March 2012 - Winged Reviews

reviewer: Daphne March 30th, 2012 Contemporary, Review, Young Adult

Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Author: Shelley Coriell
Publisher: Amulet Books
Published: May 2012
299 pages

Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amulet Books for providing an advanced copy for review!

Popular girl Chloe Camden suddenly found that her life got a whole lot more difficult. Her best friends won’t talk to her, the rest of the school avoid her and she’s stuck doing a project she doesn’t want to. Armed with silly metaphors, a positive attitude and her feisty grandma, Chloe manages to get through it all and come out better. The novel, a first by Shelley Coriell, is a sweet debut with a lot of heart.

“Queen of the Universe” Chloe is a firecracker. She was quirky, cool, confident, but still vulnerable. The way her ex-BFFs Brie and Mercedes treated her made me sympathetic. She’s a very open person who wears her emotions on her sleeve, although sometimes this makes her seem self-centered. But her love of vintage shoes and mexican food (that recipe for tamales de dulce will definitely come in handy) more than makes up for it.

I also really enjoyed the contrast between her and the quiet, reserved Duncan Moore, the one guy at the radio station who she seemed to immediately connect with. Their relationship eventually evolved into something more, and it was really sweet how they were both supportive during tough times they had to face. That said, it was sometimes hard to feel connected to Duncan and his problems because of his tendency to be a bit of a loner. Out of The Edge radio crew, Clementine, with her grumpy attitude and love of radishes was a definite stand out.

The best parts of the book, in my opinion, were Chloe’s radio talk shows, “Chloe, Queen of the Universe” and “Heartbeats”. I found Chloe entertaining and I was fascinated with learning the ins and outs of how a radio station operates. I loved how she referred to her callers as ‘minions’ and her banter with Clementine put a smile on my face.

The book is one of a few contemporary fiction novels I’ve read now that deals with real issues/problems. In this book, Coriell tackles meth addiction, divorce, poor parenting and Parkinsons. The problems presented impacted the characters, but I liked how it wasn’t overly angsty. I think Chloe’s optimistic attitude played a huge part of that as the narrator and there was definitely a feel good factor about the book.

In the end, everyone ‘makes medudo out of cow intestines’, to take a phrase out of the novel (a fun play on making lemons out of lemonade). The contemporary genre is definitely getting stronger, and I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a fun, YA read.

3 wings

No Comments

reviewer: Daphne March 29th, 2012 Booking Through Thursday

We thought it would be fun to do a meme together, and what better than Booking Through Thursday, where we each answer a book-related question? We’d also love to get to know you better, so leave a comment with your answer or a link to the post on your blog and we’ll drop by to visit! This week’s question is:

Are there any fictional characters whom you have emulated (or tried to)? Who and why? What literary character do you feel is most like you personality-wise?

Daphne’s Answer:

There has never been a character I conciously tried to emulate, although I have admired Sherlock Holmes since I was young (he was my first book crush) and always wished I could be smarter, ~~cooler~~ and more observant like he was!

As for a literary character most like me, I would say I’m torn. I’m partially Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella, because of my addiction to shopping and the funny way of rationalising purchases I really have no real need for. I’m also klutzy, enthusiastic and have a habit of trying my best to mess things up but things working out alright in the end!

Personality-wise though, I identify with Ce’Nedra from David Eddings’ Belgariad and Malloreon series (my favourite fantasy books), similar as I can be to a fictional imperial princess (later queen). Much like her, I’m slightly spoiled, headstrong, have a talent for teasing my boyfriend/to-be-husband and a strong moral compass. I also switch frequently between being childish and mature, depending on the situation. If I was ‘Queen of the World’ like she was though, that would be amazing. Actually, I’d settle for princess.

Ali’s Answer:

Unfortunately I can’t really give an answer to the first part of this question as I don’t try to emulate any fictional character. That’s just not what I’m like. I am who I am and I don’t try to be like characters from books or anyone else for that matter. Plus most of the books I read are about girls with supernatural powers so, you know, it would be pretty difficult to match up to that!

As for the second part, I would have to say that the character I feel is most like me personally is Vanessa Sands from Siren by Tricia Rayburn I’m quite a laid back person. And I’m not very daring at all (much like Vanessa). I also struggle to see in myself what others do. Some people would call that being modest, I call it having a slight lack of confidence in myself. I have gotten better with this over the years but certainly when I was Vanessa’s age I was very much like her in this regard!

Now all I need are Vanessa’s super awsome Siren abilities and I’ll be a happy bunny!

2 Comments

reviewer: Daphne March 29th, 2012 Mythology, Review, Young Adult

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Author: Aimee Carter
Series: Goddess Test, Book 2
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Published: March 2012
304 pages

Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future. Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

Thank you to Harlequin Teen and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy for review!

I was disappointed in the first book of the series, The Goddess Test mainly because of the weak plot. I was drawn in with the ‘trials’ and expected more from them. This time, I was hopeful that it would be better, especially since I’m a big fan of mythology and there are so many rich stories to draw inspiration from, but alas. I was disappointed again, but for an entirely different reason.

After taking 6 months off to spend the summer in Greece following the events of the last book, Kate comes home to the Underworld for the first time to take her place as Henry’s wife and queen. What she finds is a distant Henry, curiously bleeding. Things get a little more exciting as the story is based around the awakening of the Titan Cronos by Calliope, who was shunned by the Kate, Henry and the other Gods and seeks her revenge.

Naturally, Kate makes it all about her. Kate is absolutely my biggest issue with this book—I have never met a more frustrating heroine! She’s been in the Underworld for all of a day and she’s already complaining about Henry’s lack of attention and affection, where I felt that Henry was actually being mature and protecting her. Kate is so emotionally unstable and needy and it makes her really unlikable. “What you want should never dictate what you do.”, Henry quotes. Maybe I’m showing my age but I think this is a good lesson in maturity, Kate. Maybe next time you don’t leave the man you supposedly love after a day of hardship?

After the anti-climatic mid-climax where Henry and some of the other Gods are captured by Cronos, Kate then journeys with James and Ava to seek Persephone’s help, the only individual who knows where to find them. Kate percieves Persephone as selfish and manipulative, and cannot stop being jealous of her and it clouds her judgement. It is a little unfair on Persephone as she has had to endure thousands of years in a loveless marriage and it’s not her fault Henry loved her and not the other way around. I seriously just wanted to yell, STAND UP FOR YOURSELF to Kate. The only redeeming thing about the whole ‘quest’ was the banter between Ava and Persephone.

In the end, Kate is fatalistic, the battle is pointless and Henry makes a complete 180 and showers her with love and affection. There is a shocking but predictable (don’t ask me, it just is) cliffhanger at the end, which will probably hook me into reading the final book. All in all, I expected so much more, given the potential of the world Aimee Carter built. If you like frustratingly weak female protagonists, then you’ll enjoy this book better than me.

2 wings

7 Comments

reviewer: Alison March 28th, 2012 Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine and is where we can talk about books we are looking forward to being released!

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
Release date: 8 May 2012

Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?.

Now this sounds all kinds of awesome huh?

I only heard about this recently. I actually saw an advert for it on Facebook and liked the look of the cover. From the blurb it seems like it’s gonna be a vampire story with maybe a touch of dystopia/an apocalypse element. Either way it sounds very interesting and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy!

9 Comments

reviewer: Daphne March 27th, 2012 Dystopian, Teaser Tuesday, Young Adult

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is:

Matched by Ally Condie

They created commissions to choose the hundred best of everything: Hundred Songs, Hundred Paintings, Hundred Stories, Hundred Poems. The rest were eliminated. Gone forever.

Matched (Matched, Book 1)
by Ally Condie

I have been on dystopian kick lately, having watched the amazing Hunger Games movie over the weekend. I read through Divergent in a couple of days and I’m moving on to Matched. I’m only at the start, but the world to me seems incredibly sad. I can’t imagine losing all those beautiful works or art or literature or music just because the new society thinks we can’t appreciate everything fully if we have too much. Either way, I’m intrigued by the book so far and I’m looking forward to the rest of it!