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

Review: Dark Triumph

Dark Triumph
His Fair Assassin, Book 2

Author: R.L. LaFevers
Pages: 400
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Publication Date: April 2, 2013
Source: Gifted by Little Shop of Stories

Description from Goodreads:
Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. Naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, the convent views Sybella as one of their most dangerous weapons.

But those assassin’s skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?

This heart-pounding sequel to Grave Mercy serves betrayal, treachery, and danger in equal measure, bringing readers back to fifteenth century Brittany and will keep them on the edge of their seats.

Prior Book in Series:
1: Grave Mercy

First Sentence: "I did not arrive at the convent of Saint Mortain some green stripling."

Review:

I have made no secret of my immense love of Grave Mercy, and have been recommending it to everyone I know who enjoys historical fiction, fantasy, and kickass heroines. As with every sequel to a book I loved, trepidation filled me as I approached Dark Triumph. There's always that chance that the sequel will not live up to its predecessor and will color your enjoyment even of that first book. Robin LaFevers, though, hits her sequel out of the park. Dark Triumph does not fall victim to middle book syndrome and even surpasses Grave Mercy.

Grave Mercy was fairly dark, but still a nice readalike for Maria V. Snyder or Kristin Cashore. Dark Triumph is even darker, not a novel I would recommend to those who do not like unhappy tales. Sybella's dark past makes what Ismae went through look like a healthy childhood, and, those who read Grave Mercy, know that Ismae's youth was no picnic. Ismae and Duval do make a couple of appearances in Dark Triumph, and it's startling how much more optimistic and friendly Ismae is in comparison to Sybella.

My attachment to Ismae formed immediately in Grave Mercy, but Sybella took me some time to adjust to. She's darker, moodier, more pained, and sometimes verges on crazy, though one can't blame her. However, as I got used to her and came to know more about why she is the way she is, I became even more bonded to Sybella, and even more desirous for her to overcome the horrors of her life.

Sybella's childhood, I will reiterate yet again, was...there aren't really words for it. Her father, d'Albret, used her as a pawn, and she had to watch him kill off wife after wife. Two of her brothers sexually abused her, one for the fun of it and one from a misguided sense of love. Her past is without brightness, and I'm warning you now of triggers for rape and incest. On top of that, there is a whole lot of violence.

One of the main criticisms I've seen of Grave Mercy, even from those that liked it, had to do with the circumstances of the consummation of Ismae's romance. It was seen as a bit of a cop-out, as though Ismae needed an excuse to have sex. In Dark Triumph, the same could not be said. Sybella has had more than one sexual partner, some willed and some not, and does not have any hesitancy about having sex when she desires it. Sybella seems a bit more empowered than Ismae, and will likely be a big hit with those disappointed by that part of Grave Mercy.

The romance in Dark Triumph makes me even happier than that in Grave Mercy. Though I do think this series could just as easily have been marketed to an adult audience, I love that this book will be going to a young adult audience. LaFevers tosses aside convention and delivers a hero utterly unlike those to be found in the bulk of YA romances. He is not handsome; in fact, he is described as ugly more than once. That does not make him unlovable to Sybella or to me. This message is so important for teens, the importance of personality and common interests over physical appearance.

If you loved Grave Mercy, get excited, because you will surely love Dark Triumph too. If you were in the camp of readers who thought LaFevers pulled some punches in the first book, then I urge you to give this installment a try, because it is much darker and more unique. My love for Robin LaFevers' writing has been firmly cemented, and I shall proceed to wait impatiently for the third His Fair Assassin novel.

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite Quote: "'Jewels can be replaced, my cousin. Independence, once lost, cannot.'"

Review: Pretty Girl-13

Pretty Girl-13

Author: Liz Coley
Pages: 352
Publisher: Katherine Tegen
Publication Date:March 19, 2013
Source: For review from YA Books Central

Description from Goodreads:
Reminiscent of the Elizabeth Smart case, Pretty Girl-13 is a disturbing and powerful psychological mystery about a girl who must piece together the story of her kidnapping and captivity.

Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods alone on a Girl Scouts camping trip. Now she's returned home…only to find that it's three years later and she's sixteen-or at least that's what everyone tells her.

What happened to the past three years of her life?

Angie doesn't know.

But there are people who do-people who could tell Angie every detail of her forgotten time, if only they weren't locked inside her mind. With a tremendous amount of courage, Angie embarks on a journey to discover the fragments of her personality, otherwise known as her "alters." As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: When you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the parts of yourself that are responsible?

Liz Coley's alarming and fascinating psychological mystery is a disturbing-and ultimately empowering-page-turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope, and love.

First Sentence: "You had forgotten how early the sun rises on summer campouts—and how loud the birds sing in the morning."

Review:

Holy shit. I knew from the cover that this book would be creepy, but I was not emotionally prepared for this experience. Pretty Girl-13 is one of those books that I'm going to remember for a while, not something that will quickly dissipate from my limited memory banks for story lines. Liz Coley's debut will no doubt shock and offend readers, one of those reads that will be deemed inappropriate for any but the most mature teens, due to the many triggers, most especially rape. If you can handle it, though, Pretty Girl-13 is a riveting tale of recovery from intense psychological and physical trauma.

If you put me in front of a horror movie, I collapse into a shrieking ball of fear. Even though I know what's going to happen, I can't handle it one bit. Horror books, though, really don't scare me. Pretty Girl-13 managed it, however. The horror of Coley's novel is not one of outright violence or things jumping out at you; it's one of the mind. This book messes with your head, makes you imagine situations you've never considered. Angie suddenly appears after three years missing. She has no memory of that period, none at all. That is the most terrifying thing for me: all that time she can't remember, the idea that anything at all could have happened to her and she wouldn't know.

Throughout Pretty Girl-13, I was on the edge of my seat, filled with tension as Angie's story unravels. At no point did my interest wane or did I find the book boring. The revelations come fast and thick, keeping the reader at rapt attention. This is one of those books that I got so into, I disappeared at times, sucked completely into the book, flipping pages without conscious effort.

A couple of the secondary characters in Pretty Girl-13 really shine, and I want to give them a shout out, because the supporting cast generally doesn't get enough love. Kate, Angie's friend, is marvelous. She's totally at one with herself, accepting of her role as a social pariah and determined to make the best of it. Then there are the twins, Ali and Abraim, who date Kate and Angie. Oh my goodness, but they are so cute. Abraim is such a non-standard YA hero in pretty much every way, and I am so thrilled about the way their little romance is handled, though it is probably less than five percent of the story.

Angie herself is a bit trickier. For reasons that will become obvious when you read the book, or if you read the blurb, which I think is a bit spoilery, Angie's character is a bit inconsistent. The narrative style of Pretty Girl-13 does not help with connection to Angie's character. Coley uses third person, which is naturally distancing, and I felt it especially so here. On the other hand, the italicized sections were a well done device. Though I pity Angie and want the best for her, I never got a solid handle on her character, which is understandable, but kept me from engaging that last little bit.

I also feel like some aspects were oversimplified or made more dramatic for plot purposes. Though I can't speak about these directly because I don't want to spoil the story for you, I can say that Angie's recovery takes place to quickly. Her psychologist suggests that full recovery will take years and she's pretty close by the end of a few months. That seems highly unlikely to me, even given some of the extraneous circumstances.

Pretty Girl-13 is a knuckle-biting psychological thriller. I recommend it for mature readers who want a novel that pushes the boundaries of what YA novels can discuss. Readers who prefer lighter fare will want to look elsewhere. This one's intense. Like camping.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote:

"'You don't mince words, do you?' Angie said, a small piece of her innocence in tatters. She didn't want to give him up. He was a link, a bridge across the lost time.
     'I don't have to,' Kate replied. 'I'm already a leper. Gives me the freedom to be honest.'"

Audiobook Review: Earth Unaware

Earth Unaware
The First Formic War, Book 1

Authors: Orson Scott Card & Aaron Johnston
Narrators: Stefan Rudnicki, Stephen Howe, Arthur Morey, Vikas Adam, Emily Janice Card, Gabrielle de Cuir, Rozanne Hernandez
Duration: 13 hrs, 59 mins
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Source: Own

Description from Goodreads:
A hundred years before Ender's Game, humans thought they were alone in the galaxy. Humanity was slowly making their way out from Earth to the planets and asteroids of the Solar System, exploring and mining and founding colonies.

The mining ship El Cavador is far out from Earth, in the deeps of the Kuiper Belt, beyond Pluto. Other mining ships, and the families that live on them, are few and far between this far out. So when El Cavador’s telescopes pick up a fast-moving object coming in-system, it’s hard to know what to make of it. It’s massive and moving at a significant fraction of the speed of light. But the ship has other problems. Their systems are old and failing. The family is getting too big. There are claim-jumping corporates bringing Asteroid Belt tactics to the Kuiper Belt. Worrying about a distant object that might or might not be an alien ship seems…not important.

They're wrong. It's the most important thing that has happened to the human race in a million years. This is humanity's first contact with an alien race. The First Formic War is about to begin.

Review:

I've read Ender's Game two or three times, and I love it. Needless to say, the fact that it was getting a prequel series filled me with curiosity and trepidation in about equal measures. While finding out about first contact with the aliens could be interesting, Card could definitely much it all up with his asshole opinions. Turns out, though, that this was mostly neither. Card didn't assault me with a religious message, but this book also just was not that good.

The first chapters of Earth Unaware are simply interminable. I cannot for the life of me fathom why Card and Johnston thought that it would be an awesome idea to start the book the way they did. Up until the time the aliens make an appearance and the action scenes begin, this book was incredibly boring.

The entire novel is told in alternating third person limited. Most of the time, the narration follows three main characters: Victor, Lem, and Wit. However, interspersed between these are brief sections from the points of view of other characters. These I found a bit obnoxious, particularly when the novel lost the nice orderly method of starting a new chapter for each new perspective. Also annoying is the fact that Wit's storyline never really syncs up with the others, though I do know why he's included.

Alright, now that you have the gist of it, you need to hear about the first chapter. We begin with Victor, a teenager and accomplished mechanic.When we meet him, he is in the midst of all of the angst. He and his second cousin, Alejandra, have been accused of inappropriate feelings for one another, much too close for cousins. Because of their improper closeness, Alejandra is being zogged, married off to someone on another mining ship.

Victor at first whines about the unfairness of this accusation, pissed off that no one understands that they are but friends. Then, he thinks of a time when Alejandra gave him 'a look,' and decides that she did have feelings for him. As he continues to ponder this, he decides that he too loves her, and that she has been sent away for the best, and that he too must leave El Cavador, their family's mining vessel, sometime soon because he cannot get over her surrounded by memories of her. Also, I feel like they must be trying to make some sort of statement, since, otherwise, the same feeling could have been established without their being related.

That is the entire first chapter. Honestly, I have NO clue whether Card and Johnston want people to root for the two of them or to be disgusted at the thought of second cousins in love or what. Worse still, it became apparent that this incredibly unpleasant plot device had been put in place solely to up the melodrama of the novel. This gives everyone a reason to mope about and be sad and do stupid things in an attempt to find her. All they do with her character is kill her off, without the reader ever meeting her. Later in the book, Victor even realizes that he didn't love her like that after all, a revelation that incensed me even more after having had to listen to so much of his weepy angst over their separation.

Another thing that bothered me about this opening and the novel in general was the sexism. When charges were brought against the two, Alejandra was sent away from her home to be married off hastily as punishment, and Victor had no change in status, except for extra sympathy from some and anger from Alejandra's father. Really? Apparently, future humans do not believe in the strength of women at all, having regressed from the current climate. With the notable exception of El Cavador's captain and a teenage girl who works the eye (which watches for threats to the ship), the women all stick to traditional female roles, like parenting. None get to help defend the ship. Two strong female characters do not make up for suggesting that in the future most women will be forced back into a powerless role. Also, highlight for spoiler: both of the strong female characters, along with all the men, die because of the emotional decisions of the female captain.

Lem, too, is annoying; all of his sections consist of his bitching and moaning about his daddy issues. *yawns* Wit was my favorite perspective, but it felt like Card and Johnston continually forgot he was there. Much was made in his introduction of the recruitment of Mazer Rackham, a name I recognize from Ender's Game, though I do not remember the significance, but nothing else is made of him for the rest of the book, which is incredibly sloppy.

If, however, you feel compelled to read everything set in the Enderverse, then I recommend audio over print, because I definitely think I would have had to DNF the physical book.

Rating: 2/5

Narration:
Macmillan Audio procured an almost full cast for this production, using a different voice actor for the different third person perspectives. Most of them do a pretty good job, though I really think they could have chosen better voice actors in several cases and done a better job with accents. The worst casting error in my opinion was Victor. He's supposed to be a teenager, but the voice actor sounds much older. The crew of El Cavador is hispanic, but only some of the voice actors used an accent when reading. In the cast of accents, it should really be all or nothing.

The best narration was done by the guy who voiced Wit. He has this incredibly deep voice that perfectly matched the gruff soldier. However, he also was a whiz with accents and could change the depth of his voice to match the different characters. It seems as though the producers knew this guy was the best, because he, for some reason, voiced for two characters' perspectives, while everyone else just voiced one. Sure, one of them only had a very short section, but, still, couldn't they hire someone for that?

Rating: 3/5

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

You're All I Have - Snow Patrol

The Shadowed Sun
The Dreamblood, Book 2 

Author: N. K. Jemisin
Pages: 492
Publisher: Orbit
Source: From Orbit in exchange for an honest review

Description from Goodreads:
Gujaareh, the city of dreams, suffers under the imperial rule of the Kisuati Protectorate. A city where the only law was peace now knows violence and oppression. And nightmares: a mysterious and deadly plague haunts the citizens of Gujaareh, dooming the infected to die screaming in their sleep. Trapped between dark dreams and cruel overlords, the people yearn to rise up—but Gujaareh has known peace for too long.

Someone must show them the way.

Hope lies with two outcasts: the first woman ever allowed to join the dream goddess’ priesthood, and an exiled prince who longs to reclaim his birthright. Together, they must resist the Kisuati occupation and uncover the source of the killing dreams... before Gujaareh is lost forever.

First Sentence: "There were two hundred and fifty-six places where a man could hide within his own flesh."

Review:
I read book one of The Dreamblood, The Killing Moon, back at the end of April. My memory's pretty bad, so any sort of gap between books in a series can be dangerous, and when I started reading The Shadowed Sun, I had NO CLUE what was happening. I didn't recognize the characters, and nothing was what I remembered, except for the country and customs. So, just fyi, this book picks up TEN YEARS after book one. So, for once, it totally wasn't my issue. Also, that sounds critical, but, really, I'm fine with it, except that it would have been helpful to know beforehand, thus the me telling you.

Moving on, when I read book one, I really enjoyed the writing and was astounded by the world-building. The reason my rating wasn't higher was that I felt that there was a huge knowledge dump. There kind of had to be, but it was still rough. Well, you get your pay off for making it through all of that now. This one is all about the characters (new and old), and it has a much faster pace with much less telling. This one was an entirely absorbing read all the way through.

The world building continues to be completely epic. I am unsure whether you could read this book without reading The Killing Moon. Maybe, but you would definitely miss out on some things, since Jemisin doesn't do a quick summary of book one like some authors do in the early chapters. Anyway, though Jemisin has the bulk of the world built already from book one, she adds some more, and it is great. I loved the view into the 'barbarian' desert culture, the Banbarra. This was such a wonderful look at how complex societies are, and how hard they are to judge from outside.

Book one's big bad (well, one of them) was a Reaper, essentially a Gatherer gone bad. The Reaper was seriously horrifying, so I didn't expect Jemisin to top that, especially since she had the whole Civil War/colonization plot line going. Well, she did. The Shadowed Sun adds a plague that attacks people in their dreams, to which there appears to be no cure. The dream itself is terrifying, and how it came about is SERIOUSLY CREEPY. So yeah, Jemisin perfectly balances so many plot threads in here. Guys, it was just SO GOOD.

Although I did like the characters from the first book, I LOVE these new ones. They, too, are just so much more vibrant and interesting. Hanani really grows on you. At first, I was fooled, like everyone else, into believing that she was shy and weak. On the surface, she is. She's quiet and stutters when she talks. However, I should have seen the strength at her core underneath; a weak-willed woman does not become the first female Sharer, the first female in the Hetawa. I loved watching her grow into herself and become more confident. And, in the end, I loved her even more for having seen her overcome her discomfort in society and her fear of not being respected by her peers, and instead learned to be who she was, no matter what others thought or expected.

I also need to talk about Wanahomen. Oh. My. Wanahomen is one incredibly sexy hunk of man. I don't know what it is, but recently I've definitely had a bit of a thing for the bad boys in books. Wanahomen is a warrior, and he will do anything to win. He's not always a nice guy. And yet. There's something just so charismatic about him. Also, when the sexy bits happen (yes, there are sexy bits!), he's just...wow. Yeah. LOVE HIM!

Though I liked The Killing Moon, I didn't love it, and I didn't start telling everyone how they need to read it, because I wanted to wait and see how I felt about the next book. Well, now that I have, I am telling you that if you like epic fantasy YOU NEED TO READ THIS SERIES!!!

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite Quote: "‘Any woman can face the world alone, but why should we have to?’"

"There is a darkness deep in you
A frightening magic I cling to

Give me a chance to hold on
Give me a chance to hold on
Give me a chance to hold on
Just give me something to hold onto"

Maria - The Sound of Music

Angel Wars

Author: Miwa Ueda
Volumes: 4
Publisher: Not licensed in English; I read it on Mangafox

Description from Mangafox:
"Forgive me. I can't become a servant of the Lord yet," Maria says as she runs from her vows ceremony at the convent where she was orphaned 16 years ago. She has received another letter from the mysterious "G," her faceless benefactor. She is not as alone in the world as she thinks; "G" writes that she has a relative at Hakuhou Academy who is in need of her guidance, but he cannot tell her this relative's name. Trying to enroll and search the school presents Maria with a number of problems, however -- the foremost of which is: Hakuhou is an all boys school!

Review:
You know the stereotype of manga? How it's melodramatic and ridiculous and sometimes really uncomfortable? Well, a lot of times that makes me angry, but Angel Wars fits the stereotype PERFECTLY. The story involves: suspected incest, nuns, betrayal, kidnapping, kidnappers wearing bunny masks (yeah, that happens in more than one series) a fire, people in disguise, a jealous girl, a fight over an inheritance, and a creepy romance. Are you pumped to find out what's going to happen? Note that this review will be spoilerific, so, if for some reason, you want to read this, you should probably leave now and look at your life and your choices.

Angel Wars is not currently licensed in English, and I really hope that it never is, because it's a big pile of awful. This series is like Marmalade Boy meets Measure for Measure. Most people probably don't know what that means, but it is the truth!

So, as Angel Wars starts, we are introduced to a nun named Maria singing about the sound of music. No, wait. Wrong story. Pardon me. This Maria is an orphan, who has been left at a convent. She is planning to take orders and officially become a nun as soon as she is old enough. Her mysterious benefactor, who signs himself 'G' and she calls Gabriel because of the Bible, sends her a letter saying that she has a brother at a local school. She decides to go to the school to find him, even though it's a boys' school.

I have myriad issues with this premise. First of all, there's this G character, who has apparently been sending money to take care of her. She just runs right out at his word to go to this BOYS' school. No. Also, the mother superior is somehow able to get her into the school, even though that's obviously against the rules? What? It's also unclear how she expects to find her brother, since siblings often don't look alike.

Well, Maria goes to the school, where all of the boys love her and support her, because she's the only girl there is. She attends school wearing her habit. No joke. Of course, she meets a player, Abe, right at the beginning when she's leaving the convent. Then, it turns out that he lives at the same boarding house she does, because that's how life works. Enter girl with a hopeless crush on him to cause trouble/jealousy, and he reveals that, despite those compromising positions she saw him in, he is actually in love with Maria. Crushed girl may or may not have attempted suicide at being rejected in favor of a nun. Despite the melodramatic suicide note, people seem to be convinced that she took the sleeping pills by accident, having mistaken them for laxatives. Yes, THIS HAPPENS.

Then, Maria gets kidnapped by guys in bunny masks and is interrogated/slightly tortured in an outbuilding of the school. She manages to convince the henchmen to be nicer to her through her purity. Bunny mask leader (who she calls Cain) wants to know where the key is, but she swears she doesn't have one. Pissed off Bunny leader sets the building on fire. Abe, of course, finds her and gets her out of the building. However, some beams collapse just when they're almost clear, and Maria pushes him out of the way and they fall on her. She's totally fine, though, because clearly God loves her.

In all of that crazy shiz, Maria's cross breaks, revealing it to have a key inside. At about the same time, Gabriel sends her a photo which shows her with her parents. Abe, OF COURSE, is all 'that's my dad!' They finally recognize their mutual attraction, so, clearly, they should be siblings. He takes her to open his deceased father's secret box with her key. Inside, they find a watch. They determine based on this that they are definitely siblings and Abe says that's why they are so drawn to each other. No. Just no. This is not a thing.

The 'romance' makes me uncomfortable for more reasons than just the possibility of incest, which I'll talk about next. First of all, and this is the Measure for Measure issue, Maria wants to be a NUN. She has always wanted to be, but all of a sudden, she's willing to elope with the guy she believes to be her brother, because their love is too strong to be overcome. NO. Also, there really doesn't seem to be any reason for them to like each other. They don't have any good moments. There's no slow burn. It's instalove, although it takes a while to come out. When he confesses for real real, his reason for liking her is that she's 'pure,' because he hates most women for being ho-bags. GROSS. The day after they confessed, he had to go dump like every girl in school.

There are a surprising, and rather horrifying, amount of mangas that feature an incest plot line. A number of them are suspected incest, aka we might be siblings, which is also featured in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series (this is not just an Asian thing). I know that this can happen. Siblings can be separated and meet up later unknowing, and fall in love. What frustrates me no end about Angel Wars, TMI, and Marmalade Boy (as well as any others that do this) is the fact that the lovers learn that they just might possibly be siblings, so they mope about it. They live in this perpetual "I love you but I can't because we might be and wah wah wah." GO GET A DAMN BLOOD TEST AND BE DONE. There is no reason this should go on for chapters/volumes/books. NO EXCUSES.

Okay, this will be the longest review ever if I continue going into such detail, so let's just hit the highlights, shall we?

Maria meets a nice, clean cut boy while visiting Mother Superior at the hospital (because she's super old and there wasn't enough drama). She is freaking out about the 'we might be siblings' thing, so she wants to leave the boarding house, but isn't ready to return to the convent. The guy offers to let her stay at his house so she accepts, because, CLEARLY, this could IN NO WAY GO WRONG. While wandering around in his house, she finds the letterhead G writes on, and concludes that this guy is Gabriel-sama. Obviously, he is completely trustworthy.

Later, she finally makes up her mind to return to the convent, but she finds an old drunk man, who was at one point the groundskeeper at her school, outside the convent. She helps him home, cleans his house, and SLEEPS THERE. This girl is SO STUPID. Of course, old man turns out to be wealthy grandfather in disguise, the one whose inheritance everyone wants.

Maria decides to run off with Abe, because she loves him too much. Then, one of the nuns comes and kidnaps her, having seen Maria embracing a boy. Back at the convent, they lock Maria in a room (with bars on the window, because convents are also prisons) and prepare to force her to take orders. Because this is what nuns do in the modern age. Abe comes to the window and convinces her to break out by knocking over the nun who brings her dinner like a freaking linebacker.

Abe promised to be waiting when she got out, but he's not, because he gets hit by a car driven by evil bunny mask guys. Maria WEEPS BUCKETS, because obviously he does not love her. Gabriel appears, and Maria wonders nothing. They go to his house, where his crazy relatives try to steal her watch and rant about how it's the thing you need to prove you deserve the inheritance. Maria wonders nothing, because she's a BONEHEAD.

Maria gets a call, which informs her that Abe is in danger unless she comes and brings her watch. She shows her first bit of smartness by making them let her hear Abe. She runs out to the creepy closed carnival (Yup) to rescue him. Cain appears and takes the watch. Abe manages to fight just enough to knock off the mask, revealing (shock!) Gabriel with gelled hair! Gabriel = Cain! NO ONE SAW THIS TWIST COMING!

Caibriel ties Abe up and throws knives at him. Luckily, he clearly has carny training. Bored of this, Caibriel decides that she needs to be punished more (since clearly it's her fault that his dad loved Maria's mother more than his own), so he threatens to rape her. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? Bad siblings. Bad.

The truth comes out and she's declared the inheritor. She promptly TURNS IT OVER TO THE GUY WHO WANTED TO RAPE HER AND KILL HER BOYFRIEND. Then, she goes back to the convent because Mother Superior is conveniently at the brink of death AGAIN (Note: Mother Superior and grandpa were in love eons ago). Evil half brother gives her the inheritance back, because, again, that's what people do. Plus, he tells them that Abe and Maria aren't siblings. Abe's dad was some other dude, and their dad supported his mother later. Abe runs in to keep her from marrying Jesus, and they run out of the church like it's the end of The Graduate. Okay, not quite, but basically.

Angel Wars is one of the worst things I've ever read. Why did I read the whole thing? Partly so I could review it, because what what what was that, and partly because I've liked what I've read by this mangaka besides this. Ueda wrote Peach Girl and Papillon, both series I've enjoyed. Long story short, don't read this.

Rating: .5/5

"How do you solve a problem like Maria?"

Acoustic #3 - Goo Goo Dolls

Drifting House

Author: Krys Lee
Pages: 207
Review Copy Acquired from: Viking

Drifting House consists of nine short stories. All of them focus on Koreans or Korean-Americans. The topics of each short story vary greatly, as do the time in which they're set (from the 1970s to roughly the present), but they do have one thing in common. They are all about desperation, of one sort or another. These characters all yearn to be themselves, but are stifled one way or another, broken from the past or tradition or duty.

All of these stories are really, really sad. The writing style is simple, unornamented, which really seems to force the reader to focus more on the content. The pain these people feel is not dressed up in fancy syntax or diction; it's laid out in front of you for you to experience as well.

Having a chance to learn about another culture, the side I don't learn about from kdramas, is certainly eye-opening. For example, the story "The Salaryman" tells about a man who loses his job at a corporation during a serious down time in the economy. The man sends his family away to stay with his wife's relatives until he can find a job. In the meantime, he is a bum, begging for change, sleeping outside, and going to the unemployment office everyday. What kind of world is this? It's terrifying how one a corporation will lay people off for a profit margin and this is how things can end up.

The story I liked best was At the Edge of the World. The main character of that one is an incredibly bright young boy. I like his voice and his clever thoughts. They remind me somewhat of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Check out my tags for this post: all of those are subjects of one or more of the stories. Do not come to this book for happiness, because you will not find it; this is a book that looks at the darkest parts of life unflinchingly.

Rating: 3/5

"And I wonder where these dreams go
When the world gets in your way
What's the point in all this screaming?
No one's listening anyway"

Within You, Without You - The Beatles

A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Time Quintet, Book 3

Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Pages: 278
Publisher: Dell

This series seriously just gets stranger and stranger. In the third book in the series, L'Engle abandons her more scientific approach and goes instead for outright religious references and time travel, but not in a scientific way.

Let me go back. In between A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet, many years have passed. Meg and Calvin have married; Calvin is eminent in his studies, and Meg, having abandoned her excellent mathematical intelligence is pregnant with her first child.

The crisis of the book is brought forward at the opening when Mr. Murry receives a call from the President, asking for his help because a dictator, Mad Dog Branzillo, is threatening nuclear war. Mom O'Keefe, who came for Thanksgiving dinner, remembers a rune (essentially a prayer or phrase imbued with magic powers), which saves them from nasty weather (an over the top metaphor for impending doom). She gives this rune to Charles Wallace, and tells him he needs to stop Mad Dog.

He goes out to the star-watching rock to think about this, kything with Meg the whole time. There he meets a unicorn, whose mission it is to travel with him through time, which unicorns born from eggs can do by the way. They hop around randomly in time, and, at almost every time, Charles Wallace has to go 'within' a person there, which means that he can see things through there eyes and have a small impact on what they're doing. Basically, he just says the rune in all of the important places, so that he can make everything happy again.

Way to make a unicorn lame, Madeleine L'Engle. Also, what is with this rune business? Deus ex rune. Ugh. It is evident that L'Engle believes not in Christianity precisely, or, at least, not in Christianity as it is commonly worshiped. However, it is all bound up in her writing. This whole book is built around a family, who through generations have been reliving Cain and Abel. Lovely, I know.

Actually, that's not quite right. More like, two families who kept doing this, and the end result of their line was this Mad Dog Branzillo character. Of course, maybe that's because these two families kept intermarrying. I think the message I was supposed to get from this book was something about peace and goodness, but all I really got was that incest makes for badness, which I already fully believed.

When I was younger, I remember having loved the first book. I thought Meg and Calvin had this completely epic romance. They were one of the best couples in fiction, I think I thought at one point. Now, I have no idea why. There was only the slightest hint of romance in the first books. Then in book three they're married and pregnant. What the heck is that? Why would you skip the best freaking parts, L'Engle? And why can't Meg use her smarts that you spent the first two books proving she had?

Suffice it to say that I will not be reading Many Waters. It's been kind of fun revisiting these, but they're definitely not what I thought they were, which is another kind of entertaining. So sad when books are not nearly so good when read through the eyes of an adult. I really need to do a top ten list for that. :-P

Rating: 1.5/5

"We were talking
About the love that's gone so cold
And the people who gain the world
And lose their soul
They don't know, they can't see
Are you one of them?

When you've seen beyond yourself
Then you may find
Peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come
When you see we're all one
And life flows on within you and without you"

Kingdom of the Animals - Iron & Wine

Wolf Captured
Firekeeper Saga, Book 4

Author: Jane Lindskold
Pages: 709
Publisher: Tor

Brief Summary:
Firekeeper, Blind Seer and Derian have been captured by mysterious people. They are being sailed to some country they have never heard of, where they do not know the language. In this land, the people worship animals, particularly those of what Firekeeper calls the Royal kind. Animals and people live in harmony, all subscribing to the same religion of the elements. Having heard of Firekeeper, they want to know if she can interface more clearly with the deities.

Review:
If you've read my reviews for the previous books in the series, you probably know that I've been really struggling with these books. While the ideas have been interesting, the execution has been too long and lacking in enough action or drama to keep the pages turning swiftly. The books are slow, rather unsatisfying reads. In some ways, this one was better and in others worse.

First, the better. I really liked the change in setting, although I found the kidnapping scenario a bit far-fetched, given that the two countries had barely even heard of one another. How does word of such a specific nature get there and yet the Liglimom have no idea about Hawk Haven generally. Absurd!

Still, I loved getting to learn more about the animals. The religion they practiced was, to my agnostic brain, ridiculous, but still quite interesting. I found this book going a bit faster than the others, since my childhood love of animals spurred me on.

Unfortunately, the weak points of the other books are still here. Even though this book has romance, it failed to satisfy. Most worryingly is the love between wolf and human, which is now specifically referenced as being of a romantic variety. Yeah, unless they can work something out that is so not okay. Plus, Lindskold decided to curtail the one successful romance of the novel with a Whedon-esque no one can be happy moment.

I missed some of the other characters and hope the momentum gathered in some of this book will continue. However, I fear that I will have to suffer through more about Queen Valora of the Isles.

Note: I made it 250 pages into the next book, Wolf Hunting, and finally gave up on this series. It is not for me.

"Just where heaven calls
The kingdom of the animals
Scratching our heads
Where the wolf would go to lay"

Falling In - Lifehouse

Marmalade Boy

Author: Wataru Yoshizumi
Volumes: 8
Publisher: Tokyopop

Brief Summary:
Miki's parents go on a holiday and, upon arriving home, declare that they are divorcing and marrying other people, also a married couple until this holiday. They are swapping spouses and the two families will live together in one house as one big happy family. Miki is, at first, extremely opposed to this admittedly ludicrous plan and expects, Yuu, the son of the other former couple, to be just as put out as she is. When he's not, she starts to think maybe it is best to just let her parents be happy, even if the situation is somewhat unconventional. An even bigger problem soon arises in her attraction to Yuu, since her mother warned her not to fall for him...

Review:
For the most part, Marmalade Boy is a sweet shoujo romance series, of the kind I have come to expect from Wataru Yoshizumi. She is one of my preferred mangakas, although not exactly a favorite as a couple of her series really annoy me. Still, she has a really cute art style, likable characters and a fun sense of humor. That is true of this series, however the overarching plot line just makes me so mad. If you want to know why, keep readind, but be aware that there are SPOILERS ahead.

I have read a lot of manga, so I am aware of a lot of the common themes and, from this, I know that the Japanese really love tales of forbidden love. For example, manga plots about student/teacher romances and brother/sister romances are very popular. Both of these are found in Marmalade Boy. Neither is a plot line I particularly enjoy. The former is done with a touch of class, I think, and feels as un-creepy as such a thing can, largely because of the serious maturity of the female student involved.

Sometimes the brother/sister thing is just step siblings, as appears to be the case at the outset of Marmalade Boy. This is somewhat taboo, what with having their names on the same family register, but is totally fine from a genetic standpoint. In Marmalade Boy, Yuu and Miki come to suspect that they may actually be related to one another by blood (half siblings). In response to this, they break up, but then decide that they cannot bear being apart, so they will marry anyway (since they're not legally considered siblings).

Excuse me? Why would anyone ever do that? They're not sure if they're related, but they just go with that assumption. This whole plot line could have been easily nipped at the bud had they just gone to get a blood test. How hard is that? I mean, I hate needles and avoid them when I can, but, for this, I'm pretty sure I would be more than willing to get stabbed with one. Come on, people, use your brains!

So yeah, not my favorite of hers, but you should definitely check out some of the others. Oh, and in case you're curious about the title, it's a reference to Yuu and how he seems sweet but is a little bit bitter once you get to know him, like marmalade.

"Everytime I see your face
My heart takes off on a high speed chase
Now don't be scared, it's only love
Baby, that we're falling in"