Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

BookTalk

Emma thought her life couldn’t get any worse. Within a year she’d lost both her mother and her twin brother leaving her with a grieving alcoholic of a step dad to take care of her. After her stepfather wrapped both of them around a tree Emma is left not only with a massive scar on her arm but a wounded soul as well.

Brendan is the creme de la creme of New York society. The richest, most attractive, athletic guy at Vincent Academy. He doesn’t even own a hairbrush…that’s how naturally hot his features are…straight out of bed he’s rock star perfect. But he’s sickened by the cliques that come with wealth. He’d trade it in a heartbeat for something wild and real.

Emma will move to New York and as the wounds of her past begin to heal she’ll find herself involved in a thousand-year old curse…and find her soul mate in Brendan. But their path is not straight, instead full of ancient history, witchy spells, and the gossip mill that is an Upper East Side private school. They’ll have to trust in each other because the only thing worse than a curse is a trashed high school reputation.

Review

I. Loved. This. Book.

It surprised me, it was so funny from the start. Emma is kinda snarky, a little geeky, and super funny. I officially liked her when she referred to super-sweet-teen-perfume as a “unicorn fart”. Where has that expression been all my life?! The writing was witty, and the way Emma narrates her experiences was by far my favorite part of the book. From random comments about teen life, to watching her fall for Brendan, the way Emma described it all gets an emotional response from the reader.

And now for the insta-love. I’ll admit in the beginning of this book I wondered if this was going to be too much like the Fallen series. It’s hard not to compare the two as Spellbound is about soul-mates finding each other. The plot involves the souls of Emma and Brendan being reincarnated again and again over the span of 1,000 years which is very Fallen-esque. But, I was happy to find that aside from the reincarnation/curse aspect the two tales are very different.

First off, neither Emma nor Brendan are aware of the curse. Sure, Brendan admits to it being an old family joke, but nothing that he’s ever taken seriously. It was cool to see these two fall into insta-love and figure out their connection. It was a great twist that it was a new concept to both of them, rather than one being more knowledgeable about the situation than another. Plus, they have a lot of swoon-worthy moments over their brief courtship. Brendan plays a little bit of the too-cool-for-school guy in the beginning, but it’s the little things he does for Emma that make the reader swoon.

Another thing that I loved was that this book was a stand-alone. The whole story was wrapped up in one book. Shultz gives a teaser at a potential companion novel starring Angelique, but the curse that is the center of this story concludes within the pages of a single book. The end action may have happened a bit dramatically in comparison to the rest of the novel but it was an end I didn’t see coming and I’m always happy when that happens. I am now excitedly awaiting more info on Angelique’s title…If Spellbound was any indication it’s bound to be a fun and funny romp filled with lots of love.

Rating: 9/10

P.S.

Brendan is always joking that Emma is a ‘musicologist’ but really both characters are constantly pictured in the book with ear buds in their ears…Shultz has taken this obsession one step further for Spellbound fans by creating a playlist on iTunes featuring songs that are special to both Brendan and Emma. Check out the back of your book for the reasoning behind each song choice.

Download the Playlist on iTunes: Brendan & Emma’s Playlist

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Waiting on Wednesday (1) The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

Waiting on Wednesday is a blog post hosted by Breaking The Spine in which bloggers post about up-coming releases they’re dying to read.

My Pick:

The Wild Rose (publication date: August 2, 2011)

I simply devoured Donnelly’s first two…The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose…and am currently waiting very impatiently for August to come…

Summary From Library Journal:

As in Donnelly’s The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose, a pair of lovers must survive misunderstandings, betrayals, physical dangers, and emotional upheavals before they find happiness. After a climbing mishap on Kilimanjaro, Seamus Finnegan manages to save Willa Alden’s life, but she loses one of her legs. Embittered and despairing, Willa seeks refuge in Tibet, while Seamus gains fame through polar expeditions. When the novel opens eight years later, in 1914, Europe is poised on the brink of war. Amid social and political ferment, Seamus marries Jennie Wilcott, pregnant with his child. Willa’s return for her father’s funeral results in a passionate affair that ends abruptly when Willa’s brother confronts her. By 1918, Willa is using her photography skills in Arabia to support Tom (T.E.) Lawrence’s spy network, while Seamus commands a navy ship in the Mediterranean. Their paths converge at several points as they survive disasters such as a plane crash, a submarine attack, imprisonment, and torture. Familiar characters from the earlier novels also reappear. VERDICT Donnelly skillfully integrates historical detail while entwining multiple plotlines in a fast-paced narrative. Readers of the earlier books will be especially eager for this volume, which should also earn the author new fans.

What’s your “waiting on” pick this week?

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Review

No review for this one. I read it long ago and just wanted to share the BookTalk I use when promoting the series to students. If you haven’t already…read it…it’s amazing and addictive 😉

BookTalk

Imagine “Survivor” but instead of voting people off, you must kill your competitors to win…

North America is long gone. Now known as Panem, the continent consists of 12 districts ruled by a Capital somewhere in the western mountains. Life in the districts is pretty rough, they lack food, money, and have only basic necessities. However, once a year there is a lottery, with a chance for a district to receive extra benefits (like food) from the capital for a year.  It is a competition billed and televised as an exciting contest of strength and skill. In truth it is a dark and frightening contest.  Each year, every family must enter the names of their children between the ages of 10 and 16. If it has been a tough year for a family, they can earn extra money or goods by putting their child’s name in more than once, thus increasing their chance of being picked. It is rumored that wealthy families buy their way out of the lottery, they never seem to be the ones whose names are drawn.  When 16-year-old Katniss’s little sister’s name is drawn to represent their district, Katniss quickly goes forward to take her place. She at least might have a chance; she is strong, and a skilled hunter. Her sister would not last a day. For this is a contest that ends when only one of the 12 is left alive.  Each contestant is immediately flown to the Capital where a crew of fashion designers and groomers make them into stars for the televised promos, Katniss and another contestant, a boy she knows, are played for public viewing as star-crossed lovers. How these two cope with the demands of the game becomes a story which moves beyond brutality and into the role of trust and friendship in the face of survival.

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The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

BookTalk

I used to be someone.

Someone named Jenna Fox.

That’s what they tell me. But I am more than a name. More than they tell me. More than the facts and statistics they fill me with. More than the video clips they make me watch.

More. But I’m not sure what…

Jenna Fox is recovering from a serious accident that left her in a coma. Upon waking, she has little or no memory of who she is. She meets her parents, but has no memories of them. Nothing about her surroundings is familiar, and then she learns that her family has relocated to a new area to have a fresh start after her accident. Despite being fed pieces of her life from her parents and watching countless DVDs that captured her life before the coma, she barely recognizes the girl she sees on the screen. As she explores deeper into who she is and flashes of images begin to appear in her mind, she starts to feel that those closest to her are hiding something…something big.

Review

I. Love. This. Book. But more importantly my students…Love. This. Book.

I booktalked The Adoration of Jenna Fox this year and had to immediately purchase 5 more copies of the book. Yes Librarians, you heard that right, 5 new copies rush-ordered via Amazon. Considering I service a library of about 400 students 6 copies of any book is a lot but I needed them…with a wait list. I personally ate it up in one morning simply dying to find out what happened. This book has it all: mystery, suspense, complex relationships, a discussion of a timely topic, and such a satisfying conclusion to it you’ll wish all YA books were so tidy.

 As the booktalk indicates we meet Jenna Fox after a major accident and she remembers nothing of her former life. Jenna spends her days watching video of her life pre-accident in hopes of triggering a real memory. You see, it all seems vaguely realistic…trying to help an amnesic recoup by replaying memories. But the girl on the tape, supported by a loving family, is not the life Jenna is living. Her mother is stressed, her father is living across the country because their family is in hiding, and her Catholic grandmother seems to dislike her. Just as odd, Jenna can recite poetry passages and history textbooks by heart…but doesn’t know if she had friends.

Jenna does begin to remember snatches of her history. For both the reader and Jenna the story her parents have told begins to wear thin. The logic of the story doesn’t fit together as it should. Momentum builds not just to the final reveal of Jenna’s personal story but to the horrific indications of what followed. By this point in the book the climax you’ve been waiting for only serves to bring other character’s stories into play emotionally. You’ll find satisfaction in Jenna’s full remembrance followed swiftly by emotional turmoil for others. It opens a whole other can of worms the author has been prepping you for without your knowledge. The suspense continues to the final pages of the novel. Asking the reader how far they would go to save a life.

This novel tackles medical ethics as well as a family dealing with an unforeseen tragedy and it’s aftermath. What plays out is realistic and emotional. As in real life hindsight is 20/20 and the characters in this book make their decisions out of love for their child. The chapters of the story are short and intermingled with memory breakthroughs that keep the plot running and the reader engaged.

Rating: 10/10

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The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Warning: This book is slow to start.

Warning: This book is confusing for at least the first 30 pages.

Warning: This book will become so addictive you’ll shut out the world to finish it…

Seriously, Think Hunger Games addicting…

Like The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner is a dystopian fantasy teen trilogy. I’d recommend it to the same audience with the warnings above.

Because…

It is confusing. The main character of Thomas wakes up in a pitch black elevator…heading to who knows where…with his memory wiped. He’s then spit out into a world completely populated by teenage boys who have their own jargon: “Shank”, “Klunk”, “Shuck” (I’ll give you two guesses what that last word stands for *wink*). If the folksonomy and disorientation weren’t enough, no one explains anything to Thomas (or the reader) well. Thomas is constantly being told to “wait” that he’ll understand “later”, and on top of it all to “stop asking questions”. I had issues with this as a reader. I understand we are to feel as disoriented as Thomas, but I don’t think the author cleared up details through experience fast enough. The result is about 30 pages of confusion.

But I’m willing to overlook this. In fact by page 90 I’d completely forgotten about it…I was hooked.

It becomes obvious that Thomas is not a normal Glade newbie. He becomes aware that he has had prior experiences with this place. Also, he seems to have a connection to the comatose girl delivered by the lift (the only girl, the last person to enter the glade, the beginning of the end). Thomas shares a telepathic link with her. While this would be enough to set him apart, Thomas realizes that he knows the maze. He knows things other Gladers (even those who had been there for 2+ years) don’t know.

Oh, did I not mention the eponymous Maze. The relative safety of the Glade is surrounded by a labyrinth of shear stone walls, filled with creatures called Grievers. The Grievers can kill you, or poison you causing a painful recovery process called ‘The Change’.

It becomes apparent early on that this whole world is more of an experiment than a prison. For two years the boys have been trying to solve the maze…attempting to map its changes and find an exit. With the arrival of the final girl it is clear the experiment is ending. Solve the puzzle or die trying. It makes for delicious reading.

BookTalk:

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. The walls being the inner edges of a seemingly unsolvable maze.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Runners trace the changes in the maze endlessly trying to solve the maze’s puzzle. The boys must also outwit the Grievers inside that might kill them. Every night the walls close tight, protecting the Gladers from death by Griever. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. She is the last person to enter the Glade and…that Everything Will Change.

Uses:

This could make decent companion reading for Lord of the Flies as the boys in both books had to create their own society. The difference is that The Maze Runner is based on the idea of a social experiment. By the end of the book not only will the reader be aware of this, but you’ll briefly meet the scientists conducting the experiment, and read a memo. This opens the novel up to a wider range of uses. It could be used in a sociology/psychology class as an example of social experiments or as a jumping point for discussions about them. If the content doesn’t merit enough to be part of a curriculum (and it may not) it would most definitely make for great extra credit.

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