Spirit and Dust

Spirit and Dust
by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Goodnight Family, book two

Daisy Goodnight can speak to the dead. It’s not the result of a head injury or some near-death experience. She was just born that way. And she’s really good at it. Good enough to help the police solve the occasional homicide.

But helping the local authorities clear cold cases is one thing. Being whisked out of chemistry class by the FBI and flown to the scene of a murder/kidnapping in Minnesota? That’s the real deal.

Before the promotion can go to Daisy’s head, she’s up to her neck in trouble. The spirits are talking, and they’re terrified. There’s a real living girl in danger. And when Daisy is kidnapped by a crime boss with no scruples about using magic—and Daisy—to get what he wants, it looks like hers is the next soul on the line. (description from Amazon.com)

I love Rosemary Clement-Moore's writing.  She's both realistically sarcastic and fun. In fact, if any of you are Veronica Mars fans, the main characters in all of R C-M's books feel very similar. Daisy is a girl who uses sarcasm as a deflector when she's terrified and as someone who talks to ghosts, that happens more than she ever would have hoped. 

Her FBI work doesn't usually put her into danger, but when her latest case gets her pulled into the clutches of a mob boss unused to people saying no, Daisy finds herself kidnapped and tricked into working with an arrogant, but very compelling partner... Reading along as Daisy and Carson interact was so much FUN.  They threw quips at each other in a style almost reminiscent of Lizzie Bennett and William Darcy.  Seeing them grow closer as secrets were revealed and they learned the truth of each other, I couldn't help but cheer their relationship on.  

Fun, exciting, and suspenseful, I very much enjoyed another adventure in the Goodnight family's chronicles...I hope to visit another cousin soon!

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my Library

Sally Slick and the Steel Syndicate

Sally Slick and the Steel Syndicate 
by Carrie Harris
Young Centurians, book one

Publication date: December 23, 2013

Every hero has a story. This one starts with a girl and a racing tractor. Sally Slick knows she's meant to be more than a Midwestern farm girl. What she wants more than anything is to be an inventor when she grows up-and she has the custom-built racing tractor to prove it. But good girls in 1914 don't go off to the city in search of adventure. Everything changes when Sally's big brother comes back from Chicago with a robot in hand and mobsters on his heels. With the help of her friend, wannabe hero Jet Black, Sally will risk everything to protect the people she loves. Those big-city bad guys are about to get a giant wrench thrown right into their plans. (description from Amazon.com)

Let me just say, I kinda want to BE Sally Slick when I grow up. No really, she's that cool.  This is a girl who can do it all.  Maybe she's not the greatest at some of the "girly" stuff, but her loyalty, caring, and good intentions overshadow what could be perceived as faults in 1914, and luckily Sally has a family that appreciates her for herself.  Especially when her special "talents" save the day. 

In the best sort of "pulp" fiction-y way, Sally's oldest brother gets mixed up with a Chicago mob led by a man with a metal face.  The Steel Don, looking to create a robot army to rule the city, ends up trying to recruit Sally to work for his organization because her mechanical skills are just that good. With her trusty sidekick, Jet Black, by her side, though, Sally is unstoppable and a shrapnel-throwing stink bomb, the very first jet-pack, and several other awesome invention-laden prank-style evasionary tacticts later, this teenage phenom saves the day.  

When Sally actually feels bad for doing what she can do, afraid her mother and brothers will frown upon her actions, she finds the exact opposite.  Happily, they embrace her awesomeness, AS THEY SHOULD, and her mother says something that really stuck with me:

"Darling, you have time enough to figure out what kind of woman you're going to be. Whatever that is, I'll be proud. And I'm proud of my girl now, because she's a hero to me." 

Amazeballs. I love it. No smart shaming here. Kudos to Carrie Harris and the other authors who are truly embracing female characters with skills.  Similar to my favorite character of all time, Tamora Pierce's Alanna, Sally Slick is a girl that I think could tackle any problem set in front of her.  I cannot wait to read her next adventure in Sally Slick and the Miniature Menace, coming in 2014.  

Full disclosure: Review copy received from Author

Gold Star Review - Boy21

Boy21 
by Matthew Quick

You can lose yourself in repetition--quiet your thoughts; I learned the value of this at a very young age.

Basketball has always been an escape for Finley. He lives in broken-down Bellmont, a town ruled by the Irish mob, drugs, violence, and racially charged rivalries. At home, his dad works nights, and Finley is left to take care of his disabled grandfather alone. He's always dreamed of getting out someday, but until he can, putting on that number 21 jersey makes everything seem okay.

Russ has just moved to the neighborhood, and the life of this teen basketball phenom has been turned upside down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, he won't pick up a basketball, but answers only to the name Boy21--taken from his former jersey number.

As their final year of high school brings these two boys together, a unique friendship may turn out to be the answer they both need. (Description from Amazon.com) 

This is a book that I never would have picked up without prompting.  It's got a sort-of unappealing cover, it's about basketball and boys that live in a not-so-nice neighborhood. Not my normal type of book. Am I glad, however, that I was forced to pick this one up? YES! 

I sat down to read this and I won't lie, I was pretty much figuring I'd hate it. Instead I found myself totally absorbed, unable to put the book down until long after my regular bedtime, even as my eyes were fighting me, wanting to close.  There is something about the tone of this book that hits it just right.  The story is powerful and haunting and absolutely, heartbreakingly believable.  I finished this book and immediately started recommending it the next day....to think I thought I'd hate it, LOL! 

Yes, there is violence, and yes, it's definitely a book for more mature YA/Adult readers, but I don't think there's a person out there who wouldn't find something in this book relatable or compelling once they started it. Please ignore the cover. Please trust me.  This is an excellent book and I am most definitely awarding it a GOLD STAR. 

Full Disclosure: Borrowed from my library 

Anxiously Awaiting...Nameless!

Nameless

by Lili St. Crow

Tales of Beauty and Madness, book one

Publication date:  April 4, 2013

Sixteen-year-old Camille doesn’t remember her life before she was adopted by the powerful Vultusino family—the missing childhood years that left her scarred and silent. Now she lives a life of luxury, protected by the supernatural Mafia Vultusinos, specially Nico, her adopted brother.

But Cami knows that she is not really Family. She is a mortal with a past that lies buried in trauma. And it’s not until a mysterious boy approaches her and reveals scars of his own that Cami begins to uncover the secrets of her past . . . to find out where she comes from and what danger she now finds herself in.

Oooh! This sounds like the creepiest version of Snow White that I've read in quite a while. I can't wait to check it out. I'd love to know what other tales she plans to tackle in the series, too!

All These Things I've Done

All These Things I've Done
by Gabrielle Zevin
The Birthright series, book one

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family. (description from Amazon.com)

This book *almost* earned a gold star. I LOVED it, overall. Anya is a great character. Overwhelmed by responsibility, emotionally wrung out, and yet she plugs away, pulling through, and maneuvering her way through a dangerous world. The world! Can we talk about how believable Gabrielle Zevin has made this world? Set in 2083, this is obviously in the future, and yet other than knowing about things that have become illegal, it feels as if it could take place tomorrow. There was never a doubt in my mind that this world could become a reality.

The designation of coffee and chocolate as illegal substances has created black market trading, which in turn has created mafia-like families that deal in these substances. Anya is a Ballanchine...and the Ballanchines are Russian chocolatiers. Seeing the Ballanchine crime family's interactions with each other and the outside world was fascinating. I loved how the family was ever present in Anya's mind.

The only thing that Anya considered more in her decision making was her religion. While some could consider this book as Christian fiction (because Anya is a devout Catholic, practicing to feel closer to her deceased mother), it never feels overwhelming. Some books have a religious theme that ends up overpowering the rest of the story. Here, it is just such a strong part of Anya's character that it only adds to the amazing story.

In fact, the only thing that I thought detracted at all from the story was that Anya would occasionally address the reader. The book is framed as a recounting of her early years, written almost as a journal. The reader easily forgets this, though, as the story goes on...until Anya suddenly addresses the reader...then goes back to the story. While not a bad idea in theory, in practice, it disrupts the flow of the story and feels jarring. However, it did not bother me enough to make me love the story any less...it just meant that the book wasn't quite perfect.

I have high hopes that book two in the Birthright series will indeed earn a coveted gold star review. For now, my recommendation? Ummm...READ THIS ONE. It was great! (And if you loved Holly Black's Curseworkers books, you will LOVE this one...)

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for AudioFile magazine, review copy received from Zeighost Media

All These Things I've Done - Book Trailer and Giveaway!

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty.think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.



I think that All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin sounds amazing! I can't wait to read this one. Thankfully, I'll get to...and maybe, so will you! Thanks to Zieghost Media, I have one copy up for grabs.

Want to enter to win a copy? Leave a comment with your name and email address by Sunday, September 11th. On Monday, September 12th, I'll randomly draw one winner and they will have until Saturday, September 17th to get me the address (US/Canada only per publisher) where they would like the book shipped. Good luck!!

White Cat

White Cat
by Holly Black
Curse Workers, book one

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen. (description taken from Amazon.com)

I had heard a lot about this book before reading it. I'm a huge Holly Black fan, so I really wanted to read it. The world building was fantastic, of course, but there had been a lot of "oohing" and "aaahing" over Cassel as a heartbreaker. I just didn't quite get that.

The curseworker world is fascinating. I love the way that everyone must wear gloves to keep from being worked. The charms that could prevent working are also a great idea. I also thought it was great how Black set things up with politics and world issues based on the curseworkers and their relation to society. Cassel goes to a sleep specialist who wants to give him the "test" - one that can determine if he is a worker...one that may soon become mandatory - for the safety of everyone in their society.

That typs of worldbuilding is just absolutely captivating. What didn't quite pull me in was the relationship between Cassel and Lila... I guess because he thought she was dead when the book began, I just didn't really believe the whole unrequited love thing he had for her. More believable was what he went through with Aubrey, the girl from school. I also loved his friendships with Sam and Daneca, his relationship with his grandfather, and the screwed up way that he related to his brothers and mother. Those relationships I felt were very believable.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, even if I didn't swoon over the main character. I will definitely read book two, Red Glove, when it comes out. Holly Black is a master worldbuilder.