Book Review: Black Heart by Holly Black

Once again, I’m in love with Holly Black’s writing. Black Heart follows well on the heels of the first two books in the series, picking up with Cassel Sharpe’s tumultuous life following the events of Red Glove. The moment I finished it, the moment I wanted to pick up White Cat and begin reading the series again.

Just to review the Curse Workers‘ world, from my review of White Cat:

In White Cat, the world is not much different than ours. In fact, the only major difference that you could notice from casual observation is that everyone is wearing gloves. Anyone could potentially be a curse worker, and working is done through touch. A person can affect emotions, dreams, transformations, luck, memories, or even death, through the slightest touch. The unpredictability of working means that it quickly became illegal, relegating working to crime families and the mob. [...]

Working isn’t magic, per say, there’s not really a deep mythology, or even a reason behind it, though I hope it’s explored more in the sequel. It’s a really interesting concept, that anyone could affect a person’s dreams, emotions, even their appearance through transformation, by a simple touch. Not wearing gloves is equated with holding a loaded gun, and is perceived as such.

For Cassel Sharpe, who comes from a long line of mob-connected, con artist workers, it’s hard to be good. And he really is trying, but it’s difficult. His brother is a murdering traitor who used Cassel as an assassin, His mom is on the run from the law, and the governor is after her head–as well as the heads of all workers everywhere. On top of that, there’s a decent bit of drama between Cassel and Lila, who hates him because she was worked and feels used, and a blackmail plot crops up at Cassel’s school, further complicating his situation.

There’s a lot here that feels like it was taken from X-Men’s Mutant Registration act, but I didn’t care as I was reading it. That was the vehicle for one of Cassel’s significant dilemmas: will he cooperate with a potentially corrupt government organization that seems to be using him to achieve their own dark schemes? How far will he go in their service? How far will he go to protect Lila or his mother? How far will he go to protect his friends? In many ways, this was a book which tested the limits of Cassel’s resolve and his creative resourcefulness.

Black imbues Cassel with a dry wit which, in the middle of dire circumstances, is so pointed and relieving. The narrative is refreshingly frank and unpretentious, with plenty of twists and turns in the plot. I enjoyed it from start to finish. I’m not sure if there’s going to be a further book in the series or if it will remain a trilogy, but Black began to expand the mythology of the world just a bit with this book. I’d like to see that explored even more in subsequent works.

Book Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Robin Wasserman’s The Book of Blood and Shadow is such a fantastic, intelligent book! It’s fast-paced, bookish, dark, and dangerous at times. Nearly all of the reviews I’ve read have said that this is YA’s answer to Dan Brown, and they’re right. Things are not as they seem, enemies lurk behind every shadow, and a world-changing artifact lies hidden somewhere in Prague. People will kill for it. People have killed for it–and they won’t stop until their goal is complete.

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up.

When the night began, Nora had two best friends and a boyfriend she adored. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands. Chris was dead. Adriane couldn’t speak. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora’s determined to follow the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. But Chris’s murder is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

Via Goodreads

Essentially, Nora and her best friend Chris, along with his roommate Max, work for a professor whose life goal is the translation of a cryptic text which will supposedly allow the worthy reader to talk to God. They are set with the task of translating documents which might aid in the ultimate translation of the text, but it seems that this is no mere boring desk job. Their journey is fraught with danger: murder, torture, supernatural urban legends.

This is a multilayered book, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The first lines grabbed me and really never let go. It begins with a murder, though through a slightly non-chronological narrative Wasserman maintains suspense well. She leads with a shocking revelation and then brings in the characters so that the reader becomes warily attached to them. There is a further non-chronological element, as much of the essential clues to the mystery come from centuries-old letters which tell a tale of warning for Nora and her friends who seek a similar treasure.

Nora is not your typical YA heroine. A love story is present, yet subdued and not distracting. It becomes a real plot point beyond finding a source of a happily-ever-ever. There are some laugh-out-loud moments to alleviate the dark tension which often pervades the book, and the constant questioning of loyalties keeps the mystery alive and complex.

There are a few small problems I have with it, but they’re absolutely minor, and maybe I’m being nitpicky. They mainly deal with characterization. I think that Nora is a bit too sure of herself, for someone so unceremoniously thrust into such a unique, dangerous situation. She’s almost too confident at times. For such an introverted person who relies on the constancy of her Latin translations to make sense of the world, Nora too readily steps into the dangers of the outside world, flying in the face of the horrific nature of the villains.

Wasserman takes pains to keep us guessing as to the identity of the murderer, as well as to who is on Nora’s side and who might be a turncoat. In some cases this worked, yet at times it seemed too clear. Spoilers hidden, highlight them to read:Max is SO obviously the bad guy, and Eli is clearly not, but there is a bit too much protesting on either side. Instead of there being hints at who might be a villain, there are full-blown arguments about it. Too much evidence is given, and the conclusion seems to obvious for me..

That being said, it was only in some bits of the characterization that I found problems. The plot was great, the mystery was delightfully tantalizing, and it’s absolutely worth reading. I would like to see more of this from YA authors in the future.

Book Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Jennifer E. Smith’s The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, which takes place over a 24-hour period, is just delightful. Hadley is on her way to her father’s wedding in London when she misses her flight. While in the airport trying to stave off panic, she meets Oliver who is returning home on the flight she’s just been bumped to. To say they hit it off is an understatement, though it’s not hot and heavy. Rather, it’s an emotional connection–which I appreciate in a YA novel. They while away the time on the flight getting to know one another, only to go their separate ways when they reach their destination.

It’s a very smart book, filled with references to Dickens and others, and it ponders the unpredictability of love. It’s not a science, and it can’t be quantified. It’s a feeling that defies much reasoning. It ends predictably, though that does not diminish the journey, which is emotional and tender. Hadley is a fragile character with bursts of strength; she’s learning to find her place in the world and to seize opportunities as they come. She must come to terms with her father starting a new family, trying to figure out where she fits in the new scheme of things. Oliver is funny and strong–a good counterpoint to Hadley, though I don’t think I’d want a story from his perspective, for some reason. The two of them work well together, with a solid rapport and obvious chemistry–but is it that simple? This is a question that the book grapples with: can you just see someone and fall in love? I wouldn’t say that there’s a definitive answer to it here, because we all know that it’s more than the first few seconds. However, without a spark there can be no fire.

I enjoyed this thoroughly, and I recommend it as a quick read that hits a nice emotional note with quite a few moments of levity and a whole mess of Dickens.

Graphic Novel Review: Level Up by Gene Luen Yang

Gene Luen Yang’s Level Up is a good depiction of the effect that video games can have on our lives, but not in the typical “it’ll rot your brain” way, but in a way that highlights the good that it might do when properly balanced. The moment I saw Thiem Pham’s cover, designed to look just like the Game Boy I grew up on, I knew I needed to read this.

Via Goodreads:

Video Games vs. Medical School!

Which will win the battle for our hero’s attention in Gene Luen Yang’s new graphic novel?

Dennis Ouyang lives in the shadow of his parents’ high expectations. They want him to go to med school and become a doctor. Dennis just wants to play video games—and he might actually be good enough to do it professionally.

But four adorable, bossy, and occasionally terrifying angels arrive just in time to lead Dennis back onto the straight and narrow: the path to gastroenterology. It’s all part of the plan, they tell him. But is it? This powerful piece of magical realism brings into sharp relief the conflict many teens face between pursuing their dreams and living their parents’.

All that Dennis really wants to do is play video games. From the moment he first picks up a controller, he knows that’s exactly what he wants to do with his life. However, his parents have a very specific vision for him: medical school. Nothing less will do. He’s smart, but not driven. He hasn’t found a passion that extends beyond the game console.

Level Up is also a great example of the communications barrier between parents and children, and how they may actually know us better than we know ourselves. There’s a paper that I have my students write, which involves thinking through what their passions are, what really burdens them. They all tell me, “I don’t have any passions!” I tell them to talk to their parents, who can generally point directly to what their kids’ passions are.

While you don’t need to love video games to enjoy this book, it probably helps. There’s a small amount of cussing, but it’s also about a college student, though I would still give it to teens as a depiction of what might happen.

It reminds me of Scott Pilgrim, a graphic novel series I absolutely love, and on which I am writing my Master’s Thesis. I might bring this in, as it’s very similar in its use of magical realism as a way to depict how many lifelong gamers might relate to the world around them.

This was a delightful graphic novel, both melancholic and whimsical at the same time. I really enjoyed it!

Book Review: We Never Talk About My Brother by Peter S. Beagle, part 2

Continuing my musing review of Peter S. Beagle’s We Never Talk About My Brother:

6. “The Spook”

This was a really interesting story, though I wasn’t blown away by it. A man is haunted by not-to-scary ghost and, of course, a duel ensues. I loved the idea of a poetry duel ‘to the death’ and the pesky nature of the ghost. One guy is totally irritated by it while the other man just takes it in stride just makes this delightful. I think the moral of the story is that friendship can transcend the spiritual boundaries of life and death.

7. “The Stickball Witch”

This was another story that I really loved because of Beagle’s use of nostalgia. This reminded me of The Sandlot, which is one of my favorite films, as everyone knows that one person from their childhood who was just horrifying–until you actually met them. While this was a straightforward story, it’s just filled with whimsy and humor with just a smidge of magic placed like a dollop on top of what could be a regular old baseball story.

It also reminds me of Bill Cosby’s “Street Football” standup routine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmZ0tVOTr…

8. “By Moonlight”

This was a more sensual story–but also a very sensuous one. It’s vivid, with an engrossing play on the mythology of Oberon and Titania, as well as the general faery myths.

Coincidentally, this ties in nicely with a bit of The Wise Man’s Fear, which I just finished, so this appealed to me a bit more than normal with its use of fairy stories and mythology retold and toyed with. It’s also something that I could see Holly Black liking, though she’d probably be a bit darker with it. I like the idea of time passing differently in the Fae, as well as Oberon’s way of interacting with his wife’s liaisons.

9. “The Unicorn Tapestries”

These vignettes, narrative versions of art from Beagle’s childhood, were good and interesting. However, I think that, without Beagle’s personal connection, I wouldn’t have cared much about these. That is, I didn’t really care until the last two tapestries, which were both tragic and jubilant.

10. “Chandail”

While I didn’t unabashedly love this story, I appreciated it for two main reasons:
1) It’s the story of a strong woman–an assassin!–who must come to terms with who she is and go against her nature. It’s a story of a woman who could take vengeance upon a terrifying creature but doesn’t because it’s not exactly what she thinks it is.
2) This story so intrigued me–as well as Beagle’s introduction to it–that I want to read The Inkeeper’s Song, as this story is set in the world he created for that novel.

This was a great collection of stories! I’m happy to have been exposed to them, and I look forward to the next time I might chance to come across the prolific master of short form prose, Peter S. Beagle.