Why the three stars? I feel like I’m cheating her after all that. However, one of the main themes that ribbons through this novel is sex. How it can be used as a weapon, what it means in a relationship, and the power it can bestow and take away. The book starts with a sex scene (not graphic at all, but definitely present) and that sets the tone for the entire novel. It’s clear that Marchetta views sex as a beautiful product of a loving, long-term relationship and anything less is wrong, or at least not totally right. This is Marchetta’s world and there really are not black and whites. My views are similar, except that I expect marriage before sex and that really is black and white. I know that view is not popular or widely accepted. I understand that. But when a novel devotes itself to sex, and I disagree with what the author is saying, I can’t praise the book for it’s brilliance and turn a blind eye to everything else. I will finish off the series and I will read more Marchetta novels. But this one, won’t be on my favourites list.

I should tell you that this is the second novel in the Lumaterre series, number two behind Finnikin of the Rock (a fantasy novel I LOVED).

Lugh got born first. On midwinter day when the sun hangs low in the sky.

Then me. Two hours later.

That pretty much says it all.

Lugh goes first, always first, an I follow on behind.

An that’s fine.

That’s right.

That’s how it’s meant to be. (p. 1)

This is the first page of the novel. If you HATE reading dialects in fiction, give this one a miss, because it don’t never git any better than that. There ain’t no punck-chee-ashun. No quotation marks to tell you if something is being said. There’s a reason for all this madness. I understand why it’s written like this but I didn’t really enjoy it. The reasoning behind the style (this is all assumption on my part, BTW) is that the population as a whole is largely illiterate and language is fluid so it’s been dumbed down by years of illiteracy. It’s also written in the first person, so we don’t ever get a break from it. If she would have considered writing this in the third person, it might have been easier to read.

Other than the style of writing, it was a pretty good dystopian read. It held some similarities with The Hunger Games, and I’ve heard that Ridley Scott bought the movie option rights to this before it was even published. There may be a version of this coming to a theatre near you in the next couple of years. It would really make a great movie. There was a lot of action, and a love interest that’s intense but  doesn’t steal the show. The world building was a bit unbelievable, and the main character was pretty annoying but if you like to read post-apocalyptic fiction, give it a try. But beware, it looks like this one is going to be a trilogy.

The beginning of the novel seems to be leading the reader in a number of different ways and it can get a bit confusing. But after seeing it through, those deceptively random scenes start to become important. By the end, he had pulled them all together to form a masterful tapestry that pictured the French Revolution. An absolutely beautiful read.

And I was wowed when I read it. It was totally plausible. There were no parts that gave me pause. I went with Donoghue where ever she wanted to lead me. She did a spectacular job. I found the voice hard to get into, but I anticipated that going into it. Once I was used to “listening” to a five year old talk to me, I got used to it.

I would recommend this book to a book club. There are people who love it, and people who hated it. It is sure to have any book club group talking, and it might even get them to actually talk about the book:)

So many series have beautiful starts. Novels that have depth, great characters and a story arc. An actual story arc with a beginning, a middle and an end. Lots of these series are from debut writers. They work really hard to get the story right before it gets published. Bree Despain’s advice for amateur novelists is to write your first draft and let it sit for a long time before picking it back up again. Give it some distance and yourself some perspective. Well this begs the question, how can anyone come out with anything good if they have less than a year to write it? Does the publisher provide editors that provide the distance and perpectives that draw out the short comings? How is this done?

See, from where I sit, (in my armchair ) it seems like publishers don’t really care about quality so much as quantity. They want to take advantage of the hype while there is hype. So they press for the book fast and publish it faster. Keep in mind, I really don’t know how this works. I’m from southern Alberta, and we’re known here for beef, not publishing. But what I do know, is that second books in series have a way of seriously letting me down. Yet I keep buying them! Right now, I’m salivating over a second book that comes out next week. I feel like a gambler sitting at the slots, just plugging quarters in the machine and hoping for a win. Every once in a while, a second book comes along that’s better than the first, but for the most part, the House always wins.

Then I saw the trailers on Facebook. The first was crap, but still all the ladies on FB swooned. I thought “what is the deal with these books?”

But then they posted the second trailer, and I was at least convinced that I wanted to see the movie.

Before you know it my wife (with some help from our Facebook friends) had talked me into reading the first book, The Hungers games.

It was good, really good. I had a hard time putting it down. There were things that kind of bothered me, the universe seemed a little underdeveloped, Katniss was a little flakey, but it wasn’t bad enough to make me want to stop or even slow down. Then I hit book 2.

The things that bugged me a little about the first book started to get more pronounced. What really started to drive me crazy was Katniss’ behavior. She started acting like a 17 year old. I know, you are thinking, “but she is.” but still it drove me crazy. She was selfish, needy, flakey and selfish. Did I mention selfish. It was hard for me sympathize with her at all. Meanwhile, she has these kind, brave and handsome young men all gaga over her. Huh? I know guys will sometime ignore neurosis for looks, but according to the book she is not really that pretty. I’m thinking “what the!?!”

It went from annoying to bizarre for book three. And then it ended. The last four pages of the book were brilliant, but everything between the end of book one and there was me trudging up hill through the snow.

Absolutely read book one, but maybe give book two and three a pass. If you need to know how it ends, drop me a note or read the Wikipedia page,  it’ll save you the time of reading them.

If you want another perspective read Cindi’s review of The Hunger Games, Clarissa’s review of Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

I was 16 when my own mother died after a battle with a virus that attacked her brain. It’s a rare disease that I’ve never encountered before or since. I was afraid this novel would usher in feelings best kept hidden, safely out of reach. Basically, I was afraid, like Conor, to face the truth. The 15th anniversary of my mom’s death is just around the corner. Although 15 years is a long time. I was still afraid that this book would open old wounds. It makes me wonder why I picked up this novel at all, am I a masochist?

But this book has such good reviews on Goodreads. Piles of readers speaking about parent’s who died of cancer, all of them read this book and loved it. Surely, I could read it too. So after it sat amid the library books I’d picked up for a couple of weeks, I finally decided it was time. But then it was Christmas, and I didn’t want to ruin Christmas. I picked it up again on Boxing Day. And so it went. I’d read some, then put it down and not touch it again for a day, then I’d find myself picking it back up. Until I couldn’t put it down any longer. Until finally we get to the part where Conor faces his truth and Ness writes,

“And he knew it was here. He knew there really was no going back. That it was going to happen, whatever he wanted, whatever he felt.

And he knew he was going to get through it.

It would be terrible. It would be beyond terrible.

But he’d survive.” (p.204)

This book was moving and terrifying and beautiful. I would recommend that you read it. I don’t really care who you are. Who hasn’t experienced loss? Who doesn’t know someone affected by cancer? This book, it made me remember, not the most pleasant experience of my life, but I can look back at that terrible, horrible, awful event and know that I got through it, I get through it every day and I am thankful that I am still alive to honour her memory.

As the year is coming to a close I can’t help but think about what has happened in my life in the past 12 months. I’ve been pregnant, delivered my third child, and moved three times. Through it all, I’ve read. I find myself reading when I get stressed out, so with three moves, that’s a lot of reading. Compiling a list of my favourites is a bit tricky to say the least. But I’ve managed it. Here is my favourite reads of 2011.

In descending order, my picks for 2011 are

10

Soulless by Gail Carriger. This book is set in Victorian England where vampires and werewolves abound. Oh, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously. This book had me laughing out loud. It got embarrassing. My husband kept asking me to explain, but they were always those, “you had to be there” moments that just don’t translate well without a lot of set-up.  I highly recommend reading this one if you’re in the mood to laugh. Oh, also read this if you’re curious what the term Steam-Punk means.

9

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. This novel was so refreshingly funny and real that I had to put it on my top 10 list. This is real, young adult, chick-lit. It reads just like a romantic comedy featuring high school students. It showcased a flawed and funny main character and a very worthy romantic lead with a love story that takes it’s time. Perfect book to read if you want to escape to Paris for a few hours.

8

The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta. She does it again. Melina Marchetta is one of my very favourite authors. If you want to get me read a book, just tell me it’s one of hers. She is a fantastic story-teller. The main character Tom was a minor character in her second novel Saving Francesca. He starts out this novel as a horribly mean guy that I wished I could punch. Fortunately, like all great stories, we see true character development. As Tom wades through grief, he finds his way back to his family, and himself. Marchetta, once again, weaves a complex story with a very full cast of characters into a beautiful tapestry. HOWEVER, the language gets nasty, which I didn’t appreciate. If that were better, this book would have been my number one.

7

 Matched by Ally Condie. How much do you value your right to choose? What does freedom mean really? If we could eradicate hunger, poverty disease and illness, would  you forfeit choice? These questions are all tackled in the new series Matched. I found Matched so compelling and thought provoking. The downside to this novel is that the romance eats up the majority of it. If she could have eased off that a bit, well then maybe it wouldn’t have worked. I’m not sure. If I looked past most of the swooning, it made for an excellent read. The second book Crossed is just as compelling.

6

Ultraviolet by R.J Anderson. I really liked this book. I’ve never read another quite like it. It’s one of those books where it’s really best to say nothing about it at all. Just read it. you won’t be disappointed.

5

 The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich. This beautifully written historical fiction is written so hypnotically smooth it feels languorously slow, yet it has a deceptively quick and steady pace. The result is an interesting mix. It’s a fast read that leaves you feeling smarter than you were when you started, my favourite kind. If midwifery leaves you feeling squeamish, maybe, give this one a miss, it’s gets a bit graphic.

4

 The Salt Road by Jane Johnson. I just finished reading this one before Christmas, I haven’t even had a chance to write a review yet. Although if I’d read it in January, it would have made it in my top ten of 2012 list. It’s just that good. Jane Johnson weaves a very complex and twisty tale in this gorgeous novel. The Salt Road is set in Morocco and Algeria, but more specifically in the Sahara. Johnson takes two people from different times and places and strings them together in this story. The result is as surprising as it is beautiful. Thanks for the birthday gift Merriellen.

3

 Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. It’s not often that I find a sequel bettering it’s predecessor. It’s even more unusual that a second book in a trilogy is anything more than a means to the end.  You read the second to get to the third. This book is the second book in the trilogy Infernal Devices. It is better than the first and was an amazing read. The third book will be out next December, with any luck, it’ll be on my Top 10 in 2012.

2

Boom! by Mark Haddon . This is one of the first books I read in January 2011. It definitely had staying power for me. It was so much fun. It’s written by the same author as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I didn’t read that one in 2011, otherwise, it’d be on the list too. Mark Haddon tells a fantastical and funny tale that will leave you wanting to read it again and again. This is a book that I really want to own.

1

 The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. I LOVED this book. The writing was so ON. It felt how I imagined it feeling for people who saw film in colour for the first time. It was just so much more than any of the books I’ve read before. The Sky is Everywhere was in full technicolor. The main characters define the nursery rhyme The Grand Ole Duke of York

And when they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only half-way up,
They were neither up nor down.

I know, I’m sounding a bit silly and fangirlish, but I don’t care, because I loved it.

Ana Karen Maldenado!

Congratulations! Happy Holidays and Happy Reading to you!

If you enjoy reading good books, give this one a try, well this series really. This book was definitely worth the wait. I’m sure book three will be even better.