‘Church of Marvels’ by Leslie Parry

Book details

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: HarperAvenue

ISBN: 0062367552

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Synopsis

New York, 1895. Sylvan Threadgill, a night soiler cleaning out the privies behind the tenement houses, finds an abandoned newborn baby in the muck. An orphan himself, Sylvan rescues the child, determined to find where she belongs.

Odile Church and her beautiful sister, Belle, were raised amid the applause and magical pageantry of The Church of Marvels, their mother’s spectacular Coney Island sideshow. But the Church has burnt to the ground, their mother dead in its ashes. Now Belle, the family’s star, has vanished into the bowels of Manhattan, leaving Odile alone and desperate to find her.

A young woman named Alphie awakens to find herself trapped across the river in Blackwell’s Lunatic Asylum—sure that her imprisonment is a ruse by her husband’s vile, overbearing mother. On the ward she meets another young woman of ethereal beauty who does not speak, a girl with an extraordinary talent that might save them both.

As these strangers’ lives become increasingly connected, their stories and secrets unfold. Moving from the Coney Island seashore to the tenement-studded streets of the Lower East Side, a spectacular human circus to a brutal, terrifying asylum, Church of Marvels takes readers back to turn-of-the-century New York—a city of hardship and dreams, love and loneliness, hope and danger. In magnetic, luminous prose, Leslie Parry offers a richly atmospheric vision of the past in a narrative of astonishing beauty, full of wondrous enchantments-a marvelous debut that will leave readers breathless.

Review

Part of me wants to ramble on and on about what a wonderful piece of literature this is. Every miniature aspect of the novel is crafted with the detail and care of a genius creating her most phenomenal masterpiece, and the end result is extraordinary. I was constantly caught between an urgent need to devour every morsel of the story, and an overwhelming desire to savor every twist and turn of the plot, committing to memory each character so that I could revisit their stories in my mind over and over again.

The other part of me wants to throw myself off a building, because Parry’s plot twists are toxic. My nerves are fried, and I have exhausted my body’s capacity for emotional attachment to anything. I cannot count the number of times I had to close the book, put it aside (very carefully) and take a long, long walk just to catch my breath and calm down. My heart was racing that fast.

I can’t bring myself to say anything more, because I might collapse into a puddle of tears about the sheer depth of my love and hatred for this novel. Love because it changed my life, and hatred because it destroyed it, too.

Rating: 5/5

Recommended to: fans of The Night Circus, The Palace of Curiosities, Frog Music.

The Last Word

Just to put it all in perspective, Church of Marvels makes me want to change all my other five-star ratings four stars.

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‘Black Ice’ by Becca Fitzpatrick

Book details

Genre: YA Fiction

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

ISBN: 9781471118166

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Synopsis

Britt Pheiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but isn’t prepared when a violent storm leaves her and her best friend Korbie stranded. Seeking shelter in a secluded cabin, they find two handsome rescuers. Or so they think.

In exchange for her life, Britt must set out into the cold and snow to lead the men to safety. But during the harrowing journey in the wilderness, one of the men, Mason, starts to show an interest in Britt that seems more romantic than sinister. Can she really trust him? Her life depends on the answer.

Review

How good is a book, really, if you don’t read it in one sitting?

That was what I did with Black Ice. I know I often say a book was so good I read it in one sitting, but that usually entails at least one or two breaks for tea, a quick Twitter or Instagram session and maybe a sandwich halfway. No, this time I mean I got into my bed at 6pm last night and I did not get out of that bed until I turned the last page at 11pm and started wandering around my house to find my sister and yell at her for putting me through such emotional trauma (it’s her book – she handed it to me wordlessly last night and shook her head before turning away. I should have known).

Becca Fitzpatrick holds a special place in my heart for her Hush, Hush series. It was one of the first series that I ever legitimately fangirled over with my friends (at age fifteen), and spurred off an ongoing obsession with supernatural YA novels that led me to my other favourites. I’ll admit I’ve been waiting a while for her to release something new, but I was a little worried about Black Ice. It looked so different to her other books – what if I was disappointed?

Ha. I’ll bet you Fitzpatrick and her editor laughed for about an hour about how much of a “shock and awe” factor this novel would have.

Black Ice is phenomenal. The storyline was sharp, deadly and expertly plotted. Fitzpatrick’s writing is dark and compelling – evidently the work of a YA master, whose writing takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions, but you’ll hardly notice how fast your heart is beating because you’re too stuck in the story. And the characters… exceptional. Fitzpatrick builds a hero out of a stereotypical teenage girl, slowly giving her depth and independence until she breaks herself out of the mold she was confined to by the men surrounding her. It was inspiring to watch (read). Every character was more complex than they first appeared, and the way the author altered them through plot twists and climactic disasters had a mind-blowing effect.

Becca Fitzpatrick, you are amazing. Please write many more books, even if each one I read destroys another fraction of my sanity.

Rating: 4/5

Recommended to: Fans of Hush, Hush, and everyone else.

(Just a note: I agree with other reviews that say Black Ice isn't realistic - that it's way too far-fetched, actually - but I don't think Fitzpatrick's intention is to write about real-life experiences. Sure, it's a dangerous way to go, and I agree that the romance was very problematic. But when I was caught up in the story, it was easy for me to put those things aside and enjoy her writing - although I definitely think I should revisit some aspects with a more critical eye. I stick by my review, but I think it's important to read other opinions before you delve into this novel. It's not for everyone.)

The Last Word

I think it’s important to take another second to appreciate Becca Fitzpatrick’s writing style, because it really is among the best in YA charts at the moment. She writes exceptionally, and I’m not sure that others have truly noticed that, because at first I didn’t. Her story is often so gripping that it’s easy to overlook just how well she’s telling it.

Fitzpatrick’s style is so accessible. I think it’s truly admirable that she always allows her story to shine through her writing (not the other way around) and her novels flourish because of it. She’s not patronizing or condescending; she doesn’t try to confuse her readers with elaborate sentences or flowery descriptive passages, yet it’s clear that she’s an excellent writer. That’s the way YA should be written.

‘Under Different Stars’ by Amy A. Bartol

Book details

Genre: YA Fiction/Fantasy

Format: Audible book

Producer: Brilliance Audio

View on Goodreads.

Synopsis

 Kricket Hollowell is normally not one to wish upon stars; she believes they’re rarely in her favor. Well versed at dodging caseworkers from Chicago’s foster care system, the past few years on her own have made Kricket an expert at the art of survival and blending in. With her 18th birthday fast approaching, she dreams of the day when she can stop running and find what her heart needs most: a home. 

Trey Allairis hates Earth and doubts that anyone from his world can thrive here. What he’s learning of Kricket and her existence away from her true home only confirms his theory. But, when he and Kricket lie together under the stars of Ethar, counting them all may be easier than letting her go. 

Kyon Ensin’s secrets number the stars; he knows more about Kricket's gifts than anyone and plans to possess her because of them. He also knows she’s more valuable than any fire in the night sky. He’ll move the heavens and align them all in order to make her his own. 

When everything in their world can be broken, will Kricket rely upon love to save her under different stars?

Review

When I first downloaded Under Different Stars, it was with the intention of having something barely entertaining to do on the long drive down to the beach. Basically, I wanted a book that would keep my mind off the horribly gross eight-hour car trip, and maybe have the added bonus of putting me to sleep.

Was I entertained? Definitely. Did I go to sleep at all in the 9 hours it took to finish the book? Maybe once.

I can’t really figure out why I enjoyed Bartol’s novel. Maybe it was because it exceeded my pretty limited expectations? Maybe because the storyline at its core was cute and original? Or maybe (probably) because it involved three of my favourite things: a strong protagonist, super hot unearthly beings and new insults that other non-readers won’t understand.

The characters and storyline in Under Different Stars are definitely among its most appealing qualities. Although I sometimes found Kricket mildly annoying, I did admire her as a protagonist: she’s intellectual, independent and turns out to be invaluable to her male counterparts. A part of me did reason that the writer shouldn’t have felt the need to make her stunningly attractive to every single male character in the novel on top of all her other qualities (making her pretty much perfect), but that’s probably just me being argumentative. It also turned out that her beauty played a rather large role in the storyline towards the end of the novel (think Helen of Troy on steroids).

Oh, and of course there’s Trey – the brooding, calculating hero who could easily join the ranks of Jace, Damon and Patch. They should actually form a club or something where they discuss weaponry and complain about how difficult it is to admit their love for stunningly attractive, infuriatingly stubborn heroines. On second thought, that might not be such a good idea due to the fact that Damon and Trey, both among the buff unearthly type with dark hair, call their love interests “Kitten”. Cringe.

In any case, Bartol’s delicate writing style and good plotting helped me to overlook some of her more clichéd and predictable moments. The story itself is lovely – lighthearted at some points, but involving the perfect touches of drama, action, romance and tension to make up a relatively good YA novel.

Rating: 3 stars

Recommended to: Fans of JLA’s The Lux series.

The Last Word

I just have to mention the romantic aspect of Under Different Stars in this section, because although it didn’t make me dislike the story significantly, I’m noticing the same issue pop up in several other YA stories.

To both authors and readers of YA: a hero does not have to be buff and tall in order for him to be attractive. A heroine does not have to look like a Barbie in order for her to be beautiful. Also, funnily enough, sullenness, grumpiness, gruffness and even outright rudeness shouldn’t be surefire signs that a guy’s madly in love with you. If anything, they should be warning signs that you shouldn’t enter a relationship with somebody whose emotional state makes you feel uneasy.

'Looking for Alaska' by John Green

Book details

Genre: YA fiction

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780007424832

View on Goodreads.

Synopsis

“In the dark beside me, she smelled of sweat and sunshine and vanilla, and on that thin-mooned night I could see little more than her silhouette, but even in the dark, I could see her eyes – fierce emeralds. And not just beautiful, but hot too.”

Alaska Young. Gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, screwed up – and utterly fascinating. Miles Halter could not be more in love with her. But when tragedy strikes, Miles discovers the value and the pain of living and loving unconditionally.

Nothing will ever be the same.

Review

I found this novel problematic, and it took me a while to figure it out, but I think I’ve finally got it. I just didn’t have that magical FWUSH moment when my mind was suddenly just overcome by the story and I was trapped in Miles’s world. I felt detached the whole time, and that was due to the part of me that just kept repeating, “Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope,” because there were so many things that I just couldn’t look past in favor of enjoying the storyline.

And forgive me for this, because after reading a couple of other reviews, it seems like the majority of people loved it. So maybe it is just me, but I really feel that I need to draw attention to a few major issues.

Okay, so let me just get out there and say that, to me, it felt like John Green had made up a list of all the things he needed in order to write a bestselling novel, and then systematically checked off the necessities. Nerdy protagonist with an endearing habit? Check. Stunningly beautiful, yet horribly damaged, tragic heroine? Check. Arrogant and amusing sidekick? Check. Alcohol abuse? Check. Plot twist regarding said heroine’s tragic mishap? Check. Obviously he wouldn’t do that intentionally (I hope), but there seemed to be significantly less thought given to the way in which the story unfolded, the life decisions his characters made, or what he was ultimately encouraging his teen readers to do.

Like, hey, you wanna be the real life equivalent of Alaska? (Although, WHY?) Sure, you’re smart and conventionally pretty, but you’ll need a dangerous drinking habit and dark mood swings if you wanna attract innocent, yet also attractive, nerds like Miles.

Speaking of Alaska – I hated her so much that I often felt the need to rip up the book and burn it just so that her toxic presence couldn’t seep out of the pages. She was far too perfect – and by that I mean that John Green had tried to make her as attractive and inoffensive as possible whilst simultaneously creating a female that all teenage boys could feature in their sexual fantasies. You only have to look at the blurb and a couple of quotes: not only is she extremely intelligent (“I may die young,” she said, “but at least I’ll die smart.”) and a feminist (“DO NOT OBJECTIFY WOMEN’S BODIES!” Alaska shouted) and an avid reader (“I’m going to read them all.”), but she’s also “petite (but, God, curvy)”  and consequently “the hottest girl in all of human history.” And then of course there’s the mandatory emotional damage, excessive drinking and smoking habits, and “unpredictability” – her fatal flaws that make her all the more endearing to Miles.

See? On the surface, Alaska is the girl that every boy wants. Her emotional instability is supposed to give her depth, but it just makes her simultaneously pitiful and hopelessly dislikeable. She consistently emotionally blackmails all of her friends into ruining their lives for her mere entertainment, and they continue to follow her like lost puppies in the aftermath of her predictable tragedy.

Ultimately, Green’s highly acclaimed novel is pretty damn ordinary. A decent storyline is buried right at the core if you can overlook all the problematic elements that build up to a horribly dissatisfactory ending in which nothing is resolved at all. Arguably, it had its moments, and was witty and cute at the times I didn’t catch myself cringing. So I’ll be fair in my rating and give it a solid “it didn’t suck that much” three stars.

Rating: 3/5

Recommended to: People who can shut off the little voices in their heads that whine about ethics and stereotypes.

The Last Word

I read Paper Towns before I read Looking for Alaska, but throughout the latter I couldn’t shake the feeling that something felt eerily familiar. Then it hit me. Margo Roth Spiegelman and Quentin Jacobsen are the oil paintings based on the carbon sketches of Alaska Young and Miles Halter. Even their stories are vaguely similar: geeky teenage boy chases after unattainable, unpredictable, hopelessly hot teenage girl until she finally kisses him. Once. And then that’s it for them. (Well, to be fair in Paper Towns the kiss signals the end of their story, and in Looking for Alaska… um… no spoilers.)

Also check this out:

“That didn’t happen, of course. Things never happened the way I imagined them.” – Looking for Alaska

“Nothing ever happens like you imagine it will.” – Paper Towns

It’s like John Green liked the idea so much that it stuck in his head from 2006 until he wrote Paper Towns. That’s pretty cool. Consider it labeled as a mere coincidence (even though I kinda want to use it as proof that he based Paper Towns off the same ideals, characters and basic plot as Looking for Alaska, but that would be a bit too judgmental).

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