A fun poke at the notion of instant fame the internet can give a person (willing or not) inspired by the real life situation of ‘Alex from Target.’
The characters grab their 15 minutes of fame and attempt to carve out a career of some sort… would you have the kahoonies to grab an opportunity like that, or does the thought of being thrust into the spotlight terrify you?
Just one post away from fame.
Genre: Y/A, Contemporary
No. of pages: 384
From Goodreads:
Rachel Ettinger has flown under the radar for most of high school, exactly as planned. She’d rather focus on getting to New York City, where being the arty playwright is a bonus, not a drawback. Her googly-eyed crush on Kyle Bonham is embarrassing but unimportant. After all, there’s no way she’d ever end up with the King of Apple Prairie High, anyway.
Kyle does make a grease-splattered Burger Barn uniform look dreamy. But aside from flipping patties – and riding the tide of steady drama from his on-again, off-again girlfriend – everything about his life is fairly predictable.
So when Rachel’s jokey picture of Kyle winds up going viral, they’re both taken by surprise. Suddenly Kyle is insta-famous and everyone on the planet knows about Rachel’s silly crush… including Kyle.
Just as they think their lives couldn’t get any more complicated, their fifteen minutes of fame spirals out of control. And what starts out with an innocent photo becomes a whirlwind adventure full of fangirls, haters, and French-fry bouquets that forces them both to question whether fame – and love – is worth the price.
This was just the cute contemporary I thought it was going to be – but had much more substance than I anticipated. ‘#famous’ deals with themes around social media, instant fame, bullying, and that awkward coming of age moment in life when your morals are tested, and embarrassment can come from just about anything. Parents, socio-economic status, fashion, your body, ooof the list goes on…
I felt this was an intelligent contemporary shedding light on issues that youth today face in the advent of social media and how strong a roll trolls, peers, and media fame impact on individuals, families, and the opportunities they can present to the right promotion-savvy person.
Told in alternating perspectives in each chapter between popular, gorgeous, star jock, Kyle; and artistic, fringe-dweller, Rachel. Jilly Gagnon gives some great character portraits for both the leads, they are both confident and insecure in varying degrees that was both endearing and believable.
The main plot is predictable, but the storytelling is anything but. I loved Gagnon’s writing style, the comedic timing, the charismatic cast, and underlying themes. ‘#famous’ is definitely the first contemporary to surprise me in this manner in quite a while. The pacing is pretty good, mainly due to the shorter chapters and switching perspectives… and they don’t just tell the opposite side of the story on the same scene – they have their own separate arcs that twist and bump into each other. Their tones are completely different.
We get some great supporting characters and the family of both of our leads have a strong presence in the story. Though the story is simple, it has charm and interest and I would happily recommend this to anyone who loves a light contemporary.
Overall feeling: Sweet. Adorable
© Casey Carlisle 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
An overwhelmingly cute read dealing with some hardcore topics (but in a respectful way.) Love diverse reads like this… review to come 🙂
Genetic virus wreaks havoc on humanity.
Genre: Y/A, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Adventure
No. of pages: 352
From Goodreads:
Lane Everson barely survived her first journey to the Feral Zone. The forbidden, overgrown landscape east of the Mississippi River was abandoned years ago when a virus spread through the population, bringing civilization to its knees.
But Lane has crossed the quarantine line, and she knows the truth. There are survivors on the other side of the wall – people who were not killed by the virus, but changed by it, their bodies warped to display a variety of animal traits. In the most severe cases, their minds are warped as well, leaving them barely human.
Lane volunteers to return to the Zone as part of a humanitarian aid mission. But she has a darker, secret purpose. Someone she loves has been infected, and she once made him a promise: If he ever goes feral, Lane will be the one to put him down. Now, Lane fears that the time has come.
Considering this was a sequel and a finale, I was expecting great things from ‘Undaunted.’ It certainly did not disappoint. The stakes were raised, the characters tested and showed growth, and there was plenty of dystopian sci-fi goodness al-la ‘The Island of Doctor Moreau.’
This was a difficult novel to get through however, which had me puzzled because it has all the earmarks of things I enjoy in a story. Just after I reached the halfway point I realised it was the writing style. Again another surprise to me given how much I have enjoyed Kat Falls other titles. In the afterward, the author did admit to struggling to complete penning ‘Undaunted,’ and I wonder if some of that awkwardness translated into the writing. There were moments of Lane’s narration that felt immature to me. Though it meets the intended demographic, I don’t remember feeling that way from the debut ‘Inhuman.’
Out protagonist Lane has much more direction and certainty about her in ‘Undaunted.’ It felt like she was on solid ground and no longer simply surviving from one instance to the next. You get a clear picture that she is aware of the larger mechanisms and politics of the situation at large. She has clear goals and determination to see them through – all mixed in with a hefty dose of compassion. It is a nice juxtaposition to how she was in the previous novel.
There was a hint of a love triangle with both Everson and Rafe vying for Lane’s attentions, but from her perspective, it was never a love triangle, just simply friends that she cared about; and one of those friendships blossoming into something more. Everson has a small amount of character development in the form of a shift in his morals at uncovering some truths, but Rafe has stronger growth from being, known as a thief and trouble maker, to a solid stand up guy, responsible, a leader. For some reason I was continually reminded of the main character in ‘Aladdin,’ a street hustler turned prince.
I notably fell in love with the manimal orphans, and the lionesses as well both victims of the transformative genetic virus. Falls did a great job in marrying animal character traits with human ones to show strength, pride, and loyalty.
There was always something interesting going on to propel the story forward, but I felt the writing style let it down. Maybe some more sophisticated sentence structure and word choice to bring down the word count and increase the pacing of the story would have greatly improved my reading experience. Also help to eliminate a small amount of repetition. But that is me just being picky in trying to figure out why it took me so long to get through this novel.
I can’t say that there were any twists or turns that I didn’t see coming revolving around the central plot. It is very predictable in that sense, but there were a couple of minor reveals that had me raising my eyebrows. It is definitely a satisfying read, but not one that really socked it to me, or gave me the feels. The plot points are all addressed neatly – if a little cliché a times. I can see this being a great book to recommend to the younger end of the YA market. The whole manimal epidemic can be synonymous to racism and immigration themes in a sense. Because they have developed their own culture, and effectively, a different race. It also brings up themes of genetic modification, infection, and epidemics; great topics to open discussion on science, or the morality and ethics around these topics on a larger scale.
I’m happy I read it and got a conclusion to the story, even though slightly lacklustre for me. But would happily recommend it for younger readers.
Overall feeling: Get it girl, that was good.
© Casey Carlisle 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
How many paranormal themed books, films and television series deal with the general public choosing to believe in the rational, tactile, and familiar? Frankly if I had witnessed something extraordinary and inexpiable, it would only prove that there is more to the world than we thought. I like weird.
Angsty Teen Grim Reaper.
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
No. of pages: 332
From Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby is a teenage grim reaper with the bizarre ability to damn souls. That makes her pretty scary, even to fellow Grims. But after inadvertently transferring her ability to Zara, a murderous outlaw, Lex is a pariah in Croak, the little town she calls home.
To escape the townspeople’s wrath, she and her friends embark on a wild road trip to DeMyse. Though this sparkling desert oasis is full of luxuries and amusements, it feels like a prison to Lex. Her best chance at escape would be to stop Zara once and for all—but how can she do that from DeMyse, where the Grims seem mysteriously oblivious to Zara’s killing spree?
It was fun to visit the emo, sarcastic teen protagonist (and Grim Reaper) Lex again. However ‘Scorch’ was a little lighter on the snark that I was so entertained by in the debut of this series.
‘Scorch’ left me wanting a meatier, more substantial plot development other than the cat-and-mouse chase with antagonist Zara.
I guess this suffered from the middle book syndrome. Though I was definitely engaged and entertained. I want to say an element was missing from the story to send me over the moon. So while a great concept, thrilling and kept me glued from the page; maybe some more character arcs, or a more intertwined plot would have bumped up my rating of ‘Scorch.’
Lex was always complaining about something, and though she was researching information to get Zara off her back, and save innocents from being ‘Damned,’ I did not get a sense that she was particularly proactive. Additionally, the ‘forced’ breaks to enjoy being a teen for Lex and some of the other characters felt out of place. It didn’t seem like it was to let off steam, but rather engage in teen activities to pique interest with the target demographic… it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to the story. I would have rather Lex been a bundle of nerves, on the edge of a breakdown, go smash up a car with a baseball bat, than go clubbing and gossip. Ya know?
There was an interesting twist with Lex and her gift at the end of ‘Scorch’ I did not see coming; but am conflicted about her justification, because her attitude earlier in the story contradicts the final standpoint.
The romance between Lex and Driggs was cute and funny, but something about it felt frivolous, not having as much heat and interest as it did in ‘Croak.’ I kinda wanted Driggs to become more independent and have an arc of his own. This couple was attached at the hip too much.
Uncle Mort was my favourite character in ‘Scorch.’ His fatherly duties mostly comic relief, but well placed throughout the novel. Although the non-explanations and ‘for you own good, just trust me’ standpoint were too common and started to get on my nerves. Granted, he is the only adult around Lex, and has much more knowledge about the Grim mythology, and his position lends his moving political chess pieces about the board, plotting steps ahead – it makes sense that Lex would be in the dark for most of this. We get a lot of her frustration of being kept out of the loop, but it only added to the parent-child relationship these two shared.
The whole Zara-as-the-villain, and another reveal in ‘Scorch’- while great fodder to pace the story forward – I’m still grabbling with some realistic motivation for what played out; though I’m anticipating an explanation in the last instalment in this trilogy ‘Rogue.’
‘Scorch’ is a fun easy read, the pacing is mostly tense and engaging. My issues came from plausibility and character motivations… and wanting a more intricate plot. But there are some great surprises. Gina Damico’s writing style is succinct, and captures the emo tone and dark business of being a Grim Reaper. Love the mythology of the business of death, and am keen to see where it all goes in ‘Rogue.’
I’m on the fence about recommending this one, because it’s more of a passion read – if you loved ‘Croak,’ then, yes, read on. If you weren’t particularly impressed with ‘Croak,’ then ‘Scorch’ is much of the same. But I thought it was a nice little escapist read for a lazy Sunday.
Overall feeling: Jan, Jan, Jan!
© Casey Carlisle 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Had to do a mini-book haul a few weeks back – I’ve read the first novel in many new series and needed to purchase the rest of the collection… This duology was outstanding! If you loved ‘Illuminae’ this is right up your alley. Go Sci-fi!!
Casey Carlisle 