In An Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4) by Seanan McGuire

If you aren't familiar with this series, it begins with Every Heart a Doorway, a novella about Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. West runs a boarding school for children who have been to other worlds and returned unable to readjust to regular life. Every Heart a Doorway introduces a lot of children who have traveled to these worlds, but doesn't really flesh out individual stories.

McGuire's subsequent books explore these individual stories. One of the great things about this series is that you don't really have to go in order. While there are some threads between books, you really can read them as stand-a-lone books.

In an Absent Dream is the story of Katherine. She's a rule-following girl who always listens to adults and does what is expected of her. Her father is her elementary school's Principal. And because of this, Katherine finds it hard to make and keep friends and feels disconnected with her family. One day, she strays from her normal path home and finds a door in the trunk of a tree. Of course she decides to see what is inside.

Beyond this door, Katherine discovers the Market, which has rules that must be followed based largely on fair value and making and keeping agreements. As a young child, she is given leeway in the agreements she makes and others are allowed to take on debt she incurs. She develops a friendship with another girl and is mentored by a mother-like figure during her visit, which eventually ends.

Upon returning to the normal world, Katherine, who now goes by her surname, Lundy, tries to adjust to normal life. The mystery of her disappearance is an open secret by those around her, except to maybe her father, who seems to know something about her experience. 

As she grows older, Lundy travels back and forth between worlds, learning more about the Market and the importance of paying back debts, including those her dear friend took on during Lundy's first visit. But Lundy also develops a deeper relationship with her sister, and subsequent visits to the market are interrupted as Lundy travels back to keep commitments to her family.  Lundy knows however, that the flexibility given children by the Market will soon fade and she will eventually be forced to decide between the two worlds.  

In An Absent Dream is a short story about another world that might not be perfect, but might be just what Lundy is looking for. It's interesting and dark and fun to read about, but I feel that there is a certain spark that is missing that could elevate this book to a higher level. I'm not sure what exactly it is: that the books are too short to dig deeper, or that the Market isn't a world that speaks to me. 

One of my criticisms about Every Heart a Doorway was that the individual stories weren't fleshed out enough so I appreciate these individual stories. While I feel there could be a lot more said about Lundy's world, I think what we got was just enough to get the point across in this short story.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

"Your words are kindling, twigs covered in wax, soaked in lamp oil, sticky with tar. Your breath is a match, scratching along sandpaper... Whisper break the silence, one word, then two...with every word spoken a loud victory. The words burst into flames, the silence, broken."

This imagery from the novel's foreward was so powerful and poetic, and the story hadn't even started yet! But what a great story it is, and beautifully told - even though one doesn't think of freshman year of high school as an ideal setting. And for Melinda Sordino, it certainly isn't. The summer before high school, Melinda's life changed when she was raped at a party. She called the police for help, but couldn't find the words to describe what happened. Her silence did nothing to dispel rumors that she ratted on the party. Melinda grew deeper into depression and isolation as the year progressed, barely able to speak more than the minimum to interact with others. 

Melinda's world around her slowly falls apart, a symptom of the inner turmoil she faces. Her friends, new and old, abandon her. Her relationship with her parents is strained. And her grades suffer, except in art class, where she is tasked with a project based on a randomly chosen object, a tree.

Besides all of this, Melinda still experiences the usual high school dramas: finding a place to belong, making friends, keeping friends, and what activities to participate in. And the story is told from Melinda's perspective in short, aptly-titled segments that focus on different aspects of her life and the life many of us have faced in those formative years. 

Besides being an accessible, easy to read story, there were also a lot of symbolic nuggets that were fun to discover, including an ironic high school classroom discussion about symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. One student defiantly declared that authors don't use symbolism, at least in the way the high school teacher believed (I remember having a similar conversation about The Great Gatsby!), and the class was quickly assigned an essay on the use of Hawthorne's symbolism. "That's what you get for speaking up" laments Melinda, a further reinforcement of the benefits of silence. 

Although afraid to speak and interact with others, Melinda still has a clear voice in the novel. She's a great narrator and you'll root for her the entire way, while maybe realizing she is someone you know - an acquaintance, a friend, or even yourself. Her story is the story of so many people that must be told, and in the end, Melinda finds a way to tell it.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

This review is a bit reflective of my experience with this book - fragmented and maybe incomplete. I started Poison Study years ago on audio book and for whatever reason, didn't finish until just a few days ago. Excuses aside, the story didn't invest me enough to overcome them.

So what follows will be a really bare-bones review of what this book is about. Poison study is a fantasy novel (and the author's first!) that takes place in Ixia - a society that seems like it's from days past, but might actually be a vision of a future possibility. Yelena is sentenced to death for killing someone, which is illegal regardless of the reason. And I'm sure Yelena had a good reason, I just don't remember what it was.

But after being imprisoned for a year, Yelena is offered a choice: she can be executed or become the Commander's food taster. From what I can surmise, the Commander is like a governor (or mayor? king? dictator?) of a region that is basically under martial law. Yelena accepts the offer and gets to work learning how to detect the slightest trace of poison in food. In order to keep her from trying to escape, she is administered butterfly's dust, a poison that will kill her in a day if she isn't given the antidote regularly.

Because Yelena works for the highest official of Ixia, she lives in the...palace?...and hears all the good gossip and is involved in any intrigue to be had. This involves learning to fight, nearly dying, killing people, and falling in love, oh, and there's a bit of magic too.

I don't know why I didn't strongly identify with this book. Maybe it was the audio book itself. I really didn't care for the music between chapters and I didn't like a few voices the narrator used for some of the characters. I wonder if I would have had a different feeling reading it the good old fashioned way.

So I'm just meh about this one. All the other reviews I've read on it are glowing, and there are a lot of other books in this series. It might be worth a look if you're a fantasy novel junkee. I'm not, to be fair. But this didn't bring me any closer to being one either. 

The Witch Must Burn (Dorothy Must Die prequel #2)

 

Well color me surprised. I thought this book was about Glinda but it's mostly about Jellia - although she and Glinda spend the book together. So I guess it's a two-fer.

So far, this is the shortest of the Dorothy Must Die series and two prequel novellas at 67 pages. And to be fair, not a lot happens in this book. Jellia is working in Dorothy's palace...I realize "working" might be a misnomer, as she really doesn't have much of a choice at this point, but isn't that how many of us feel in our jobs? And let's be real, some of us have bosses who may resemble Dorothy, if not in a fun, fashion sense, then in an evil, heart of darkness way.

And Glinda, running a close second in the race for Worst Boss Ever decides to borrow Jellia from Dorothy for a few months for torture sessions and manicures.

At Glinda's palace, Jellia feels under utilized as a basic servant but as a result meets brooding bad boy Nox and is introduced to the idea of his stormy expressions and the Order. She gets just a small taste of the Order too, at the end of the book.

And...that's it. On to the next one.

No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die Prequel #1)

This is the backstory on Dorothy after she spent her first time in Oz wanting nothing more than to return to Kansas and then spent her time back in Kansas wanting nothing more than to return to Oz. We begin with Dorothy's infamous (at least to her) 16th birthday party, and are reminded how terrible teenagers are, no matter what universe or timeline you are in. Then Dorothy mysteriously returns to Oz and unfortunately brings Toto, her Aunt Em, and uncle Henry with her. I say unfortunately because not only are Aunt Em and uncle Henry buzzkills for Dorothy, they're buzzkills for me too. I get that they're from a different time and simple, down to earth people, but they were unrealistically annoying. But we don't have to deal with them for too long, if you know what I mean *murderous wink*.

I think it's unfortunate for Toto because he turns into an evil diva and that seems unfair to poor Toto.

Paige provides insight into Dorothy's relationship with Ozma that leads to the unfortunate mind mush incident. And while the mechanics aren't as fleshed out as they are with Amy in the Dorothy Must Die series, we see Dorothy's transition from magical virgin to becoming accidentally more powerful than Oz's rightful ruler - even though Ozma has access to the oldest, strongest power in Oz. I feel like there is a parallel with people who end up in the emergency room after "accidentally" slipping on the Mrs. Buttersworth bottle, but I could be wrong. 

While I had to push the "I want to believe button" for more than once in this book, I'm already balls deep in this series and will pretty much keep reading even if Mrs. Buttersworth herself flies in a declares she's the Queen of Oz.

Yellow Brick War by Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die Series, book 3)

I gotta tell you, this book seems more like a vehicle to get from book 2 to book 4. I don't really remember much about it except that Amy has returned to Flat Hill Kansas and is looking for the first pair of Dorothy's magic shoes (apparently the ruby slippers were her second pair that Glinda used to bring her back to Kansas after returning home). 

Amy has returned to her mother, who seems to be doing better without her, but is eager to make up for lost time. She also returns to high school, with Madison, now a mother, and no longer queen bee at the school. Together with Madison and Madison's baby daddy Dustin, they search the high school for Dorothy's first pair of magic shoes. 

I think this book isn't as memorable because half of it takes place in Kansas, where Amy cannot use her magic. A lot of the world-building from the first two books is missing in book 3. And while we get glimpses of characters in Oz, it's really just that. Brief glimpses.

The second half is a return to Oz and another battle between the good and the wicked. I think it all starts to run together by this point.

Having said that, I'm invested in the story and was eager to read it each time I picked it up. It just didn't have the surprises of book 1 or the adventures of book 2. Amy had a very focused task in Kansas and returned to another great battle, both of which set up the story for book 4.

The End of Oz by Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die Series, book 4)

This is the fourth and final installment of the Dorothy Must Die series. The first three books are dark in their own right, but this book feels a little more so. In book 4, we travel to Ev, land of the Nome King. I'm not familiar with the original Oz books, but if you are familiar with the difference between The Wizard of Oz movie and the sequel Return to Oz, that is the change of pace to which I'm referring. Remember the wheelers? Yeah, I tried to forget them too. And the queen who wore different heads? Uh huh. Although I actually could have used more heads than were actually offered.

Most of this book takes place in Ev, beyond the land of Oz, where Amy, Madison, and Nox find themselves after escaping the Nome King. They travel to...well...are carried by wheelers against their will to Langwidere's castle.

"Oh my god...I hated this movie." -Madison upon seeing the wheelers

So we learn more about Langwidere and her head collection and get some of her backstory. There is some hiding in tunnels and caves, and then...a wedding. 

One big difference in this book is that the chapters alternate between what is going on with Amy and what is going on with the Nome King's newest prisoner. Of course, there's a big battle at the end, can't not have one of those. And the book resolves, but leaves the door open for more to come.

Overall, I like these books. Look, I'm not doing any heavy thinking about life or myself because of these books, but they're short, entertaining, and fun to read. Paige also has even more novellas giving backstory on other main characters - Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Lion, and Tin Man, Glinda, the Wizard, Polychrome, Ozma, and the Order of the Wicked. Will my life change by reading these books? No. Will I read them anyway? Of course!

The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die Series, book 2)

This is an example of where the second installment is better than the first. If you aren't familiar with the Dorothy Must Die series of books, you can read my review of book 1 here. 

Basically, this is the second book in the Dorothy Must Die series, which tells the story of Amy Gumm, a teenager from Flat Hills Kansas, who finds herself whisked away to Oz. Amy discovers Dorothy is real, and has transformed Oz into a magical wasteland and ruled with an iron fist. Amy has joined forces with other witches to try to stop Dorothy and her entourage consisting of Glinda, the Scarecrow, the Lion, and the Tin Man.

Book two picks up right where book 1 left off. But unlike book 1, I feel like the pace was better, and we get to see more of Oz - the jungle where Lulu, the monkey queen rules, and Rainbow Falls, home to Polychrome and her fake (but mayby real?) panther/unicorn Heathcliff.

Amy also settles into her magical powers more and evolves as a witch. Or maybe she's devolving, as we start to see hints of, well, wickedness creeping into her craft. And as Dorothy begins to tap into the evil of Oz's magic, we travel with her to the shadowlands and see her transformation into a literal magical monster.

And Paige doesn't pull punches. There are a lot of characters we say goodbye to in this book, some we like and others we don't. Paige even killed a few characters I was really sad to see go. And I have to hand it to her, she wrote in a few really good battles. I tried reading them as if I was watching a movie and she had some great visuals and moments of flair that were pretty satisfying. I'm actually amazed these books haven't been turned into a miniseries or movie yet (I read on wikipedia the CW was in negotiations, but that was 10 years ago!). Her characters are sassy, colorful, and fun. She has truly evil villains and wicked heroes. And while there were times I rolled my eyes (generally anything to do with the love story arc) overall, I was here for it.

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

There is nothing in this book that I relate to. I am not a 16-year old, gay, black, male. And I definitely don't see ghosts or ghouls. But Jake is and does. And as extraordinary as he is, he still deals with all the other ordinary things a teenager deals with. So Jake's life is...complicated...to say the least.

Jake's ordinary life concerns living in the shadow of his big brother, growing apart from friends, and getting to know the cute new student at his school (now the second black student besides himself). But his daily life is interrupted when he sees ghosts stuck in loops - the last seconds before a person's demise that autoplay for only Jake to see. It's repeating scenes like these that cause Jake to make seemingly trivial decisions, as Jake explains, "I wanted classes only on the second floor to avoid proximity to roads. And the third floor is too high, because the ghosts up there jump out of windows." 

Jake has a theory about death loops, that "the people who end up trapped just didn't see it coming, so their minds got stuck in a glitch. As opposed to some people who did see it coming, because they brought it on themselves. Maybe ghosts who killed themselves get more autonomy when they cross over."

Jake's theory is tested when he becomes haunted by a ghost that can seemingly reach into the living world. As more students begin dying, Jake has to figure out how to stop this new ghost before Jake becomes his next victim.  

What follows is a story involving ecto-mist, astral projection, and possession, told from two points of view. There are a lot of triggers in this book, like suicide, school shootings, abuse, racism, and sex videos - a lot to unpack in a relatively short story. But while the subject matter is heavy, Douglass manages to tell it in Jake's easy-going voice. 

While I'm not the primary audience for this book and am ready to move on to another author, I appreciate the appeal it may have for those ready to unpack its many messages.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die Series, book 1)

"[My mother] told me that, whatever anyone at school said, a trailer was where I lived, not who I was. She told me that it was the best home in the world because it could go anywhere."

And what better place to go than the colorful, magical land of Oz? But we learn quickly that this ain't your mama's Oz. 

Dorothy Must Die is the first of a series of novellas about Amy, from...(I'll give you one guess). She's in high school with a mother who suffers from addiction and needs more care than she gives her daughter. Amy doesn't get much relief at school either, where she is mercilessly teased by the uber popular, glitter encrusted, and soon to be teen-mom Madison. Madison is of those people you love to hate, and although her appearance in this book is short, she's full of character and wit.

One day, a storm brews and Amy finds herself at home hunkered down for an incoming tornado. Her mother has left her to party with friends and Amy's only company left is Star, her mom's pet rat.

I'm sure you know where this is headed, but this is no family-friendly jaunt to the Emerald City. There is no room for singing and merriment in a world that has basically been turned into a barren wasteland ruled by the unmerciful, ambitious, and devastatingly stylish Dorothy. Her friends are there too - The Scarecrow has gone from dopey and curious to a downright sadistic war criminal. The tin man? Sure, he has heart...and knives and swords that he wields with blind devotion for Dorothy. And the lion is basically a soul-sucking dementor. We also have appearances from the Wizard and Ozma and a lot of new and memorable characters.

Which brings me to a separate point, if you're into books about magical worlds like Harry Potter, this is a fun one. Oz is, of course, a magical place, and author Danielle Paige really focuses on this - the mechanics of how the magic in Oz works and how it can be used and harnessed. She adds a new chapter to the familiar family friendly story we all know with a bit of horror, dark comedy, and tongue in cheek irreverance. 

Reboot by Amy Tintera

If you're in the mood for another YA dystopian novel, this might quench your thirst. With so many to choose from, what Reboot offers is a quick, easy read with a twist on the zombie genre...but zombie novel it is not.

Wren one-seventy-eight died five years ago. But, as is common with children who contract the mysterious KDH virus, she revived, or rebooted. As her name suggests, she didn't reboot until 178 minutes after her death, a long time compared with other reboots. As a reboot, Wren is separated from her family and sent to live as a recruit for HARC, a government organization that is responsible for keeping KDH, and the population in general, controlled.

Having taken so long to revive, Wren is less human than other reboots. And as a trainer to new reboots, she takes her job seriously. With first pick of the litter, she usually selects high numbered reboots, ensuring less emotional, more easily trained, and always successful recruits. Wren breaks from her usual routine, however, when she meets Callum, a measly 22.

Taking Callum on as a trainee challenges Wren's perspective about herself, as well as HARC. A possible conspiracy pertaining to the "under-sixty" reboots that affects Wren's friend and roommate also makes her question her role in the organization.

In addition, Callum's training doesn't go well. After a few missions in which he defies orders, he faces extermination. Wren finds herself trying to save him in any way possible. And with a mysterious sickness overcoming the under 60 recruits, she doesn't have much time.

So there you have the basic set up. It's a quick read; I felt like not much actually happened in terms of a time line. But there was enough to keep me entertained in this new world - which is actually Texas. I'm not sure how proactively I'll seek out the next book, but if it falls in my lap, I'd read it.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Here's the next big YA trilogy, the first book of which has already been released to the big screen.  It has all the sexy elements a YA dystopian thriller needs to be successful...hot teenagers (going off of the movie trailer a bit on this one)...Ok, wait.  Did I just say "hot teenagers"?!?  Creepy.  I'm way too old to be saying things like that. (I was going to put "waaaaaaaay too old" but no, I'm just "way" too old).

Which brings me to my next point, maybe I'm not the target audience for this genre.  Or maybe the genre is being diluted...I don't know.  Whatever it is, I wasn't totally sold on Divergent.

Okay, back to the "hot teenagers" comment.  This is bothering me.  When a book about 16 year olds is made into a movie that is marketed to adults and teens alike, what the hell am I supposed to think when "Four" is played by a chiseled 30 year old?  I guess technically his character is 18 so I'm in the clear.  Okay, glad we hashed that out.

Back to the book.  Basically everyone in...Chicago (from what I can gather) decided that the ills that plagued them could be boiled down to one thing.  What is that thing?  Well, depends on who you ask.  Some people say it's ignorance.  Others say it's selfishness, or dishonesty, or cowardess, or just plain being mean.  So society split into 5 factions, each trying to embody the opposite of what they believed was the root evil of mankind.  When an individual reached the age of 16, he or she could choose which faction they wanted to become a part of.

So Beatrice grew up in Abnegation, which is a fancy term for self-sacrifice.  But she doesn't quite feel like she fits in.  She isn't down with wearing gray clothes, and not having mirrors, and always being stuck at parties cleaning up.  She's intrigued by the Dauntless (or fearless), who don't just ride the train to and from school, they riiiiiide the train to and from school (the extra i's in that word mean the train doesn't ever stop, it just rolls by while all the Dauntless kids jump in and out of the cars, because they're Dauntless.  And they don't need no stinking train stops).  I could see why that might be appealing enough to make me leave my family too.

So before "The Choosing," Beatrice undergoes evaluation to determine which faction best suits her.  Her test results are abnormal...Divergent, if you will.  Which, apparently is a bad thing.  But really, the fact that people fit cleanly into just one category had me scratching my head.  But okay.

Despite the results, Beatrice ultimately has the choice of which faction to join.  She makes her decision, and most of the book deals with the initiation process that entails.  Then there's some evil plot to take over Chicago (I don't think Chicago is ever mentioned but that's what wikipedia says), and hilarity ensues.

Okay, the book is better than I'm letting on, but it's not the greatest YA novel I've read.  I think my biggest problem was that I couldn't sign on with the premise that people fit into just one category.  Not only does Roth create these clean lines and divisions, but she goes overboard with the stereotyping.  Really?  NO ONE besides Abnegation can help out after an event?  ONLY Amity can be caretakers?  How the hell do children survive in the other factions?  "But that's the point!" you're probably screaming at me.  Yeah, well, if it's that glaringly obvious from the get-go, then what the hell am I doing for the next 400 pages?  And I think we already know that being "divergent" really is the rule, not the exception.

So what's the payoff here?  I'm not sure.  Maybe a great story? Maybe a chance to live in another world for a brief period?  Those are the optimistic options.  The realistic one?  For me?  To skip the rest of the series and diverge to something else.