Team Human by Sarah Rees Brennan & Justine Larbalestier

Title: Team Human 
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan & Justine Larbalestier 
Publisher: HarperTeen 
Publication Date: 3 July 2012 
Rating: 4 Stars

Readers who love vampire romances will be thrilled to devour Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan. Team Human celebrates and parodies the Twilight books, as well as other classics in the paranormal romance genre.

Mel is horrified when Francis Duvarney, arrogant, gorgeous, and undead, starts at her high school. Mel’s best friend, Cathy, immediately falls for the vampire. Cathy is determined to be with him forever, even if having him turn her could inadvertently make her a zombie.

And Mel is equally determined to prove to her BFF that Francis is no good, braving the city’s vampire district and kissing a cute boy raised by vampires as she searches evidence in this touching and comic novel. - Summary from Goodreads

When I first heard about Team Human the first thing I thought was that it was a parody. Our society has been through a few years of the vampire craze (not that there’s anything wrong with that, I like a good vampire story too) and has moved onto a love/hate relationship. But the authors make it clear that they are not vampire haters, without the vampire novels out there Team Human wouldn’t even exist. I like to think of Team Human not as a parody, but as a different perspective on the vampire/human romance stories out there.

The book has a lot of typical YA vampire tropes: a vampire in high school, a vampire dating a teenager, the cafeteria scene… All of these familiar scenes are shown through Mel’s perspective and she doesn’t think it is cool or romantic, she just finds it all creepy and she doesn’t want her best friend getting mixed up with a vampire. Basically, Mel has the opposite reaction towards Francis than the average MC in a vampire novel. She has very strong opinions about vampires and tries to do everything to get Cathy see things her way. She’s kind of obnoxious about it to the point where I just want to tell her to lay off of it, but at the same time I understand that she’s doing all this to protect her friend. She just doesn’t want Cathy to get hurt.

Throughout the book we see a lot of different opinions on vampires from all different people. It isn’t just Mel’s view that we are shown, a lot of characters weigh-in on the topic in a very realistic way and make us question how we would see it if we lived in this world. This book is surprisingly serious and I was in tears at the end of it.

Team Human offers a variety of different perspective on the classic teen vampire romance stories out there. It manages to be funny while still bringing up serious topics that the main character has to consider. It is definitely worth reading whether or not you’re a fan of vampires because, either way, there will be characters inside these pages who share your perspective. 

       -Christina

Celebrating the Scorpio Races!

 “It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.” 

 It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

5 THINGS THE SCORPIO RACES HAS

HOT IRISH BOY

SASSY IRISH GIRL

HORSES

MONSTER HORSES

AND

NOVEMBER CAKES!!!

November Cakes

Interesting Links:

Scorpio Races Research Album
The Animated Book Trailer
November Cakes Recipe
Sample of the Audio Book

I hope you all have a great November first! I'd recommend staying away from the ocean tonight and sit down with a copy of The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater and a November Cake instead.

Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff

Title: Fiendish
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: August 14, 2014
Rating: 3.5 stars

Clementine DeVore spent ten years trapped in a cellar, pinned down by willow roots, silenced and forgotten.

Now she’s out and determined to uncover who put her in that cellar and why.

When Clementine was a child, dangerous and inexplicable things started happening in New South Bend. The townsfolk blamed the fiendish people out in the Willows and burned their homes to the ground. But magic kept Clementine alive, walled up in the cellar for ten years, until a boy named Fisher sets her free. Back in the world, Clementine sets out to discover what happened all those years ago. But the truth gets muddled in her dangerous attraction to Fisher, the politics of New South Bend, and the Hollow, a fickle and terrifying place that seems increasingly temperamental ever since Clementine reemerged. -Summary from Goodreads

            Fiendish is set in a small town in the Midwest where normal and “crooked” (people who have fiends in their family tree) live side by side. Naturally a lot of tension builds up between these two groups. Prejudice and dislike abound, but, for the most part, besides the Reckoning, people keep their pitchforks in their closets. The town itself is like an important side character. It has its own culture and personality, and its journey is vital to the story. The natural world is infused with magic creating an awesome setting. The magic itself isn’t explained, it just is, which makes it seem wild and natural. You get the sense that although people sometimes use it, there’s really no way to control it. It is its own being.

            I loved the beginning of the book, it is so creepy and beautiful at the same time (the beauty comes from Yovanoff's writing). Clementine has been stuck in the cellar of her house for 10 years when Fisher finds her and gets her out. One issue I have with the book is that even though she has been under a spell for all that time, it doesn’t seem like her mind is affected. It said that she was aware of the world during that time and she watched it somehow, but it is very vague. I thought she adjusted to the world a little too easily. The only thing that seemed to throw her off was the change in her cousin and aunt, other than that she seemed very self-assured for someone who has been out of the world for a decade. Overall, her character just felt underdeveloped.

            I thought that the romance was also kind of flat. There’s nothing I hated about it, but there wasn’t anything I liked about it either. I guess I just couldn’t understand what Clementine and Fisher saw in each other besides the fact that they’re both strange. 

            The best thing about this book is the beautiful writing style and the amazing setting. Yovanoff brings this world to life through her words, and the terrifying and ugly within it are also at the same time intriguing and beautiful. Even the normal things she describes seem magical. If you’re looking for a good stand-alone book for Halloween, Fiendish may be for you.

           -Christina

Wake by Amanda Hocking

Title: Wake (Watersong #1)
Author: Amanda Hocking
Published: August 2012
Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets. - Summary from Goodreads

            A fun summer read to finish off the season with. Wake is a mixture of cuteness, creepiness, and drama. I picked this book up at a flea market because of the awesome cover, but I bought it because of the sirens. I’ve never read a book with such a heavy presence of sirens before, and while it had a bit more of a contemporary feel than I like to read, it was an enjoyable read. 

            You would never guess it from the summary, but this book actually follows two main characters, Gemma and her sister Harper (sister book!) who takes the role as “overprotective big sister” very seriously. They both are struggling with change as Harper is about to go off to college in the fall and Gemma is falling for Harper’s best friend Alex, who will be leaving soon as well. There's also tension as Harper's mother hen-ing get's more intense and Gemma is sick of it. However, the real trouble comes when three mysterious girls start to show some interest in Gemma and not in a good way.

            I thought the sirens were interesting and well done, but we didn’t actually get a lot of them besides the surface “pretty yet dangerous” vibe. There was one section in the book that focused on their mythology which was interest, but it’d be nice to see more depth to them later.

            While I thought the writing style lacked a bit in the beginning, the story caught my interest enough that I didn’t notice it as much after a while. This definitely felt like an introduction to the rest of the series, but is had some high-stake, intense parts as well and I thought that the relationships (or sometimes lack thereof) were really cute. Gemma and Alex were cute, but I love the Harper/Daniel chemistry. It’s probably because he seems like a heart-of-gold/scoundrel and she is not impressed. But there is something about him as well that is a mystery and I can’t wait to find out what the explanation is.

            Overall, I wouldn’t say that this was a great book, but it has an interesting premise. I am definitely hooked on the series and ready to read on.

 
            -Sarah

Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richelle Mead

Title: Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5)
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: July 29, 2014
Rating: 4 Stars

In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.

Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .

Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where all bets are off. - Summary from Goodreads

     I was disappointed when I first started reading Silver Shadows. I felt like the voices, especially Adrian's, were flat and I was bored by what was going on. Sydney is trapped in the alchemist re-education center where they are trying to psychologically recondition her to hate Moroi and reinforce her loyalty to the Alchemists while Adrian begins to fall back on bad habits. I knew what was happening was essential to the story, but I hoped the book would get more interesting. I should have known not to doubt. Everything starts picking up on page 157 and it doesn’t stop after that. Silver Shadows amps up the drama, action, and cuteness levels of the Bloodlines series.  

     The book focuses on Adrian and Sydney completely. Most of the Palm Springs group show up only a few times and Rose a Dimitri each make very small appearances, but the main trouble in this story is a lot more dire than Jill’s outdoor gym class or the possibility of Angelina getting expelled. The stakes have been raised, lives and sanity are at risk and there’s no going back. While the book deals with some pretty dark and disturbing things I wouldn't say that the book as a whole is dark. Sydney and Adrian are made weak by circumstances out of their control, but once they find their footing they become strong and are able to fight back. This is not a hopeless story, it is a love story. And you will not believe some of the things that happen in this book!

     Even though the beginning was incredibly dull the rest of the book made up for it many times over, and it manages to hold its own against the rest of the series. If you were wondering if this book ends with a cliff hanger then answer is yes. Now that you have that  warning go forth and read!

     While still being its own book Silver Shadows continues the fantastic Bloodlines series and sets up The Ruby Circle perfectly. I cannot wait to read the conclusion when it comes out in February 2015. It is going to be EPIC!

                          -Christina