The Walled City by Ryan Graudin - Paul's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: The Walled City
Author: Ryan Graudin
Recent Release Date: November 4, 2014

My Pre Reading

Synopsis: 

730. That's how many days I've been trapped.
18. That's how many days I have left to find a way out.

DAI, trying to escape a haunting past, traffics drugs for the most ruthless kingpin in the Walled City. But in order to find the key to his freedom, he needs help from someone with the power to be invisible....

JIN hides under the radar, afraid the wild street gangs will discover her biggest secret: Jin passes as a boy to stay safe. Still, every chance she gets, she searches for her lost sister....

MEI YEE has been trapped in a brothel for the past two years, dreaming of getting out while watching the girls who try fail one by one. She's about to give up, when one day she sees an unexpected face at her window.....

In this innovative and adrenaline-fueled novel, they all come together in a desperate attempt to escape a lawless labyrinth before the clock runs out.

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Review: Going into this book, I was under the impression it took place in a fictional dystopia, possibly post apocalyptic. Although technically it is a fictional dystopian city, it is more real than fiction. And that fact is quite unsettling. I won't go any further into the details, but this book is based in reality. It shows that the real world truly can be scarier than fiction. 

This book covers many mature topics, but I think they are handled in an age appropriate way. There is violence, sex, prostitution, drug use, death, and human trafficking. Most is implied, but there are some explicit mature scenes.  

The perspective shifts between three main characters. I had a problem connecting their names, but that was probably because I am not familiar with Asian names and pronunciations. I found myself anticipating whose perspective the next chapter would be from. The three characters are connected in very interesting ways that unfold as the story progresses. 

This is a story of siblings. I liked the way familial connections were depicted. None of the characters in this book have an easy life. They all have difficult pasts that have formed their current states. 

This book was not what I expected at all, but in a completely good way. I think going into this book with very little knowledge leads to the unraveling of a compelling story. This is a book of interesting characters in a horrible location. I give this novel a 4/5. I definitely recommend it. And recently movie rights were sold, so I am looking forward to seeing this story move people in the theater. 


--PAUL

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin - Paul's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: The Walled City
Author: Ryan Graudin
Upcoming Release Date: November 4, 2014

Synopsis: 

730. That's how many days I've been trapped.
18. That's how many days I have left to find a way out.

DAI, trying to escape a haunting past, traffics drugs for the most ruthless kingpin in the Walled City. But in order to find the key to his freedom, he needs help from someone with the power to be invisible....

JIN hides under the radar, afraid the wild street gangs will discover her biggest secret: Jin passes as a boy to stay safe. Still, every chance she gets, she searches for her lost sister....

MEI YEE has been trapped in a brothel for the past two years, dreaming of getting out while watching the girls who try fail one by one. She's about to give up, when one day she sees an unexpected face at her window.....

In this innovative and adrenaline-fueled novel, they all come together in a desperate attempt to escape a lawless labyrinth before the clock runs out.

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Why?: This seems like a really interesting YA dystopia. I like dystopian cities. Escpecially walled-in ones. Maybe there'll be a labyrinth?

Expectations: I've heard great things about this book. I'm expecting a dystopian YA with an oppressive city. It seems like some mature content may also be addressed.  

Judging a book by its cover: The black and red of this cover really captured me. The cover caught my initial interest in the book. 


--PAUL

Purity by Jackson Pearce - Ashley's Review

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Title: Purity
Author: Jackson Pearce
Publication Date: April 21, 2012




My Pre-Reading

Synopsis: A novel about love, loss, and sex -- but not necessarily in that order.

Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.

Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision -- to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.

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Review: I love when I find an author who can write across so many different genres and do it as well as Jackson Pearce does. I mean, I figured Purity would be good - all of the other books I've read by Jackson have been fantastic. But I really enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to, especially considering contemporary YA is not really my thing.

I thought the whole premise of the book was, underneath the whole losing her virginity thing, was really actually pretty sweet. Shelby has struggled with her life since her mother died, and she's doing the best she can with a distant father and her two best friends. She listens to her father, because that's one of the Promises, but she usually finds a way around listening to him when she wants to do something she know he'll say no to. Throughout the whole process of trying to lose her virginity, I felt like Shelby definitely matured and became a much better person.

I think my favorite part of this book was watching the dynamic between Shelby and her father change. Since her mother died, Shelby and her father basically live two totally different lives and are just two people living in the same house. He tries, but Shelby just doesn't really care and neither of them know how to behave around the other. As much as Shelby hates the idea of the Princess Ball, without it, she and her dad would never have begun to understand each other. Their relationship is nowhere near perfect by the end of the book, but it's getting better and that's what counts.

Then there's the other relationships. Shelby isn't looking for a full-time boyfriend - she just wants a hookup. But in the process, she begins to realize that maybe the one guy she's always relied on to be her best friend could be something more. The romance isn't too over the top, which is nice considering these characters are only like 15-16, and it's left pretty open-ended. So not necessarily a happily-ever-after, but definitely a warm-fuzzy ending. 

If you like contemporary YA books and are looking for something that's got it's share of humor and heartbreak, I think you would really enjoy this book. It's a fairly easy read, but there's quite a bit packed into it, and it's very interesting to see Shelby grow and mature. I'm pretty glad this was a standalone novel, since it's just about the perfect length for the story it's trying to tell, but I'll totally read any other contemporary books Jackson writes in the future! I'd give this a 3/5.


--Ashley

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Torn Away
Author: Jennifer Brown
Publication Date: May 6, 2014

My Pre-Reading

Synopsis: Born and raised in the Midwest, Jersey Cameron knows all about tornadoes. Or so she thinks. When her town is devastated by a twister, Jersey survives -- but loses her mother, her young sister, and her home. As she struggles to overcome her grief, she's sent to live with her only surviving relatives: first her biological father, then her estranged grandparents.

In an unfamiliar place, Jersey faces a reality she's never considered before -- one in which her mother wasn't perfect, and neither were her grandparents, but they all loved her just the same. Together, they create a new definition of family. And that's something no tornado can touch.

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Review: I have never experienced a devastating tornado. Growing up in Florida, tornadoes usually only show up during hurricane season, and even then they're very small and don't completely destroy entire towns. We don't even have tornado sirens (I didn't even know such a thing existed until I was in college and my friends from the Midwest were confused by the lack of them).  My limited knowledge of them comes from tornado drills in elementary - high school where all we did was hide under a desk and get away from the windows and the Twister "ride" at Universal Studios. 

That being said, this book still hit me really hard. I couldn't empathize with Jersey at all, but Torn Away is still completely heart-breaking and very real. As the tornado hits Jersey's town, I felt like I was there; I was terrified for her when she rushes to the basement and when she wakes up the next morning and her entire town is just... gone. Jennifer Brown does an excellent job of making Jersey's experiences relateable even for someone who has never been through anything like them, and made me grateful I've never experienced a natural disaster of this magnitude.

I think this book also does a pretty good job of dealing with estranged family, but I actually really hated her dad's family. I wanted to punch her step-sisters in the face pretty much every time they showed up, I hated her grandparents, and I hated her step-dad the most for having her end up there in the first place. It was hard for me to read those sections, and while I think that was the point, I just can't imagine how any family would be so horrible to someone without an sort of explanation. 

There's a little bit of a romance in this book, but I'm glad it took a back-seat to the rest of the plot. It's nice to see that Jersey has friends and people she can rely on, and that she might be developing feelings for one of those characters, but I'm glad that it's left open-ended and that there was some room for imagination on the readers' part by the end. It's not a happily-ever-after by any stretch of the imagination, but maybe one day it could be. 

I loved Jennifer's writing and I was hooked from the very beginning (despite the inevitable tears), and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to read this book. I think anyone looking for a realistic, contemporary YA book who isn't afraid of reading about tough subjects like death, destruction, and awful family problems, should really consider reading Torn Away. There were some places where the book fell a little short for me, so I'd give it a 3/5. But it was still a great (heart-breaking) read.


--Ashley

Purity by Jackson Pearce - Ashley's Pre-Reading

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Title: Purity
Author: Jackson Pearce
Publication Date: April 21, 2012

Synopsis: A novel about love, loss, and sex -- but not necessarily in that order.

Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.

Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision -- to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.

Why?: I've really enjoyed Jackson's other books - especially her Fairy Tale Retellings - so I've had my eye on her first contemporary book for a while. I'm interested to see how she tackles love, loss, and sex without there being any magic or fantasy creatures. 

Expectations: I'm kind of expecting this book to be along the same lines as As You Wish, minus the magic and the genie and plus the loss. I'm expecting parts of this book to be sad and parts to be pretty humorous. I'm also expecting there to be a lot of growing up, both by Shelby and her father. I've got relatively high expectations for this book since I've read all of Jackson's other books (except Tsarina) and enjoyed them all.

Judging a book by its cover: I really like how simple this cover is. I like the way the lock is white (the standard color for purity) on a blue background, and I think it makes it stand out more. I also like that there's a heart on the locket. I'd be pretty likely to pick this book up off a shelf based on the cover alone!


--Ashley

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown - Ashley's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Torn Away
Author: Jennifer Brown
Publication Date: May 6, 2014

Synopsis: Born and raised in the Midwest, Jersey Cameron knows all about tornadoes. Or so she thinks. When her town is devastated by a twister, Jersey survives -- but loses her mother, her young sister, and her home. As she struggles to overcome her grief, she's sent to live with her only surviving relatives: first her biological father, then her estranged grandparents.

In an unfamiliar place, Jersey faces a reality she's never considered before -- one in which her mother wasn't perfect, and neither were her grandparents, but they all loved her just the same. Together, they create a new definition of family. And that's something no tornado can touch.

Why?: I'm no meteorologist, but weather related books always fascinate me. I think because most of the time they're something that could actually happen, and probably have happened. I'm interested to see what the tornado teachers Jersey about her life and the people in it, even though I'm pretty sure it's going to be a very sad read.

Expectations: I expect this to be a pretty dark book, with quite a bit of death and lives torn apart. I also expect Jersey to be pretty upset for most of it, having just lost her town, her family, and her home. It also seems like there will be a little bit of a mystery to it (with learning secrets about her mother and her grandparents), but I hope that things will lighten up by the end of the book.

Judging a book by its cover: I'm really undecided on this cover. I love how the title takes up most of it, and how the author's name is a different color and very pronounced. But I think the girl's face is really over done on YA books right now, and I'm not sure the title and author's name are enough to draw me to this book based on the cover alone.


--Ashley

Reality Boy by A.S. King - Paul's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Reality Boy
Author: A.S. King
Date of Publication: October 22nd, 2013

My Reality Boy PRE-READING

Synopsis: Gerald Faust knows exactly when he started feeling angry: the day his mother invited a reality television crew into his five-year-old life. Twelve years later, he’s still haunted by his rage-filled youth—which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle—and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts, zero friends, and clueless adults dumping him in the special education room at school.

Nothing is ever going to change. No one cares that he’s tried to learn to control himself, and the girl he likes has no idea who he really is. Everyone’s just waiting for him to snap…and he’s starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that.

In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, highly acclaimed Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child “star” who finally breaks free of his anger by creating possibilities he never knew he deserved.

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Review: Although this book wasn't exactly what I expected, I enjoyed reading it. The story follows a teenager with anger management problems who has infamously been dubbed the Crapper after appearing on the reality tv show Network Nanny as a child. The teenage comes from quite the dysfunctional family.

Throughout the book, chapters cover the episodes in which the family were featured on Network Nanny. I really liked these chapters because you got to see why he become the teenager he is. 

This book really makes you think about the people you see on reality television. What happens after? And what actually happened during?

I could see this book as an indie movie with awesome indie fantasy scenes, maybe with cartoons, puppets, or some sort of elaborate paper folding.

This book is an enjoyable read and really delves into a unique teenager's life. I give this book a 4/5.


--PAUL

Reality Boy by A.S. King - Paul's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Reality Boy
Author: A.S. King
Date of Publication: October 22nd, 2013

Synopsis: Gerald Faust knows exactly when he started feeling angry: the day his mother invited a reality television crew into his five-year-old life. Twelve years later, he’s still haunted by his rage-filled youth—which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle—and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts, zero friends, and clueless adults dumping him in the special education room at school.

Nothing is ever going to change. No one cares that he’s tried to learn to control himself, and the girl he likes has no idea who he really is. Everyone’s just waiting for him to snap…and he’s starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that.

In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, highly acclaimed Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child “star” who finally breaks free of his anger by creating possibilities he never knew he deserved

Why?: This book sounds really interesting. It reminds me of The Truman Show and those kids some morning show checked in on every year to see how their life was. I'm interested to see how this concept plays out. 

Expectations: I'm expecting a story that has a lot of hidden or maybe blatant messages about individuality and reality tv. 

Judging a book by its cover: This book has a really interesting cover. It's colorful. It is what first caught my interest. 


--PAUL