November 2012 - The Y Logs

Yzabel / November 22, 2012

Review: I Hunt Killers

My rating: [rating=5]

Summary:

What if the world’s worst serial killer…was your dad?
Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.
But he’s also the son of the world’s most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could–from the criminal’s point of view.
And now bodies are piling up in Lobo’s Nod.
In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret–could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

Review:

I picked the ebook version, and now I deeply regret not having bought the paper one. Which I’ll buy when the second book is out. Because I’ll definitely read the second installment.

This novel was a terrific surprise: gripping and entertaining at once, although the themes tackled, and some gory scenes, probably wouldn’t be deemed as ‘entertaining’ by everyone. (I suppose you may say that gory doesn’t go well with YA, but I didn’t find them too graphic, so I guess they were alright in that regard.) The plot itself is fast-paced, not too complex, yet still intriguing enough, with a few potential culprits. But what I particularly liked, was that the most important point is Jasper’s psyche. Throughout the whole story, he has to fight his father’s influence, live with his always-present shadow, come to terms with his inheritance, with what he may or may not become, and this raises a lot of questions regarding nature vs. nurture. If your own father had from the start raised you to become a serial killer, would you necessarily become one too? Would your own sense of good and evil be so thwarted, forever, that you’d be fated to kill too? Or would you be able, if surrounded with ‘good’ people, to overcome such an education, and choose your own path in life?

Jazz is an interesting character, constantly questioning himself, his motives, and whether he will end up becoming a second Billy Dent. And there are occasions for him to become just that, when faced with choices to make, choices that may not seem such dilemmas to any other person but him; more than once, his thoughts carry him along dangerous paths, poising him on the verge of swinging one way or the other. His relationship with his crazy grandmother particularly reflects this: was what he choose for him, for her, the ‘proper’, humane choices to make? And what about the way he envisions his relationships with others, the way he always tends to resort to manipulating them, because ‘blending in’ is one of the first things his father taught him to do?

Barry Lyga was able to portray this young man without resorting to purely whiny, angsty writing, and in a way that makes it possible to relate to him whether you’re a boy or a girl, a teenager or an adult. Jasper is 17, and although he tends to delve into his problems a lot, life has also made him more mature in many ways, and he approaches his situation with a dark kind of humour that makes it all the more enjoyable. His best friend, Howie, also displays a sense of humour, and his funny retorts made me smile more than once; he too is a character that brings a lot to the novel, thanks to his touching relationship with Jazz. Another pillar of humanity in Jasper’s life is his girlfriend, Connie, who’s brave, independent, makes her own decisions, and doesn’t let him wallow in self-pity, constantly giving support while reminding him that he can fight his inner darkness if he wants to.

This book would have been interesting to me if only thanks to his theme; the relationships depicted in it really make it shine.

Yzabel / November 21, 2012

Review: One Last Lie

One Last Lie by Rob Kaufman

My rating: [rating=4]

Summary:

Philip and Jonathan have had the perfect life together for ten years – fulfilling every dream except that of having a child. Along comes Angela, Philip’s college friend who apparently conquered her old demons of obesity and manic-depression.

After reacquainting and becoming good friends, the three decide to have a child together through artificial insemination of Jonathan’s sperm.

From that point, Philip and Jonathan’s idyllic life begins to unravel. Angela’s mask of deceit gradually slips as her pregnancy awakens psychological and physical problems, leaving Philip and Jonathan regretting ever allowing her into their lives.

Told from an elderly Jonathan’s hospital bed, Angela’s tangled web unwinds into heartbreak, deception, legal battles, and finally murder – with a surprise ending no one could have ever imagined.

Review:

(Book provided by the author through ARR #436 in the Making Connections group, in exchange for an honest review.)

This book proved a little hard for me to read, because I kept on wishing well to the two main male characters, since they were so sweet… yet I knew from the beginning that it couldn’t end well for them, and so, as odd as it may sound, I sometimes found it hard to go on reading. By not reading, I’d delay the unavoidable.

I so enjoyed the relationship between Philip and Jonathan; it had a caring, vibrant dynamics, and they looked and felt to me like people who’d really deserve to be happy, especially after a first scare (Philip’s cancer, that left him sterile–this isn’t really a spoiler, you learn it pretty early in the book). The love between these two men was strong, almost tangible. They were characters I ended up caring about deeply, and this isn’t something that happens too often with me. I kept wanting to tell them “guys, there’s really something wrong with that Angela woman, get the hell away from her, like, fast!” (Angela, yes, I couldn’t stand. Not because she had issues, but because it seemed to me that even with those issues under control, she was still, deep at heart, a cold, manipulative personality who only cared about herself, and was ready to go to many lengths, through many lies, to get what she wanted.)

If there’s one thing I regret, it’s that the story was predictable enough to me. Half into the novel, perhaps a little earlier than that, even, I figured out most of what was going to happen; as I went on reading, I didn’t want to see my suspicions confirmed, and alas, they were. But in the end, it doesn’t matter: predictable or not, this book remains strong anyway for its characters, for the relationships that tie (and separate) them, for the intense feelings that go through it.

Yzabel / November 20, 2012

Review: Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He’s a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likeable: he only kills bad people. And his job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his victims. But when a series of brutal murders bearing a striking similarity to his own style start turning up, Dexter is caught between being flattered and being frightened-of himself or some other fiend.

Review:

I really liked the TV series (especially the first two seasons), and so I wanted to read the book that spawned it. And I must say it’s one of those rare cases when I actually liked the TV adaptation more than the original.

I’m not even sure I’d have liked the book more if I had never watched the Showtime series first. While the idea behind it–a serial killer working for the police force, and focusing his killing urges on murderers only, on people who sort of ‘deserve to die’–appealed to me, if only out of curiosity, I found the execution and writing quite poor. Dexter’s tone as he tells his story isn’t so witty as condescending, and too often I felt that the events were told rather than shown.

I had a hard time with the portrayal of Deborah, Angel, Doakes and other characters: too often they just seemed to be here to add people to the story, but things wouldn’t have been much different hadn’t they been there. I thought they deserved to be given more room, and more credit: mostly the Miami police is described as a bunch of idiots absolutely unable to do anything, which is rather hard to believe.

The events, too, unfold in a bizarre way, and Dexter’s dreams looked too much like an easy way to get to the ending. There didn’t seem to be any real police work involved, and too many chance encounters/conveniently placed hints packaged in dreams. I expected more from this book in that regard, more investigation on the part of the characters, and not what felt like a series of deus ex machina.

Once again, I admit that having watched the TV series first probably influenced me a lot; but the flaws I perceived in this novel would’ve stood out for me anyway. It’s an easy read, perfect to keep you busy for a few hours, without having to think much; however, if you really want to enjoy such a story, my honest opinion is that you watch the show instead. The characters in it are better developed, and the various steps of the investigation much more believable (and present!).

Yzabel / November 17, 2012

Review: Reapers With Issues

Reapers With Issues by H.E. Ellis

My rating: [rating=5]

Summary:

Death and the other Reapers have a challenge. Earth’s population has made soul collection a big problem, and according to Death’s figures, it will only get worse. Death is a skilled but reluctant bureaucrat who tries to enlist help before Human souls start backing up.

But since no good deed goes unpunished, Death and the other Horsemen will have to put up with a whole new approach to management from Heaven.

What is an entity to do?

Review:

(Book provided by the author through ARR #610 in the Making Connections group, in exchange for an honest review.)

I’m always up for stories that poke fun about serious themes, and ‘death’ and ‘angels’ have always been such themes for me. Reapers With issues deals exactly with those: the heavy celestial bureaucracy, with all the defects the latter term entails, and how figures of terror, the Four Horsemen, must deal with very day-to-day, down-to-earth problems regarding death. Their main problem being that there are only the four of them to do the job, while humanity keeps on multiplying. ‘Grim’ and his fellow horsemen go to quite a few lengths to keep their heads up, from filing up reports to indulging in buying weed from Saint Peter’s offspring. I found it very funny to see familiar figures of heaven and hell depicted under various, different colours here, within what is a nice satire of the corporate and bureaucratic world. Lucifer is exactly the kind of smart, manipulative bastard I’d expect him to be. Grim tries to tackle problems as seriously as possible, but let’s just say that between War’s antics and the new management imposed by God, this is proving harder and harder as the story progresses.

The least I can say is that this novel made me smile and chuckle, a lot. Granted, there were a few times when the humour wasn’t very subtle; but I think the author also did a good job in not overdoing it, and when fun is being poked at sensitive themes, it is always done so in a good-natured way, not in a voluntarily offensive one. Also, I commend the editing work done on this book. I didn’t notice any of the usual typos and misprints that tend to spring, and the author’s writing style was fluid and pleasant, both in descriptions and in dialogues.

Really, I can’t find many faults with this book. It made me spend a very good time, it was a short and fun reading, its characters made me laugh, and all in all, it’s a novel I’d easily recommend to my friends.

Yzabel / November 14, 2012

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

My rating: [rating=1]

Summary:

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

Review:

This book being all the hype, I borrowed it to know what exactly it was all about. Because whether I say “this is great” or “this is crap”, formulating an opinion when I haven’t actually read the book is unfair. Then I wondered if I should bother writing a review or not. And then I thought, screw that, a lot of things in FSoG bothered me, so I might as well write them out in the open.

First, this book is way too long. I don’t plan on reading #2 and 3, but I’m positive that the three of them would just deserve to be condensed into one novel, not more. While I found the first half okay-ish, the second one just bored me, hot scenes included, and mostly I had to force myself to finish and not skim too much. The plot is pretty much inexistant, since what is at stake is given to us fairly quickly, and the ‘twist’ at the end didn’t feel like one at all (in fact, it even felt forced to me, in a “oh, heh, so it took her THAT LONG” way).

Second, I don’t understand what’s all the hype about the sex scenes. I’ve read better fanfic porn than that. Hell, I write better porn myself, and I’ve got, what, two porny short stories under my belt, at most? Maybe it feels hot if all you’ve ever had in your life is sex for the only sake of procreating; or if you’re a virgin and only have had books/movies to enlighten you about what it’s like. And please, authout, please, stop ruining sexy scenes by inserting WTF reality-check moments in them. For instance, we women know very well what it’s like to be on our period; but do we really need to read about Christian removing Ana’s tampon? Or being given the image of Ana lying naked in a hotel bed afterwards… probably putting blood in the sheets? Sorry, E.L. James; not aroused here.

Third, I also don’t get all the “this book is empowering” talk. It isn’t. Ana’s telling of her relationship just looked like abused woman thinking—including moments when she’s afraid of Christian, speaks in terms of “being hit” (and not spanked/other BDSM/sex play terms), and so on—and I just can’t fathom that this would be “empowering” in any way, to anyone. As for the BDSM aspects, even though I’e never been attracted to that kind of play and don’t know that much to it, I fairly doubt that people who enjoy such relationships behave like those characters. Just like I don’t appreciate the underlying message of “every person into BDSM is necessarily like that because s/he’s fucked-up deep inside”. Uhm, (bad) cliché much? (Any review reader who’s into it, please, enlighten me if I’m wrong.)

The characters themselves didn’t do much for me. What we are told about Ana and the way she behaves are mostly contradictory. Just like the way she treats her friends and family doesn’t show her as a kind person, but as egotistic persona who’s only able to bitch and criticize. E.g. almost everything we’re presented with regarding her best, excellent friend Kate is derogatory, when all Kate’s wrongdoings are being pretty, catching a cold, getting into a relationship with a handsome man, and questioning Ana about what she instinctively perceives as being a fucked-up relationship (I guess *I* would like a friend to be like that with me if I’m ever heading into a dangerous love affair with a manipulative man who hits and frightens me—yeah, so empowering, that). As for the cliché of the pale, thin clumsy brunette who sees herself as ugly/not deserving attention: so tiring, especially when the author TELLS us that, but all the other characters seem to consider her as beautiful… and her clumsiness is presented as her only flaw (such a mighty flaw at that…) while her real flaws (like, being a shitty friend) are overlooked.

Also, do your homework before characterizing things like “subconscious” and “inner goddess”, especially since they’re so present in the novel. If we want to dive into psychology here, Ana’s “subconscious” is really her Superego—it’s way too reasonable and logical to be anything else. And her “inner goddess” is definitely an Id in disguise, which is why the author using that expression is another of my pet peeves. (Seriously, the wording”inner goddess” would naturally mean to me “every woman is like a goddess and deserves to be respected, worshipped, etc.” Here, it’s all but that. My Id/reptilian mind/instincts are allowed to call for sex and/or pain; not my “inner goddess”. And let’s not delve into how that goddess of hers is almost constantly compared to a child, jumping up in expectation for ice-cream or play, which is… disturbing when put on the same level as sex.)

There are nice things in FSoG, though. I enjoyed a lot of the e-mails between Ana and Christian, much like I enjoyed their use of Mr. Grey/Miss Steele in their conversations (now that’s the kind of play that can easily become pleasant if, like me, you enjoy teasing banter). But all its flaws definitely put me off too regularly to allow me to enjoy even those fully.

Yzabel / November 7, 2012

Review: Tales The Wind Told Me

Tales the Wind Told Me by Rachel Eliason

My rating: [rating=4]

Summary:

A collection of imaginative tales of myth and magic. Enter a world where a woman must seek her sleeping beauty, a girl must dance with death and trolls walk the streets of Des Moines, Iowa. This is the world of Rachel Eliason, where myth and magic are interwoven with everyday life. It is a place of far flung science fiction and imaginative prose. Aliens manipulate their DNA to create the ultimate caste system, corporations conspire to make you fat and just this once, the sissy gets to be the hero.

Review:

(Book provided by the author through ARR #52 in the We ♥ YA Books! group, in exchange for an honest review.)

This collection of short stories I found particularly enjoyable, focusing as it did around two sets of themes that were both explored in interesting ways: folklore and tales (trolls, the Boondangle spirit, Sleeping Beauty…), and LGBT-related issues (which would definitely deserve to be ‘advertised’ more, because they’re part of the book’s strong points). The author’s own evolution is reflected in those stories, and what’s at stake in them is carried in ways that seem just natural—in the open, but also with a certain subtlety that makes them flow.

As usual with short stories, every reader has his/her favourite ones. I definitely liked the “Troll stories” a lot, for the way they integrate myths and changeling creatures into urban everyday life. “Dancing with Death” was really poignant, and a beautiful lesson about how to accept death, leaving your beloved ones with dignified memories of yourself. “The Boondangle” had me reflect on quite a few things, especially how we may think we have accepted parts of ourselves that we actually dread, and how easy—yet also damageable—it would be if those were to be taken away from us. Finally, “Gemone” was a wonderful story that definitely holds potential for more, for being even turned into a novel, in terms of plot, world building, characters and thoughts; the society developed in it was, simply put, fascinating.

As for editing matters: I noticed a few typos and editing issues here and there; the only one that bothered me was in “Gemone”, with a tense shift whose role I didn’t understand (either it’s just me, or it was remnants of an original version written in the present tense?).

Yzabel / November 5, 2012

Review: A Vision of Green

A Vision of Green by L.H. Cosway

My rating: [rating=4]

Summary:

Since moving to Chesterport Flo has discovered new friends and a hidden world.

After spending seventeen years as an Empath, thinking she was either delusional or very, very different, she has found others who are different too. She helped battle a coven of dark witches and watched as their leader got sent to her judgement. All now seems peaceful in her new town, but it’s not going to last.

For one, Flo’s dad is back on the scene and has taken over her dead grandmother’s house with his new girlfriend. Dealing with him makes Flo think that maybe everyday people can be monsters too, as he blackmails her into giving up the one person she needs the most. Secondly, Flo hears a story about strange goings on in the nearby forest, and becomes obsessed with the magical things that might lie in its green depths.

A Vision of Green is the second instalment in the Florence Vaine trilogy, where Flo finds herself yet again immersed in mystery, romance and things that are just a little bit scary. She will come across new adversaries, supernatural and otherwise, discover more about her own identity and grow in ways she had never anticipated.

Review:

(Ebook version kindly sent to me by the author herself, in exchange for an honest review.)

A few months ago, I had read the first volume of L.H. Cosway’s Florence Vaine series, “A Strange Fire”, and had liked it a lot. This second installment doesn’t disappoint either.

We find here characters from the previous novel: Florence, the girl with the power to see and modify people’s auras; Frank, her boyfriend, and his family, most of which share the same particularity of being inhabited by a demon’s soul; Josh, the unpleasant school mate; but also Terry, Florence’s father, who is much more present in this book. All of their personae were enjoyable in their own rights, and I was glad to see more of them, and in a way that didn’t make them lose their appeal compared to the first novel (something that, I’ve noticed, sometimes happens in second volumes, as if everything had been said about those characters, and there’s nothing new left to expect). Flo is both strong and awkward, fighting with the predicaments she’s in, yet never giving up. Frank is adorable, always ready to help her, yet also respecting her wishes, even though this may go against his nature. Josh is also interesting, in that he’s clearly a negative mirror of Florence: what she could (have) become if she had let herself being completely crushed by her father… yet I could still sense a hope for redemption in him (his behaviour could have been much worse). Even Florence’s father is not made of so many shades of black, because for all his dark sides and awful behaviour, there are a few things that explain how he became this way.

In this novel, Florence also seems to take matters in her own hands more readily than in the first story, a sign that her character has been evolving; her decisions may seem unwise at times (why stay with her abusive father, of all things?), but understandable, for they show her will to fight by herself, and not simply run away and let other people protect her. This I find always enjoyable in a character, even though I know it often also brings more problems that it solves.

We also get to learn more about what dwells in the forest near Chesterport, and are offered an insight into another part of the supernatural world, as well as more information about how Florence acquired her powers… and a hint that, much like she learnt how to manipulate and not only see auras, those powers may not be done ‘growing’ (but is this for in her best interests?). The plot centering about the forest is wrapped up nicely at the end—no frustrating cliffhanger—yet it’s also clear that the bigger picture isn’t completed yet, and that there is more to come. I’m definitely eager to see how everything will resolve in the next book.