Audiobook Review: The Mysterious Howling

The Mysterious Howling
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1

Author: Maryrose Wood
Narrator: Katherine Kellgren
Duration: 5 hrs, 28 mins
Publisher: Harper Audio
Read: July 9-11, 2013
Source: Audiobooksync

Description from Goodreads:
Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander, age ten or thereabouts, keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia, perhaps four or five, has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf, age somewhere-in-the-middle, is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.

Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. Though she is eager to instruct the children in Latin verbs and the proper use of globes, first she must help them overcome their canine tendencies.

But mysteries abound at Ashton Place: Who are these three wild creatures, and how did they come to live in the vast forests of the estate? Why does Old Timothy, the coachman, lurk around every corner? Will Penelope be able to teach the Incorrigibles table manners and socially useful phrases in time for Lady Constance's holiday ball? And what on earth is a schottische?

Review:

Listening to The Mysterious Howling has further gotten me thinking on the subject of what makes a book marketable for a particular age group. The Mysterious Howling has a pretty sophisticated writing style and the heroine and villain (of sorts) are both teenagers. Yet it's marketed as a middle grade. With this, I give up. Books are books and we should read them if we want to, no matter who they're supposedly for. Who's with me?

Why Did I Read This Book?
Two reasons. First, April of Good Books and Good Wine talks to me about audiobooks pretty often, and Katherine Kellgren is her favorite narrator, so, of course, I wanted to listen to a Kellgren book. However, most of them have been books that I already own in print or that just aren't my thing. Then this one showed up on Audiobooksync and I was like BOOYAH. Plus, I don't have any more review audios, and it was there all ready to go.

What's the Story Here?
Fifteen-year-old Penelope Lumley has graduated from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females with a wonderful education and is ready to make her way in the world. She obtains her first position, caring for three children, who turn out to have been raised by wolves. Thankfully, Penelope has enough affection for and understanding of the ways of non-human animals, as well as enough whimsy, to be able to handle these strange, howling children. Basically, it's like Mary Poppins if Mary were just barely a teenager and assigned to Mowgli.

How are the Characters?
The characters of The Mysterious Howling are interesting, but they're a bit more like a tableaux of people than a full play. Most of them are pretty one note, particularly Lady Constance, who is a spoiled brat and seems younger than Penelope, though she's not. Little consideration is given to motivations or anything like that, which really fleshes out character's personalities. Still, Penelope was entertaining, especially since she has no clue how odd she really is. The children are perhaps most interesting, but they're really not the focus of this first book and more of a plot point.

Am I Going to Continue with the Series?
Certainly. Though it wasn't a hundred percent love for me, it did keep me entertained, and I do love me some short audiobooks. I'm hoping that the plot of the next one gets a bit more substantial, since not much really happened in here. I'm presuming that the reader will learn more about where the children came from as they get skilled enough in language to explain what they can remember, which could be quite interesting.

How was the Narration?
Kathereine Kellgren does a really good job, as April promised. She has a sort of high class British accent (to my ears anyway, though I admit to not being an expert with British accents, though I would totally take that class), but is also completely willing to do, and perhaps delights in doing, all the voices and sound effects. I mean, the fact that she can deliver the children's lines (most of which involve howling or barking) without laughing (yes, it's edited and all but still) is impressive. She really goes for it. NGL, the howling and stuff was pretty annoying sounding, but it was also just right for the story, so I had a love/hate relationship with that.

Sum It Up with a GIF:

Rating: 3/5

Audiobook Review: The Bitter Kingdom

The Bitter Kingdom
Fire and Thorns, Book 3

Author: Rae Carson
Narrators: Jennifer Ikeda & Luis Moreno
Duration: 12 hrs, 57 mins
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Read: August 27-September 1, 2013
Source: Digital copy from publisher

Description from Goodreads:
The champion must not waver.
The champion must not fear.
The gate of darkness closes.

Elisa is a fugitive.

Her enemies have stolen the man she loves, and they await her at the gate of darkness. Her country is on the brink of civil war, with her own soldiers ordered to kill her on sight.

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Lucero-Elisa née Riqueza de Vega, bearer of the Godstone, will lead her three loyal companions deep into the enemy's kingdom, a land of ice and snow and brutal magic, to rescue Hector and win back her throne. Her power grows with every step, and the shocking secrets she will uncover on this, her final journey, could change the course of history.

But that is not all. She has a larger destiny. She must become the champion the world has been waiting for.

Even of those who hate her most.

Previous Books in Series:
1: The Girl of Fire and Thorns
2: The Crown of Embers

Review:

My relationship with Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns series is a complicated one, and probably always will be. When I first read The Girl of Fire and Thorns, I did not like it. As time passed and endless praise rolled in, I felt like maybe I'd not given the book a fair shot, so I tried again, this time with the audiobook. Why reread a book I didn't like? Because tastes can change. In this case, though, they really didn't. However, I still went ahead with the audiobook version of the series, which I'm sure would be looked at askance by many. Why would a person read the sequel to a book they've disliked twice? Because you never know. This time my persistence paid off, and I found myself wholly wrapped up in The Crown of Embers. Though I still have some rather large reservations about books two and three in the series, I also loved them in some ways. Make of that what you will.

Though I do love romance in books, it's not often what makes a book for me. Generally, I would say I love the characters first and the romance between them second. In the Fire and Thorns series, the romance comes first. The arc of this relationship gets a full five star fanfare of cellos and unicorn whinnies, okay? (I'm just going to assume that would sound awesome. Roll with it, yo.) Hector and Elisa go from having no real romantic attachment in book one (note that this is the book I didn't like), but with a nice solid foundation of respect and mutual admiration, to love and impending marriage in The Bitter Kingdom. They do so slowly and with quite a bit of swoon.

The ending scenes of this book almost made me happy cry, something I do much more easily than sad cry. Attending weddings of friends, I find a lot of the trappings of them quite sexist and unappealing. Carson's series is, I think, at its most beautiful and woman power-y right there at the end in a traditionally patriarchy-dominated ceremony. Hector loves that Elisa is powerful, and is man enough not to feel challenged by that, and just so much yes to all of that.

One of the key selling points of Fire and Thorns is Elisa's weight. There aren't many novels about non-skinny heroines, and even less so in the fantasy genre. Now, Elisa does lose a good deal of weight over the course of book one while tramping about in the desert. This did concern me a bit, especially since the romantic interest in her really kicks up at that juncture. However, now that it's done, I'm really happy with the portrayal of weight in the series. Elisa never gets thin or reaches her society's standard of beauty, which is slim like our society currently holds up as ideal. Elisa will always be curvy or even overweight. Hector finds her very sexually attractive, and that's fantastic. What really makes the portrayal of Elisa's weight issues so powerful, though, is that Elisa herself comes to love her own body and to stop yearning to be someone else with a different body type. The reason people are beautiful is their uniqueness, and Elisa's road to self-love has been long and bumpy, but she made it and I think I finally like her as well.

The Bitter Kingdom also spends much less time on the religion elements which made me so batty in book one. While I know this worked for some, I found the fact that it was basically relabeled Christianity both lazy and preachy. By The Bitter Kingdom, Elisa has no real idea what the deal is with god. She still prays and believes somewhat, but she's questioning. She no longer has that certainty that her way is right and is really seeking knowledge. Where before the series came off as dealing with religion, The Bitter Kingdom takes a much more theological angle, which I love. Fun fact: I minored in theology.

So far as the cast goes, this is one of those rare books where I feel things but don't really identify with the heroine. Though I do have some commonalities with Elisa, we have never been able to bond. I respect her now and admire her, but we would never be best friends (maybe because I'm plotting her death to steal Hector? - kidding...mostly). Hector is everything fabulous, and other YA love interests should learn from him. He walks the line between protective and trusting perfectly. There's a place for protecting your lady and a time to step back and let her get shit done, and he knows when to do which thing. My favorite characters are Mara and Belen, and they are both just the cutest. The Bitter Kingdom gave me a couple of new ships, and I actually would really like another book set in this world about one of them. *coughs* (Who would have thought, right?) I'm a little disappointed that Rosario basically didn't show up in this book, since the little prince is kind of important, but oh well. (I'm asking for more moppet? What has this book done to me and my values?) Oh also, Red is an incredibly adorable moppet as well, and, yeah, she's the best, even if her name is straight up My Little Pony.

The plot of The Bitter Kingdom meanders a little bit. There's a lot of journeying to one place and then hearing about a thing and needing to go somewhere else and OH HEY a plot point. It's not a huge issue, but I also wasn't really all that concerned about the plot overall. You basically know what the endgame is and ride that train all the way around the theme park until it gets to the final stop. There was one part that was straight out of Lord of the Rings basically, which was a little bit ridiculous to me, but, again, not a major problem for me either. Carson also took things a bit easily, with Lord of the Rings being a good comparison actually. The stakes are always really high, but she's not merciless to her characters, which I know some people love but I like knowing that anything could happen at any time.

Only one aspect of The Bitter Kingdom seriously irked me. To explain it, I will have to delve into SPOILERS in this section, so stop here if you do not want to know, mmkay? In The Bitter Kingdom, Carson throws in this huge world building twist, but doesn't really address it. She just throws it out there like it's no big deal and I'm like WHUT. Anyway, Elisa and company learn that if an Invierno mates with a Joyan, their offspring will be unable to reproduce. These offspring are referred to as mules.

Now, I seriously suck at science, but this immediately set off serious warning bells, because the reason mules, the product of horse and donkey sex, cannot reproduce is because they come from two disparate, if similar, species. Considering all of the racial themes in the series, this made me really uncomfortable, especially since the word mulatto, came from the same root word of mule. Now, it turns out the Joyans actually came to the planet and colonized it much like the Europeans came into the Americas, so they are actually not the same creatures, but I still feel like this is some really messy, sensitive subject matter to throw into book three. I especially do not feel like enough world building was put into this, since apparently one or the other of them is not human but alien. This begs so many questions. It's a pretty cool twist, but leaves me feeling hyper-curious and not entirely satisfied with the world building.

The audiobook versions of this series have been marvelous. Jennifer Ikeda does a fabulous job with the different characters all the way through. I'm not as thrilled with the casting of Hector, who sounds a bit too much like Kevin Spacey for any guy as sexy and hispanic as Hector is in my head. Still, he doesn't do a bad job. I'm also not entirely sure Hector's POV was necessary in The Bitter Kingdom, but whatever.

Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns series is one that I do think is well worth reading, even if it has always been varying degrees of problematic for me personally. The series gets better as it goes along, and features one of the best and healthiest romantic relationships.

Rating: 4.5/5

Audiobook Review: The Off Season

The Off Season
Dairy Queen, Book 2

Author: Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Narrator: Natalie Moore
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Listening Library
Read: July 2-7, 2013
Source: Library

Description from Goodreads:
Life is looking up for D.J. Schwenk. She's made it to eleventh grade, finally. After a rocky summer, she's reconnecting with her best friend, Amber. She's got kind of a thing going with Brian Nelson. Plus there's the fact she's playing for the Red Bend High School football team as probably the first girl linebacker in northern Wisconsin.

But then the season, which began so well, starts to go suddenly, horribly wrong. As autumn progresses, D.J. struggles to understand what's happening with football, Brian, Amber, and most of all her family. And as her life turns completely upside down, she discovers she's a lot stronger than she—or anyone—ever thought.

This hilarious, heartbreaking, and ultimately triumphant sequel to the acclaimed novel Dairy Queen takes D.J. and all the Schwenks from Labor Day to a Thanksgiving football game that you will never forget.

Review:

The Off Season differs quite a bit from Dairy Queen. Where in Dairy Queen, the focus is all on DJ, she is, in some ways, not the central character in The Off Season, playing a more supportive role: sister and daughter. Though I think I was perhaps a bit less interested in the plot of The Off Season than in Dairy Queen or Front Center, which I've already started, I'm also hugely impressed by the content and daring in the subject matter.

Murdock takes some risks with the second book in the series, no question. Right at the very beginning, after the first book in the series was all about D.J. managing to join the boys' football team, she quits. She has reasons, good ones, but it's still anticlimactic after all the build up. However, it's such a mature choice, because, if she didn't stop playing, a minor injury might become a bigger deal and prevent her from playing basketball, which is pretty much her only shot at a scholarship and college. Though it's sad to see her give up on her football, seeing D.J. be so mature and face up so bravely to the judgment of her classmates is inspiring.

The real story here, though, isn't about D.J., though she's central to it and crucial to the way things unfold. Her oldest brother, Win, is injured in a football game, one the whole family was watching live. Injuries happen in football all the time, but this one is life-changing: Win's spinal cord snapped. He will never walk again, and that's just one thing among many that he'll never be able to do again. His dreams have been crushed, and he had a real shot at pro ball. Even with intense physical therapy, he'll probably not regain much use of his body. The Off Season is about Win's injury and the way the Schwenk family pulls together to help him.

D.J. basically puts her whole life on hold to help Win, because no one else in her family can take the time off, since her mother badly injured her back, her father needed to help his wife, her other older brother has football and college, and her younger brother is in middle school. That is so much pressure to put on one teen girl. Win, unsurprisingly, does not take the injury well. D.J. doesn't know what to do with her taciturn brother, but she turns out to be just the right person to help him, with her slow, quiet, determined Schwenk ways. There is so, so much strength in D.J., and she just does not see it yet, but I'm getting ahead of myself since that's what book three is obviously going to be about. Anyway, Murdock tackles Win's injury in this really powerful, emotional way, and goes into a lot of details about the hospital and physical therapy, and that is just so unique in YA fiction.

The romance remains on the back burner, and goes pretty much exactly where I predicted. Brian Nelson's a great guy in some respects, but much to caught up in the expectations of others. Basically, D.J. did not need all of that crap to deal with while she was trying to get her brother back on his feet. That's life, though, isn't it. In fact, that's what's so great about this series: how real D.J. feels and the whole cast.

I'm continuing to be really impressed with Murdock's Dairy Queen series. The audiobooks are fabulous, accent and all, and I'm already about a quarter of the way through the final book, which I both do and do not want to finish, because I already think it will be my favorite.

Rating: 4/5

Review: How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon
How to Train Your Dragon, Book 1

Author: Cressida Cowell
Narrator: David Tennant
Duration: 3 hrs, 29 mins
Publisher: Hachette Childrens Books
Read: June 25-28, 2013
Source: Gifted - thanks YA Books Central!

Description from Goodreads:
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is a truly extraordinary Viking hero known throughout Vikingdom as "the Dragon Whisperer" ... but it wasn't always so. Travel back to the days when the mighty warrior was just a boy, the quiet and thoughtful son of the Chief of the Hairy Hooligans. Can Hiccup capture a dragon and train it without being torn limb from limb? Join the adventure as the small boy finds a better way to train his dragon and becomes a hero!

Review:

As we all know, movies often aren't much like the books they're based on, and that's incredibly true here. Now, the setting's the same: Vikings, dragons, characters and all that. However, there are a couple of major differences, based even on what I remember from the movie I saw once about three years ago. When you think of How to Train Your Dragon, I bet your first thought is something along these lines:

Certainly, I did. Awkward boy befriends adorable dragon. Cuteness abounds. Everyone learns things. Not really how it goes down, though. The actual story is definitely tailored to a little boy audience, with gross jokes, battles and such. Also, Toothless is creepy as all get out. And green.

No, seriously. Toothless is not remotely adorable. He's crude and gross, and purposely poops all over Hiccup's house. Also, he hates Hiccup for most of it, and Hiccup hates him, mostly because the Vikings actually use dragons as slaves after they DRAGONNAP them from their caves when they're babies. That's one of the tests to become a full member of the tribe. As is training the dragon to do what you say by yelling at it. Oh, AND Toothless is way smaller than in the movie. Hiccup can carry him around. If anything, Toothless reminded me of Gollum. Yeah.

Basically, I kept expecting the story to end with a realization that dragons need to be treated more equally, considering that they're smart and have their own language and everything, but that didn't really happen. Like, at the end, I think they respect dragons a little more, but still plan to make the dragons do what they say. I just didn't really feel that much sympathy with the Vikings when the HUGE dragon arrives with plans to eat them, yanno?

Also, just fyi, there was not a single female character in this story that I noticed. Not a one. Apparently the Vikings figured out a way to procreate with only men, or with dragons. Of course, I don't think that's true. Women are just so unimportant they're wholly unworthy of mention. Thanks, movie, for adding in a wholly not historically accurate female character who was in the same class as the boys. I mean, there are dragons, so are we really that big on historical accuracy?

Much as I didn't like the story, because it's just totally not for me, there is one reason I rated this three stars and did like listening to it:

THIS GUY.

WORTH IT. Oh, David Tennant. I love him as Doctor Who, of course, but now I got to hear him go full on Scottish, and I loved it. He's a delightful narrator, just as you would expect. He even did a voice that was rather reminiscent of Jeremy Irons for the giant, man-eating dragon. I just sort of tried to pay as little attention as possible to the story and to soak in the accents.

OH YEAH.

I wish I could say that I liked this enough overall to want to continue with the rest of the audiobooks he narrated (which is six or seven of the series), but I don't. As much as I love David Tennant, I would have to buy each one from Audible, and that's just too much money for books I don't like. If my library had them, well, that would be another story.

I'm sorry, but it was beautiful while it lasted.

So, there you have it. Unless you're a huge David Tennant fan (why wouldn't you be?) or totally okay with the absence of women and treatment of the dragons, you'll probably want to skip this one. However, that's sad. Let's look at David Tennant one more time, huh?

How awesome is this man?

Rating: 3/5

Audiobook Review: Insurgent

Insurgent
Divergent, Book 2

Author: Veronica Roth
Narrator: Veronica Galvin
Duration: 11 hrs, 22 mins
Publisher: Harper Audio
Read: July 21-27, 2013
Source: Finished copy from publisher

Description from Goodreads:
One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. 

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. 

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Previous Book in Series:
1: Divergent

Review:

Before I really launch into this rant-fest, there are some things you should know. Yes, I hated Divergent, and I suspected that Insurgent probably wouldn't go well. Yes, I knew within the first disc that I wouldn't like Insurgent. Yes, I kept going. To be fair, I wouldn't have read it if I hadn't been sent a review copy, but I was a little curious to see if Roth's story had improved and if I could understand the hype (spoiler: I can't). If all of this bothers you, you're going to want to leave right now, because I don't want to hear it.

World Building
OH HA. Who needs world building when you have a cool idea, amirite? The faction system and the divergent continue to be just as ridiculous as they ever were. Everyone's shocked that the system is crumbling when the system is obviously fucking ridiculous and would never ever work. For the most part, I don't have much to add to the rant about this in the first book, though I do have some more words to say about the concept of divergence.

I talk a lot about static or flat characters, and it is around this that this joke of a society has been formed: the premise that human beings are flat and composed of a singular trait. Now, to say that one person is a bit more of one thing than another and sort them accordingly, I'm okay with (see: Harry Potter), but that's not what's happening here. We know this differs because everyone is shocked and appalled to learn that some people have an aptitude for multiple factions. WHAT DO YOU MEAN SOMEONE CAN BE BOTH SMART AND NICE? Accepting this is a necessary part of enjoying the series, and I cannot and will not suspend my disbelief to this degree. I may not have much faith in humanity, but I do believe that 99.9% of people would be divergent.

In the last chapter, though, there is a twist, one that I predicted, since it was literally the only way that such an incredibly stupid society could ever be explained. Unsurprisingly, I still take issues with it, though I will resist the urge to spoiler, tempting though it may be. My prediction was a little off in the reasoning, though not the basic premise, and, frankly, I thought my reasoning made more sense, because I don't see how the factions were really necessary, how this changed anything about people (see my comments on divergence above), or how this will help one bit. But, Roth did at least try to improve the world building, so there's that.

On Tris
Zeus help me, I still loathe this girl. Tris is whiny like you would not believe. With how much people complain about this or that heroine being whiny, I do not know why Tris is one of the most popular YA heroines. She whines about everything. Someone compliments her? She whines. Someone's prettier than her? More whining. She can't kill herself because she's too damn popular? Whine city.

Being in Tris' head is awful, because she's so completely shallow. She judges everyone by their appearance. A character enters and you immediately know whether they're hot or not, because, really, that's all we need to know, right? We also know if they're more attractive than her, and inevitably she doesn't like those girls, though, mostly, she just seems to not like women. Or men, really. One of the actually enjoyable parts was when Tris was doped with some niceness drugs and ran around being happy and friendly. That was hilarious, because it was the only time she had any real insight: she and Tobias AREN'T very nice.

Then there's that whole thing where Tris wants to kill herself. This upsets me for two reasons. First, I don't think it was a particularly thoughtful approach towards the subject of suicide. It feels like a light construct, meant to show how tough this situation is that Tris, badass Tris, would consider offing herself. Second, there's no way in hell that Tris would ever commit suicide, so it's a waste of my damn time. She was "to be or not to be"ing through the entirety of the book, but, since it's from her perspective and Veronica Roth is not the type of author to kill off her heroine and narrator switch, there's no way that Tris will die.

As I mentioned, Tris is meant to be a strong, badass heroine, but I'm not buying into that whole concept either. She's also meant to have aptitude for erudite, but there's a reason everyone's surprised the one time she comes up with a remotely clever thought. Tris doesn't really do a whole lot for most of the action scenes, and is more likely to cause trouble than anything, because she doesn't think before she acts and is terrified of guns. Most of what makes her a useful character is biological and nothing to do with her skill. Also, for someone who thinks crying is weak and who thought "Someone who looks so strong shouldn't act so weak." about Al's crying, Tris cries a lot. But I case that's just fine, since she's petite and female. JUST MAKE SURE YOU CONFORM TO THOSE GENDER ROLES.

Perhaps even more frustrating is the fact that everyone wants to keep Tris happy. For some reason, she's really important to everyone. The bad guys fear that she will foil their dastardly plans. The good guys look up to her. The pretty girls dislike her for being prettier. Tobias thinks she's hot. Perhaps the biggest example of how Tris can do no wrong (and of how Tris is a douchebag) is her relationship with Christina (no, not me, the character). At the end of Divergent, Tris shot Christina's boyfriend, Will, when he was under a simulation. When she tells Christina, the latter is mad, rightly so. Sure, Tris in some sense had to, but that sort of news is going to take time to digest. Still, Christina deals with it pretty quickly and says she believes Tris about the necessity but that coming to terms will take a while, at which Tris makes a big speech about how Christina doesn't trust her and whines about how guilty she feels and everyone hates her. So, of course, Christina forgives her immediately. Fuck off, Tris.

The Romance 
Oh, Four and Tris, y'all are riding the hot mess express straight into bad breakup city. Okay, that's a lie. They're heading for an HEA, but if novels were honest, they would not last. The problem with them is not only are they both assholes, but that they're both THE EXACT SAME KIND OF ASSHOLE. Their personalities are pretty much indiscriminate to me, except that Tris thinks less before diving into a conflict than Tobias does.

Their relationship is incredibly unhealthy because they're both liars and hypocrites. Several times throughout Insurgent, they get into big fights because one has not been honest with the other. The one lied gets huffy. The liar yells back something the other one lied about. They both resolve to be more honest in the future. Within minutes, they're both resolving to keep something else secret. These two do not trust each other one bit. Plus, I'm really not feeling all that much chemistry from the two of them. In the long run, they both really need to have their way all the time, even though they're both supposedly SO self-sacrificing, so they would fight ALL THE TIME.

The Writing
Veronica Roth's writing hasn't gotten anymore to my tastes, and the audio really didn't conceal how incredibly simplistic the writing is. Now, Veronica Roth may be a genius at sentence composition and simply be writing this way because Tris herself isn't very bright (despite being erudite in spirit), but I can only judge what I've read. Personally, I almost never like books with simple sentences, though, occasionally, they can be made to work with a nice tone or flow to them. This is not one of those times, but, hey, this is a personal preference.

Aside from the simplicity, there are some objectively bad elements to the writing. For one thing, Tris feels the need to explain common concepts to the reader, like when she says that everyone was armed except for herself and one other person who had no weapons. I'm not quoting directly because I was listening, but that's pretty close. Anyway, the last bit of that sentence isn't needed. Anyone of age to be reading this series is probably going to know what this term means. It's like Lemony Snicket, only those books explain complex words and are intended for children. Many instances of Tris' need to dumb things down for her audience occur within Insurgent. There are also sentences like "His breath tickles my hair," which make no sense whatsoever. Hair is not ticklish, though his breath might move the hair, tickling the back of the neck.

Most irritating however are the dialogue tags, or should I say dialogue tag. Most every line of dialogue comes with a dialogue tag, since there are often groups of more than two people, and almost all of the dialogue tags are a form of the verb "to say." I say, Christina says, Four says, etc says.... Using the same word over and over shows a lack of originality and is just generally lazy. Yet again, this could be blamed on Tris, since the novel's in first person, but, whether stylistic or just bad, I do not approve.

The Narration
The half star I rated this up is solely for the audiobook. Veronica Galvin is a pretty good narrator. I didn't have any issues with her performance. If the book didn't piss me off so much, I would have rated up higher for her work and the quality of the audio, but it did.

Rating: 1/5

Audiobook Review: Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen, Book 1

Author: Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Narrator: Natalie Moore
Duration: 6 hrs, 7 mins
Publisher: Listening Library
Read: June 17-23, 2013
Source: Library

Description from Goodreads:
When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.

Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D.J. can’t help admitting, maybe he’s right.

When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.

Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn’t so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won’t even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league.

When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.

Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D.J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.

Review:

Though I haven't had much chance to reread since I began blogging, it's one of my favorite things to do. Is there anything better than revisiting an old favorite? For me, the benefits are myriad, since I generally can't remember much after just one read of a book, so I can be surprised and delighted just like the first time, implant the book in my memory, and probably also notice awesomeness I'd missed before. Of course, in some cases, I like to reread books that I didn't enjoy before, because they can really surprise you, like Dairy Queen.

I'm fairly certain I've actually read Dairy Queen twice before, once in college and once in grad school. Though I have little memory of it, I have a distinct recollection of having checked out the paperback during a break from undergrad. I don't think I liked it much, and I've only just recalled that. Anyway, in grad school, I had to read Dairy Queen for my young adult services course. I did not care for it.

My issues with Dairy Queen were partly context and partly format. See, I came to Dairy Queen that second time with certain expectations, because we were assigned the book as part of the LGBT unit, which included one other book Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You. I was pissed off at this book and at the professors for not choosing a single book with a gay or lesbian protagonist, though the protagonist in Cameron's novel thinks he might be gay. Though there are some LGBT themes in Dairy Queen, it's not an LGBT book overall, and I resented the book for that, even if it wasn't fair.

However, I also remember being unimpressed by the writing style. D.J.'s not the sort of girl to use really complex sentences or have a huge vocabulary. Simple sentences just generally do not work for me as a writing style, so I found the book frustrating. Switching to the audiobook format allowed me to really appreciate how well the writing fits the character of D.J. Natalie Moore does an amazing job bringing the character alive, and has the full on Wisconsin accent, which is incredibly entertaining.

So far as the plot goes, I really remembered nothing, except cows and football, which are certainly the most obvious points. The book being about football probably didn't help us get along any either, but Miranda Kenneally has helped me get over my distaste for anything about sports. The football in the book really isn't overwhelming, definitely taking a back seat to D.J.'s journey for self-respect and interpersonal relations.

D.J. feels dumb and overwhelmed. She flunked sophomore English, because she was so busy running the family farm after her dad injured himself using the manure spreader. D.J. is so young, but she has all of this pressure and her whole family relies on her to keep the farm going. She has to give up all of her sports to run the farm, but her brother Curtis doesn't. The whole thing feels so unfair, but D.J. is a real champ about it.

Then Brian Nelson shows up, sent by the coach of D.J.'s school's rival ream, who happens to be a family friend. The coach wants Brian to help out on the farm and stop being so stuck up, and eventually D.J. begins coaching Brian at football. They also go from hating one another to really getting along, able to talk about things that D.J.'s family never discusses. Her affinity for Brian grows into a crush and also inspires her to confront family issues, like talking to her estranged brothers, engaging with her silent younger brother, and gaining more respect from her parents.

Romance is really kept on the back burner, though it's a thread running through the book. D.J.'s desire for romance sort of comes up against her increasing desire to play football, which both isn't girly and will inevitably lead to complications with her burgeoning feelings for Brian. D.J. also has to deal with the realization that her friend Amber is a lesbian and has sort of been dating D.J., though D.J. had no idea. Up to this summer with Brian, she'd really never given romance a thought and all of this takes her time to process.

Actually, that's one of the best things about Dairy Queen. D.J. really does need time to think through things. She lacks the quick wit of a lot of heroines. Brian confronts her about always forcing him to give more in conversations by remaining silent, and she explains that she was merely trying to work out a response. D.J.'s brain works a bit differently from mine, and it's always interesting to get to be in someone else's head to gain some empathy.

The narrative of the book is purportedly an assignment D.J. turns in to overturn her failure in English, since the teacher lets her make it up. When she explained that at the end, I laughed a lot, because this poor teacher. She asks for a paper on what D.J. did over the summer or something like that, and the girl turns in, instead of ten pages or so, three hundred. Happy grading!

Many thanks to Renae of Respiring Thoughts and Wendy Darling of The Midnight Garden for convincing me that Dairy Queen deserved another shot. I'm excited to listen to the audiobooks for the next two books!

Sum It Up with a GIF:

Rating: 4/5

Audiobook Review: Wild Awake

Wild Awake

Author: Hilary T. Smith
Narrator: Shannon McManus
Duration: 7 hrs, 50 mins
Publisher: Harper Audio
Read: June 13-15, 2013
Source: Digital copy from publisher for review

Description from Goodreads:
Things you earnestly believe will happen while your parents are away:

1. You will remember to water the azaleas.
2. You will take detailed, accurate messages.
3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest thing goes wrong.
4. You and your best friend/bandmate, Lukas, will win Battle of the Bands.
5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams.

Things that actually happen:

1. A stranger calls who says he knew your sister.
2. He says he has her stuff.
3. What stuff? Her stuff.
4. You tell him your parents won't be able to—
5. Sukey died five years ago; can't he—
6. You pick up a pen.
7. You scribble down the address.
8. You get on your bike and go.
9. Things . . . get a little crazy after that.*
*Also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas.

Both exhilarating and wrenching, Hilary T. Smith's debut novel captures the messy glory of being alive, as seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd discovers love, loss, chaos, and murder woven into a summer of music, madness, piercing heartbreak, and intoxicating joy.

Review:

The Wild Awake audiobook turned out to be a lot of fun, largely because of the movie I played out in my head, one I probably would have loved when I was a teen, but more on that later.

Why Did I Read This Book?
Wild Awake got so many rave reviews from trusted reviewers, but even so I was a bit hesitant to read the book. Reason one was that I'm not much interested in books on drug use. Reason two is that a couple of people mentioned the style was sort of stream of consciousness, which I tend not to enjoy. Thus, I decided the audiobook would be a good way to not be bothered by the latter but still check out the book. This was a good choice for me.

What's the Story Here?
Kiri has been left alone for the summer while her parents go on a cruise. Her parents are seriously neglectful, because this Kiri spends the summer making terrible decisions: getting drunk, smoking pot, neglecting to practice for her piano recital, and mostly entering bad neighborhoods alone. Kiri has gone off the rails because she got a call from someone who said he had her dead sister's stuff. Since she idolized her sister Sukey, and learning so many things her family kept from her (like the fact that her sister was murdered and didn't die in a car crash) dredges up her emotions again and she's not prepared to handle that.

How are the Characters?
While I cannot say that I particularly liked Kiri, she did feel very real and very much like a teen. There was just something so naively unaware about Kiri and the way she approached life, and she did everything with so much sincerity. She truly had no idea that taking a whole bunch of pills after smoking pot and drinking alcohol was liable to end with her death. She just felt so young and innocent, even if she doesn't act that way most of the time. She and Skunk are the only ones who really get fleshed out, though, so I did feel like some of the characterization was lacking.

And the Romance?
Oh man, and I thought Piz was a horrible name for a love interest. We have a new winner! Skunk. Stinks, doesn't it? (*insert groans here*) Anyway, I actually liked Skunk, nickname and smoking aside, and his real name is Philippe, so he does have one. The two of them are both bad news bears and need to get on the straight and narrow. I don't think I want them to date forever, but they both needed someone to help them through some issues, so it was a good time for them. I didn't even mind that they instaloved, because Kiri thinks so many things that aren't true are true that it just felt like being young and stupid.

And the Family Dynamics?
This is where the story really lacked for me. There wasn't really ever a big confrontation with her family. She has a bit of an emotional arc with her older brother when he comes home to find her nearly dead, but her parents come home and just order her to see some shrinks. Like, really? That's it. Ugh. I just felt like there should have been MORE with all of that, since the central issue was Sukey, but the focus was more on Kiri's romance with Skunk, which was a bit unfortunate.

How was the Narration?
The narration totally delighted me, because McManus' voice sounds a lot like Christina Ricci, so I was picturing the whole book as a movie starring a young Christina Ricci, who totally would have been boss at this roll. Ricci was one of my favorite actresses back in the day because she shares my first name and was the only one to get to kiss a cute boy in Now and Then (even if she did grow up to be Rosie O'Donnell). Anyway, McManus does a good job capturing Kiri's youthful idealism.

Sum It Up with a GIF:

Rating: 3/5

Audiobook Review + Giveaway: Golden Boy

Golden Boy

Author: Abigail Tarttelin
Narrators: Keith Nobbs, James Langton, Abigail Tarttelin, Christian Coulson, Kate Reading, Anita Sabherwal
Duration: 12 hrs, 40 mins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Source: Publisher for review

Description from Goodreads:
The Walker family is good at keeping secrets from the world. They are even better at keeping them from each other.

Max Walker is a golden boy. Attractive, intelligent, and athletic, he’s the perfect son, the perfect friend, and the perfect crush for the girls in his school. He’s even really nice to his little brother. Karen, Max’s mother, is a highly successful criminal lawyer, determined to maintain the façade of effortless excellence she has constructed through the years. Now that the boys are getting older, now that she won’t have as much control, she worries that the façade might soon begin to crumble. Adding to the tension, her husband, Steve, has chosen this moment to stand for election to Parliament. The spotlight of the media is about to encircle their lives.

The Walkers are hiding something, you see. Max is special. Max is different. Max is intersex. When an enigmatic childhood friend named Hunter steps out of his past and abuses his trust in the worst possible way, Max is forced to consider the nature of his well-kept secret. Why won’t his parents talk about it? What else are they hiding from Max about his condition and from each other? The deeper Max goes, the more questions emerge about where it all leaves him and what his future holds, especially now that he’s starting to fall head over heels for someone for the first time in his life. Will his friends accept him if he is no longer the Golden Boy? Will anyone ever want him—desire him— once they know? And the biggest one of all, the question he has to look inside himself to answer: Who is Max Walker, really?

Written by twenty-five-year-old rising star Abigail Tarttelin, Golden Boy is a novel you’ll read in one sitting but will never forget; at once a riveting tale of a family in crisis, a fascinating exploration of identity and a coming-of-age story like no other.

Review:

This is one of those times where I'm incredibly glad that I'm a book blogger. You see, were I not blogging, I would not have the reader friends I do, and I would miss out on books like Golden Boy. I never would have picked this up in the store, because the cover is weird and doesn't really convey the subject matter. Thankfully, a couple days after I got an email with Golden Boy as one of the audiobooks available for review, my dear friend Jenni of Alluring Reads told me that she felt certain I would love this book. Jenni was right.

This cover is a strange one, and, once I knew what the book was about, I can see what they're doing, subtly calling out the gender issues with the two bikes, one intended for males and one for females. Why moving a bar from straight to slanted suddenly makes a bike girly or changes it in any practical way, I can't say. Still, I do think it's a shame there's nothing on the cover to speak to the subject matter, because I seek out books about different sorts of sexuality/gender and would have missed this.

Golden Boy tells the story of Max, a handsome boy who seems perfect in every respect, popular, athletic and intelligent. Max has a secret, though: he's not actually a boy. Nor is he a girl. Max is intersex, the new politically correct term that replaced hermaphrodite. Because Max has both a penis and a vagina, he's avoided serious relationships, though he has developed a reputation because he makes out with a lot of different girls. His being intersex didn't really impact his life.

Until it did. At a family party, Hunter, Max's best friend growing up, rapes Max. The scene is rather graphic and intensely emotional. Max has always felt like a boy, and not really questioned that. With this incident, Max has to truly face that he's not a regular boy, and, in the fallout, so does his family. What follows is an honest, beautiful, heart-wrenching look at Max's journey to become comfortable with who he is and to decide who he wants to be as an adult.

The subject matter in Golden Boy is quite dark and unflinching at times. The discussion of the issues of being intersex is frank and honest. However, Tarttelin makes the brilliant storytelling move of including more than just Max's perspective, which cuts on the melodrama. She does six separate perspectives: Max, his family (mother, father, little brother), his girlfriend Sylvie, and his doctor Archie (a woman). Since I listened to the audiobook, I can't say how individual they felt in print, but in the audiobook they were all brilliantly performed, with a narrator for each perspective.

In some books with multiple perspectives, characters are added for no discernible reason at all, not adding anything to the narrative, or particular perspectives are incredibly boring, to be suffered through while the reader waits impatiently for the main character to return. Not so with Golden Boy. Each perspective brought something to the table, even Max's father's, which only appears twice. Max is so confused and lost and depressed that it's wonderful to see him from an outside perspective. Daniel, for instance, hero-worships his brother. Sylvie thinks he's hot. Neither of them know, of course, but we get a true look at the golden boy. Then there's his parents, who love him and do the best they can, but, through their perspectives, the reader really gets a sense of how uncomfortable they are with his intersexuality now that it's known he's actually of age for sex.

Archie's point of view adds a whole other dimension. As a doctor, when Max comes in, he really lights a fire in her when she realizes how little she knows about being intersex. Her medical schooling included almost nothing on the subject. She begins to really research, because she very much wants to help Max, who comes to her office the day after his rape for a morning after pill. Archie's perspective really drives home how little attention the medical community is paying to such gender issues and how much they push to "normalize" with surgery.

Since there's a lot I would spoil if I went any more into the plot, I'm going to speak in general terms. The way Tarttelin wrapped everything up is incredibly touching and what convinced me this book deserved the full five stars. Some of the choices Tarttelin made surprised me, but they were just right. I'll leave it at that.

If you're going to read this book, which I really think you should, the audiobook is an excellent choice. With six talented narrators giving voice to the six perspectives, there's a strong sense of voice. The narrators for Max and Sylvie are particularly compelling. I've listened to quite a few full cast narrations, but this one is I think the best I've read so far.

LGBT (I know this doesn't cover everything, but the term QUILTBAG looks a bit silly - I intend this as all-encompassing) issues have not been covered nearly enough in fiction and I love Golden Boy merely for existing. However, Golden Boy is not just wonderful for covering a tricky, sensitive topic, but for doing so with heart, honesty and compassion. Abigail Tarttelin, welcome to my auto-read list.

Rating: 5/5

Giveaway:
Since I loved this book so much, I want to share that love with one of my readers. I know audiobooks aren't for everyone, so the winner will have their choice of a gifted Audiobook from Audible or a hardcover to be shipped from either TBD or Amazon, depending on which of those ship to you. This contest is international. Just fill out the Rafflecopter to enter!

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Audiobook Review: The School for Good and Evil

The School for Good and Evil
The School for Good and Evil, Book 1

Author: Soman Chainani
Narrator: Polly Lee
Duration: 13 hrs, 46 mins
Publisher: Harper Audio
Read: May 22-June 7, 2013
Source: Publisher for review

Description from Goodreads:
At the School for Good and Evil, failing your fairy tale is not an option.

Welcome to the School for Good and Evil, where best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil.

The two girls soon find their fortunes reversed—Sophie's dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.

But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are . . . ?

The School for Good and Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.

Review:

This is one of those times where I am super glad that I went for the audiobook rather than the print, because, though I bet this is fun in print too, I don't think I could have loved it quite so much. Just saying.

Why Did I Read This Book?
First off, there are those two magic words: fairy tale. Put that on a book, and I will probably try to read it at some point. On top of that, the book trailer is astounding, and I don't say that lightly, because most of them make me much less interested in the books.

What's the Story Here?
Sophie and Agatha live in a town beyond the woods. Every four years, two children are taken, one good and one evil. Sophie believes in the rumors and wants desperately to go off and be a princess at the School for Good and Evil, where it is rumored that the two kids go. To prove her goodness, she has befriended Agatha, the witchiest, most evil-looking girl in town. Agatha, however, does not want to go. Of course, you can't stop a fairy tale, and both girls are swept off to the school, as Sophie predicted. What Sophie did NOT predict was that Agatha would be put with the princesses, and that she would go to the school for evil.

How are the Characters?
OMG, Sophie is the worst. Seriously, I wanted to punch her in the face. She's such a snob, and so convinced that prettiness is what makes someone a good person. Chainani has created one of the most selfish characters in fiction. The voice Lee uses for Sophie even sounds exactly like the blonde girl in Stardust, all snooty and self-involved and perfect for the character. For reasons I'll explain later, I do think Sophie was probably the best-drawn character, though, because she has the most realistic character ARC.

Agatha I loved from the beginning, with her cynicism and snark and hatred of cocky princes. She's my kind of heroine. Plus, she's not gorgeous, and that was super satisfying, because heroines don't need to be gorgeous all the time.

The rest of the cast is well-suited to the tale too, falling into their stereotypes of good and evil initially, but most developing depth as the tale continues. Actually, in the end, evil comes off much better in terms of personality, where the princesses remain pretty shallow and appearance-focused.

And the Romance?
So, the romance is pretty much all centered around this guy, Tedros, son of King Arthur. If that's not how you spell his name, don't criticize me, because it was an audiobook and it's not written out ANYWHERE. Anyway, Tedros is a snobby princeling to start, but I was actually shipping him with Agatha pretty hard, though mostly just because I wanted Sophie's nose rubbed in it because she's the worst. Plus, you know my feelings for hate turning to love romance arcs. However, once that ship started coming about, I was less of a fan.

Throughout, I was also nurturing a hope this might go LGBT, with Sophie and Agatha being like "forget Tedros" and falling in love with each other. Alas and alack, there was one moment where I thought that was happening, but no.

What Are My Reservations with this Book?
Much as I loved listening to The School for Good and Evil, and thought much of it was hilarious and clever, I have some serious concerns. No, they're not the similarities to Harry Potter, which do exist but that I didn't find to be overpowering. What upsets me is the overall commentary on beauty and princesses. Agatha starts out as this incredibly talented, intelligent girl, where Sophie simpers and doesn't study. The moment Agatha discovers that she is pretty if she's confident and smiles, she becomes weak, blushing over Tedros constantly and suddenly unable to fight battles, fainting left and right. NO NO NO. Love should make you stronger, not weaker. Meanwhile, Sophie goes from an airhead to monstrously powerful villain in no time. I expected the final message to be more clearly that beauty does not equal good, but by the end apparently Agatha is gorgeous and princess-like, which also means she has to be less of a badass, I guess.

Am I Going to Continue with the Series?

Most definitely, and I will be sticking with the audiobooks. Though I'm not entirely comfortable with all of the moral messages, I really did love this. The fairy tale references, the humor, the action and the awesome narration made this a must listen for me, despite those issues.

How was the Narration?
Freaking AMAZING. Polly Lee is one of my favorite narrators hands down, and I will now make it my mission to listen to anything she's narrated, even the romance novels, because her voice is so pretty. She's British, and her accent is awesome. Plus, she does a ton of great voices, and handled the whole cast incredibly deftly. *bows to Polly Lee's awesomeness*

Sum It Up with a GIF:

Rating: 4/5

Audiobook Review: The Chaperone

The Chaperone

Author: Laura Moriarty
Narrator: Elizabeth McGovern
Duration: 13 hrs, 18 mins
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Read: May 1-7, 2013
Source: Overdrive

Description from Goodreads:
The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the summer that would change them both.

Only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita to make it big in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip. She has no idea what she’s in for: Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous blunt bangs and black bob, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will change their lives forever.

For Cora, New York holds the promise of discovery that might prove an answer to the question at the center of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in a strange and bustling city, she embarks on her own mission. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, it liberates her in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of the summer, Cora’s eyes are opened to the promise of the 20th century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.

Review:

You guys, this book is so awesome. I totally would have finished this tomorrow, but I got home and was like eff these books I'm reading, because I want to listen to The Chaperone. You know it's good when you're making up excuses to keep listening!

Why Did I Read This Book?
I finally realized that I could download an OverDrive app onto my iPod Touch and download audiobooks onto it, which is way easier than going to the library to get the discs, which I then have to rip onto my computer, move to my iPod, and then delete from both after (so don't yell at me for stealing please). Anyway, this was my first one from there, and I basically just had it show me all the available audiobooks, and scrolled to the first interesting one. *pats self on back for an excellent selection*

What's the Story Here?
Okay, so The Chaperone is all about a chaperone. How's that? Worst synopsis ever? Alright, so the book is about Cora, a bored housewife who agrees to chaperone a young Louise Brooks to New York City for the summer, as Louise had been accepted to a dance program. Cora has her own reasons for wanting to go, since she lived in New York City at a home for "friendless girls" when she was a child, before she was shipped out west on an orphan train and adopted in Kansas. If you're really interested in Louise Brooks, I warn you that she's really only the framing element and mostly remains on the periphery of the story. She's also a bit of a jerk.

How did I like Cora?
At first, I found Cora utterly insufferable. Much as Louise was whiny and unlikable, I totally took her petulant side over Cora's, because Cora mouthed off all the worst platitudes about virtue and the evils of drink and so forth. As the book goes along, though, Cora progresses wonderfully, both because of what she learns about her past and what she learns about life from Louise. She totally opens up and becomes this really empowered, strong woman, and I love it so much.

And the Romance?
Cora has long been unsatisfied in her marriage, because her husband stopped coming to the marriage bed after their twin sons were born. Because of how rough the birth was on her, they both agreed (as did the doctor) that she shouldn't have anymore. Still, Cora felt like they should be able to do something. She learns some things and partway through the book she has this revival, and it's just so great. Like, she starts off completely conventional, but finds out how much better life is if you live it the way that works for you. The romance is completely not like those usually found in books and is very touching.

How was the ending?
The story sort of fell apart towards the end. The last few chapters felt like epilogue on top of epilogue, because, where The Chaperone had been linear with occasional flashbacks, now the narration would jump several years forward all of a sudden and relate what everyone was doing now. While I was still interested, from a plot perspective, this was really weak, and the pacing was all off.

How was the Narration?
Though I have a slight obsession with celebrity narrators, I didn't choose this for that reason, because I totally did not recognize McGovern's name, but she plays Cora on Downton Abbey. Now she narrates a story about a Cora. Very interesting happenstance that. All actors aren't great narrators of course, but McGovern narrated fabulously well. She clearly distinguishes between characters and does some good accents too.

Sum It Up with a GIF:

Rating: 4/5

Review: Reboot

Reboot
Reboot, Book 1

Author: Amy Tintera
Narrator: Khristine Hvam
Duration: 8 hrs, 42 mins
Publisher: Harper Audio
Source: Publisher for review

Description from Goodreads:
Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes, she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren's favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie—Callum Reyes—is the worst she's ever seen. As a 22, Callum is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he's always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet he's still her newbie. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she'll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows that if she does, she'll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Review:

Reviews for Reboot have been all over the place, which basically meant I had to try it and see for myself. Ultimately, I'm sort of in the middle. Reboot's a lot of fun, especially in the first half, but also still fairly old hat for dystopian scenarios. I'm definitely glad to have read it, but I didn't love it either.

Why Did I Read This Book?
As I mentioned, curiosity. Sometimes, I'm more tempted to read books that get 1 star ratings from some and 4 from others than those that get a consistent 3 stars. I just have to know for myself what book has generated such disparate responses. Seriously, I was reading reviews and adding, removing, adding, removing, adding this book on Goodreads. It was ridiculous. The audio seemed like a good choice, because action books from first perspective often translate pretty well.

What's the Story Here?
In a post-apocalyptic world where all that remains of the US is Texas, a dystopian government has arisen in the form of HARC, a corporation that controls all of the things. Freaking corporations. Currently, if I had to guess a company that would become the dystopian overlord of us all, I would say Amazon, but maybe that's just because they keep buying up the book world. *side-eyes* As with so many dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels, there's a disease, which causes people to reboot. Basically, they're zombies, only they're hot (like vampires, they're themselves but with perfect skin and hair and bright eyes) and super strong and don't eat people. The reboots are known by their numbers, which are how long they were dead before they rose, with the larger numbers being the strongest and least human. Wren is 178, and she does everything by the book until a 22 disrupts her regimented life.

How are the Characters?
Okay, so I really liked the first part where Wren was all queen of the reboots and stuff. Unlike some ya assassins, Wren really does kill people and she even does so in front of the reader. On top of that, she likes killing, and doesn't even feel guilty about it. People are worthless to her, and she'd rather kill a human than look at it. Callum, the 22, is the only other well-developed character, and he's basically the opposite of Wren. Where she's the perfect soldier and very serious, he's happy and doesn't want to hurt a fly. In fact, even eating meat makes him sort of uncomfortable. I liked Callum consistently, but I loved Wren the bitchy reboot from the beginning of the book most of all.

And the Romance?
Here's the caveat. I just was not really feeling their romance. For me, it would have been more compelling if she hadn't been so interested in him right out of the gate. She's all like "omg, he's not afraid of me," and gets interested in him so quickly, which was necessary for the plot, but didn't really seem like Wren as established. Also, she goes from no emotions to ALL OF THE EMOTIONS. It just felt really sudden. She's this hardcore badass until she gets to know Callum and then she's blushing, gasping, and jumping at people's touches. Yes, she does have feelings, and I totally get that, but, from the glimpses showed of her past, I really doubt she's that demonstrative of a person at the best of times. I just never felt like Wren would be so lovey-dovey, even when she's in love. Basically, all of the things that happened with the romance made me roll my eyes. However, I do love the dynamics of the relationship, and how she is the strong one and he's the one who has to be saved. Then again, that would have been more powerful if the role reversal had been continued; she can love him and still be a cool, stern badass most of the time. When it came to the gushy stuff, she was all melty and blushing, and he was cocky and in control. I would have liked to see her more dominant and consistently-characterized all around. Oh, I will say, though, that Wren does continue to want to kill the humans, so that was good at least.

Am I Going to Continue with the Series?
Though the plot sort of let me unenthused, I do plan to continue. It's not that I thought the plot of trying to get away from the evil corporation was bad, but it's been done a lot, and it's not my preferred story arc for something like this. Still, I'm engaged enough with the characters and story to want to know what happens next.

How was the Narration?
For the most part, Hvam does an awesome job with Reboot. She keeps her voice pretty measured and it really fits with Wren. Hvam's voice is girlish enough to fit with Wren's sort of outward appearance of sweetness but full of mettle too. She does a nice job differentiating the characters, even though she does not go all out with the voices. The one thing I did not like is that, with audio, dialog tags really stand out. This book has "I said" and "he said" all over the place, and Hvam really emphasized them, and I groaned every time it happened again.

Sum It Up with a GIF:

Rating: 3/5

Audiobook Review: Maya's Notebook

Maya's Notebook

Author: Isabel Allende
Narrator: Maria Cabezas
Duration: 14 hrs 40 mins
Publisher: Harper Audio
Read: May 10-18, 2013
Source: Publisher for review

Description from Goodreads:
Neglected by her parents, 19-year-old Maya Nidal has grown up in Berkeley with her grandparents. Her grandmother Nini is a force of nature, a woman whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973. Popo, Maya's grandfather, is a gentle man whose solid, comforting presence helps calm the turbulence of Maya's adolescence.

When Popo dies of cancer, Maya goes completely off the rails, turning to drugs, alcohol, and petty crime in a downward spiral that eventually bottoms out in Las Vegas. Lost in a dangerous underworld, she is caught in the cross­hairs of warring forces. Her one chance for survival is Nini, who helps her escape to a remote island off the coast of Chile. Here Maya tries to make sense of the past, unravels mysterious truths about life and about her family, and embarks on her greatest adventure: The journey into her own soul.

Review:

Wow, so this was my first experience with Isabel Allende and it was not what I was expecting at all. I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly, just that it wasn't this. Also, just fyi, let's just put a big ol' trigger warning all over this book for pretty much every trigger ever.

Why Did I Read This Book?
I'd run out of audiobooks for review and selecting them on my own takes forever, and this showed up in a newsletter. I've been curious about Allende for a while, thus why I own several of her books (*side-eyes*), and this seemed as good a place to start as any. Plus, I've discovered that I generally love books about dark subject matter and this did sure sound dark.

What's the Story Here?
Nineteen year old Maya Nidal has been sent by her grandma to a small Chilean island to escape some tragic past and possibly pursuers. The story follows two timelines, Maya's past and her present, until the past catches up to where the book started. What unravels is a tale of how Maya made pretty much every wrong decision it was possible to make. Seriously, she does drugs, is an alcoholic, gets raped (this isn't a decision, but getting into a truck with a sketchy trucker after escaping from rehab may not have been the wisest course), joins the underworld and sells drugs so she can earn drugs, pisses off people in the underworld, and then, living on the street, prostitutes herself to obtain money for drugs. The point of the book is that the Chilean island, the name of which I don't know how to spell because audio, opens her up and lets her live again.

What Did I Think Was Missing?
Maya's emotional arc didn't really work for me. We're spared most of her struggle of recovery from addiction. There's some mention of it, but not enough. Recovering from addictions to crack and alcohol is a painful process and she doesn't seem to suffer all that much. In Chile, people regularly drink in front of her and it seems hardly to tempt her, though she does know better than to drink anything herself. From what I've heard, most alcoholics can't handle that. Seeing that she will be dealing with those unhealthy urges forever would have been a more powerful statement, I think. She just seemed to get over it all way too easily.

How are the Characters?
Mostly, they're all terrible people. The rest, like Maya, her grandmother, and Manuel, who Maya stays with in Chile, are on the border between likable and unlikable. I will say that Allende does give them all distinct personalities and they do feel like real people, so points for characterization. However, they're just not people I particularly want to get to know. This was sort of like listening to a radio drama of some super dark soap opera or something. On the one hand, you can't stop listening because you want to know what happens next, but it was also melodramatic like whoa.

And the Romance?
Lol, okay, so this part I did like. Maya's this girl who's been through pretty much everything life has to offer. She's seen and done a lot. Anyway, this guy, Daniel, comes to the island and she sees him and hearts pop out of her eyes like in an anime. The moment she sees him she's like "this is the man I'm going to marry," because her feelings on seeing him reminded of the story of how her grandma met her beloved grandpa. She instaloves all over Daniel, which would be irritating, except that it totally pans out like most actual teen instalove would: a big, huge, awkward dumping. After it happens, Maya's all "this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me," and I was all "trololol." This was basically the comic relief of the piece.

How was the Narration?
Maria Cabezas definitely makes a convincing Maya. She reads with just the slightest accent, like her time in Chile has rubbed off on her. Her voice conveys both Maya's gruffness and youth, and she was just really well-suited to the character. I'm glad I tried this on audio, because I would have DNFed the print really quickly.

Sum It Up with a GIF:

Rating: 2.5/5