YA Fiction Reviews Part 1

Hi everyone,

I'm back again with  a batch of young adult (YA) book reviews.  I still read YA books for a load of reasons.  The biggest being that quality wise they can often be just as good as fiction targeted to adults.  And with series like The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and others having their stories told on the big screen I often like to be ahead of the curve in knowing what's next.  There's also my insatiable appetite for reading and my preference for strong female lead characters to think of, and YA books don't disappoint there either.

Anyway, today I'll review the books that are newer to me and I'll come back to the ones I've reread in a couple weeks for another set of reviews.  So, starting off we have Fuse by Julianna Baggott, it's the second in the Pure trilogy and kept me turning pages.  I haven't reviewed the first book here, so I'll do a quick summary - dystopian future world with people suffering after "the detonations" while those in the dome live as if it never happened, a girl from the outside and boy who's been sheltered are bound to meet and piece together truth from the lies they've been told.  Fuse picks up by expanding on the world as the young people go further afield on a mission to find out what secrets Partridge's father had.  We see how others have coped with the changes the detonations wrought and how fragile peace can be in this harsh world.

Burn, also by Julianna Baggott tries to finish off the trilogy, but seems to rush things immensely.  Characters regress and do things completely out of place from their established values.  Almost all the ending were left open in a series that really needed more of them to be tied up.  And what bothered me most of all was how we were finally getting a glimpse of what the whole world was like, and the author chose to focus in on a much smaller area putting all the exquisite world building to waste!  So I was less than happy with this one, despite enjoying the other two books before it so much.  Le sigh....

Gifts of the Blood by Vicki Keire is a more satisfying read which looks at a world with supernatural influences, particularly those of angelic forces.  It's the first in a series and includes both good and evil as well as romance alongside the story of a pair of siblings, where the brother is dying of cancer.  Not many books take on disease and fantasy together, and this one did well at it.  I look forward to reading the next in the series.

The Swap by Megan Shull was a fairly quick read with the premise of a boy and girl around puberty switching bodies because a person with magic just happened to hear their comments about the other sex having it easy.  Spoilers, neither has it easy!  The characters find this out and along the way find they had more strength for those obstacles that bothered them than they'd assumed once they got some perspective on their problems.  I found it was better written than I had thought it might be, which is always a plus when I take a chance on an Kindle book I've never heard of.

Cipher by Aileen Erin also falls into the "Kindle books bought on a whim" category, and again is a good pick.  Cipher has bad DNA that causes her to exhibit a mutation, the government likes to keep those with mutations under their experimental program's oversight or dead.  But there's a group working to keep these individuals alive and stabilize their powers and Cipher meets them when she needs them most.  From there the chase is on, and keeps a good pace.  Another series I'm looking forward to reading he second installment of!

Finally there's Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger.  It's the third book in a series by one of my favorite authors.  More Victorian era humor and adventure lies within as our protagonist hops a train filled with a surprise cargo and has a continuing love triangle pulling at her romantic sensibilities.  It's a steampunk world with werewolves, inventors, spies, and loads of excitement that's not to be missed.

That's all this time, but if you have any suggestions for new things to read let me know.  I've got a list going and am always adding to it.  Thanks!

Love,
Lydia

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Reasons Why I Blog

Hey folks,

So I was asked this question recently, "what's your blog for", and it got me thinking.  I've been able to write my thoughts online for a long time, first via a very old Tripod website, then on Live Journal and now here.  Being able to write out my thoughts has been something that's been very healthy for me mentally and a great aid to thinking through whatever I might be going through in life.  As an introvert I find it especially helpful because I end up energized after making my thoughts more clean and dedicating them to a file or written page, rather than rolling around in my head.  It's helped me when I'm in some of my deeper bouts with depression as it allowed me to pour out my worries, share my fears, and simply let people know what's going on in my life, even when it's not happy stuff.

Sometimes it's easier to write out my thoughts than say them to another person because I can be more articulate and can talk to many people at once without wearying myself as I would if I tried to do the same thing in person!  And even when I didn't write online (in college mostly), I wrote in a notebook often, and am still in the habit of carrying a little notebook with me.  I don't think my cell phone note taking will ever replace it.  Especially knowing I'll be able to remember things better when I write by hand since it engages more parts of the brain at once, making better memories of what was written.

However this blog started as a way to document and share art processes as I was trying to get a Kickstarter campaign going to fund a body of artwork.  It failed to work out, but the blog stuck, and I've slowly changed it from talking about art to more of my life.  I realized some friends I don't talk to as often and even my family members now that we live further away from each other like hearing what's happening in my life, and this blog filled that need.  It's become more multimedia over time, and in some ways becomes its own art form, since writing is after all just another of the arts.

Now this blog is also about ways of sharing my interests i.e. books, fashion, travel, and social issues.  Something like a plus size capsule wardrobe is unique enough that I might even get to help some people as the make their own, similarly ethical fashion in plus size is hard to find too.  And then I might go make a DIY chalkboard tutorial or post a family recipe for chili .  It makes for very eclectic reading, but those of you who have met me know just how that word suits me.  I hope I strike a balance that keeps you all interested, you're welcome to holler at me if you want more of something I haven't mentioned in a while too!  Overall I sincerely hope my many interests will be a good influence on my readers and help me meet others from a variety of backgrounds too.

In some way blogging is like a having a superpower.  I'm just starting to realize how powerful it can be, which is both odd and enlightening to someone who'd not used to seeking the spotlight actively for most of her life.  I'm not even sure I'm seeking it now, at least not so much for myself.  Because, here's the thing, friends, if I ever become that loud annoying person I would hate myself.  I just want to start some conversations and share what knowledge I have that might be useful.  So my superpower is hopefully one I can share with all of you as I open up a safe place for discussion and help bring in wonderful individuals to engage with.

And for now I'll just keep writing and trying to remember that "With great power there must also come great responsibility" (Stan Lee).  The responsibility to write regularly and continue overcoming the depression that tells me to do otherwise.  So Wednesday I'll be back again, and hope you'll join me.  Til then!

Love,
Lydia