Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Book:  Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink

Author:  Stephanie Kate Strohm

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Date:  May 8, 2012

Source:  Publisher via Netgalley

My grade:  B-

A story of crushes, corsets, and conspiracy

Libby Kelting had always felt herself born out of time. No wonder the historical romance-reading, Jane Austen-adaptation-watching, all-around history nerd jumped at the chance to intern at Camden Harbor, Maine’s Oldest Living History Museum. But at Camden Harbor Libby’s just plain out of place, no matter how cute she looks in a corset. Her cat-loving coworker wants her dead, the too-smart-for-his-own-good local reporter keeps pushing her buttons, her gorgeous sailor may be more shipwreck than dreamboat — plus Camden Harbor’s haunted. Over the course of one unforgettable summer, Libby learns that boys, like ghosts, aren’t always what they seem.

MY REVIEW

Initial reaction:  Meh, it’s ok……

Title and Cover

I think the title and the cover are both very fitting for this book.  You can take one look at it and know that it’s not going to change your life, but it might entertain you for a few hours on the beach or in the car.  The cover is cute and it actually fits with the story, which is sort of hard to find these days!

The Plot

The plot of this book left me a little underwhelmed.  Honestly, there wasn’t a lot of meat to this read.  I think that the whole romance with Cam was completely rushed and so I never understood Libby’s attachment to him.  In fact, I think this story could have used another 100 pages to flesh out some of the plotlines and it would have been much better.  As it stands, this plot is sort of like cotton candy.  It tastes really good going down, but it leaves you still hungry for something with more substance when you’re finished.

The characters

This was the highlight for me in this book.  The characters were very interesting.  Libby was a contradiction in terms, but it worked.  Ashling was a great mean girl and it was funny to see the nerdy girl get to be mean for a change.  I liked Garrett a lot and even Cam was fairly interesting.  The show stealer though was Dev, Libby’s gay BFF, and was he ever fabulous!  I wish that we could have seen more of him!  The little girls from the camp were adorable.  In fact, this cast of characters was so wonderful that if the plot had been fattened up a bit, I think I would have ended up LOVING this book.  Instead, I feel like it was an alright read, but nothing that I’m going to rave about with random people on the street. (Yes, I really do that.)

The final grade

My final grade for this is a B-.  It ended up being ok when I got to the end, but I really wish that parts of it had been better developed.  This is one to check out from the library and toss it into your beach bag or backpack for a little bit of very light and fluffy reading.

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.  I received no compensation for my review except for a nice description of shirtless colonial American guys.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's topic is:

Top Ten Favorite Characters of All Time

1. Lizzie Bennett from Pride and Prejudice

This is one of my all-time favorite books and Lizzie is the very best character in it. I love her wicked sense of humor and her snark. She is also not willing to just sit back and let society make of her what it will. Even though women were not considered equal to men in this society, Lizzie stands up for herself and demands that she be treated well. I LOVE that about her.

2. Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series

What makes Hermione such a great character is that she is a smart girl. Harry might be the hero, but he wouldn’t have gotten very far without Hermione. She saved his butt so many times and she is so ridiculed for her intelligence, but Hermione would NEVER be one of those girls who pretend to be dumb because she thinks it is more feminine. Bravo for her!

3. Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series

I love Dumbledore’s little nuggets of wisdom throughout the whole series. I wish someone would make a set of posters with them. Yet, even though he is so wise, he’s not too terribly serious and that seems to be the wisest thing of all about him.

4. Edward Cullen from Twilight

Edward Cullen is the quintessential tormented anti-hero. What makes him so perfect is that he is not. But he is perfect for Bella, in spite of what he thinks. He is such a tragic figure.

5. The Vampire Lestat from The Vampire Chronicles

Lestat is very similar to Edward Cullen, but he is much more fascinating as a character. He has so many facets to his personality. In “Interview”, he is made out to be the bad guy, but once you keep reading, you discover that Lestat is just as tortured and tragic as the other vampires. What I like about Lestat though, is that he never mopes about his tortured existence. Instead, he embraces vampirism with a sort of cockiness that is very attractive.

6. Morgan LeFay from The Mists of Avalon

I loved this incarnation of the King Arthur tale and Morgan Lefay becomes the good guy in this retelling. I love her independence and her flaws. I love the way she stands up to the men in the story and doesn’t want to let herself become a pawn, even though she still becomes one since that is her fate in the story. She is one of my all-time favorite characters.

7. Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games

I like Peeta a lot because I feel like Peeta is an honest, gentle soul. Katniss is a little too harsh for my taste. I mean, I understand that life in District 12 has made her that way, but it takes a lot to reach her heart. Peeta, on the other hand, has had an easier life than hers, but not really luxurious by any standard, yet he is not as jaded. He still believes in the goodness of others and he is willing to share his feelings. He just makes me melt.

8. Jace Wayland from the Mortal Instruments series

Jace is such a complex character. He hides behind a mask of bravado, but underneath, he is just a hurt little boy looking for a family. He is fun to read about because he is a little unpredictable. For example, the decision that he made at the end of City of Lost Souls was total shock to me! I want to get into his head and see how it works.

9. Arnold Spirit Jr. from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

I love this kid for his wicked sense of humor! He takes a horribly tragic life and turns it into something funny. That makes me feel like he will be able to conquer the world even though he has so many strikes against him.

10. Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty from On the Road

I read this book in 11th grade and it changed my life. I loved the 2 main characters and their love for life.

Endure by Carrie Jones

Book:  Endure

Author:  Carrie Jones

Publisher:  Bloomsbury Children’s

Date:  May 8, 2012

Source:  Publisher via Netgalley

My grade:  A

 It’s all-out war (and no-holds-barred romance) in the climactic conclusion to Carrie Jones’s bestselling series.

Zara is at the center of an impending apocalypse. True, she’s successfully rescued Nick from Valhalla, but it simply isn’t enough. Evil pixies are ravaging Bedford, and they need much more than one great warrior; they need an army. Zara isn’t sure what her role is anymore. She’s not just fighting for her friends; she’s also a pixie queen. And to align her team of pixies with the humans she loves will be one of her greatest battles yet. Especially since she can’t even reconcile her growing feelings for her pixie king . . .

Unexpected turns, surprising revelations, and one utterly satisfying romantic finale make Endure a thrilling end to this series of bestsellers.

My Review

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST 3 BOOKS OF THIS SERIES!!!

I'm trying something new with this review by dividing it into categories.  I feel like I ramble a lot so I'm hoping this will keep me on track.  Let me know if you like this format better or if you prefer my aimless rambling reviews!

 

The title and cover

I love the covers for these books, but the titles are only so-so.  This one is the worst in my opinion.  It sounds so boring when the book is about trying to save the world from the apocalypse!  For heaven sakes!  Who thought Endure would be a good title for that kind of book??

The plot

Of course, this book picks up right where the last one left off.  Betty is still going all feral tiger and Nick is still being a wordthatrhymeswithhisnamebutstartswithaD.  Zara is still very emotional and things are just getting worse.  This story is non-stop action all the way through the book.  The characters never have any down time at all and I felt like I was holding my breath through most of the book. I don't know how the characters survived because I was worn out by the time I reached the end. There are some plot twists that were surprises and I love the way Carrie Jones mixes in all the Norse mythology.  I am definitely going to have to get some books on that stuff because it seems pretty epic.  I don’t think I can tell you many details about the plot without spoilers, so let me just tell you that this is an action-packed, fast-paced book that has a real whirlwind of a plot.

There is one thing that bothered me about the plot and that is why this book is not an A+.  The whole prophecy/chosen one thing felt a little like a Harry Potter rip-off.  Now, I know that JK Rowling cannot be the only person to ever write that sort of thing, but this one was not well-developed throughout the series and so it felt a little thrown together for me.  Especially when it seems that Zara is going to have to sacrifice herself for the good of humanity.  I don’t know.  Maybe it’s just because Rowling did that plotline so much better.  ::shrugs::  That’s really the only point of contention I have with this book.

The characters

I really feel like I got to know these characters over 4 books.  I like seeing Zara become more confident.  In fact, she’s pretty badass in this book.  I also really like Issie in this book.

Of course, the characters that everyone wants to know about are Nick and Astley, right?  Astley is as swoon-worthy as ever.  That guy just has everything!  He is so sweet and caring with Zara.  I just want to smack her for not seeing what’s right there in front of her eyes and for pining over Nick the D***.  And as far as Nick goes, I’m not even sure why I liked this guy in the first book.  He’s a real jerk and especially now that Zara has found her own voice.  I spent most of the book wanting to punch him.  Of course, by the end of the book, he redeems himself somewhat, but not enough, in my humble opinion, to make up for being mean to Zara who became a pixie to go all the way to Valhalla and save his worthless hide.

(politely steps off soapbox)

The final grade

My grade for this book is an A.  It is a short, fast read with lots of action and a smattering of romance.  I think it wrapped up the whole series nicely and I think that fans of the book will love this one.  Well, unless you’re a fan of the guy she doesn’t end up with.  Then you might be bitter like all those Team Jacob people out there.  But I think she ended up with the right person and now if I could just get an outtake chapter of them on a hot date with some real liplocks going on………

Thank you to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.  I received no compensation for this review, except a couple hundred pages of Astley hotness.

                                                    

Supergirl Mixtapes by Meagan Brothers

Book:  Supergirl Mixtapes

Author:  Meagan Brothers

Publisher:  Henry Holt and Co. (an imprint of Macmillan)

Date:  April 24, 2012

Source:  Publisher via Netgalley

My grade:  A+

After years of boredom in her rural South Carolina town, Maria is thrilled when her father finally allows her to visit her estranged artist mother in New York City. She’s ready for adventure, and she soon finds herself immersed in a world of rock music and busy streets, where new people and ideas lie around every concrete corner. This is the freedom she’s always longed for—and she pushes for as much as she can get, skipping school to roam the streets, visit fancy museums, and flirt with the cute clerk at a downtown record store.

But just like her beloved New York City, Maria’s life has a darker side. Behind her mother’s carefree existence are shadowy secrets, and Maria must decide just where—and with whom—her loyalty lies.

My Review

I am still reeling from this novel.

I thought that this would be a fun novel, a romp through the 90’s and New York City with a touch of Southern charm.

Boy, was I wrong!  But in the best sort of way.  This book had lots of 90’s, lots of NYC and some Southern charm, but this was a novel with a lot of meat to it.

One of the lighter things that I loved in this novel was the music.  All the references to the NY punk scene and all the punk bands were a lot of fun.  I owned many of the albums that were discussed in the novel.  It was refreshing to see that someone else knew about Henry Rollins. Ha!  The beginning part of the novel had me reminiscing about my punk rock high school days.  Readers who are not well-versed in fringe music genres might feel lost in this part of the book.

But this was not a fun novel about the punk scene.  It was gritty and deep.  I loved Maria, the main character.  I mean, I really loved her.  She felt so real.  A teen girl, with a mother who took off when she was young, trying to find herself and figure out how to be a woman.  I think that she was very realistically portrayed.  Yes, there were times when I wanted to smack her and yell “What are you thinking??”  But I want to do that to my own teenaged daughter as well, so I think that was very plausible.

I really did not like her mom.  From the first moment that she appeared on the pages, I thought that woman was a sorry, no-good excuse for a woman and a mother.  Even at the end of the book, I find that I have little sympathy for her.

This was a real page-turner for me.  I found it extremely hard to put the book down once I started reading.  In fact, I finished this book in a day.  It was fairly short, coming in at 256 pages on my Nook.  But it was compulsively readable and I found myself flying through the pages to find out what happened next.

I think the book handled a lot of very adult situations and issues with finesse.  The only thing that I wish was different is that I wanted more explanation of Maria’s “incident”.  I was left wondering exactly what had happened.  Otherwise, the whole “sex, drugs and rock’n roll” thing was portrayed realistically without being too graphic about any of it.  Still, the mature themes of the book make this a novel for the upper high school crowd.

I thought that one of the things that made this novel great was the balance between fun and darkness.  This wasn’t a book that had me crying and ready to slit my wrists at the end, but I also didn’t get to the last page and think that the whole thing was a little too good to be true.  It didn’t end with a happily ever after, but there was a “probably things will be ok ever after” ending.

My grade for this book is an A+.  This book had a lot of depth with a splash of fun thrown in.  If you’re looking for a light, fluffy read, this is not the book for you but if you are looking for a gripping contemporary realistic read that really lives up to the name “realistic” then you have found your book.  This is a gritty and poignant coming-of-age story for music lovers.

Now I have to go make a mix tape…….or I guess a mix CD. : )

Thank you to the publisher and to netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.  I received no compensation for this review.

                            

Trailer for The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Here is the trailer for The Immortal Rules.  I thought it would be a great way to break the news about this book from Julie Kagawa.  Apparently, this book has already been optioned as a movie!  You can find out more on her blog:  http://juliekagawa.blogspot.com/

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Book:  The ImmortalRules

Author:  Julie Kagawa

Publisher:  HarlequinTeen

Date:  April 24, 2012

Source:  Publisher and Netgalley

My grade:  A+

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

My Review

Holy bloodsuckers, Batman!  This was some kind of vampire novel!!

Now, I know a lot of you are thinking, “Tammy, a vampire novel?  Really?  Everyone is sooooooo tired of vampire novels.”

Oh ye of little faith!  I say to you, you have not read a vampire novel written by Julie Kagawa!

This novel was incredible!  I did not want to put it down and I swear I cried a few tears when I realized I had reached the last page of this book.  This book does vampires in a way that I haven’t seen vampires before.  This is the premise:  the world has been decimated with a plague and many of the people have been turned into these rabid zombie/vampire creatures.  In the meantime, the real vampires have created these vampire cities where they herd in humans and protect them from the rabids, but they basically use them as cattle to feed their blood thirst.  In other words, if you’re human, life sucks.

I really liked the cast of characters in this book.  Allie is a great leading lady.  She is strong and in many ways she is hardened by her life.  But once she becomes a vampire, we see that she really wasn’t as hardened as we, or she, thought!  I really liked Kanin and I’m hoping to see more of him in the next novel.  And then there was Zeke.  I have to admit, it took a while for him to grow on me, but in the end, I really liked him too.  I think that Julie Kagawa is great at creating complicated characters that are believable and interesting.

Now, I was not a huge fan of Julie’s Iron Fey series.  I mean, I liked them a lot and I was totally Team Puck until the last novel, but I wasn’t one of those people who went crazy over them.  I am definitely one of those people going crazy over The Immortal Rules.  This is a vampire novel with everything:  rabid, monster vamps, soulless, evil vamps who look at humans as snacks only and a few vampires who sit around feeling bad about being vampires and struggling to retain shreds of humanity.  Now, drop all of that down into a dystopian world and WOW!

This plot was non-stop action.  I really did not want to ever stop reading.  I read until 1 and 2 a.m. on school nights and today, I might have curled up on the sofa in my classroom and read during my whole planning period.  Maybe.  ::whistles and looks around::

My grade for this is an A+.  I really thought that I might even be done with vampire novels for a while, but this novel has restored my faith in the goodness of the undead!  If you like vampires, go read this book.  Even if you don’t like vampires, go read this book.  You won’t be sorry!

Thanks to HarlequinTeen and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Book:  The Book of Blood and Shadow

Author:  Robin Wasserman

Publisher:  Random House

Date:  April 10, 2012

Source:  Half Netgalley, half purchased!

My grade:  A+

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora’s best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

My Review

Ok, so here’s the story.  I was reading this book and ended up having to put it down for a day and a half (pure torture!) because I took my kids to the zoo and then we cleaned the house the next morning.  When I went back to the book, it had “expired” on my Nook.  So I went to Netgalley to download it again and, lo and behold!  It had been archived by the publisher!  But the problem was that I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about this book since I put it down.  I ended up going and buying it at Barnes and Noble since it had published 2 days before so that I could finish it.

If that little tidbit doesn’t tell you just how compelling this story is, then let me attempt to give you lowdown.  I had been reading reviews that called this book the DaVinci Code for YA.  I had scoffed at those and then I started reading The Book of Blood and Shadow!  Holy cow!  It really did read like the DaVinci Code!

Now, the storyline is worlds away from the storyline of TDVC.  However, they both have a religious mystery, secret societies, an unsolved murder and people other than the police trying to get to the bottom of it since the police are clueless about said secret societies.

Once the murder happened, this book was non-stop.  I did not want to put it down.  It’s a good thing that we went to the zoo before the plotline really picked up, because I think if I had been in the middle of that part of the book, we would have skipped the zoo.  For reals.

I really liked Nora.  She was a cool heroine.  She was smart, but there were times when she was still just a teenaged girl.  I really loved being able to get bits and pieces of the story through the letters that she was translating from Elizabeth.  That was one of the coolest parts of the book.  It was almost like having 2 protagonists.  Seeing the present day through Nora and the past through Elizabeth and then seeing the 2 stories mirror one another in places and fill in gaps in others was just brilliant.

It was also thrilling to have so many places to put blame for the murder.  It was like you could trust almost no one.  I found myself many times wanting to shout out the character equivalent of “Colonel Mustard did it in the dining room with a rope!”  Of course, I would have been wrong every time, but it didn’t stop me from guessing and questioning.

This was just the type of book that I love.  It was a mystery with a supernatural twist.  It read very much like Harry Potter, where you spend the book trying to piece together the clues with the characters.  And yet, I was still surprised by the big “reveal”.  Then the book ended and left my mind reeling.  What a rush!

My grade for this book is an A+.  If you like non-stop mystery novels that make you feel like you’ve just exited a killer roller coaster, go get this book now.  Drop what you’re doing and go on!

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for allowing me to read half this book.  Thanks to Barnes and Noble for creating Nook and letting me immediately download and read the rest of it.