Donnie Darko Girl

I received an ARC of this book from Around the World ARC Tours for my honest review at Donnie Darko Girl.

Having read 13 Reasons Why, I initially thought about that book when I read the synopsis for Playlist for the Dead. I did worry it would be too similar, but it stands on its own two feet with Sam's voice in narrating, the mystery surrounding Hayden's death, and the things Sam learns about himself as well as Hayden. Playlist for the Dead is not only about suicide but also friendship, growing up, bullying, and finding your own path amid the pressures from parents, school, and even your friends.

The story surrounding Hayden's suicide is messy and complicated, and that's how suicide is. There's never just one reason why a person feels that's their only option; instead there's a myriad of them, and sometimes one event can push that person off the ledge much like the saying about the straw that broke the camel's back.

I felt the weight of Sam's guilt settle over me as I read. That was realistically done and as Sam unravels the mystery, he finds more and more people who are also secretly blaming themselves and wrestling with their own guilt, wishing they could have done something to change the outcome. This is one of those times where you wish badly for a rewind button.

I believe Hayden felt hopeless about all the bad things happening in his life and didn't have any fight left in him to keep trying for the good. Topped off with the events the night of the party, that was his last straw. Obviously he must have been thinking about suicide as a way out for a while - people don't just wake up one day and kill themselves. It's a slow progression downhill with a lot of time spent struggling, and thinking about all of this just made me feel so much empathy for Hayden.

I decided to make the playlist on Spotify and listen to it all the way through then listened to each song for each chapter while I read. I wanted to get into Hayden's mindset when he had made the list. Most of the songs are ones I love already, and I swear I was dissecting lyrics like crazy! I loved the references to Star Wars and especially Donnie Darko along with other geekery sprinkled throughout the story. Geek speak links directly to this girl's heart!

No, the answers weren't found in the playlist but it's what led Sam to new experiences and new people. I think it was also a way for Hayden to reach out to Sam after he knew he'd be gone, a way to say good-bye and show him there was more going on with him than Sam realized. I think Hayden wanted Sam to understand how important it is to listen to people, which Sam learns along the way. We all want to be heard. We want to be understood. We don't want to be lonely.

I ended up being torn on how many stars to rate Playlist for the Dead. What it came down to for me was I felt something was missing from the story, something I can't quite put my finger on, but it's what made the difference between my feeling that this is a four star read rather than a five star. I do know one part of the mystery could have been wrapped up better. I thought there was so much potential there that wasn't used.

I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.

How would it feel to find out that what you thought you were doing was patriotic and serving your country but was actually causing hundreds of deaths? This is exactly the predicament Veronica (Ronnie) finds herself in when she's caught by a group of rebels out in the woods, and her world has effectively been turned upside down.

In The Letting, humans have gone nearly extinct after heavily relying on technology to do everything for them - so much so they've forgotten how to have human-to-human contact. One of the reasons this book was chilling to me was that we are very reliant on technology right now. I've heard many people say they'd rather deal with a machine than another human being, such as using a self checkout line at the grocery store rather than having a clerk check them out. So many times I've seen each member of my family sitting in the same room but each of us are staring at our individual cell phone or laptop screens.

I was dying to know what kind of process the Letting actually is especially once I realized what the names of the cabins refer to. You're kept in suspense for a while as to what it entails because Ronnie herself has been in the dark about it. I liked not knowing because it allowed my mind to run rampant with all kinds of horrifying possibilities, and when I found out what happens to the young girls after Ronnie has prepared them at camp - well, it's terrifying to think about.

The way Ronnie talks about these girls "paying their debt to society" by being part of the Letting makes it sound like they've done something wrong and are being punished. In our society, that's what we say about people serving time in prison, that they're paying their debt to society. So it gave me chills when she talked about the girls this way without realizing what was going to happen to them.

Phoenix is the leader of the rebels who capture Ronnie in the woods, and he was a terrific character. I looked forward to seeing if the two of them were going to work together to bring down their corrupt government, and if they ended up working together, how they were going to do it and if they'd end up successful.

On the other hand, I hated Gretchen, Ronnie's friend. I think she's a coward and probably one of the worst friends in the history of friends. I have a hard time reading about weak female characters, and she's definitely one of the weakest I've come across in a while. Ugh!

The world Cathrine Goldstein has created in The Letting is terrifying because it's so realistic but also hopeful for the very same reason. Hope is something Ronnie struggles with as she comes to terms with how she's been used and how she plans to retaliate in order to save the lives she wasn't able to before. The Letting had me riveted, and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.

Have you ever looked at a book and just knew you were going to love it, like you had a sixth sense kind of feeling about it? After you've read the synopsis and then once you've read the book, it was everything you dreamed of and more? The Shadow of Loss was like that for me.

I can't resist books like this one where the main character has been to hell and back and must start life afresh, working through her pain and loss. Not only does The Shadow of Loss have an interesting plot, but it's also a multicultural story - Evelyn's mother is German and her father is Mexican. She has an older sister who shares the same parents. She talks about the way she's treated differently because her skin is darker than her sister's and how her sister was always seen as "the pretty one." She shares traditions her father passed down to her and her sister.

In The Shadow of Loss, Evelyn feels like she's starting over again in a new town, a new school with new people after she's recently been institutionalized. She wonders how she's going to be able to adjust to life outside of those institutional walls. Evelyn is released to her older sister and moves in with her.

After what's happened to her, she's understandably afraid to let anyone get close to her. I don't want to say much about what exactly she's been through since there isn't much about it in the synopsis - I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone. Suffice it to say, she's been to hell and back, but she's extremely tough, tougher than she gives herself credit for, and has the support to get through this time in her life.

The Shadow of Loss is clever, the dialogue is realistic, and this novel will make you think about the characters and story long after the last page. It's the very best kind of YA coming-of-age story.

I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.

Out of all the characters in Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth has to be the most memorable and intriguing one, perhaps even more so than Macbeth himself. With her "Out, damned spot! out I say!" she's a formidable foe who eventually crumbles under the guilt that gnaws away at her, leading to a tragic end. Remembering my perception of her from long ago, I went into reading Lady Macbeth: Daughter of Ravens wondering if I'd end up changing my mind.

From the synopsis, Gruoch will become Lady Macbeth, yet I already feel for her. The way her uncle, who's also her adopted father, leers at her and violates her sense of safety is appalling. With him around there is no peace and certainly no happiness. Just from these encounters I knew I wasn't going to view her the same way.

Karsak paints a different and comprehensive picture of this character and how she came to be in a position of power. I love the idea of taking a famous figure from literature and reimagining an entirely different life for that figure. I also love how Karsak weaves some of the most famous lines into her story, the best one to me being, "What's fair is foul and foul is fair."

The pacing was slow for me, and I became restless at times while reading. I also had trouble piecing together everything that was happening even though I know reincarnation plays a huge part. With that being said, I'm way too intrigued by Karsak's rendition of Lady Macbeth and will continue reading the series. I have a feeling Karsak is just getting warmed up.

I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.

First of all, I'd just like to say that I'm thrilled to know Niko is the first in a five book series, The Outsider Chronicles. It can be almost painful not knowing if a book I'm reading is going to be a standalone, a trilogy, or a series. Niko offers up a unique look at a post-apocalyptic world with characters who now feel like family to me, and I'm looking forward to continuing this series.

In the beginning, Niko faces loss - she comes home from scavenging to find one brother is dead while the other is missing, and her house is still on fire. She's seventeen and has been taking care of her brothers by herself after her parents died. Everything she's done has been to keep them alive and safe. The way her brother died was brutal. I felt Niko's pain and desperation right through my Kindle.

She's rescued by the Rose Circle, a group of Slither hunters, and they want her to become a member of their group. She agrees only if they help her find her little brother. They say they will, but I had strange feelings about them, wondering if they could really be trusted.

I love Niko - she's everything I could ever want in a female lead character. She's brave and strong but still caring. You don't have to be an uncaring person to be strong - in fact, I think it shows a certain kind of strength to be able to retain characteristics like that under the kind of circumstances she's facing.

I love the fact that Raet has mixed an environmental factor with the acid rain and a supernatural factor with the Slithers to create this post-apocalyptic landscape. People can't trust and even fear water - the most important resource we must have to survive. It has to be treated in order to drink it without it killing you. The Slithers are truly terrifying monsters - they're kind of human but with multicolored eyes and claws. They want to rip your heart out of your chest and eat it. Literally.

I love the Rose Circle - they're like a family and make a great team in hunting down and killing the Slithers. No matter what, Niko is determined to find her brother. She feels lost without him. She's lost her parents and her other brother in death, and now she only has her missing brother to hold on to.

Raet has introduced me to a world I want to know more about and characters with whom I want to spend more time. Niko as a novel is an amazing and compelling story I couldn't put down. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.

You know, I dig the fact that not all of us like the same stuff. I mainly dig that because I get quite a few book recommendations from you fine folks on stories I never would have given the time of day. I rarely ever do not read something based on a negative review (in fact, negative reviews have sold me on more books than I can count), and, likewise, I do not always read a book based on a glowing recommendation. I think this is where some authors lose their minds. They sit at home with Goodreads and Booklikes and Leafmarks and Amazon and every other book site imaginable open in their browsers and continuously click refresh. (All this while they should be writing, mind you) And when the hammer drops, when that first negative review rolls in, they lose their shit. They go into crisis mode and end up doing more damage to their reputations than they ever would have by just shutting up. I've had numerous negative reviews. And guess what? People still buy my stuff; enough people to make sure my family lives relatively comfortably, too. I have proof that negative reviews aren't the end of the world. Responding to them, though, can be.

A good friend of mine (Hi, Lynn!) once said, "Anytime you get down about a negative review, hop over to Goodreads or Amazon, pull up your favorite book, and read the one-star reviews."

That's some of the best advice I ever received, and it has, to this day, kept me sane. I don't understand how over 5,000 people on Goodreads have given Stephen King's It one star, but you don't see me running around calling them all kinds of troglodytes and single-celled organisms. Because differing opinions matter. If everyone thought the same thing all the time, we'd still be afraid of sea monsters and sailing off the side of the world.

And before you think that I can say all this because I've never been labeled a BBA or that everybody just loves E., I shall inform you that I am currently on several Not-For-Me shelves. Why? Well, that's none of my business, is it? My point is, not everyone is going to like you, and those who like you today can easily start disliking you tomorrow. All you can do is turn the other cheek. 

Feel free to share this message. Not that they'll listen, but it's worth a shot. 

E.

I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.

A thoroughly addictive and entertaining read, Accumulation had me enthralled from the first page. I. Love. This. Book. The writing, the plot, the cast of characters, the pacing...all of its elements came together perfectly and gave me a new book in the zombie genre to recommend to friends and family.

When Accumulation begins, news reports are coming in about an infection spreading causing people to become violent and attack each other. People have even begun posting videos to YouTube of the attacks. Once infected, the victim goes through a transformation similar to that of a werewolf with the distinct sound of bones snapping. Then the victim lunges for whomever is nearby and eats them like a zombie.

The governor, Steve Landis, is a madman and doesn't care about anyone surviving the apocalypse except himself. He was so calm and matter-of-fact about everything that it freaked me out much more than if he had been a raving lunatic. I think the bizarrely calm megalomaniacs are much scarier than the loud in-your-face ones. He has delusions of grandeur in thinking himself to be the commander-in-chief after having the bridge to the peninsula destroyed, cutting off access so no infected can cross into the area and to use up all the energy and resources for himself.

The Riley family (grandparents, parents, kids, and uncle - they're a large family!) hides out together in a cabin the grandparents, Pop and Nan, bought a long time ago in case of a situation such as this. Totally great to have a conspiracy theorist in the family in times such as these! The dynamics of this family were really interesting and added tension to the story.

One of the aspects of Accumulation I thought was so cool was how the large cast of characters start out separate and end up coming together in a realistic and believable way. Plus I really liked the unique twist on zombies - I wouldn't quite call the people who turn after infection zombies; it's a little more complicated than that with their strange transformation that always includes the body contorting in a way that should not be humanly possible. It's so creepy!

Overall, Accumulation is a story about the world going to hell in a completely realistic way and in which the government can't be trusted to help its own people, which also seemed way too realistic. I kept thinking while reading this novel that I hope nothing like this ever happens and how much worse it would be to go through it with young kids. I was freaked out and yet couldn't stop reading - definitely a novel you shouldn't miss!

I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.

Characters who become self destructive after experiencing a traumatic loss are intriguing and interesting to me to read about. Their stories take me to all kinds of emotional places, and Keep It Secret is the kind of book I love to read for this reason. I love taking an emotional journey right along with the characters.

After Ava's father dies from a car accident when she is only thirteen years old, Ava not only has her grief to work through but also must deal with fending for herself after her mother becomes debilitated with crushing depression. Throw in the fact that Ava is a teenager and is going through all of the ups and downs one goes through during those years, and I think you can see why she turns to sex, drugs, and alcohol. Anything to numb the pain.

Five years after the death of her father, Ava and her mother move in with Ava's aunt, uncle, and cousin. Ava and her cousin, Vanessa, used to be as close as sisters, and they're looking forward to becoming close once again. The problem? A boy named Gabriel Mason.

Vanessa has had a different kind of struggle in life than Ava. Her mother is controlling and overbearing, buying love instead of showing it, and criticizing rather than caring. Her father allows her mother to have her way rather than risk rocking the boat. Vanessa has grown up sheltered and involved in so many different activities she doesn't have time to relax or socialize.

With both of these girls hurting in their own ways, I looked forward to seeing them grow close again and help each other work through their pain together as a united front. But then they let a boy get between them, and while I was disappointed this happened, it becomes much more complicated than a boy coming between two cousins. There are a lot of issues surrounding all three of them that make this situation anything but simple, and it was an up and down emotional ride for me as a reader!

I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book and finding out what happens next. I love both Vanessa and Ava for different reasons and also embrace them despite their flaws, which make them more realistic to me anyway. I'm a new Olivia Snow fan!

So this happened last night...

I did it! I won! Third try is the charm I guess, lol. I'm so happy to have finally won this year, and I can't wait until I shape this book into something beautiful that I can be proud of. :D

I received a review copy of this novel for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.

Not only did the cover for Krengel and the Krampusz draw me in, but the synopsis was deliciously intriguing. I love it when Christmas and horror are mixed together, and the results of the mixture in this novel inspire chills comparable to being stranded out in a blizzard.

The language Norris uses to tell this story of Krengel and the Krampusz was mesmerizing, and though it took me time in the beginning to get into the rhythm, I couldn't imagine the book being written any other way. His rich and vivid descriptions stand out in my mind, and I reread some parts of the story because I found myself thinking, did that really just happen?? And yes, yes, it did.

The book begins, and Krengel is shown to be a young boy who's spoiled, sheltered, and an all-around brat. Not how we picture Santa to be, right? There's also the Krampusz, who's demon-like and somehow co-exists with Krengel as though they share a body but have two separate minds. Different versions of Krengel's birth have been told. Some say Krengel had a twin whom his mother killed. Others say Krengel strangled his twin in utero. Still others say Krengel's twin was born deformed. None of these versions are happy as you can see.

When Krengel throws a fit to be included in an all-boy traveling choir led by a monk, his father basically pushes his son into the monk's care. With that one decision, the novel really starts and horrific events soon unravel. Krengel quickly finds out the other boys in the choir hate him, and just one of the reasons being that he can't sing at all.

In telling this dark tale, Norris engages all five of your senses, and you thoroughly feel like you're also living through the horror of unimaginable events unfolding before you. There were times I cringed and squirmed and felt relieved I did not live in this world he has created. I highly recommend Krengel & the Krampusz to every horror fan out there - this novel is an imaginative scare fest with intelligent and terror invoking writing. Norris is a master of the skill needed to re-imagining our beloved Santa Claus into the stuff of hellish nightmares. This is Christmas horror at its finest.

I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.

The Secret Life of Jenny Liu is a sweet and uplifting novel about a young Chinese American girl who loves her family, drawing comics, and bringing people together. Her family has just moved to Haverswell, South Carolina where Jenny begins as a new student in the fifth grade.

Imagine what it would feel like to not only be the new kid but also like you don't fit in with the other kids, making you stand out even more when all you really want is to blend in. If you can imagine this, then you have an idea of how Jenny feels. She's changed school systems so many times she doesn't believe it's worth her time to strike up friendships. She'll just end up moving again and be forced to start over. But this time things are different.

I loved how caring and selfless Jenny is, always thinking of others. She gets pure joy from sharing in happiness with others, and you can't help but love her and want her to have her own happiness, too. The way she creatively solves problems she sees around her in order to help out others is too sweet! For instance, she figures out a way to help a fellow student learn to stop saying "like" all the time without embarrassing that student.

The cast of characters surrounding Jenny are full of personality and add to the story. Jenny's teacher, Ms. Candy, stands out the most in my mind as a secondary character. She has to be one of the most free spirited and fun loving teachers I've ever read about. I can tell she truly loves her job and is great with the kids. She's a terrific person, and I can't imagine her having any other job.

I also love the moments between Jenny and her mother. I can tell how much her mother loves her, and their culture plays a large role in the ways she shows her love. Rather than hugging Jenny when she's upset, Jenny's mother makes them a pot of tea to share. Jenny mentions in the book that hugging isn't really something that's done in her culture. I picked up quite a few things about Chinese culture from reading this book, some things I knew while others I didn't.

Overall, The Secret Life of Jenny Liu is a book I'll recommend to everyone I know. Even if you may not be into middle grade books, you'll fall in love with Jenny, one of the sweetest and most caring fifth graders you'll come across in fiction. I read the first thirty pages (then had to go to sleep, boo!), and the next night I read the rest of the entire book. It's so good!! The characters and the plot drew me in, and I didn't want to say good-bye to them at the end.

I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.

My hopes for The Book of Ivy were very high, and I'm happy to say the book went above and beyond them. I'm always afraid of becoming sick of dystopian stories, but so far I've been lucky. The world Amy Engel has created is nothing short of intriguing and satisfies my craving for an entertaining and thought-provoking dystopian novel.

First of all, I loved the themes she weaves in this story - the importance of thinking for oneself and that things are rarely black and white just to name a couple - in and around the characters and their actions. Ivy finds herself questioning more and more all that her father and sister drilled into her head her entire life. Bishop gives her room to find herself and learn how to think for herself, which earned him mega points in my book. He doesn't see her as a weak girl who needs to be saved, and he's right about her.

The setting is a small town in what was once southern Missouri in the Ozarks area. I liked knowing this because in a lot of dystopians, they're usually vague as to where they take place, and it helps me connect more with the story itself as well as the characters. So I definitely appreciated that info was given.

Ivy is a girl I felt empathy for because she's forced into an arranged marriage to a stranger, and she's only sixteen. Not only that but she also must face the ever-increasing amount of pressure from her father and sister to do what they tell her to in order to move forward with their plan to take back control of the people. She deals with all of this better than I would have, especially at her age. But the more time she spends with Bishop, the more she begins to realize the world isn't exactly the way her father always told her.

Bishop is easy to love. He has so many good qualities but is still a realistic character I could connect with. I relished the moments between him and Ivy and could not bear for distance to creep back into their relationship. No instalove and no triangles here, and that was refreshing. The romance is subtle and not overdone at all.

I found many quotes in The Book of a Ivy that have become favorites of mine, and I'm only sharing two because the rest would give key plot points away, which I definitely don't want to do. This book brought out so many emotions in me and caused me to savor every word, sometimes more than once or even twice.

"No matter how hard I look, I cannot find the blood on his hands." - Ivy

"I will be the one with blood on my hands, and I don't know if that's something I can ever wash away." - Ivy

I liked the subtle Romeo & Juliet joke Bishop makes when they come across the book in his father's library because Ivy and Bishop in their own way are like a twisted version of the famous star-crossed lovers. Their families hate each other, and I couldn't help but think their story will probably end in tragedy as well. While they didn't choose to be together necessarily, there is passion stirring between them that could blossom into love.

It pains me that I must wait a year until the next book comes out, lol. Oh, the humanity!! I'm dying to know what's going to happen next. Until then, I'll have to find ways to keep myself occupied - Netflix marathons here I come!