Review: Panic by Lauren Oliver

Title: Panic by Lauren Oliver

Published: March 4th, 2014 by HaperCollins

Source: ARC (thanks to ALA!)

Format: Paperback

Genre: Contemporary

Age group: Young adult

Reviewer: Arianne

Grade rate: C

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do. Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought. Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for. For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Lauren Oliver specialises in using human emotion as the centrepiece of her work. She did it in Delirium, where love became a disease and joy a far-off dream. And she does it again in Panic, one of this year’s most highly anticipated new releases.  

With vision and finesse, Oliver has set her most epic concept yet against a stark backdrop of small-town claustrophobia. Capitalising on a tumult of teenage angst – from loneliness and despair to anger and resentment and back again – she paints a vivid if somewhat bleak picture of what life can be like in a world that’s constantly trying to tear you down.

One thing that goes without question is the fact that Lauren Oliver is simply an incredible writer.  She’s one of the few I know who could pull off third person present narration, but she doesn’t just settle for one narrator, she goes with two! Panic is more than just a string of sentences thrown together into roughly YA shape. Every word is carefully chosen. It’s soaked with style. It’s written with the title in mind, and the prose hurtles forward with the force of an oncoming train – yet at the same time, there is an element of the psychological thriller about it, and there are some scenes which just sizzle with the effects of slow-burning tension and secrets.

Heather and Dodge are hiding things from themselves as well as others. Dodge, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, has a fierce determination to win and an even more fierce determination to get revenge in the only way he knows how. I liked Dodge, but didn’t love him, though I admired his strength and story. Unfortunately, Heather really let me down. It’s in keeping with the stagnant atmosphere of Carp as a town, but she seemed lost without a guy by her side and she’s not very individual.

And with such problems in the cases of the main characters, it’s no surprise that the secondary characters fall flat as well. Natalie and Bishop never seemed real to me. I appreciated that Oliver was trying to tackle tough themes and issues she’d never broached before, but it just didn’t really work out in her favour. Harsh realities become gratuitous, dragging details and there’s no vibrancy to anchor yourself to as a reader. 

As a plot construct, the Panic game is remarkably simple, but in reality, it has huge risks and all too often, devastating consequences. Nobody knows who the judges are and it’s obviously played outside the realms of the law. Like the overcoming of fear in Veronica Roth’s Divergent, Panic too focuses on tackling the doubts and nightmares of the teenage players. I was willing to suspend my disbelief to begin with, but when I discovered that the adults of the town were still completely oblivious to the game despite it already having cost lives (and rewarding several winners with inordinate sums of money) even my interest in it began to wane. Also, when they started keeping tigers in captivity and players refused to take responsibility for the damage they were causing to others, physically, mentally and emotionally? Not cool. Everyone kept giving excuses and I was totally exasperated with them by the end.

In short: Panic pulses with dramatic intensity and social contrast. Fans of the author will recognise her style and epic depiction of the simplest human emotions, while new readers will be awed by the tension and action which define the harsh landscape of its plot. It’s not for everyone, however, as it requires huge suspension of disbelief on the reader’s part and there are some major faults which jump out from the page now and again. I don’t think it will become an enduring favourite for me, but I hope it’s not the last Lauren Oliver book I’ll read.

Top Ten All Time Favorite Books in the Middle Grade Genre

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish

I know middle grade isn’t really a genre, but I was recently asked to come up with some off-the-beaten-track books that would suit readers of differing abilities in the 10-13 age range, and I thought the resulting mix would make a great Top Ten Tuesday list. I’d recommend a lot of these books to readers of all ages, but think they would be especially suited to young readers moving on from children’s books to the beginnings of YA.

1.         The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

2.         A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

3.         Wonder by RJ Palacio

4.         City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

5.         Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

6.         The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke 

7.         Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows,One Witch (Maybe) by Siobhán             Parkinson

8.         OMG! Is This Actually My Life? by Rae Earl

9.         This Journal Belongs to Ratchetby Nancy J. Cauvanagh

10.       Eragon by Christopher Paolini

What do you think? Are there any lesser-known middle grade books you think should be added to the list? Let us know in the comments!

Review: Starcrossed by Josephine Agelini (Starcrossed #1)

Title: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Release date: May 31st 2011 by HarperTeen 

Source: Purchased

Format: Paperback

Age group: Young adult

Genre: Contemporary/Mythology

Reviewer: Arianne

Grade rate: A

How do you defy destiny? Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history. As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

Starcrossed is a story that I've loved for a long time. Not only is it the most intriguing and well-executed take on the defining romance of Greek mythology (that of Paris and Helen of Troy, and the Trojan War that followed) I've ever read, but it's also a hugely entertaining read that makes you smile long after you've finished reading.

Helen's always known she's different, but when she sees the scorchingly hot Lucas Delos for the first time and immediately tries to kill him in front of the whole school, she suddenly realizes there's more to it than just feeling like the odd one out: she's destined to restart an aeons-old conflict that will not only tear apart the gods, but her family and the meaning of her life as she knows it, too. The war almost destroyed the gods and their mortal heroes the first time around, but the Furies love patterns; they're the ancient Greek version of catty cheerleaders and they've scented blood.

Thrust into a dangerous world of Scions, demigods, curses and treachery, Helen faces a decision she always thought she'd know the answer to - but choosing between the love of her life and the survival of the human race may not be entirely hers after all. Everything she does seems to bring the threat of war closer, and no matter how hard she tries to resist loving Lucas, there's a part of her that just can't let him go.

This book may be slow to start, but it's definitely worth the wait. The writing style takes getting used to - it's intense, tightly packed and overwhelms the content from time to time - but if you can get through the first quarter, you'll be totally hooked. Starcrossed is all about story and its plot pulls no punches. There are twists and turns everywhere you look!

The importance of family is a theme that plays a huge role in Starcrossed. From the tight-knit but sometimes lonely existence lived by Helen and her father to the chaotic, clamouring warmth of the extended Delos family, there's a sense that although this book focuses on mythology, if you took that element away, there would still be great characters and dynamic relationships to build the story around. Lucas was my favourite character, but Ariadne comes in at a close second - and not just because we share a similar name! She's the feistiest character and stands out from the crowd. There was no shortage of action and danger in Starcrossed, but sometimes I found myself wishing for even more big family scenes. Josephine Angelini really understands what it means to belong, illustrating beautifully the strength and bonds within the Delos tribe. 

If I had to find one fault with the book, it would be that the minor characters are somewhat underdeveloped. Helen's hgih school companions just don't have the depth they need, and they don't hold the readers attention. I really liked Claire, Helen's best friend, but it is true that she probably doesn't have the complexity or realism she deserves.

In short: Starcrossed is a well-written, well-researched story that brilliantly reinvents Greek mythology for a modern young adult audience. It sets a high standard for the contemporary-mythological genre of YA. A book that's been close to my heart since the day I first read it.

One Window, Two Views {Diversity in YA}

Arianne and I are so excited to bring you this new feature! One Window, Two Views will be a weekly meme where we will discuss a topic from each of our points of view.  Please join the discussion!  

Arianne: When it comes to diversity - whether it's to do with creed, culture, race or sexuality - YA is not where it should be. Yes, there are some fantastic examples of books where diversity is key - but we still need more of it.

Liza: I agree.  Since I’m originally from Puerto Rico, I enjoy books about other cultures and I can really identify with Hispanic (Spanish speaking) characters. 

Arianne: I know that when I read YA, I just want to read about characters who feel real to me. When I look at my favourite books, there's a pretty even split between what I would consider to be 'diverse books' and 'not so diverse books'. (And of course, there are the 'OMG why did I read this it's so badly written' books, or the 'there are plot holes everywhere HELP ME!' books that fit into both categories, because let's face it, whether you've created a diverse book or not, there's still the chance that it's just a terrible read.) The main characteristic of all these books, however, is that they are good stories - stories that are fantastically written, totally unique and refreshing to read.

Liza: You couldn’t be more right, it doesn’t matter what the topic of the book is, as long as it’s a good story.  However, there is nothing wrong with writing a great story that includes diversity.  I also have to confess that I don’t read as many divers books as I could, or rather that I don’t seek them out, it seems to be a happy coincidence when I read one.  

Arianne:  One great example - and this is a story I've always wanted to tell - of my personal experience of diversity in YA is the story of the first time I read Ash by Malinda Lo. (For those who don't know, Ash is a Cinderella retelling where Cinderella doesn't fall for the Prince, but for a Huntress named Kaisa.) I was reading young adult way before I was an actual young adult, and by the time I read Ash, the fact that the central romance was between two girls didn't even cross my mind as unusual. I saw it as something different and challenging and memorable. I was actually disappointed that there weren't more books like Ash on the shelf when I returned it to the library. I was hungry for books that showed me different worlds, different sides to life. I didn't know it then, but I was hungry for diversity.

Liza: Following your suit, let me give you two really good examples of cultural diversity that I love – Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles and The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler. The first is about a Mexican-American teen and what he has to go through to get ahead in life as a minority.  Of course, it’s also a love story, but what I liked most about it is the sense of family that is always present among Hispanics.  The Book of Broken hearts is a book that I read (listen to, really) due to your suggestion when I posted my rambling about authors using foreign languages in their books (see it here.)  I’m SO glad that I listen to you Arianne, because I loved it (I still have to review it, but I promise to do it soon!)  Again, the sense of family is such an intricate part of the story.  I also loved that Ockler didn’t feel compelled to make the Hispanic community one of gangs or criminals, as it is often a stereotype that I dread in literature and movies/TV.

 Arianne: For me, lack of diversity in YA just isn't acceptable. I actually get really heat up about it! The teen imagination is as vast as an ocean, filled with the potential for racing currents, thrilling danger and incredible creatures. YA books have the capacity to tell stories you would never see on the adult shelf, because we're open to new ideas and new ways of thinking. We're open to what others see as impossible - vampires, witches, ghosts, gods, monsters, parallel worlds and bizarre dystopian futures. But why, if YA authors are so willing to write about these fantastical impossibilities, are they unwilling to make their characters more diverse in real ways? Why are the shelves filled with book covers featuring pretty blonde rich girls and their super-hot boyfriends? Where are the ethnic minorities, the characters questioning their sexuality, the books where we aren't told the hero is straight and white on the first page and we should all just move on and assume that's how it's supposed to be?

Liza:  I’m not sure I know the reasons either.  Maybe it is because authors and publishers might be afraid, not only that it will not sell their book, but that their work (their babies, really) will be shunned, criticized and even banned.  Another reason might be that since the young adult books are really designed for an age group that starts at around ages 10-12, parents get involved as well.  It is my humble opinion as a mother that banning a book for its content is never the answer.  Just as I supervise what my kids watch on TV or at the movies, I also supervise their reading.  It is up to me, as a parent, to shape their minds and make sure that the content is age appropriate.

Arianne: I get that certain types of young adult books sell, I do. Publishing is a business, not a fairytale. Authors, editors, agents, designers, PR departments and all the people in the between - they have to make a living. I don't want my favourite authors to have to work three jobs and sleep in their car because their books were 'difficult to market' or 'didn't acquire a large audience'. But without change, the YA sections are going to get smaller and smaller, because, eventually, teenagers will get tired of reading the same stories over and over again. Our expectations of the books we read are getting higher, and I know this makes us a demanding bunch, but you know what? I think YA can meet that demand, because YA does good books better than any other category I know.

Liza: I think that what ‘sells’ varies from year to year.  Once a book or series becomes a ‘hit’ bestseller, which was the case with The Hunger Games and the Twilight Saga for example, it seems like everyone wants to jump in the same wagon.  This is understandable and not isolated to the publishing industry, the same happens with movies, fashion and even food.  However, I think that YA readers also appreciate the unique and the different.  Every reader wants to discover that one story that makes them feel, that story that they can identify with, even if it’s not wrapped with a pink bow.  Not writing about important topics such as creed, sexuality or cultural diversity doesn’t in any way change the reality that surrounds us, on the contrary it feels like we are trying to bury our heads in the sand or look the other way.

Arianne: Personally, I think 2014 is definitely going to be a big year for diversity in YA. 2015 and 2016, too, have already been slated as the years for a landslide change in the shape and look of the YA bookshelf. People are starting to realize that diversity shouldn't be regarded as an obstacle, but as an asset - and the norm. I'm really hopeful that as the year goes on we'll see more books from diverse perspectives. This year, and beyond, I want to read more about characters whose experiences have thus far been pushed aside by the industry. Publishers are getting braver, and I love that, because YA fiction is supposed to be a place where anything can happen, and we can never afford to forget it.

Liza:  Like with everything else in life, as years go by, we (as in ‘people’) get more open minded.  Things that we see and hear now would have appalled and scandalized my grandmother, but they are common occurrences now, and thus it will get better for each generation.  I think you’re right as we will soon see an increase in these topic for YA in years to come.

Arianne: For anyone who's interested in finding out more about the kind of LCBTQ diversity I've spoken about today, I highly recommend checking out Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon's diversity project - aptly named Diversity in YA! From there, you'll find a whole new world full of stats, trends, blog posts and interactive discussion on this topic and more.

What are your thoughts about diversity in YA? Are you open to read more of these books?  Do you care either way as long is it is a good story?  Any book recommendations for us?

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Top Ten Tuesday REWIND - Tips for New Book Bloggers

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish

1. Give guest blogging a try! If you don’t have time to maintain a blog of your own or if you’re an experienced blogger feeling pressure of burn-out, guesting or getting a co-blogger could be perfect for you. It was for me!

2. Scheduling is your friend! Instead of rushing posts and hitting publish

right away, work as far in advance as you can. This will help you stay on top of your workload and make taking short breaks from blogging easier.

3. Build up your store of content. When your blog is new, it doesn’t have an audience, and you won’t get one if all you do is sit there and wait for them to magically appear! Review books you own and any you’ve taken out of the library. Memes are a great way to bring traffic onto your blog, but take part in a few of them, not them all.

4. Don’t ask for ARCs right away. This one links in with my last point. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen inexperienced bloggers ask for ARCs and get a solid ‘no’ for their trouble. Save yourself the heartache and wait it out. As you get better at blogging, the perks will come.

5. Promote your blog. Leave genuine comments on blogs you like, not “This post was great come check out my own blog it is awesome” comments. Be active on social media and explore the blogosphere, but be natural, not forceful. 

6. Be dedicated. This goes without saying, really. Blogging success is not an overnight thing. It’s a lot of fun, but it takes hard work, too. 

7. Don’t forget to enjoy reading – don’t let it become a chore! If you’re book blogging, it’s because you love reading, and you can never afford to forget that.

8. Practice your review craft. Let’s face it, no blogger has ever burst onto the scene writing like they just did a six-month internship at the New York Times. The more you write, the better you’ll get at it. Think of your review writing skills as a constant work in progress, not a finished product. 

9. Be patient, be practical, and be professional. Set realistic goals and realistic timeframes to achieve them in. Learn about blogging etiquette. No matter how frustrated or worn out you are, no matter how many readers your blog has or how many reviews you’ve posted over the last month without a single comment, remember that it costs nothing to be polite and it costs even less to be kind. 

10. Book bloggers aren’t really as scary a bunch as you might think, so make friends! There are a lot of us, so there are bound to be some who are exactly like you. I’ve been lucky enough to meet some amazing bloggers, not least the lovely Liza right here at Reading with ABC, and trust me, book blogging with friends is much more fun than book blogging without them :)

What do you think of our tips for new book bloggers? Do you have any that aren't on this list? Let us know in the comments!

One Window, Two Views {Harry and Hermione or Hermione and Ron}

Arianne and I are so excited to bring you this new feature! One Window, Two Views will be a weekly meme where we will discuss a topic from each of our points of view.  Please join the discussion!  

Arianne: When the article where JK Rowling admitted she regretted letting Ron and Hermione end up together first appeared, I thought it was going to break the internet! I believe her comments were:  “For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron. I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I’m absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective”.

It's not outright saying the relationship didn't work, but an author even admitting she had doubts about 'big romance' of her most famous series is kind of a big deal! The Romione relationship is really important to a lot of fans - but (please don't maim me for what I'm about to say next!) I've always been a Harry/Hermione supporter, and when I read the article I was secretly thrilled. It was like being told "You were right, there was something there between them all along!" What about you, Liza?

Liza: That is so funny!  I’m not at all surprised by Rowling’s statement. I’m not an author, but if I may insert a comparison here, when I bake a recipe for the first time I make notes: more sugar the next time, more vanilla, maybe adding more chocolate chips or replacing the pecans for almonds.  Similarly, any artist often judges and criticizes her/his own work; it must be difficult indeed.  Like you, I could easily imagine Harry and Hermione together, but I have to admit that by ‘The Goblet of Fire’ when Hermione started showing interest in Ron, the idea kind of grew on me. 

Arianne: That's a good point, actually - when you read what Rowling said, you have to step back and think, "Hold on, was anyone really surprised by this?" I can totally understand why as a writer she felt she needed more control over her work. Remember, by the time the third and fourth books were published, the movies were already a huge success. Imagine how hard it must have been to see the books stripped back and streamlined so that only the bare bones were left intact. Of course the central story was still there, but it must have been like looking up a big, old tree and wondering which branch would be chopped off next! By going ahead with the Ron/Hermione romance no matter what was happening on the screen, JK Rowling made the relationship part of the tree's trunk, the very heart of the series, so no one could possibly dream of taking it away. I think a lot of people can empathize with her decision, no matter which relationship you support at the end of the day.

Liza: Maybe part of the problem for me, was that throughout the series we get to know and love this magical trio of friends.  Since the ‘idea’ of Ron/Hermione is introduced early on, we, as readers got used to it and didn’t question it further.  Sadly, that is not the case with Ginny Wesley.  It may be, not that we can’t imagine Ron and Hermione together, but that I never saw any chemistry between Ginny and Harry.  Furthermore, Harry and Hermione always behaved like siblings, and the bond of love between them was palpable, I can easily imagine that bond growing into something more.

Arianne: I'm in total agreement with you there. I may not have wanted them to end up together romantically, but Ron and Hermione have a very funny, tense, dynamic relationship - it's interesting. The same can't really be said for Harry and Ginny. I think that's why I started thinking about Harry and Hermione possibly falling for each other - because even if their romance wasn't happening on the page, the excitement of what could have been was way more believable and intriguing than Harry and Ginny were!

The one scene that really made me believe it though was when Harry and Hermione dance together while Ron's gone in Deathly Hallows. It's so different in the movie than in the book - tender and sweet and, like you said, really indicative of the bond they share, and maybe indicative of that bond changing, too. I was totally floored by it.

Liza: You’re right! That was a splendid scene, an indication that even though they were in the middle of nowhere, missing their loved ones, at a loss of what path to follow next; they could find solace in each other. I also always felt that Hermione was such an indispensable part of helping Harry defeat Voldemort. I can’t even imagine where they would have been without her unwavering faith in Harry, her extraordinary intelligence, her quick wit and quicker thinking. I think, more than the rest, Harry knew this, he accepted it and appreciated Hermione above everyone else.

Arianne: Harry wouldn't have made it past the first book without Hermione! We're talking as if Hermione needs a man beside her to survive, but she's a fantastic character all by herself - my favourite by far! I think she and Harry could have had a wonderful relationship, full of respect, reassurance and the bond we so love to see between them - but her relationship with Ron shows that no matter how many differences there are between you, love is love and who are we to say it wouldn't have worked out?

When it comes down to it, I'd like to be able to say a supporter of Harry/Hermione in the movies and Ron/Hermione in the books - but I support the friendship between the three of them most of all.

What do you think?  Did it ever crossed your mind that Harry and Hermione might have been a couple?  How do you feel about J.K. Rowling's comments?  Were you surprised at all? 

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Review: Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Title: Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Release date: October 9th 2012 by Hyperion

Source: Purchased

Format: Paperback

Age group: Young adult

Genre: Contemporary

Reviewer: Arianne

Grade rate: A-

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility. As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

I absolutely adored the premise of Time Between Us the second I heard it. Okay, so it is a little bit The Time Traveller’s Girlfriend, but it’s a confident and assured debut that promises more great things from its author in the future.

The year is 1995 and sixteen-year-old Anna just wants to see what lies beyond the confines of snowy Chicago. She wants to get out and see the world, but foreign travel is expensive, and unlike most of her private school friends, she doesn’t have that kind of money.

While Anna dreams of exploring new frontiers, Bennett is struggling just to stay in one place. He’s a time traveller and he should never even have crossed paths with Anna in the first place – but he’s stuck on the wrong timeline, searching desperately for something he’s lost.

Time Between Us is fabulously people-centric. The characters bring the story to life as if they’re the trunk of a tree, with the plot and setting merely notches in the bark and leaves on the branches around them. These are characters who are here to stay. They’re built from the ground up, most evidently in the case of our time-travelling hero Bennett. He instantly brought to mind Graham Larkin from This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith – whole-hearted, noble and just a little bit angry. 

Anna’s long-time friend Justin is cut from similar cloth, but his distinct personality and love for music ensure we remember him far beyond the few scenes in which he gets a starring role. Anna’s dad is a surprisingly memorable and welcome addition to the cast, adding the kind of funny, comfortable, realistic parental presence some YA stories lack.

It’s unfortunate that the female leads of Time Between Us take longer to warm to. It’s rare to see a clear difference in the quality of characters running along the gender divide, but this is one occasion where the guys are definitely written better than the girls. Anna has all the makings of a great narrator – a desire to be independent, a lifelong dream, a passion that takes hard work and dedication, a strong sense of identity. I loved all those things about her, but she lacked the resonance that should have helped her cross the narrator-reader barrier. She felt very real to me, but she never inhabits the reader’s consciousness in the way that all the best young adult protagonists do. She changes her mind a lot, reacts to plot events in odd ways and at some points becomes very demanding, manipulating those around her, especially Bennett - for example, forcing him to time-travel and change past events with her, even though taking such a risk would come at great personal cost to the boy she’s supposed to be in love with. 

Emma is even worse. I love best friend characters in books, but Emma’s so entirely false I just couldn’t bring myself to like her. She’s brash and catty, often hateful as well as hurtful, and I just didn’t see what she brought to the book, besides a shiny car to ferry Anna to and from their high school in. Among some of the other school-based characters, too, there was a lack of true friendship – I found myself wishing Anna and Justin could hang out more to his full, true best friend potential.

Once you move past the stereotypical high school environment, however, the other locations are fantastic. From rock-climbing in a nearby state to the beaches of La Paz and the remote villages of Italy, Time Between Us is an incredibly visual story, easily lending itself to scenes of adventure as well as romance.  

And with a romance like this, of course, comes the ever-present issue of insta-love. It’s more forgivable here as it comes hand in hand with the rather exclusive problem of one or both parties of the relationship knowing each other from a different time, place or life path, giving the author double the plot fiends to deal with. I would have liked to have seen a more  incisive style of romance between Anna and Bennett. I wanted them to have more in common, more fun, more passion, more wisecracking – just more, really. What they had was great, and I loved seeing them together, but they didn’t have that edge, that fire of compatibility that makes a YA couple totally unforgettable.

The plot of Time Between Us is very solid – there’s only one piece of backstory that lets it down. Bennett’s description of his time-travel experience was, well, not very believable. Trying to will himself somewhere like a pint-sized superhero and it spontaneously, ridiculously, actually working?! It’s a sketchy story at best and at worst, throws up a whole host of unhappy questions (including "So if he’d never thought to shut his eyes and magically teleport himself somewhere else, would he never have discovered his affinity for time travel?!") This lack of plausibility – never thought I’d use that word in a review of a book about time travel, but if the shoe fits – particularly when it came to the perplexingly abrupt end of the Brooke storyline, disappointed me a little. 

Thankfully, Anna’s decisive and inspirational choices in the late stages of the book redeemed the negatives of the novel for me. It’s a rare occurrence, but an appropriate reminder that sometimes, sticking with a book even if you have your doubts can be wonderfully worthwhile. It’s such a warm and heartfelt story; it’s comforting and friendly, perfect for a stress-free evening of reading. 

In short: Time Between Us was one of the first books I read in 2014, and I couldn’t have picked a better YA read to start the new year with. From the second I turned the first page, it felt warm and familiar, reassuring and solid – like an old friend I never knew I had. It’s downsides are still worth noticing, but the book as a whole is still worth reading, too.

Top Ten Swoonworthy Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish

Type 1: The 'It's Getting Hot In Here!' Swoon

1. Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry

2. Dare You To by Katie McGarry

3. Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

I'm sensing a theme here...

Type 2: The Sweet and the Swoony

4. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

5. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

6. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Type 3: The 'OMG Will They or Won't They?!' Swoon

7. Just One Day by Gayle Forman

8. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

9. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Type 4: The Swooniest Book of Them All

10. Anything ever written by Sarah Dessen.

Seriously, this girl has ALL the swoon!

Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray (The Diviners #1)

Title: The Diviners by Libba Bray

Release date: September 18th 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

Source: Library

Format: Paperback

Age group: Young adult

Genre: Historical fiction

Reviewer: Arianne

Grade rate: D-

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer. As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.

Review 

I've tried to like Libba Bray's writing. I really have. I've re ad a couple of her books now, but after The Diviners, I can't say I'd be willing to give any of them another try. 

I love complex books as much as the next person, and I've never shied away from reading long books (and this book is LONG, at over six hundred pages and weighing a literal ton). Reading The Diviners, however, it's apparent that Bray set out and sat down to write a Great American Novel. Her ambition is admirable but unfortunately in her drive to write something that will be remembered as a whole, she forgets about the little things. Like having a good plot. And good characters.

Maybe I'm the only one, but when I was about a quarter of the way through this book, I could see how well Bray had showcased her writing and knowledge, but I suddenly realized how stereotypical her characters were. She squeezes every female character into the image of a Roaring Twenties flapper even though elementary school kids know that it represents about 1% of the population at the time (and don't even get me started on the boys in this book!). Evie is shallow and narrow-minded. She cares about image too much and people's feelings too little. It's funny, you can almost see her fitting the modern stereotype of teenage girls, too - instead of obsessing over Instagram filters or wondering how she's going to watch the next episode of Jersey Shore and get a facial at the same time, however, all she can think about is impressing her friends and drinking dizzy water and, well, getting dizzy from it. She's nothing but a socialite, and while that may be indicative of the social class Bray has put her in, I just wished there was something more in that empty head of hers -something that would have helped me like her. Even her 'emotional' backstory fails to elicit a response from the reader, and I was disappointed by that.

The background characters, too, are vacant and vapid. There are so many of them, in fact, that they all just start to blur together. I couldn't tell any of Evie's friends apart. I wanted to like the lead characters of the subplots featured in the book - Memphis and Theta in particular - but by the time you've finally shaken off Evie's boundless talent for irritating all who read her, this isn't the kind of book that puts you in the mood for forgiveness. 

I can't deny that Bray has fabulous command of American history - she captures the era of The Diviners as though she witnessed it herself. I may not have enjoyed the rest of the book, but this I could understand; history seems so real through the lens of this book. (Though if I hear another sentence including the word 'pos-i-tute-ly!' I think I might throw this book at the wall and leave it there.)

There are the beginnings of a good plot, too, with a strong, creepy tone and mysteriously spooky undercurrents - I have to admit that Naughty John is a hideously horrifying villain - but it too is swallowed up by the all-consuming presence that is the book's mammoth narrative, making it hard to follow and even harder to enjoy. Worse still, this book is the start of a series, so as a reader you know that any detail could be of vital importance - and Libba Bray certainly spends enough time jumping around from scene to scene and random character to random character to confirm this suspicion. I just didn't have the energy or the patience for the stop-start flow of the narrative. 

In short: stronger readers than I have quailed under the almighty failings of The Diviners, and now I know why. There are parts of the book that glimmer with brilliance, but others that seem pointless and irritating. It's not a series I'm personally keen to finish, but if you like Libba Bray, it's definitely for you.