Reality Boy by A.S. King

"I'm the Kid you saw on TV.  Remember the little freak who took a crap on his parents' oak-stained kitchen table when they confiscated his Game Boy?  Remember how the camera cleverly hid his most private parts with the glittery fake daisy and sunflower centerpieces?  That was me.  Gerald.  Youngest of three.  Only boy.  Out of control." --Reality Boy

Reality Boy was such a breath of fresh air.  Instead of delving into a world of supernatural and paranormal mystery/romance, or even into a coming of age story about love, Reality Boy answers a question that disappears as quickly as it appears in our subconscious: "What happens to those poor kids that have had to grow up on Reality TV."  King's novel shows us how one child, who happens to be the problem child, grew up and apparently never shed is "Crapper"image.

Gerald has been known as the Crapper, ever since the first time he released his bowels in protest on national television.  He is an angry person, who can turn violent, without familial support.  His mother is too busy giving all her attention to her first born, his father is busy appeasing his mother, and his other sister has left the nest and the craziness that is their houshold.  Gerald has had to deal with other people's misconceptions of who he is as a person, and has to figure out who he really is, without other people's ideas including his mother, who treats him as if he has a learning disability and will go no where. 

I really liked seeing Gerald work through the mess ups and hang ups in his life.  He was an interesting character to delve into the mind of, and his little girlfriend was the right mix of personalities to compliment his character.  They were both messed up, and this set the mood of a real young adult novel.  They are both working through their hang ups, but through that they help each other grow.  The ending was just right.


I gave this book a 4/5 for originality and for great characters (even the ones you want to kick).

Thank You Edelweiss.

Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron

Have you ever heard the phrase: “Verbal Diarrhea?”  Well I think I will say this book reminded me of “Idea Diarrhea.”  There was so much going on in this book it felt both too short for the information and too long for the story, does that make sense?  I want to start off saying that I love Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.  It is by far one of the best books written on a dare/fun request, frankly I think it is sad that when we drink we end up with dumb YouTube videos, but when people got drunk centuries ago they wrote masterpieces… unfreakenbelivable.  So anyway, back to John Skovron’s Man Made Boy.

Boy is the son of Monster and Bride (the originals of Dr. Frankenstein).  They work in a theater, think of carnivals and attractions like “the bearded lady.”  Boy just wants to get out, he wants to continue to learn and expand as a regular person, but he is always reminded of what a monster he is.  Lonely, the only way he communicates with the outside world is through the internet with other hackers.  Boy creates a virus… and the vicious circle of monster/creator continues.  This novel follows Boy as he runs away with the girl he loves, realizes the grass isn’t always greener, tries to control a computer virus that now is out to get him, and meets Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s granddaughter Claire/Sophie. 

The book was entertaining and never stopped, but again I cannot stress how much was going on in this book.  You think it’s a love story, and then it switches to an “I hate my creator” story to going away to college story.  There were great characters in the novel from the Invisible Man to the Bride of Frankenstein.  It was fun to see all these legends tied into one story.

 

Thank You Edelweiss! 

Resist by Sarah Crossan

Resist by Sarah Crossan is the sequel to Breathe. We meet up with our heroes where we last left them, escaping from the riots. Alina and the gang are off to look for the other resistance cell, while Quinn, Bea, and Jazz are on their way to find the group. This book was cut into 4 perspectives: Quinn, Alina, Bea, and Ronan (the leader’s son). I would have to say that it is full of surprises, secrets, and redemption. Characters that were terrible in the first book look different in this novel, and characters that you do not expect to lose will go. Was I terribly please by this book? No, sometimes Bea was too annoying: I get it, you lost your family… but so did everyone else within a 40 mile radius. And if people didn’t die off in the first book, just wait because there is enough time in the second book for that to happen. Ronan was a nice change of pace, I forget if there was fourth person’s POV in the first book, but even so it was good to see the perspective of one of the elites during this revolution, and he working along with Quinn’s father makes things interesting.




Thank You Edelweiss! 3/5 stars.

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

Kami Garcia has been riding the train of awesome now that Beautiful Creatures is a major motion picture.  So needless to say, I was highly anticipating her individual project, Unbreakable (The Legion #1).  I won’t say I was blown away, but I will say that I felt the same safe familiarity of Beautiful Creatures.  What I mean to say is that it was a decadent tale of mythology and legacies. 

One night Kennedy’s cat runs out of the house, leading Kennedy on a chase into a small Jesuit cemetery.  At the cemetery Kennedy sees a woman, floating.  Nothing seems out of the ordinary after that, except her cat is acting weird.  Then one night Kennedy gets home to her mother dead.  And then her cat attacks her, trying to steal her breath.  When it almost seems like our heroine is about to be killed off, the Lockhart twins come galloping to the rescue.  Jared and Lukas confirm that there is a dark world out there, and it is controlling their lives.  They confirm this by letting Kennedy know that her mother was a descendant of a secret society in charge of keeping the world safe from a vengeful demon.  She, along with 4 others, protects and guards the world from the dark spirit world threatening to escape into reality.  Those 5 members have been killed; all that is left are their children (those who have been selected to up hold a spot in the Legion).  Kennedy must take her mother’s place and help the new Legion members combat an evil that should have never been stirred. 

I really like the characters, especially Priest (I mean he’s a genius with an awesome music taste.)  The twins are also a good ying-yang team, with clear dysfunction in the family.  Yes, there is the inevitable love triangle, but it’s so minimal I don’t hate it.  The end left me thinking, I have no clue what will happen in the next installment because the characters are left with unanswered questions and Kennedy is more or less right back where she started after her mother initially dies.  What I do know is that I will be eagerly awaiting the next part of this fantastically dark urban series.

 

 

Thank You Edelweiss

The Enchanter Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

The Enchanter Heir by Cinda Williams Chima is the 4th book in her The Heir Chronicles series. Usually each book introduces a new character with their own set of problems, and then these characters are thrust into the life of the previous books’ characters. For this particular installment Chima introduces Jonah Kinlock and Emma Greenwood. Both have a connection to Thorn Hill, a commune that existed when they were really young. Both also have ties to the infamous Thorn Hill Massacre. The basic concept is that in this commune some experiments were done on the children there, which caused ridiculous reactions: i.e. Jonah’s brother Kenzie becomes a human fireball and this messes up with his ability to lead a normal life. The other children have extreme issues like this.


One night, when Jonah was 7, all the adults died and some of the children did too. Those that survived were rescued by Gabriel Mandrake, a sorcerer, and placed in a school in Anchorage. Here is where Jonah has strived with his unique gift, as an assassin. On the other hand we have Emma, who doesn’t even know that she might be a sorcerer or wizard or healer or warrior or enchanter, leaving a normal life in Memphis. After she finds her grandfather dead in his own shop, she travels to meet the father she never knew and finds out that there is a terrible secret. She was at Thorn Hill, her mother was involved, and DeVries (super bad guy) is hunting Emma and her father.

With secrets, half truths, small connections, and a whole lot of awkward love this installment had me speed reading like it was my job. As a major fan of Chima’s Seven Realms series I have fallen for this series.

Eat, Brains, Love by Jeff Hart

“Of course now I know for sure that test was total bullshit… of the fifty possible career recommendations, none of them were ‘undead fugitive’.”




Jake Stephens is your average senior trying to get through senior year, struggling to make time for more video games, and forgetting how to breathe at the sight of extremely hot girls. Amanda Blake is your average hot senior girl, until one day she locks eyes across the cafeteria with Jake and everything goes red! Jake and Amanda have become zombies and they have eaten a good portion of the student body. They go on the lamb together, avoiding the federal agents looking for them, while trying to figure out the warm and fuzzy feelings they are getting about each other.

Cass is one of those agents. Often referred to as “Psychic Friend” she is none other than the psychic hired to find rogue zombies. Apparently the government has been hiding the fact that zombies exist, and they have a hit squad just for this. Cass is able to go into the zombies minds and figure out their location, based on imprints that they leave. With Jake it is different; he seems more human, more like an average boy she wouldn’t mind getting to know.

This story is full of gross, flesh eating, vomit inducing scenes; I love it! But I do not appreciate the ending. Is it going to be a series? If not, what kind of ending was that? I wouldn’t say it was amazing but it was fun and zombies are my favorite.



3/5 stars. Thank You Edelweiss.

All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry

There once was a town, where two girls disappeared. One came back in only body, down the river. The other came back alive, missing half her tongue. All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry is a novel full of mysteries and bigger silences. Judith disappeared 4 years ago with half her tongue missing. Treated like a social pariah, she has remained on the outside of her community until the homelanders arrive and threaten the safety of the man she loves.


It is unclear what the setting and time frame is for this novel. I want to say it was dystopian but at the same time could have been set before the 1850s. What should be known is that a women’s maiden hood is still important and that there are many antiquities within the story. Also, the people of Judith’s village must have conquered the homelanders’ land, because at some point the homelanders want to take back what is theirs.

Four years ago Judith was a young lady in her town, best friends with Lottie, and in love with Lucas. Lucas’ mother had left them for another man, driving his father insane. One day there was a huge explosion, and his father, the Colonel died. Just around this time Lottie went missing. Judith knew that Lottie was in love with someone, and hoping to meet up with her Judith snuck out of her house and climbed a tree they both usually met at. What Judith didn’t expect was seeing her best friend die that night, or to be taken captive in the woods… by the Colonel. After two years missing the Colonel cuts out half her tongue (to keep her safe) and sends her back to the village (he was beginning to want to touch her inappropriately and sent her away instead) with her maidenhood intact. Once home Judith was alone, except for the constant stalking of Lucas, and her brother always talked to her.

One day the village announces that the homelanders are coming to attack. At this point Lucas will be involved and might die. Judith cannot stand to think of Lucas getting hurt, so she goes to the one place she hoped never to return, she goes back to the Colonel and begs him save Lucas and to supply the men with his arsenal… that he took from the village, and in return she would marry him. What occurs after is heartwarming, catastrophic, hurtful and healing all at once. New friends are made, hope begins to blossom for Judith, and the complete truth is finally forced out.

This was something different from many of the YA novels coming out this year, but it also resembled YA novels I grew up with 10 years ago. The second person narrative was also different and done pretty well, perhaps because it lacked passive aggressiveness towards the character being spoken to in the novel. Judith and Lucas are pretty solid characters and even the rude town’s people fit well into the story.

4/5 stars. Thanks NetGalley and Edelweiss.