legacies

Boarding schools. Myths and legend. Orphans. Wish fulfillment. Questionable authority figure behavior. Add in a little mystery, a dollop of angst and the faintest hint of teenage romance, and you’ve got Legacies, the first in a series by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill. The Shadow Grail books feature magical teen orphans who are sent to a Montana boarding school called Oakhurst – and the school is hiding secrets and peril. Wondering if Legacies ticks ALL of the cliché boxes? It does, without irony.

Spirit White has survived from a deadly car crash that has killed her mother and father and her sister. She has been discovered by a school with special talents, called magic. A couple of months after staying, people begin to disappear, some vanish to be never seen again, so Spirit and her new friends begin the investigation. But will they find out the truth of what is going on? Or will Spirit and her friends suffer a terrible fate from which they don't know about yet?

Spirit White survives a horrific accident that kills the rest of her family, and after extensive therapy is bundled off to a school in the middle of nowhere – one that provides for her every need and also tells her that she has latent magical abilities. While Spirit makes friends and gets to know her surroundings, everyone she knows is under threat. Will she survive?

First of all, to the rhetorical ‘question’ I ask (and the official summary asks) above – OF COURSE she survives. There’s a book two! Secondly, ohmydeargoodness, there were so many things that rubbed my skin the wrong way with this book. Stand back and let me get started with the evisceration. I mean… analysis.

There were two instances that stood out to me as clearly abusive adult behavior for no apparent reason (no plot or character development occur as a result): first in the hospital, when Spirit is berated by an orderly who is named but has no other back story. He’s clearly a placeholder, which could be okay, but he yells at our main character. Who is healing and mourning. In, you know, a hospital. The situation is just so weird and out of place that the warning bells went off immediately. And the second, with the headmaster… we have a clear instance of TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) syndrome, my dears. If you can’t see that that’s unhealthy, you have no survival skillz, and you might deserve my contempt. Moving on!

Wish fulfillment – this is one element of Legacies that brought me out of the story over and over again. I understand, the place is luxurious and they’re given everything. However, the time spent describing consumer items would be better spent on the actual setting (and would alleviate a lot of confusion in the story world).

Another thing that constantly grabbed attention away from the action was the mishandling of cultural references and teen communication. Technology use didn’t fit the age group, the IM speak was embarrassing, and there was an Anna Nicole Simpson reference. That’s almost too old for me, and I’m 27 (not the target market). Mess.

Put all of the mismatched elements together, and a story won’t hold well (for me), no matter how good the plot. And you know what? The plot in Legacies was the only thing that kept me reading. Total bright spot, even if you can tell from a mile away that this is a set-up book. If you’re into the whole orphan-with-magic-in-a-boarding-school thing, may I point you in the direction of Jennifer Estep’s Touch of Frost? Same clichés, but with more humor and sass. Or if you do try this series – remember that I warned you!

Recommended for: die-hard fans of magic in school settings, Mercedes Lackey enthusiasts wondering what she’s serving up to the younger set, and those with an incurable sense of optimism. Good luck!

wildefire

What to do when a seriously funny author (check out his vlogs!) debuts a book with a lovely cover and a fantastic YA-meets-mythology mash-up premise? Read it and see if it lives up to the hype, of course. After all, I danced around the room in honor of Jennifer Estep’s Touch of Frost, another recent mythology-in-young-adult-land release. Unfortunately? Wildefire was not my cup of tea.

Every flame begins with a spark.

Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school, her boyfriend just cheated on her, and now her runaway sister, Eve, has decided to barge back into her life. When Eve’s violent behavior escalates and she does the unthinkable, Ash transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods, hoping to put the tragedy behind her. But her fresh start at Blackwood Academy doesn’t go as planned. Just as Ash is beginning to enjoy the perks of her new school – being captain of the tennis team, a steamy romance with a hot, local park ranger – Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. To make matters worse, Eve has resurfaced to haunt Ash, and she’s got some strange abilities of her own. With a war between the gods looming over campus, Ash must master the new fire smoldering within before she clashes with her sister one more time… And when warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.

There are people who really liked this book. I’ll be honest with you: I am not one of them. Another thing I’ll be honest about? The ‘whys’ and ‘wherefores.’ After all, my wonderful reader, you deserve only the best. The best being one of these cookies. Wait, I’m distracting you from the review?!

Things I didn’t like: 1) romance novel metaphors and vocabulary – descriptions were all about the girth of a guy’s biceps, the pregnant clouds, etc.; 2) dearth of character development; 3) cliché central; 4) unbelievable elements (one of which was the serving of alcohol to 17 year-olds. in a bar. never seen anyone who wanted to lose their liquor license that badly.).

Things I did like: 1) combo of mythologies; 2) flashback sequences (which were very well done); 3) cover art; 4) concept; 5) sometimes snappy dialogue a.k.a. moments of humor and/or lightheartedness.

To be continue with the honesty policy: Wildefire lost me almost immediately. The here-there-and-everywhere action, combined with Ashline’s inner voice and spoken dialogue, which were very different at times, created a jarring whole that failed to live up to the promise of the concept. A separate annoyance (which I cannot lay at the author’s feet) became clearer as I read farther. The blurb? Gives away a major plot point (!) from late in the book – something I would term a spoiler. Not cool, not cool at all.

Recommended for: only the most die-hard YA and mythology fans, or a romance reader with spare time and a highlighter (I dare you to go on a ‘romance novel adjective hunt!’ Report back if you do!).

Fine print: I received an e-galley for review from Simon & Schuster Galley Grab. You can check out the first 5 chapters online here.

touch of frost

I had no idea Jennifer Estep wrote young adult novels. You probably didn’t either. Actually, you may not even know who I’m talking about. Let me backtrack. About a year ago, I won a contest over at The Book Smugglers (pretty awesome, right?). The prize: two adult urban fantasy/paranormal novels by Ms. Estep. I was happy, but wary – I’ve been burned by that genre in the past, and I had no experience with the author. BUT! The Elemental Assassin series is awesome. The main character, Gin, is an assassin/restaurant owner with magical powers, and she lives in a fictional southern metropolis. Her adventures are dangerous and exciting. As I said: AWESOME.

Fast forward to last week or maybe the week before, when I was cruising through ‘Waiting on Wednesday’ selections. There it was: a YA by Jennifer Estep, called Touch of Frost. After I got over my shock, I was very pleased. And then Tirzah at The Compulsive Reader sent me a copy, and I went from pleased straight to dance-around-my-room-happy.

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why—especially since I should have been the one who died…

I think one of the things Estep does best is create a likeable heroine. Gwen has insecurities and knows she’s different (and maybe not in a good way), but part of her charm is that she’s so very self-aware. She’s constantly analyzing and connecting information; pairing her curiosity with knowledge. She has a self-effacing, funny voice, and it makes for spot-on inner dialogue.

Now, this isn’t to say that a cool heroine is all that Touch of Frost has to offer. Estep has also created a believable place in the school Gwen attends, the Mythos Academy. Sure, not all of the T’s are crossed nor the I’s dotted, but I know I spent the book immersed more in its world than in figuring out what was wrong with it. That isn’t to say that I don’t have questions. First one: who does all the dirty work at this extra-fancy prep school? But those things can be answered in future books, or may just be unanswerable forever.

Other fun factors: the smart teenage banter, different ‘types’ of students, boy with mystery (and delayed gratification, what?), unexpected friends and a very, very cool library.

What I didn’t like: Good Lord above, what is it with repeating descriptors? First Kady Cross couldn’t keep Finley from blushing in The Girl in the Steel Corset, and now Estep transgresses again and again with Gwen’s ‘violet eyes.’ I get it already! There were a couple of other bits that I thought should have been caught in editing (the same revelation twice, and an inaccuracy about how swimming times work) as well. Added to that, we’ve got typical boarding school clichés and bad boy crush. BUT. I am here to tell you that in spite of that, this book was fun, I liked it, and I can’t wait for Gwen’s next adventure.

Touch of Frost wasn’t perfect, but it was quick reading, and a great pick for summertime fun. I’m definitely in LIKE. Kiss of Frost, the next in the series, comes out in November, and in the meantime there’s a prequel out called First Frost (but read this book first, do).

Recommended for: anyone with a penchant for mythology, fans of the Percy Jackson series or the X-Men comics/films, and those who like their teen lit set in boarding schools. Also perfect if you’re in the mood for a fast-paced tale featuring a curious and courageous heroine with a bit of an outsider-complex. And, you know, general awesomeness.

Touch of Frost will be released by Kensington Teen on July 26, 2011.