these broken stars

I feel a sort of unflagging enthusiasm for young adult sci-fi.  That's not to say that I have read or plan to read every book in the genre (clearly not! never enough time!), or that I like every book I read either (see: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey).  And yet.  I see gorgeous cover art or read a summary, and I am EXCITED, in all capital letters, for space and science and all of the splendid possibilities that go with that.  Now on to the specific book in question... I met the lovely Meg Spooner when she was promoting her debut, Skylark.  She mentioned that she was co-writing a YA sci-fi as well, and I KNOW my eyes got big, and my heartbeat went into overdrive.  Because it's just awesome, you know?  So that's how I found out about Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner’s These Broken Stars.  An opportunity came up to read an ARC for a book tour, and I took it. Obvi.

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

The first in a sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds.

Lilac LaRoux is the daughter of a very rich, very powerful man.  He wants her safe, so safe Lilac will be safe.  From others, from herself, and (sometimes, but not always) from the truth.  She puts on the mask of a socialite to hide her depths, and carries on proud and untouchable.  That is, until she meets Tarver Merendsen, a young soldier from a different class and a different life.  Their paths shouldn't have crossed.  They can't have anything in common, until they do - they're both survivors of a spacewreck.  Fighting for their lives on an uninhabited planet brings Lilac and Tarver together - to face the darkest truths of all.

I've heard These Broken Stars described as Titanic in space, and I agree, to a point.  The catalyst of the story is, after all, an enormous shipwreck.  It just happens to be in space, rather than the Atlantic Ocean.  But beyond that, Kaufman and Spooner have started an adventure on an epic scale.  This is not just a wreck.  It's about the crash, about the journey, about devastating discoveries, about falling a little bit (or a lot!) in love with the only person left in your world, and about the aftermath of something terrible happening to one of the most important people in the universe.  And no, it's not over after one book.  I, of rampant series fatigue, can honestly say I can't wait to read the next book.

The story is emotional and pulse-pounding, and part of that is in the nature of the book itself - dual narration split between the two main characters.  Lilac's voice was strongest, but both narrators contributed to convincing pacing and tension.  The star-crossed/impossible future thing was intense, though it wasn't clear to me whether that was the result of forced proximity or true love.  I suppose only the future will tell.  Also left up to future books: a web of secrecy, power and politics that I believe will elevate this series into full space opera grandiosity.

Overall, These Broken Stars is a can't-put-it-down read, with a satisfying romantic element (no love triangles here!) and mystery.  It wasn't startlingly original, but the execution impressed me.  Will definitely appeal to both fans of young adult AND fans of sci-fi.

Recommended for: those who enjoy YA science fiction, fans of Lois McMaster Bujold's Shards of Honor, and those who appreciate a star-crossed lovers theme crossed with a dark mystery.

These Broken Stars will be released by Disney-Hyperion on December 10, 2013.

Fine print: I read an ARC of These Broken Stars courtesy of a Books and Sensibility ARC Tour. I did not receive any compensation for posting this review.

the real boy

I broke my ankle this past weekend playing touch football.  Yes, you read that right. TOUCH.  Football.  (also, complete fracture of the fibula!) I’ve always been a bit of a walking time bomb, but this is special, even for me.  The silver lining to being injured and having to ice and elevate my injured limb all day long?  Reading time opened up on my calendar like magic.  And since it was (over)due at the library, I picked up Anne Ursu's The Real Boy first.  It turned out to be a charming fable about magic, choices and human character.

On an island on the edge of an immense sea there is a city, a forest, and a boy. The city is called Asteri, a perfect city that was saved by the magic woven into its walls from a devastating plague that swept through the world over a hundred years before. The forest is called the Barrow, a vast wood of ancient trees that encircles the city and feeds the earth with magic. And the boy is called Oscar, a shop boy for the most powerful magician in the Barrow. Oscar spends his days in a small room in the dark cellar of his master's shop, grinding herbs and dreaming of the wizards who once lived on the island generations ago. Oscar's world is small, but he likes it that way. The real world is vast, strange, and unpredictable. And Oscar does not quite fit in it.

But it's been a long time since anyone who could call himself a wizard walked the world, and now that world is changing. Children in the city are falling ill, and something sinister lurks in the forest. Oscar has long been content to stay in his small room in the cellar, comforted in the knowledge that the magic that flows from the trees will keep his island safe. Now, even magic may not be enough to save it.

Oscar is the hand of the last magician in the world.  A hand in Barrow terms is the person who does the menial tasks that an apprentice can’t be bothered to complete.  And Oscar is content with his place and his fate – he’s an orphan, after all, and feels most comfortable working with plants and talking to the cats that live in the cellar of Master Caleb’s shop.  He’s safe, useful, and can sneak away to read in the library in the middle of the night.  However, events conspire to thrust Oscar out into the world outside of his cellar, and he must deal with customers, with a strange sickness that affects only children, and with the most surprising thing of all – a friend.  In doing so, Oscar will learn about the magic and history of his land, and what his future holds.

Oscar lives in a very limited world - mostly in the cellar of a shop.  When he's not in the cellar, he sometimes ventures to the forest to gather plants, and rarely out into the marketplace.  The narrative was pretty clear in suggesting that Oscar had agoraphobic or OCD tendencies, or possibly that he registered somewhere on the Asperger's spectrum.  What did that mean for Oscar as a character?  It meant that decoding gray areas and human interaction were hard for him.  And since the reader experienced the story from his perspective, much of it was hazy, vague, or simply unexplained.  This added atmosphere and sincerity to Oscar's story, but it did not forward the world-building - and that is a hard bargain to make in the world of fantasy fiction.

Speaking of the world-building, what there was of it was well-done.  When Ursu meandered out of fable-land and into reality, she described a world that was interesting and flawed, peopled with conflicted citizens and magic users.  Ursu's plot played with a well-known fairy tale, but I was most intrigued by the details of the Wizard Trees, the plaguelands, Asteri (the city walled by magic), and the 'shining people' who resided in that city.  In addition, the prose was quiet without being boring, and encompassed Oscar's narrow world and its truths while also describing the confusing complexity of humanity.  And let's not forget Erin McGuire's illustrations!  She made Oscar's experiences come to life.

As I mentioned above, my chief reservation was related to the vague, slightly unfinished feel of the story.  It had the distance of a parable or allegory, no matter how vivid Oscar and Callie's interactions and arguments were.  I wondered at points if I was missing the grand metaphor.  Was Asteri meant to symbolize religion?  Capitalism?  I worried that I didn't get it.  Now I wonder if I was overthinking it all?  Perhaps younger readers would understand and accept the small gaps I noticed.  I couldn't, but The Real Boy was still a beautiful, albeit perplexing, read.

Recommended for: fans of fairy tale retellings and fables, and those who like quiet fantasies that focus on character and a quest for truth.

waiting on wednesday (68)

Today I’m participating in "Waiting On" Wednesday, a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Its purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Sometimes new authors impress me so much with their debut that I become a fan for life.  I called Merrie Haskell's The Princess Curse "a must-read for anyone with a bent towards fairy tale or historical fiction," and I've anxiously awaited news of her forthcoming books ever since.  I'm reading 2013 release Handbook for Dragon Slayers for the CYBILS, but Haskell has another book on the horizon already, and it got a blurb from Robin McKinley.  WHO IS ONLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE LIVING AUTHORS EVER.  Needless to say, I'm excited and happy and extremely impatient to get my hands on it.  Merrie Haskell's The Castle Behind Thorns will be released by Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins) on May 27, 2014.

When Sand wakes up alone in a long-abandoned castle, he has no idea how he got there. The stories all said the place was ruined by an earthquake, and Sand did not expect to find everything inside-from dishes to candles to apples-torn in half or slashed to bits. Nothing lives here and nothing grows, except the vicious, thorny bramble that prevents Sand from leaving. Why wasn't this in the stories?

To survive, Sand does what he knows best-he fires up the castle's forge to mend what he needs to live. But the things he fixes work somehow better than they ought to. Is there magic in the mending, granted by the saints who once guarded this place?

Unexpectedly, Sand finds the lost heir, Perrotte, a girl who shares the castle's astonishing secrets and dark history. Putting together the pieces-of stone and iron, and of a broken life-is harder than Sand ever imagined, but it's the only way to gain their freedom, even with the help of the guardian saints.

With gorgeous language and breathtaking magic, Merrie Haskell's The Castle Behind Thorns tells of the power of memory and story, forgiveness and strength, and the true gifts of craft and imagination.

What books are you waiting on?

top ten things i'm thankful for

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we all get to exercise our OCD tendencies and come up with bookish lists.  If you’d like to play along, check out this post.

This week’s assigned topic is a familiar one on social media – things we’re thankful for, right around Thanksgiving time.  Most of the items on my list are book- or blog-related, but from there it goes on to general living (well, reading IS a part of my real world…).  I know how blessed I am, but this is a great opportunity to put it into words and realize the wonderful reality all over again.

Top Ten Things I’m Thankful For

1. Generosity of friends and blogging buddies – My sister Virginia (Ginny) teaches 9^th grade English in Washington State.  When her classroom library was decimated by flooding, I wrote a post about it.  Several people responded with recommendations, and a few sent their own books to fill the gap.  It made all the difference!  Ginny’s students again have a great selection of YA fiction to choose from for self-directed reading.

2. Resources so that I could contribute to Ginny’s classroom library, too – I’m so thankful that I was able to buy a selection of the suggested titles for Ginny’s collection!  Thankful for a steady job and the chance to help out.  Thankful for used books for sale online, too! It is great to know that I could help, even from afar.

3. CYBILS award reading list – I needed a reading challenge that would get me excited about great books and give me deadlines to meet.  Participating in a CYBILS first round panel is introducing me to new and wonderful books!

4. CYBILS co-panelists – My lovely co-panelists in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction share great insights about the books they’re reading, In addition, their dedication and drive inspire me to read more, faster, and better.

5. Well-stocked local library – Speaking of the CYBILS, there’s no way I could make all of the reading work if I didn’t have access to a wonderful library system.  Arlington County Library, I’m looking at you!

6. Weekend Cooking meme – Beth Fish Reads hosts a weekly feature on Saturdays and Sundays that celebrates recipes, cookbooks, and anything vaguely food-related.  Semi-regular participation helps me keep things fresh, and ensures that my mother sometimes visits my blog (she’s not a reader!).

7. Holidays that revolve around food – Thanksgiving is the first thought, of course, but in my family Christmas runs a close second.  I love holidays that involve the family cooking and coming together around a table.  You can talk, bond and nourish the body at the same time – perfection!

8. Friends (who step in to help when you sprain your ankle) – I had a mishap this weekend and sprained my ankle.  My friends are setting the ibuprofen by my water glass, buying groceries, taking me to the library, and generally being helpful, wonderful people.  I’m lucky!

9. Family – I can’t stress enough how much the support and love of my family means to me.  They talk me through difficult times, provide a place to just be, and inspire me with their energy and ability.  Are we even related?!

10. The freaking internet – I love it.  Where else can I access cat content, sarcastic twitter feeds, parody music videos, and online shop for all of my holiday gifts?  Oh, and blog and connect with wonderful, nerdy people like you.  That’s right.  I’m thankful for you.

What are you thankful for this holiday season?