Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Tessa is a teen that travels by herself to London to meet her older brother and ends up getting kidnapped.  Someone wants to use her "changing" abilities for bad.  Enter the Good guys that take her in to protect her.  I usually figure out the twists and turns in these pretty quickly, so it was great to be kept in the dark up until the end.  There is a romance triangle in the making.  Which really sucks, because really?? Only a masochist would hook up with Will.  Girls need to stop trying to save boys like this. 

Clare is setting it up to be a good series, but I just liked her Mortal Instruments characters more. I missed them when the last book was done.  With this book I was almost relieved to say good-bye.  The only one that I would want to see/hear more of would be Jem.  Everyone else I felt was just too whiny.

I thoroughly enjoyed Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments Series.  This new series I'll see through because know I need to know what happens.  Not so much because I care about the characters. 
This story takes place in Victorian London and I think that the story was very well evolved for the time period.  I remember reading many romance novels of this time period.  The setting has a lot to do with the behaviors of the characters.  I found it interesting how most women during this time would have killed for an opportunity like Jessie's and she wanted to be a lady and raise babies.
I'm invested for the rest of the books, I'll read it when I have time, but I am not as anxious for the next installment as I am for City of Angels.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

  This story made me cringe and soar and then cringe some more.
I was hesitant to purchase the book because most reviewers didn't want to give too much away but gave me so little I couldn't make a decision. After my best friend said that I had to read, "But I can't tell you anything about it." I bought it, and I loved it.
  The settings are characters in books as well as the live characters. Without being to preachy the author educates us on the ugliness in the world around us, and what people are capable of to save themselves or others. He guides us through the evolution that his cast go through as a consequence to people ignoring the things that don't happen in their back yard.
  Although all of the characters were very rich, and thought out, I had a hard time really liking anyone in particular. There was no one that I would want to hang out with, to have a cup of coffee with or an after dinner drink, much less share a full meal. Least favorite was. Well...maybe a juice box with Batman.
  The story is spectacular and I'm glad it ended where it did. Cleave did a wonderful job telling the story from two points of view and from a women's perspectives. The last male author that I believe did an awesome job of that was Wally Lamb. The story structure was another thing that blew me away. I know I recently complained of another author using too many back-stories to tell the present story, but Cleave weaved this in such a way that it was effortless reading. It made sense to tell the story this way!
Okay, so I don't want to give too much away, but what I will tell you is that it's a story about survival.
  Little Bee: "We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived" Only sixteen and so wise…

Choker by Elizabeth Woods

Let me start with : This is a good read! Yes it's YA, yes it was a lil' on th

e predictable side...but...

While I read this with two other friends, it seems that I was the only one that had the end figured out.  When I shared my predictions one of my fellow reader, her reaction completely threw me off and had me rethinking the plot.

Lonely, bullied girl Cara gets a visit from her childhood BFF that assists her in a manic makeover.  You know that as soon as a makeover is set up most of the problems will melt a way.  Not true with Choker.  Problems get worse, which is good.  The story gets sicker and more twisted and I loved it!

It is beyond creepy and therefore I totally enjoyed it.  It was a fast read made especially faster by the building tension. 

There were some editing flaws, I blame the editor.

Kudos to Elizabeth Woods on her debut novel.

3/5 Stars!

Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal

Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal

The families in this book read like any of the families that you would find at any immigrant Dominican social in New York City, Miami or Philadelphia; they are pot luck, the women, children and men are segregated, judging their friends, talking about how much you spent on something, braggin about your kids, drinking, talking about the old country and there is gossip galore. 

This back story read like so many immigrant stories, the difference is in the narrator’s coming of age/coming out saga.  It is indeed a story that will pull you in.  It brings back all the memories of how when you are 12 every single thing is such a HUGE deal, how exciting it is to have the “cool kids” at school take in interest in you.  All the angst of not yet being an adult, but knowing that sometimes you will be expected to act like one and at other times not.  His journey to sexual discovery is both hilarious and devastating.  They way that Rakesh Satyal handles the subject is wonderful.

 The narrator, Kiran Sharma, is a 12 year old school isolated by his differences from his school mates, too ethnic, artistic, and girly? Isolated by the other Indian children in his parent’s social circle, too Americanized, girly, know-it all? And even from his own parents, they just don’t know what to make of him.  The hilarity in which the story is told doesn’t take away any of the seriousness of Kiran’s plights.  You will definitely have many laugh out loud moments, and when Kiran gets into another of his mishaps you will say “that is so Kiran”.

Kiran is most definitely misunderstood, as much as he practices the Language Arts has a lot of trouble communicating with the people around him.  While the narrator is 12, it doesn’t read like a 12 year old book.  This is not YA literature.  While it sounds like he is narrating while these events are occurring, I can’t imagine a 12 year old narrating with this insightfulness. 

My only criticism to the author is that he forgets that he is narrating from the point of view of a 12 year old.  One minute he is too knowing of adults and the next clueless to why they do the things that they do.

Read it!

New Challange

I've been following two reading bloggers for the past year and take a lot of their suggestions when they rave about books.  Especially YA books.  One happens to also be an educator in a Dual Language school, so I have a certain kinship to her.

So following in their footsteps, I'm joining their 2011 reading challenge. I already convinced one friend to join me, maybe others will as well, Hint
Hint!

My friend and I have chosen on Choker by Elizabeth Emma Woods 

Room by Emma Donaghue

This book made me want to go on a backyard crusade across the world to make sure that this doesn't happen to any woman, of any age, race, religion.  Besides the fact that it is sickening to think that people like Old Nick exist, the author takes the ickiness away because it's told from the point of view of a five year old that doesn't yet get the ickeness of the situation.

This is a must read.  Even for those of you of weak dispositions, you can read this. I think that the author choosing to tell the story from the little boy's point of view is what makes it the idea of this happening around the world bearable. I can think of a few people that would enjoy this story.

I don't want to give too much away, but 4/5 stars.