Somewhere, Beyond the Sea

Published:  April 1st, 2014

The Mermaid and the Shoe

By: K.G. Campbell

Kids Can Press

ISBN-13:  9781554537716

Each of King Neptune's 50 mermaid daughters boasts a special talent, except for little Minnow, who seems to be good only at asking questions.  When she finds a strange object, Minnow follows her questions to a wondrous place and finds answers, including an answer to the most important question of all:  Who am I?  A gorgeously illustrated story about finding one's purpose.

Review

     Minnow is the youngest and smallest of King Neptune's mermaid daughters, and unlike her sisters, she hasn't discovered her talent and special place in the family yet.  One day she finds an object floating near her and doesn't know what it is.  She thinks it's interesting and goes about asking all her sisters, the other sea creatures and anyone she can think of what it is!  Minnow goes above the surface, hoping to find the answer up there.  And lo and behold, she sees a little girl and eventually learns what a shoe is and what its purpose happens to be.  Minnow goes home to her father and sisters, and tells them the story of what a "shoe" is for, and her father proclaims her an adventurer and storyteller!  Minnow has finally found her place in the family and what she is meant to do in life.

     This picture book is a very sweet, short look at finding yourself in a family that seems to have it all figured out.  Minnow starts off feeling lost, in a sea of talented sisters.  By the end of the book, she's recognized her own importance in their lives.  The illustrations were beautiful, and I loved the disgust Minnow has for feet!  It's so funny, especially after seeing mermaids traditionally envy the ability to walk on land.  Minnow definitely prefers her tail to the feet of the humans (whom she describes as "half mermaid, half octopus legs").  One thing I missed in this was the bright, primary colors associated with a lot of children's picture books.  This one is beautiful, full of soft blues, greens and grays, with the occasional pop of color.   But as its set under the ocean, everything is rather muted.  I could definitely see myself reading this one to my four year old niece.  It's a very cute book, and I recommend it if you'd like new book to reinforce to a child how special they really are! :D

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

*I received this book from Kids Can Press, on NetGalley.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book was published April 1st, 2014.*

Canon or Non-Canon?

Published:  September 10th, 2013

Fangirl

By: Rainbow Rowell

St. Martin's Press

ISBN-13:  9781250030955

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan... But for Cath, being a fan is her life -- and she's really good at it.  She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading.  Rereading.  Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from the fandom, but Cath can't let go.  She doesn't want to.

Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates.  Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone.  She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who believes fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can't stop worrying about her Dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?  Can she make it without Wren holding her hand?  Is she ready to start living her own life?  And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Review

     Cath is a difficult character to read about.  If there's one thing that Rainbow Rowell does more memorably than anything else, it's writing characters who are beyond everything else, realistic.  Cath, for example is awkward, antisocial, set in her ways and would rather live in her fandoms on the internet than in real life.  Cath isn't ready for anything to change and panics when her twin sister Wren doesn't want to be college roommates.  Cath just wants to stay in her room, avoid the cafeteria by existing on granola/protein bars, and not make any new friends.  Slowly though, her abrasive and stubborn roommate Reagan takes Cath under her wing, refusing to let her fade into the background.  Cath loves her fiction class as well, but the professor doesn't believe in the validity of fan fiction, which is a major part of who Cath happens to be.  Can Cath let go of the comfort of Simon Snow, boy wizard, and find a place for herself in the real world?  And how can she bring Wren and Dad into this new life she's building, without destroying everything?

     Like I said before Cath is difficult to read about.  She's sarcastic, yet shy and insecure to the point of almost being a hermit.  I understand wanting to shut yourself away from the world and I'm as guilty of it as anyone else.  Only, my hiding place of choice was the library instead of my bedroom.  I can empathize with Cath's inability to know what to say, or do in a social situation.  Also, coming from a home life that is less than perfect, in which problems are largely ignored instead of being dealt with.  But Cath begins to come into her own with the help of Reagan and her strange, but charming friend Levi.  We also get to see just how far Wren has distanced herself from the situation in the other direction - doing things to draw attention to herself that are potentially harmful to herself and people around her (but mostly just herself).  She wants to be the life of the party, but what price will she pay for it?  Plus, there's Cath's writing "partner" Nick, who isn't what he first appears to be.  I was highly impressed with the so-called secondary characters, who all add something important to the plot and move the story along.  The relationship with her Dad is especially hilarious, touching and truthful.  I love the interactions between them when Cath brings her boy home and also when Cath and her Dad stage an intervention on her sister.

      A really big part of this book is about being geeky, letting your freak flag fly and still knowing how to get back to reality at the end of the day.  Cath's big obsession is Simon Snow, who is her world's equivalent of Harry Potter (Except the book awkwardly mentions Potter as if they coexist.  I choose to ignore this!).  Cath is still waiting for the eighth book to come out, but has basically begun writing her own AU (alternate universe) version of it online, in her fan fiction community.  "Carry On Simon" has become such a huge thing in the fandom that people are wearing t-shirts and Cath is getting thousands of views a day!  I love the respect with which Rainbow treats fan fiction in this book.  I feel like she gets that there's nothing wrong with sharing your imagination with others for fun (and free) even if it involves someone else's worlds.  But she also knows that there's a fine line between having some geeky fun, and being unheathily obsessed.  We also see a glimpse of the idea that fan fiction might be squelching Cath's desire to write original stuff, or even her ability to do it.  My biggest disappointment in this was Cath not even attempting to make up her assignment for her fiction Professor.  It felt like she just completely gave up.  Also, I wanted to know what happened to Simon and Baz!  But mostly, this is a novel that is a tale of self discovery, a family's journey to something better (if not perfect) and a story of first love in all it's unpredictability and tenderness.  If you've read Rainbow Rowell before, her first and last name are the only two word of this review even necessary to you.  If not, seek her out.  Fangirl is wonderful, and just wait until you discover Eleanor and Park!

VERDICT:  4.5/5 Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

Most Unusual Origins

Published: September 4th, 2012

Origin

By: Jessica Khoury

Razorbill

ISBN-13: 9781595145956

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home--and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin--a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

Review

   Pia is the first in a race of immortal beings.  Or at least that's the hope of the scientists, who have been injecting her ancestors with serum from a mysterious flower they call Elysia, that finally altered Pia's genetic makeup (she is fifth generation of the experiment).  She has grown up among a top-secret research facility and it's staff, being told how special and perfect she is.  Pia is taught everything scientific she could ever need to know, but everything about the outside world is kept from her.  There is nothing she knows outside of Little Cam.  The mission is noble, all encompassing and more important than anything.  Then on the night of Pia's 17th birthday after the arrival of a vibrant new scientist (Dr. Harriet) who challenges everything she's been taught, she discovers and opening in the electrical fence and decides to explore the jungle, against the rules.  She discovers the native tribe of the Ai'oans and learns that there is more to life than striving for immortality - especially in her growing relationship with Eio, the son of a native woman and a scientist from Little Cam (whose identity he won't reveal).  When all the secrets of Little Cam come spilling out, will Pia choose to stay involved with the scientists research or will she escape to the Ai'oans and be free for the first time in her life?  And what will the cost of the second choice be in the end?  I adored this book.  It was such an interesting concept, even if it wasn't a new one by far.  Scientists trying to engineer an immortal race, animal experiments, cruel mental tests and brainwashing all lent to the realism of Pia's struggles in this book.  I loved that Harriet came into Little Cam, making Pia question her blind obedience and giving her a map of the entire world (something she has never seen before).  Pia's relationships with Eio and his young foster sister Ami are very sweet and so heartbreaking.  The fact that she is able to relate to them, but so far apart due to her exclusion from reality is angering to me individually.  I loved the plot twists involved, although the identity of Eio's Father was pretty obvious from the start of the mystery.  I loved Alai's relationship with Pia and was disappointed when he disappeared for the second half of the book until the very end.  The climax of the novel was full of violence, moral uproar and some very stirringly emotional goodbyes.  The descriptions of the jungle and the compound were very lush and beautiful for someone who had never been there before writing the book!  I loved the philosophical questions this book raises so effortlessly, while it worldbuilds around the reader.  I would highly recommend this to people who like sci-fi, but aren't hardcore fans and want a very fast-paced mystery/adventure book with elements of sci-fi included.  I really loved this book and if anything my only complaint would be that it ended and that it left us hanging as to the endings of Pia, Eio and Harriet's individual stories after the fall of Little Cam.

VERDICT:  4.85/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published September 4th, 2012.*

Our Plane Is Hitting Turbulence

Expected Publication: October 23rd, 2012
Ask the Passengers
By: A.S. King
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780316194686

Astrid Jones copes with her small town's gossip and narrow-mindedness by staring at the sky and imagining that she's sending love to the passengers in the airplanes flying high over her backyard. Maybe they'll know what to do with it. Maybe it'll make them happy. Maybe they'll need it. Her mother doesn't want it, her father's always stoned, her perfect sister's too busy trying to fit in, and the people in her small town would never allow her to love the person she really wants to: another girl named Dee. There's no one Astrid feels she can talk to about this deep secret or the profound questions that she's trying to answer. But little does she know just how much sending her love--and asking the right questions--will affect the passengers' lives, and her own, for the better.

In this unmistakably original portrayal of a girl struggling to break free of society's boxes and definitions, Printz Honor author A.S. King asks readers to question everything--and offers hope to those who will never stop seeking and sharing real love.

Review

   Astrid Jones feels like an outsider in her small town, her family and sometimes even with her best friends.  She feels like no one she knows needs her love, so she sends it into the sky to the passengers of the airplanes that go overhead.  Her Dad is always stoned, her sister has given into the small-town, Stepford mentality and her Mom is a complete control freak.  Her best friends Justin and Kristina are using each other to hide the fact that they're both gay and Astrid herself might be in love with her co-worker Dee - another girl.  Astrid only knows for sure how confused she is and that she can use all the help she can get, even if it's from Socrates (he's dead but he gets her).  How much will she lose before she finally admits to herself who she is and what she wants from life?  Can Astrid be accepted by others and more importantly by herself?  Honestly, my favorite part of the book was the side passages that had the stories of the airplane passengers.  I thought they were more easy to connect to than Astrid by far.  Her disconnect from the rest of her life really was something empathized with, but it made connecting with her emotionally as a character almost impossible for me.  I was pissed at how pushy and hypocritical Kristina was towards Astrid when they were caught by the cops at the gay club, Atlantis, and arrested for being underaged.  She blamed everything on Astrid.  Yeah right.  I think the person whose story affected me the most was Astrid's little sister, because she was caught between her uncaring Dad, her detached sister and her emotionally manipulative Mom, on top of the small town societal bigotry.  Poor girl was confused and it's no wonder.  What pissed me off the most, as someone who is personally bisexual (if you want to label it, which I normally don't), that the possibility of Astrid being able to bat for both teams wasn't even touched upon.  She liked girls and boys.  But she had to be either straight or a lesbian.  I'm sorry, but that is not how the real world works!  I liked the ending and it's stark realisticness.  However, this book just didn't do it for me, no matter how well written it was.  My favorite part was Astrid's conversations with the imaginary Socrates - something I might have done as a teen.  Overall, a decent read but not the best ever.  I much prefer the author's Printz winning novel, Please Ignore Vera Dietz.

VERDICT:  2.75/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. It will be available for purchase on October 23rd, 2012.*

Wounds Go Deeper Than Just the Surface

Published: September 12th, 2011

Blood Wounds

By: Susan Beth Pfeffer

Harcourt Children's Books

ISBN-13: 9780547496382

Willa is lucky: She has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa’s peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother.
Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? As Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she keeps her own secret—one that has the potential to tear her family apart.

Review

   Willa already feels lost inside her own, seemingly perfect family.  She feels like Brooke and Alyssa (her stepfather Jack's daughters) get priority over her, even with her Mother.   Willa has taken to cutting to dull the pain of going unnoticed inside her own family and trying to be perfect.  But then something changes in an instant - Willa's biological Father, Dwayne 'Budge' Coffey, is on the run with one of his other daughters after mudering the other two and their Mother.  And the cops thinks that he's headed for Willa and her Mother.  At first this doesn't mean much to Willa because she doesn't even really remember Budge or her life when her Mother was still married to him.  But then after Budge is killed by the police in her front yard, with the deacpitated body of the last of her sisters in the car, she decided that she wants to know more about Pryor (the town they left behind) and the other half of her DNA.  So she goes to the funeral for Budge's wife Crystal and her sisters Kellie Marie, Kadi and Krissi.  In doing so she seemingly alienates her Mother, Jack, Brooke and Alyssa.  None of them will answer her calls.  But Willa gets to know her older brother Trace, stumbles onto memories she didn't even know she had and learn who she is on her own and within her strange, twisted family unit.  Sometimes the truth is harsh, but Willa only becomes stronger for it.  I really enjoyed this book a lot.  The description makes it sound like the book was mostly about hiding from her Father, but really it was about Willa coming to terms with who she is, and who her family is - that none of them are even close to one-dimensional or perfect people.  Definitely worth reading and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries, true-crime, and books with complex family relationships.

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book is now available in stores and online.*