Books and Cookies: Book Review for REMAKE

Are you excited for the approach of summer? Tomorrow is my kids' last day of school, and while I'm looking forward to a little less of a routine and sleeping in past 7:00, I'm also a little nervous about keeping FIVE boys entertained. Wish me luck! (I'm gonna need it...)

If you're like me, then you probably have a whole stack of books that you're looking forward to reading this summer. Or perhaps you're looking for a few good books to add to your TBR list. Maybe you'll find what you're looking for in one of my book reviews this week.

I've been reading a lot of Young Adult books lately because that's the genre I write, so if you enjoy reading YA, you'll probably like some of these books I'll spotlight this week. This first one is REMAKE by Ilima Todd.

Set in a futuristic dystopian society where children are raised in batches instead of families, this novel delves into the idea of what it would be like to live without a family. And it's interesting to see the distinct difference between the Rebels who still live in families as opposed to the children, also known as Batchers, who are raised without parents and have limitless freedoms and no consequences.

Batchers are given hormone suppressants so everyone looks the same and there are no differences between male and female. At the age of seventeen, the Batchers get to experience a Remake where they choose their gender and what they want to look like. This novel brings about the question of gender and what makes us male versus female. It's a very interesting take on the whole idea of gender and what it would be like if we could choose our own gender.

As for my review, I loved this book. I'm a sucker for a dystopian setting in general, but I loved that it was a clean read with probing questions, a sweet romance, and an intriguing plot that made it difficult to put the book down. And the best part? It's the first book in a series so I know I'll get to see those characters again. Hurry up, Ilima, I'm waiting over here! :)

All in all, I'd give this book 4 1/2 stars! And I'd recommend it to anyone who likes dystopian settings like MATCHED by Ally Condie or UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld.

Now for some cookies...

Don't these Peanut Butter Cup Cookies look scrumptious? You can find the recipe HERE.

Happy Baking and Reading!

Books and Cookies: YA Book Review #3—Fracture

Happy New Year! Hopefully you've had time to reflect on 2014 and set goals for 2015. I know I'm looking forward to a productive year (I hope).

Now that the holiday season is officially over *Boo*, I have one final installment of Books and Cookies. The week wouldn't be complete without highlighting a yummy chocolate cookie recipe. If you love chocolate and PB cups, this is the cookie for you!

Moose Tracks Cookies

If you too want to make these cookies, you can find the recipe on Inside BruCrew Life. So grab your plate of cookies and join me for the book review!

A YA Book Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda

Delaney Maxwell’s life changes the moment she steps onto the frozen lake and falls through the ice. For eleven long minutes she is trapped under water. Pronounced dead at the scene, Delaney somehow manages to survive despite the fact that doctors say her brain will have irreparable damage. But when she emerges from her week-long comma, Delaney is very much alive and very much like herself before the accident. Except for one thing—she now senses when people are sick or dying. 

I absolutely LOVED this book. I simply could not put it down. I read it in a day if that tells you anything. Megan weaves a tale that is emotional and heart-wrenching at times, then mysterious and creepy at others. And VOICE. I can’t say enough about how much I was drawn to Delaney Maxwell’s voice. For instance, this is how the book starts out, which of course, immediately drew me in:

“The first time I died, I didn’t see God.

No light at the end of the tunnel. No haloed angels. No dead grandparents.

To be fair, I probably wasn’t a shoo-in for heaven. But, honestly, I kind of assumed I’d make the cut.” ~Delaney Maxwell

Aren’t those the greatest opening lines ever? Who wouldn’t want to keep reading?

Delaney has been best friends with her neighbor Decker for as long as she can remember. They are inseparable. Except for that day on the ice when Decker leaves her standing there alone and Delaney falls through. It’s a moment he’ll regret forever. As far as romance goes, (because every YA novel needs a little romance) there are clearly more feelings between Delaney and Decker than either is willing to admit. But their relationship changes when a boy named Troy comes into the picture—a boy who knows more about Delaney than he initially lets on. He’s a boy with a past and a secret which Delaney quickly uncovers.

With a riveting plot from start to finish, Fracture delves into the ideas of the human spirit and suffering, love and loss, compassion and jealousy. Don’t be surprised if you stay up WAY too late trying to finish it in one sitting. And for Fracture fans, Megan Miranda has written a companion novel titled Vengeance that is told from Decker’s point of view. Thanks to Amazon, it’s already on its way to my house! Happy Reading!

Gems of an Unnoticed Nature

Books have a way of infiltrating society. We talk about them when they make the NYTimes Bestseller list. Actors throw themselves in the way of casting directors when the tomes are made into movies.

But what about the priceless book that doesn’t receive recognition? The ones that don’t make the news?

This week, let me know which books fit that description, a book no one knows about that rocked your world.

Today I want to highlight a book that I read as a kid. It started me on the Sci-Fi/Fantasy kick and literally changed my reading circle.

The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key is a YA Sci-Fi about a young man who falls through a broken door into an alien world. The people and a culture he doesn’t understand frightens him. He runs, chased by strange, violent beings who only want to harm him. 

He gives up hope of ever finding his way back to his world when a family who guesses he isn’t like them rescues him. They guard him at their own peril while the authorities search for the young man. He hopes his people will find him and save him from the strange planet called Earth.

Find this book if you can. It’s out there and waiting for you.

Dialogue Crit #1

I'm only going to crit the dialogue here, because what you put in between the dialogue and how you tag it is a whole different can of worms.Yellow highlighter points out word repetition, something you want to generally avoid... though in dialogue, people do it more than they should. That pesky reality getting in the way again!

Title: Faerie Wings
Genre: YA/NA contemporary fantasy

People danced through an endless garden. They drifted through large French doors in and out of the real garden and back to dance some more. Chandeliers bathed the room in soft yellow to match the lanterns outside. The dimmer lighting subdued the swirl of colors. Instead of the warm sweaty air I associated with dances, a cool floral breeze drifted through the room.

“What magic is at work here?” I had to lean close to Carter so he could hear me.

“Can you guess?”

“The breeze?”

“Good. Who wants to dance in the heat? You can see that most people have calmed their colors as well.”

“Why?”

“Most people like to keep their emotions to themselves when dancing in public.”

“Not where I come from.” I warmed when Carter placed his hand on my back and led me onto the dance floor.
“I don’t dance. Please, can’t we sit somewhere instead?”

“Dancing will make it impossible for your admirers to talk to you. Isn’t that what you want? And anyway, this is what they want. To see us together, happy and in love.” If it's important to Carter to give the audience what they want (a question of his character), he can entice her into wanting that too or he can give her a solid reason why it will harm her if she doesn't -- carrot or stick. Right now, and in light of her response, this comes across as a mishmash of mild carrot and mild stick. Maybe it needs re-phrasing. Maybe he responds to her response with something more definite.

Heat rushed to my face, “But we’re not in love, and I really can’t dance."

I dug my heels in and we stopped moving forward.

“Mo Run, please. Trust me. You’ll find dancing here easier than on the human side.” Again, not much of a carrot. If this keeps up, he's going to come across as less than motivated. OTOH, her motivations are decently clear. Thumbs up.

“I doubt that.” Didn’t he realize it was impossible to dance when you’ve never heard the music before? I mean, it wasn’t bad. In fact I liked it, but you would never hear it in a club. The music had definite Celtic undertones with some rocking drums thrown in. The problem lie in the fact it couldn’t make up its mind about tempo. Some of the instruments filled the air with lyrical ballads while others played something more like a jig.

The couples in the room didn’t seem to mind. They all danced in their own way. Some rushed around the room spinning with legs and arms flying in intricate patterns. Others danced close and slow.

“What is this? Pick your own tune?”

“You’re smarter than you look. Character call: patronizing tone. Let’s start with something slower?” Carter reached for me and pulled me into dance position.

“It’s really pick your own tune?”

“Yes. Right now there are,” he paused and cocked his head to the side, “four different songs playing.”

“I’ve gone crazy.” Relevance? How does her being crazy influence the music? Though if is this a phrase she uses often, leave it.

“Trust me for one night. Let go of all your fears and give in to your imagination.” Character call: semi-canned phrases.

Carter stood so close, his eyes boring into mine. I could feel his warm hand on my back, just above the scars. His other hand squeezed mine and I wanted to let go like he asked. I really did, but his fingers were sliding down toward my waist. They paused, then moved again tracing one of the lines down my back. His brow crinkled and I stepped away from his hold.

“Mo run?”

His eyes were so deep. Bottomless pools of concern. He hadn’t bargained on me being damaged goods. Even if I wanted this life, I would never fit in. Not with these beautiful, perfect people and their swirling colors.