Dream a Little Dream, by Kerstin Gier

At last!  Another book from the delightful Kerstin Gier, whose Ruby Red series was a fun, romantic, comical time-traveling adventure.  I've been eager to see what Gier would produce next, and now it's almost here.  Dream a Little Dream will be released in April, 2015.

This is book 1 in The Silver Trilogy.  Teenager Liv Silver and her sister, Mia, have lived all over the world with their parents.  The book begins with Liv and Mia arriving in England to join their mother, who is supposed to be lecturing at Oxford.  They cannot wait to live in a quaint English cottage filled with the possibility of charm and mystery.  However, upon arriving in London, they find their mother has met a man and plans for them all to move into his house along with his twin children.  Although there are the usual hiccups and disagreements when this new plan is announced, everyone in the household begins to genuinely gets along.

One night, Liv has a dream that feels incredibly real.  She follows her future stepbrother, Grayson, into a cemetery where he meets up with three other boys from school.  They perform a ritual, asking the "Lord of Shadows and Darkness" to show them who will be part of their circle.  Naturally, Liv falls out of the tree she's been hiding in right at this moment.  Only later will she learn out what she's been "chosen" for.

The book is part Inception, part Raven Boys (by Maggie Stiefvater), with Gier's knack for humor and a taste of Gossip Girl thrown into the mix.  As we previously saw in Ruby Red, she writes wonderfully real teenage girls, who are sarcastic, flawed, and spunky all at once.  As Liv gets pulled farther into this mysterious dream world, she begins to fall for one of the boys, Henry.  Their budding romance is genuine and sweet.

My only complaint about this book is that Gier spends a lot of time exploring dream worlds, but never really gets around to Liv's part in the secret circle.  When the moment finally arrives, it feels too rushed.  However, because we have 2 more books yet to come, the ending is only the beginning.

Review given in exchange for an advance reader's copy from Net Galley.

One additional comment: I really hate the cover.  The purple door, bubbles, butterflies, and pink curly script are all misleading.  The book was really a bit dark and sinister in some places, and I think could appeal to boys and girls if the bookseller or librarian talks it up enough.  However, NO TEENAGE BOY that I've met would touch this book with a ten-foot pole based on this cover.  maybe they'll change it before publication?

1/16/15 UPDATE  Yay!  They did change the cover after all.  The new one is still kinda' girly, but at least it better reflects the darker aspects of the book.

Vanishing Girls, by Lauren Oliver

Review given in exchange for a digital review copy from Edelweiss.

Vanishing Girl, the newest (to be released March 2015) from Lauren Oliver, switches POV between two sisters, Nick and Dara.  Both are close in age and look similar to each other, but their actions are far different.  Nick, the older sister, is more responsible, follows the rules, and looks out for Dara.  The younger sister, on the other hand, is sneaky, impulsive, and hiding secrets.  But perhaps, so is Nick?

The book revolves around a car crash: Nick was driving, Dara was badly hurt.  What happened, exactly, isn't revealed until the end.  Nick can't remember and Dara doesn't want to think about it.  The timeline jumps around ("Before" and "After") and also switches between both girls, which can sometimes make the plot fuzzy and hard to follow.  Of course, by the end of the book I realized this was probably Oliver's intention.

This is a story about sisters: how they love each other and resent each other all at the same time.  They're always competing, even if they don't realize it.  When Dara goes missing on her birthday, Nick begins a frantic chase to figure out where Dara disappeared to, leading to a surprising reveal.

After finishing this book, I thought, "Dang it.  Now I have to go back and read it again to see how I missed those clues."  I liked this one much better than Oliver's previous novel, Panic (see earlier blog post), although I think comparisons will be made to E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, which is similar.

The Young Elites, by Marie Lu

News that Marie Lu, author of the fantastic Legend series, had a new series on the way was reason for much rejoicing.  Legend (and the others in the trilogy) was a solid addition to the dystopian, sci-fi/action genre that we've seen lately.  The last book in the series, Champion, was a solid and satisfying conclusion, unlike Mockingjay or Allegiant, which left many readers feeling upset.

Therefore, I was very eager to get my hands on her new title.  The book takes place in the fictional land of Kenettra, although for all intents and purposes it's not unlike early Renaissance Italy.  A "blood fever" swept through the land killing many citizens, and leaving the survivors with strange markings and physical changes.  One of these "malfettos" is Adelina, whose hair has turned silver and is missing one eye due to the disease.  Her cruel father knows he cannot marry her off, so instead he more or less sells her to a wealthy merchant as his mistress.  Adelina takes fate into her own hands and runs off into the night with her father in pursuit.  When her father catches up with her and tries to physically force her to return home, Adelina snaps.  In her anger, she summons dark apparitions, terrifying her father and leading to his death.

Soon Adelina is facing execution; malfettos with supernatural abilities - also known as Young Elites - are to be put to death. However, she is rescued at the last minute by Enzo, another Elite.  He takes her to his palace where other Elites train in secret.

This book should appeal to teens who are fan of X-Men, or who enjoy the "Teenagers who develop superpowers" theme that we see in many YA novels these days.  Unfortunately, there is little here that was new to get me excited about the series.  How many times have we seen books where teens gather to train and perfect their abilities?  The Hunger Games, Divergent, Shadow and Bone... even Harry Potter and Dumbledore's Army from Order of the Phoenix.

None of the so-called Young Elites were fleshed out enough for me to care about them, nor was the antagonist, Teren, "bad" enough for me to want to root against him.  The whole thing was just...meh. I will pass on the other books to come in the series.

Blackbird, by Anna Carey

I'd heard some positive advance praise for Blackbird, so I was eager to get my hands on this one.  Students are always asking me for mystery book recommendations, so I was hoping this one would turn out to be a good selection. 

The book begins with a girl lying on the tracks of the subway.  She gets to safety in the mere nick of time.  When the police want to question her about what she was doing there, she flees. 

The girl doesn't know her name, how she got on the tracks, or where she's supposed to go.  She has a mysterious tattoo on her wrist, and a backpack filled with cash and a few supplies. 

Carey chooses to write the book in 2nd person point of view, which puts the reader in the girl's confused state: "Why were you just lying on the subway tracks?  Why can't you remember how you were ended up there, how you got to that station, this city?"
We learn discover pieces of the mystery in real time, right along with her.

This book started a little slowly for me.  It reminded me of the book The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die, by April Henry.  It too opens with a girl who cannot remember who she is or where she is.
Blackbird is not particularly lengthy - about 250 pages - but it seemed to take too long to begin answering questions.  However, once it finally got going, the premise was intriguing.  Carey borrows from the famous short story "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell as inspiration for the plot here.

Readers should know that the novel ends rather abruptly and on a cliffhanger, obviously setting us up for a sequel. 

Rabbit Ears, by Maggie De Vries

I started reading Rabbit Ears a few days ago; I had about half an hour left in my day, so I figured I would start one of the new books we just got in the library.  By the time the bell rang, I was so hooked that I brought the book home and finished it before I went to bed.

De Vries's novel goes back and forth between two sisters, Kaya and Beth.  Both are grieving over the loss of the father from cancer.  Beth takes solace in food, happily eating junk in the solitude of her room or in front of the tv.  Kaya sneaks out at night, hitchhiking rides to parties on the beach.  But Kaya's antics are more than just an expression of grief; she's also trying to cover up the pain of a much darker secret from her childhood.

One day at school, Kaya runs into a childhood friend, Diana, an encounter that threatens to bring past secrets to light.  Unable to cope with her feelings, Kaya convinces another girl, Michelle, to skip school with her and take a bus to a seedy part of town.  Before too long, Kaya is skipping school more than attending it, getting into more and more serious activities each time.  Soon Kaya has run away altogether, turning tricks downtown in order to support her next heroin fix.

Kaya's mother is worried about her child, but doesn't know what to do about her.  The adult in me wanted to yell at her.  "Find her!  Put her in treatment!  Don't let her out of your sight!"  Several times Kaya comes home and attempts to go back to school, but she continues to sneak off again. 

Author Maggie De Vries bases Rabbit Ears in part on the story of her sister, Sarah, whose story is similar to Kaya's.  Sarah eventually went missing and was never found.  Kaya ultimately gets a more satisfactory ending filled with hope.  However, De Vries's novel is not a cautionary tale with big moral lessons.  It feels real and should grab teens who are looking for realistic books with serious themes.  There are a few semi-explicit sexual situations in the book, making this best suited for older teens.  De Vries keeps the novel to just over 200 pages, making it an accessible choice for reluctant readers.

When I Was The Greatest, by Jason Reynolds

First of all, can I say that I love the cover art of this book?  There's no mistaking the shape of the gun, but it's... been yarn bombed?  What?

Everything on the cover comes into play in this quick, easy read by Jason Reynolds.  However, just because it's easily accessible does not mean it's not substantial.  Reynolds' debut novel is very impressive and he's worth watching for more things to come.

When I was the Greatest centers on Ali, 15 years old, living with his single mother and younger sister in a Brooklyn neighborhood prone to drugs and violence.  Ali, however, is a good kid.  He stays out of trouble, helps out a handicapped Vietnam vet (who in turn gives Ali boxing lessons, hence his nickname), and has a good relationship with his family.  His mother works two jobs, but doesn't put up with any foolishness.  Ali lives next door to two brothers, Needles and Noodles (the nicknames are a bit precious for this reviewer).  Their father is long gone, and their mother is often seen wearing tight, short clothes and getting into strange cars.  There's not often food at their house, so Ali's mother frequently invites them over.  Needles is a shy, quiet boy who suffers from Tourette Syndrome.  He has a violent, loud episode one evening on his front stoop, attracting the attention of the entire neighborhood.  To calm him down, Ali's mother gives Needles her knitting supplies.  By giving him something to focus on, his tics and outbursts become more manageable.

The thing I liked most about this book is that the characters all felt real.  The boys - largely good kids, but not without their flaws - get excited about the possibility to get into an exclusive party.  It's a place they are too young to be, but they have to learn that lesson the hard way, as many teens do.  It's a story about friendship and about what it means to step up and do the right thing.  Sometimes that's hard to do when your main obstacle is your best friend.

Another thing I liked about this book is that the adults also felt genuine.  Too often in YA lit, we find stories wherein teens seem to live a world of absentee parents, where - at the end of the book - the parents are like, "Wow!  I had no idea you were going through all that."  In this book, Ali takes many things upon himself, but in the end, his parents also step up and do the right thing by their children.  It was refreshing to read.

Author Jason Reynolds has another book due out in January, The Boy in the Black Suit.  I'm looking forward to his next release.

Hidden Girl, by Shyima Hall

Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave, is an incredibly timely story, given how much attention human trafficking seems to be getting in the press lately.  And rightly so: the trials that Hall endures should never be put upon anyone, much less a child. 

Her story begins in Egypt, where she lived with a large, poor family.  The father was rarely present, and when he was, he was often abusive.  She had several brothers who touched her inappropriately.  Shyima says that to this day, she has siblings whose names she cannot remember. 

One day, she and her mother go the home of a wealthy family who employ her older sister.  They accuse the sister of stealing from them and want her fired.  However, they demand the money that the sister owes them.  Because her family cannot pay, the mother hands young Shyima over to them as a child slave.  She will work for them in repayment of the sister's debt.  She will never live with her family again.

From here, Shyima recounts the years she spent in slavery in Egypt, and then on to America where her captor family illegally smuggled her.  Only when a suspecting neighbor called the authorities was Shyima finally freed.  However, she continued to spend her teenage years with several unloving foster families and faced bullies at public school.  Once she became an adult with independence, Shyima finally discovered freedom.

Her story is well worth a read by any young adult.  She repeatedly laments how shocked she is by American teenagers who take much of their lives for granted.  Because of her delayed education, Hidden Girl is very simply written and is easily accessible to struggling readers.

I hate to offer up criticism to what is a serious story, but I cannot give this book an enthusiastic review.  My main problem is that even though the book is written with the help of author Lisa Wysocky, it doesn't often come across like it's had professional help.  Writers are often told to "show, don't tell," and the same could be offered to this book.  Hall's narrative is often repetitive, and she could have made us care for her plight more if she (or Wysocky) had really brought us in depth to her environment.  Instead, she often relies on such meager descriptions like, "I was too busy being mistreated, getting up way too early, and being yelled at."  Like I said, show, don't tell.

Still, the timeliness of this story makes it worthwhile.