Posts Tagged "Death"

“When Aaron gets a job at a funeral home, he surprisingly takes to it. But there are dark secrets hidden in Aaron’s subconscious. He experiences dangerous bouts of sleepwalking and recurring dreams he can’t explain: a lifeless hand, a lipsticked mouth, a man, a gun… Can he piece the clues together and figure out the truth of his past?”

———————————————

When John Marsden proclaims, ‘I have never read a book more gripping, nor more triumphantly alive’ you would assume that Scot Gardner’s The Dead I Know is going to be something pretty special. Churning through the book in a couple of hours, I would have to say that John Marsden was on the money. Scot Gardner has created a story that is realistic, haunting, bone-chillingly scary and life-affirming.

Aaron Rowe is a sleep-walking teen who has left school for a job with a funeral director. In an occupation that would freak most people out, Aaron has found a sense of belonging. His boss, John Barton, and his wife, look out for him – no strings attached, even if their young daughter is bossy and interfering. While Aaron’s job is on the right track, his nightmares are getting worse and he is scared he is going to do something that he will regret, or worse – not remember.

When you first meet Aaron, you really wonder what you are in for. There is nothing about his life that you would want nor admire, except for the fact that after a much needed haircut he is considered to be very attractive. He has no friends, his new job is at a funeral home, he lives with someone whose mental health is rapidly degenerating and his personality isn’t exactly thrilling.

The Dead I Know is told from Aaron’s point of view. While it never feels like he is lying or manipulating the reader, there are some things he definitely isn’t telling us, either because he can’t remember, or doesn’t think it necessary for us to know.  This makes the reaction of other characters towards Aaron perplexing; they seem surprised and pleased when he shows normal behaviour. They know something we don’t. We are also left in the dark about Aaron’s ‘American’ accent and ‘Mam’. As some readers will know, Mam is the English version of ‘Mum’. This character, and the lack of details surrounding Aaron’s past, shroud him in mystery. However, it becomes clear that there are reasons why Aaron is so comfortable with his new job, so familiar with death – something to which his ever-increasing somnambulism and nightmares attest.

Despite this, we are drawn into Aaron’s world, perhaps because he seems so good. There is a dangerous moment where he could be seen as a loser loner, but we soon learn that he is just quiet, reserved, and a little damaged. He is respectful to his boss, loves Mam, and while his judgment regarding her is cloudy, he always seems to do the right thing. A different character in a YA novel might do the exact opposite, just to add drama. He respects his elders, he does his job well, is honest, and even though he may be one of the most traumatised fictional characters you might have met, he doesn’t take advantage of this by engaging in stupid behaviour.  Even in his darkest hour, where we aren’t sure what he has or hasn’t done – we fully sympathise with him.

It also doesn’t hurt that Aaron is hot. The imagery of him sleep-walking in his pyjamas is just too cute, and it is in his interactions with Skye Barton, his boss’ daughter, that I feel we have a new romantic hero in Aaron. Don’t get me wrong though, there is no romance with Skye – she is only 12! He is calm and gentlemanly when the most patient of us would have told her to rack off, and that was enough to make me like him. A lot.

The Dead I Know reminded me of Markus Zuzak’s The Book Thief and Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass, in the way I reacted to certain scenes. Hair-on-the-back-of-the-neck-standing-up-and-really-needing-to-put-the-book-down-because-it-was-so-affecting type reaction. But I couldn’t. The difference with this book is that it was ‘real’ – no ghostly narrators or fantasy creatures. It was Aaron’s own thoughts and experiences regarding death that made me feel this way. It was confronting and refreshing to feel this way reading a YA book; I am used to them being unputdownable due to thrills and romance.

By the end of The Dead I Know, you will feel happy to be alive and realise how resilient the human spirit is. It is also heartening to read a YA novel where the adults are kind and nurturing, where the adults involved protect children, rather than just used in an ‘all grown ups are bad’ plot device that allows the protagonist to rebel and roam about, free of adult supervision.

Pages: 216

Publication Date: May 2011

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Challenge: n/a

Rating: :

Teaser Quote:  By giving him grace, I found some of my own. The police protected the living, ambulance officers protected the injured and we protected the dead. All as it should be.

“The community of Cryer’s Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace. Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany’s empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on… until Kendall’s boyfriend Nico also disappears, and also without a trace. Now the town is in a panic. Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk. She knows it’s crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nico and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear…and whether that would be so bad. Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico. Can he possibly be alive somewhere? Where is he? And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating…and attractive. As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico’s mysterious disappearance only to stumble upon some ugly—and deadly—local history. Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.”

—————————————

When I first read the blurb for this book, I was excited. Mystery/Horror/Thriller? I was totally in. However, sadly I was a little disappointed.

Something weird is going on in the small town of Cryer’s Cross. The small population freak out when freshman Tiffany Quinn disappears. When nothing is found, everything goes back to normal. That is until Kendall Fletcher’s boyfriend Nico Cruz disappears too. Diagnosed with OCD, Kendall struggles to cope with the loss of her boyfriend and the arising feelings for the new boy, Jacian.

I felt like there were several issues with Cryer’s Cross. Largely, it didn’t actually feel like a thriller. I wasn’t scared, I didn’t feel entirely compelled, and the plot was a little choppy (and I don’t like thrillers/horrors. In fact, I stay as far away from them as possible usually). Cryer’s Cross was slow paced, and while it claims to be a mystery, the mystery itself stops about halfway through to make room for the development of romance. The mystery and thriller aspect only starts back up within the last forty pages or so.

Despite this, I really liked the character of Kendall. In fact, I enjoyed most of the characters. I appreciated that the author made sure that while Kendall had OCD, it didn’t stop her or let it define her. She was quite a strong character. I also liked how Lisa McMann showed that the disappearances of the characters didn’t just affect the main character – it also affected the whole town.

Speaking of the town, it in itself was almost a character. While not was mentioned about what it physically looked like, a true atmosphere was painted about it, and a strong impression was made.

The writing in Cryer’s Cross was quite good. I especially enjoyed the ‘antagonists’ moments. It added layers upon layers of creepy.

The only other problem I had with the book was that it felt like McMann was almost generalising OCD a little bit. She had the chance to show reader’s how much it would rock the boat if a person who had OCD had a loved one go missing. People who have OCD are meticulous, perfectionists, and sometimes get to the point of obsession with the way they live and their routines, and I wish she had delved into Kendall’s mind that little bit more.

I think this book had the potential to be something amazingly creepy, but instead it went the opposite way. While it is an interesting read, it isn’t something I’d rave about.

Pages: 233
Publication Date : February 8^th 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Challenge: n/a
Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “We. When it is over, We breathe and ache like old oak, like peeling birch. One of Our lost souls set free. We move, a chess piece in the dark room, cast-iron legs a centimetre at a time, crying out in silent carved graffiti. Calling to Our next victim, Our next saviour. We carve on Our face: Touch me. Save my soul.”

1. Sing with Bleeder Valve.
2. Get a tattoo.
3. Work things out with Shay.
4. Confront D.
5. Tell Serena.

Kori Kitzler is the “dark angel” of her high school” beautiful, mysterious, the subject of rumors. Serena Moore is just an average girl: unassuming, not sure exactly who she is or who she wants to be. But then a seemingly chance encounter ignites a fateful friendship—allowing Kori to draw Serena into her world.

When the girls are given an assignment to list five things they would never dream could really happen—their five ways to tempt fate—Serena doesn’t take it very seriously. But then tragedy leaves Serena shocked, alone, and in possession of Kori’s five secret impossible possibilities. Can Serena complete her best friend’s list, or will she leave Kori’s dreams undone?

When I first picked up this book, the description led me to believe it’d be about Kori. But really, only a small part is about Kori. Undone is Serena’s story; it’s a story of tempting fate, testing the bonds of friendship, discovering one’s identity, overcoming grief, growing up. Undone is Serena’s journey, but it also offers the reader a journey, one that, if you allow it, can reach the deepest part of your heart and possibly change your outlook on life.

Serena doesn’t know what made Kori decide to abandon her spot in the “popular crowd” all those years ago, but she’s grateful Kori chose her as her new best friend. Serena idolizes Kori to the point where she dyes and styles her hair so that the two are often mistaken for sisters. Kori is brash and bold and fearless, everything Serena wishes she could be. And Serena can’t imagine life without Kori, until she’s suddenly forced the face that reality.

Serena is an extremely relatable character. She’s so blinded by her envy of Kori that she fails to notice her own strong qualities. It isn’t until she has to live without Kori that Serena realizes she’s her own person and that perhaps Kori isn’t as perfect as Serena always thought.

In an effort to cope with the loss of her best friend, Serena embarks on a mission to complete Kori’s list of fate-tempting tasks. Serena thinks completing the list will bring her closer to Kori, but it actually ends up teaching her more about herself. For so long, Serena had been so wrapped up in Kori’s identity that she forgot she had one of her own. Brooke Taylor beautifully expresses the emotions of a young girl trying to find herself while managing feelings of sorrow, suspicion, and isolation. Taylor’s prose is hauntingly honest and realistic. Her story is innovative, at times romantic, and always gripping. It’s one of those books you’ll want to read again and again just to learn something new.

Pages: 308
Publication Date: July 2008
Publisher: Walker & Company
Challenge: N/A
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “My stomach turned. A part of me felt like I was just thrown in front of a truck with no brakes. Another part of me thought Kori was the truck with no brakes and maybe I could stop her if I only jumped in front of her.”

“What if you knew exactly when you would die?
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden’s genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden’s eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.”
—————————————-

Considering that we’ve had three dystopia novels as our Book of the Month this year so far, it’s obvious that not only is dystopia a hot topic, but there have been some amazing novels released on the subject. Wither by Lauren DeStefano is no excepetion.

Sixteen year old Rhine is only four years away from death. Thanks to a genetic flaw, all women die at 20, men at 25. She soon finds herself kidnapped – taken away from her twin brother in New York and sold as a bride to Linden Ashby. Trapped in a polygamous marriage, which has become normal in society, with only four short years left will Rhine resign herself to a life in her mansion prison or will she fight her way back to her brother?

Though I have loved many of this year’s dystopias, their societies resemble one another in a way, so there was always something familiar about each book. About a quarter of the way into Wither it struck me just how original and different the concept was. I can’t say the story was like anything I’d read so far.

From the writing, to the world building, to the characters, Wither was phenomenal – to say I was impressed would be an understatement, I was hooked from the first chapter.

Each character added the light and dark to the story and was so well developed and distinct – even the minor characters left an impression.

The idea of three girls living in a polygamous marriage with their husband is quite dark and strange but was so fascinating and very well presented. The friendship between the sister wives developed slowly but was beautiful to see, but also bittersweet.

Wither has the kind of concept that makes you think. How would you react in that situation? Would you stay, or try find a way out? You find yourself constantly changing your mind about whether you feel Rhine should stay or go, which shows just how involved you become in the story.

The relationship Rhine has with Linden and Gabriel were definitely contrasts but interesting to see how they developed. I’m still not completely sold on how she feels about either- I wonder how much Stockholm Syndrome and proximity played a part, but we’ll just have to see how all that unfolds as the series goes.

It was so nice to pick up a novel with a beautiful cover and not feel betrayed by it – Wither is just as amazing on the inside as it is on the outside.

Dark, emotional and incredible. An absolutely compelling and fantastic novel.

Pages: 358
Publication Date: March 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Challenge: Debut Author
Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “She smiles at our husband as she moves, and he blushes, overcome by her beauty. But I know what her smile really means…Her smile is her revenge.”

“Thomas Timewell is sixteen and a gentleman. When he meets a body-snatcher called Plentitude, his whole life changes. He is pursued by cutthroats, a tattooed gypsy with a meat cleaver, and even the Grim Reaper. More disturbing still, Thomas has to spend an evening with the worst novelist in the world.”

The Life of a Teenage Body Snatcher is a black comedy set in England in 1828 and is the 12^th book written by Doug MacLeod. We meet sixteen-year-old protagonist, Thomas Timewell, on the evening of his grandfather’s funeral. Thomas’ Grandfather’s dying wish was for his body to be donated to science to help in the advancement of the medical and scientific fields. Like in many cases, those wishes were ignored and he was buried anyway. So, as you do, Thomas takes matters into his own hands and digs up the grave to take the body where it rightfully belongs, as per his Grandfather’s wishes.

As he digs, we meet Plentitude – a body snatcher. An uneasy alliance is made between the two as Plentitude shows Thomas the tricks of the body snatching trade and delivers the body to the desired destination. From there Plentitude convinces Thomas to continue fulfilling the final wishes of the recently deceased.

Body snatching is not a simple game though – there’s competition. Disgruntled former partners of Plentitude’s want the bodies (and the payment that comes with their sale) for themselves. That, plus a gypsy with a taste for throwing meat cleavers, a teacher who ritually tortures his best friend and a mother in a constant opium daze, Thomas’s life gets really bizarre, really fast. Not to mention the lovely Victoria, who he can’t keep from offending every time their paths cross.

As some of you may know, I spend most of my day studying fashion and trends, but I’m picking up on a book trend here –  more stories being set during the Georgian and Victorian eras (18^th and 19^th century) – and I have to say I’m really liking it. Think Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, and Emily Bronte, but teen friendly. Now don’t get me wrong, these authors and many others of that period were very talented and have written some of the best loved classic literature of all time. I’ve read a fair few books from the period either for study or by choice but try as I might I just don’t know what they’re saying. Since times and social customs have changed you need to read between the lines, and understand the contextual history to know why it’s so scandalous for a girl to leave the house without a hat and gloves. This, plus the language itself means the message of those books are unfortunately lost on me, it just feels like a chore to read. I don’t doubt they’re still valuable and the themes and issues they express are important and still relevant today (and should still be read and studied)….but they’re just not fun for me.

What I’m trying to get at here, is that books such as The Life of a Teenage Body Snatcher and others that are coming out recently, are quite faithful to the period and allow you to enjoy a story set in the age of gentlemen in top hats and ladies in corsets without getting lost in the writing of classic literature.

There was a great plot here, quite different to things I’ve read lately – very dark and gruesome at times but also with a sense of sarcasm and humor that kept it light. I loved the surprise ending, as well as the reference to Sweeney Todd, and to the issues of women who had to pose as males to be taken seriously as authors and the extend of opium use of the time.

The characters were a delight and I loved the witty interaction between them. Particularly between Thomas and his adopted younger brother John, who at fourteen has moved out into his deceased grandfather’s mansion and considers himself an important adult, high power business man. I also liked that body snatchers (or resurrectionists) never revealed their names; each one had a unique name chosen by them.

The Life of a Teenage Body Snatcher is a great period novel that was witty and engaging, that gives a dark insight to an unusual occupation.

Pages:304
Publication Date: June 2010
Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “You must think it strange that I’m digging up my grandfather.”
“Not at all. I’m sure many men dig up their grandfathers.”