Light and Love

This Raging Light
By Estelle Laure
Genre: Realistic YA

"Her dad went crazy. Her mom left town. She has bills to pay and a little sister to look after. Now is not the time for level-headed seventeen-year-old Lucille to fall in love. But love-messy, inconvenient love-is what she's about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend's brother."

I don't usually read realistic novels (YA or adult), especially ones that revolved around love, because that kind of story doesn't usually appeal to me. But, I saw this book in the break-room at the library and started reading it. The situation and Lucille hooked me almost right at the start.

Lucille is an intense girl who's practical but also passionate. I didn't necessarily love her as a character, but I did feel for her and was definitely rooting for her to succeed. And although this book does have romantic love, it's not all about the boy. It's more about the love Lucille has for her cute, funny sister, Wren, the love for her messed-up and missing parents, and the love of two best friends.

This novel was heartbreaking and hard, but beautiful. It is very poetic, and the poetic-ness of her writing took me a while to get used to, but once I did, I could hardly put the book down. The subject and characters in this novel are raw and real, just like life, and will remain with long after the last sentence.

I give this novel a 3 out of 5 and recommend it for 16 year olds and up.

What I learned: If Lucille could face everything she did in this novel, I have no reason to complain about the small bumps of difficulties in my life.

Those who enjoyed this book might enjoy the poem by Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle.

Swimming with Mermen

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Genre: YA Fantasy/Romance
*First novel of a trilogy

"The day Emma meets Galen on the beach is the day her life changes forever. Galen is the prince of the Syrena sent to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. When Emma runs into him-literally, ouch!-their connection is immediate and powerful. Could this be the girl? After several encounters, Galen is convinced Emma is the one. But how can he convince her of her gift? And how can he make his feelings for her disappear? She's the key to his kingdom, she can't be the key to his heart."

Or can she? Oooh. I was first interested in this book because the cover shows someone swimming underwater, and I'm fascinated by the ocean, mermaids, or anything wet since there's so little of it in Amarillo, TX. And let's face it people, readers do judge books by their covers.

I highly enjoyed this book and I have read it twice. Yes, it is cliche in some parts, and for the most part the reader can guess what is going to happen, but Banks crafted an interesting plot and did I mention there are mermaid-like creatures (Syrena) swimming from page to page?

The narrator, aka the main character, is extremely snarky and sarcastic, and I found myself laughing out loud several times (good thing the first time I read this book it was an audio version in my car). Each character in the novel stood apart and possessed at least one slightly entertaining facet.

I had a difficult time imagining the underwater world of the Syrena, and it was a bit too romance-focused for me, but if you want a light, funny read, this book is for you. I give it a 3 out of 5 and suggest it for 15 year olds and up.

What I learned: People can't expect to know everything about a person and what they're thinking/feeling right away; bigger things might be swirling around in someone's soul, making them act in a certain way. Good rulers are those who can sacrifice their own desires for the betterment of their people.  

Warning: There's a major cliffhanger at the end of this novel. Be prepared. (The sequel is out; more on that later).

Anna Bank's blog: http://byannabanks.blogspot.com/

A Review: Champion

Champion by Marie Lu
Third and last book in the Legend trilogy
Genre: YA Dystopian

Insert from the inside cover:  (WARNING: May give away things if you haven't read previous two books!)
"June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic-and each other-and now their country  is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government's elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position.

"But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic's border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country's defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything."

This was a great conclusion to the trilogy. It is just as action-packed as the previous two novels, but also continues to develop the relationships between the characters, specifically Day, June, Eden, and Anden. I enjoyed returning to these characters and their vivid personalities.

I like how the 'lovey-dovey' stuff in this book isn't the main focus, and the people have to deal with larger things, like war and disease. And I loved seeing Day's relationship and his love for his brother and how that played out.

There is plenty of events in this tale to keep you on your toes! It is slightly heavier and more depressing than the first two novels, but that was to be expected after the cliff-hanger in the second novel, Prodigy. It deals with some real-life stuff, but in a way that is not highly disturbing or depressing.

The only major problem I had with this book was the ending, which brings it down for me to a 3.5 out of 5. Endings pretty much make or break a story for me. Don't worry, it's not super sad, although it slightly is. It felt unsatisfying and kind-of cheap to me. I think Marie Lu could have solved the main problem with June and Day's relationship a different way than that, but perhaps not. You'll have to tell me what you think if you read it (and you most definitely should).

Recommended for ages 16 and up for violence, a scattering of cuss words, a 'hot' scene (if you know what I mean. And there are references to homosexuality too, by the way).

What I learned:  Love is sacrifice. No matter what kind it is.

*Check out more info about Marie Lu and her books on her website: http://www.marielu.org/index.html

A Review: The House of the Spirits

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
Genre: not entirely sure, perhaps Dramatic Fiction

"The House of the Spirits is both a symbolic family saga and the story of an unnamed Latin American country's turbulent history. Isabel Allende creates a spirit ridden world and fills it with colorful and all too human inhabitants, including Esteban, the patriarch, a volatile and proud man whose lust for land is legendary and who is haunted by tyrannical passion for the wife he can never completely possess: Clara, the matriarch, elusive and mysterious, who foretells family tragedy and shapes the fortunes of the house and the Truebas: Blanca, their daughter, soft-spoken yet rebellious, whose shocking love for her father's foreman fuels Esteban's everlasting contempt, even as it produces the grandchild he adores; and Alba, the fruit of Blanca's forbidden love, a luminous beauty and willful woman."

I had to read this novel for a World Lit class I will be auditing this fall. There is so much that happens in it (it does cover three generations of women, after all), and is a highly complex novel, so I will be glad when we discuss it in class. Much of what I didn't understand has to do with the politics and revolution occurring at the end of the novel. I understood the gist of what happened, but would like to know if it it was true and more details of the political turmoil at the time. So if you read this novel on your own, be prepared to do a little research, or perhaps you are more familiar with Latin American History, and if you are, then this will be a highly enjoyable/easy read.

The characters were exceptionally unique, especially Clara, with her abilities to see the future and move things with her mind. But because of these such highly individual and strong personalities, it was hard to relate to the characters and care for them. I was often annoyed and frustrated with Esteban, one of the main protagonists, because of his stubbornness and selfishness, but Alba, his granddaughter, softens his character towards the end.

There were also a lot of heated love scenes, which the novel could have done without (or at least less vivid descriptions), and most of them occur outside of marriage. There is also rape, prostitution, torture, and violence in this novel which I cannot shake out of my mind.

Despite these difficult elements, I'm glad I read this novel. Sometimes it's good to be forced out of your comfort zone and read things you wouldn't ordinarily choose because you learn things you wouldn't, and your view of the world is broadened. And I definitely learned more from this novel than I can even guess at. I enjoyed reading about the culture of Latin America, the clash of very different personalities and how they are resolved or not, and how people react when their lives and beliefs are in jeopardy.

What I like most about this novel is the symbolism of the house and spirits (life is fleeting and temporal), the repetition that the characters viewed their lovers just as beautiful as they always had even after many trying years, and the steadfastness of family seen in the Truebas' relationships with each other.

The rating: 2.5 out of 5, and I'd recommend it for 18 year-olds and up.

What I learned: I already mentioned this, but more specifically I'd say that anger drives people away, and being triumphant over one's enemies and being rich is worthless if it's at the cost of losing the people one loves.

*Isabel Allende's website