Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Publication: September 27th 2011 by Little, Brown
420 pages
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1
Source: Purchased
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I love Karou: her eccentricities and her secrets, her bright blue hair and her drawings of monsters. She is the exact opposite of those spineless heroines who act like doll-puppet hybrids and follow whatever the guy counterparts tell them to do. Karou instead attacks her guy counterpart with Chinese crescent-moon blades. The difference is obvious, yes?

Then there is the fact that the book centers around Prague. Prague! Some place that is not the US or England or France. Do you have any idea how refreshing that is? Although Karou zooms in and out of this city -- this reality, even -- throughout the novel, we still get to catch glimpses of lovely Prague and its “ghost tours” and cathedrals.

And of course, the plot is deliciously twisted and full of so many weird elements that they all somehow come together and successfully contribute to the novel’s uniqueness. There are rooms filled with nothing but jars and jars of teeth. There are scuppy necklaces that give you teeny, tiny wishes. There are puppet masters and dressed like the reflection of moonlight across the water. Really, I have never read anything quite like Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It’s just so strange.

I love its strangeness.

This novel also features a wonderfully done star-crossed romance. Who knew that was even possible in YA? It’s a dark romance, too, full of sacrifices and misplaced trust. But it was also sweet and oh so satisfying.

Although the ending of Daughter of Smoke and Bone is not a cliffhanger, per se, I still want more. Now all I can do is shake my fists in the air and implore Ms. Taylor to publish the sequel as soon as possible. Or maybe I’ll take the less violent route and just read this book again. And again. And again.

Rating: 5

incomprehensibly awesome

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Expected publication: February 14th 2012 by Knopf Books
224 pages
Source: ARC from Random House via NetGalley

This is what I hoped Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist could have been.
This is the type of contemporary YA that I wouldn’t mind reading every day. Kind of like how the Asian-ness in me wouldn’t mind eating rice for every single meal until old age renders me toothless and unable to chew. (Hopefully that sad, sad day will never come.)

Now, I don’t think an extended and super girly squeal would qualify as a review, so let me attempt to explain with the wonderful English language why I adored Graffiti Moon.

1) I actually like all the characters, even the secondary ones. Each of them had their own little moment in the spotlight, and you can’t help wanting to pinch their little cheeks and coo endearments at them. This might not have been appreciated, as all the characters were either high school seniors or older. But psh, details, details.

2) Lucy and Ed get to know each other inside out -- not physically inside out; get your mind out of the gutter -- before attraction appears. This concept is so obscure in YA nowadays that I feel like giving medals to every author that takes the time to develop relationships.

3) The graffiti described in here makes me want to fly to Australia and go on some sort of wild graffiti tour through the streets. Maybe I just live in a different sort of neighborhood, but I’ve only seen about two pieces of graffiti in my entire town, and they were simply uninspiring words drawn out in gigantic bubble letters. I would love to see painted, sleeping birds and lonely boys standing with blankness in their faces on random walls as I walk around.

Doesn’t Graffiti Moon just sound like a gorgeous read? Well, the reason the novel received 5 stars is mostly because:

4) I want this to happen to me, too. (Hmph, laugh all you want… I give you permission.)

I’ve already picked up a copy of Ms. Crowley’s A Little Wanting Song and am excited to read another one of her lovely novels.

Rating: 5

incomprehensibly awesome

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

Published March 8th 2011 by Candlewick Press
336 pages
Source: Review Copy via Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews

Two broken people, destroyed by circumstance and the irreversible passage of time.

There is Tom -- the uni drop-out who spends his time pining for the girl whose heart he broke so many winters ago. Drowning in regret, he finds solace in escape, just as his alcoholic father blots out the world when life becomes too much to handle. And then there is Tom’s Aunt Georgie, confused and yearning for understanding after that one little event that fractured her life, even though the one person who can mend her is the one who broke her in the first place.

This is the story of the rediscovery of hope, as bits and pieces of Tom and Georgie’s lives continue to chip off and crumble in front of their weary eyes. This is where the healing begins.

I would never have given this book a second glance if shown its American cover: A boy guitarist in a striped shirt? Come on… How much more unoriginal can you get? However, I’ve had the luck to read a few of the brilliant Melina Marchetta’s works before and have thoroughly enjoyed every single one. To say that I was excited to start The Piper’s Son would be the understatement of the century.

Who would have thought that Marchetta could take something that resembled a cheesy Asian drama in character and plot and portray it as something so raw and real? You have your heart-broken protagonist with the messed-up family and the unrequited love and an adult counterpart with a marriage ripped apart by an affair. As usual, angst is always present, snaking its way through the story and leaving slimy trails of betrayal in its wake. It takes talent to write cliché into something of beauty and sadness and growth and forgiveness. Even though this book is as far from the fantasy genre as you can get, The Piper’s Son was magical. Yes, realistic novels can be magical, too.

And despite the almost depressing feel of the synopsis, there is also an abundance of humor -- puns, sarcasm, and witty remarks about random things such as a certain grandfather’s bum in super short jogging shorts and the mortification that accompanies said shorts during morning jogs around the neighborhood.

A sort-of sequel of Saving Francesca but with a side character as the main one instead, The Piper’s Son is one of those rare books that deserves a re-read. Even the second time will be as engrossing as the first.

Rating: 5

incomprehensibly awesome

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

Published February 26th 2003 by VIZ Media LLC
624 pages
Source: Borrowed

I think it's been about five minutes since I read the last word of Battle Royale. My heart is still pounding abnormally fast, and every few seconds, I have to take a break from typing to watch the French countryside rushing by outside the train window instead.* The view is strangely soothing, and I definitely need some calming right now.

So. Battle Royale. Was. Epic. Dare I say it? It was better than The Hunger Games, and The Hunger Games is one of my favorites. Both have similar settings: a dystopian government that forces children into an arena and makes them kill each other off one by one. But Battle Royale ended up as the more striking, more intense, of the two. The novel grabbed me, strapped me to a poodle, and threw me off a cliff. How does a poodle save a person from a fall off a cliff, you may ask. It doesn't. That's why I kind of feel like an insignificant smudge on the ground right now.

Unlike The Hunger Games, which focuses only on Katniss's narrative, Battle Royale jumps around from one student to another. I didn't find that disorienting or discontinuous. The skipping around reveiled quite a lot about each participant of the Program, as the government calls this bloodbath. Such intricate lines bind all the classmates together, and it's so saddening to watch it all fall apart. There are love interests and friendships and histories and their own survival to consider as the 15-year-olds wander around an island with machine guns, scared out of their wits. What a story Takami-san has dreamt up. What a story.

And the ending, too. Wow, if you thought The Hunger Games's ending was jarring, you will be totally unprepared for Battle Royale's. Takami-san wrote it with the flare of a pro, although I kind of want to punch him now...

The only thing I disliked were the gory scenes. Battle Royale was a lot more graphic than I'd imagined. So instead of puking up the contents of my stomach, I just skipped the paragraphs describing blood and bashed-in brains. The human imagination is always a lot more vivid than a movie scene. Normally, that's a good thing, but now, not so much.

I would say that I'm now a fangirl of Battle Royale, but given the book's subject matter, I don't think that'd be entirely appropriate. Apparently, Takami-san is writing (or has already written) a second novel. I must hunt it down.

*My first vacation in Europe!

Rating: 5

incomprehensibly awesome

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Published September 28th 2010 by Candlewick Press
603 pages
Series: Chaos Walking #3
Source: Borrowed

Ah. Ma. Zing.

It is not often that books induce episodes of hysterical fits and render me speechless at the end. I will have to congratulate Patrick Ness on achieving that. This trilogy has been one helluva ride, and I enjoyed every single moment of it.

AJSLKDFMVILJMOIJAISODNF (Please wait as my brain restarts)

The world that Ness created is real, the character's emotions are raw. Yes, the entire book is one big war and one big attempt at peace. One would think that a war dragged out across 600+ pages would be overkill, but Ness managed to make every single page of this book worthwhile.

I have to admit -- I did cry at the end. Quite surprising actually, since this is not a particularly tear-jerker type book. But keep in mind, tears do not equate tragedy, nor do they equate happiness. Just read the dang book and find out.

Rating: 5

incomprehensibly awesome