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Review: Changeling by Philippa Gregory

Changeling (Order of Darkness #1)
By Philippa Gregory
Publisher: Simon Pulse

To Sum It Up: In fifteenth century Italy, Luca Vero has just been expelled from St. Xavier’s Monastery after being accused of heresy. Now he is being recruited to join a mysterious order that investigates strange happenings all over Europe that may be signs of the end of the world. One of Luca’s missions brings him to a nunnery where seventeen-year-old Isolde, the rightful heiress to her father’s castle, has been forced to live by her greedy brother. The nuns’ recent bizarre behavior leads to accusations of witchcraft against Isolde, and Luca has to uncover the truth of the matter. The last thing that he expects is to add two ladies to his traveling party, but that is exactly what happens when Isolde and her devoted friend, Ishraq, join Luca and the rest of his group as they continue their journey to explore mysteries across Europe.

Review: I had been looking forward to reading this because it’s YA historical fiction, which for me is a match made in heaven. Philippa Gregory is of course renowned for her adult historical fiction novels, so I was quite curious to check out her foray into YA. The book’s synopsis makes Changeling sound like an exciting, action-packed novel, with the promise of “werewolves, alchemists, witches, and death-dancers.” Unfortunately, the book fell short of my expectations with its mostly flat plot and characters.

Changeling starts off promisingly enough, with Luca having just been kicked out of his monastery for heresy. At this point I’m thinking, oooh, we have a rebel on our hands! I eagerly read on as Luca met the shady mystery man who’s with the equally enigmatic order that has extended its membership to Luca. I should have known right away from the vague description of Luca’s mission that this book was going to be nowhere near as exciting as the synopsis made it seem. Luca’s task is to map the fears that prevail in Christendom, or something along those lines; regrettably, I didn’t write down the exact phrase that was used. In the end, though, his adventures were less than extraordinary.

My original assumptions about Luca’s character were off base. Aside from being booted from St. Xavier’s, he’s not a very engaging protagonist. We just read about him travelling around with his friend/sidekick, Freize, the kitchen boy from the monastery and the book’s comic relief, and Brother Peter, a cleric and the requisite stick-in-the-mud. Seriously, the highlight of Brother Peter’s day must be breaking in a new quill to write with. At least I have some observations to make on Freize and Brother Peter’s personalities. I can’t really do the same for Luca because I’m still trying to figure out what his personality was supposed to be like.

The book’s female protagonist, Isolde, doesn’t fare much better in terms of character development. Once again, the main character is outshone by a secondary one, in this case, Isolde’s dearest friend, Ishraq. Ishraq has been trained in medicine and fighting and is pretty kick-ass. I didn’t have any particular problems with Isolde; she just didn’t stand out.

What disappointed me the most was how the paranormal elements seemed tacked on to the story. The title is a reference to faery changelings, and there’s some talk at the beginning of the novel about Luca possibly being one. Then the subject is never broached again. There’s also a werewolf encounter that just feels contrived. Perhaps the paranormal aspects will be a bit more fine-tuned in the next book.

I know that I’ve listed a lot of gripes about Changeling, but it still gets 2.5 stars because Gregory’s writing itself is solid. I still plan on reading the two adult novels of hers that I bought but still haven’t read. Maybe if Changeling had been a regular historical fiction novel, I might have enjoyed it more.

All in All: Originally I was going to buy Changeling because I really wanted to read it, but I’m so glad that I remained patient and instead waited for the library to acquire a copy. Philippa Gregory fans and/or fans of books set in the Middle Ages might want to give this one a shot, but neither the characters nor the story line grabbed my attention enough to make me feel compelled to continue reading the series.

Review: Starters by Lissa Price

Starters (Starters #1)
By Lissa Price
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

To Sum It Up: Biological warfare has destroyed the adult population, leaving only those under the age of twenty and those over the age of sixty alive. Callie Woodland is struggling to survive on the streets along with her sickly younger brother, Tyler, and their friend, Michael. To earn some money, Callie goes to Prime Destinations, a facility that enables the elderly to relive their youth by renting the bodies of the young. Callie becomes a donor, and at first everything goes smoothly. She does not recall a thing when she wakes up at the end of the rental period, which is how the rental is supposed to work. When Callie regains consciousness in the middle of a rental, she assumes that the chip that has been implanted in her head has stopped functioning properly. What Callie does not know yet is that she is a key part of her renter’s plan to uncover the truth about what really goes on at Prime Destinations.

Review: If, like me, you find the cover of this book creepy, it’s nothing compared to the actual story. Starters is a chilling tale in which seniors (“Enders”) can literally feel young again by renting the bodies of teenagers (“Starters”). The Enders sign a contract in which they agree not to damage their rental bodies, but still, this is one scary idea when you’re the Starter who’s unconscious for days or even weeks inside of Prime Destinations, the company that arranges the rentals, while the renter gallivants around town in your body. This unique premise made me really excited to read Starters, and I was not disappointed.

I hadn’t come across a YA book in which seniors are featured so prominently until I read Starters. In this particular dystopian world, the Enders are completely in charge; legislation in place before the Spore Wars that killed everyone between the ages of 20 and 60 prohibits Starters from working and voting. I thought that putting the spotlight on the elderly was very refreshing, and I especially liked how some of the seniors banded together to expose the shady business being conducted at Prime Destinations.

I have to give the heroine, Callie, a lot of credit for even considering becoming a donor, let alone actually going through with it. She’s been driven to this last resort by the living situation in which, she, her brother, Tyler, and their friend, Michael, find themselves. The trio is squatting in an abandoned building, trying to avoid being seen by the authorities, who place any unclaimed Starters in orphanages where the living conditions are worse than those on the streets. Callie’s decision to rent her body is also heavily influenced by her brother’s fragile health and her desire to see him much more comfortably settled. I admired her selflessness and the courage that it took to agree to become a renter. She also remains pretty level-headed when her third rental goes awry. In that situation, making rash decisions amid panic would have been all too easy (and that would have very likely been my reaction), but Callie keeps her wits about her and stays focused on her goals.

The foundation of the dystopian world of Starters is a little shaky. I would have liked some more details about the Spore Wars, specifically what caused them in the first place. Considering that the wars wiped out a huge portion of the population, I had expected a slightly fuller explanation of what happened. The plot, however, proved to be too riveting to dwell on how this world came into existence, and the twists toward the end of the book really took me by surprise. While the ending definitely leaves you eager for the sequel, there’s also a nice bit of closure. Anyone looking for a different take on dystopian novels should check out Starters.

All in All: Starters features a very original concept that is at once both intriguing and disturbing. The premise alone was enough to convince me to read it. And, come on, you know that the cover has made you at least a little curious about the book!

Review: Eve by Anna Carey

Eve (The Eve Trilogy #1)
By Anna Carey
Publisher: Harper

To Sum It Up: Eve has known nothing else save for the school where she has spent the majority of her life. The school is a refuge for orphaned girls who lost everything after the plague, a deadly virus that decimated the world's population. The day before graduation, Eve catches a troubled girl, Arden, escaping campus. Before leaving, Arden warns Eve about the dangers of graduating: the girls are merely detained in the school to be kept healthy until they are old enough to produce babies. The graduates will spend the rest of their lives repopulating the world. Learning what her future entails, Eve knows she must run. Outside the school is completely different, and only with the help of Arden and Caleb, a young man living in the wild, does Eve have even the slightest chance of surviving. The three struggle to reach Califia, a survivor camp and their only hope, but with government officers searching for Eve and the common dangers that come with living in a broken society, Eve will have to do much more than struggle.

Review: My woes with pretty covers continue with the beguiling Eve. I was ever so fascinated with the cover and the promise of an entertaining dystopian that I expected Eve to be nothing less than mesmerizing. I wouldn't say that I was awfully misled, but I do feel a little deceived. Why couldn't the story keep up with cover?!

There are a few things that I found redeeming about the book, one of those being Arden, Eve's not-so-friend. I liked Arden; the girl was smart and could pretty much handle anything. I enjoyed her sarcasm and truly respected her for taking Eve under her wing like she did. Eve was more than a nuisance, but Arden kept her around anyway. Kudos to you, Arden!

Eve, on the other hand, is one of the chief reasons why I disliked the book. I felt that Eve was ridiculously naive to the point where she could only cause harm. Here, I'll give you guys an example. Ahem: Eve is strolling along on the Outside when she comes across a baby bear. The first thing that comes to Eve's mind is Winnie the Pooh. Ingeniously, Eve goes to befriend the baby cub, which only angers the Mama bear, who is standing a few yards away. I take it that my point is proven or should I go on to explain the bear chasing her? Sometimes I felt like I was the one dragging Eve through the book. I was like her personal coach pushing Eve towards her end goal, and God knows that it took forever!

Another one of those redeeming qualities I mentioned earlier were the flashbacks of Eve with her mother. Eve's mother was extraordinarily strong even as she was wasting away due to the virus. It made the book seem more meaningful. I just thought that those moments were sweet, and they really impacted me. The love between Eve and her mother was more realistic than the attraction between Eve and Caleb. Caleb was a nice lad, strong and smart. But as many readers may know, the parasite called insta-love can ruin everything. Eve fell for Caleb way too fast. As the reader, I was led to assume that the fast paced infatuation was just a cause of Eve's separation from males. Caleb is the first boy Eve has ever met, so you can't really blame the girl for falling for him. Ergo, folks, we are left with something far more worse than insta-love: fake love. For a book with a heavy romance theme this is really unacceptable.

My list of grievances continues with my issue concerning the world-building, or lack thereof. Eve was unbelievable, and I mean that in the truest sense of the word. I did not buy that this awful virus killed off enough people that this dictator (they call him a “king” in the book but we all know that's not the case) assigns orphans to labor camps. There are labor camps for boys where they do work and such, and there are labor camps for girls where they reproduce—I would just like to say that I am quite proud of this play on words. I couldn't picture myself in the world, and I sure couldn't picture myself attending one of the schools. It was an interesting premise, that's for sure; the execution, however, needed more work.

Geez. I hope I didn't turn anyone away from reading this book. Eve did keep me reading until the very end, which I guess is every book's goal. So by that standard, Eve wasn't a remarkable read for me, but it was decent. In the end, I think it caused me more stress than enjoyment, worrying about Eve and all.

All in All: My opinion of Eve is just that—my opinion. Even though I didn't find it terribly fascinating, it doesn't mean that someone else won't. I encourage everyone to read the book for themselves; I'm curious to see what other people think.

Feature & Follow Friday (16)

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and
Alison Can Read. It's a great way to meet other book bloggers!

This week's question is:
What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Is it to one day become an author yourself, just for fun, maybe get some online attention, or maybe something very different?

Blogging is something that we do for fun. We didn't really have anyone besides ourselves to discuss books with. Some of our family members were rather tired of hearing our nonstop book chatter, so we thought that we'd start a book blog to meet others who are as obsessed with reading as we are and who don't mind talking about books all the time. The blog has given us the perfect outlet to share our love of books, and even though running it is a job in itself at times, we're extremely glad that we decided to start it.

If you're a new follower, be sure to let us know so that we can follow you back. Thanks for stopping by!