there. One thing I really loved was how the perspective kept changing—first from Lo to Celia and so on, but then Naida had her own chapters as well. What made it really interesting toward the end was Celia not knowing which personality was in charge of Lo/Naida. It takes a bit of concentration to keep everything straight, but I didn't think there was anything too confusing going on.

If you've read Pearce's other fairy tale retellings or you like fractured fairy tales/modernizations of classic tales, this is a solid contribution to the genre. (By the way, this is Pearce's take on "The Little Mermaid.") I've found Pearce's retellings to be original and fresh, and this one is no exception.

Disclosure: I borrowed this copy from a friend.

My review of "The Diviners" up on The Broke and the Bookish

Yesterday I posted my review of Libba Bray's The Diviners, a wonderfully creepy and thrilling story about supernatural and occult happenings and murders in NYC during the 1920s. You can check it out here.

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.

Book Review: "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman

Title: Ungifted
Author: Gordon Korman
Publisher: Balzer + Bray, 2012

Donovan Curtis has always been one to act before thinking. He'll just get this urge and act on it, and then he'll have to deal with the consequences afterward. But when his impulses lead to the accidental destruction of the middle school gym, he knows he's made a huge mistake this time. Luckily for him, an error works out in his favor and sends him to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction and away from the wrath of Superintendent Schultz, who has conveniently forgotten the name of the student he caught red-handed. Unfortunately Donovan is decidedly not gifted in the same ways his new classmates, all with extremely high IQs, are. Yet despite how clear it is he doesn't belong, he manages to figure out just what the self-described nerds need. He just needs to be able to fake his way through the Academy in order to stay there and out from under the watchful eye of the man looking for him.

This was a really fun look at what might happen if an average kid was thrown in a group of supersmart ones, though it was not without its flaws. Donovan really throws a wrench into the relatively normal proceedings of the Academy, which is admittedly far beyond what you would see in a regular middle school. I really liked how Donovan highlights this; the smart kids get all sorts of advantages and a very nurturing environment in which to work and learn, as opposed to the dismal surroundings and equipment found at his old school, Hardcastle Middle, where each grade has about 300 students. Korman shows how the way students are treated and the tools they have can really make a huge difference.

This story was told with lots of humor, too. This is my first book I've read by Korman, but I hear this is pretty typical of his work. The situations that Donovan gets himself into, and that the Academy students end up in, are pretty funny to read about. Plus the characters themselves are funny, both in manner and in the things they say.

One of the things I most appreciated about this book was how Korman wrote about a realistically pregnant woman in Katie, Donovan's very pregnant sister who ends up being a huge part of the plot. He does not shy away from the physical discomforts about being pregnant, such as the constant need to go to the bathroom, swollen ankles, the difficulty of moving around, etc. She is grumpy about her situation, and the fact that she misses her husband who is serving in Afghanistan only adds to her character and fueled my sympathy. It's rare that I read about a pregnant character who is engaging in the way Katie is, and who kids might be able to relate to. No, they might not be able to relate to the baby stuff, but her relationship with her brother is something any kid with a sibling can get. Plus, now readers will know a bit more about Human Growth and Development.

Yet this novel had its flaws too. I had trouble with the incredible stereotypical image given to the kids at the Academy. All are smaller and shrimpy, physically weak, and pasty from lack of sunlight. I understand that Donovan and his "normalcy" are at the heart of the book, but it kind of gives the message that supersmart people are all supposed to look and act a certain way. I'm also unsure as to the amount of diversity in the book, though there was little to no physical description of the characters so that could be left up to the reader to decide the ethnicities of the students—mostly all I had to go on was "pasty," which doesn't really lend me to think there are many (if any) students of color. I wish there had been more description, and character development actually. Only a handful of people had more to their character than how smart they were and their special talents. We occasionally got a first-person perspective from secondary characters, but many are left completely undeveloped.

Despite the issues I had with the characters, Korman manages to tell a fresh, fun story about how a person's ungiftedness might actually be his gift. It's a story of teamwork, friendship, and robots, which are always fun to have around.

Disclosure: I got this book from my local library.

Top Ten Books We Shouldn't Forget — Banned Books Week Edition

This week is Banned Books Week, and I have been trying to think of something to post about it. Luckily, this week's Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) theme is books we don't want people to forget, and that works just perfectly with Banned Books Week. The best books to remember are the ones others want you to forget.

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Hands down one of the best, if not THE best, young adult novel I've ever read. If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor and do it this week.

2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Another brilliant novel, which is also often challenged. In happier news, this was recently made into a movie and is in theaters now. I would really like to see it!

3. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This is a classic in YA lit as far as I'm concerned. Who remembers the Scroggins challenge?

4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I don't think anyone in America went through high school without reading this book, it is that much a part of American literature and our culture. A masterpiece, one that will never be forgotten.

5. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. The first in a series of historical fiction about a black family in Mississippi, in 1933. Needless to say, there is abundant racism, and it's been banned for language, yet how can we forget this time in history and ignore what happened? I listened to this on audio, narrated by Lynne Thigpen (I remembered her from the game show Carmen Sandiego), and it is excellent.

6. The Color Purple by Alice Walker. This is just a great book that I feel doesn't get enough attention anymore.

7. The Giver by Lois Lowry. Another classic in children's lit, now complete with the release of Son today!

8. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. An older paranormal romance, before they got truly eyeroll-inducing. I thought this werewolf story was very well done, with the ending I wanted (maybe not the one you would want, but I was happy with it). This one has been challenged for sexuality and unsuitability to age group.

9. Anastasia series by Lois Lowry. I've only read the first in this series, but it was so funny that it's hard for me to forget it. I really should continue the series.

10. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. This will forever be my favorite and have a place in my heart.

There you have it! My top ten favorite banned/challenged books that shouldn't be forgotten. I'm sure this list could be added to, because unfortunately many cases are made each year for banning or censoring books. Celebrate your right to read this week by reading one from this list, or really any book you want.

Book review: "My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece" by Annabel Pitcher

Title: My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece
Author: Annabel Pitcher
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company, 2011

Though his sister Rose died five years earlier in a terrorist bombing, Jamie's family can't seem to get past it. His mother has abandoned him, his older sister Jas, also Rose's twin, and their father for another man; his father has descended into alcoholism, drinking heavily in the morning and passing out for most of the day. The only person he has is Jas, despite his hopes that his mother will come back to them some day soon. As he begins school in a new place after they move to the Lake District, Jamie soon meets Sunya, the only Muslim in his class and the only person who seems to want to be his friend. His father hates Muslims because they killed Rose, but Sunya throws Jamie off balance with her kindness, when she sticks up for him at school, and with her attempts at friendship. Though this all confuses him, he tries his best to figure out the best way to act, how to get through each day, and how he can get his family to be a family again.

This is quite a heavy book. We start with the specter of a dead, and therefore perfect, sister who is basically worshipped by a grieving father, leaving his other two children ultimately invisible. It's really a story about a broken family, bad parenting, and the effects they have. Jamie and Jas must learn to live on their own and take care of themselves, as their dad cannot seem to function and certainly can't take care of his family in the constantly drunk state he lives in. For most of the book Jamie stays in the same Spider-Man T-shirt, and I could not believe no one made him change or at least take a shower. And poor Jas must live with being the remaining twin, unable to make a change in her appearance without getting hell for it from her parents who feel the need to cling to whatever part of Rose they can.

There is so much to this novel. Racism, eating disorders, bullying, alcoholism, abandonment, grief, loss. Yet all of it comes from Jamie, a 10-year-old boy who doesn't even remember the sister that is gone. He doesn't grieve for Rose, but rather for the mother he has lost and the father who can't make himself get out of bed in the morning as a result. Jamie can't even feel comfortable being friends with Sunya for a long time because of the incredible hatred his father feels toward every Muslim no matter who they truly are inside.

The characters are all really well developed. I loved Sunya, who is incredibly strong for going up against every kid in their Catholic school with a spark of mischief in her eye and a way at getting back at people for their misdeeds. Jamie, our narrator, is complex and has complex emotions about what has happened to his family, showing himself to be a victim of terrible circumstance and the grief of others. Jas is a wonderful sister, though not perfect. She takes care of Jamie as best as a 15-year-old can, but she still wants her own life and not one that she must share with a dead girl. Even Jamie's father, deadbeat that he is, has depth.

One thing I am unsure of is how middle grade readers will respond to this. Some will race through the pages once Jamie's forbidden friendship with Sunya begins, as I did, but I'm sure some will find it too heavy to stick with for long. Maybe I'm selling the intended audience short on this, but I guess I just feel like this wouldn't have been something I would have picked up when I was 12.

Has anyone else read this? What were your thoughts? How do you think middle grade readers will respond?

Disclosure: I got this book from the library.