Book Review: Another by Yukito Ayatsuji

Posted by Lizzy on Apr 3, 2013 in reviews | 1 comment

Another (#1) by Yukito Ayatsuji

Genre: YA Horror

Publisher:  Hachette Book Group

Links:  Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Barnes & Noble

English translation released March 19th, 2013

In the spring of 1998, Kouichi Sakakibara transfers to Yomiyama North Middle School. In class, he develops a sense of unease as he notices that the people around him act like they’re walking on eggshells, and students and teachers alike seem frightened. As a chain of horrific deaths begin to unfold around him, he comes to discover that he has been placed in the cursed Class 3 in which the student body head count is always one more than expected. Class 3 is haunted by a vengeful spirit responsible for gruesome deaths in an effort to satisfy its spite. To stop the vicious cycle gripping his new school, Kouichi decides to get to the bottom of the curse, but is he prepared for the horror that lies ahead…?

Another was originally written in Japanese and it’s obvious that this version is a translation.  There are riddles that lack the natural flow of language, since I’m sure that there are some words/meanings in Japanese that don’t exist in English.  I felt as if I was reading a water-down version of a masterpiece.  That said, this must be one of the creepiest novels I have ever read.  It has the aura of an old-school Hitchcock psychological horror blended with a modern Japanese horror such as Runju, which I had to DNF cause it freaked me out so much.  There’s a rawness to the story that makes me believe that a child dictated to the writer rather than the writer inventing it.  There are some instances that felt put in for ‘shock’ value that didn’t do anything for me.  I think it was because Sakakibara was so emotionally distant from the other characters that it was difficult to get attached to them before they died.

The narrator’s purpose isn’t clear and first and by the end there are still many unanswered questions.  I do think that some of the information presented in the narrative could have been left out, as it is re-explained in Sakakibara’s POV.  Of course there are other things present in the narrative that without being mentioned would make what happens to Sakakibara seem much less spooky.  I do like the blend of the two.  I feel that they both were definitely needed to tell this story.

There is a few things that happen in this book that remind me that I’m dealing with a different culture.  I wish there was even more emphasis on the culture because I found it nearly as fascinated as the storyline.

Even though this is a series, I felt that the ending was completely satisfactory as a standalone.  I’ll probably read the next installment when it is translated.   (B+)

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher/Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.)

(Picture and information borrowed from Goodreads.)

‘Yukito Ayatsuji’ is the original creator of Another.He is a famous mystery writer and japanese detective fiction. He is also one of the writer that demands restoration of the classic rules of detective fiction and the use of more self reflective elements. He is married to Fuyumi Ono ,author of The Twelve Kingdoms and creator of Ghost Hunt,Juuni Kokuki and and the author for the other few manga.

 

 

 

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Book Review: Gift by Andrea J. Buchanan

Posted by Lizzy on Apr 2, 2013 in reviews | 0 comments

Gift by Andrea J. Buchanan

Genre:  YA Paranormal

Publisher:  Open Road Media

Links:  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

Released March 27, 2012

Daisy has an electrifying secret that could save her life—or kill her

High school sophomore Daisy Jones is just trying to get by unnoticed. It doesn’t help that she’s the new girl at school, lives in a trailer park, and doesn’t even own a cell phone. But there’s a good reason for all that: Daisy has a secret, unpredictable power—one only her best friend, Danielle, knows about.  Despite her “gift” (or is it a curse?), Daisy’s doing a good job of fitting in, and a gorgeous senior named Kevin even seems interested in her! But when Daisy tries to help Vivi, a mysterious classmate in a crisis, she soon discovers that her new friend has a secret of her own. Now Daisy and her friends must deal with chilling dreams and messages from the beyond. Can Daisy channel the power she’s always tried to hide, before it’s too late? 

I liked the concept of the novel, but there were some things about this book that completely failed.  First off, the opening chapters were confusing.  It felt like a romance brewing between Daisy and Vivi (because of Daisy’s obsession with the other girl) and then it abruptly switched to a very long explanation about Daisy’s powers.  There were quite a few instances where the author said what was happening rather than letting the story reveal the plot.  I felt very confused for most of the book, as the reader is left purposely in the dark about very important plot details.  I would have rather had some of it revealed early on into the book so I had some inclination as to why the characters acted like they did.

I understood that Daisy wasn’t able to use electronic devices, but how could she have survived high school with the high usage of computers in the classrooms.  Students today can’t avoid computers or televisions or calculators.  Not in a public school.  I don’t buy how someone could have not figured it out.  How does she type up her reports?  Pass a typing class?  Research in the library (most documents are electronically recorded)?  Also, it did bother me that Daisy could use a house phone.  It was a normal everyday phone.  If the author wanted to be somewhat plausible, then she would have made Daisy use a rotary phone.  It’s still electronic, but it doesn’t run by a computer chip like every other gadget that Daisy messes up.

The subplot involving Mr. Terry wasn’t handled logically.  There is no way that a male teacher would ever house a female student in his home, especially without getting explicit permission from the principal.  I have several family members  who are teachers and if these exact circumstances happened to them, they might house such student over-night if that student was on the street.  But only a single night and come morning the principal would immediately be made aware of the situation.  If the student wouldn’t return home, then CPS would be called.  And even if the teacher was stupid enough to house a student of the opposite sex at their home for a prolong period of time, once the principal was informed of the situation, the teacher would immediately be suspended fired for not notifying the principal.  It doesn’t matter what the person who ‘told the principal’ said.  The simple fact is that the teacher was not acting appropriate.

I just don’t think that there was enough research done to make sure that the events that happened in the book were plausible.  And for that reason alone, I think I have to give this book a very low rating.  It’s not the worst book I’ve ever read, but it’s one that I surely won’t ever recommend.  Still, the author does show potential to write a much better book.  I might still check out another book by Andrea Buckanan. (F+)

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher/Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.)

 

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Book Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Posted by Lizzy on Feb 25, 2013 in reviews | 0 comments

I apologize for the slight vacation in posts.  My husband took a weekend vacation and took my computer desk with him (it’s one of those white Wal-Mart folding tables), so I didn’t get everything reassembled until last night.

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Genre:  YA Dark Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher:  St. Martin’s Griffin

Links:  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

Releases March 26th, 2013

THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND … A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen-year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and the girls are found by their father, a stranger, and taken to re-enter the “normal” life of school, clothes and boys. Now, Carey must come to terms with the truth of why their mother spirited them away ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go … a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

I don’t usually review books this far in advance, however If You Find Me is pre-order worthy.  As a child, Carey believed every word her mama told her.  Carey raised her little sister without electricity, water and sometimes food; because her mama told her that there was a bad man out there looking for them.  When this bad man arrives with child protection services years later, Carey knows that her mother will come and save them again.  Then, she reads the note her mother says relinquishing her custody of both girls and Carey starts to doubt the stories her mother told her.

This debut novel is written from the POV of a missing child that didn’t know she was missing.  The brilliance of the novel is the contrast between Carey’s version of truth and her father’s version of the truth; the former we learn initially and the latter we learn over the course of the novel.  The truth behind why Carey ended up in the woods with her mother isn’t revealed until the very end.

This would of been an okay story if it transcribed Carey’s reintroduction with her father, but it’s a compelling story when Carey’s mute younger sister, Janessa, is stitched into the drama.  Janessa’s father was someone their mother screwed for a hit of meth and neither girl has seen that man since.  Janessa’s unwillingness to talk spawns from something that Carey did a year ago and as the horrors of both girls’ past unravels I really wondered what Carey could possibly do to top everything else they had experienced.  It was a relief when her secret was finally revealed and it wasn’t a disappointment.

I have a little sister myself, so the relationship between Carey and Janessa reminded me of my sibling bond.  It’s refreshing to have siblings in a YA story that are so genuine, you wonder if they’re fiction.  I was a less impressed by how pigeonholed Delaney was as a mean stepsister.  Compared to the other characters, Delaney was very underdeveloped and her motives questionable.

I was also slightly discouraged by the opening chapter, as it was written with a “backwoods” accent.  The accent disappears from the narrative after the first couple chapters, so don’t let the opening dissuade you.  Once the hickish accent faded from the pages, there is nothing that could stop me from finishing.  This is a book that I will recommend to friends and I think they will both love and hate me for making them read a book so poignant and real.  If You Find Me is a reminder that when a child goes missing, their story doesn’t end with being found.

 

(I received a copy from the publisher/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  I have also pre-ordered a personal hardcover copy as a result of this review.)

(Information and picture borrowed from Goodreads.)

Emily is a writer, a poet, and a lover of books. There’s never a time she’s without a book. Her debut novel, If You Find Me, will be available from St. Martin’s on March 26, 2013 and from Orion/Indigo UK on May 2, 2013. When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll find her caring for her horses, dogs and family on a ranch in rural Arizona, where the desert’s tranquil beauty and rich wildlife often enter into her poetry and writing. Emily’s other passion is saving equines from slaughter. She uses her writing to raise awareness of this inhumane practice, with the goal of ending the slaughter of America’s equines through transport to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico. She offers sanctuary to abused and slaughter-bound equines who dazzle her every day with their forgiving nature and gratitude in exchange for security, consistency, food and love. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Emily hopes her penchant for writing will do just that. All-in-all, she’s a lefty in a right-handed world, writing her way through life and smearing ink wherever she writes.

Website  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

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Book Review: The 13th Sign by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb

Posted by Lizzy on Dec 19, 2012 in reviews | 0 comments

The 13th Sign by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb

Genre:  MG Fantasy

Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends

Releases January 8th, 2013

Links:  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

What if there was a 13th zodiac sign?

You’re no longer Sagittarius, but Ophiuchus, the healer, the 13th sign.

Your personality has changed. So has your mom’s and your best friend’s.

What about the rest of the world?

What if you were the one who accidentally unlocked the 13th sign, causing this world-altering change—and infuriating the other 12 signs?

Jalen did it, and now she must use every ounce of her strength and cunning to send the signs back where they belong. Lives, including her own, depend on it.

How much does your star sign affect your personality?  According to the 13th Sign, it completely controls it.  When Jalen unleashes the 13th zodiac sign, she changes the personality of everyone, including herself.  This personality shift of all the characters did inhibit my ability to connect to the characters, as I wasn’t sure what they would do with the new personalities vs their old personalities.  Ellie, Jalen’s best friend, is impersonated TOO well by Gemini, and the fact that Jalen couldn’t figure out who was who caused her to distance herself from Ellie.  It’s a shame, because I liked both Ellie and her impostor.  I’m not quite sure what was the point of Jalen constantly trying to figure out the real Ellie.  It would work in a movie, but in a book where the two characters can change places, look identical, and there’s no possibility of inserting hints when the reader can’t keep visual track – it’s annoying.

The plot was very reminiscent of Percy Jackson, only the monsters and helpers didn’t seem to “happen” by any pattern.  There was no buildup, in fact the pacing seemed to lag to the point of closing the book for good right before the next bad guy showed up.  And then it was over too quickly and another boring spout of “will the real Ellie please stand up?” began.  The helpers showed up as if the writer written herself into a corner…and it happened almost every chapter.  Jalen and her friends weren’t able to solve anything on their own – unlike Percy Jackson and his friends.

I think this story would of been better as a series, and have Jalen vanquish only a couple a “monsters” in a book.  Since she was running around trying to get from point A to point B and on a strict time limit, there wasn’t any room for subplots or character development.  The story definitely did not live up to its potential.

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher/Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.)

I am basically a big dork who would still be going to school if they’d let me. (But they won’t, cause that’d just be weird.) So instead I write historical fiction! All of the research, none of the tests – I’ve got the best job in the world, doncha think?

SELLING HOPE was given a starred review by Booklist, who said it was “a bouncy tale populated by a terrific cast of characters!” And AUTUMN WINIFRED OLIVER DOES THINGS DIFFERENT has been nominated for the Volunteer State Book Award (2011-2012 list) and was chosen to represent the State of Tennessee in the Pavilion of States at the 2009 National Book Festival. I’m delighted to have AUTUMN serve as Tennessee’s ambassador!

I love hearing from readers!  Please contact me through my website.  You’re also invited to swing by my blog.

Do things different!

Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter

 

 

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Book Review: Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology)

Posted by Lizzy on Oct 31, 2012 in reviews | 0 comments

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