Review: Inferno by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Inferno (Chronicles of Nick #4)
By Sherrilyn Kenyon
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

To Sum It Up:

After finding out that his girlfriend is on a mission to kill him, Nick Gautier doesn’t know who he can trust anymore. His now ex-girlfriend Kody is the least of his worries, though. Someone else is working very hard to get Nick to embrace the part of him that’s a demon with the potential to destroy the world. Nick is trying equally hard to avoid this future, but it’s not easy when everyone seems to be plotting against him.

Review:

Since reading Infamous, the previous installment in the Chronicles of Nick series, I’ve read some of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s adult Dark-Hunter novels, from which Chronicles of Nick was spun off. I was amused to see that adult Nick is just as much of a wiseacre as teenage Nick is. In addition to becoming reacquainted with the wit of the younger version of Mr. Gautier, I was looking forward to reading Inferno to see which Dark-Hunter characters made appearances here.

Nick is now sixteen, and there’s a darker, more grown-up tone to Inferno. I’ve never been big on the subplots revolving around some kind of drama at Nick’s school, and I was glad to discover that there wasn’t one this time. Instead, Inferno focuses on a plot to get Nick to come into his full demon powers and ensure the apocalypse. Things have been slowly building to this point since the first book, Infinity, but with Nick well on his way to adulthood, there’s a greater urgency than ever to preventing him from going all evil.

The length of the book was somewhat of an issue for me. There are quite a few pages devoted to Nick’s self-doubts. Despite how far he’s come from eking out an existence, he fears that all the good others see in him won’t be enough to stop him from becoming a monster. I thought some of these internal monologues could have been trimmed. They felt repetitive after a while and slowed the flow of the story.

Something that I think Kenyon does very well is make you reconsider your initial opinion of a character, typically for the better. Just when you’re set to write someone off as a complete villain, she supplies you with that character’s utterly gut-wrenching backstory. I’ve always been wary of Caleb Malphas, a demon who serves, albeit reluctantly, Nick’s nefarious father, Adarian. Caleb poses as a human student at Nick’s school, and Nick, though he knows what Caleb really is, regards him as a friend. It turns out that Caleb has a rather tragic past; I felt quite sorry for him. Gaining some insight into his character in Inferno also convinced me that Caleb really does want to help Nick. Of course, there’s always the possibility that Kenyon will have the character make a turnaround, thus making me take back everything complimentary I’ve just said about Caleb.

While Inferno represents some steps forward in the series in terms of character development and sticking to the main plotline, the story does drag in some places. The humor that I love so much about these books is as funny as ever, though, so I was still very entertained by this. And there’s a scene in which my favorite zombie hunters, Bubba and Mark, have flamethrowers. Enough said.

All in All:

I really enjoy this series, but I think the story in Inferno could have been told in fewer chapters. Otherwise, this is another solid entry in the Chronicles of Nick series with an ending that I’m dying to see resolved in the next book. Seriously—I can’t wait to find out how the story picks up from here.

Review: Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo

Love and Other Perishable Items
By Laura Buzo
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

To Sum It Up:

For Amelia Hayes, the best part of her part-time job at the local supermarket is getting to hang out with Chris, a fellow employee. He’s so easy to talk to, and pretty soon Amelia finds herself head over heels for him. The problem is, Chris is a twenty-one-year-old college student trying to figure out what to do with his life, and Amelia is a fifteen-year-old still in high school. They both know that things won’t work out between them, yet when they’re together, the age difference doesn’t seem like an obstacle at all.

Review:

Here’s the thing about contemporary fiction and me. Like dystopian books and me, contemporaries and I don’t always hit it off. When it comes to character-driven novels, if the characters fail to hook my interest fairly early on, we’re probably not destined to be friends.

With Love and Other Perishable Items, my opinion of the two narrative voices is split. I liked Amelia, a fifteen-year-old high school student who works part-time at the local supermarket and who falls for her co-worker, Chris. Unfortunately for Amelia, Chris is twenty-one and in college. We also get to read from Chris’s perspective through his journal entries.

I’ll continue talking about Amelia first. She’s super smart, funny, and a pretty likable character. All she asks for in life at the moment is for Chris not to see her as the “Youngster,” as he has nicknamed her. Amelia is realistic about the prospect of Chris ever considering her as a romantic interest, not that she doesn’t spend a lot of time wishing he would. The two share some lively banter throughout the book that I really think showed off Laura Buzo’s writing talent.

Here’s where my gripe comes in: I much preferred Chris as viewed through Amelia’s eyes over the Chris revealed through his own narration. I suppose that was the point of presenting both characters’ points of view, to illustrate the differences between the real Chris and Amelia’s perception of him. It turns out that Chris is trying to recover from a shattered heart, and he’s not doing very well on that front. In his journal, he notes that he’s on a Search for the Perfect Woman, and he has a list of candidates and their qualifications. I’m sorry, but my brain couldn’t reconcile this side of Chris with the one who discusses feminism with Amelia and even recommends some feminist reading to her. To his credit, Chris grows up a lot by the end of the book, but not before regaling us all with his tales of hangovers and attempts to find someone to cuddle with at the end of the night. Chris can be witty, but I found him a bit too smug about his wit for my liking. Overall, I just didn’t find him as dreamy as Amelia did.

This wasn’t a bad read at all, just one that wasn’t for me. I liked Buzo’s writing style and would read other books of hers in the future. The story in Love and Other Perishable Items never really jumped out at me, and I read with only a mild interest. I think I might have liked this novel better if Amelia had narrated all of it because I wasn’t as enthused about Chris’s chapters. I couldn’t find the emotional investment for this one, but that doesn’t mean that other readers won’t connect with it.

All in All:

I’m super finicky about these types of novels, and this time, things didn’t work out as I’d hoped. There are plenty of rave reviews for this, which is why I wanted to read it in the first place. If you enjoy contemporary coming-of-age stories, then Love and Other Perishable Items might be of interest to you.

Review: Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Some Girls Are
By Courtney Summers
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

To Sum It Up:

As a member of Hallowell High’s Fearsome Fivesome, Regina Afton counts herself among the social elite. Her world comes crashing down, though, when she becomes the subject of malicious gossip following an incident at a party. No one in Regina’s former circle of friends believes what really happened to her that night. Instead they embark on a campaign to not only make her the school pariah but also to bully her. The sole lunch table at school where Regina has a chance of finding a place to sit at is occupied by Michael Hayden, another social outcast. This isn’t a simple case of bonding with someone who knows what it feels like to be frozen out, though, since Regina is the one who engineered Michael’s ostracism.

Review:

I had a difficult time getting into Courtney Summers’s zombie novel, This Is Not a Test, but I’d seen a lot of praise for her contemporary books, so I figured I’d give one a go. I spotted Some Girls Are at the library and picked it up. While I did find this much more absorbing to read than This Is Not a Test, it wasn’t without its issues.

One of the biggest problems I had was with how Regina’s parents conveniently worked long hours plus had a long commute, so they were often not around. They are utterly clueless about what’s going in their daughter’s life. She was dating the school drug dealer, for heaven’s sake! I wanted to slam my head on a desk when Regina’s mother told her to have a good time at Josh’s party (Josh being said drug dealer, and not even Regina’s boyfriend anymore at this point in the novel). I realize that with today’s busy lives, it’s tough for families to find time for the traditional sit-down meal where everyone shares their day. From the sound of how hard Regina was partying, though, you’d think that a parent would have, just once, noticed she was hung over or something. Regina’s also been in therapy and is constantly popping antacids, her stomach problems the effect of some of her past misdeeds weighing on her. You’d think that her parents would keep a closer eye on her. Er, not really. Regina’s view of her mother and father as useless annoyed me, too. This family seemed like total strangers to one another, and that really, really bothered me.

While reading Some Girls Are, I couldn’t help thinking of Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall, another novel about a clique of mean girls. Before I Fall gave you some insight into the girls’ lives outside of the clique, and although stopping short of making excuses for their behavior, at least you got a possible idea of why they acted as they did. Not so much with the bunch from Some Girls Are. You’re pretty much left on your own to figure out what makes these girls, particularly Anna and Kara, the most aggressive of the group, take so much pleasure in hurting others, both physically and psychologically. I need more backstory to a bad guy/girl, and there’s virtually none here.

As for Regina, I didn’t hate her, though she was far from a likable protagonist. It was only yesterday that she, too, enjoyed making other people’s lives miserable, and of course it’s different now that she’s the target of the Fearsome Foursome’s malice. I think Regina does grow throughout the novel, though, and in a way that doesn’t come off too much like an afterschool special.

I’m really struggling to rate this one. On the one hand, Some Girls Are is a compelling, intense read with some finely crafted storytelling. On the other, the plot boils down to the bullying; it’s one incident after another after another, and you don’t get a sense of why these girls are beyond hateful other than because they can be. I like Courtney Summers’s writing a lot; I think that I just haven’t yet found the right Courtney Summers book for me, but I’m going to keep searching.

All in All:

Some Girls Are is a powerful novel about bullying that can be extremely tough to read at times. I do wish that Regina’s parents had been more involved, and that the book had spent some time looking at what fueled the characters’ love of hate, including Regina’s.

Discussing Game of Thrones: Kissed by Fire

* Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen “Kissed by Fire.”

The theme of this episode seemed to be, “Everybody ditch your clothes and take a bath!” No idea whether or not the unwashed Northmen who so offended Lord Tywin’s olfactory sense in “Walk of Punishment” got the memo, though.

Arya Just Wants a Family, Damn It!

Poor Arya. First Hot Pie left, now Gendry. My heart broke when she told him that she’d be his family, and it broke again when she asked Lord Beric and Thoros if it were possible to bring her father back. I’m finding the Brotherhood’s story line a lot more absorbing on the show than I did in the books. And that was one cool swordfight between Lord Beric and the Hound.

Supply Your Own “You Know Nothing, Jon Snow” Joke Here

Anyone who’s ever drooled over Jon Snow probably wanted to drown Ygritte in that makeshift hot tub. Let’s try to forget about this and move on, shall we?

It’s Not Easy Being King in the North

Lord Karstark, who’s been ragging on Robb for a few episodes now, finally takes revenge for the death of his sons by killing the two Lannister boys. Robb beheads him even after his wife and mother warn him that House Karstark will very likely abandon him. And it does.

The Sansa Marriage Plot Thickens

Poor Sansa. She’s dreaming of escaping King’s Landing and marrying Loras Tyrell and living happily ever after in Highgarden, and Margaery encourages her in this. But word of the plan has gotten out, and the future isn’t looking so rosy (sorry, I couldn’t help myself with the pun there) for Sansa. I really, really hate Littlefinger; could he be any creepier?! Yeah, he probably can.

At Home with the Baratheons

We get our first real look at Stannis’s wife, Selyse, who I think was only seen, and very briefly, in the first episode of Season 2. This scene took a seriously disturbing turn, so much so that I wanted to bleach my eyes. We also meet their daughter, Shireen, who sneaks down into the dungeons to visit a still imprisoned Davos. She’s brought him a book, but he tells her that he doesn’t know how to read. In a touching moment, Shireen offers to teach him. This scene was also kind of sad because the two seem to have a connection that Shireen and her father do not.

Watch Out, Ser Jorah

I’m a bit worried about him. In the recap before the start of the episode, there were flashbacks to the Council talking about how Jorah is spying on Daenerys. Ned was in the flashback! Oh, Ned. How I miss you. Anyway, the tension between Jorah and Ser Barristan continues to grow, and it seemed like Jorah was trying to sniff out whether or not Barristan was aware of Jorah’s spying.

My Name Is Jaime

Jaime, Jaime, Jaime. So broken. His confession to Brienne about what the Mad King, Aerys, was planning to do before Jaime killed him was gut-wrenching and, I think, his finest moment on the show. Ever!!!!

Lord Tywin Lays Down the Law

Cersei is all giggles over Lord Tywin’s plans to marry Sansa off to Tyrion so that the Lannisters will control the North until her dear old dad turns around and tells her that she’ll marry Ser Loras Tyrell to cement the alliance with that house. Cersei protests, infuriating Lord Tywin. You really don’t want to mess with Lord Tywin, especially when he’s angry.

Things We Learned from This Episode

• Lady Olenna recommends figs as an essential part of a healthy diet.
• The Blackfish packs one mean punch!

In the Next Episode

Jon and the Wildlings scale the Wall; Theon’s nightmare is far from over; Robb tries to negotiate with those wily Freys.

Review: The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

The Dark Unwinding (The Dark Unwinding #1)
By Sharon Cameron
Publisher: Scholastic Press

To Sum It Up:

As the bookkeeper for her aunt, Katharine Tulman is sent to investigate claims that her uncle, the current proprietor of the family’s estate, is wasting its assets and belongs in an asylum. Upon her arrival at Stranwyne Keep, Katharine is astonished to find an entire village populated by people would otherwise be toiling under horrid conditions in London’s workhouses. Instead, they have jobs on the estate, which has its own manufacturing facilities, all designed by Katharine’s brilliant uncle. Although her conscience tells her not to send her uncle, and, consequently, his employees, away, Katharine also worries what will become of her if the cousin on whose generosity she will one day depend does not come into his inheritance. Faced with a difficult decision, Katharine considers all of the consequences while trying to uncover what else Stranwyne is hiding.

Review:

The Dark Unwinding was quite a surprise. It’s one of those novels whose genre is a bit hard to categorize. There’s a Victorian setting and a smidgen of steampunk. At first I’d also expected a paranormal element to show up because there were some very eerie goings-on at Stranwyne Keep, where seventeen-year-old Katharine Tulman is sent by her aunt to find out if the rumors that Katharine’s uncle is mad and draining all of the family’s funds are true. It turned out that there was no supernatural anything involved here, just some really good transitions to a darker tone to make you think that something creepy was happening.

What you do have is a moving story about a young woman who ultimately holds the fate of her uncle and several hundred other people in her hands. Katharine lives under the guardianship of her aunt, Alice, and keeps her books for her. Aunt Alice has received alarming reports that her son’s inheritance is in danger, and, not one to do her own dirty work, dispatches Katharine to find out the truth.

Katharine is not prepared to discover that the family estate is home to a whole community of workers who’ve left behind the wretched conditions of London’s workhouses. Stranwyne manufactures goods right on the premises, with the profits going back into the estate. All of its impressive facilities were designed by her uncle, Frederick, who is an engineering genius but otherwise childlike and easily upset. His workers, especially Lane, the young man who acts as a kind of caretaker to him, are fiercely protective of “Mr. Tully,” as they call him. They make their displeasure at Katharine’s intrusion immediately and abundantly clear. I thought Lane’s genuine concern for Uncle Tully was very sweet. This book carries quite an emotional weight to it; the story of how and why the operation at Stranwyne came to be was both cleverly devised and touching.

Katharine was kind of a blah heroine to me. I mean, I understand that she’s entirely dependent on her aunt and, one day, her cousin, and has to look out for herself. If there’s no money left for cousin Robert, there won’t be any money for Katharine. If Aunt Alice finds out that Katharine didn’t go straight to her with what’s really going on at the estate, there won’t be any money for Katharine, either, because Aunt Alice will cut her off. Katharine is not without a conscience and she does care about what will become of her uncle and all the workers, but I wanted to see her take more initiative. She’s supposed to decide whether or not to blow the whistle after thirty days at Stranwyne, and there were times when I felt as though she was just dawdling about.

Despite being a moderately sized novel, it took me a while to read this. Some parts dragged and made it seem like the end of Katharine’s thirty days wasn’t going to arrive. I also picked out the villain early on. If the pacing had been more even and Katharine a little more interesting, this novel would have been more than a slightly above average read.

All in All:

The sections of The Dark Unwinding that were interesting were really good, but the not-so-interesting parts were a bit of a chore to get through. The book does have a strong emotional pull, though, and anyone who’s a fan of Victorian-set fiction might want to check this out.