Review: I'm Nobody by Alex Marestaing

I’m Nobody (The Lost Pages #1)
By Alex Marestaing
Publisher: Mymilou Press

* A copy was provided by the author for review.

To Sum It Up:

Following the death of his older sister, Caleb Reed withdrew from the world. Now thirteen, agoraphobic, and obsessed with watching the same recorded episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos every night, Caleb also keeps a wary eye on the abandoned mansion across the street. The precise, orderly bubble that he’s enclosed himself in is shattered when the mansion suddenly shows signs of activity, and a mysterious note penned by a stranger turns up on his doorstep. Both afraid and curious to find out what’s going on, Caleb works up the courage to leave the safety of his house for the first time in years. He needs to know who’s writing to him, but the answer may not be at all what he was expecting.

Review:

I’m Nobody is one of those books that’s a bit difficult to classify genre-wise. I’m drawn to these types of reads because I like seeing how the author synthesizes the elements from different categories of fiction. I’d say that I’m Nobody has an overall contemporary feel to it, but once you factor in the possibility that Emily Dickinson may be corresponding from beyond the grave with a thirteen-year-old boy, well, there’s your genre twist right there. Alex Marestaing does a wonderful job of both giving this premise plausibility and incorporating Dickinson’s poetry into the narrative.

This is a deeply poignant, and ultimately uplifting, novel. I don’t think it’s possible to not have your heart torn apart by the main character, Caleb. At thirteen, he’s a shut-in, obsessed with maintaining the meticulous routine he’s established for himself over the six years since the death of his older sister, Anneliese. It’s a loss he hasn’t recovered from, much to the distress of his parents. Caleb’s father is exasperated with his son’s condition and wants to send him to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. Caleb’s mother prefers to just hope that he’ll get better on his own, a hope that she knows isn’t likely to be realized. This portrait of a family broken by grief is gut-wrenching, but not in a way that comes off as cloying. My patience for books that push sappiness to its treacly limit is almost nonexistent, but the shadow of tragedy that hangs over I’m Nobody feels all too real.

I was absorbed by Caleb’s battle to overcome his fear of setting foot outside of his house to retrieve the cryptic notes that begin appearing out of nowhere. His progress is agonizingly slow, but it’s progress nonetheless. Each tiny step away from his front door represents a victory, and I cheered him on the entire time. Watching him grow more and more confident and eventually connecting with people whose lives his sister touched were the highlights of the book for me.

At first I wasn’t too thrilled with Iris, a former classmate of Caleb’s whose dreams of becoming a famous filmmaker bring her to Caleb’s street. She gets the brilliant idea to make a film about him, and I was uneasy with the potential exploitation of Caleb's adversity here. I was relieved to discover that Iris wasn’t devoid of a conscience; she asks Caleb for his permission to film him. The two strike up a friendship that is very sweet and built up at a nice, gradual pace.

I really enjoyed reading this, though I thought the ending cut off a little too soon. I know this is the start of a series, but I could have used a few more pages of closure for this installment. It’s a minor thing, however, and doesn’t detract from how moving Caleb’s story is.

All in All:

I think this would make an excellent middle grade read, though the depth of the writing, story, and characters easily makes the book appealing to a YA audience as well. As an adult, I found this to be a compelling read. I’ve never read any of Emily Dickinson’s poetry, and while being familiar with it might enhance one’s reading experience with this, it’s certainly not required in order to enjoy the novel.

Review: Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

* This review may contain spoilers for the previous book, A Great and Terrible Beauty. *

Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2)
By Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte Press

To Sum It Up:

Gemma Doyle is getting ready to go home to spend Christmas with her family. The holidays promise to be a busy time filled with many social engagements, but balls and dinner parties aren’t all that await Gemma. The Rakshana want her to bind the magic that she set free in the realms, but not without giving them the control of it they believe they are entitled to. Gemma knows that her enemy, the power-hungry Circe, is also still looking for her. With the fate of the realms’ magic resting in her hands, Gemma is a target and cannot afford to trust the wrong person. She has to put her faith in someone, though, because it is the only way she’ll find the Temple, the source of the magic and where Gemma must journey in order to contain it once again.

Review:

After being wowed by A Great and Terrible Beauty, I couldn’t wait to dive into Rebel Angels. Libba Bray’s writing in the first Gemma Doyle book was fantastic, and I devoured the follow-up as fast as I could. I was all too happy to return to Gemma’s world, or should I say worlds, because once more, we’re transported back to Victorian England as well as to the magical realms, where anything you can imagine is possible.

In A Great and Terrible Beauty, Gemma destroyed the runes that bound the realms’ magic. Now that it’s free, it can be used by anyone for any purpose. Gemma’s nemesis, Circe, is still on the loose, desperate for a way into the realms so she can seize their magic for her own evil plans. The secret brotherhood of the Rakshana is all for binding the magic—in its own name.

Meanwhile, Gemma is preparing to go home for Christmas. Even after all she, Felicity, and Ann have been through together, including the loss of Pippa, it’s business as usual between the young ladies. This means petty jealousy, occasional cattiness, and plenty of scheming. There’s a lot going on in this book just on the non-supernatural front. Felicity concocts a sob story for Ann; she’s now descended from Russian royalty and the long-lost relative of a duke. Ann continues to be besotted with Gemma’s older brother, Tom, who takes much more notice of Ann once he hears about her “lineage.” We also find out the horrifying secret Felicity’s been hiding about her family life. Yes, all that happens in this little group can approach soap opera-level dramatics at times, but that’s a big part of the appeal of this series for me. I enjoy reading the minute details of these girls’ lives, even when they’re acting less than sensible. You don’t know how many times I wanted to tell Ann to shut up because she was burying herself alive with her big mouth. I was embarrassed on her behalf!

I do wish that the girls had shown a bit of character growth from the previous novel. Ann is still timid, Gemma still wavers between being snippy and letting her conscience get the better of her, and Felicity is still, well, Felicity. I was a little torn between this feeling of comfort that went with being back among familiar characters and this tiny, nagging sensation that they seemed all too familiar, like they hadn’t learned much from their prior experiences. This is particularly true for what went down in the realms in the last book.

The romance gets turned up in Rebel Angels, with Kartik from A Great and Terrible Beauty continuing to be a presence in Gemma’s life and the introduction of Simon Middleton, the son of a viscount. Gemma can’t help but be attracted to Simon; he’s handsome, wealthy, and has all the right social connections. Yet Gemma can’t quit thinking about Kartik, especially since he seems to be showing an interest in her, as well. I was surprised to see the novel head into love triangle territory after the romance was rather low-key in the first book. Fortunately, it doesn’t overtake the story, and no one mopes over heart-related matters.

Where Bray knocks this out of the ballpark is with the descriptions of the realms. The imagery! Although Gemma and company spent time there in the preceding book, the realms are explored at much greater length here. The unbound magic is changing them, blighting their beauty. The girls also meet some of the inhabitants: centaurs, water nymphs, and a gorgon who’s a living part of a boat. Most aren’t friendly, and the Poppy Warriors, these sort of demonic knights who feed on fear, scared the hell out of me. Why do I always wind up reading the most frightening parts of books late at night? Every time Azreal, their apparent leader, creepily addressed one of the girls as “poppet,” it was as chilling as Naughty John’s whistling in Bray’s The Diviners. I’ve gushed before about how brilliantly Bray makes the paranormal feel so real, and what she does here with the realms is exceptional.

Rebel Angels is longer than A Great and Terrible Beauty, but I didn’t find the additional pages to be an issue. I actually stayed up late one night to finish the 200 or so pages I had left because I needed to know what happened. While the book doesn’t end on one of those scream-inducing cliffhangers, I still have several questions that I’m eager to see answered. Looking at the size of the final book in the trilogy, The Sweet Far Thing, I’m hoping that I’ll find everything explained satisfactorily.

All in All:

The realms truly made this book for me. I enjoyed reading about Gemma’s London life, too, but I was completely mesmerized by the magic here, even when it gave me a severe case of the creeps.

Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1)
By Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte Press

To Sum It Up:

Gemma Doyle longs to leave Bombay, India for England. She gets her wish, but it is under the most tragic of circumstances. Following her mother’s mysterious death, Gemma is packed off to Spence Academy, a London finishing school for young ladies. At Spence, Gemma must contend with being the newcomer as well as make sense of the visions that began when she foresaw what would happen to her mother. Gemma is not the only person who knows about her ability, though, and she is warned to put an end to the visions. It is not an easy task, and when Gemma learns that there were once others with a similar power who could enter a magical world called the realms, embracing her gift seems all the more enticing.

Review:

I think I’ve figured out what would have made Victorian novels like Jane Eyre a lot more appealing to me back when I was a teenager. If only Jane had gotten herself involved with a clique of mean girls at Lowood and possessed a paranormal ability that allowed her to transport her and her “friends” to a place where they could have anything they desired, I would have been totally hooked. This is only the second Libba Bray book that I’ve read (the other being The Diviners), but once again, I’ve been blown away by her talent for seamlessly blending historical fiction with the supernatural. From reading her novels, you’d think that the two naturally went hand in hand.

Set first in Bombay and then in London during the reign of Queen Victoria, A Great and Terrible Beauty centers around sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle. My initial impression of her was that she was a brat with a me-centric attitude. Everything changes, though, when Gemma is seized by a terrifying vision of her mother dying that then comes true. Gemma is sent to Spence, an all-girls school in London. At this point my opinion of her began to change—for the better. Gemma proves to be a wry observer; her snarky commentary on everything and everyone really won me over. Upon her arrival at Spence, she immediately assesses the social hierarchy. She winds up with mousy Ann Bradshaw for a roommate, while snooty Felicity Worthington clearly has the run of the school. A game of one-upmanship that’s meant to show Gemma who rules Spence ensues between Gemma and Felicity and her entourage, which includes Felicity’s second-in-command, Pippa Cross.

I couldn’t help but find myself engrossed in the drama here. I hadn’t expected this mean girls aspect to the novel, but writing about situations that could easily be transplanted to modern times while completely maintaining the authenticity of the period the story is set in seems to be a specialty of Bray’s. It’s one that she excels at, too. I also liked how Bray didn’t have the girls go skipping off together as besties once they sort of reached a truce, brought about by that good old equalizer, blackmail. The pettiness and the competition to be Felicity’s favorite continue, though with some toning down. The friendship between Gemma, Ann, Felicity, and Pippa stands on tenuous ground, and this is made even more so by Gemma’s supernatural gift.

Gemma’s visions persist while at Spence, and they eventually lead her to the discovery of the Order, a secret society of sorceresses who could once access the realms, a world of powerful magic. Despite warnings from Kartik, a young man who’s followed Gemma from Bombay and who is a member of the Rakshana, another secret organization with its own agenda, Gemma finds her way into the realms. She brings the other girls, too, and they are all stunned to learn that whatever they dream is possible in this place. Ann sees herself with the beauty that she so desperately desires; Pippa literally has a knight in shining armor. On the surface, experiencing the magic of the realms brings the girls closer, but you have to ask: would they still be friends without this? Every time I thought that the hatchet had been buried, it would rear its head. I’m definitely not complaining about the seesaw-like quality to the friendship, though; it made for some absorbing reading.

The wish fulfillment of the realms ends up being a double-edged sword because it magnifies how constrained the girls’ lives are back in their own world. In the realms, they have the freedom that does not exist in reality. My heart really went out to Pippa, whose parents are forcing her to marry some old geezer whose sole attraction is his wealth. The importance of keeping up appearances is a recurring theme throughout the book, from Pippa having to marry for social status over love to the Doyle family covering up how Gemma’s mother really died. Seeing how much the girls yearn to have the power that’s at their disposal in the realms outside of them is quite heartbreaking.

If I were to go on about how thought-provoking and multi-faceted A Great and Terrible Beauty is, this review would be as long as the novel. Bray’s prose is outstanding, and I loved how she made Gemma realistically flawed. The finesse with which Bray writes paranormal, as though it assuredly exists, is why both this and The Diviners left me grasping for the right words to describe how incredible they are.

All in All:

Paranormal historical fiction doesn’t get much better than this. I loved the setting and how true Gemma’s narrative voice felt to her time. I don’t know how I managed not to read this book much sooner; it was absolutely my kind of read.

Discussing Game of Thrones: The Bear and the Maiden Fair

* Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen “The Bear and the Maiden Fair.”

The title of last week’s episode says it all. I had been anticipating this episode for a long time, since I first read this scene in A Storm of Swords. It’s one of my all-time favorite scenes from the books, and I was kind of freaking out while watching it. The pacing of the episode seemed really busy to me, with a lot of cutting away to different characters.

The Awkward

I figured I’d get all of the awkward stuff out of the way first. With the exception of how badly I ship Jaime and Brienne, I can give or take a lot of the romances in the books and on the show. I didn’t like Robb’s wife in the books (where she’s a completely different character, right down to her name), and I don’t like Robb’s wife on the show. There’s something about her that I don’t trust. This scene seemed to drag on, and with some of the sappiest dialogue; I just wanted to see the freaking bear already. The news that the two are going to be parents is a total departure from the novels; can’t wait to see where this turn of events winds up.

Poor, poor Sansa. That was one uncomfortable girl talk she had with Margaery. From the look on Margaery’s face and the amused tone of her voice, I don’t think she learned all of that from her mother.

Another week, another scene of Theon being tortured. This was the absolute worst one.

Lovelorn Orell

Orell pours his heart out to Ygritte, but she’s clearly not interested. I’m not the biggest Ygritte fan, but she does make me laugh when she teases Jon. Unfunny moment: when a somber Jon tells her that the Wildlings are going to die trying to take Castle Black.

What the Hell Am I Supposed to Do with a Gold Chain?

Tyrion presents Shae with the gift of a ginormous gold chain, and she’s just like, WTF? You are marrying someone else, buddy! Shae is another character who’s very different from how she’s portrayed in the books, and again, it’ll be interesting to see how this impacts later events. And you gotta love how practical Bronn’s view of the world is. He and Tyrion should get their own sitcom spin-off because their conversations are always so hilarious.

Arya Gets a New Traveling Companion

The Brotherhood gets wind of Lannister soldiers nearby, and they can’t pass up a plundering opportunity. Arya demands to know why they aren’t taking her to Riverrun and then makes a break for it. She’s caught by none other than the Hound, and we all know how much she loves him (not).

Lord Tywin Makes Climbing Steps Look Cool

Stupid Joffrey whines to his grandpapa about not being included in Small Council meetings and how he’d have to climb all those stairs in the Tower of the Hand. Lord Tywin offers to have him carried up. Maybe Joffrey would like a bottle and a diaper change to go with that as well. I’d hoped that Lord Tywin would have taken advantage of his close proximity to Joffrey to beat the crap out of him, but alas, that didn’t happen.

Here’s a Present for You . . . Your Life!

Daenerys sets her eyes on the city of Yunkai and potentially adding to her number of troops. This was a great scene, especially with the dragons, but I cannot erase from my head the Daenerys from the books who annoys me to no end. I skimmed a good number of her chapters in A Dance with Dragons. I feel like the show goes out of its way to make her all badass, and while I tolerate this version of her character, her story line is the one I’m least invested in.

Finally . . . the Bear!

Jaime sets off for King’s Landing . . . without Brienne. Their goodbye was so poignant, and I loved how Brienne called Jaime by his name instead of Kingslayer. These two have just been brilliant all season. Already away from Harrenhal, Jaime learns from Qyburn that the ransom Brienne’s father offered for her return has been refused. Locke believed Jaime’s story about Tarth being rich in sapphires and is holding out. Realizing the consequences of his words, Jaime gets Bolton’s man to take him back to Harrenhal, where Locke has put Brienne, still in that hideous pink dress, in the bear pit, armed only with a wooden sword. Jaime offers to pay the ransom himself, but sadistic Locke won’t be swayed. So Jaime jumps down into the pit to help Brienne! Greatest GoT fangirl moment ever! Both are pulled to safety, and a standoff between Jaime and Locke ensues. Jaime reminds him how much more valuable he is alive, and parts with,“Sorry about the sapphires.” The look on Jaime’s face as he said that! Bahahahahaha!!!!!

What We Learned from This Episode

• The Blackfish has seen wet sh*ts he likes better than Walder Frey. Oh God, I love this guy! Why didn’t they bring him in sooner?!
• When Lord Tywin says you’ve been counseled, you’ve been counseled. End of story.

In the Next Episode

Dany squares off against another adversary; Sam fends off something scary; the Lannisters face off against each other.

Stacking the Shelves (35)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's an opportunity for everyone to share the new books that we've acquired.

My cousin and co-blogger Ally, who's been absent around here thanks to AP exams and rehearsals for her band concert, did find time last week to read Jennifer L. Armentrout's Obsidian plus get me to read it along with her. Thanks to Ally, I had to immediately buy copies of Onyx and Opal after finishing Obsidian. I also spotted For Darkness Shows the Stars, which I've desperately wanted to read, on Amazon for $7.20, and I grabbed that, too.

For Review:

The Iron Queen by Kaitlin Bevis
Thanks to Kaitlin Bevis!

Borrowed:

The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway

Bought:

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

What did you add to your shelves this week? Please link me up!