Review: Devoted

DEVOTED
Jennifer Mathieu
Contemporary Young Adult
336 pages
Roaring Book Press
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Rachel Walker is devoted to God. She prays every day, attends Calvary Christian Church with her family, helps care for her five younger siblings, dresses modestly, and prepares herself to be a wife and mother who serves the Lord with joy. But Rachel is curious about the world her family has turned away from, and increasingly finds that neither the church nor her homeschool education has the answers she craves. Rachel has always found solace in her beliefs, but now she can’t shake the feeling that her devotion might destroy her soul.

MY THOUGHTS
This review is going to be a touch different from my standard review, mostly because Devoted is a story that pushed me well outside my comfort zone and proved to be more than a little uncomfortable for me at times, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I'm someone who likes to stay well clear of stories where religion plays a prominent role, especially when what we see of that religion is more extreme in nature. Ms. Mathieu takes us inside a fundamentally Christian family with rather fanatical beliefs about God and the roles men, women and children are to play in service to Him, but she handles the subject matter with care through protagonist Rachel as she comes to see that the world she grew up in is no longer the one to which she wants to belong.

The first half of this story is hard to read, every communication between the members of Rachel's family parroted snippets of their pastor's teachings or quotes of scripture, leaving very little room for creative or independent thought. Rules are to be adhered to, men are to work, women are to cook, clean and reproduce, and every thought or action is to be a direct result of the church's teachings. A sense of claustrophobia was nearly instantaneous, the parameters of Rachel's world so rigid and unyielding that I found myself needing frequent breaks just to escape and take comfort in a life where I'm free to be whatever I choose to be.

Once Rachel begins to question her worldview, thanks in large part to the blog of a young woman who left the community years prior under somewhat scandalous circumstances, I found my breathing started to come easier, and I couldn't help but root for her to keep pushing and see where her desire to be more than an ever-dutiful helpmeet takes her. Rachel doesn't immediately cut all ties to her family or her faith once she leaves home though, instead she continues to question and figure out how to have a relationship with God of her own making rather than one created for her by her father and pastor. Ms. Mathieu highlights a number of negative aspects to the radical nature of Rachel's family's beliefs, but she doesn't tear them apart and then try to nudge us as readers into a more "correct" way of thinking, instead she beautifully paints Rachel's journey as just that–a very personal exploration of not just faith but also of finding purpose in life as well.

Devoted was an impressively large step outside my paranormal romance reading bubble of happiness, one that pissed me off to no end, made me think, and ultimately brought a huge smile to my face as Rachel reached out and grabbed hold of her right to make her own choices. I can't wait to read more from Ms. Mathieu.

Rating: 4/5

Find Jennifer:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Vault of Dreamers Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

VAULT OF DREAMERS
Vault of Dreamers #1
Caragh M. O'Brien
Young Adult/Sci-Fi-ish
432 pages
Roaring Book Press/Macmillan
Available September 16th
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success:  every moment of the students' lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students' schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What's worse is, she starts to notice that the edges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding—and what it truly means to dream there.

MY THOUGHTS
The Vault of Dreamers is an exceedingly unique story, one that moves forward slowly but purposefully in order to give our minds time to ask questions, theorize, and generally wonder about the darkness hiding behind the watchful eye of The Forge Show. It’s not until nearly a third of the way through this story that the history of The Forge Show is revealed to us, a quick and believable explanation for how a school for the arts transitioned into the highest rated show in the country allowing us to link this piece of fiction to our reality in such a way that we can easily put ourselves in Rosie’s shoes. Once our questions regarding the show are answered, our focus then shifts to the strange nightly activities of those responsible for the students’ welfare, and from there we’re taken on an intriguing journey that tests our ability to detect what is real and what is illusion.

Rosie is a young woman who doesn’t necessarily leap off the first page in a blaze of fiery personality, instead she’s fairly quiet and unassuming, somewhat resigned to the fact that her time on The Forge Show is quickly coming to an end. Once she figures she has nothing to lose, we start to see her character emerge, her passion for filmmaking and her desire to show the public how she sees the world through the lens of her camera something we can relate to on a fundamental level even if filmmaking is not one of our strengths. Her inquisitive nature is a trait that should be considered a flaw–her tendency to disobey the school’s rules something that normally would have us rolling our eyes–but it just so happens that her curiosity is only surpassed by our own, and we can’t help but want her to learn as much as she possibly can.

Rosie’s ranking on The Forge Show is improved over time with the help of the unfortunately-named Linus, a romance between the two of them starting up quickly but staying well clear of the insta-love label. They are friends first before becoming allies as Rosie slowly becomes comfortable enough with him to share her fears over what’s happening during the students’ mandatory 12 hour sleep schedule, and while their relationship isn’t one to be categorized as epic, it’s gorgeously free of all the common YA romance pitfalls.

As we near the end of The Vault of Dreamers, the more unusual aspects of the story are brought to the forefront, our understanding of what those in charge are trying to accomplish with the assistance of the unwitting student body a bit hazy and only getting hazier as we reach the last chapter. Those readers who love to be left unsure and off balance, minds racing with implications, will thoroughly appreciate the final pages of The Vault of Dreamers, but those who like their endings to come with a bit of clarity will likely struggle with the tail end of this first leg to Rosie’s journey. Overall, Ms. O’Brien succeeds with the unusualness of the premise and the fascinating nature of the science relating to the students' dreams, and I for one find myself insanely curious to see where this series is headed.

Rating: 4/5 

Find Caragh:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

Meet her in person on the Fierce Reads tour!

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the hugely generous team at Macmillan, I have a copy of Vault of Dreamers to give away on the blog today. Giveaway is open to US addresses only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out the remaining stops on the tour for more reviews and chances to win!

·         September 9 | Ex Libris Kate & The Book Monsters
·         September 10 | Book Hounds & Candace's Book Blog
·         September 11 | Mundie Moms & Word Spelunking
·         September 12 | My Bookish Ways & Working for the Mandroid
·         September 13 | Fiction Fare
·         September 14 | Icey Books & My 5 Monkeys
·         September 15 | SciFi Chick & Supernatural Snark
·         September 16 | YA Interrobang & I’d So Rather be Reading
·         September 17 | Fiktshun & Book Briefs
·         September 18 | Michelle & Leslie’s Book Picks & The Irish Banana Review
·         September 19 | Alice Marvels & Forever Young Adult
·         September 20 | Good Choice Reading & Step into Fiction

Review: Sekret

SEKRET
Sekret #1
Lindsay Smith
Young Adult/Historical/Paranormal
337 pages
Roaring Book Press/Macmillan
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
An empty mind is a safe mind.

Yulia's father always taught her to hide her thoughts and control her emotions to survive the harsh realities of Soviet Russia. But when she's captured by the KGB and forced to work as a psychic spy with a mission to undermine the U.S. space program, she's thrust into a world of suspicion, deceit, and horrifying power. Yulia quickly realizes she can trust no one--not her KGB superiors or the other operatives vying for her attention--and must rely on her own wits and skills to survive in this world where no SEKRET can stay hidden for long.

MY THOUGHTS
Sekret is a story that creeps forward slowly rather than leaping from the gate with a great deal of speed and intensity, the intricacies of the mind a focal point that forces us to pay close attention and stay sharp even as our attention sometimes wants to wander. It's a tale that's clearly well-researched and well-thought out, but some of the Russian names and plot intricacies–particularly those that focus on historically significant events like the space race between Russia and the US–do occasionally trip us up as we try to figure out how they tie into Yulia's ability. The various missions she and the other young men and women like her execute can also be a touch confusing, the gifts each of them possesses at times muddying the waters given how tricky it is to tell whose psychic eyes we're seeing through as events unfold.

Yulia has the ability to touch people or objects and see events and conversations linked to them, something she's only recently come into when we meet her. We're therefore almost as out of sorts as she is from the beginning and have the pleasure of asking questions and figuring things out right along with her, ensuring we're connected to her throughout. She's clever and knows to keep her guard up even around those who appear to be friends, and while that doesn't always keep her from being hurt when someone manages to slip past her defenses, we can't help but admire her sense of self-preservation.

The romance is an extraordinarily minor element and one that's very low on the drama scale, something we're certainly grateful for but at the same time it's hard not to wish for a touch more. It's almost so minor an element as to be unnecessary to the overall plot, though having said that, there's no instant attraction or angst that makes it feel as though it was an element simply tossed into the story to appease those of us who crave love in their young adult fiction. In fact there's no mention of love at all, it's much more of a quiet friendship that eventually leads to more, and though it is undoubtedly a beautiful relationship full of music and hope, it doesn't strike that emotional chord that has us flipping the pages with added speed just to get to the next scene between them.

Overall, Sekret will be hugely appealing to those who love historical fiction, especially the politics and the power games between the United States and Russia in the 1960's. The added supernatural element provides an extra layer of tension, but at the same time it can be difficult to sort through all the contrasting psychic inputs to figure out which pieces of information are ones we need to take careful note of, slowing the pacing down overall. We're certainly left with questions, but they're not of the tear-your-hair-out variety, rather we're content with where Yulia is and hopeful that those questions will find answers in the next installment.

Rating: 3.5/5

Find Lindsay:

Website • Tumblr • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.