Books and Sensibility

We're an Open Book

YA Paranormal

A Matter of Fate: If I Stay by Gayle Foreman & Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

     7 Comments

At first these two books seem worlds away, one a much-praised modern literary classic the other a backlist YA contemporary climbing its way up the NYT bestsellers list with a film release weeks away.  

I found myself reading both books at around the same time and the more I thought about writing the individual reviews, the more I realized these books have a lot in common. Both main characters, Kathy  H. in Never Let Me Go and Mia in If I Stay, are young women trying to figure out their future. While Kathy’s path has been laid out  since  birth Mia gets the opportunity to decide hers.

…

Read this Post

At first these two books seem worlds away, one a much-praised modern literary classic the other a backlist YA contemporary climbing its way up the NYT bestsellers list with a film release weeks away.  

I found myself reading both books at around the same time and the more I thought about writing the individual reviews, the more I realized these books have a lot in common. Both main characters, Kathy  H. in Never Let Me Go and Mia in If I Stay, are young women trying to figure out their future. While Kathy’s path has been laid out  since  birth Mia gets the opportunity to decide hers.

…

Read this Post

This is How The World Ends: 2013 Book Series Enders

     5 Comments

In 2011 we were newbie book bloggers not sure where to start in the new world of  YA fiction.  Soon we got swept up into four debut YA series that have followed us on our blogging journey. As Books and Sensibility grew these series continued to keep us guessing at how it was going to end.

Reviewing third books is hard, so we are going to review these final books as they relate to the series as a whole and give a final verdict on if we think the series is worth getting the whole box set or stopping book 1. And of course, these will be SPOILER FREE REVIEWS.

…

Read this Post

Book Review: Through to You by Emily Hainsworth

     Leave a Comment

  • Release Date: October 2, 2012
  • Pages: 272
  • Genre: Supernatural Realism
  • Publisher: Balzer + Bray (Harper Collins)

Through to You is one of those books that is an insta-pick up for me; a contemporary realistic story with a slight unexplainable element tossed in. The main story focuses on Cameron Pike as he mourns the sudden death of his girlfriend, Viv; and what happens  when a mysterious girl and  mysterious green light show him to an alternate version of his life.

This is one of those books that is hard to talk too much about without ruining too much of the plot. Nothing in the book is every really what it seems and there are some interesting twists and turns. However, I think this book would have made a great short story or novella, because as a novel it dragged on its feet in the middle and was grasping for plots.

Cameron as a protagonist didn’t pop off the page, while there are some great moments when we see him work through some of his depression and relationships his voice didn’t come through the page. The supporting character inhabiting both the real world and the alternate world were also kind of one note as well.

…

Read this Post

Book Review: Marly’s Ghost by David Levithan

     1 Comment

Join Kat as she reads and reviews the works of David Levithan 

from his debut novel to his National Book Award longlisted novel, Two Boys Kissing

 

  • Pages: 176
  • Genre: Adaptation/ Paranormal
  • Publisher: Dial (Penguin)
  • Publication Date: December 1, 2006

In Marly’s Ghost, David Levithan collaborates with illustrator and author Brian Selznick who is best known for his book The Invention of Hugo Cabaret. Together the authors remix the story and illustrations of  Charles Dickens’ classic novella, A Christmas Carol into a modern day Valentine’s Day tale.

 

This novel is a little different from most Levithan novels because it is essentially a packaged novel.  In the back of the book Levithan discusses how this novel came about because he was approached by two Penguin editors to write a Valentine’s Day spin on A Christmas Carol. Once he had a theme down, he describes how he sat down with the text of the original and worked piece by piece to create Marly’s Ghost. Because this novel sticks so close to the source material and borrows much of the language from it  has a different feel than Levithan’s previous books. …

Read this Post

Audiobook Review : Fire With Fire by Siobhan Vivian and Jenny Han

     1 Comment

  • Genre :Contemporary/Paranormal
  • Length : 11 hours 15 minutes
  • Release Date : 8-13-13
  • Publisher : Simon Audio

Fire With Fire picks up just a few weeks after the events of Burn for Burn. The main characters have seemingly moved on, however, it’s not long before the girls find themselves working together to once again take down Reeve Tabatsky. Some people never change. . . or do they?

While the first book introduced the world of Jar Island, this book shifts focus on the community and culture of Jar Island. We get a feel for the traditions, events and celebrations of this small town. This level of world-building within a contemporary setting is admirable….

Read this Post

Audiobook Review : Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

     Leave a Comment

  • Release Date : August 16th 2007
  • Publisher : Penguin
  • Audiobook Length : 8 hours 55 minutes

Synopsis : St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger…

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever

Two years ago Rose Hathaway,  a half-human vampire, and her best friend Lissa Dragomir, a vampire princess, ran away from the vampire filled St. Vladimir’s Academy. We don’t know what they’ve been running from, but these girls have their reasons. Only now, they’ve been dragged back to St. Vladmir’s and the darkness has followed them….

Read this Post