The Lost Saint
Bree Despain
ARC provided for review by publisher

The Superficial: Gorgeous. Love the pop of that electric blue on a back background. I also like how the tulle wraps around the spine and appears on the back cover. The title font is beautiful, yet still legible. The placement of the legs is very pretty as well.

I also want to point out that we don’t see the model’s toes head-on…which made me laugh. I remember several reviewers commenting on (what I assume is) the same model’s square-shaped toes on the Dark Divine cover. I wonder if the designers wanted to avoid that this time around. :)

The Short of It: Pretty good.

The Long of It:

Overall, I liked The Lost Saint and feel that it improves on its predecessor. The story picks up nicely and Despain doesn’t waste much time getting readers up-to-date on the past novel’s events. We are quickly introduced to the newly-wolfenized Grace, who is struggling to use her newfound powers; and this will be what the core of the novel revolves around. Grace is being torn in two different directions: boyfriend Daniel says not to use her powers, as use will only allow the beast within to take control; newcomer Talbot, on the other hand, encourages Grace to use her gift to become a real-life crime-busting heroine. While Saint does fall back on a pretty big second-book trope (now that the couple is together and happy, tension is created when infedelity is suspected and the girl must find solace in another), this core concept of what each party stands for takes the story a little deeper.

Another interesting aspect of the book is seeing the Divine family deal with their fall from grace (pardon the pun). The way the family transforms from “holy do-gooders” to “potentially crazy band of liars” in the eyes of the community rings true and adds and extra layer of strife to the story.

I also liked how Despain dealt with betrayal in the novel. It is a common scene in many stories: protagonist is deeply betrayed by a close friend/family member/significant other, but in the end, the betrayer has a change of heart and helps the protag in a time of need. [MINOR HINT TO A SPOILER] I give props to Despain for avoiding this cliché and having a bad character stay bad (…at least, with the most obvious of character).

Despite the positives, The Lost Saint did have a few down points. I mention tropes and clichés a few times in this post for a reason: some parts of Saint just feel a little too familiar.  Several times while reading I think “Oh, that’s a lot like ___.” I know nothing under the sun is new, but reading several familiar storylines in a row can take a reader out of a book (”Werewolves named Grace and Ulrich…why does that sound familiar?”). Relying less on tropes and usual YA plotlines would really improve the Dark Divine series as a whole, in my opinion.

Oh, and a note to future authors: the ironic “girl involved with/who is a werewolf going to a party as Little Red Riding Hood” scene is played out. I get why you use it–who doesn’t love some irony? But it’s been done a lot lately (the movie Trick ‘r Treat, Once in a Full Moon, The Lost Saint) and I think we need to move on for a few years. May I suggest an evil stepsister dressed as Cinderella? Or perhaps a werepea dressed as a princess?

No? Oh.

Score: 7/10. If you liked the first book, you should love this one.

So, want to read The Lost Saint for yourself? Love nail polish? Well then you, my friend, are in luck. Stay tuned for the GIVEAWAY!

Once in a Full Moon
Ellen Schreiber
eBook provided by publisher via NetGalley

The Superficial: The cover is your typical YA supernatural fare: attractive, long-haried, pouty-lipped, light-eyed girl on a dark background. The font looks good and I like the pop of hot pink on the black background. Also, you can never go wrong with a few shadowy, bare trees, in my opinion.

The Short of It:     No.  Just no.

The Long of It: I always try to showcase both the good and the bad of a novel when I’m reviewing. Unfortunately, when it comes to Once in a Full Moon, I can not think of anything genuinely good to comment on. The cover is decent? I did laugh often while reading the novel, but I wouldn’t call that a good thing.

At first I was willing to chalk up Schreiber’s writing style to targeting a younger genre; the short, plain sentences and unexplainable jumps in narrative reminded me of something aimed at younger children.  Perhaps, I thought, this is supposed to be more of a children’s/middle grade reading level.  However, the subject matter and storyline is obviously geared toward high-school aged young adults and up. So, unfortunately, it looks like this is just Schreiber’s normal writing style.

The story is lackluster as well. Celeste, the protagonist, hangs out with “the sixsome,” a group of three couples that, at best, can be described as “worthless” and, at worst, as “vile, cliché paper dolls.” Celeste’s boyfriend is a jerk who even she doesn’t  particularly like. She only stays with him to keep her harpy friends happy, and because he is “handsome and popular.” In fact, almost every character in this novel is described according to their popularity. Celeste rebels by secretly (as in, hiding-in-a-stairwell-just-to-talk secretly)  interacting with a tragically handsome boy who lives on the Bad Side of town and is mocked by her friends. Of course, Celeste is rewarded for this martyrdom halfway through the novel when Brandon, her super-hot-but-totally-not-popular crush, reveals that his family owns a large chunk of the city and that he was actually way popular at his old school. OF COURSE!

I believe the great thespian Christian Bale said it best.

In addition, nothing much happens in the story besides longing glances and fast growing hair. Did you know that werewolves are simply men with goatees and long hair?

Pictured: Werewolves.

I originally typed up a longer review listing a  few examples of things I found unfortunate about this book, but I ended up deleting it. Why? Because I felt like I was beating a poor, dying horse. I’ll just leave my review simple: No.

Opening Lines: It began underneath the haunting glow of a full moon. I was deep within the woods with my boyfriend, Nash, my best friends, Ivy and Abby, and their boyfriends, Jake and Dylan, all of us huddled around a campfire and telling ghost stories. It was unusual for us to venture off into nature, as we spent most of our time in the safety of suburbia.

Score: 2/10

The Superficial: Gorgeous cover. The blue, bare trees set the mood of the novel while being eye catching. The simplicity of the monochrome scheme is refreshing and beautiful and really makes the blood droplet of the “i” pop. I also love how subtle the wolf in the trees is; I didn’t even notice it the first time I picked up the book.

The Short of It:     LOVE IT.

The Long of It: Normally, books focusing solely on romance don’t quite ring my bell. Romance as the icing on a zombie-hunting cake? Yes. Just babyIloveyou romance? Meh… Or so I thought. Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver transcends the teen-romance genre to become something more personal. The story revolves around Grace and her life-long fascination with the yellow-eyed wolf that roams the woods behind her house every winter. Her obsession gets a little creepier once she starts seeing a local boy with strikingly similar eyes to “her wolf.” The awkward comfort between Grace and Sam (her wolf-boy) set the tone of the novel, somehow making the impossible seem familiar. The real power of the novel, however, comes from Stiefvater’s amazing writing. The author makes you feel the chill of the woods and the tension in the air without resorting to purple prose or cliche page-fillers. She takes a old theme, werewolves, and adds new levels of meaning while still keeping the time-tested core of mythos. The result is a novel that creates a world that feels so familiar, yet exciting at the same time.  Stiefvater also excels at creating characters that seem levelheaded and realistic, not just creatures who fall in love and out of sanity; they instantly become entranced with one another, but the awkward tension of their strange situation is palpable. I am not calling Shiver a perfect novel, as Grace’s obsessive love over a wolf crosses the border of Cute into the land Creepy, but, while I was reading it, it was the perfect novel for me.

Opening Lines: I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves. The were licking me, biting me, worrying at my body, pressing in. Their huddled bodies blocked what little heat the sun offered. …I could have screamed, but I didn’t.

Score: 10/10. Buy it now.

From Amazon:

It was supposed to be a fun day, shopping at the mall with her best friend. Then the panic attack started and Kaylee Cavanaugh finds herself screaming, unable to stop. Her secret fears are exposed and it’s the worst day of her life.

Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.

She tries to convince everyone she’s fine–despite the shadows she sees forming around another patient and the urge to scream which comes burbling up again and again. Everyone thinks she’s crazy. Everyone except Lydia, that is. Another patient with some special abilities….

Rachel Vincent’s My Soul to Lose is an eBook teaser to Vincent’s newly released Soul Screamers series starter, My Soul to Take. And best of all, it’s free. Although I was a little leery, as it didn’t really look like a book I would normally go for, I knew I had to check it out.  And I am extremely glad I did.

The beginning of the story did drag a little for me. Although there was lots of action, I didn’t really feel that connected to the story. But as soon as Kaylee woke up in the mental ward, I was enthralled. I devoured the rest of the story without putting the book (or eBook reader, as it were) down once. And the tricksy teaser tactics worked–as soon as I had flipped the last page, I was zooming to the Amazon store, eager to get my mitts on the next book.

The only reservation I had about the series was wondering if the appeal would wear off once Kaylee left the hospital (as that is the part that drew me in initially). However, now that I have started My Soul To Take, I can gladly report that it only gets better.

Honestly, it’s been a while since I’ve been this wrapped up in a book, and I’m counting the seconds until I get back to it.

So, uh, gotta go. :)

Score: 9/10

Pshew. For a blog that’s supposed to be about short reviews, that was one long half-update. I figure since it’s the OMGGRANDGALAOPENING of my blog, it’s cool. Plus, y’know, it’s like reviewing 10 mini-books. But from now on, look forward to more succinct posts.

Now that is out of the way…ONWARDS TO PART THE SECOND!

When God Came to Kathleen’s Garden – David Almond

Almond’s story centers around a group of children who encounter a strange, robe-clad man chilling in a neighbor’s backyard.  When Robey McSandles starts pulling out magic tricks, the children jump to the obvious conclusion—this man must be God!

This was an all-around fun story, from “God’s” communications and Kathleen’s hissy fits, to the familiar feelings of adolescent neighborhood politics. The ambiguous ending only adds to the story’s charms. However, the lack of overall action and slow intro keeps When God Came to Kathleen’s Garden from blossoming into truly great territory.

Score: 7.5/10

The Shadow Troup – Shawn Cheng

For Chen’s story we are introduced to a three-generation traveling shadow show troupe on their way to perform at a banquet. After dealing with a greedy and belligerent employer, they decide to work their own brand of magic storytelling.

This graphic story was a winner, with an interesting story and mythology, as well as great pacing and a “villain” to rally against. The grandfather’s Cryptkeeper looks were a smidge distracting, but that’s just, like, my opinion, man.

Score: 8/10

Cat Calls – Cynthia Leitich Smith

This story, about a girl spending her first night filling in for her grandmother as a “spiritual consultant” at a traveling carnival, is a hard one to score. My one word assessment would have to be “meh.” The writing is decent and Smith is able to inject a little wordplay, but the ending seems too bizarre and unconnected to the build-up to be satisfying.

Score: 6/10

The Bread Box – Cecil Castellucci

I’ll come right out and say it: this story was amazing. The Bread Box, a story about a teen girl who visits her strange, hermit aunt and learns how to make traditional family bread, is by far the best of the collection. Of course, this synopsis does it no justice; the story quickly branches out into the unbelievable and macabre.  It is creepy and odd, fascinating and sad, everything a story in a sideshow anthology should be. Interestingly enough, this is the only entry that does not involve an actual carnival or sideshow. I really cannot say enough about this strange but emotional tale so I’ll just leave it at this: PERFECT.

Score: 10/10

Living Curiosities – Margo Lanagan

This story, about a short-statured girl and an incident at her carnival, had a similar effect on me as Smith’s Cat Calls: not really bad, but not really good. In fact, it seems to be the flip-flopped companion to Calls, with the beginning dragging on (my mind started to wander approximately three pages in) but ending strongly. I appreciated the somber look at Non’s life and mindset at the conclusion, as well as the “incident” that happens halfway through, but unfortunately these do not make up for the lackluster lead-in.

Score: 5.5/10

Jargo! – Matt Phelan

With this final graphic story, Phelan provides a fitting cap to this eerie and freakish collection. In Jargo!, we are shown the tale of a three-man giraffe act and its show-stopping creator. This graphic inclusion finally hits the target, using a dark tale of oddities to fully submerge the reader in the moods of a true freakshow. The story veers toward the strange and frightening while still keeping the reader on board. I also loved the simple yet expressive artwork—after the dark shading of the previous two graphic stories, the white space and thin, light lines of Jargo! were refreshing. And the final frames conveyed such a feeling of melancholy and lost memories, I could almost hear the slow churn of carnival music on the blank pages remaining.

Score: 10/10

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Overall Score for Sideshow: Ten Original Tales of Freaks, Illusionists, and Other Matters Odd and Magical:

7.5/10

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The Short of It: An interesting and intriguing collection worth reading; however, a few stories fall short, not living up to the resonance of past anthologies.

———-

The Superficial: I found the cover to be well done. The  combination of red, orange and blue elements is an odd choice, and the title does blend in a tad with the graphic, but the typography really won me over. The font screams sideshow without saying “I enjoy comic-sans” or something equally ridiculous. I especially love the mismatched fonts in the secondary title– it truly looks like an old-school curiosities sign.

As I also tend to read hardcover books without their slip covers, I thought the bright blue foil print on the black spine was snazzy. And I loved seeing the electric blue of the inside cover peek over the pages while I was reading.  So I like packaging, okay? Don’t judge.

The Long of It: As a whole, I really enjoyed the novel. Noyes gets major points for coming up with a  fresh topic. Not even a hint of vampires anywhere!

Listen, can we have a talk YA? I love a good, soulless, blood-sucking vampire as much as the next girl. But...*sigh* how do I say this? I think you have a problem.

The anthology collects 10 stories of the “freaks” that inhabit your local homegrown carnival sideshows. Bearded ladies, fortune-tellers, mummies and even…God?  The inclusion of three graphic stories also adds a refreshing bit of variety and depth to the genre.

However, as good as an editor’s intentions and ideas can be, the true weight  of collection lies on the individual stories themselves. So, in order to truly review the book, we must look at all of its parts.

“The Bearded Girl” – Aimee Bender

Bender’s story deals with thirteen-year-old Molly and her beard. Molly is ostracized at school for her freakishly fast growing, and razor-defying, facial hair. Finally fed up with the torture of her schoolmates, Molly does what hundreds before her have only threatened–she joins the circus. Then, one day while reciting her beardy monologue to the audience, she sees a familiar face.

I absolutely loved “The Bearded Girl” and believe it is one of the best in the collection. Not only is Molly likable, but she’s also respectable. She doesn’t wither and die when her friends turn on her; she’s a trooper. The best part about Molly is that she actually likes her beard. She doesn’t let other peoples’ disgust taint her self-view. The only reason she attempts to shave off her new, curly, red face-friend is to throw her worrisome mother a bone.

Not only is Bender’s crafting of Molly flawless, but the introduction of an old classmate into Molly’s new freakshow world is handled with strength. We are never 100% sure of her new visitor’s intentions, or if his outlandish story is true, but this only adds to the story’s magic. Bender then closes the story with a toe-tingling, intimate moment–without resorting to the cliche “end story redemption kiss.”

Score: 9/10

“Those Psychics on TV” – Vivian Vande Velde

This story is a hard one to describe without giving away too much, so I’ll keep this short. “Those Psychics on TV” revolves around what happens when Cody, a  fan of tawdry Crossing Over-type daytime programming,  plans on attending a psychic reading event in an attempt to catch the sham in action.

I was pleasantly surprised with Velde’s selection. Cody has a unique voice and style without being too distracting (I was worried when the story started with Cody complaining that they “couldn’t get the TV picture so good” in the trailer park, but thankfully the “gee shucks we poor” talk died down once the story picked up). Add in a little humor and a big surprise and you end up with a satisfying title.

Score: 8/10

“Year of the Rat” – Danica Novgorodoff

“Year of the Rat” kicks off the first of the collection’s three graphic stories…and the result is a bomb. Unfortunately, this story was by far the weakest of the novel. I even read it more than once, hoping to have missed something. It follows a private in the U.S. Army during his trip to a freakshow on New Year’s Eve in China. Not only is the beginning stereotypical and partially offensive (I felt like I were one step away from someone promising to love me long time), but the story is slightly unclear and mostly pointless.

In short, Private Pancake (yes, Pancake) writes letters to his assumed girlfriend “Nell” as he views the freakshow, although his corresponace adds nothing of meaning to the story (other than giving Pancake reason to gawk at a Human-Torso Girl’s boobs). He then meets “the Mayor” of the city, shoots his freakshow rat, then races his bike into a river and…dies? Disappears? Swims to Freedom? Grows a pair of wings and bombs the Russians? I’m not really sure. And honestly? I don’t think I really care.

Score: 2/10

“The Mummy’s Daughter” – Annette Curtis Klause

Out of all of the stories, this was the one I was most anticipating. I am a big fan of Klause’s previous works, namely The Silver Kiss and Blood and Chocolate, and I know she has experience in this topic, as Freaks: Alive, on the Inside! is currently residing on my bookshelf. However, I was disappointed by “The Mummy’s Daughter”. It felt as though Klause had the bare-bones notes of a full-sized novel, then squished it together to make a short story.

The story focuses on Tia, a dancer and storyteller for an oddity show, and her mummified, 3,000-year-old, heartbroken, Egyptian proxy-goddess mother. Tia performs a sultry interpretive dance while retelling her mother’s tale of love, woe, and waiting. Klause uses her fantastic writing to really pull the reader in, letting you hear the tinkle of Tia’s beads and see her kohl-rimmed eyes narrow, but it’s the pacing of the story that falls short. In the mummy-tale-turned-short-lived-mystery, the story speeds into a frenzy as Klause introduces the real conflict of the story only a few pages from its end. In rapid fire succession, Tia notices something strange, gets caught, hears the culprit’s evil plan, fights for her life, and is saved by a glaringly obvious and dusty deus ex machina, all in the span of three pages. It is a true shame that the story seems so rushed, as the plot combined with Klause’s writing had excellent potential. If you can overlook the pacing, however, you might still enjoy this offering.

Score: 6/10

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Check back soon for my second part of the Sideshow review.