Review: The Name of The Star

The Name of The Star by Maureen Johnson

Book Rating: ★★★☆☆
Cover Rating: ★★★☆☆

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; First Edition edition (September 29, 2011)

 The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper in the autumn of 1888.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police now believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

 My entire life, I've always loved English accents. I also love hot tea but hate sweet tea, which means that I, living in the South, am constantly shunned. And, the cherry on top, is that I've always thought Jack the Ripper was a fascinating subject. Sick and very scary, but interesting. Really just puts Michael Meyers to shame. So when I found out Maureen Johnson was writing a book on Jack the Ripper, I was super, super excited.

 The first part of the book was very well written and extremely original. I liked Rory's spunk and voice, and Jazza was a good character, but sort of underdeveloped and too perfect. I liked Jerome, but he seems like crush material, not really serious. He is a well-developed, funny character, though, and he is certainly interesting. My favorite character by far has to be Stephen, though. Charismatic, quiet, brooding, dark.... I just adore him. I also hope that Rory's romance with Jerome goes south for a while, even though I like him. I feel like she and Stephen are a better fit. My second favorite character would be Alistair, who I won't spoil for you, but has a dismissive air about him that I love. The final character who I thought was excellently developed was, of course, The Ripper.

 The plot in this book was very good, even if it was a bit predictable. A bit fluffy at times, but you found yourself concerned for the characters and sitting on the edge of your seat often. I wish there had been more meat to the novel, more action and plotting. While the ending is very good, I had guessed how it would end half-way into the book.

The one really major problem I had with this book that took it from being four stars to three was the originality. Or, rather, what took that originality and made it cliche. While I love ghost books, this book had an amazing, original storyline going for it. Really, it wasn't the fact that there were ghosts- it was just the fact that there was an elite, special force that she happened to belong to. I have read that kind of book over and over again, and I was hoping for something new and unexpected that just jumped out at you, which this book very easily could have been.

 Overall, a good book, though it could have been better. I recommend reading it on a rainy afternoon or very late at night by candle.

Book of The Week #6

Book of the week is a weekly post about a particular book coming out sometime during the current week. 

 This week I chose Crossed by Ally Condie for BTW. After reading Matched, I'm really interested to see how this one goes. 


Released November 1, 2011. 
________________________

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Review: The Iron Knight

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Book Rating: 5 Stars
Cover Rating: 5 Stars

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (October 25, 2011)
• Language: English

Received: NetGalley

My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn.
I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her.
 My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl…

 This is yet another amazing book from Julie- I've been completely obsessed with the Iron Fey series since book one. I've never loved faery legends like  I do in this book. Instead of simply portraying each character, Julie brings them to life- I feel like I know everyone who lives inside the pages of these books, and more than any other book that I've ever felt that connection to. I cried, I nearly died of hysterics, and I felt Ash's confusion like it was my own. I've never been transported to a whole different universe so thoroughly. At first, I was a bit weary that it was from Ash's point of view, because Being so used to Meghan's, I was afraid it would seem like a different story. Well, it was different, but in an insanely good way. You get to see Ash in a whole new way, see that even ice-boy has a soft side. This book also offered a beautiful description of what it is to be human- not weakness, but strength. This book was, in one word, phenomenal. 
 The setting, in these books, is one of the best things about them. The Nevernever, the Faery world, is probably one of my favorite fictional places. The whole reason Ash has gone on his journey is so that he can be with Meghan in the Iron Court, because as a fey, he can't be around iron without becoming badly sick, and eventually dying. 

  One thing I feel compelled to tell you is that I am completely Team Puck. Not so much for him to be with Meghan, no, I'm leaning more towards me.  Not that I don't absolutely adore Ash. I just.... love....... Puck. I'm considering naming my firstborn son after him. I've always been a nature person, so maybe that's why. I love redheaded guys. I especially like guys who play with daggers and can pull a killer prank. (I mean that both literally and not.) So, enough of my babbling about incredibly drool worth guys. The characters in this book are all really well developed,  fitted to the story like... um.... fur on a dog? Well, yeah. Uhm, anyway, the only problem I had in that area was that I would have loved to get to know Ariella better. 

 Another fantastic thing about this book is the plot. At moments it had me panicking for one of the characters, laughing at a joke, or crying for them. It shows that you don't have to be immortal, or even inhuman, to be strong- which is a message that I've been looking for in a book for a really, really long time. No one  that I know has superpowers, or is Fey, or a vampire. I'm sure as heck none of those things. But this book broke down that wall that you find in a lot of paranormal books: only the strong survive, and only the otherworldly are strong. Truly a beautiful message. It has action (SWORDS HEHE!), clever cats, heart wrenching decisions, and lots and lots of romance. In other words, my perfect cup of hot chocolate. 

 When I finished reading this book, I had to go outside and run. I jumped up and down and laughed and then cried a bit, and the neighbors were staring at me with one hand ready to dial 911. It was totally worth it. This series is one of the two that made me fall in love with YA, and while I'm sad that it's over, I know I'll be re-reading them over, and over, and over again. It was a fantastic end to a fantastic series.  I highly recommend this book.

Halloween Reading List & Giveaway

                                    **SKIP TO BOTTOM FOR GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES**
 As I've said before, I LOVE Halloween. Just... everything about it. So, in order to get ready, I've decided to create a reading list, consisting of five books that I want to have read by Halloween.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

 "Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life."

 The Name of The Star by Maureen Johnson

 "The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities."

 Dearly, Deaperted by Lia Habel

 "Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire."

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Lani Taylor
 
 "Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out....read more at Goodreads."

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

 "Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

 She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.

There is.

 She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.
She's wrong."

 What's on your reading list this Halloween?


--------------------------------------GIVEAWAY----------------------------------

GUIDELINES:
 -You can pick ONE of the five books listed above.
 -Leave a comment containing your email and which book you would prefer.
 -There will be one winner.
 -The contest will close at midnight on Halloween.
 -It IS International! Yay!
 -You can Get an +1 entry by TWEETING! So TWEET! Be sure to leave the link in the comment and to @ mention @PenandInkChick in the tweet!

Review: Between Shades of Gray

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Book Rating: 5/5 Stars
Cover Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Reading level: Young Adult

Hardcover: 344 pages

Publisher: Philomel (March 22, 2011)

 In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina is preparing for art school, first dates, and all that summer has to offer. But one night, the Soviet secret police barge violently into her home, deporting her along with her mother and younger brother. They are being sent to Siberia. Lina's father has been separated from the family and sentenced to death in a prison camp. All is lost.
  Lina fights for her life, fearless, vowing that if she survives she will honor her family, and the thousands like hers, by documenting their experience in her art and writing. She risks everything to use her art as messages, hoping they will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive.
 It is a long and harrowing journey, and it is only their incredible strength, love, and hope that pull Lina and her family through each day. But will love be enough to keep them alive?

 This book was wonderful, heartbreaking, and beautiful. It was raw and real. It moved me in a way that few other books have. The main character isn't perfect, like you so often see in other books. The romance doesn't consume the plot, as it so often does in other books. It focuses on the story of hope, determination, bravery, and love.
 This book tells a forgotten story. When I picked it up at the library, I was, at the least, very surprised to learn that there was another horror going on alongside Hitler's Holocaust. I love history, and I've always done excess research outside of history class. When I learned about this, I felt as if I had been whacked between the eyes. All the Lithuanians, Estonians, and Latvians lives who were lost is simply astounding, along with their story of pure bravery and perseverance.
 This novel tells that story in a beautiful, unforgettable way. Lina is a fifteen year old Lithuanian artist taken by the NKVD because her father works at the university and shows signs of being anti-Soviet. Lina, her mother, and her brother are separated from her father, who is sent to jail. Lina and her family endure many horrors.
 The characters are heartbreakingly real. One of my favorite characters is Lina's mother, Elena. She never lets the enemy see her broken. She went to all lengths to keep her children, friends, o even stragers safe. She loved her children and husband with every fiber of her body, and she saw the good in everyone, even a NKVD officer. She was a stunning yet very realistic character, as were all of the others.
 The plot and story of this book is captivating. You never once get bored, and the writing style is smooth, inspiring, and beautiful. I found myself crying and laughing with Lina, and becoming distressed and worried when she was. And when I looked at what all she had to endure, I don't know how any of them survived without going completely insane. The pure power of human love in this book will bring you to tears.
 I also found a video for the book that tells you the inspiring stories of some of the survivors. WATCH IT! http://betweenshadesofgray.com/
 If you haven't read this book, you should. Read the first page. I double-dog dare you.