Mundie Moms

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Book Review - Nevermore

Published by: Simon & Schuster (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Released on August 31, 2010
Source: Purchased/from publisher
4 stars - I really liked this book. Go pick it up.

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!
-- from "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

At once an homage to one of America's greatest writers and a page-turning psychological mystery that is equal parts horror, humor, and romance, NEVERMORE is the story of Varen -- a Poe-fan and goth -- and Isobel -- a cheerleader and unlikely heroine. When a Lit. project pairs the two together, Isobel finds herself steadily swept into Varen's world, one that he has created in his notebook and in his mind, one where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life. Isobel slowly learns that dreams can be much more powerful than she'd ever expected, and that pain and despair come in all sorts of shades. As labels of "goth" and "cheerleader" fade away, she sees more in Varen than a tall, pale outcast, and a consuming romance is braced against the ever-clearer horror that the most terrifying realities are those within our own minds.

When Isobel has a single chance to rescue Varen from the shadows of his own nightmares, will she be able to save him -- and herself?

I picked up this book because I remembered my experiences with the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Let me just say that they were dramatic and frightening. My Fifth Grade Teacher allowed our class to listen to an audiobook of the "Tell-Tale Heart" read by, I swear, Boris Karloff. I can tell you that I had to sleep with the light on for many weeks and that all the illumination didn't help at all. I was still scared. Later in high school, I learned more about Poe as a writer. I recalled that he married a cousin, drank and died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Somehow it all seemed to fit his macabre writing style.

So imagine my delight when I came across Nevermore. I wondered briefly if it would be too scary for me but as I started reading it, I discovered the cleverness of Kelly Creagh. She wove all the expected Poe mythology-- the raven, Red Death, Lenore -- in a love story starring a cheerleader who is beginning to discover more about herself and a angsty, gothic boy who has gone, perhaps, a little too far.

The two are united over a class project on the subject of what else, but Edgar Allan Poe. And as they become closer, things around them unravel. Isobel's world, in particular, falls apart. Her relationship with football hero Brad and her cheerleading friends begins to change as she falls slowly in love with the aloof gothic boy, Varen. I loved how Varen and Isobel's relationship took time to develop. It made sense although at times I found it frustrating. I may have screamed, okay muttered, something about "kiss her already". But when I finished the book, it all began to make sense.

You see, Kelly does something unexpected in the plot line. She takes you on this slow moving, methodical unfolding of Isobel's relationship with Varen. You feel confident, as a reader, that you know where she is taking you and then, in the last 150 pages, she plunges you into dreams and realities until you yourself aren't certain of what is truly going on. Oh, how I loved it. I loved how she showed all of Poe's scary, horrific, dark mythology and yet, wrapped it in a hopeful love story about two people who had nothing in common at the start of the tale. I know you want to know the best part and well, it's the ending. And I really shouldn't say more but I'm so very glad that there will be sequels.

Be sure to check out Kelly's blog for some fun Extras, like the Nevermore playlist, a free download of Varen's favorite band and a list of Kelly's favorite books. With Halloween just around the corner, this gothic story is one that you need to pick up and read.

Banned Books Week #SpeakLoudly Book Drop

This past week on Twitter there was a link to an article found here, that started a discussion between Christine Johnson, Julie Kagawa, Saundra Mitchell, myself and a couple other bloggers. Christine, Julie, Saundra and I, all started talking about what kind of action we could take to counter act the negativity that has steamed from these articles & banning books.

I'm very excited about what we all came up with. Later this week I'll share what Christine Johnson and I have teamed up to do! We're pretty excited about it.

Julie Kagawa came up with a brilliant idea to have bloggers, and book fans donate books to your local library or schools. It may be books from your own personal collection, banned books, challenged books, the classics, non-challenged or non-banned books. Julie herself is donating copies of The Iron King and The Iron Daughter.

All you have to is make a drop/donate your book and then blog about it and spread the word! Be apart in getting books into the hands of readers! I have a few ideas on what books I want to donate, but I'll post what I did later this week.

Reading is knowledge and no one has the right to take that away from someone.

Book Review- iDrakula

By Bekka Black
Published by Source Books
Released on October 1st, 2010
Source- Source Books
3 stars- It's a good read

A modernization of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, in cell novel form, in which two rebellious teens find themselves in over their heads when one girl’s boyfriend reappears from a mysterious summer internship in Romania gravely ill and craving blood (quoted from Goodreads).

Bekka does a great job with her modern day spin on Drakula, as iDrakula is written all in text or email form. I honestly didn't know what to expect reading a book written all from email and text, but it worked for iDrakula and I was pleasantly surprised.

Mina Murray's boyfriend Jonathan Harker travels to Romania for a summer internship, but while there something happens to him. He finds himself locked in a castle with the mysterious count. Mina doesn't hear from Jon for days, and when she finally finds out what happened to him, Mina travels to Romania with his father to bring him back to the United States. Jon has all the trademark traits of turning into a vampire, but it's something Mina doesn't catch on to until it's too late.

While Mina is at Jon's bedside, Mina's best friend Lucy is rushed to the hospital and thought to have autoimmune hemolytic anemia, the same disease doctors say Jon came home from Romania with. While Mina is with Jon fighting for his life, Lucy doesn't make it. Even though the story is fast passed, and there's no need for a lot of character depth, I felt bad for Mina when her boyfriend confesses his betrayal to her on the same day she loses her best friend. She not only feels alone from the loss of her best friend, but she has to deal with her own broken, heart.

Mina is a fighter and she teams up with Abe (Abraham) Van Helsing (Lucy's ex) to solve the mystery behind Lucy's death. Mina & Abe are great team as they work together to track down the "Master", other wise known as The Count. In killing him, they'll also release those he's tried to turn. I think vampire fans will enjoy
iDrakula. It's a quick, fun read, with a great modern day Drakula spin for teens.

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It's a post where we share the books we've received this past week for review, borrowed from friends or the library, received as a gift, bought, or received to giveaway.

This is was an awesome week, as yesterday I worked at the Austin Teen Book Festival and I couldn't help but purchase a few awesome reads. It was a little hard resisting, as I was a panel host for Ellen Hopkins, Jon Skovron, Kenneth Oppel, Charles Benoit and Susane Colasanti. In hearing them talk about their books, I couldn't resist the urge to pick them up. I'll have more about the Austin Teen Book Festival in a different post. I've got some signed swag to giveaway from it!!

For Review:

* Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, published & received by Little Brown, to be released on October 12th, 2010 (we will be giving this away soon)

* Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, published & received by Knopf Delacorte Dell/Random House, releases October 12th, 2010

* Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce, published & received by Scholastic, released October 1st 2010

* The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby, published & received by Scholastic Press, released
October 1st, 2010

* Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith, published by Harper Collins, received from Cynthia & Harper Collins, published July 1st, 2001

* Indian Shoes by Cynthia Leitich Smith, published by Harper Collins, received by Cynthia & Harper Collins, published April 1st, 2002

* Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst, published & received by Margaret K McElderry/Simon and Schuster, to be released on October 12th, 2010

* Luck Of The Draw by Rachael Renee Anderson, published by Bonneville Books, received from Rachael Renee Anderson, released on August 8th, 2010


Bought:
From the Austin Teen Book Festival-
*Crank by Ellen Hopkins (signed)
* Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron (signed)
* When It Happens by Susane Colasanti (signed)
* Starclimber by Kennth Oppel (signed)
* You by Charles Benoit (signed)
* Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin (signed)

Gifted:
I received these ARCS from the Austin Teen Book Festival-
* The Scorch Trails (teaser, Chapters 1-5) By James Dashner (signed)
* Drought by Pam Bachorz, published by EgmontUSA, to be released on January 1st, 2010 (signed)
* Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart, published by EgmontUSA, released August 2010
* Notes From The Blender by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin, published by EgmontUSA, to be released October 2010
* How To Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card (thank you Sophie)

Thank you to Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Random House, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Harper Collins, Little Brown, Rachael Renee Anderson and the Austin Teen Book Festival for this weeks awesome reads.

What goodies did you receive this week?

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