One Moment--Kristina McBride

Title: One Moment
Author: Kristina McBride
Publisher: Egmont, 2012
Pages: 272 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

(Once again, this review is from the June 2012 issue of VOYA.)

Maggie is enjoying Memorial Day weekend with her boyfriend Joey and her other four closest friends when the unthinkable happens—Joey dies jumping off a cliff. He had jumped that cliff diving into the local lake many times without incident causing his confused friends and family to wonder what was different about this time. Maggie was also at the top of the cliff and is the only person who could have any answers, but the accident leaves her traumatized and incapable of remembering anything that happened. The five remaining friends struggle to deal with Joey’s death, Maggie’s inability to remember, and their changing relationships.

Kristina McBride has written a poignant heartbreaking tale of how one moment in a person’s life can change everything. The story is told from Maggie’s point of view and McBride concentrates on developing her character. McBride tells the story at just the right pace, leading teens to guess what happened before Maggie realizes it. Teens will identify with Maggie’s pain as she recognizes that her perfect idolized boyfriend was not actually perfect and she did not know him as well as she thought. The story is sad, but not sappy, and ends hopeful, but not unrealistic, and is a worthy addition to teen collections.

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The Lost Code--Kevin Emerson

Title: The Lost Code: Book One of the Atlanteans
Author: Kevin Emerson
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2012
Pages: 448 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

(This review was written AGES ago. I just realized it was published in the June 2012 VOYA. I was very pregnant.)

Owen is just a normal kid living underground in the mines to escape the deadly sun in a dystopian future with a limited ozone layer when he is picked to attend the exclusive Camp Eden. Camp Eden is protected from the sun by a huge dome set up to mimic the outside world—with it’s own sun, moon, stars, clouds and ecosystem. On the surface things seem pretty good at Camp Eden, but when weak swimmer Owen survives ten minutes underwater without breathing things start to get weird. Owen’s neck is mysteriously gashed and the only thing that soothes the gashes is being underwater. Owen soon learns that he is part of a special race of people, the Atlanteans, called upon to rescue the world and fix a mistake made thousands of years ago.

The first in a new series, The Lost Code will satisfy teens’ thirst for post-apocalyptic dystopian novels with just the right amount of suspense, adventure, science fiction, fantasy, and romance, but without the brutal violence found in other stories. Readers will eagerly devour Owen’s tale and look forward to its continuation.

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Save the Pearls Part One: Revealing Eden--Victoria Foyt

Title: Revealing Eden (Save the Pearls Part One)
Author: Victoria Foyt
Publisher: Sand Dollar Press Inc
Pages: 307 p
Source: Author/Publisher
Compensation: None

Eden is a lowly Pearl--a fair skinned girl living in a post-apocalyptic time with a deadly sun. Sun poisoning has wiped out most white people and the ones that have survived have become an inferior race to the Coals--black people who can withstand the dangerous sun. What the sun has started, people have continued; trying to breed the inferior light skins out of existence. Pearls are not entirely slaves of Coals in this reverse-racism world, but they are not seen as equals. In order to survive not only the sun but also fellow man, many Pearls color their faces and bodies and attempt to blend in with society. Eden chooses this path and hopes that a powerful Coal with a high mating status will choose her as his mate and save her life (Pearls are banished to the outside if they do not mate by age 18). Everything works "fine" until she botches up her father's secret experiment and they are both flown to a tropical jungle for their own safety. There she learns what life is outside the caves and what true beauty really means.

While there's nothing wrong with this novel, it felt like the author was trying too hard to convey her message that racism is bad. The story didn't get interesting until Eden wound up in the jungle with the results of her father's experiment, a beast-man who had been her boss and now was more animal than man. Then the story became more of a take on Beauty and the Beast.

I enjoyed the author's first YA novel, The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond, but I had a hard time getting through this one. For another opinion read this more positive review.

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Out of Sight, Out of Time--Ally Carter

Title: Out of Sight, Out of Time
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Disney
Pages: 294 p
Source: Library
Compensation: None

In this latest book in the Gallagher Girls series, Ally Carter takes Cammie out of the classroom and throws her into the very real dangerous world of spying. Cammie spends her summer vacation tracking down the traitorous Circle of Cavan. Unfortunately she cannot remember any of it when she wakes up in a convent in the Alps. With the help of her friends and her unofficial boyfriend Zach she slowly pieces together her missing summer and learns that some things are better left forgotten.

I love the kick-ass Gallagher spy girls. Carter has done a great job of creating a character we truly care about, one who juggles the normal teenage girl problems of boys and bad hair days with the high stakes world of international espionage. We worry about Cammie but also want to see her succeed. She gets close in this fifth book but still doesn't have all the answers, which is good for us because we'll get another book!

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Bitterblue--Kristin Cashore

Title: Bitterblue
Author: Kristin Cashore
Publisher: Dial Books
Pages: 563 p
Source: Library
Compensation: None

Bitterblue continues the fantasy story Kristin Cashore set up in both Graceling and Fire. The story takes place eight years after the events in Graceling. Bitterblue is now a young adult and Queen of Monsea. Her people are no longer under the control of the evil King Leck, but they are not without problems. Determined to break free from her restrictive advisors Bitterblue sneaks out of the castle disguised as a baker and learns someone is murdering people who are trying to discover the truth about King Leck's horrific reign.

While it is not necessary to have read Graceling or Fire to enjoy Bitterblue, readers familiar with the first two books will enjoy the references to those stories as well as reconnecting with the popular characters Katsa and Po.

Bitterblue is a strong but vulnerable heroine. Cashore has written yet another engaging female character and fans of Katsa will not be disappointed in this latest offering. If you loved Graceling, you'll love Bitterblue too. It is beautifully written and hard to put down.

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Confusion of Princes, A--Garth Nix

Title: A Confusion of Princes
Author: Garth Nix
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 352 p
Source: Library
Compensation: None

It's been a while since I've read a book. I have a stack of books that have been sent to me from publishers and authors, but I really wanted my return to reading to be one that I grabbed off the library shelves because I *wanted* it. It's fitting that the first one that leapt out at me was Garth Nix's latest, A Confusion of Princes. If you don't know about my obsession love respect for Garth Nix, just take a gander at his other books I've reviewed. You can find them by searching for Garth Nix in the little search box up there.

I wasn't quite as enamored with this one as I was with the Keys to the Kingdom series or the Sabriel trilogy. It took a while for me to get into, but that was most likely my EXTREME SLEEP DEPRIVATION right now. Once I did get into it, I enjoyed it.

Prince Khemri is not a royal son of a king, but is treated like one. In this world there is a supreme Emperor who chooses hundreds of people to be Princes and fight to become hier (neither his or her, but both) heir to the throne. Princes can have alliances but in the end it's every Prince for him or herself. It's a bit reminscent of Highlander. Princes are stronger than humans, they have technological advances implanted in their bodies, and they are immortal in the sense that if they die but are deemed worthy they may be reborn. Very few Princes ever truly die, but it does happen, so they must always be aware of threats and act accordingly. Prince Khemri thinks being a Prince means being captain of a spaceship and exploring and is disappointed to learn it means being on constant high alert and having to do exactly what the Empire hive mind demands. Throughout the novel he becomes more and more disillusioned with his fate and looks for a way out.

Nix has once again created a unique universe. The blending of technology and psychology and biology is interesting. Prince Khemri starts out a whiny snob and truly transforms himself by the end of the novel. He comes to an understanding of what life is really about and is no longer confused. A Confusion of Princes is a good stand alone speculative fiction story well worth reading.

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FYI--Hiatus

To those of you that missed the bit over to the side about GoddessLibrarian being on hiatus and are continuing to send me book review requests:

Thanks, but I need to finish one more project before I can get back to reviewing:

This is #4. I have no brain cells left.

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