Holy Scorpio Races trailer, Batman!

Holy bleeping shizz, you guys. I just watched the trailer for The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater for the first time. Allow me to pick my jaw up off the floor.

As you might remember, I'm a little wary of book trailers, but every once in awhile one comes along that reminds me that these things can sell books. Maggie Stiefvater fangrrl that I am, I was already psyched for The Scorpio Races. Looking at the length of my to-buy list, though, I had decided I could wait until my birthday to have it. (Five loooong months away.)

After seeing that trailer? There is now way I'm going to make it to my birthday. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm going to pre-order a signed copy right now.

Even more awesome? Maggie Stiefvater is holding a giant ARC giveaway contest! I can't even take it, guys. Check out the blurb:

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

I'm not even sure if I'm going to make it until October. *dies*

Mini-reviews: The Luxe and Please Don't Kill the Freshman

These books have absolutely nothing in common except for the fact that they're both older releases and it seems pointless give them a full review. Surprise, surprise, I have some thoughts on them anyway, so mini-reviews it is!

The Luxe by Anna Godberson
Goodreads | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

• Why I read it: YA Historical Fiction Challenge, girls in pretty dresses
• Disclosure: Swapped a copy on Paperback Swap.

Summary:

In the self-contained world of young Gilded Age Manhattan socialites, Elizabeth and Diana Holland reign supreme. Or so it seems. Scratch the surface, though, and you can detect festering jealousies that threaten to topple them. Elizabeth suffers a more literal fall when her carriage overturns and she is carried away by the swift East River current. That's only the beginning of the action and suspense in The Luxe, the launch volume in a teen series by Anna Godbersen.

Review:

In a word: saccharine. This book was so sweet it made my teeth ache, and not in an awww-so-cute way. More in a please, for the love of YA, make it stop sort of way. Every single character read the same, not a single love story read true, and every plot twist read as cliche. (Beautiful society girls who have run out of money and must find rich suitors? Wasn't that the exact premise of Titanic, too?)

I can see why these books are so popular, and they do make great escapist fantasies. Call me too serious about this sort of thing and I'd probably agree with you. But I'm sick and tired of reading about spoiled, stupid, vapid little rich girls whose problems I find laughable. When I first requested this book on Paperback Swap, I thought I'd be getting at least a little bit of irony or commentary on the Gilded Age. Instead, I got a fantasy world that just happened to have enough fluffy historical details to make it fit into an educational category. If you couldn't tell, I won't be picking up the rest of the series anytime soon. Two out of five stars.

Please Don't Kill the Freshman by Zoe Trope
Goodreads | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

• Why I read it: High school nostalgia, angsty verse
• Disclosure: Bought a copy secondhand. Yay!

Summary:

I wrote a story about you. Well, sort of, see, it's mostly about me. Well, entirely about me, but here's the catch: I'm you. No, really, I mean it. Not like that transcendentalism stuff we're learning in English class, but really, truly, I'm you. I know what it feels like when your heart beats so hard against your white bone ribs, when you sing in the shower with soap in your eyes, when you run until you get a side ache. I wrote this story about you because I am so in love with you, your broken-fence teeth and your tissue-paper scars. I love you when you're so exhausted it could topple you to the ground, so in love it could snap guitar strings, so sickly sweet it could make lips smile. This is a reckless love story. This is my shameless confession.

Review:

The first time I read this book, I was twelve. Not surprisingly, it terrified me. This book is crude. This book is bizarre. The earnest angst is painful. But it's fascinating, too. I re-read my own journal entries from ages 13-15 (and, to be honest, even from this year), and despite my attempts to avoid the wallowing and the apathetic daze that seems to come along with the high school years whether you're homeschooled or not, and realize that I'm conveying the same feelings.

I'm not sure whether it's comforting that my high school experience has been so mirrored by someone else's - doesn't everyone want to know that they're not alone? - or frustrating - doesn't everyone, secretly, want to be the only one who's ever experienced something? Either way, if you want to get inside a teenager's head, this book is the way to do it. Four out of five stars.

Waiting on Wednesday: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

In addition to the return of IMMs here at the Bookshelf, I've decided to bring back WoW on an irregular basis. Sometimes I just can't keep quiet about the book blogger buzz! Waiting on Wednesday is a meme about books we're dying to read, hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine. And my pick for this week is...

...Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

I haven't read a good urban fantasy in forever, which is a shame, because done right it's one of my absolute favorite of the speculative fiction sub-genres. This one looks especially fantastic because, hello, it's set in Prague! And apparently Marrakesh, too. Both cities I find lovely and fascinating and would love to visit, and best of all, both cities not to be found in the U.S. or Western Europe. Don't get me wrong, I love my NYC and London urban fantasy, but there are only so many ways to write about a city and I'm so excited to see an author doing something different. Also. THE COVER. Holy smokes, that cover. I usually hate seeing faces on covers (especially the alabaster-pale ones), but the mask and the eye and the font make this one too pretty to ignore.

Now that you've read my pick, what's yours? Feel free to leave your links in the comments, and happy reading!

Review: Dragon Chica

Dragon Chica by May-lee Chai
Goodreads | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

• Why I read it: coming of age stories, literary, immigration/emigration
• Disclosure: received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

Goodreads blurb:

Nea, a Chinese-Cambodian teenager, flees to Texas as a refugee from the Khmer Rouge regime when a miracle occurs. Although her family has been struggling to support itself, they discover that a wealthy aunt and uncle have managed to make it to America as well. Nea and her family rush to join their relatives and help run a Chinese restaurant in Nebraska. But soon Nea discovers their miracle is not what she had expected. Family fights erupt. Then the past – and a forbidden love– threaten to tear them all apart.
     Dragon Chica follows Nea, an indomitable character in the tradition of Holden Caulfield, Scout Finch and Jo March, as she fights to save her family and herself.

Review:

I'm starting to realize I hate it when people use the word "important" to describe a YA book. As in, "this is an important book." It sounds condescending. It sounds stiff. It sounds moralistic. And, like I said, I hate it. But I'm going to say it anyway, because there's nothing else that seems to fit: Dragon Chica is an important book. An unusual one. A beautiful one. And one well worth reading.

Usually when I say a book is slow, I mean it as a bad thing; usually it is. It took me two weeks to finish Dragon Chica, and I'd be lying if I said it never felt like a drag. The book starts when Nea is in middle school, ends with her going off to college, and is padded with frequent flashbacks in between. There are a great deal of subplots that could have - and maybe should have - been cut. Yet looking back, I find it hard to imagine Nea's story told any other way than the slow, complex way it is. It's not technically YA, but it seems to be marketed as such, and that strikes me as odd. Not that YA can't be slow and complex, but those qualities are so dominating in Dragon Chica that it feels more like literary fiction than anything else: more White Oleander than Judy Blume or John Green.

Nea's voice is arresting and unforgettable, and even when I felt adrift in purple prose I had to admit it was very, very beautiful purple prose. Gems like -

"I climbed into bed beside my sister, pulling the sheets up to my chin, as I shivered, so cold, as though I had swallowed all that moonlight and it had turned my blood to ice."

 - simultaneously made me want to roll my eyes and gasp at how perfectly Chai had grasped a sensation. Every word of this book felt alive to me. One thing I've seen a rash of in recent YA releases is bad metaphors and similes; you could call the metaphors in Dragon Chica excessively deployed, but I don't think there was a single one you could call bad.

Beyond the writing and as for the story itself, I found myself of a similar dual opinion: on one hand a little frustrated, on the other completely captivated. There doesn't seem to be a story arc. There are no immediate goals or gratification; something that I think most critics and critique groups (especially within the YA community) would call out immediately. We're watching a girl grow up through her own eyes. She gets bullied on the playground. She misunderstands both her sister and her mother, but most of all her aunt and uncle. Her first sexual experience is so cold and detached I struggled to read it. There's a final revelation that left me reeling, even though it wasn't entirely unexpected. I'm not really sure what else to say. This is life put into words; that's about it. I think it's beyond a simple good/bad quantification.

Let me repeat that: this book is beyond a simple good/bad quantification. It's beyond a simple enjoyed/didn't enjoy. There are two kinds of things I really like to see done in YA (and any genre): genre done to a T, and genre rethought. Dragon Chica falls into the second category, and I'm too happy to see that to criticize it.

Actually, that's not true. I will criticize it for one thing: the title. I love the cover, but the title makes me cringe. I think something a lot more evocative and telling of the story could have been found fairly easily, and every time I associate the title Dragon Chica with this book I cringe a little inside.

But that's minor. Dragon Chica told a story I've never seen told, or even heard mentioned in passing. (Yet another refugee crisis that isn't well known in the U.S.? Can't say I'm really surprised.) It told an important story. And to that I say, bravo, May-lee Chai. I'm not sure I'll be diving back in for re-reads, but I certainly won't be forgetting it anytime soon. Four out of five stars.

Interview and blog tour: Ernessa T. Carter

Remember that review I posted, if my Blogger schedule works right, exactly one minute ago? The one for Ernessa T. Carter's 32 Candles, a.k.a. the book I said I wanted to marry? The one I can't link to because I'm kind of sort of scheduling this the day before so I'm not going to have to scramble for free wi-fi at the hospital?

Yeah. That one.

Anyway, I'm pretty darn psyched to announce that as part of the paperback blog tour, I not only got the chance to read and review 32 Candles, which is one of my favorites of 2011, but to interview the fabulous author and Fierce and Nerdy blogger Ernessa T. Carter!

---

The first thing that captured me about 32 Candles was Davie’s voice—no matter what was happening her life, even when it was horrible, I loved how I could always count on her to find something funny in the situation. How easily (or not) did that come to you to write?

Well, one of the few things that Davie and I have in common is that we think there’s humor to be found in even the most horrible situations. In many ways, this was the easiest aspect of the book, seeing the “humorous lining” comes naturally to me. 

I also loved how Davie’s life was far from the “perfect” romantic heroine’s, but just as exciting and fun to read about. (I finished it in a single sitting!) Because it’s so different from what’s out there already, were you ever worried about how 32 Candles would be received?

Yes. At one point, I felt like it was too strange. I thought, who would want to read a book about a really weird black girl who’s obsessed with Molly Ringwald movies? But I loved the story, so I kept on writing. 

And I'm so glad that you did! 

 

On the surface, Davie and I have very little in common, so I was surprised when I found myself empathizing with her so deeply as a character. Did you have an audience for 32 Candles in mind when you wrote it, and what has reader response been like?

I wrote it for an audience of one: me, with vague thoughts that hopefully other dark-skinned black women would appreciate seeing one of us featured in a romantic comedy – this so rarely happens. What’s funny is that both white and black readers are forever telling me that they having nothing in common with Davie, but enjoyed the book anyway. I usually have absolutely nothing in common (save gender and/or skin color) with the characters that I read about, so I don’t really “get” this comment. Isn’t that the point of reading? To escape into someone else’s world? 

Reader response has been so lovely, though. I love that I’m hearing from people across the color spectrum.

Great point! I hadn't thought of it that way before, but you're absolutely right. I think you'd have a hard time coming up with things readers have in common with your average vampire or werewolf, too. xD

I’m part of the PoC (People of Color) Reading Challenge this year, which I’m loving—I’m finding so many fantastic books I might never have discovered otherwise. One thing I’m noticing, though, is that very few of books with protagonists of color (or of any diverse group) are funny, or romantic, or anything other than a serious “issue” book. While you do tackle some “issues” in 32 Candles—I especially loved Davie’s attitude about hair relaxers, since as a blonde, white teen, that was something I knew nothing about—it was so different from most of the PoC lit I’ve seen out there. Was it a conscious decision on your part to write a romantic comedy instead of a “serious” novel, or was that just Davie’s story from the start? (Apologies for the longest lead-up to a question in Maggie’s Bookshelf interview history!)

Yes, it was a conscious decision. While I adore black lit, I felt that there were stories being left untold, especially where dark-skinned black women were concerned. It was really weird for me to read all of these aggressively sad, heavy books about dark-skinned black women (many of which weren’t actually written by dark-skinned black women), as a relatively happy black woman. I wanted to revisit the sad sack black woman trope and tell a different story. 

Definitely!

Okay, now for some sillier questions: which 32 Candles character do you think you’re the most like? Who would you most like to invite to a dinner party?

I don’t have much in common with any of the characters, but I will say that I feel closest to Nicky. He’d definitely get my dinner party invite. 

Nicky cracked me up. I wish I had an ex that awesome!

 

How much of 32 Candles was inspired by real events, either in your life or from people’s stories you’ve heard? And were/are BunnyGrams ever a real thing? Because, seriously, if my family is reading this, that would be the best birthday present EVER.

More than most stories, 32 CANDLES, is completely made up. I would totally love to receive a Soul BunnyGram, too, though.

Note to self: Soul BunnyGrams = seriously awesome entrepreneurial business idea.

Do you and Davie share a love of John Hughes movies? How did they find their way into so much of the story?

Yes, we do. The story started percolating after I read the screenplay for Sixteen Candles while I was abroad, teaching English as a Second Language in Japan. As I was reading the screenplay, I remembered seeing that movie for the first at the age of seven and thinking that it was a true representation of what high school would be like for me. Reading the screenplay many years later got me to wondering about what would have happened if I’d continued thinking that high school would be like a John Hughes movie past the age of 12 … and that’s how the story was born. 

I had a similar reaction to Ferris Bueller's Day Off when I was younger. It was a sad day when I realized how low the likelihood of my best friend's dad having a 1961 Ferrari GT California for me to conveniently "borrow" for the day was!

 

And, finally: what can you tell us about your future projects? Any YA novels in the pipeline? (Pretty please!)

 

I’m busily rewriting my second women’s fiction novel, THE AWESOME GIRL’S GUIDE TO DATING EXTRAORDINARY MEN. I would so love to write a YA novel someday, though. We’ll see…

Hooray!

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If 32 Candles is anything to go by, The Awesome Girl's Guide is going to be epic. I can't wait!

I'm the last stop on 32 Candles' tour, but be sure to go back and check out the other stops! You can find a complete list here. You can find Ernessa on Twitter (@ErnessaTCarter), at the 32 Candles website, and, of course, at Fierce and Nerdy.

Thank you so much, Ernessa!

Review: 32 Candles

32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter
Goodreads | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

• Why I read it: swoony times, ugly duckling stories, PoC Reading Challenge
• Disclosure: Received a copy as part of the 32 Candles blog tour. Thanks!

Goodreads blurb:

Davie—an ugly duckling growing up in small-town Mississippi—is positive her life couldn’t be any worse. She has the meanest mother in the South, possibly the world, and on top of that, she’s pretty sure she’s ugly. Just when she’s resigned herself to her fate, she sees a movie that will change her life—Sixteen Candles. But in her case, life doesn’t imitate art. Tormented endlessly in school with the nickname "Monkey Night," and hopelessly in unrequited love with a handsome football player, James Farrell, Davie finds that it is bittersweet to dream of Molly Ringwald endings. When a cruel school prank goes too far, Davie leaves the life she knows and reinvents herself in the glittery world of Hollywood—as a beautiful and successful lounge singer in a swanky nightclub.
Davie is finally a million miles from where she started—until she bumps into her former obsession, James Farrell. To Davie’s astonishment, James doesn’t recognize her, and she can’t bring herself to end the fantasy. She lets him fall as deeply in love with her as she once was with him. But is life ever that simple? Just as they’re about to ride off into the sunset, the past comes back with a vengeance, threatening to crush Davie’s dreams—and break her heart again.
With wholly original characters and a cinematic storyline, 32 Candles introduces Ernessa T. Carter, a new voice in fiction with smarts, attitude, and sassiness to spare.

Review:

Sometimes a book doesn't need to shake up my world to make an impression on me. Sometimes it just needs to make me smile. At least, that's the conclusion I've drawn after finishing 32 Candles, which made me smile more than any book (adult or YA) I've read in recent memory, and has charmed its way straight into a permanent place on my bookshelf.

In the wake of books like The Help by Kathryn Stockett (which I personally thought was disappointing after all the hype), there's been a lot of discussion about whether books that deal with racism and racial identity can be or should be breezy and lightweight and funny. And yeah, in the case of The Help, which was written by a white woman, and whose movie is directed by a white man, maybe that's a discussion that needs to happen. But every time I read a book like 32 Candles, I'm reminded why we need more breezy and lightweight and funny books that deal with those issues: because those are the books that I think are ultimately going to make a difference. Those are the books that make people care.

I can't imagine anyone not caring about 32 Candles' protagonist, Davidia/Davie Jones. She's smart, funny, sweet and sharp in all the right ways, and someone I would love to meet in real life. We watch her grow up from a sad little kid with issues to a fierce adult with issues she works through in hilarious, delightful ways. I had more fun with this book than I've had with a book in forever. Maybe than I've had with a book, ever. I laughed out loud. I cringed. I cried. I didn't want it to end. It made me rethink my general dislike for romantic comedy, which is one of the highest compliments I could ever give a book.

I did have a few quibbles with it (when do I not?): the ending focused on things I didn't really care about, I wasn't so sure how I felt about the midway big reveal. But as I've said time and time again, I don't need a flawless book. I just need a book that's got the sort of je nais se quoi that makes me willing to forgive the flaws. And 32 Candles has je nais se quoi in spades.

In short, I really, really loved this book. I could freaking marry this book. I don't care what you normally read - literary fiction, Harlequin romances, nonfiction, science fiction, adult, YA - you will find something to love about this book. If you're trying to convert a friend to YA, this is an especially perfect read, because it's technically adult (and has some seriously sexy times) but also has enough teen longing to make the hardest of the hardcore YA-haters weep for more.

Do I need to spell it out for you? Just read it! Five out of five stars.

In My Mailbox #24

I know, I know, I said I'd be bringing back In My Mailbox a month ago. Then I got a frigging concussion. DON'T JUDGE ME. This will be my first IMM post in a good long time, and I won't be recapping everything I've received since then, but I'm excited to share for this week and the future.

*hugs IMM* ZOMG I MISSED THIS SO MUCH.

Anyway, as I'm sure you know (but it bears repeating anyway), In My Mailbox is a meme about books bought, borrowed, and otherwise legally received hosted by the fabulous Kristi of The Story Siren. Rock on! This week I was the lucky recipient of...

Galleys/finished copies for review: 

My Beginning by Melissa Kline (Goodreads) 

 E-galleys/e-books for review: 

Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong by Joan Steinau Lester (Goodreads)

The Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees (Goodreads)

Catalyst by Marc Johnson (Goodreads)

Morning Rising by Samantha Boyette (Goodreads)

I'm actually kind of sad that I received Black, White, Other as an e-book, because it has one of my favorite covers I've seen this year. Simple. Clean lines. Looks like it evokes the book pretty well. J'ADORE, PUBLISHERS. J'ADORE.

 

The blurb's awesome, too: 

Identity Crisis.As a biracial teen, Nina is accustomed to a life of varied hues---mocha-colored skin, ringed brown hair streaked with red, a darker brother, a black father, a white mother. When her parents decide to divorce, the rainbow of Nina's existence is reduced to a much starker reality. Shifting definitions and relationships are playing out all around her, and new boxes and lines seem to be getting drawn every day.Between the fractures within her family and the racial tensions splintering her hometown, Nina feels caught in perpetual battle. Feeling stranded in the nowhere land between racial boundaries, and struggling for personal independence and identity, Nina turns to the story of her great-great-grandmother's escape from slavery. Is there direction in the tale of her ancestor? Can Nina build her own compass when landmarks from her childhood stop guiding the way?

Hope it turns out to be as excellent as it sounds. And now it's sound-off in the comments time! What did you receive this week? Please share, and I'd also love some feedback as to whether or not I should start doing vlogs as part of my IMM. I haven't particularly enjoyed vlogging when I've tried it in the past, and it might be difficult because most of what I receive are e-books, but hey. Trying new things makes my world go 'round. Let me know what you think, and hope you had a fabulous bibliophiliac week!