STACKED

books

Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon

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No, this is not a extended treatise on my love for Ace of Base (you know you love them too). It’s a review of Michelle Gagnon’s first book for teens, Don’t Turn Around, which I found to be a nice little thriller.
Teenage Noa is an orphan, a foster kid who’s been tossed from one family to another with no real successes along the way. Fed up with being in the system, she decided to strike out on her own, living off the grid thanks to her impressive computer hacking skills. It works out pretty well for her until she wakes up one day in a warehouse with an IV in her arm and no idea how she got there.
The book opens with Noa’s escape from the warehouse, which means we get action and excitement from page one. The perspective alternates between Noa and a boy named Peter, whose life circumstances are much different from Noa’s. His parents are both still living and wealthy, although he has a strained relationship with them since the untimely death of his older brother.
Noa and Peter do have something vital in common: they are both excellent hackers. Peter runs a hacking group whose purpose is to inflict electronic punishment (legal or otherwise) on those who deserve it. When his parents are away one night, his home is invaded and his laptop stolen. He’s warned not to investigate it, but of course he does. And then his hacker group is attacked and his parents seem to know something about it.
Peter reaches out to Noa, who he knows only as a faceless individual through the hacker alliance, for her help. Unsurprisingly, Peter’s problems and Noa’s abduction are connected, and they work together to stay out of danger and figure out what’s going on. It mostly involves unsanctioned human medical testing, but Gagnon throws in a very little bit of science fiction which spices things up a little.
The life Noa created for herself was interesting to read about. She makes money in a sort of legitimate way: she freelances for a tech company, and all of her work is virtual, which means she could make up a new identity and open up an account for herself in that new identity’s name. But her lifestyle is also very isolating. She can’t trust anyone, including Peter, which makes their joint mission a bit more difficult.
Despite the sci-fi twist, which is actually very minor, this is a pretty standard thriller. That’s not a bad thing. I like my thrillers fast and exciting and I don’t mind when they’re a little light on character depth as this one is. I didn’t get to know Noa and Peter exceptionally well, but I can still remember what they’re like a few weeks after finishing the book, and I do want to read more about them.
Since Noa is a female hacker and a victim of the foster system, people (including the publisher) have been comparing this to Girl With the Dragon Tattoo a lot. I don’t see a whole lot of resemblance aside from the similarities I just mentioned. There is zero sexual violence here (something I truly appreciated) and it moves at a much faster clip than GWtDT (thankfully). Gagnon is judicious with her words, which isn’t something you could say about Larsson. Noa is tough and hacker-smart, but she’s able to get along with people and is clearly a kid where Lisbeth Salander is not.
This would be a good choice for fans of modern thrillers where technology plays a large role. Unfortunately, the technology in the book may also date it rather quickly.

Guest Post at YA Highway

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I’ve got a guest post over at YA Highway today and I hope you go check it out. It’s something I wanted to blog about here, but I wasn’t quite sure how well it fit with what we do or if it’d hit the audience I wanted it to. Fortunately, the ladies over there let me share with their readers.

If you’ve ever wondered about how to effectively pitch a book to a blogger, then I have some tips and tricks for you. And it’s not just me — I had a fair number of other bloggers weigh in and share their thoughts too. Check it out.

A Pair of Debut Reviews: Zoe Letting Go by Nora Price and Survive by Alex Morel

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I’ve got a pair of reviews of books by debut authors, and I enjoyed both of them for different reasons. I wouldn’t say they’re perfect — they’re not — but they’re going to have pretty high appeal to teen readers.

Nora Price’s Zoe Letting Go follows Zoe as she’s admitted to Twin Birch. This isn’t an ordinary hospital — it’s really a mansion and the girls who are here are so strange and foreign to Zoe. They’re the kinds of girls who like to harm themselves. The kinds of girls who are so weak that after meal time, they have to sit by the fireplace, cover themselves in blankets, and hope they don’t pass out completely. This small facility only allows a limited number of girls into each session, and the girls arrive on staggering dates. By the time Zoe arrives, she’s the last one of this batch, meaning she’s also the last one to leave.

All of the activities at Twin Birch are closely monitored and their treatments are regimented. Except, Zoe doesn’t belong here. She knows she doesn’t. And that’s why she’s been writing letters home to her best friend Elise. She thinks there’s been a huge mistake. But through these letters, readers figure out why Zoe is at Twin Birch and why she really needs the help she’s receiving.

Zoe Letting Go is a dark book about eating disorders, friendship, and recovery. As readers, we’re right in Zoe’s mind as she’s writing letters — ones from which she never hears a single response. It’s odd her best friend wouldn’t try to help her. It’s odder that she is at this place. What Price does successfully in executing her story this way is that readers pick up on Zoe’s problem well before she does, but it doesn’t make the end any less satisfying. Because as much as we “know” what’s going on, Zoe is a complex, layered character who has more than one reason she’s being helped. There’s a definite reason she’s among the elite few getting treated at Twin Birch and not any ordinary facility.

Price’s debut novel is a perfect blend of the elements of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls with Erin Saldin’s The Girls of No Return. It will have appeal to fans of both those books, as well as those who like stories about eating disorders, mental illness, and the process of therapy/recovery. Zoe Letting Go is available now.

Continuing with the theme of mental health/illness is Alex Morel’s Survive. Jane’s also living in a treatment facility but her issue is that she’s attempted suicide numerous times. This is a problem that runs in her family — she’s not the only one who has tried to end it all (though those before her have been more successful).

When Christmas break rolls around, Jane thinks she has cooked up the perfect escape plan: she’s going to kill herself on her plane trip home. She’ll slip into the bathroom with a bottle of pills. No one else will be hurt in the process. But just as she locks herself in the stall and starts taking her first round of pills, the plane hits turbulence. It’s not any kind of turbulence that stops though. This plane’s going down.

Isn’t it terrible then when Jane finds herself alive in the wreckage? She’s not only failed at her suicide attempt, but now she’s a crash survivor. Except, she’s not alone. Paul, her seatmate, is also alive, and he has convinced her that survival is what she must fight for because it’s the right thing. She and he have been given an opportunity that so many others have not. They must make the best of it.

The back blurb of this book calls it Hatchet for a new generation, and I can see that. It’s an adventure story through and through. This is a story about a girl who doesn’t want to live learning why living is important. It’s obvious there’s going to be a romance here between Jane and Paul, and while I didn’t buy it for a second, the relationship they develop of co-dependence, of working together toward a common goal, of surviving against the odds, is well done. Paul does a great job of teaching Jane the things the treatment facility failed to instill in her, and I think that’s where the real story is in this. Survive is about the importance of developing relationships (romantic or not), as well as learning to make your life work for you because those are the only two things that you can do for yourself. This is a fast-paced book and has definite appeal to reluctant readers. I won’t ruin the plot, but I’ll say this much: it might not be the happy end you expect. I saw it coming from a mile away, but it didn’t ruin the story for me. Survive published this week from Razorbill. 

Review copies received from the publisher.

Twitterview: Kat Rosenfield

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This month’s Twitterview is Kat Rosenfield, whose debut novel Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone blew me away. Kat was more than thrilled to not only talk to me about the book, but she offered up a peak into what else she writes and a glimpse at her skills as an artist. Oh, and a Mick Jagger reference and a reference to lint. Bonus: I’m giving away a finished copy of this fantastic book at the end, too. 

Without further ado, Kat.

Pitch Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone in 140 characters.
Two girls meet at a crossroads of sex, shameful pasts, and small-town secrets. By the time you read this, one will already be dead.

What inspired Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone?

A trip to my hometown. It’s small, insular. I thought: “What would happen if, one day, there was just a dead body on the side of the road?”

What should readers walk away with from Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone?

The urge to peek into their neighbors’ windows.

This is a story about a small town with secrets. Any personal experience with either one?

Both! Good thing the character limit keeps me from telling you about this guy who dressed up a garden gnome in lingerie and… well, anyway.

Becca’s a girl with dreams and big goals for herself after high school. What was your “big dream” for yourself post-high school?

I wanted desperately to be a lounge singer. Stop laughing. It’s not a joke!

Do you believe there are clear cut good/bad characters in your story and if so, who falls where?

Nope, no absolutes here. AMELIA is all shades of gray; good people do terrible things, a vile one dies a martyr and becomes a saint.


If you had to give your book a “____ meets _____” pitch, what two (or three! or four!) books/films/shows would Amelia Anne be a meeting of?

Oh no, I’m awful at this. It’s like… Lovely Bones meets Turtle Moon meets Gilmore Girls meets a piece of lint? Or something.

While Amelia Anne is your first novel, you’re a prolific writer. Where else can readers find your work?

My main gigs are writing news/gossip on MTV’s Hollywood Crush and an illustrated column on SparkLife.


Who or what do you write for?

Everything I write, I write in the hopes that Christopher Walken may someday read it and want to be my friend. EVERYTHING. #everything

What was your most influential read as a teenager?

I wasn’t quite a teen yet, but THE SHINING. Amazing book, and it scared me so badly that I’m still irrationally terrified of bathtubs.

Who are your top three writing influences?

Stephen King (for plot), Megan Abbot (for language), and Dorothy Parker (for sparkling wit and brass balls.)

Who do you believe is breaking ground in YA right now?

John Green. I’m convinced he has a direct line into the YA brain. Whatever’s happening, he’s always right there. Maureen Johnson, too.

What’s the best writing advice you ever received?

I was annoyed about a bad review; my husband said, “If Mick Jagger wouldn’t give a shit about it, then neither should you.” Good advice.

What’s your best writing advice to give?

Read, read, read. Oh, and also, practice safe sex. Writing is a lot harder when you have herpes.

What is your writing routine?

On good days, I do freelance work in the morning and write fiction in the afternoon. (On bad days, I write nothing, eat Cheetos, and cry.)

What gets you jazzed to write?

Everything! But particularly: a winter afternoon, an empty apartment, and a couple of really good beers.

Do you have a writing soundtrack? Care to share a bit?

I’m like a lot of writers in that I can’t work to music. I can, however, work to Law & Order reruns. DUN-DUN!


What’s next for you?

Long-term, I’m working on a new book. Short-term, I should probably put some pants on. #justkidding #orami

Favorite ice cream?
The kind that has chunks of cookie dough, chunks of brownie. Chunks of anything, really. I just love chunks.

Your deepest, darkest secret?
Every night, I put on a bear suit and do an interpretive dance to the Batman theme. …What do you mean, “That’s not a secret”?

Graphic Novel Roundup

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Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi

I love the Flight anthologies for their art, but the stories themselves are very hit and miss. Explorer is the version for younger readers, and this is the first volume I’ve tried. I found it pretty similar to the “grown up” Flight anthologies: great art, inconsistent storytelling. The unifying theme is a box of some kind, and the artists are free to interpret it as they wish. In one story, a boy finds a mysterious box in his closet and is soon visited by wizards willing to pay a high price for it. In another, a box is the mechanism by which a butter spirit is trapped.

My main issue (with this collection and the Flight anthologies on the whole) is that so many of these stories are very slight or clearly just the beginning of a longer tale, which makes them pretty unsatisfying. But as far as art goes, you can’t beat these anthologies. (Kibuishi’s offering, which closed out the collection, was the real stand-out in both art and story.)

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke

I reviewed Zita the Spacegirl back in 2011 and was pleased to find that Hatke wrote a sequel. The follow-up is just as fun and lively. After the events of the first book, Zita has become a celebrity. She signs autographs and is the envy of robots everywhere, and one robot in particular. In fact, this particular robot is so envious that it starts impersonating Zita, causing all sorts of trouble. And then there’s that planet that needs saving, and Zita still wants to find a way home…

Hatke’s artwork is colorful and eye-catching, comparable to Raina Telgemeier. This volume is a little less self-contained than the first, but most readers shouldn’t mind – it means there is more to come.

The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects by Mike Mignola

This is a collection of short stories by the renowned Hellboy creator, and two of them won Eisner awards. I may be committing blasphemy here, but I don’t understand why. The stories seemed inane to me, like they were bizarre simply for the sake of being bizarre. I found Mignola’s take on Jack and the Beanstalk to be minorly enjoyable, but the rest were not my cup of tea in the slightest. Similarly, the artwork is not my style. 
In reading reviews of this collection, many fans state that this is not the ideal place to start reading Mignola, but I can’t say I’ll give anything else a shot. (As always, your mileage may vary.)

The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower

I love these books and I love Eric Shanower for doing them so well. I don’t think I’ve read this book since I was a kid, and as I read Shanower’s adaptation, I’m reminded of the wonderful wordplay and dry humor Baum was so good at. I’m also reminded of just how good the sequels are and how much readers miss when they stop at book one.

I love how vibrant the colors are here, and I mostly enjoy Skottie Young’s artwork, although I tend to prefer Shanower’s (included in this compilation are several alternate covers done by him). Some of Young’s characters seem a bit more frightening in appearance than I think they’re meant to be, particularly the Scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead. Those are minor quibbles, though, as Young’s art superbly captures the spirit of the books and is infused with energy.

The third compilation is already out and the fourth is in the works. I don’t buy many comics for myself, but I’m considering purchasing these – they are that good.