Review: Prophecy of the Sisters

PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS
Michelle Zink
Young Adult
343 pages
Little, Brown
Available Now

THE STORY
Lia and her twin sister Alice haven't been close in a long time. They don't gossip as sisters often do, they don't share secrets, and they don't lean on one another for support. The sudden and unexpected death of their father aggravates an already tenuous and strained relationship, and acts a catalyst that brings a shadowed family history into the light, drawing a line of demarcation for two young sisters.

Lia's family is unique. For as long as she can remember, each generation has a set of female twins. Their mother and aunt were twins. Their grandmother and her sister. Prior to the death of their father, Lia and Alice know nothing more than their family has an interesting genetic anomaly. They have no idea their unique line of women is the subject of a centuries old prophecy. One that pits one twin sister against the other.

Lia is quickly entangled in a completely unfamiliar world and is left with a cryptic prophetic book she doesn't understand. All she knows is she has a calling, one bigger and more important than she could have ever dreamed for her quiet life. Evil must be stopped. She wields the power to stop it, so her path seems obvious. But soon Lia learns that evil isn't so easily identified, and sometimes the most familiar mask conceals the blackest of souls.

MY THOUGHTS
Have you ever read a story you thoroughly enjoyed but can't necessarily pinpoint exactly what it is you liked about it? I flew through this book, closed the back cover, decided I would definitely recommend it, and then sat at my blank computer screen for twenty minutes with absolutely no coherent sentences to show for my effort. Huh. After some additional thought however, I was able to define a few of the elements that made this novel a worthwhile read.

Though stories of predestined fates and ancient legends aren't new, this one gives us a prophecy integrated into a family dynamic, and it is the relationship between the various family members that makes the story so fascinating. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the age-old nature vs. nurture question brought into play. Are Lia and Alice born with all the character traits that define their respective roles in the prophecy, or does knowledge of the prophecy itself affect their individual behaviors and shape them into the preordained mold? If the prophecy had remained a secret, would the rift between Alice and Lia have continued to grow, or would they have been able to bridge the gap? No one can say for sure, and that element of the unknown makes the story all the more intriguing.

The riddle that makes up the prophecy is beautifully mysterious, creating far more questions than answers and making the pages fly by as Lia desperately searches for any minute detail to aid in her mission. Though I arrived at some conclusions long before the characters, majority of the cryptic message remains indecipherable and deliberately vague, virtually guaranteeing my continuation of the series so that my knowledge may be absolute. I'm nothing if not curious, and the darkness surrounding Lia, Alice, and their fates more than piques my curiosity.

My main criticism would be of love interest James who seems to be a rather superfluous character. Lia and James are already in a relationship when the story begins, so it's not as though we get to follow their courtship and watch them explore the beauty and novelty of first love. He imparts no helpful information, aside from a brief translation in the beginning, and he's not a support system for Lia as she adamantly refuses to enlighten him to the chaos and turmoil that has come to define her existence. Their scenes are brief and somewhat devoid of emotion, and their relationship seems an unnecessary distraction from the main storyline. I'm hoping his role will increase in the remaining two novels and perhaps his purpose will become a little clearer.

All in all, this is a dark and engrossing tale, and now that the premise is established and select details in place, I'm looking forward to getting into the heart of the story with book two.

Rating: 3.5/5

In My Mailbox #4

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi over at The Story Siren and is a great way to see what other bloggers are reading and reviewing. I always love seeing what everyone else got for their week!




Won from Books and Things (I actually won something!):
Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Bought:
Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
Entwined by Elisabeth Naughton

It's the last few days for my Hunger Games trilogy giveaway, so if you haven't had a chance to enter, feel free to pop in and do so!

Cover Critique: Tempest Rising

Let me preface this post by saying that my design critiques of these covers are in no way, shape or form a reflection on the author, the content or the publisher. I know the authors have very little, if any, control over the design. These are strictly my thoughts stemming from my design experience.

I'm presenting this week's cover critique in a step-by-step format. This is purely my imagination running wild with one potential scenario of how the designer arrived at the final cover art for Tempest Rising:

Hmmm. This story is about a Selkie. Selkie's are big fans of water, so I think I'll start with a water environment. She's most likely naked when she swims, so I think I'll utilize the classic naked-but-not-really-naked pose for her: topless with long hair to cover her breasts. Oh, and I'll need some strategically placed water ripples.




Nice. I even gave her eyes reminiscent of a hammerhead shark to enhance her water-creature vibe. Well done me. You know what enhances implied nudity? Snakes. Snakes make every half-naked woman look sexier (Britney Spears anyone?). And I think a banner will be nice for the title, almost as though the snakes are holding it in place.



Shazam! I. Am. Awesome. Still missing something though. Oh! She has a boyfriend. He should be represented on the cover. Perhaps a heart. I'm sure she hearts him. I think to show how truly astounding my creativity is, I'll make that heart have fangs since he's a vampire. A heart with fangs! I deserve a raise.




Design award here I come. Not quite there yet though. I'm not sure what other elements to add, I've really outdone myself thus far. I think maybe I'll just go with some nondescript nature-like elements. Everyone likes nature right? Right.




Those are perhaps the greatest branches ever drawn. And look at the floating purple orbs I added for no apparent reason! Marvelous. Okay, to finish up I need to add the author's name. But I have so much room left at the bottom that just her name will look lonely since the rest of the cover is so nicely occupied. I know! I'm a big fan of seals. And coffins. Those will flank her name nicely I think.




TA DA! It's truly something to behold isn't it? Please refrain from falling at my feet spouting odes to my brilliance, that would be embarrassing.

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No offense meant to the illustrator, he/she is obviously very talented, this type of illustration just doesn't appeal to my particular tastes. Of course, my husband walked behind me while I was writing this post and went "wow, that's a really cool cover, " so what do I know?

What do you guys think?

Hopping on the 13th!

First off, Happy Friday the 13th to everyone!

This weeks question: How many books do you have on your "to be read" shelf?
I think I have somewhere in the vicinity of 30 which actually doesn't seem to be that many! I'm pretty good at plowing through my books and I *try* not to buy too many extras week to week, but sometimes that doesn't always work out:) Coupons are my downfall. I have to use every one that crosses my path. Basically I love buying books, I can't help it. There's something relaxing about walking into a bookstore, looking at all the fun covers, and knowing I'm going to walk out with a few!

Thanks to Crazy for Books and Parajunkee for hosting the hops!

Review: Wildthorn

WILDTHORN
Jane Eagland
Young Adult
352 pages
Houghton Mifflin
September 6th, 2010
Received from publisher

THE STORY
Wildthorn Hall is an asylum. Its residents are the mentally deficient, the forgotten, and the unwanted. Its galleries, save one, are dark, windowless, and full of female guards with an affinity for inflicting pain on those who cannot defend themselves. Louisa Cosgrove doesn't belong here. Shouldn't be here. She's not insane, she has a strained but still loving relationship with her mother, and she's supposed to be on her way to her new place of employment. There's been a mistake.

Everyone at Wildthorn says her name is Lucy Childs and she's merely deluded herself into thinking she's this Lousia Cosgrove. The doctors and staff members claim they have her best interests in mind, but as she's stripped of her valuables, clothes, and dignity, it becomes clear that to them she's just another girl come to join the ranks of lunacy.

Allies are few and far between, trust is not an option, and if she wants to prove her sanity, Louisa needs to get a look at the papers that confined her to this prison. Who could have done this? Why won't anyone listen? Who is Lucy Childs? Louisa must find the answers to all these questions and more before her mental and emotional strength is depleted by the barrenness of her circumstance, and she becomes nothing more than the simpering, mental invalid they already think her to be.

MY THOUGHTS
Ms. Eagland certainly knows how to write a compelling story. The misery and hopelessness of having one's own identity called into question is thoroughly haunting, and Louisa's fight to retain her sanity in the face utter oblivion pulls the heart strings to a new and shocking tautness. Written in the first person, the reader is often left alone with Louisa and her thoughts as conversation in the asylum is limited at best, forcing us to live every indignity, every injustice, every betrayal with her. Her pain is our pain. Her fears are our fears. And we wish that perhaps our strength might leak through the pages and buoy her as she drifts alone through uncharted waters.

If you're looking for a novel that's action-packed, this is not it. The beginning is a little slow as the story alternates between Louisa's past and present, but soon it evolves into an intellectual mystery at it's finest. A story where the reader must constantly question whether we can trust the thoughts to which we're privy. Louisa seems so certain she is who she says she is, and we're presented with multiple flashbacks of the events leading up to her institutionalization that seem to corroborate her story, but are those memories really hers? Is she really Louisa Cosgrove and this is all a mistake as we so desperately want to believe, or is she truly ill and these hints about her past are the creations of a mind with diminished capacity?

Louisa herself is beautifully written as a strong, proud, intelligent, and outspoken young women living in a time where women with intellectual abilities were shunned and treated as outcasts for daring to believe they might be equals of men. A time when excessive reading, when done by a female, was thought to lead to insanity and was wholly inappropriate for the fairer sex. Louisa pushes every boundary, refusing to adhere to the standard practices of society women, and that characteristic in conjunction with her unwavering strength in the face of a seemingly hopeless fate makes her a truly inspired protagonist.

Though not a dominant storyline by any means, some readers may be deterred by the exploration of a budding same-sex romance. Personally, I say those readers would be missing out on a character who isn't afraid to blur the lines of gender distinction in terms of occupation, sexuality, and place in society, and who chips away at established constructs with nothing short of an admirable confidence.

A beautiful, touching, and fascinating tale, Wildthorn should be added to your to-be-read pile as soon as possible.

Rating: 4/5

Review: The Thirteenth Chime

THE THIRTEENTH CHIME
Emma Michaels
Young Adult
209 Pages
Bokheim Publishing
Available August 13th, 2010
Received for review

THE STORY
Destiny and her best friend Stephanie are taking a much needed breather from the stresses of school finals and are planning on spending a few blissful days at Stephanie's new beach house. Unbeknownst to them, blissful will not be an adjective they will choose to describe their time by the sea.

Shortly after arriving, a freak accident occurs, putting both Stephanie and her mother in the hospital. Alone and frightened by the unusual circumstances surrounding the accident, Destiny calls her ex-boyfriend David, whom she has always been able to lean on in times of need, for moral support. David, still struggling with his unforeseen dismissal almost a year ago, flies in to be the proverbial shoulder-to-cry-on.

Once there, David begins to realize that something has truly scared Destiny, and it's not the thought of an intruder in their home as the police would have them believe. Her fear has more to do with an unusual grandfather clock at the top of a staircase; a staircase in a house with a reputation situated on a cliff overlooking an island prison. Clues begin to fall into place, a mystery begins to unravel, and David must shoulder hurt feelings and focus on Destiny before the clock strikes thirteen.

MY THOUGHTS
This novel has a story that shows promise. The mystery element unfolds nicely, with some twists and turns that are fairly unpredictable and could lead to intriguing future revelations in subsequent books. It also has a very beautiful cover design. That being said however, I do have some fundamental problems with the book as a whole.

Character development for me is one of the most intrinsic parts of creating a good story. Without characters that draw me in, I feel like an outsider with my nose pressed up against the window pane wanting desperately to be inside where the action is taking place. I like characters that force me to feel. I love to love characters. I love to hate characters. I love to love to hate them. But most importantly, I love to be wholly and completely involved in their world, however temporarily. The most successful characters for me are those that are multifaceted, with layers that are subtly revealed as the storyline progresses, drawing me further and further in until I'm screaming and crying and completely submerged in their emotional trials and tribulations.

Unfortunately, the characters here are lacking that much-needed depth. David and Destiny are very one-dimensional, their thoughts and feelings told to the reader instead of shown. David reflects thoughtfully. Destiny smiles smugly. Everyone chuckles lightly. All thoughts and emotions are presented in short, staccato bursts that don't provide any substance to which the reader can latch on and hold tight.

Furthermore, the relationship between David and Destiny is confusing and somewhat uncomfortable at times. It's not very clear why the relationship ended initially, only that it was a surprise to David, and their interactions are awkward in a way that I don't think is completely intentional. David has valid reasons for being upset with Destiny over her past behavior, yet he drops everything to rush to her side when she's engaged to someone else, and once he's there, all serious conversation is eschewed by Destiny punching him in the arm and giggling. He gets punched in the arm quite a bit.

I have a few other issues with the writing itself, the primary one being that it lacks a maturity and finesse I've seen from some other young adult writers. There are numerous brilliantly written, engaging, and haunting paranormal young adult novels out there at the moment, and this one just isn't on the same playing field. That's not to say future novels won't be improved upon, however.

There are a couple problems with the sequence of events as well, but as characters are the most fundamental part of the story for me, my primary issue is with their individual personalities and relationships. I believe this debut from Ms. Michaels has a solid idea and good bones, but it's missing the heart to give it vibrancy and truly bring it to life.

Rating: 1.5/5