The Likeness by Tana French

This is French's second novel. I read her first book, In The Woods, but I can't, for the life of me, remember what it was about. Apparently the main character in The Likeness, Cassie, was a primary character in her first book. That was totally lost on me. Fortunately, you don't need to have read In The Woods to know what is going on in The Likeness.

The Likeness takes place in Ireland, where a Trinity college student has been found murdered in a cabin. Although Cassie Maddox works in the domestic violence unit, she is called back to work undercover on the Murder Squad for this case. We get hints of her previous time on the murder squad, which she left after nearly getting killed while undercover. Despite her hesitation, Cassie is drawn to this case, partially because she is bored with her current unit, and also because the victim bears a striking resemblance to herself. So much so, that Cassie is able to pose as the victim, Lexie, and continue Lexie's life with her four unknowing roommates.

At its heart, this is a murder mystery, from the perspective of an undercover cop. We have the usual suspects, the not so usual suspects, and a lot of emotional baggage thrown in for many involved. The pace of the story is a bit slow. It took me several months to read the book - I would read it between other books. As the story evolved, I found myself more interested, but I can't say I was entrenched in it. I wasn't a fan of many of the main characters, either. Lexie's four roommates are all Trinity College students, academics. And if you want to stereotype an academic (no TV, listening to old music no one's ever heard of, peppering your conversations with literary references, blah blah blah) then you have that in this book. I was annoyed with the roommates' pretentiousness. My apologies if you do any of these things, but trust me, it's not to the extent as this lot. If it is, we're probably not friends anyway.

So I guess I kinda have a meh feeling toward this book. It wasn't horrible, but it is one I'll probably quickly forget. If you have nothing else to read, it will do. But don't go out of your way to buy it.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I've said it before and I'll say it again, kids are creepy. What can take a horror movie to the next level? A creepy kid. Remember the kids in The Shining? That boy who would make his finger talk and say "redrum" over and over? Or those twin girls? What about The Others? Or The Sixth Sense? Or all those other movies I haven't seen because they have creepy kids in them and I'm too scared to watch them? Who doesn't agree that dolls are creepy? And why were garbage pail kids so popular back in the day? Creepy kids. Has anyone seen the teletubbies? Weirdest shit I'd ever seen.

Having said all that, what drew me to this book was the eerie picture of a girl floating on the cover. The picture looks real, and it looks old. Which brings me to another creepy device...old stuff. And this is a black and white photo, so it's old. At least, it looks old. After I did some asking around, I realized the book's premise is based on several photos that the author obtained. They are an eclectic bunch of pictures, many of which involve amateur photo tricks like the picture of the girl floating on the cover. Some of the photos don't involve any kind of trick, per se, but they're just strange, out of context images. And a lot of them involve kids. Creepy kids. Riggs uses these photos as inspiration for his story, and every now and then, he'll describe a character or a scene, and voila! On the next page is a picture of just what he is describing.

So what's the deal? The story is about Jacob, a teenager who has grown up hearing strange stories from his grandfather, who fled to Wales during WWII. His grandfather grows up in a home with other children, who are all special in some way. Set in modern times, Jacob finds himself delving into his grandfather's past and visiting the orphanage to better understand the strange tales he heard growing up. Although the orphanage and its inhabitants are from the 1940's, Jacob finds a way to connect with his grandfather's past.

It's difficult to get more detailed without giving anything away. But the book is basically a mix of X-Men/sci-fi/fantasy all in one. My reaction to the book was a little mixed...as it is with creepy kids in general. I'm a bit put off, but intrigued at the same time. Although I was more intrigued than put off in this case. I felt the incorporation of the photos was creative, but contrived at times. I could see the author thinking, "How do I get this photo into my narrative?" and then making up a random scene just to make it work. That took me out of the story a couple of times, but I was still excited to see what photo would be next and it definitely made the tale more visual for me. The story definitely fits a young adult genre though, which I find (except in a few cases) can dilute the potential of a story (if that makes any sense to anyone other than myself).

I agree with many others who have reviewed this book - the pictures are creepier than the story itself; and the tale is somewhat immature and underdeveloped. But despite the mixed feelings, if you like fantasy stories or are a YA fan, you may get a kick out of this one.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Finally, a story about a circus that is cool. There aren't creepy clowns or abused animals in this circus. All of the food sold at this circus is out of this world and probably doesn't give anyone indigestion. And while there is no shortage of bizarre entertainment, the freaks in this circus have talents most other circus performers don't...and that's the secret of the Night Circus.

Morgenstern's debut novel takes place in England in the 1800's. We meet two men...The first is Prospero the Enchanter, who has natural magical abilities that he disguises as illusions for audiences. The second is the mysterious Mr. A. H. who agrees to a challenge with Prospero. They will each raise a protege to compete in a magical competition of sorts. Prospero's protege has natural ability while Mr. A. H.'s will be taught. Unbeknownst to the proteges, they will compete against each other in this strange competition. So begins the Night Circus.

Imagine you wake up one day and see black and white circus tents set up that weren't there the day before. No one heard the trains arrive in town, no one noticed the tents being set up, but there it is. And even stranger, the circus is only open from dusk to dawn. Instead of a main tent, there are many tents and exhibitions...too many to explore in one evening. There are performers like Celia the illusionist, Tsukiko, the contortionist, and Isobelle, the fortune teller. There are experiences like the ice garden, the labryinth, or the wishing tree. And each thing you see and experience seems geniune. You don't know how the illusionist made a person in the audience disappear, or how the contortionist fit in that glass box, but you are enchanted and find yourself obsessed with the circus.

Besides the competition between Propero and Mr. A. H.'s students, the Night Circus involves a host of other characters. Morgenstern introduces us to many of them, and they are as interesting and integral to the story as the others. We learn that although the Night Circus is a magical place, it isn't immune to human weakness. Can the circus be sustained? Can its secrets be kept? And how will the strange competition that began it all end?

This book left me satisfied. Morgenstern is a very visual writer. She takes the time to describe everything in delicious detail and as I read, I kept seeing everything as if it were a movie - which is my hope (apparently the film rights have been sold to Summit Entertainment so maybe her visions will come to fruition). The book has a victorian, romantic, and yes, magical feel. While I'm not sure it's an automatic pick for my year's top five...it's definitely a candidate.

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

This book, like my previously reviewed one (The Red Market) involves exotic locales, disturbing subjects, and how these things can affect the United States. The exotic locale? Africa. The disturbing subject? The Ebola virus. And what do these things have to do with the United States? Just the simple fact that there was nearly an Ebola breakout in Virginia in the late 1980's.

Preston begins his tale in Kitum cave in Kenya, a possible origin of the ebola virus. He details accounts of people who have suffered from the virus, or similar viruses and describes their symptoms in horrifying detail. Besides Ebola itself, Preston gives a lot of interesting information about viruses in general, viruses related to Ebola, and how viruses are studied and tracked by organizations such as the USAMRIID (US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases). Some of my favorite parts of the book involve his descriptions of researchers who study risk group 4 pathogens. He describes the safety measures they must take, the environment they must work in, and yes, the close calls they face when things don't always work properly.

Preston focuses the second half of his book on a monkey holding facility in Reston, Virginia that quarantines monkeys from around the world destined for US research laboratories. When monkeys at this facility begin dying, a crisis begins behind the scenes in the United States that many people are probably not aware of.

This book is a great example of why I love the non-fiction genre. It truly can be stranger than fiction. And more horrifying.

The Red Market by Scott Carney

"On the Trail of the World's Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers, and Child Traffickers"

Who wouldn't want to read a book with a subtitle like this?

According to Wikipedia...

White market = legal goods in a legal market
Gray market = legal goods in an unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended market
Black market = illegal goods

According to Scott Carney...
Red Market = The secret and lucrative trade in human bodies and body parts

Carney is a freelance investigative journalist who studied how things like kidneys, blood, bones, and even human eggs are sold and traded throughout the world. Although a lot of his research focuses on India, where he lived for several years, Carney's research also takes him to places like Brazil, China, and Cyprus. And don't think his topics don't make it to the United States. Although illegal trade in body parts may not be a major issue here, we are definitely the recipient of such trade - whether it's in buying skeletons for medical schools, wigs for women, overseas kidney transplants, or childbirth services abroad.

Each chapter focuses on a different body part...er topic. While I can't really describe any chapter as light-hearted, there are definitely some that are more disturbing than others. Is there really a village in India called Kidneyville because so many of its residents have donated their own for money? Are young children really kidnapped from their families only to be sold to orphanages that work with American organizations? Were vital organs from executed members of a Chinese spiritual group harvested for profit?

Carney addresses these and many other questions in a thought-provoking, eye-opening way. Somewhat morbid (and morbidly entertaining), this is a recommend from me.

Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy

I must admit, when I think of Jenny McCarthy, my mind goes back to her MTV days. I pride myself on the fact that I grew up on MTV during the 80's but was sad to learn via wikipedia that McCarthy's MTV heydays were in the mid to late 90's. Did I really watch MTV THAT LONG?!? Or maybe I'm romanticizing the whole 80's era...maybe it was more 90's watching I did. But that's not as cool in my opinion. Does this make sense to ANYONE?

Anyway, the second thing that comes to mind is that Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carey were an item. Not really a big fan of either, whose faces and personas seem like caricatures more than real, interesting, complex people. What must the sex between the two have been like? I can only imagine Jim Carey ala Cable Guy, "free cable is the ultimate aphrodesiac, Jenny" (insert contorted facial expression here - met with McCarthy's over the top exaggerated O face here).

But I suppose McCarthy is a comedian of sorts. So maybe her book about her pregnancy (with now ex-husband John Asher) would provide some comic relief, if not insights into the glories of being knocked up. Each chapter is an anecdote on some kind of pregnancy symptom, like nausea, constipation, gas, you name it. Thankfully for the book, McCarthy had a HORRIBLE pregnancy in terms of experiencing the widest range of unpleasant side effects you could pick up at the pregnancy symptom buffet. Thankfully for me, she keeps each "chapter" short, to only a few pages (although I'll give her arguable status as a comedian, I won't go so far as to say she's a talented writer).

But, as a pregnant lady myself, the book was entertaining, and a quick read. At the very least, it made me feel triumphant in my own pregnancy since I've been pretty symptom free so far (knock on wood). And her saving grace? That glorious picture of her on the cover! May all pregnant women at least feel as good as she looks at some point in their pregnancy. If you believe her book, that's all she had going for her during that time in her life!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (CBR book #31)

If you're into Twilight or other angsty teenage supernatural type books, then you'll probably dig Beautiful Creatures. Now that I've mentioned Twilight, some of you die-hard fans (I am not one of them) might want to know which is better...honestly, I'm not sure. I think Twilight fans would still prefer the Twilight books to Beautiful Creatures, but with three books already in the series, Beautiful Creatures may be worth a deeper look.

Okay, now I'm talking to normal people. This book is along the lines of the Twilight series so...possibly an entertaining, brainless read with a cup of annoying and over dramatic mixed in.

Basically, Beautiful Creatures takes place in the small town of Gatlin, South Carolina, where the civil war is still the biggest news of the day. Ethan Wate, a sophomore in high school, has his friends and basketball team. But then Lena Duchannes comes to town. The niece of the town's mysterious recluse, Lena's welcome in Gatlin is anything but. Ethan, however, is strangely drawn to Lena. Haunted by a recurring dream, Lena seems to be the clue to Ethan understanding it. As their friendship develops, Ethan learns more and more about Lena's family and all of its supernatural secrets.

I think this story focuses more on the relationship between Ethan and Lena (read: a love story) as opposed to really exploring and understanding Lena's supernatural world. In that sense, I found the book lacking. I love being immersed in new worlds but the perspective is Ethan's, so you feel just as in the dark as he does about all the interesting things Lena is privy to. Of course, things are slowly revealed throughout the book, but I still had a lot of questions and wanted to know more. I suppose that's the point of a series though, isn't it? Perhaps I'll read the second book to discover more. But I'm not sure the first book entranced me enough to go to the trouble.