Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Please Ignore Vera Dietz
by A. S. King

Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.

So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to? (Description from Amazon.com) 

Okay, I give you this review full of trepidation.  Why, you ask? Well, not only have I been recommended A.S. King's books by, well, just about every librarian I know, but this book in particular has been lauded over and over.  It won a Printz Honor and has made COUNTLESS award nomination lists.  One of my librarian friends (Heather, you know who you are!) actually grew up with A.S. King and has been hounding me because I'd never read any of her books.  

So, what's the problem? ...the book didn't really do it for me. *braces for shouting and slapping* 

I liked it...mostly, but I in no way experienced the deep love that I had been anticipating.  I have no idea of that's in part due to the high bar I set for the book or because I listened to it on audio, so couldn't completely immerse myself in Vera in the fifteen minutes here and there that I was listening... I just didn't get it.  

I found Vera to be a very real and fully formed character. I liked the storyline and thought that it was very thoughtful...but I was never "wowed." 

I am hoping to pick up ASK THE PASSENGERS soon. I've heard again that this is a stellar book, so hopefully that one will hit me the right way. If not, I guess it may be that A.S. King's books aren't for me. We'll have to see... 

Full disclosure: Audio book borrowed from my Library

Pandora Gets Angry

Pandora Gets Angry
by Carolyn Hennesy Pandora
series, book five

Pandora and her friends are off to Persia to track the fifth evil: Rage. They have camels to help them cross the desert, but mysterious sandstorms and frightening strangers keep them from moving quickly. Luckily, help arrives in the form of a cute Persian boy who helps Pandy and her friends search for Persia's secret Garden of the Jin. In the garden, where genies hide their treasure, there is a lamp that was once used to imprison an angry genie. So Pandy & Co. just have to figure out how to capture one of the most enraged genies of all time. Easy, right? (Description from Amazon.com)

If you are a mythology lover, you should definitely try this series. It's great if you are having Percy Jackson withdrawl. The premise is fun, the characters are great and there is tons of magic and mythology to keep things fresh and fun.

I loved the Persian mythology and magic in this one. It was neat to learn about some of the gods from that part of the world. It also had genies...I always end up trying to decide on smart wishes whenever I read about genies...

There was a little more romance in this one and very great loyal friendships. There were moments that made me snort and ones that made me tear up a little. I cannot wait to see what the trip to Rome in the next book about Greed brings...

Rage - Blog Tour

Rage
by Jackie Morse Kessler
Publication date: April 4, 2011

Missy didn’t mean to cut so deep. But after the party where she was humiliated in front of practically everyone in school, who could blame her for wanting some comfort? Sure, most people don’t find comfort in the touch of a razor blade, but Missy always was . . . different.

That’s why she was chosen to become one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War. Now Missy wields a new kind of blade—a big, brutal sword that can cut down anyone and anything in her path. But it’s with this weapon in her hand that Missy learns something that could help her triumph over her own pain: control.

A unique approach to the topic of self-mutilation, Rage is the story of a young woman who discovers her own power and refuses to be defeated by the world.(description from back of book)


Wow. I had been blown away by the first book in this series, Hunger, and I am even more impressed with this addition. This book was not easy to read by any means...cutting is a very hard topic to address...but Kessler is a master. Truly.

This book was raw, gripping...I'm having trouble describing exactly how it made me feel. I have always had issues dealing with blood, gore, that type of thing...so books like this, about cutting, have always kind of been a pass for me. The melding of self-mutilation with the fantasy aspect of becoming War, one of the four Horsemen of th Apocalypse...not passable!

Don't get me wrong. There are descriptive passages in this book that I basically had to skim - and not always just because it was graphic. Sometimes the emotions behind the cutting urge were so dominant and...heartwrending...that I needed to take a step back.

Then, as Missy begins to take control. I became more and more emotionally vested in her success and her triumphs became mine as a reader! When I closed this book, there were tears in my eyes, my throat felt tight...but I was satisfied. As tough as this was to read, I would do it again, and again. I cannot wait to see how Kessler tackles Pestilence in book three!

Definitely a must read for 2011.

Full disclosure: ARC received as part of Book It Forward ARC Tours for review