Double Review, sort of: Lament and Ballad

Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
Goodreads | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble
YA, Paranormal Romance, 325 pages, Flux

Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater
Goodreads | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble
YA, Paranormal Romance, 352 pages, Flux

• Why I read them: Homicidal faeries, Celtic music, swoon, kilts!
• Disclosure:  Checked out both from my local library. (Huzzah!)

I can't even give either of these a proper review, my thoughts are so complicated. Bear with me. I am subjecting you to my ramblings anyway.

YA writers everywhere: are you thinking of writing a sort-of creepy faerie romance where the faerie in the relationship is hundreds of years older than the human and also falls in love with them instantly and also stalks them while they sleep? Don't, please, because there is only one author, ever, who can write this kind of story and still have my undying swimfan devotion.

Maggie Stiefvater's prose--on the purple side, sweet nearly to sickly--should not win me over, but it does. Her stories--sweet again, where love is instant and deep and just works--should have me with my guard up. But they don't. I am, in fact, always surprised at how much I love her prose and stories, and Lament and Ballad are no exception.

Lament is far rougher than Ballad around the edges--Luke is a lot more hollowly hunky than any faerie assassin should be, because I want more tension, dammit, and Deidre is a sap, despite grrrl's badass harp and singing skills--and is unabashedly an insta-love story a la Twilight. I could see all these things, but it didn't stop me from being utterly sucked in, and not putting the book down until 1:00 am on a school night.

I enjoyed Ballad, told from the perspective of Deidre's best friend James, even more. It's so rare to see a love triangle between a guy and two girls in YA, and I was rooting for James the whole way through (who, incidentally, was easily the sexiest guy in either book, mostly due to gratuitous kilt-wearing and bagpipe-playing). Nuala was sweet and dangerous all at the same time; clearly the precursor to Isabel in the Shiver trilogy. Also there is a fabulous English teacher. I like fabulous English teachers. I have had three.

In short, I liked these just as much as I have liked all of Stiefvater's work, which is to say a lot. She captures the savage edge of Faerie perfectly while telling sweet and shivery romances besides. I'd recommend them, but they won't exactly make converts of non-Stiefvater fans as The Scorpio Races is reportedly doing all over the damn place. (Christmas and its recursive bookshop gift cards can't come soon enough, folks.)

Seriously, though, YA writers? Don't get any ideas. Insta-romance will still make me hate you forever, unless your name is Maggie. Because Maggies are magical.

Lament and Ballad are available now.

Waiting on Wednesday: Black Heart

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme I participate in on-and-off about books we just can't wait for, hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine. Don't forget to comment and link your post to this week's Mr. Linky!

This week I'm waiting on...

Black Heart by Holly Black. (Link to Goodreads.)

What can I say? I just re-watched Rian Johnson's neo-noir Brick for the 234587098th time. I love the idea of a high school noir, and this series feels like my own special YA drug. (Check out my rave reviews of series predecessors White Cat and Red Glove if you don't believe me.)

Even better news? Rumor has it that Black Heart got a cover redesign from this, which I find frankly awful:

To this, which looks a little Beautiful Creatures but is a significant improvement:

Maybe that's just the Canadian cover? I'm not sure. (I got the news from this post on Midnight Bloom Reads.) Either way, it's still a far cry from the UK covers for this series, which are beyond beautiful:

Publishers, make the amazing happen on my US shelves. PRETTY PLEASE.

Anyway, check out the Goodreads summary for Black Heart:

Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.
But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves about to take her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.

Can you believe we have to wait till April???

ALAN 2011: Disappointing news for me.

First, look at this schedule. Scroll down most of the way to the bottom, to Session 2.02: Teen book bloggers forge a new reviewing model. Look at the names of the presenters: Lyn Miller-Lachmann (author of Gringolandia and also one of my favorite guests posts to ever go live on the blog), Ari Valderrama (of Reading in Color, one of my favorite book blogs), and Edi Campbell (of the blog Crazy Quilts, who is also a pretty fantastic librarian).

Also Maggie Desmond-O'Brien. Of Bibliophilia - Maggie's Bookshelf. Me. Here. Writing this now.

Unfortunately, in the latest installment of getting-sick-sucks-guys that is my life, I am no longer a presenter on that panel. In light of a joint decision by parents, doctors, and myself, I will not be attending ALAN 2011 in Chicago at all.

Yes. Getting sick sucks. Call me melodramatic (and I am), but I feel like my heart is breaking a little. A lot. Read that schedule again. Look at the line-up. I can't believe I'm missing this.

There is a bright side, though, namely that the panel is sure to be fantastic. You should go. I will be answering some questions by email, and Lyn has graciously included some screenshots of my blog and some info about my background in the presentation.

My fellow panelists have also agreed (very graciously) to pick up some signed books for me, which is wonderful. I have the best fellow panelists in the world.

None of that quite makes up for not attending an event that has been a year in the planning for me. I'm really, really devastated and sad. But I know I've made the right decision so I can get back to normal health-wise as quickly as possible, as much as this sucks.

I also know - pssssst - that an NYC trip may be in the works come May. I'd love to finally make it back to the Book Blogger Convention, as well as attend Teen Author Carnival and Book Expo America for the first time. So, I'm looking up, and hope to meet all of the lovely authors, bloggers, and writerly folks I'd made plans with at ALAN sometime soon.

Now, would that make a fantastic graduation present or what?

Middle Grade Monday: BFF Breakup

Middle Grade Monday is an on-again, off-again weekly feature in which I bring in a real-live middle grader--in this case my younger sister, Ellie--to discuss the books the younger crowd is reading. This week, Ellie discusses a book she didn't like so much: BFF Breakup by Taylor Morris. Take it away, Ellie!

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BFF Breakup by Taylor Morris
Middle Grade, Contemporary, 240 pages, Aladdin
Goodreads | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble


Best friends forever? Well...   Brooke and Madeline have been best friends since they first met. Nothing could possibly change that, right?   Except maybe middle school. As Brooke and Madeline encounter new challenges, suddenly their friendship isn't looking so good.

This is not my kind of book at all, shallow, young girls being mean to each other. I had to many  time tell my self to NOT put the book down, I am amazed that I got through it. The characters were really very shallow and downright mean. I will not be rereading this book again. Do I need to say any more?

Final Grade: D-


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Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it, Ellie, and hope to see you next week!

P.S. from Maggie: Why is it middle grade books always get the best sweet and quirky illustrated covers, publishers? Inquiring YA minds want to know!