Outside In by Maria V. Snyder

Outside In by Maria V. Snyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's hard to find good YA sci-fi, especially one featuring a teenage girl. Maria V. Snyder starts this off at the top of a roller coaster and doesn't let you go until the end of the ride. And since I dreamt the story the night I finished it, I guess she didn't let me go even then.

Trella has to be one of top ten of the grittiest heroines. She's always putting herself in harm's way to save others, and when the world pushes her, she always pushes back. That's why I think it's awesome how this character struggled with taking on responsibility throughout the story. In the previous book, she led the rebellion, but when the war was over, she let someone else take the reins. Why? Because she was too scared to make a mistake, and as a result, her world fell into turmoil.

The committee can't make decisions because they are too busy deliberating. Workers are on strike because of the division lines between the Uppers and the Scrubs. And now saboteurs are bombing major systems within the ship.

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Vixen by Jillian Larkin

Vixen by Jillian Larkin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such a fascinating read. No time in American history is as vivid and fresh as the Roaring Twenties, and the girls that made up this story seemed so real. Hard to pick my favorite character.

Gloria
An arranged marriage, a love for music, and a desire to taste the wild side: that's Gloria Rose Carmody. She's grown up in a rich Chicago family and has always fulfilled her societal and family duties. But when those duties will take her into a loveless marriage with a cold and controlling man, Gloria decides to have one last fling. She cuts her hair into a bob, sneaks out to Chicago's hottest speak easy, and finds herself auditioning for the jazz band's lead performer.

Clara
When the story started, Clara struck an odd cord with me. Her motivations and decisions didn't make much sense. A girl who ran away from home, who loved the night life, who nobody could control, decides to act like the good girl because her aunt threatens her with reform school? That didn't make sense to me.

But as the story unfolded and the character's secrets were revealed, I realized it wasn't the aunt's threats but rather old heartaches that motivated Clara's early decisions. Clara and Gloria start off as enemies, cousins who never understood each other, but I love how their relationship grows. Clara gains a depth that allows her to lovingly guide Gloria to her dreams.

Lorraine
Lorraine is Gloria's best friend. By far, Lorraine is the most tumultuous character in this story, and her decisions often lead her down the wrong path. So many times, I wanted to shake some sense into her, and other times, I was too busy cringing. Yet, I felt very sorry for Lorraine. Her insecurities control her, and she feels like everyone around her outshines her. Such a realistic character, and I hope that next book she finds herself.

What I loved
The 1920's have always fascinated me. I fell in love with Big Band music as a teenager, and so this story captured my imagination. I'm definitely going to be reading on to find out what happens to these characters in the next book.

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Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Gist
Nora is sure that Patch is cheating on her with Marcy Miller, her long time enemy. A fight and a breakup and a ton of unanswered questions later, and Nora finds herself plunged into a world of mystery. At the center of this is a Nephilim Blood Society and a ring worn by the man who killed her father. A man who calls himself the Black Hand.

Then Nora sees her father who is supposed to be dead. She has to find out what is really going on, but the one person she has always depended on--her guardian angel Patch--is too busy guarding Marcy to help her out.

What I liked
Author Becca Fitzpatrick does an excellent job of giving just enough information to keep you reading to find out more. She kept me on the edge of my seat, my mind trying to solve the mysteries and until the very end she kept me guessing.

What I didn't like
There were times I wanted to shake Nora. She seemed to always trust the wrong people and distrust the ones that I knew had to be the good guys (particularly Patch). I thought Nora was controlling and foolish and needed a good dose of common sense. Yet Nora was really believable, and although I was often frustrated with her, I considered the author's writing excellent on this. She certainly had my emotions in an uproar.

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Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The sweetest high-school romance I've read in a long time. If I was 16, I could fall for Patch too. Maybe I just like the bad-boy types.

The twist? Patch has a secret, and when he starts talking to Nora in her head and when Nora starts having hallucinations, Nora is determined to find out just who Patch really is.

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Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Gist
Finn (Giles) isn't adjusting well to the world outside Incarceron. He thought he'd find freedom. Instead, he finds a pretend world full of political games and intrigue. In Incarceron, you fight your battles. Outside, you pretend there are no battles as you maneuver pieces on the board.

But even worse, he made a promise to his oath brother and he can't keep it. No matter how they try, they can't get the portal working.

And Claudia is fed up with Finn's sullen and moody nature.

When someone looking just like Finn and is much more adept at playing the game shows up, nobody knows who the real prince is. But even though Finn remembers very little about his past, Claudia still believes Finn is the real missing heir to the throne.

In the meantime, Keiro and Atia are still stuck in Incarceron and the prison has sent them on a quest to bring the glove of Sapphique to the Warden.

What I liked
With this book, I was much more satisfied with this ending than I was with the last one in the series. Throughout the book, I was impressed by the amazing storytelling and the complexity of the plot. So many threads, and the author handled each thread like a master weaver. When I grow up, I want to write stories like that.

What I didn't like
The characters' voices could have been a bit stronger. If one of the perspectives had been written in 1st person, rather than 3rd limited, I would have been more immersed into the story. But honestly, that's just nitpicking.

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Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Claudia's father is the warden of Incarceron, a prison that no one knows where it is but is rumored to be a paradise to rehabilitate the prisoners, but Claudia is certain that her father is keeping secrets. In a strange game of politics, Claudia is determined to end her betrothal to the prince and to get out of her father's strategies for gaining power. She is certain that the key lies within Incarceron. If she can find it, maybe, just maybe, she can save her kingdom, her people, and herself.

Finn is imprisoned in Incarceron and he finds a key, the key that he hopes will lead him to the Outside and reveal to him his secret past. For the key is marked with the same tattoo that appears on Finn's wrist.

This was an amazing well done story with a complex plot and an even more complex world. I loved Claudia--she was smart and stubborn. I found the prison of Incarceron to be quite fascinating, a whole separate world from the one that Claudia lives in.

My only complaint is the ending. A cliffhanger ending is okay; I know that there's another book to this series. But for some reason, the ending just didn't resonate with me.

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White Cat by Holly Black

White Cat by Holly Black

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Gist

Cassel wakes up to find himself on the roof, about to plummet to his death. He's wearing nothing but boxers, and the cat in his dream that had lured him there is gone.

What's worse is that once he gets down, the principal decides that he is a safety hazard at the boarding school he attends. The last thing Cassel wants is to go back home to his brothers, but once he's there, he discovers that his life isn't quite what it seems. His brothers and grandfather are keeping secrets, and holes in his memories send him looking for answers.



What I liked

The alternate history was well detailed. The integration of magic was laced believably throughout the story--from the custom of wearing gloves to protect yourself from curse workers to the inclusion of politicians trying to regulate curse workers. I enjoyed the alternate timeline very much.

Better yet, I loved, loved the references to an obscure fairy tale called White Cat. It was my favorite fairy tale when I was a kid, but I had only heard the story once. When the white cat in Cassel's dream says, "If you love me, you'll cut off my head," my jaw dropped. Author Holly Black had cleverly laced the fairy tale through this story. Nice.



What I didn't like

Nothing. I liked it so much, I think I'll even get my husband to read this one.



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