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The Lure of Paranormal

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Today we bring you something a little different. Carrie Harris is a dear friend of mine with a passion for all things paranormal. Since we ladies at STACKED aren’t big paranormal readers, we thought we’d let Carrie do some talking about why, maybe, we should be (or at least why it’s a genre worth giving a shot). And yes, she is an expert.

The Lure of Paranormal

I am in desperate need of a 12 step program for YA paranormal book addicts. It’s not that I don’t love a well written contemporary (because I do) or an earth shattering epic fantasy (ditto). It’s just that I find it particularly difficult to pass up the paranormal covers in my local YA section. You know the ones I mean–they’re covered in purple smoke, silver letters, and half obscured faces of girls who don’t realize they’re about to fall in love with a vampire/werewolf/mutant wombat/whatever.

When you put it that way, it sounds like a joke, but I’m serious about my addiction. I LIKE paranormal. I think that in many ways paranormal books get a bad rap because of a few titles that read like one big cliché, but doesn’t every genre have those? I argue that they do, and just like any other genre there are fabulous books as well as The Books We Shall Not Mention Because They Are Made of Suck.

So how do you separate the suck from the fab? Like any other genre, it all starts with the story. I’m looking for a much needed escape from mundane reality—from fatigue and the endless to-do list and who-said-what-to-whom. Sometimes we all deserve a little brain candy, and I’m okay with that. But I’m also looking for a story with real characters that deal with real problems, not a herd of Mary Sues falling in love with perfect and unattainable (but eventually attained) hot supernatural boys. I think some people judge paranormal in particular because of a few of those well known stereotypes. But the Mary Sues are escapable! If you can find a Mary Sue in, for
example, Maggie Stiefvater’s BALLAD, I’ll pay you a quarter.

But good paranormals also say something about reality, and it’s something I can really invest in.If you give me a dry nonfiction about the dichotomy of good and evil, I’m probably not going to read it. But give me Robin McKinley’s SUNSHINE and let me watch her shakily navigate her search for someone to rely on in a vampiric world full of shades of grey? I’m riveted. And I end up thinking things like, “Who would I trust if I were her? What would I do? And isn’t Constantine disturbingly hot?” Ultimately, I learn something about where I stand on that whole dichotomy issue. And then I have something to talk about at fancy dinner parties that will make me sound smart.

This is not to say that I expect to be preached at by my paranormals—far from it! I’m saying that I think the best paranormals tap into something universal about life (or unlife), something that is easier for me to see in an otherworldly fairy than it is in myself or people just like me. And I think that really works for teens. I can’t get my teenage acquaintances to debate human rights with me, but we sure as heck can talk all night about the treatment of zombies in Jonathan Maberry’s ROT AND RUIN. And why is that so interesting? Because it’s a good freaking story! Because Benny is flung into an epic adventure that kept me glued to the pages despite the fact that it was godawful late and I knew it was going to hurt the next morning. But that adventure
had depth to it. I’m talking the kind of depth that made me gnash my teeth and say, “Man, I wish I’d written that!”

Reading over this post, I keep feeling the temptation to add and change and make paranormals seem SPECIAL, because don’t we want these things from all our books? We want good stories and characters that make us swoon and wince and yell, “NOOOO!” at the pages. (I did that recently. I’m still traumatized.) We want books that resonate with us, books that we carry around days or weeks or months after the last page has been turned and still can’t shake the feeling that we’ve been irrevocably changed. So I guess my argument is that paranormal books aren’t any different or lesser than any other genre—they can and are doing all those things above. If you’re not reading them, you’re missing out.

And did I mention the hot supernatural boys?

Some Paranormals That Will Change Your Mind About Paranormals

A list like this is hard to create, because there are so many great books that straddle the lines. It’s hard to know whether to call some books paranormal, or fantasy, or fantastic paranormal, or I-don’t-care-what-you-call-it-because-it’s-freaking-awesome. But here are some titles that made me think, or snarf milk out my nose, or swoon, or all three (but not at the same time).

BALLAD – Maggie Stiefvater
BLACK CAT – Holly Black
DEVILISH – Maureen Johnson
HEX HALL – Rachel Hawkins
LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES – Laini Taylor
NIGHTSHADE – Andrea Cremer
PARANORMALCY – Kiersten White
PEEPS – Scott Westerfeld
ROT AND RUIN – Jonathan Maberry
SUNSHINE – Robin McKinley

A Little About Carrie

Carrie Harris is a paranormal-obsessed geek of all trades and proud of it. Before she became a novelist, she wrote paranormal roleplaying games and worked in a lab. (See what I mean? GEEK.) Brains are her specialty; they used to be delivered to her lab daily via FedEx. After that, it seemed only natural to write a zombie book—BAD TASTE IN BOYS, which comes out inJuly from Delacorte. Now she lives in Michigan with her ninja doctor husband and three zombie-obsessed children.

Carrie’s favorite topics of conversation include the vampire mythos, Frankenthulhu, and what to name her herd of zombie penguins. Feel free to contact her through her website (http://carrieharrisbooks.com) to discuss these things.

CSN Giveaway

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Another one, you say? Why yes! The lovely folks at CSN Stores have offered us another gift certificate giveaway, and of course we share the love with you, our readers.  As you all know, the gift certificate can be used at any of their stores, of which there are many, and they sell all sorts of things from bookshelves to dishes to suitcases.

To enter to win, simply fill out the form below.  We’ll announce a winner next week, December 14 – hopefully in time for those of you who need to do some last-minute online shopping!

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

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Beth Revis’ debut, Across the Universe, is a book after my own heart – a science fiction involving cryogenically frozen people aboard a ship bound for a new planet, combined with a spine-tingling mystery?  Yes please.  I really hate reading books on a screen, so when I tell you that I read the entire first chapter online (available here), you know that the premise has to be pretty darn awesome.
And it is.  The first chapter opens with seventeen-year-old Amy being frozen alongside her parents in preparation for a 300-year trip across space to a new planet.  Her mother works with DNA and her father is a military strategist, so they’re both vital to the mission.  Amy is going along simply because she’s their daughter, but they’re not forcing her to – it’s her choice.  She’s leaving behind her entire life to take this tremendous risk, and it’s tearing at her.
I was so impressed with the first chapter that I knew I had to read the whole thing.  Particularly impressive is Revis’ description of the freezing process.  Amy watches her parents being frozen, first her mother and then her father, and it is neither comfortable nor pretty.  When Amy herself steps into the coffin-like container to undergo the same process, the reader is right there with her, feeling her physical and emotional pain and dreading what will happen next – will she really lapse into dreamless sleep, as she’s been told, or will she be stuck in a 300 year long nightmare?
Unfortunately, Amy’s sleep ends too soon – she’s woken up fifty years before the spaceship is due to land on the new planet, by someone unknown who supposedly wants to kill her.  Amy survives, but other people who are prematurely defrosted aren’t so lucky.  Alongside a few friends she makes on the ship, Amy tries to figure out who the killer is before he or she goes after her parents next.
This is made difficult by the fact that the society on the ship (those people who are descended from the original people who signed up to staff it and prepare for colonization of the new planet) is not a friendly one.  They’ve all interbred over generations so they all look alike with dark hair, eyes, and skin.  Amy has pale skin and bright red hair, so she sticks out.  What’s more, a terrible plague hit the ship many years ago, and since then the society has been restructured.  Most people don’t know about the frozen cargo at all, and they all resemble mindless drones, going about their work with no real questions or defiance of the authority, a man called Eldest. 
Across the Universe has a tremendous amount of potential, but it’s unfortunately pretty uneven.  The first chapter – used in promotions and marketing – is polished and well-written.  We get a great view into Amy’s mind while still being entertained and wanting to turn the pages as quickly as possible.  After that first chapter, however, the perspective shifts for a time to the leader-in-training on the ship, named Elder.  We get a little insight into his character throughout the story, but not nearly enough to really know him, and not enough to believe the romance that blossoms between him and Amy.  To me, the romance was completely unnecessary and the book would have been stronger without it.
Revis relies a lot on short, choppy sentences and paragraphs for extra emphasis.  While this works in moderation, it’s overused here.  When a character we care about dies, it’s hard to really feel its impact since it happens in a single sentence.  Similarly, the rapid back-and-forth shift in perspectives from Amy and Elder don’t allow the reader to ever really become fully immersed in either person’s experience.  While the book is 400 pages long, that’s sort of misleading – the text is large and there’s a lot of white space.  There’s plenty of room for a bit more development, particularly character-wise.
My other main complaint has to do with unanswered questions.  There’s one particular question broached in Chapter 1 that is never resolved – it’s never even alluded to in the rest of the book.  I don’t expect books like these to answer all of my questions, but to me, this seems like an unintentional loose end – the ball dropped by the author.  I know now that Across the Universe is meant to be the first in a trilogy, but you’d never know it from just reading it.  Perhaps some sort of reflection on Amy’s part near the end – What’s next for me? What about that thing in Chapter 1 that I was so worried about but didn’t give a second thought to in the rest of the book? – would have satisfied me. 
Across the Universe, which publishes January 11, is a good choice for people who prefer their science fiction without a lot of science (like me).  If the author tells me that Amy can’t be refrozen due to cellular degeneration, that’s a good enough explanation for me.  It’s also a good choice for people who value a fast-paced plot above all – over character, setting, theme, and so on.  I do believe the plot is a good one, I just wish I could have had the rest, too.
Galley received from the publisher.

The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt

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While most people would be thrilled when their brother comes back from war, Levi isn’t. He’s still lost in his place as at home and at school, unsure, too, of where he and Boaz even stand as brothers. When Boaz makes it home, things grow only worse for each of them — Boaz retreats to his room for weeks, unable to interact with even his own family members, and Levi devises several ways to find out what’s going on with his brother.

When he returns, Levi’s role changes from living for himself (and figuring himself out) to uncovering what happened to his now-silent brother. Did he enlist because of a bad relationship? Fear of not succeeding in college? Levi’s few chances at the inner workings of his brother reveal little other than a bunch of maps and addresses and the knowledge that Boaz hates riding in vehicles. Oh, and he plans on walking from their home in Massachusetts to Washington D.C. for some march.

You better believe Levi plans on following.

The Things a Brother Knows is the kind of book you can’t know too much about going into. From the cover and flap copy alone, it’s pretty apparent this is a story about war and relationships. But what Reinhardt achieves in this is a moving story about the costs and effects of war on the individual — both that on the good side and the enemy.

Levi is a well-written male in this story: he’s realistic, authentic, and true to himself even amid the changing family dynamic. He’d become somewhat accustomed to being the only child, primarily because of Boaz’s radical decision to enlist. Boaz had before him a bright future of ivy league colleges and a girl who would love him deeply. Why would he give it all up to go fight in a country no one could locate on a map? I find believable male main characters difficult to achieve, but Reinhardt does Levi extremely well.

The book is a slower paced book, but by no means is it necessarily a quiet book. As a reader you are immediately sucked in, but like Levi, you have to work through the muddled mess of relationships and feelings and the foreignness of what it’s like to come back from war. This makes reading slow essential; the clues Levi picks up about his brother are the same ones the reader can discover and put together, sometimes quicker than Levi himself does.

What was most powerful for me in this book was its lack of stance on the issue of war. While Things a Brother Knows is a war story, it’s not a moral story about war. Reinhardt doesn’t tell me whether I should be for or against it nor does she inform me who was right or wrong in the war (which remains unnamed and unplaced). Instead, she tells of one person’s internal struggle with decision making during the war, and the internal struggles those who don’t choose to serve make. For me, this book was intensely personal: one of my best friends — post college, post job, post marriage — chose to pursue enlistment and he deploys early next year. Many of us have wondered why, and this book may have answered it for me.

This is a layered book, one that begs for rereads. As soon as I finished, I wanted to return immediately to the beginning and read it again with another perspective. The first read was about Boaz. On a second read, I think I’d want to learn more about Levi.

Be prepared to be rattled at the end of this one. The last few chapters are emotionally wrenching and are precisely why this is anything but a quiet book.

This is my second Reinhardt book, and even though I wasn’t a huge fan of a prior title of hers I read, I’m glad to have picked this one up and purchased it at the Anderson’s YA Conference. This is a book I plan on talking to my kids because this is what their lives are and this is precisely what so many of them will experience in one way or another, either from the position of Boaz or that of Levi. It’s an essential read and one worthy of discussing. There is no question on intended audience here.

CSN giveaway winner!

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Congrats to Amber, the winner of our CSN giveaway. She’s been contacted and should be spending it on some lovely new table runners and napkins soon!

For those of you who entered but didn’t win, we have another CSN giveaway coming soon.

And don’t forget about the giveaway for Fall for Anything right here. I am blown away with the response on this one — so much so that I might have to pick a third winner.