Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she’s street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920’s New York City. Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her mother has told her really be true? Could she really be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician of all?

 

I’ve been really excited to read Born of Illusion for quite some time now. Who doesn’t want to read a book about magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920′s New York City? How cool! Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. If you follow my review, you know by now that I’m not the biggest fan of historical fiction. This book was not an exception. While some of the magic was pretty cool, I found it to be just too boring for my taste.

One thing that this book really has going for it is that the main character, Anna, is very likeable. Anna was the reason I was trying to make it through the book. She was strong, powerful, yet still a nervous child trying to make it in the world. The other characters in the story were also very likeable or interesting, but they weren’t enough to carry the story.

Here was my thing with Born of Illusion: There wasn’t enough magic or spark to it. There was mystery…but not enough. I found myself not caring what was going to happen next. I didn’t care who Anna’s father was or what would happen to Anna’s mother. I didn’t care if anyone was killed off or if something bad happened. I just didn’t care. I only read half of Born of Illusion before I set it down, but there weren’t really any action scenes or “aha!” moments. There were a couple cool scenes involving magic, but nothing that really knocked my socks off. It was just kind of bland.

Fans of The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd and Pantomime by Laura Lam should enjoy Born of Illusion.

 

Pages: 384

Publisher: Balzer & Bray

Publication Date: June 11th, 2013

Rating: N/A not rating due to DNF

 

Teaser Quote: “”You’re quite good-for a girl.” “Thank you,” I tell him, ignoring the girl remark. If I argued with every male magician who made a snide comment about my gender, I’d never have the time to do magic. I prefer to outperform them on stage, where it really matters.”

 

After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And Grayson has gone missing.

No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.

 

Be warned in advance that I am going to do nothing but rave about this book throughout this entire review, because I want it to be no secret that The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan is my favorite read of the year. We’ve read through all the book hypes. Witches, vampires, werewolves, creepy babies born to vampires, mermaids, selkies, zombies, even aliens. But what we haven’t read about is gargoyles. The Beautiful and the Cursed is set around the 19th century. Two girls, Ingrid and Gabby, and their mother move from London to Paris to open an art gallery. They were supposed to meet their brother, Grayson, at their new estate, but he wasn’t there when they arrived. From there, the two girls learn that there is so much more to the world than they ever imagined. Gargoyles roam the earth and are cursed to protect the humans who live on their territory. Not only that, but there is such things as angels and demons…as well as an underworld…which is exactly where Grayson has been taken to.

I could sit here and give you the whole dang synopsis of the book, but I’m afraid that that would give too much away. Instead, I want to highlight the whole awesome package of this book. I’m not the biggest fan of historical fiction. I often find it boring and outdated. So, when I received The Beautiful and the Cursed in the mail, I was a little nervous to start it. I’m not quite sure what inspired me to read this book. I think it might have had something to do with the cover. Let’s face it, it’s no secret that I have a thing for book covers. Anyways, I was hooked into the book from the very first chapter. Every word that Page Morgan wrote was so freaking beautiful. I have to admit, I’m devastated that I’ve already finished it.

When I read that The Beautiful and the Cursed was about gargoyles, I was instantly intrigued. I haven’t read about gargoyles before. I’m sure that there are some books out there featuring gargoyles, but none in any current popular YA books. I wasn’t disappointed; the gargoyles were perfectly written. They were strong, vulnerable, dedicated, livid…any emotion that you can think of, I’m sure it can fit in with some gargoyle. I really loved the relationship between Ingrid and her gargoyle, Luc. They had a forbidden romance of sorts, and that’s something that’s going to draw a lot of you in.

There is a sort of love triangle with Ingrid/Luc/Vander. Normally, I’m not the biggest fan of love triangles, because I often find them very predictable. I have no idea who Ingrid is going to end up with. I also really like both Luc and Vander, so there’s not one particular guy that I’m rooting for. I think that people who have issues with love triangles are not going to get annoyed with this one. Quite frankly, all of the characters are so loveable that it doesn’t even really matter.

I don’t want Ingrid and her men to steal the show here, because the real catch of this book was Gabby and Nolan Quinn. I have not loved a couple so much since Jace and Clary from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I whipped through this book just for the simple purpose of getting to the next scene between Gabby and Nolan. It was hot. It was sexy. It was everything I could ever ask for in a YA romantic relationship. To be honest, Gabby and Nolan are the reason that I’m having such an issue that I already finished the book. I need more of them, and I need more of them now.

Have I convinced you to go read this book, yet? If you’re not a fan of historical fiction…don’t worry! Neither am I. But The Beautiful and the Cursed is, by far, the best book I have read all year. I would call it the next Mortal Instruments. Convinced you , yet? Go and buy this one! It’s out in bookstores!

 

Pages: 352

Publication Date: May 14th, 2013

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: “The hellhound’s paws scrabbled over the tunnel floor and it heaved itself toward Nolan’s voice. Sounds, amplified in the darkness, were all Gabby had to piece together what was happening. A grunt of force from Nolan’s throat, the cool chime of air rushing over a silver blade, a short, panicked choking sound from the beast, and then the scattering of gravel as the demon’s massive form buckled and fell. An explosion of green sparks lit the tunnel before fizzling back to blackness.”

First it was SLUT scribbled all over Lizzie Hart’s locker.

But one week after Lizzie kills herself, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it—in Lizzie’s looping scrawl.

Lizzie’s reputation is destroyed when she’s caught in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend on prom night. With the whole school turned against her, and Angie not speaking to her, Lizzie takes her own life. But someone isn’t letting her go quietly. As graffiti and photocopies of Lizzie’s diary plaster the school, Angie begins a relentless investigation into who, exactly, made Lizzie feel she didn’t deserve to keep living. And while she claims she simply wants to punish Lizzie’s tormentors, Angie’s own anguish over abandoning her best friend will drive her deep into the dark, twisted side of Verity High—and she might not be able to pull herself back out.

Debut author Chelsea Pitcher daringly depicts the harsh reality of modern high schools, where one bad decision can ruin a reputation, and one cruel word can ruin a life. Angie’s quest for the truth behind Lizzie’s suicide is addictive and thrilling, and her razor-sharp wit and fierce sleuthing skills makes her impossible not to root for—even when it becomes clear that both avenging Lizzie and avoiding self-destruction might not be possible.

 

The S-Word is probably the most haunting book that I have read this year. That says a lot since I read If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch, and I thought that was as haunting as it could get this year. The S-Word is sort of told from two perspectives, but the most dominant voice is that of the main character, Angie’s. Angie had caught her best friend, Lizzie, with her boyfriend, Drake, on prom night. After that, Lizzie became a social outcast, and she was bullied so much that she ultimately committed suicide.

Not a week after Lizzie’s death, entries from her journal start circulating around the school. Angie decides that she wants to know who and what caused Lizzie’s death. Who caused her to jump off of that building? Who started the bullying? Why did they think it was their right? How could they be punished? Those were only some of the questions going through Angie’s head, and she was on a mission to seek justice for her best friend.

Along the road to find out what all happened to Lizzie, Angie discovers new friends and enemies and opens up secrets long hidden. She discovers things that she would have never guessed about the people around her, and her best friend, Lizzie. The S-Word is an eye-opening, heartbreaking, and haunting read that will stick with readers, young and old, for as long as they will remember.

 

Chelsea Pitcher’s writing style is so unique and beautiful; I was hooked right away. It did take me quite awhile to finish this book, but that didn’t have anything to do with the quality of the book. No, it was actually pretty tough to read about a lot of the things that happen in this book. I work with kids from daycare to 4th grade, so I’m pretty sensitive when it comes to child abuse and child suicide. Those are huge factors in this book. It made me a little uncomfortable, and I will admit that I had to skim a lot of this book, because I just could not read about those things. This is something that I need to warn people about because some of the topics in this book might be uncomfortable or might hit a trigger for certain people.

I loved the mystery that surrounded The S-Word. So many things were happening at once, and I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen. I did guess a couple things, but others floored me. I think that readers will really enjoy this. Everyone loves a good mystery that they can’t guess the answer to right away. Like I mentioned above, though, the mystery can get a bit scary. I had to really put myself in the right mind frame to continue on and solve the mystery, and even then it was too hard for me at times.

There were a couple negative notes for me in this book. First, I didn’t really care for either Angie or Lizzie. Angie was a little weird. She also seemed very dependent on men and very needy. Her relationship with Jesse was awkward and uncomfortable at best. I just didn’t care for her. As for Lizzie, it wasn’t so much that I disliked her, because she’s dead. All that’s really being shown of her are back flashes. It was actually Lizzie’s journal entries that I didn’t like. I haven’t met a teenager who writes like that. I’m not saying that it doesn’t happen, but her writing was very outdated and old. Very lyrical and poetic in an old fashioned sense. For the most part, I ended up skimming her journal entries, because everything she said was just repeated in the next chapter.

It was also pretty hard to read about some of the topics in this book. It’s not just a book about bullying. You have rape, child rape, child abuse, neglect, bullying, poverty, gender issues, suicide, etc. That was too much for one book for my personal taste. This is realistic fiction, though, so I can’t really hold any of that against the book. But those are only some of the major issues that are going on in the book. It was just too much.

Even though I have some complaints with this book, I still loved it. I’ve never actually been able to say that I loved a book when I skimmed a large amount of it, but I did. I only skimmed, because I couldn’t bear to read about certain topics. I’m a wimp…I don’t deny it. But the writing and the intensity that Pitcher brings to this book are outstanding. I don’t know how she physically and emotionally got through writing this book, but it is beautiful.

Overall, I would recommend that every contemporary fan go read this book. If you are uncomfortable with any of the topics mentioned above, you might decide to stay away from it. I said before that this book was haunting, and I wasn’t kidding. I finished this book at 1 a.m., and that was a horrible decision on my part. I had the hardest time sleeping after reading that last half of the book. It’s spooky, but it’s addicting. This book releases tomorrow, so make sure you go get your copies.

 

Pages: 304

Source: Finished Copy provided by the publisher

Publisher: Gallery Books

Publication Date: May 7th, 2013

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: “I don’t so much as jumps as

Just

Fall

Off.

I’m halfway to the ground when your eyes finally meet mine in recognition.

You step out of the way just in time.