Book Review: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (The Steampunk Chronicles, #2) 

by Kady Cross 

Genre: Historical/Fantasy/Steampunk

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 22, 2012

Source: NetGalley eARC

Age Rating: 14+

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Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves.

One false move from Jasper and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens. And tightens. 

 

My Review

After reading The Girl in the Steel Corset, I wasn't all that thrilled about reading the sequel, but before I read the first book, I had already obtained an advanced reader's copy of The Girl in the Clockwork Collar. I had to read it and hope it impressed me more than its predecessor.

• Plot: This story begins with the strange band of misfits flying across the Atlantic on an airship—steampunk style, of course—and spending the rest of it in 1897 New York City. They're there to find Jasper, the American cowboy, after he had been arrested for murder and extradited back to the U.S. A new villain is introduced, Reno Dalton, and he's a pretty ruthless killer. He has captured a Chinese girl, Mei, that Jasper is in love with and fitted her with a clockwork collar that he can tighten any time he wants if Jasper does anything he doesn't like. And, he wants Jasper to gather all the pieces of a machine he disassembled and hid all over New York City.
• Characters: There are only a few newcomers to this book, and they are fairly uninteresting, but play their parts just fine. What changes is that the main characters from Book 1 finally become more multidimensional and interesting. In my review of Book 1, I mentioned how boring all of them were. But, in this book, they get the development they much needed before. Finley shows off her darker side better when she does cheeky things during dangerous missions. Griffin is genuinely torn over her: he's in love with her, but fears she will pick a life of crime because her dark side enjoys it so much. He can't resolve it in his heart or mind. Sam is still highly dull and Emily is no different. But, Jasper manages to finally matter to the story and has actual character growth, as life hands his own backside over to him on a silver platter.
• Writing: Same as Book 1—fine, except for a pet-peeve of mine, head-hopping 3rd-person POV. It even seemed to happen more in this book compared to the first one.
• Story: Here's where there is much improvement, or I just liked it better than the first book's. I genuinely liked this story and how all of it came together, including the exciting fight scenes. They weren't long and drawn out, but short and explosive, like how Finley is when she gets hopped up on her own adrenaline before a confrontation. She's not battling with her dark side anymore, meaning she stays conscious now and just draws on its power, but it still thrills her to fight anybody who can give her a challenge. Finally, she's a really fun character, unlike in Book 1 when she just bored me. Also, the romance gets moved up a small notch for all the characters. I like that it didn't jump into the stratosphere just because it's the second book in the series. It's refreshing when historical romance plays out slowly, as it should.
• Overall Quality: All these improvements make me see it in a higher quality light. It's still far from perfect, but this installment, although less engaging, is still more satisfying to read.
• Favorite Moment: Finley had nearly been assassinated in her hotel room, but she got away. Then, she had to go rescue Jasper from another assassin in his hotel room right after. Griffin and the others woke up and ran into Jasper's room after his assassin was taken out, Griffin only wearing PJ bottoms. Because he was so afraid for Finley, he pulled her into a sexy hug and looked into her eyes and... didn't kiss her because there were all these other people in the room. I love that she knew he would have done it had the others not been in there with them.
• My Score: 3.5 stars out of 5.
  
  
  
  
  

*I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Steel Corset (The Steampunk Chronicles, #1)

by Kady Cross

Genre: Historical/Fantasy/Steampunk

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 24, 2011

Source: Hardcover purchase

Age Rating: 14+

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In 1897 England, 16-year-old Finley Jayne is convinced she's a freak. No normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch. Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special . . . that she's one of "them." 

 

My Review

I finally read The Girl in the Steel Corset after having it on my shelf for almost a full year! I'd been wanting to read it, but for some stupid reason (too many other books tbr) I waited until now to do it. How's that for procrastination?

• Plot: Finley Jayne is a servant in a big manor and has to fend off an unwelcome advance by a young, rakish lord, which she does easily because she has this “Mr. Hyde” alternate ego that takes over when she's in danger. She's very strong in that state. After escaping, she literally crashes into Griffin King, Duke of Greythorne's carriage and he decides to take her into his home because he recognizes that she's unusual, like how he and his merry band of misfit friends all are. Griffin becomes like a “Professor X” to all his friends and they have to stop a madman called The Machinist from his evil ploy against Queen Victoria.
• Characters: Finley has a ton of potential to be a really intriguing, if not fascinating character, but she falls totally flat. She was born with a split personality, her normal self and her bad self. The bad side scares her and she can't control it at first. But, even in that state, she's so uninteresting. She's too cardboard. Griffin is just as cardboard and uninteresting. All I can think to say is that both of them felt underdeveloped, and in fact, this applies to all the characters. Some characters feel out of place, like Jasper the American cowboy. His presence was so insignificant, it felt like he could have easily not been in it at all and it wouldn't have mattered. Jack Dandy seemed like an insert just to create a love triangle between himself, Finley and Griffin. What made Dandy so dangerous was never illustrated or specified, but he supposedly was a super bad boy. Why not show us how? And, why did he fake a Cockney accent?
• Writing: The writing is fine, but my gripes with it are that it switches from limited 3^rd person POV to head-hopping 3^rd person POV from time to time. Thankfully, it doesn't happen very often. Also, I don't like the dialogue very much because it seems too modern. It's set in the year 1897 and they occasionally used modern slang. Really off-putting.
• Story: For the most part, I like the steampunk elements used because they are so plentiful. I feel like most steampunk I read is too scant on the actual technology that makes it steampunk. Although, some gadgets and do-dads seem pointless. I'd rather be informed on just the things that matter to the plot. The clothes everyone wears is just modern steampunk attire, not actual Victorian-era attire, which feels odd. I don't understand Emily's “ropey” hair. What does that mean? Also, it may as well have been set in 2012 because they have all of our technology in steampunk form. Why bother to set it in 1897, then?
• Overall Quality: The story is meant to be a pairing of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with X-Men, but it comes off a bit too superficial and shallow, and I had a hard time feeling satisfied while reading it. It is a good story and keeps you turning the pages, though. The Organites are very interesting insofar as what they do, and the back-story on Griffin and Finley's parents adds layers of dimensionality. So, not all is lost, but I would have liked it better with multi-dimensional characters, less meaningless descriptions of the style of the clothes (style over substance problem), and more dramatic tension between the characters. I had such high hopes that this book would be amazing, but it fell so short of them. What a bummer....
• Favorite Moment: When Sam (Griffin's best friend who is half-man, half-machine), tries to kill Finley and Finley nearly dies, but her 'Hyde' ego kicks into gear at the last second, and she nearly kills him, instead. A kick-butt, dramatic scene—I just wish there were more like it.
• My Score: 3 stars out of 5.
  
  
  
  
  

Book Review: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

The Hunt (The Hunt, #1)

by Andrew Fukuda 

Genre: Post-Apocalypse/Dystopia/Vampires

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 8, 2012

Source: ARC from publisher

Age Rating: 16+ (for violence)

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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? 

 

 

My Review

I won this from the publisher through a LibraryThing's Early Reviewers giveaway. The Hunt has a lot of hype behind it, so I wanted to see if it would live up to it...

• Plot: Dark and riveting, with plenty of heart-pounding action. There are long stretches of slow scenes, but they provide useful information about the world-building and the characters, or whatever you need to know as the reader. The main character, Gene, is living a pretend existence as a vampiric creature, but he's exactly what those creatures live to hunt and eat. They are so dangerous and troublesome I just hate them for being so beast-like and wanting nothing but to eat 'hepers' (what they call humans). Although, I feel like I'm hating lions, tigers and bears for being beasts, and that's not fair. There must be good vampires, but we never find any in this book. The ones Gene deals with become vengeful and sadistic, so I hate—HATE them so much.
• Characters: Gene lives all alone because his family is dead, but he still goes to school with the vampire people and tries his darnedest not to get caught doing anything heper-like. Even sweating would give him away. Can't show emotion. Can't be caught out in the sun. He's never seen another heper other than his family, so I don't know what he plans on doing with his future. He's been in survival mode all his life, and even though he's nearly done with high school, that's all he can think of to do. He does like Ashley June, although going out with her would be bad because she'd figure out what he truly is, and eat him. As would all the others. They would all EAT him in a heartbeat, even those who've known him since childhood. Frickin' beasts....
• Writing: I really like the quick-paced writing that doesn't skimp out on fluid prose. Nor does it inundate you with purple prose, because Gene is narrating this and he wouldn't realistically use flowery words. The writing style is perfectly suited for this type of adrenaline-pumping, terrifying story.
• Story: Irony abounds here. The vampires all believe they are highly evolved compared to the hepers—hepers are the beasts who can't even talk and are just dumb animals. Gene discovers when he meets the hepers that will be hunted down by the vampires (after he has been selected to participate in The Hunt) that they can talk, think, reason and even sing. They can do things he has always felt like doing, but couldn't understand why he wanted to do them. The vampires have no names and they freakin' drool all the time. It's a wonder they can stand up straight! Thus, the irony abounds when they affirm so fiercely that they are the evolved beings and the hepers are the lowly animals.
• Overall Quality: It's high, although when I started to read it, I thought I stumbled upon plot hole after plot hole and a ton of illogical-nesses. I still don't know how Gene survived without water for so many days, but he does get some, eventually. And, how is it that the vampires don't figure out that he, specifically, stinks like a heper? They all just think the odor is coming from somewhere else. Maybe they are all that dumb. It's not perfect, but it builds into a very impressive narrative filled with frightening scenes that make you feel like how you do when you dream you're being chased, and all you want is to get away for your life. It's just like that, seriously!
• Favorite Moment: Maybe it's a bit SPOILERY (don't read on if you don't want even a little spoiler), but I love when Gene gets his chance to shove all that rhetoric and nonsense from the vampires right back in their faces, especially at the vampire Director of The Hunt. He shouts, “You guys are the beasts—you're the mindless, stupid, un-evolved creatures!” Something to that effect. I loved it, especially after hating with a passion those cocky, blood-thirsty, drooling “people.”
• My Score: 4 stars out of 5. (There is some graphic violence, just so you know.)
  
  

*I have provided my honest review in exchange for receiving an early edition from the publisher.

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Legend of Korra Episode Recaps: Episode 4

"The Legend of Korra Episode Recaps" is a book blog feature created by the indubitably awesome Lisa @ Lisa Is Busy Nerding.

Korra airs Saturdays at 11am EST/10am CST on Nickelodeon.

Hi, everybody! Welcome to another weekly installment of The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra Episode Recaps/Commentary/Discussion/Whatever. I'm a day late, but that's okay. It's never too late to talk about Korra. 

Episode 4, "The Voice in the Night"

Recap/Commentary

This show is just so amazing! GAH! It is so much better than I ever imagined it would be. It truly is meant for a more mature audience compared to the first series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. I think that's why I'm relating to it better. I've long since graduated from Middle School, after all.

First of all, episode 4 starts out with Korra dreaming that Amon is about to take away her bending, but she awakens just before he can do it. Clearly, Amon is living rent-free in her head space. In the dream Amon even taunted her, saying she'd be nothing without her bending. She's feeling insecure because she wouldn't matter anymore if she lost her abilities. 'Tis true.

Tenzin is in a council meeting with all the other nations' representatives, and the guy representing the Northern Water Tribe, Tarrlok, is proposing that he lead a special task force designed just to track down Amon and bring him to justice. Tenzin thinks this is a bad idea. It will divide benders and non-benders even more, but the other reps all out vote him. Shady Tarrlok just got his way and I bet not for the first time (and not for the last, either).

Tarrlok mentions something interesting about older Aang that upset Tenzin. Apparently Aang had to deal with a rabble-rouser back in his day who threatened Republic City, and he dealt with him head-on. Why this got under Tenzin's skin is not clear. The dude Aang dealt with was a man named Yakon forty-two years earlier. It must mean something, but what?

Mako gets off work and tries to catch a trolly, only to get hit by some idiot on a motorbike! He's about to lay into this guy until he realizes this guy is not a guy, at all. He's a young, beautiful, rich woman named Asami, and she is a huge fan of the Fire Ferrets. Fan girl alert, Mako! But, for once it's good to be a famous Pro-bender. Bolin is rubbing off on him. Asami sets up a date at a fancy shin-dig as an apology, and he's already in lurve. 

My question: What about Korra? He all to easily forgets she exists. Son, I am disappoint. -_-

Anyway, that Tarrlok dude is shifty when he interrupts Tenzin's family dinner with Korra all of a sudden. What's he up to? He wants to recruit Korra into his anti-anti-bender task force, but she refuses him, surprisingly. She's all into her airbender training, or so she says. She's even missing out on Pro-bending practices with her boys. Tarrlok will not be turned away so easily, though. 

Mako goes to Kuang's, the fancy shin-diggy restaurant that requires he have a valet dress him in duds that would pay his rent for the next three months. Chilling with Asami, he finds out she's seen ALL of his matches (stalker, much?). But, she is the daughter of Hiroshi Sato, the man who invented the Satomobile--the answer to the automobile in the Avatar universe. Is that cute, or what? So, Mako wants to meet this cool guy, fo sho. 

Bolin drops by to see Korra and give her a red rose and a cupcake. My reaction: O__O. A red rose? Wow. Korra doesn't even pick up on the gesture. It means he's in love with you, girl. She's so clueless, but Bolin is adorable making up a reason to give it to her. A messenger brings by some big goodies and gifts from Tarrlok in order to sway her to join the task force, and Bolin thinks Tarrlok is a suitor! He's about to throw-down, but is relieved to hear he's not really, after all. All this flies over Korra's head. 

Mako gets to meet Mr. Sato and Sato offers to sponsor the Fire Ferrets because none of them have the money to enter the tournament. They'll have to change their name to Future Industries Fire Ferrets, but so what? They get to play, and Mako is so happy, he's willing to tattoo the industry's logo on his chest. If you do, Mako, then you have to promise to let us see it.... -_o

Korra gets invited to a gala thrown by Tarrlok in her honor. What is that guy doing now? She and Tenzin dress up all spiffy and Korra gets to meet Asami hanging off the arm of Mako. "Who is she?" asks Korra. What she meant to say was, "Get away from my man, little girl, or I'll knock you into Episode 5!" Needless to say, she seems jealous, and not all that happy about the sponsorship by the girl's father. The real reason for Korra's gala becomes obvious when Tarrlok throws her in front of the press, all set up with questions about why she's so afraid to join the task force. Who's afraid? Not Korra! She'd hate to admit that, so she publicly joins it, after all. Tarrlok just got his way, again. Slick politician.

She gets to help take down a chi-blocking training session and arrest the chi-blockers, gets into the papers, but she's not happy. Something's eating at her. She knows what to do to feel better. Challenge Amon to a one-on-one duel! And, that's what she does, over the radio. At midnight on Avatar Aang Memorial Island. Mano y Korra. 

Tenzin tries to talk her out of it, as does Tarrlok, but he's got an fleet of airships overhead ready to strike from the sky if need be. She waits on a statue of Aang... and waits and waits. Is he even coming? Just when he seems a no-show, she gets ambushed by Amon's chi-blockers who block her bending and tie her up in whips. Amon acts like he's going to do the deed, but he just holds up her face, telling her they will duel another day. He's got a plan and their duel is going to have to wait (until the last episode). If she loses her bending now, the benders will make a martyr out of her. 

He knocks her out and she has the coolest vision ever. She sees the grown-up versions of the deceased characters, Sokka, Toph and Aang. Not only that, but she sees Aang fighting that Yakon guy who disturbed the peace of the city forty-two years earlier! It was so awesome to see these characters all grown up. Loved them all as children and teens in the first series. Yay! More, please. Funny thing is, Korra thought Tenzin was the spirit version of Aang when he finally caught up with her after Amon left. She finally lets it all out in front of Tenzin, her fears of Amon's ability and everything, overwhelmed by feels and tearbending. Yep, she can tearbend, too, just like any girl. Tenzin gives us the episode's lesson: admitting your fears is the first step to overcoming them.

Holy crud! Episode 5 is going to blow my mind! The next two episodes will be about the Pro-bending tournament and Korra gets to meet Tahno! I can't wait for that to happen. 


What did you think of this episode? Are you liking it more than the original A:TLA series?

Until next time, Korraddicts, have a great week.... 

Book Review: Blood Will Tell by Samantha Young

Blood Will Tell (Warriors of Ankh, #1)

by Samantha Young

Genre: Paranormal/Mythology

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: June 29, 2011

Source: Kindle Store

Age Rating: 17+ (for violence)

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Eden is a Soul Eater. While that hasn’t meant much to her in the past, she’s pretty sure any minute now she’s going to go all "Carrie" on her eleventh grade class. Noah is an Ankh. As an immortal Warrior, his purpose in life is to hunt down and kill Soul Eaters.

Eden is Noah’s next assignment. Problem is… this is an assignment with a difference. Eden’s not your average, run of the mill, Soul Eater. Noah’s job? To test Eden for possible redemption. It’s a risky business. Especially if Noah awakens Eden’s inner monster. It would be kind of hard for Eden to listen to the angel on her shoulder when the devil on the other is telling her, her new best friend is a lying, scheming, immortal enemy...

....betrayal is such a bitch. So is Eden when you get on her bad side. 

My Review

I had been trying to find time to read Blood Will Tell for a while, and finally did. This one was SO fast—it was the perfect antidote for having little time to read. It only disappointed a bit, but I found a potentially new great villain character to *cross-fingers* gobble up (pun intended)...

• Plot: Eden is a soul eater, a type of human-like being that has to eat human souls in order to live. But, she hates the idea of having to kill people just to feed herself and resists the urge to cave into her baser instincts, daily. Her best friend Noah doesn't help much since he's so yummy in more ways than one. But, he's on an assignment from the order of the Ankh—immortal warriors who hunt and kill soul eaters. Eden is a special soul eater, and Noah needs to see if she can be saved from the demonic side of herself before she takes her first soul, or it will be too late.
• Characters: Eden is a grumpy teenager with a very dysfunctional family, and not just because they're all soul eaters. Her father, Ryan, is even a deviant amongst his own kind, being a sadistic, perverted killer/rapist along with Eden's cousin, Teagan, who lives with her. The only bright spot at home is her older brother, Stellan, who never kills any of his victims. He's a really sweet character, always protecting her, especially from Teagan, whom she must marry at age eighteen. Oddly, enough I liked Teagan the best. He has a kind of sass I find really fun in villain characters. Ryan, although right on the same level of perversion as Teagan, just has no personality other than being a d-bag. Noah is a nice guy, tall, handsome and caring, but when Eden discovers who he really is, it causes major mistrust issues. I like that he and Eden had already known each other for six months when the story began. No insta-love, since Noah's hardly a real teenager, anyway. As if!
• Writing: It's good, definitely nothing to worry about. I love how it was written in such a way that you could literally read the entire novel in one sitting, although I didn't do that. But, it's a very fast and engaging read. We also get alternating POV's between Eden and Noah, all done in 3^rd person, and not confusing at all.
• Storytelling: I found myself sucked right into this story, even though Eden isn't that likable of a protagonist. She basically pushes everybody away, perhaps in an effort to protect them from herself, since she grows more and more dangerous to the humans around her. I can forgive her for being a teenager and sympathize with her horrible home life. Her dad and Teagan are a couple of sickos. Ryan has a basement in his mansion and brings all his victims there to rape and torture them before eating their souls. It's unnecessary to do any of these things just to eat souls, but he and Teagan relish in being sick freaks. Ryan likes Teagan so much, he promised he could marry Eden (they're first cousins—gag) when she turns eighteen, and Teagan constantly sexually harasses Eden. She completely loathes him. (Although, I like him because he's sassy!) I feel so bad for her life and the pressure she's under to go through with the soul eater ceremony to become one, officially. She doesn't want to, at all. Noah hopes to get her away from her family to join his because she actually does belong with the Ankh, too. It's very interesting how the whole story plays out, and Eden ranges from being an irritable teenager to an overwhelmed girl struggling with unbearable urges to kill innocent people.
• Overall Quality: Really good. I didn't notice any plot holes or world-building problems. Everything seems to make sense within the world created.
• Favorite Scene/Moment: This wasn't a favorite scene, but one that stuck out to me. Eden finally went down into her father's torture basement and found a girl her age chained to a bed. She had a chance to save her, but instead, ran back upstairs and vomited in her toilet. I just thought that was a sad, weak moment for her, although she redeems herself of this cowardice later on. Eden is made out to be a pretty realistic teenager who isn't perfect, but still manages to do the right thing, in time.
  I'll be reading the next book, if anything, because I want to see more of Teagan and how he plays out as a significant villain character....*hee-hee*
• My Score: 4 stars out of 5. (There is some graphic violence, just so you know!)

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Legend of Korra Episode Recaps: Episode 3

"The Legend of Korra Episode Recaps" is a book blog feature created by the indubitably awesome Lisa @ Lisa Is Busy Nerding.

I'm back with another episode recap/discussion of The Legend of Korra. 

Episode 3 "The Revelation"

Recap/Discussion

I gotta say this show is already going far beyond my expectations. It's so clever at developing the plot and the characters all at the same time, like a best-selling novel. Definitely, Mike & Brian (the show's creative duo) are demonstrating that they are not a one-trick pony act. They can continue to kill it even when they write sequels.

Episode 3 basically sets up the complication and introduces us to our main villain character: It starts out innocently enough with Korra training for her Pro-bending match with her teammates Mako and Bolin. She and Mako are still not too chummy with each other. She discovers from Bolin that the two brothers are orphans and have had to scrape by in life. They still struggle to find money, and in order to enter the Pro-bending Tournament, they have to come up with 30,000 yulans. Yikes! 

Korra freely admits that she has never had to earn a living because people have always taken care of her all her life. Mako sounds a bit gruff at the remark, like a bitter pauper. We get to see Korra's mentality, having been the known Avatar all her life. It makes sense that she's been treated extra-specially since her childhood, which is rare for an Avatar (they usually find out they are the Avatar at age 16). 

There's a scene of Mako working at a power plant as he lightning-bends into a furnace with a bunch of other lightning-benders, showing just how common this type of bending is nowadays (it used to be rare). This is a world-building scenario, a clever one that shows us how Republic City is able to run on electricity, since there was none in the first series, and how Mako picks up a few extra bucks here and there when needed. When he returns to his loft home, Bolin is gone and he assumes he has gone across the bay to hang out with Korra (her island is in plain sight out his window).

When he goes to see if Bolin is with Korra, he finds out he is not, and they set out together to find him. Mako knows that Bolin has a knack for getting himself into dangerous situations. They find Bolin getting thrown into the back of a truck, tied up by people who are clearly working with the anti-bending folks--the Equalists. These guys fight and temporarily chi-block Korra and Mako from being able to bend any elements, but the two are saved by Naga, Korra's polar-bear dog.

After that, they spend all night looking for Bolin to no avail. The shipping ensues between Korra and Mako as they are alone together the entire time, but Mako is wanting to keep his distance from Korra, not give her any ideas. We are still left wondering if that's what he really feels about her. (She's clearly fine with him.) Then, they get a lead when they pick up some fliers that advertise something called "The Revelation," which is part of the anti-bending social movement in the city. The Equalists are headed up by a man named Amon, and he plans on revealing something amazing that nobody knows about just yet. 

They go undercover to the Equalist rally and see for the first time just how many anti-benders there are... hundreds, maybe thousands. It's shocking. Amon ascends from the stage and reveals that the Spirits of the Spirit World have instructed him that bending is bad and that the Avatar system is fail. He is supposed to take away all benders' abilities to bend the elements from them, and he can do it. No. Way. That is impossible. But, he shows everyone that he can do it by demonstrating on a notorious mobster named Lightning Bolt Zolt--a fire-bender. Amon holds the guy's forehead and Zolt is left with no bending. It's permanent. 

Bolin is on stage and about to get his earth-bending taken away from him by Amon when Korra wrecks a boiler, causing steam to fill up the arena, which allows Mako to grab Bolin undercover, and they all escape, barely. Korra finally returns to her temporary home with her sifu, Tenzin, who was worried sick about her. She has to tell him all about the new threat Amon poses to all benders, and Tenzin is aghast that the man has learned to do something only the Avatar has ever been known to do. It is a mystery, indeed, how he learned to do something so dangerous. (Although, I do know what he has learned, but it's too spoilery for this post.)

I'm very impressed with this new villain character, Amon, because, unlike Ozai, the villain of the first series, he seems more multi-dimensional. Amon is motivated to take away people's bending abilities because he grew up a non-bender with his non-bending family, and a fire-bender killed them all. He was left with a scarred face that he has to cover with a mask. Of course he would hate benders, and many benders are oppressing non-benders. All of this is really happening, and he wants to take the hard-line approach to fixing the problem. It's just that it's a very severe way to do it. But, I like that he is NOT motivated by greed, but a notion that he is doing good and making life better for people. That's the best kind of villain--one who doesn't know he is one.

What do you think of this episode? What do you think of Amon, the new villainous threat to the benders? 

Book Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1)

by Lauren DeStefano 

Genre: Dystopia/Sci-Fi

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: March 22, 2011

Source: local library

Age Rating: 16+

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By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape—before her time runs out?Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom. 

 

My Review

This is an old review I wrote (edited a bit) before I started my book blog, so, obviously I couldn't use my newer review format for this one. I apologize for the lack of my current style....

*****

Wither is a really well written YA dystopian and I loved most everything about it. Great story, very interesting premise and great characters. You feel like you're right there with Rhine every step of the way, immersed in her new horrible situation. She's a sixteen-year-old bride forced into a marriage with a total stranger who marries two other girls along with her, so you can feel how piteous this situation is. All of the wives are as different as can be, and it is interesting to see how the youngest (at age 13) loves her new life, while Rhine hates it, and the oldest wife just waits around to die.

Despite all that works so well, there are some very serious world-building problems. It made it difficult for me to completely "suspend disbelief." As you read this review, you're going to think I mostly hated this book, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Still, I felt the need to address the issues that bothered me when I read it.

In this alternate United States, there is a nationwide genetic problem that causes young people, both male and female, to die in their twenties—or, is it a virus? Both are mentioned as the cause of the shortened lifespans, but they are two completely different things. Which is it? Other things that bothered me were how some of the girls that had been "gathered" (abducted for forced marriages) and not purchased as brides, were shot. Why? The Gatherers shoot them, even though they could sell them alive later on to turn a profit. It's just senseless murder.

On to those pesky starving orphans... They are either so troublesome they require Rhine and her brother Rowan to sleep in shifts every night just to fend them off (before Rhine's abduction), but it's okay for Rhine and bro to both leave home at the same time to go to work. Hard to buy that logic. And, they both go fishing for fish they know they can't eat? Why bother? Why leave the precious basement of your home exposed to those little unarmed orphan pests if they really are such a problem? See, weird logic. How are starving little orphans kids so dangerous, anyway? More weirdness.

There are quite a few things like this that got on my nerves. But, I otherwise really liked this novel and look forward to the rest of the trilogy. I just hope the world-building problems get straightened out. It is as if the author didn't think she needed to invest more time in developing her fictional world completely, thinking everything out so it would make sense.

I have given it a lesser rating as a result. Otherwise, I really thought this book rocked. Make no mistake—this book is very good and worth reading. The writing and story are superb, the characters are interesting, and there is tons of mystery, even the good kind (not just the kind caused by the shoddy world-building). These are just my personal grievances. You may feel differently, so read this one for yourself and see what you think.

Still, I gave it...

My score: 4 stars out of 5.

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Legend of Korra Episode Recaps: Episodes 1 & 2

"The Legend of Korra Episode Recaps" is a book blog feature created by the indubitably awesome Lisa @ Lisa Is Busy Nerding.

Okay, people. Let me explain what this is. This is a new weekly feature I will participating in along with Lisa from Lisa is Busy Nerding every Wednesday where I will be recaping and discussing the previous Saturday morning premiers of the new Nickelodeon cartoon, The Legend of Korra.

I have been a HUGE fan of the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon series for the past five years because it is so unique, refreshing, and like nothing else out there. What an amazing show! And, it really isn't just for kids. It's one of those kids' cartoons that can honestly be enjoyed by people of all ages. No, I don't have any kids that got me into the show. I seriously just channel-surfed one day and found it all on my own. I am that awesome (read: weird).

So, today I will be discussing Episodes 1 & 2 (they premiered together on Saturday, April 14th), and this will be the usual routine. Go HERE to watch the first 2 episodes online for free! You will be most impressed by the beautiful fantasy elements and incredible world-building. I hope you will join me in watching and discussing this amazing new series!

Re-Cap Discussion: Episodes 1 & 2

 

Korra is the next Avatar after Aang, living in a world united by his legacy, but it has fallen into a bit of chaos since his death seventeen years ago. She was born into the Southern Water Tribe, and we see right away from Episode 1 that everyone knew she was the world's next Avatar because she could already bend all the elements except air from a very young age. She comes out guns-a-blazing from the womb! This girl is p-o-w-e-r-f-u-l and she knows it. She makes sure everybody else knows it, too.

Her issue is that she needs to learn how to airbend, and the only person on the planet who can teach her is Aang's son, Tenzin, who is carrying on his airbender teachings. One thing that the creators of the show are doing perfectly for this sequel series is bringing back some old familiar characters. We actually get to see old lady Katara who has become the medicine woman for her Southern Water Tribe, and she knows through spiritual divination that Korra must leave her home and find her own path as the world's Avatar.

This doesn't sit well with Tenzin because he knows how to teach airbending, but Korra is just not having it. She thinks like an earthbender, all "shoot-em up and crush em into dust" type of mentality, which is the opposite of the Air Nomads' way. She decides to chill in Republic City, which has an anti-bending movement on the rise because non-benders feel oppressed by benders due to the natural selective process of whatever it is that endows one with bending abilities. Yeah, it is kind of unfair when you're not born with these abilities (but, life is unfair. As Korra says, you gotta deal with it!).

She doesn't have to worry much about this movement in the first two episodes just yet, and instead, opts to check out a pro-bending tournament. In this series, bending is a professional sport and there's a whole new way to bend all the elements unlike anything Korra has ever seen before. She totally digs it! It's modern and the bee's knees (this expression will make sense in a moment, I promise).

She meets a guy around her age named Bolin and his brother Mako, both of whom are on the Fire Ferrets, a pro-bending team. Mako is like the Babe Ruth of pro-bending, but he's a bit unfriendly and unsociable, unlike his outgoing brother, Bolin. Korra gets a chance to play in one of their matches when their third team member flakes out on them at the last minute. She doesn't know what she's doing, but she's found her place in the world, as pro-bending is the freakin' berries and totally copacetic.

Why am I using all this 1920's American slang? Well, that's what decade it is in the Avatar world, and you can see the style reflected in all their technology, clothing and way of life. Call it 'steampunk lite.' You'll even see some airships floating around. Despite this, I still see mostly familiar attire and martial arts from the original series, so this makes me happy. I'm still watching a show that reflects its predecessor very well.

Now, I can't help musing on what I want to see in future episodes. Korra x Mako!! Of course these two seem to be getting shipped together already. If you consider that Korra is a Southern Water Tribe girl (like how Katara was), and that Mako is a Fire Nation guy (like how Zuko was), then it's like Zuko x Katara (Zutara) gets to happen now! I always liked Katara and Zuko together, even though they never got romantically involved. I actually still hold out hope that they will get together in this series because Zuko could still be alive, for all I know at this time.  


Needless to say, I'm super excited about this season and about seeing what's in store for Korra and her new friends. Who else is still alive from Avatar: The Last Airbender? Who is this masked villain character that hates element bending? Who was that pretty boy Korra was mocking to his face in that preview I saw? Seriously, this looks like it's going to kill it, and I can't wait to see every minute of this show!


If you're following the show, what did you think of Episodes 1 and 2? Do you like this new, very different type of Avatar hero?