Come November by Katrin Van Dam

Title: Come November
Author: Katrin Van Dam
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Series:N/A
Hardcover, 373 Pages
Publication: October 30, 2018 by Scholastic Press

Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

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It’s not the end of the world, but for Rooney Harris it’s starting to feel that way. It’s the beginning of senior year and her mom just lost her job. Even worse, she isn’t planning to get another one. Instead, she’s spending every waking moment with a group called the Next World Society, whose members are convinced they’ll be leaving Earth behind on November 17. It sounds crazy to Rooney, but to her mother and younger brother it sounds like salvation. As her mom’s obsession threatens to tear their lives apart, Rooney is scrambling to hold it all together. But will saving her family mean sacrificing her dreams—or theirs?

Come November isn’t the type of book I normally pick up. But I’m so glad I did. Come November dealt with a topic rarely seen in Young Adult, cults. It highlighted the interworking of a cult and the aftermath of leaving a cult (voluntarily or otherwise). Sure, we’ve all seen stories in the news about it but I’ll be honest, I never thought much of what goes on behind the scenes; especially what happened to the followers after their leader is taken away or goes MIA. The novel is centered on seventeen-year-old Rooney, her younger brother and their mother. Rooney’s mother is entangled with the New World Society, a organization that believes the earth is dying but they can start over elsewhere. That on November 17^th, an alien race will rescue the believers/followers and take them to a different planet to start anew.

Without going into too much detail, the choices that Rooney’s mom took greatly impacted her and her brother’s life and everyone they knew or came into contact with. The book was separated into months, months leading up to “The Departure” and months “After Departure”. I loved seeing Rooney’s growth and transformation over the months, as she learned to take care of herself and her brother, jumping into the parent role after her mom checked out of reality. Despite the hardship Rooney faced at home, she never crumbled under all the obstacles thrown her way or bailed like her mother. Instead Rooney did everything in her power to scrape together any semblance of a normal teenage life like: getting a boyfriend, getting a job, attending school functions and applying to college.

The book is clearly split into two halves, cult life and life after cult. While it was great to see both perspective, I thought life after cult was far more interesting. It showed that no matter how bad things got, when you think it’s literally the end of the world…it eventually does get better. It may be a slow progress but as the saying goes, when you hit rock bottom, you have nowhere to go but up. And that exactly sums up the last half of the book as we see the characters’ resilience and perseverance to do better, make the best of their situation, and ultimately forgive and heal. Overall an enjoyable and fascinating read. I highly recommend it.

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older

Title: Shadowshaper
Author: Daniel José Older 
Genre: Urban Fantasy, YA
Series: Shadowshaper # 1

Paperback, 297 Pages by Scholastic Inc.

Source: Personal library.

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Sierra Santiago was looking forward to a fun summer of making art, hanging out with her friends, and skating around Brooklyn. But then a weird zombie guy crashes the first party of the season. Sierra's near-comatose abuelo begins to say "No importa" over and over. And when the graffiti murals in Bed-Stuy start to weep.... Well, something stranger than the usual New York mayhem is going on.

Sierra soon discovers a supernatural order called the Shadowshapers, who connect with spirits via paintings, music, and stories. Her grandfather once shared the order's secrets with an anthropologist, Dr. Jonathan Wick, who turned the Caribbean magic to his own foul ends. Now Wick wants to become the ultimate Shadowshaper by killing all the others, one by one. With the help of her friends and the hot graffiti artist Robbie, Sierra must dodge Wick's supernatural creations, harness her own Shadowshaping abilities, and save her family's past, present, and future.

I’m a big fan of Older’s Bone Street Rumba Series, an Adult Urban Fantasy which takes place in New York and deals with spirits/ghosts just like Shadowshaper. I think Older is a talented writer and he certainly has an amazing online present as well; so I figured I was bound to love his Young Adult series since his personality and style is evident in his writing: bold, real, honest and with the right amount of humor.

Shadowshaper deals with ancestry and magic. Our main heroine comes from a family of Shadowshapers who are able to embed all forms of art with spirits and control them. For example, Sierra can paint or draw an image with a piece of chalk and transfer spirits she attracts into the art and compel them to do her bidding if she wishes. Spirits tend to have more power in that type of art form.The concept of Shadowshaper is very unique and I haven’t read any book like it. But there’s just something about the book that didn’t fully grab my attention. The plot was simplistic, which is fine but I never felt invested in the the story or the characters. Sierra and her friends seemed cool and kids i'd find in my own neighborhood but at the same time they felt very two-dimensional. The plot, world building and character development all could've been fleshed out better. The book is fairly short and full of action scenes (which I love) but I still felt very ‘meh’ about everything…I think it might be because the stakes weren’t high enough and Wick, was a pretty awful and nonthreatening villain.

Overall Shadowshaper is a decent and quick read but I was expecting more. I neither loved it or disliked it. I’d still recommend this book though, for those looking for a new spin on ghosts/spirits. 

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Series: The Hunger Games #3

Hardcover, 390 pages
Publication: August 24, 2014 by Scholastic Press

Source: Purchased for my own reading.

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Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans--except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.

With Mockingjay being the final installment in The Hunger Games series, I was expecting it to be great; if not better than the previous books in the series. There were some parts I enjoyed, but overall the book left me feeling meh and disappointed.

What I enjoyed were the actions scenes but the main plot and outcome of the book, not so much. From the start of the book till the very end all Katniss was doing was complaining and crying about the situation. She never wanted to be the Mockingjay, yet she was forced to be it anyways. She went from being President Snow’s pawn to President Coin’s pawn. Nothing changed. I think my opinion of the book would have been different if she actually wanted to be the face of the rebels. But the biggest disappointment was the end. Again, at the beginning of the book Katniss told everyone she was going to kill President Snow. She’s definitely capable and everyone believes it too. People risked their lives for the cause and for Katniss so she can complete the mission. Complete what she was set out to do from the very beginning…to kill Snow. However, the last scene was Snow was so anticlimactic, I felt cheated. And the big twist everyone was so shocked about was whatever to me.

I really liked the first two books in the series, but with Mockingjay it felt like a filler book to complete the trilogy. All of the events in Mockingjay built up to a poorly executed and abrupt ending. It as if everything leading up to the end from book one was for nothing. In my opinion the author just got plain o’ lazy and totally gave up on this series and its characters. Mockingjay had none of the qualities of the first two books and now I wish I stopped at Catching Fire. This could have been an amazing series, but with the addition of Mockingjay it just ruins it. What a shame.

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Dystopian
Series: The Hunger Games #2

Hardcover, 391 pages

Publication: September 1, 2009 by Scholastic Press  

Source: Personal library  

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Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

I’m probably the last person that has read Catching Fire, but like last year the movie is a couple of days away (2!) so I’d thought I’d try and finish it before then.  I’ve seen plenty of trailers of Catching Fire over the months, and thought surely the book is pretty much spoiled for me. I was wrong. The book still had plenty of twists and turns and even what I saw in the trailer still had a strong impact on me while reading it. 

Catching Fire takes place 9-12 months after the first book, Katniss and Peeta are living with their families and Haymitch in the Victor’s Village preparing for their Victory Tour through all 12 districts/Capitol. Things seem to be quiet and normal till President Snow personally visits Katniss and tells her that her stunt in the games is possibility creating unrest within the district…a rebellion against the Capitol. Katniss does everything possible to stay under Snow’s radar but it seems he is definitely out to get her no matter what, especially when he announce that the 75^th Quell Games will be picked from the victor’s pool! 

I honestly didn’t think Collins could top the first book, but she manages to do so; and she does it well. The stakes were high for Katniss alone in the first book, but now everything just escalates because it involves not only her but her friend, her family, and all the districts. I was shocked by the game’s turn of events toward the end…I definitely didn’t see it coming. In my opinion Catching Fire was even better than the first book; everything is more intense and had me at the edge of my seat the entire way through till the end. 

Overall I really enjoyed Catching Fire, while Collins’ writing isn’t what I’d say as great; she still created a fast-paced, engaging story. I can’t believe I waited this long to read the books, and can now see why the fandom for this series is so big. If you haven’t read this series yet, or any dystopian book for that matter…I highly recommend starting with The Hunger Games/this series! (Although, again I’m sure everyone on earth has already read this series LOL).

Review: The Last Academy by Anne Applegate

Title: The Last Academy
Author: Anne Applegate
Genre: Young Adult, paranormal/mythology
Series: N/A

Hardcover, 320 pages

Publication: April 30, 2013 by Point (Scholastic)

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Source: Publicist

What is this prep school preparing them for?

Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam—and readers—stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

I really like the boarding school type YA, so when I heard of The Last Academy…I knew I wanted to read it immediately. I thought the synopsis was pretty vague but not in a bad way. It didn’t give readers clues/or hints to what they can expect from the book beside a student disappearing. I like the mystery factor, and couldn’t wait to find out what was going on at Lethe .

The majority of The Last Academy plays out like a typical boarding school. Our heroine Camden is fourteen-years-old and is in her first year at Lethe Academy. Everything in the book felt like it was happening on fast-forward; Camden made friends, enemies and even found a new crush/love all within the span of an hour being at school. I found that extremely weird and unrealistic, Camden and the other students acted like they known each other for years and not 5 minutes. The majority of the book read like a contemporary novel because nothing was really happening except Camden having school/boy drama. I couldn’t really connect with Camden or any of the other characters either. Everyone may be in high school but they all acted like little immature children. The story didn’t pick up until the last 80 pages…and it wasn’t till I got to page 270 (again, this book only has 320 pages) that I realize this book was a paranormal with Greek mythology elements! Everything started to come together in the end, and I was surprised that I didn’t see it coming at all. The ending totally made up for the first 2/3^rd of the book.

While not the best book I’ve ever read, The Last Academy did a good job in keeping me guessing till the very end. I didn’t really enjoy the first half of the book, but overall it was still a good book. I liked reading about all the characters in the end and how they came to be at Lethe, and how the author infused the Greek mythology into the story/characters. Overall, The Last Academy was a fast and easy read, but I suggest anyone interested in reading it to check out a sample chapter/excerpt before reading/or buying.