May 2013 - The Y Logs

Yzabel / May 29, 2013

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

My rating: [rating=4]

Summary:

Clay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Bakera–his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list.

Review:

I’m not sure where exactly I stand regarding this book. I found it fascinating in many ways, including bad ones—sometimes like a trainwreack you can’t help but watch. This story may not be for everyone, and I feel that it has the potential to equally fascinate some people, and alienate others.

Hannah’s character is far from being perfect, far from being a pitiful victim: her stunt with the tapes, all things considered, is actually a pretty cruel one, at least for some of the people involved. Did Clay deserve to hear all that—and wasn’t his being on the tape just as strong accusation as the others (although a more implicit one)? Was the girl with the stop sign more guilty than the guy who wouldn’t take no for an answer at first? Didn’t Hannah bring a lot of her problems onto herself, just because she didn’t react when she should have, didn’t confront people directly, and remained on the side doing nothing? What gave her the right to impose the tapes to those involved (and to those who weren’t, such as the one in charge of keeping the second set)

And yet, it’s also hard to judge her negatively, because nobody reacts to a series of events the same way as the person next door. Had I been in Hannah’s case, I would’ve confronted people much sooner, and not resorted to suicide; but that’s me, a woman with a strong personality when confronted to a lot of stressors, while others that can take me down will do nothing to another person. I don’t think we can judge suicidal tendencies on the account of “Hannah’s problems were too petty to justify it”: it’s not a matter of what’s petty or not, it’s a matter of how people live with their problems. What snowballed for Hannah wouldn’t have done anything to someone else; what would prompt that same someone else to suicide may not have had such an effect on Hannah.

Hannah isn’t a particularly pleasant character, due to her planning the tapes and how it looked like a revenge of sorts. At the same time—something we barely scrape over at the very ending—her actions might also have the potential to bring people to start thinking differently, considering how what seems trivial, little things to them could have tremendous influence on others. In any case, I found this book to be quite a thought-provoking one.

Yzabel / May 27, 2013

Review: Eden

Eden by Janelle Stalder

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

Trapped within the cruel world of hormones and bullies, fifteen-year-old Aiden is convinced life has more to offer him. His instincts are proven correct on the night he is awakened by a voice calling to him from outside his window. As he sleepily peers into his yard, his eyes slowly focus on a woman who says she is there to take him to Eden. Aiden is about to fulfill the life purpose he never knew he had.

It is in Eden, a land on the brink of war, where Aiden will finally learn to trust himself and those around him. Accompanied by Wolf, his sidekick Logan, and the beautiful archer, Elisa, Aiden is soon thrust into a battle to save Eden. Meanwhile Elisa, the only girl in the King’s Army, is in the midst of her own struggles. Betrothed to a man she has no intention of marrying, Elisa is caught between the need to prove herself and her desire for true happiness. And now that she has met Aiden, she is more confused than ever.

In this action-packed fantasy tale, romance, adventure, and intrigue surround Aiden as he learns just what he is capable of when he discovers confidence and courage.

Review:

(Book provided by the author through Read It & Reap 144 in the Shut Up & Read group, in exchange for an honest review.)

Overall an entertaining book, with a world that seems interesting, and characters who have potential. However, there were several things I couldn’t really come to terms with.

Among its strong points lies the fact that most of the characters aren’t all black or white. The “bad ones” are able to show proper behaviour, and because they want to seize a kingdom doesn’t make them complete louts, in spite of their reputation. The “good ones” aren’t all perfect either—some are womanizers, can’t express their feelings, or are too proud to lay down their arms (manner of speaking). It paves the way for interesting relationships. The author took into account the training part of her hero, who doesn’t happen to already know everything there is to know as soon as he appears in Eden. As for the world itself, it seems to have potential too.

On the other hand, I regularly felt that this very potential wasn’t realised—which is too bad. For instance, a lot of time was devoted to training, but it would’ve been more believable if it had spanned over a few months, instead of a few days only. Some things were also cut short, or not explained enough. Rose seemed to be here mainly to highlight Callum, more than to create tension regarding her fate and that of her brother’s. I didn’t really understand the logics behind a couple of plot points: why didn’t the arrow turn the tide of the battle the other way, and how come things ended up so fast for the “good guys”? Why was sending Aiden back the only way to save him? (Diana said in the beginning that he couldn’t die while in Eden, which implied he could die in his own world… so what did she do that made it so that he would die in Eden, but not back home?)

Part of me liked the book, and kept on reading to know what would happen. Yet another part always wondered why some things weren’t explained, or seemed to be interrupted. Perhaps the next book will bring answers, but in the meantime, it’s quite frustrating; I could’ve done with a few pointers as to what might happen, so that I may form my own hypotheses in the meantime.

Consider this a 2.5 stars. This book isn’t bad, far from it, and will please some readers. I just think it left too many things unanswered, and moved too fast (in terms of time frame, not of chapter length) for some elements to be fully believable.

Yzabel / May 21, 2013

Review: Seraphina

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

My rating: [rating=5]

Summary:

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty’s anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen’s Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift – one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Review:

Mixed opinion on that one.

Gorgeous cover, for starters. Also, pleasant writing, more sophisticated than what is usually found in books intended for the targetted audience (while this might be a bad point for some, I had no difficulty with the vocabulary, and enjoyed the use of less common words for a change).

Rachel Hartman created a world that quickly caught my interest. Among other things: dragons who can take on a human shape in order to understand humans and uphold a decades-old peace treaty, yet are alien to “emotions”, and even fearful of them; zealots on both sides of the fence, who would like nothing more than to see the treaty gone; knights who’re the only ones left with the knowledge of how to fight dragons. Moreover, I was quite fond of some of the secondary characters. Orma was interesting to read about. Abdo and Lars were definitely of the nice kind. Dame Okra and her reactions often made me smile. Glisselda was a pretty positive character, with a strong streak and appropriate reactions.

Alas, I wasn’t so thrilled about the main characters, who fell too flat in comparison. Seraphina could have been much more interesting if her reactions had made more sense; for instance, she spent her whole life hiding who she was, going on with a well-established daily routine, but then throws herself head first into the investigation (I wanted to tell her “Well, do you want to be noticed, yes or no? Because you can’t have both.”). The prince, well… Nice, but nothing to write home about.

The pacing itself was a problem. The first part of the book dragged for a little too long, before things started to pick up, and I also think that the end dragged as well, considering what it dealt with. In my opinion, it should’ve ended sooner, instead of on the love-relationship part. And here’s another problem for me: the romance. Seriously, why, why does it always have to be about romance and love triangles nowadays? The story would’ve worked exactly the same way, with the same things at stake (being accepted for who one really is, fear of rejection, etc.) had Seraphina found a *friend* in Lucian, and not a *love interest* (which, by the way, came out of the blue). It doesn’t help that said love triangle is a bit on the twisted side, going as it is behind Glisselda’s back.

Overall, a pleasant enough read, but that would’ve been better for me without the romance (which felt forced) and with more punch and logics added to the main characters.

Yzabel / May 20, 2013

Review: Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

My rating: [rating=5]

Summary:

Hundreds of years in the future, after the Something that Happened, the world is an alarmingly different place. Life is lived according to The Rulebook and social hierarchy is determined by your perception of colour.

Eddie Russett is an above average Red who dreams of moving up the ladder by marriage to Constance Oxblood. Until he is sent to the Outer Fringes where he meets Jane – a lowly Grey with an uncontrollable temper and a desire to see him killed.

For Eddie, it’s love at first sight. But his infatuation will lead him to discover that all is not as it seems in a world where everything that looks black and white is really shades of grey…

If George Orwell had tripped over a paint pot or Douglas Adams favoured colour swatches instead of towels . . . neither of them would have come up with anything as eccentrically brilliant as Shades of Grey.

Review:

This is the first book I read by this author, so I didn’t know what to expect, but now I can say I was delighted. However, I would recommend to handle this story, especially its first half, with a fair amount of focus: the author hands out information about his world bits by bits, and one needs to be quite careful in order to understand how it functions. On the other hand, this means no, or very little info-dumps, which is something I always appreciate.

I really liked the illogical and somewhat humorous aspects of this book. In a way, it reminded me of the movie “Brazil” (which I loved). The society Eddie Russet evolves in is of the “dead-tech” quality, with regular “leapbacks” outlawing some machines, means of transportation and other implements, making things go backwards little by little; a lot of its regulations make no sense, but people comply just because those are the Rules, and after so many centuries of abiding by the latter, they just don’t know what else to live by.

The idea of a world based on colour perception is also something I found pretty interesting, not to mention that it raises questions: why are people able to see some colours and not others? Or not to see at night at all? Evolutionary speaking, it makes no sense—and here’s where the genius lies, and what makes me hope that an answer will be given in the upcoming sequel(s): who or what designed people to evolve that way? The whole lack of logics behind that actually has got a place in the bigger picture, and fits the nonsense aspect of Fforde’s world here.

Mixing dystopia with humour isn’t such an easy job, but I think the author did well here. Moreover, to me it may even be more efficient than “100% serious” dystopias, in that it better highlights the really dark aspects of such a society.

Yzabel / May 7, 2013

Review: Resenting the Hero

Resenting the Hero by Moira J. Moore

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

In a realm beset by natural disasters, only the magical abilities of the bonded Pairs—Source and Shield—make the land habitable and keep the citizenry safe. The ties that bind them are far beyond the relationships between lovers or kin—and last their entire lives… Whether they like it or not.

Since she was a child, Dunleavy Mallorough has been nurturing her talents as a Shield, preparing for her day of bonding. Unfortunately, fate decrees Lee’s partner to be the legendary, handsome, and unbearably self-assured Lord Shintaro Karish. Sure, he cuts a fine figure with his aristocratic airs and undeniable courage. But Karish’s popularity and notoriety—in bed and out—make him the last Source Lee ever wanted to be stuck with.

The duo is assigned to High Scape, a city so besieged by disaster that seven bonded pairs are needed to combat it. But when an inexplicable force strikes down every other Source and Shield, Lee and Karish must put aside their differences in order to defeat something even more unnatural than their reluctant affections for each other…

Review:

3.5 stars. Overall a pleasant and fun story to read. Don’t let the cover scare you away, even though it’s probably one of the worst I’ve ever seen in the fantasy genre, as far as published novels go.

I liked the concept of Source & Shield, the role they must fulfil in order to protect people from catastrophes. There are good sides as well as bad ones to such pairings: they’re respected, they get lodgings and food for free, they’re needed and know they help the world function in a better way… But some pairs have a dysfunctional relationship at best; if one makes a mistake, both get punished; and if one dies, the other dies too. An interesting aspect of the book was how it questioned the fundamentals behind the Source & Shield Service, gradually bringing the main character (and us readers) to realise how flawed it might me, at least on some points. Indeed, both Sources and Shields are recruited when very young, cut from their families, taught from that moment onwards to perform their respective roles—and are therefore injected with certain beliefs from the start. No need to develop more to see where this might be going.

Besides, while a little too theatrical to my taste, the villain actually made good sense when raising such points. Means and final goal? Bad. Rhetoric used to convince people? Not so bad itself, and hinting at many truths.

I was less thrilled about Lee, the narrator. I guess I expected something a little different. The blurb at the back of the book makes Karish appear as an unreliable character, full of heroics and prone to stunts and wild antics—and this is what Lee believes about him, and why she’s so annoyed as being Paired with him. The problem for me is that we don’t really get to see that, except for a couple of dialogues and parties that aren’t even so wild; most of the time, Karish actually behaves in quite reasonable ways (the less reasonable ones being the people fawning all over him). This in turn makes Lee seem very narrow-minded, voluntarily blinding herself, entrenched in her own ways, and refusing to give him a chance, ever. The whole relationship would have looked better if in the beginning, we had indeed been shown Karish behaving like an irresponsible young hero always seeking adventure and danger; or like a womanizer, with a different girl coming out of his room every odd morning. This would have make Lee’s predicament more believable to me.

Also, the world around the characters needed a little more building; but there are five other books in the series, if I’m not mistaken, so I hope such things will get developed in the next ones (which I’ll probably read, since I did enjoy the first).