Book: A Moment Comes by Jennifer Bradbury

Published June 2013 by Atheneum Books For Young Readers|Pages: 288

Where I Got It: Borrowed from a friend!

Series: None

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Goodreads|Check Out Jennifer Bradbury’s Website

Goodreads Summary: As the partition of India nears in 1947 bringing violence even to Jalandhar, Tariq, a Muslim, finds himself caught between his forbidden interest in Anupreet, a Sikh girl, and Margaret, a British girl whose affection for him might help with his dream of studying at Oxford.

A Moment Comes was a really interesting read for me, for a few different reasons.

One: It’s set during the partition of India, which is something I never heard of until I read this book.  So it was really cool to read something about a period of time I never even knew about.

Two: I love that it’s set in a time and place that I don’t normally read about.  I like historical fiction, but I feel like a lot of the historical fiction I read is in England/Europe/the U.S.  So it’s nice to read something different, as far as historical fiction goes.

And three: I really like that it’s historical fiction that’s for older teens.  I’ve come across quite a few historical fiction books aimed at the younger end of the YA continuum, so it’s nice to read something that’s at the other end.

As for the book itself, I really enjoyed the three narrators.  I don’t always like multiple narrators, but it worked so well for this book, because you get to see all of the involved parties, and what it was like for everyone involved, instead of getting one side.  My only complaint is that there weren’t a lot of chapters told from Anupreet’s perspective, and she mostly appeared whenever Margaret was narrating.  While the book is more about what’s going on in India than any sort of potential romance between any of the characters, I didn’t really get the sense that Tariq was interested in Anupreet.  There is a point where he does something incredibly brave in order to protect her, but I didn’t get any forbidden interest vibes.  Although…she does seem surprised by his interest in her, so…there is that.

You also get glimpses of some of the attacks/violence/camps where people living and how the characters are reacting to what’s going on. I also like that Margaret, Anupreet and Tariq are all so different.  Like I said before, I wish we saw a little more of Anupreet, because I feel like Margaret’s story- as well as Tariq’s- were very well-represented, but we mostly see Anupreet through the eyes of Margaret.  We do get enough of her story and enough of her experiences but part of me wants a little more.

I also liked the glossary at the end of the book.  It defines the words used throughout the book, as well as mentioning the places and food of India.  I also liked the author’s note, and how Bradbury had a Fulbright scholarship in India, and learned of the partition.  And she does explain that the events that happened in Jalandhar, happened all over India.

Final Thoughts: I really liked A Moment Comes!  I definitely want to read a little more about the partition, and I was hoping for more than a couple books listed in the author’s note, because I think it would be interesting to see what books Bradbury used.  A Moment Comes gets 4 stars.

Book: Ariel Bradley, Spy For General Washington by Lynda Durrant and Joe Rossi

Expected Publication Is September 1, 2013 by Vanita Books|Expected Number Of Pages: 32

Series: None

Genre: Children’s Historical Fiction

You can find more about Ariel Bradley on Goodreads

Ariel Bradley, Spy For General Washington is an E-ARC from netgalley.com, which has not influenced my review in any way

Goodreads Summary: Ariel Bradley is Washington’s boy spy who pretends to be a country bumpkin (a “Johnny Raw”). He ‘stumbles’ into General Howe’s camp “looking for the mill” his father has sent him in search of. In reality, he is assessing the strength and numbers of the British and their Hessian (German) allies. After he is sent on his way by the unsuspecting English, he reports this to General Washington and his staff. This information proves key in what became known as the Battle of White Plains.

I don’t normally read children’s books, but Ariel Bradley looked really interesting.

One thing I liked about this book is that Ariel Bradley was a real kid who helped out George Washington by pretending to by a country bumpkin.  I was actually expecting it to be a full-on picture book, for some reason, but it’s actually a chapter book, and I think it would be good for kids who are just starting out on chapter books.

Lynda Durrant did a great job at making Ariel’s story interesting and and fun, and even I want to know more about Ariel Bradley!  I also liked that a glossary and list of important people were included at the end of the book, which is great for kids who may not know what an icehouse or a mill is.

I do wish there were some illustrations throughout the book (and it’s possible there will be some illustrations in the print copy) but that might be because I got Ariel Bradley through netgalley.  If they’re anything like the cover, then I think the illustrations would be great.  And while this book focuses on this one event, I wish we got a little bit more about Ariel’s life.

Final Thoughts:

I liked Ariel Bradley, and I think it would be a great book for kids who like history or for kids who are just starting to read chapter books.  Ariel Bradley, Spy For General Washington gets 3 stars.

Book: The Land Of Dreams by Vidar Sundstol, translated by Tiina Nunnally

Expected Publication is September 1, 2013 by University of Minnesota Press|Expected Number Of Pages: 330

Series: Minnesota Trilogy #1

Genre: Adult Fiction/Mystery

Check Out The Land Of Dreams On Goodreads

Goodreads Summary: Winner of the Riverton Prize for best Norwegian crime novel and named by Dagbladet as one of the top twenty-five Norwegian crime novels of all time, The Land of Dreams is the chilling first installment in Vidar Sundstøl’s critically acclaimed Minnesota Trilogy, set on the rugged north shore of Lake Superior and in the region’s small towns and deep forests.

The grandson of Norwegian immigrants, Lance Hansen is a U.S. Forest Service officer and has a nearly all-consuming passion for local genealogy and history. But his quiet routines are shattered one morning when he comes upon a Norwegian tourist brutally murdered near a stone cross on the shore of Lake Superior. Another Norwegian man is nearby; covered in blood and staring out across the lake, he can only utter the word kjærlighet. Love.

FBI agent Bob Lecuyer is assigned to the case, as is Norwegian detective Eirik Nyland, who is immediately flown in from Oslo. As the investigation progresses, Lance begins to make shocking discoveries—including one that involves the murder of an Ojibwe man on the very same site more than one hundred years ago. As Lance digs into two murders separated by a century, he finds the clues may in fact lead toward someone much closer to home than he could have imagined.

The Land of Dreams is the opening chapter in a sweeping chronicle from one of Norway’s leading crime writers—a portrait of an extraordinary landscape, an exploration of hidden traumas and paths of silence that trouble history, and a haunting study in guilt and the bonds of blood.

The Land Of Dreams was okay for me.  it was a little hard for me to get into, and there were places where the book moved a little too slow.

I went into The Land Of Dreams expecting more of the murder that Lance stumbles on while working.  I think a lot of why we don’t get a lot of the murder is the fact that Lance doesn’t have a big role in the investigation, but he does get updated somewhat regularly on the investigation.  I was also expecting more of a connection between what happened to an Ojibe man a century earlier and the murder of a Norwegian tourist, but it’s possible that particular mystery will be unraveled in the books to come.

We get a lot of Lance’s thoughts and some of the local history, which bogged down the book for me.  As much as I love seeing local history in books, it just didn’t work for me in this particular novel.  I was also expecting it to be a lot creepier and haunting that what it was. However, since this is the first book in a trilogy, it’s totally possible that it’ll get really creepy in the other two books.

There is very much a small town vibe, with an assortment of characters.  Sadly, none really stood out to me, except for Lance and Eirik Nyland.  I thought Nyland was interesting because he was flown in to help with the investigation of the Norwegian tourist.  And Lance being the town historian was interesting, and I think there’s a lot of potential.

It wasn’t until I finished the book that I realized this copy is a translation.  It’s actually a pretty good translation, and nothing seemed to be lost in translation.

Final Thoughts:

The Land Of Dreams isn’t for me, but I did like that that local history was really important, and that Lance was very interested in the area’s history.  The Land Of Dreams gets 2 stars.

Book: The Truth About You And Me by Amanda Grace

Expected Publication is September 8 by Flux Books|Expected Number Of Pages: 235

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

Goodreads|Check out Amanda Grace on Twitter or her blog!

The Truth About You And Me is an e-ARC from netgalley.com, which hasn’t influenced my review in any way!

Goodreads Summary: Smart girls aren’t supposed to do stupid things.

Madelyn Hawkins is super smart. At sixteen, she’s so gifted that she can attend college through a special program at her high school. On her first day, she meets Bennet. He’s cute, funny, and kind. He understands Madelyn and what she’s endured – and missed out on – in order to excel academically and please her parents. Now, for the first time in her life, she’s falling in love.

There’s only one problem. Bennet is Madelyn’s college professor, and he thinks she’s eighteen – because she hasn’t told him the truth.

The story of their forbidden romance is told in letters that Madelyn writes to Bennet – both a heart-searing ode to their ill-fated love and an apology.

When I saw the summary for The Truth About You And Me, I knew i had to read it! There’s something about student-teacher romances that are sort of intriguing.

I liked that it was a couple letters written by Maddie to her professor.  What was interesting about Maddie writing the letters was that she wanted so desperately to explain what she was thinking and what it was like for her while she fell for Bennet. She very much believed that she was in love with him.  And she wrote the letter to get him out of jail, because she thinks it wasn’t completely his fault.

That brings up a really interesting point.  I mean, she was 16, never mentioned she was 16 (even though she meant to) and she wanted it to be known what really happened. Also: he (understandably) assumed she was 18/19, but also was horrified when he realized/found out she was 16.  And: she was of consenting age. Well, except for the fact that he was her professor, and it is mentioned that he’s in a position of authority.  Well, according to an unknown source that Maddie found when she googled the age of consent.  She seems aware enough to google it.  But as much as I hate to say this: she was also dumb enough to not tell him she was 16, and to go through with it anyway, even while “knowing” he was her professor.

I found all of that so interesting though.  I wasn’t expecting Bennet to be horrified, and he’s about 9 or 10 years older than her, so while the age difference is pretty noticeable for the two of them, I was also sort of expecting him to not care.  So kudos to Grace for doing something unexpected!

So, Letter #1 is meant for the police, and letter #2 is what happened when he took her home.  Part of me wanted to see a bit more of the time they spent together, but I also liked that she poured out her feelings and how it was love at first sight.  I liked that the entire book was comprised of two letters.  And that they actually read like letters and weren’t broken up.  However, because the story is told we letter form, we’re told what has happened, instead of actually seeing it.  Which, I suppose, is the what Grace was going for, since Maddie is telling her side of the story.

The ending (which is the last letter) was a little expected.  It’s not surprising that they end up running into each other while hiking two years later, but what was surprising was that there’s a mutual agreement of how it ruined Bennet’s life.  There’s no happily ever after- well, not for Maddie and Bennet- but it is nice they had a chance to talk for a few minutes.  Although…he quit before the school could investigate what was going on, and moves across the country without facing any other consequences other than talking to the police.  Who, by the way, didn’t press charges because it wasn’t a clear case, and Maddie and Bennet insisted that nothing happened.

Bennet didn’t make a big impression, which is a little strange because Maddie’s writing the letters because she thinks he’s in jail and wants to get him out and because she wants to explain happened.  But interestingly enough, The Truth About You And Me is more about that than their romance.

Final Thoughts:

I really liked The Truth About You And Me!  I like that the story was told in two letters, and that Maddie wanted to share what it was like for her to fall in love with one of her professors.  While Bennet taking Maddie home after learning she was 16 (and his reaction to learning how old she really was) was refreshing and unexpected, he also seemed to face relatively few consequences.  The Truth About You And Me gets 4 stars.

Book: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Published April 2000 by Puffin|Pages: 208

Where I Got It: Own the paperback!

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

Goodreads|Check Out Laurie Halse Anderson’s Blog!

Goodreads Summary: Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won’t talk to her, and people she doesn’t even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that’s not safe. Because there’s something she’s trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve read Speak, and so it seemed like a good time to re-visit it.  Speak is just as amazing as I remembered it, and Melinda is so easy to relate to.

There is something about finding our voice and speaking up that rings true.  There were points were I just wanted things to work out for Melinda, because I just wanted things to be okay for her.  I love how sarcastic she is but I also love that we spend so much time in her head. You see that the events of the party took a toll on her and how much she withdrew from the world, speaking only when absolutely necessary.

Mr. Freeman was another pretty awesome character, and he stood out as a character.  He’s a pretty awesome teacher, and I feel like being creative now!  But awesome teachers are pretty awesome, and it’s always great when you have that one teacher who’s cool.  Of course, there are teachers like “Mr. Neck,” “Hair Woman” and “Principal Principal” to round things out.

I didn’t pay too much attention to her relationship with her parents in previous reads, but now that I think about it…I’m not sure what to think about her relationship with her parents.  They did seem pretty absent, and while I think part of it is Melinda withdrawing from the world, I have to wonder if maybe they were maybe a little bit absent before Speak starts,  Because her grades go down drastically, she barely speaks and is withdrawn, and they don’t seem to put a lot of effort into why this has happened.  I’m sure it happens more than we’d like to think, and we see them through Melinda’s eyes.  And actually, her relationship with them is pretty believable, but I think I’m just irritated that they seemed to have no clue what was going on in her life.

Speak is such a powerful book, and definitely a must-read.  I feel like Laurie Halse Anderson handled all of the different issues so well, and I feel like she got it right with Speak.  She doesn’t sugar-coat things and pretend like things are perfect for teens, which is really nice.  Things seem to end on a pretty good note, even with a pretty big moment that isn’t completely resolved.  But I like that things are headed in a really good direction for Melinda, who finally seems ready to speak.

Before I forget: I totally love her art project for the year.  Trees might seem random, but it seemed to fit with Melinda, and how much she changed over the course of the school year.  And the cover might seem random at first, but I love that it fits with her art project.

Final Thoughts: I love Speak so much, and I think it’s one of those books that a lot of people can relate to in some way.  I just can’t seem to come up with words that will properly express how much I love Speak and how amazing I think it is.  Speak gets 5 stars.

Book: Siege And Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Published June 2013 by Henry Holt And Co.|Pages: 320

Where I Got It: Nook Store (e-book!)

Series: Grisha #2

Genre: YA Fantasy

Goodreads|You can find Leigh Bardugo at her blog, on Twitter and on Facebook

Goodreads Summary: Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Is it weird that I liked Siege And Storm a lot more than Shadow And Bone?  Because while I liked Shadow And Bone, I so completely loved Siege And Storm.

We have a lot of the characters from Shadow And Bone, but we also have new characters.  Like Sturmhond.  Is it weird that I like the idea of a romance between him and Alina?  Because I kind of like them together.  You could make better arguments for Mal and the Darkling, and I have the feeling that she’ll probably end up with Mal, but one can only hope, right?  Back to Sturmhond…he’s definitely eccentric but he’s also lovable, and I feel like he’s always going to do something unexpected.

Mal and Alina definitely grew apart, and there are a lot of obstacles they need to overcome if they’re going to be together.  But Alina’s power is stronger, and she and Mal seem like they’re too different to work out.

The Darkling…he’s pretty creepy.  Just as creepy in Siege And Storm as he was in Shadow And Bone.  He was there at the beginning and at the end, and only made a few appearances throughout the book.  How on earth did he manage that?  It did seem like Alina was losing it a little (and quite frankly, I don’t think I would have been surprised by that) but of course, he managed to make these random appearances himself.

There are quite a few things in Siege And Storm that were interesting.  Like, the possibilities of 3 amplifiers.  There are definitely two, and so i think it’s safe to assume that there really is a third, which is going to be the hardest to find, i think.  And that ending!  Totally unexpected, and I can’t even begin to think of what that’ll mean for…everything and everyone.

One thing about this trilogy is how Bardugo does the prologues and epilogues.  I didn’t pay too much attention to them in Shadow And Bone, but in Siege Storm…I’m not sure how I feel about them.  It’s done in a completely different style than the rest of the book, and while you get a good picture of what things are like for Alina before and after the events of the book take place, there’s also something about how it’s written that makes me feel like I’m watching what’s going on as opposed to experiencing what’s going on.

I definitely feel like I can’t properly review Siege And Storm, because there are so many things I don’t want to give away, but it far exceeded the high expectations I had after finishing Shadow And Bone.

Final Thoughts:

I loved Siege And Storm and with things ending the way they did, it’s going to be quite the wait for Ruin And Rising, which I’m totally looking forward to.  I just love the feel of this series and how detailed and imaginative it is.  Siege And Storm gets 5 stars.

Book: Cape Storm by Rachel Caine

Published August 2009 by Penguin|Pages: 320

Where I Got It: Nook store (e-book)

Series: Weather Warden #8

Genre: Adult Paranormal

Goodreads|You can find Rachel Caine On Twitter and Facebook

Goodreads Summary: Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin and her new husband, the Djinn David, are running from a malevolent hurricane bent on destroying her. Joined by an army of fellow Wardens and Djinn onboard a hijacked luxury liner, Joanne has lured the storm into furious pursuit. But even their combined magic may not be enough to stop it-nor the power-mad ex-Weather Warden controlling it…

Just when I thought things couldn’t get more interesting or strange or OMGWTF…they totally did!  Especially the OMGWTF because I did not see any of this coming.  

I don’t even know where to begin…Joanne is a good a place to start as anything else, I guess.  There were some totally great moments with David.  And Joanne did things I was not expecting at all.  And she did them with more glee than I ever expected, given everything that was going on.  Lewis had this master plan, and that was unexpected, because it’s a side of him that I never expected to come out.  It’s perfectly understandable, of course, because we are at the point where you cannot trust anyone.  Quite literally, I might add, because things that were put in place to make sure other things would happen and the results of said things made for 320 pages of unexpected awesomeness.

Back to Joanne: because of Bad Bob’s dark mark, she has an interesting change in personality.  Again, totally not expecting it, but I like that Caine is not scared to mess with her characters.

I am interested in how all of the loose ends are going to get tied up in Total Eclipse, which is the next (and last) book in this series.  Because I have no clue where things are headed or how things will get tied up and the realization that Joanne and David…have…certain issues that will have MAJOR consequences.

Cherise really shows why she’s an awesome friend, and Kevin is still himself.  And I will admit that there were a couple moments between Jo and Lewis that I really liked.

I also loved that Cape Storm took place on a cruise ship!  It’s definitely different than being on land, where all of the other books have taken place, but I liked the change in setting.  It definitely made things much more interesting than they already were.

Final Thoughts:

It should be no surprise that I loved Cape Storm!  This is such a fun series, and there was no way that I could have predicted anything that happened!  Cape Storm gets 5 stars.