The Selection

The Selection is a YA novel by Kiera Cass. I think you classify it as a light dystopian novel. I will tell you now that my rating for this book is a 2. It had some potential, but it fell victim to the almost cut and copy structure of the increasingly familiar YA dystopian trilogy.

The basic story is this... America Singer is a pretty average girl. She has a strained relationship with her mother, admires her father, loves her little sister more than anything, and is secretly in love with the boy next door. But, America is risking a lot to be with Aspen because they are in different castes. Everything changes when The Selection is announced. The Selection is the country's tradition for helping the prince, Prince Maxon in this case, find his future wife. Girls submit applications and one from each district is selected to vie with the other selected girls for Maxon's love... and the crown. America hesitates to enter, but finally does to appease her mother and because Aspen tells her she should. Of course, she is selected and goes to the palace. But, before she leaves... Aspen breaks up with her. So, now she's not really sure what to do. She finds herself developing an unusual friendship with Maxon, and, as girl after girl is sent home, America finds herself wanting to stay more and more. Oh, and all of this is being broadcast to the rest of the country as something of a prime time special.

I think this story would really appeal to people who like the Bachelor. Or people who liked the Hunger Games, but wished they were actually a dating game. Or, people who like Cinderella stories and hope that the concept will be developed for reality TV. While it didn't catch me on any of those fronts, I will admit that it was a fairly fun, light read. It just disappointed me so much by being so predictable that I didn't really enjoy it. Here's what bothered me.

#1. While the setting, a caste system with fairly stringent rules, seems fairly dystopian, most of the societal issues are not addressed. For example, America's father has banned history books, which he loves to pour over with America. But... why are the books banned? What has American learned from history that will help her in the Selection?

#2. America starts off as a very relatable, interesting character. She seems strong and dedicated, and you like her. But, then she goes to the palace and starts acting totally bizarre. It was hard for me to care for a character that was acting so inconsistently.

#3. Why is this a trilogy? I once heard an author (not this one) explain that she had written a stand alone novel, but had been told by the publishers that she had to turn it into a trilogy. Does that make your head all but explode too? It's not a strategy for good writing, that's for sure. A story loses focus when it's stretched out too long, and I think that's what happened here. I got to the (abrupt) ending of the book and realized that almost nothing of note had really happened in the book. In fact, **small spoiler**, we don't even get to find out who Maxon chooses. At the end of the book, we're only down to the "elect" 6 girls. I guess I'll have to read the rest to be certain, but I have the feeling that this could have been one silly, fun book that was pretty well done instead of three books that drag a story without much depth on too long.

I'm afraid this review might be too harsh. It's an okay book, but I'm finding myself very, very, very tired of the predictability of many of the YA books that are coming out right now. Hopefully this is just the awkward adolescent phase of the Young Adult genre.

Move over paranormal romance, make way for post-apocalyptic love triangles...

My 18th read of 2012 was The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. I give it one star. And I'll tell you why.

OK, so as most of you probably know, I'm not enamored with the paranormal romance genre. I kind of shudder when I walk past that section at B&N, wishing it didn't exist. I just don't dig it. No offense if it is your thang. This book keeps the romance part-- letting us experience another super awesome love triangle-- but branches off down post-apocalyptic lane into zombie territory.

The protagonist is a girl named Mary whom I found always fickle but only mostly ridiculous. She was born and has grown up in a small village in the middle (maybe?) of a forest known as the Forest of Hands and Teeth because of the zombie population that inhabits it. The village is kind of run by the Guardians who are really the puppets of the Sisterhood-- which I gathered were a group of women kind of like nuns who control everyone and everything, making sure everyone follows the rules but also keeping the people fed and clothed and sheltered. The only Sister you really get to know is the big kahuna, Sister Tabitha.

Sidenote: I kind of thought of M. Night Shyamalan's movie, "The Village," as I read this, if that rings any bells for anyone.

OK, so back to Mary. She is caught in a love triangle when a childhood friend, Harry, whom she is apparently not interested in at all, begins to show interest. Before anything can happen, though, Mary's mother (stricken by grief b/c her husband is gone) gets too close to the fence surrounding the village (probably because she was searching for her husband among the zombies), is presumably bitten by one of the Unconsecrated (aka zombies) and becomes Infected.

Oh, and turns out, in this world, a zombie bite eventually causes death followed by a coming back to life, whereupon one is a zombie, or Unconsecrated, as the village calls it. A zombie bite can work quickly or slowly, depending on the severity. If there is time, the Infected one can choose death so as to never experience the change, or they can ask to be allowed to become Unconsecrated and released into the Forest. Mary's mother chooses the latter, presumably because she hopes to find her husband out there and live a zombie life together. I can't even believe I'm typing this.

Mary watches this process happen to her mother, and is then released into the hands of the Sisterhood so she can take time to mentally recover.

And that is only the first two short chapters.

What follows this is even more emotionally and mentally exhausting. You meet Travis, Harry's younger brother and the object of Mary's affections. You meet Cass, Mary's BFF and the one who is engaged to Travis but loves Harry. Huh? Oh, you also meet Jed, Mary's brother, and his wife Beth who is Harry's and Travis's sister.

This group, along with an orphan boy, venture out of the village along fenced-in pathways that, for reasons unknown to me (and everyone else), no one in the village has ever gone down, after their village's fences are breached and the Unconsecrated come flooding in.

There is a lot of zombie killing. There is a lot of confusion and sighing and crying and softly touching one another's faces...in the rain.

Mary's main motivation throughout all of this is to see the ocean, which she isn't sure actually exists but which her mother used to tell her stories/legends about. There even comes a point when she explicitly says she wants to see the ocean more than she wants Travis, who is supposed to be the love of her life. Um...

I don't know what else to say about this book. It has an intriguing premise, but I found it poorly executed. I got so sick of Mary's internal dialog about being surrounded by death, and hopelessness, but the ocean!, and on and on. I felt like the whole book was one adolescent emotional breakdown after another. Too much for me.

I guess there are more books to come, though I don't know if it's a continuation or not because the little excerpt included at the end of the book seemed to have different characters. Either way, I will not be reading any more of this tale.

The Shadow of the Wind

I have been trying to come up with the perfect description or opening line for my review of this book, my tenth read of 2012, and I just can't do it justice.

This book swallowed me up. It enveloped me. I was so drawn into the story, I couldn't wait to find out how everything would come together in the end. Zafon's writing is phenomenal. This book made me wish I knew Spanish only so I could read the original writing-- but with as amazing as it is in English, the translator must have done a fantastic job, as well.

The story is set in post-Spanish Civil War Barcelona. A young man named Daniel is invited into the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, little knowing that a choice he makes there will alter the rest of his life and many others'. In Zafon's Barcelona, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books is a huge, ancient library, full of forgotten books lovingly preserved by a group of the city's booksellers and book lovers. Its very existence is a well-kept secret, and few are ever invited in. According to tradition, invitees are allowed to select one book to take home, and that they must protect for life. Daniel feels drawn to a volume by a man named Julian Carax called The Shadow of the Wind. After becoming completely engrossed in his reading of the novel, Daniel sets out to find Carax's other works, and discovers that they are very rare, indeed. In fact, a mysterious figure is hell bent on destroying by fire every last copy of every book Carax wrote.

Thus begins an adventure bigger than anything Daniel could imagine as he works to uncover the truth behind Carax, his books, and the person bent on their destruction. He will end up drawn into a web of lies and deceit, true friendship and loyalty, forbidden and unrequited love, anger, forgiveness, revenge, redemption, abuse, passion, murder, and mistaken identity, among other things. This book is a story within a story. Just when you think you have it figured out, it takes another crazy turn. At times, it could have easily crashed and burned, but Zafon is just that good.

Along the way, Daniel befriends a former intelligence officer turned beggar, Fermin Romero de Torres, who provides most of the humor in the book through his ridiculously funny dialog. I am not joking when I tell you he made me burst out laughing on multiple occasions. Aside from the insane story line and the incredible command of language exhibited by Zafon, de Torres is one of the best parts of the book. He is just hilarious.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon wrote this book (in Spanish) in 2001, and it was translated into English in 2004.  This is yet another book about books-- and I am quickly beginning to realize how much I love that plot choice. Something about it... when it's done well, it's so wonderful.

I give this book five stars. One of the highest compliments I can give a book is the desire to re-read it, and I definitely want to re-read this one, preferably my own copy next time. Be forewarned, there is some language, some violence, and some sex. Nothing gratuitous, nothing too graphic, nothing that turned me off of the book.

Since so many others have said it so much better than me, here's a smattering of what the critics have had to say about this book:

"If you thought the true gothic novel died with the nineteenth century, this will change your mind. [The Shadow of the Wind] is the real deal, a novel full of cheesy splendor and creaking trapdoors, a novel where even the subplots have subplots . . . This is one gorgeous read." -- Stephen King

"The Shadow of the Wind is a dazzling novel about the power that one book can exert over the right reader, a remarkable debut from a young Spanish writer . . . [It] is one of those lovely books, like A.S. Byatt's Possession, that celebrates the strong bond between reader and book, while showing us how elusive the truth of literature can be." -- The Times-Picayune

"Part detective story, part boy's adventure, part romance, fantasy, and gothic horror, the intricate plot is urged on by extravagant foreshadowing and nail-nibbling tension. This is rich, lavish storytelling..." -- Booklist

"The plot is labyrinthine, the characters and coincidences Dickensian, the whole echoing with literary flourishes and references. It's a bit like A.S. Byatt's Possession and Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Club Dumas, with touches of Jorge Luis Borges, Umberto Eco, Ross King, Charles Palliser, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Bibliophiles will feast on its riches." -- Orlando Sentinel

Entertainment Weekly described the book as "wondrous," noting that "[t]here are places in which the book might seem a little over-the-top (doomed love, gruesome murders) but for Zafon's masterful, meticulous plotting and extraordinary control over language."

Read it!

Outlander: Scots, Sex and Sutures

4 Stars

Outlander was...breathtaking. Despite its length, it was a breeze to read. But how do I describe it? I don't want to just call it a romance because that word has certain literary baggage. It was not corny or contrived or full of gratuitous sex, but yes, I suppose it was at its core a romance novel.

Claire is a WWII nurse from 1945 who accidentally steps back in time to 1743 Scotland. Other than this element, the book strives for realism. This realism creates some incredibly difficult/heartwrenching/violent reading material which Diana Gabaldon mercifully intersperses throughout the book to give you enough time to recover. Until the end. That's why I read 200 pages last night.

But as a whole, the book left me swooning and romantic and desperately wanting to snuggle my own red bearded husband. I fell in love with the characters--everyone from Claire, with her badass medical skills, intelligence, and fiestiness to the rowdy, bawdy group of clansman that provide much of the book's comic relief. Not to mention the romantic interest. Oh damn.

Though mostly driven by the developing romance, there's also a wonderful mess of political intrigue overriding the plot. With a full 850 pages, you can do a lot in one book. It was hilarious at times, I felt as if I were just one of the guys on a wild romp through Scotland full of adventure and derring-do. Other times it was a social commentary. At others it was a startling contrast between modern life, modern marriage, modern medicine and 1740s Scotland.

I highly recommend this book, but with a few cautions. It's definitely rated R for violence and sex. The violence was very personal. It wasn't distant war scenes, it was torture and rape. There were many times I just read with my mouth agape--not sure I wanted to continue. Though the sex in this book is frequent, it is not gratuitous, it's always advancing the plot in some way. If you ever want to read a well written sex scene that isn't full of "trembling member" this and "aching bosoms" that, the author does an incredibly accurate, generally tasteful job of describing pure intimacy. Again and again. ;)

My other caution is the writing is incredibly detailed, which made it start a little slow. It took slightly more than the 100 pages I typically allot to get really "in" to the plot. But once I was "in" I couldn't put it down.

If you DO read this book, we have to discuss it. There are parts that I'm still questioning. And I love a book that can do that to me.

Info:
Title: Outlander
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Published: 1992
850 pages (paperback version)