DAC Tour: Review of The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman

Title: The Fire Horse Girl
Author: Kay Honeyman
Published by: Arthur A. Levine Books
Pages: 336
Source: Debut Author Challenge ARC Tours
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  Jade Moon is a Fire Horse -- the worst sign in the Chinese zodiac for girls, said to make them stubborn, willful, and far too imaginative. But while her family despairs of marrying her off, she has a passionate heart and powerful dreams, and wants only to find a way to make them come true.

Then a young man named Sterling Promise comes to their village to offer Jade Moon and her father a chance to go to America. While Sterling Promise's smooth manners couldn't be more different from her own impulsive nature, Jade Moon falls in love with him on the long voyage. But America in 1923 doesn't want to admit many Chinese, and when they are detained at Angel Island, the "Ellis Island of the West," she discovers a betrayal that destroys all her dreams. To get into America, much less survive there, Jade Moon will have to use all her stubbornness and will to break a new path . . . one as brave and dangerous as only a Fire Horse girl can imagine.

Immigration is not a dirty word.  And yet, that is how Americans used to imagine Chinese immigrants.  They didn't want them in their country and made it extremely difficult at times to enter.  So why did people from China still choose to try their hand at becoming an American...opportunities and freedom.

Freedom...that is all Jade Moon could think about.  She's lead a cursed life, being a Fire Horse, and has brought her family nothing but shame.  When the opportunity to come to America arises, she knows she must seize it or be caught in this cycle of despair forever. 

Jade Moon is a great character.  She feisty and will do anything to survive, even when it gets her in trouble.  She is determined and uses her knowledge and skills to not only help herself, but others.  Even when she is betrayed and forced into hopeless situations, she uses her knowledge and skills to find a way out.  This novel is really about her coming of age and finding her place in this new world. 

I have not read much about Chinese immigration, especially in the 1920s.  Kay Honeyman reveals the struggles lead by many Chinese to keep their traditions while blending into a new environment.  The novel is rich with Chinese culture and the blending of tradition with a more modern character is intriguing and exciting.  There is a little bit of mystery and some romance to hook all types of readers, while still producing an engaging plot and mostly well developed characters.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel by Kay Honeyman and I look forward to seeing more from her in the future. 

Audio Review of The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson

Title: The Fox Inheritance
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Narrator: Matthew Brown
Published by: Macmillan Young Listeners
Length:  9 hr., 33 min.,
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 3 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  Once there were three. Three friends who loved each other—Jenna, Locke, and Kara. And after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, their three minds were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld. Even in that disembodied nightmare, they were still together. At least at first. When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her. Decades passed, and then centuries.

Two-hundred-and-sixty years later, they have been released at last. Given new, perfect bodies, Locke and Kara awaken to a world they know nothing about, where everyone they once knew and loved is long dead.

Everyone except Jenna Fox.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox is one of my all time favorite books.  Never had I come across something so original and unique.  Also, the fact that it had me debating moral issues long after I put the book down made me know it was a keeper.  When I heard that there was going to be a second Jenna Fox novel I was excited, yet hesitant.  Would it be as good?  How would they continue after an ending like that?  But curiosity won.

The Fox Inheritance follows the afterlives/new lives of two of Jenna's friends with whom she had the original accident with.  I liked the angle that Mary E. Pearson took with this book.  It wasn't a continuation of The Adoration of Jenna Fox, but it built on the original story and took a different direction.  While Jenna had her loving parents to help ease her through her new transition, Locke and Kara had the cold calculation of a scientist looking to show off his new invention.  Their lives were not easy and this has changed not only them, but the entire world around them. 

The story was intriguing as new situations and people kept popping up.  This helped to make the story interesting, but I felt like it was missing the spark of the first novel.  The idea was no longer new and exciting.  Plus, Kara was just plain weird.  We never really got to know her or understand her, so while she came off as a flat character she actually dictated much of the plot and that didn't sit right with me. 

The narration was good, and I liked that the story was told from Locke's point of view.  However, I felt there could have been a little more variation in the tones of each of the characters.  I think this would have made the audio a bit smoother. 

While I did enjoy the story, it fell short of the brilliance of the first novel. 

Review of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

Title: The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
Author: Jan-Philipp Sendker
Published by: Other Press
Pages: 325
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Format: ARC
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads: A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present.  When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.

Do you ever read a story that makes you believe in the power of love?  I'm not talking about love at first sight, or tortuous and tormented love, but the love that transcends time and requires sacrifice.  The love that doesn't breed doubt, but instead builds a person up.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats makes me long for a love like that.  The story of Tin Win and Mi Mi is powerful and heartbreaking.  These two characters have a strength and tranquility that can only arise from sacrifice.  Throughout the novel the author reveals who each of these characters truly are through bits and pieces of their past. Their devotion and complete trust in one another is miraculous, even when separated and alone they still believed in their love. 

Tin Win and Mi Mi's story is told to Julia by a local Burmese villager as she searches for answers about her father.  I enjoyed this exchanged between past and present as Julia discovers who her father was and his devastating past.  The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is a work of literary art.  The writing was gorgeous in a way that is soft and gentle and almost cradles your mind as you read it.  It slowly evokes emotions and unravels your prejudices as you become part of this tale. 

If you are looking for a beautiful tale with elegant writing, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is the novel for you.   

Friday Night Date Night: Pitch Perfect

Friday Night Date Night is a feature on my blog that showcases movie reviews (mostly movies that were adapted from books). Hopefully some of these reviews will help you decide what to watch on your date night or a night of relaxing at home.

 

I hadn't heard much about Pitch Perfect (and I never realized it was a book), but when it came up on my amazon homepage for "Featured Recommendations" I decided to give it a try.  I am so happy I did.  I am completely and utterly in love with this movie.  It's cute, funny and a bit touching.  The best thing is that the characters are not trying to be cool or getting people to believe that their group is cool...they are geeks and are proud of it.  They are comfortable with who they are and what they like.  I loved that about this film! 

 

Essentially Pitch Perfect is about a girl who arrives at college and doesn't really fit in.  She ends up auditioning for an a cappella group to appease her father and found herself in a group of misfits who somehow belong together as they fight their way to the top. 

While there are some known characters in this movie, a lot of them are fresh to the screen.  I think this added to the movie because I had no expectations of them.  Rebel Wilson was hilarious as was the rest of the cast and the singing was superb.  (I had no idea that Anna Kendrick could sing...she was even nominated for a Tony award when she was younger).  I was also pleased by Skylar Astin (who played the leading male) and I hope to see him in more movies in the near future.  He was cute and a bit different then your typical leading male.  It was quite refreshing. 

If you haven't seen this movie yet, I highly suggest it!  I personally loved it and I hope you do too.

Review of The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Title: The Sea of Tranquility
Author: Katja Millay
Published by: Atria Books
Pages: 448
Source: Netgalley/Publisher
Format: ARC ebook
Rating: 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

Words escape me to describe the beauty and emotion that rolls off of every page in this novel.  The Sea of Tranquility is one of those books that continues to haunt you long after you've set it down, but it is worth it just to hang on to those characters a little longer. 

For me, The Sea of Tranquility is one of those books that remind me of a secret...part of me wants to tell the world about it because it's that good, and another part of me doesn't want to tell anyone about it because it is very special and I want to hold on to that feeling a little longer.  But alas, I realize this book is just too amazing not to share. 

Josh and Nastya are broken.  They've lost everything, including themselves.  While both try to stay away from others and not to form any sorts of relationships, they are drawn to each other in a way that can only be described as magnetic.  While I loved spending time with Josh and Nastya, I couldn't get enough of the other characters that seemed to infiltrate their lives as well.  This whole cast of misfits seems to form an unlikely family.  They are not always good people or do the right things, but they are who they are without any excuses.  They were quite amazing.   

As the plot unfolds you learn more about Nastya and Josh's past, how those events shaped their lives and essentially tore out a part of them.  Do they need each other to heal or is healing even a possibility?  Are they so broken that they can't even fix each other?  These question not only go through their minds but also the readers. 

I was utterly amazed by this novel and the ending...unexpected, but complete perfection!  What an amazing read to start of 2013! 

Audio review of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle, #1)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Narrator:Will Patton
Published by: Scholastic Audio Books
Length: 11 hours / 10 CDs
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble

Maggie Stiefvater has a way with words.  Her descriptions are like a creek the cascades gently over stones lulling you into a tranquility you'd never expect, especially in a novel like The Raven Boys.

This novel is filled with the mystery and all things ambiguous that revolve around magic.  Gansey is obsessed and though he believes other people possess magic, he wants proof.  Him and his unlikely crew of misfit boys devote their lives to solving this puzzle and along the way discover a connection with Blue as well. 

The characters in this novel are ones you are unlikely to forget.  Each one is unique with specific  personality traits that are not always likable, and yet work together seamlessly.  Maggie Stiefvater gives us glimpses into each of the character's lives as the story unfolds, explaining their histories and how they became involved in this adventure. 

Will Patton did an excellent job of narrating this novel. His accents seemed spot on for Gansy and had the perfect amount of pretentiousness that seemed to flow well with certain characters. With this novel following many characters, Will Patton had to capture not only multiple accents but also multiple personalities, which he did wonderfully.

As for the plot it started out a little slow for me, but soon picked up.  There are interweaving mysterious that seem to tangle all of the characters together into one big mess as well as new secrets being revealed along the way.  Maggie Stiefvater did an excellent job of keeping readers on their toes, by giving the unexpected and shocking with each new page.  While some of those mysteries are solved others are not, which seems sets the scene for the rest of the series.  I do wish that a little more action would have happened in The Raven Boys, along with a little romance, but I guess we will have to wait for the next book to see that.        

The Raven Boys was a great start to what I'm sure will be an addicting series. 

Review of Don't Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough

Title: Don't Expect Magic
Author: Kathy McCullough
Published by: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 256
Source: Library
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 3 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Delaney Collins doesn't believe in fairy tales. And why should she? Her mom is dead, her best friend is across the country, and she's stuck in California with "Dr. Hank," her famous life-coach father—a man she barely knows. Happily ever after? Yeah, right.

Then Dr. Hank tells her an outrageous secret: he's a fairy godmother—an f.g.—and he can prove it. And by the way? The f.g. gene is hereditary. Meaning there's a good chance that New Jersey tough girl Delaney is someone's fairy godmother.

But what happens when a fairy godmother needs a wish of her own?

We've all read about vampires, fairies, werewolves, angels, witches, etc. but Kathy McCullough brings us an often overlooked fantasy character...fairy godmothers, and not in the way we'd  expect them.

Delaney Collins is such a great character.  When tossed into a new situation she doesn't conform to the popular crowd, instead she stays true to herself and her spunky personality.  Delaney and her father have a strained relationship, but things get better when she finds out he's not only a fairy godmother, but she might be one too.  A series of events unfold as she tries to prove to him that she can handle being a fairy godmother, while still leading a normal life. 

The rest of the characters in Don't Expect Magic are just as great.  They are original and extremely realistic, and while they are not necessarily the type of characters you'd expect, they are so much themselves that you can't help but love them.  They defy typical stereotypes and that in my book makes them the best type of characters. 

The storyline itself was a bit cheesy and expected.  There was not a whole lot of magic, despite what you'd think from the title, but the magic that was there was used to help people.  There was no using magic for self-promotion and it was not always meaningful, but it was used to help peole who truly wanted something.  The writing was light and at times hilarious.  There were laugh-out-loud moments and a couple of aww moments too with the little bit of romance laced throughout the novel. 

This was a cute story, and if you're looking for something a little different try Don't Expect Magic.