Review of Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.  Harper, 2012.

The “old” Lena is dead; a “new” Lena has been born.  This one is tougher and stronger.  She must forget about her old life and Alex; instead, she must focus on surviving in The Wilds, with the help of her new friends, who are part of the resistance.  This time, Invalids are fighting not only “The Cured”, but Scavengers, and a group calling themselves the DFA—Delirium Free America, as well.  Finding food and keeping safe are much harder now; hunger, secrecy, and fleeing become the norm.

When Lena and Julian Fineman, the leader of the DFA youth division, are captured and imprisoned, they must put aside their differences and work together to escape.  What they discover, however, is that not everything is what it seems.  Even the resistance and the DFA are hiding unbelievable secrets of their own!

Pandemonium is the second installment in the Delirium series, and it begins right were the first book ended.  Lena has made it to The Wilds without Alex, but she is wounded and must scrape her way through forest and underbrush.  She is eventually discovered by members of the resistance and nursed back to health.

The chapters are told in alternating time periods—Now and Then.  “Now” is the story taking place in the present time.  It is the story of Lena infiltrating the DFA and learning all she can about them.  “Then” is the back story—what happens following her escape from The Cured society.   This back and forth among the chapters was a little confusing at first, but once I got used to it, I decided it really works.  Near the end, the two stories merge and are told only in “Now”.  Without giving the book away, I will say that this part of the book was extremely suspenseful.  It was very insightful of Lauren Oliver to organize the plot this way.

Many new characters were introduced in this book, and a new love interest is thrown in for Lena.  Raven, who is the unofficial leader of the group that Lena joins up with, is a strong female character and role model.  Near the end, I did not like her as much, but as the story ran its course, I changed my opinion of her.  The same goes for Julian, the handsome son of DFA Leader, Thomas Fineman.  Julian seemed very cold and understandably stand-offish at first, but changed as the story  unfolded; I ended up loving him!  Also, I wonder if there is some veiled “tongue-in-cheek” reason  the last name of Fineman was chosen for both Julian and his father??

The descriptions of the underground prison, the tunnel dwellings, and its inhabitants were dark and mysterious.  The author has a true gift for painting intricate pictures with her choice of words.  This book seems to have more action than Delirium, which really kept me turning the pages!  As I read very last page of the book, I realized that there is a surprise twist, and I could hear in the background imaginary dramatic chords…”Dah, Dah, DAAAAAH”!!  I cannot wait for the 3^rd book!!!!!!

Fans of this series will not be disappointed! Sadly, due to some profanity, I cannot recommend the book for middle school libraries.  However, I highly recommend it for high school and public libraries!       

Review of The Night She Disappeared

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry.  Henry Holt, 2012.

Drew, Gabie, and Kayla work at Pete’s Pizza, and most nights Gabie delivers pizzas.  Out of the blue, Kayla asked Gabie to change shifts with her so she could be free on Friday night. So on Wednesday, Kayla was making pizza deliveries instead of Gabie.  She went out to deliver three pizzas and never returned.

Gabie is both horrified and frightened when Drew tells her that the guy who phoned the order in asked for the girl driving the Mini-Cooper.  Gabie is the only one working at Pete’s who drives a Mini-Cooper!  The guy on the phone, who now has Kayla, really wanted Gabie!

As the days drag on, everyone, including the police and a psychic, think Kayla is dead.  But Gabie and Drew aren’t so sure.  It’s a race against time to try to find clues to Kayla’s disappearance.  Could the kidnapper take Gabie next?

This book grabbed me from the first paragraph!  It is chilling page-turner and also a quick read!  The majority of the story is told chromatically in days beginning with the day the  kidnapping takes place, in alternating voices of the characters—Drew, Gabie, Kayla, “John Robertson” (the kidnapper),  plus others.  Pieces of evidence, including the kidnapper’s pizza order, the 9-1-1 transcript of the kidnapping, Kayla’s fortune cookie slip, an interview with a suspect, the transcript of a radio show, and more are included in the book.

I think one of the reasons the book works is that, like April Henry’s previous book, Girl Stolen, the author has told a tale that could actually happen in real life!  The reader gets to see inside the minds of all the people involved in the story.  Drew is a great guy; although he comes from a bad home-life, he is tough and has both true survival skills and a good heart.  Gabie is very persistent, and I got the impression that she might have some ESP capabilities in her; she never gives up on Kayla and insists she is still living.  Kayla’s parents are desperately grasping at straws, even going so far as to bring in a psychic to help find their daughter.  While Kayla’s parents truly believe what the psychic tells them, Gabie is convinced that she is really a charlatan!
 

The cover art is terrific!  It really picks up the theme and mood of the book!  If you like fast-paced, action-packed mysteries, this book is for you!  I highly recommend it for middle school, high school, and public libraries.

The copy of The Night She Disappeared reviewed was obtained from the publisher at ALA Midwinter.

Review for The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  Dutton, 2012.

Hazel Grace Lancaster has stage IV thyroid cancer with a satellite colony in her lungs; she has already survived one encounter with death.  She’s managing to stay alive with the help of phalanxifor, an experimental drug, and oxygen tanks.  Seventeen-year-old Augustus Waters, a former high school basketball standout, has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma; he has had one of his legs amputated above the knee but is now in remission.  The pair meets at Support Group, which occurs every Wednesday in the basement of an Episcopal Church in Indianapolis.  Gus is immediately drawn to Hazel, much to her surprise.  She decides to hang out with him, and the two become great friends.  He wants much more, but Hazel doesn’t want to get involved in that way.  The relationship grows, endures the loss of mutual friends, and involves a trip to Amsterdam.  Unfortunately, the pair has very little time to savor their blossoming relationship before they have to confront death.

I cannot say enough good things about The Fault in Our Stars.  It ranks up there with one of the best young adult books I have ever read!  The fact that it deals with a difficult subject made it extremely hard to read.  I was on an emotional roller coaster from the beginning to the end of the story!

I fell in love with the characters in this book.  Hazel has been through so much and still has to endure lugging around an oxygen tank and pain in her lungs that won’t go away.  She says “the pain was always there, pulling me inside myself, demanding to be felt”.  Yet, Hazel keeps persevering and fighting for her right to be a “normal teenager”.  Augustus is just a great guy; he seems perfect to me in every way.  He is sensitive, caring, smart, funny, and, on top of all that, hot!  Both Hazel and Gus are extremely cynical and stoic—they stare defiantly at death and laugh as it taunts them.  Even when he should be worrying about himself, Gus is thinking about Hazel.  When Hazel finally lets herself fall for Gus, their romance is bittersweet because they aren’t allowed enough time to enjoy it.  Hazel and Gus’s parents are wonderful couples—understanding and compassionate; I could feel the deep love they had for their sick children.

John Green certainly did his research for this book!  I learned a lot about cancer and Amsterdam, two subjects which couldn’t be further from each other!  The descriptions of Amsterdam were both striking and beautiful; I almost felt I was there.  The cancer information was written into the plot in a subtle way; it didn’t come across as encyclopedic or preachy.

The plot of another book is woven through the story.  I even tried to locate the book and the author; I am sure I am not the only person who has been curious enough to do this!  I also have to confess that I did not cry at the end of the book.  I had prepared myself for something bad to happen, but I was surprised by the chain of events.  However, if you plan to read this book, have some Kleenex handy!   You have been warned!!

The Fault in Our Stars is a star in John Green’s crown!  I highly recommend it for high school and public libraries!

Friends at ALA Midwinter!

This photo was taken at the SJL Reviewer's Reception at ALA Midwinter.  I am pictured with my friend, Teresa Schauer, who is the owner of the Book Trailers for All website, a repository for booktrailers!  She was getting ready to announce the winners of the 2012 School Library Journal Book Trailee Awards.  Daniel Neal, a sophomore at Flower Mound High School, won the "Secondary Created for Secondary" division with his trailer for Tenderness  by Robert Cormier!

This photo was taken at the same reception.  I am pictured with my Stephanie Bange, who I had not seen in 25 years!  I was so shocked and surprised to see her at this reception!  I was a bridesmaid in her wedding in Shreveport, LA nearly 26 years ago!  She is now a childrens librarian at a public library in Dayton Ohio.

I LOVE ARCS!!!

This is only about 3/4 of the advanced readers copies that I received when I went to ALA Midwinter!  The publishers were so nice and very generous to the librarians in the exhibit hall.  I was especially excited to receive a copy of Fever by Lauren DeStefano!  It is a fabulous read!

Fun at ALA Midwinter Meetings in Dallas!

I had a blast at the Midwinter meetings and exhibits in Dallas in January!  Look at this cool "hand chair" that was in the Brodart exhibit! I also got tons of ARCs! (picture coming soon) Thanks to my friend Teresa Schauer, owner of Book Trailers for All, for taking this picture.

Review of Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever by Lauren DeStefano; Simon & Schuster, 2012.

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped from the Housemaster Vaughn’s mansion, hoping for a life together, and Rhine is determined to go home to her twin brother, Rowan.  However, horrors they could never imagine await them in the outside world.  First, they fall into the hands of Madame Soleski, a crazed woman who runs a brothel inside the remains of a carnival.  They get out of that situation with an added burden—Maddie, an intelligent, but mute, malformed child, only to have one roadblock after another thrown into their paths.  As an added distraction, Vaughn keeps showing up unexpectedly, and Rhine cannot figure out how he is able to find her.

If you are a fan of “The Chemical Garden” series, you will not be disappointed with Fever. In fact, in many ways, I think it is even better than Wither !  Fever begins right where Wither ends.  There is more action in this new installment, and we learn more about Rhine’s brother, Rowan, and life beyond the mansion.

In Fever, we are introduced to new characters, many of whom are extremely complex.  I am especially fond of Lilac, one of Madame Soleski’s “girls”, and Maddie, her young daughter.  Lilac helps Rhine and Gabriel cope with living in a strange brothel; she is knowledgeable and strong way beyond her nineteen years.  Maddie, though deformed, is smart and has learned how to survive in a dangerous environment, despite her handicap.  She has literally beaten the odds.  I love Grace Lottner, who owns “Grace’s Orphanage”.  She is a caring and devoted woman.  The way she dotes on her charges is both commendable and extraordinary.

Madame Soleski, the twisted, delusional owner of the “Carnival of Love”, is the epitome of evil.  Not only is she controlling, but she is also conniving, and heartless, only caring what she can get out of the girls’ short lives.  She even has an incinerator built so she can easily dispose of her dead girls’ bodies.  Then there’s Housemaster Vaughn.  If you thought he was awful in Wither, just wait!  He is even more of a monster in this second book!  The evil he exudes in the first book cannot even compare to what we learn about him in Fever !

Lauren DeStefano’s lovely prose descriptions of the carnival, Manhattan, and the orphanage are stunning!  The world beyond the mansion is dark, disturbing, and desperate.  It is hard to believe that people can actually live their lives in this crumbling, dying world.  Many of the first generations are also pro-naturalists, scornful of children and teenagers, and hold disdain for President Guiltree and his ideas to begin experimenting for a cure for the virus which claim young adults.  Setting off bombs to make a point is reminiscent of some of today’s terrorists, and that is how Rhine and Rowan’s parents were killed.

Although the book is very dark, it does the ending does leave the reader with some hope.  Fever will make its debut on February 21, 2012.  I highly recommend it to high school and public libraries!

**The copy reviewed was received from the publisher at the ALA Midwinter meeting in Dallas, 2012.