This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Hardcover, 371 pages  Published January 1st 2013 by Amulet Books  ISBN  1419704281 (ISBN13: 9781419704284)

I dare you to read this book and not have the imagery of great movies from Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Henry Selick (Coraline). This is definitely not a re-telling of Alice in Wonderland. This is a re-imagining. Everything that you have grown up knowing about the world from the tales of Lewis Carroll are so far from what this book represents that you will question everything you thought you have ever loved about the tale.

Alyssa is the great, great, great grand-daughter of Alice Liddell, the once naive young girl who recounted stories to Mr Lewis Carroll. Since Alice’s first venture into Wonderland, and her finding her way home, all of the females in her family have become cursed. It’s on one of Alyssa’s visits to her mother in the Asylum that things go wrong. Alyssa decides that once and for all the curse must be broken. She returns to Wonderland to release them from it.

Alyssa has always heard the insects talk to her; she collects them for her artwork. But when she sees a huge moth and decides to research it, she inadvertently calls it’s interest to her. It’s name is Morpheus, from Wonderland itself, and it has come to guide her. But before Alyssa can enter the mirrored gateway, her love interest and long-time neighbour Jeb shows up at her door. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that Jeb would jump after her into the hole. And now they must work together to break the curse and get home safely.

The creatures of A.G. Howard’s visions of Wonderland are very Gothic and more evil than I expected. The rabid rabbit (known by Alice as the White Rabbit because of his skeletal figure), is just one of the creatures that we think we know as readers of the original story – but with a difference. The creatures in this world are unique, horrific and sometimes enticing.

Alyssa must complete several tasks –  from quenching the hunger of the great Walrus, to fixing the watch at the tea party. Each task will take her and Jeb into more danger, especially because he doesn’t trust Morpheus. Morpheus seems to have another agenda.The danger is that Alyssa is strangely attracted to Morpheus and Wonderland is beginning to feel more like home.

This novel had more twists and turns than a roller coaster. As soon as I finished it, I picked up the audio-book, just because I felt like I missed too much the first time through. The imagery is amazingly eerily. When trying to compare it to the original work of Alice in Wonderland you can see how a young child might have construed these much darker characters and it makes sense. And it’s kind of scary. And there are more plot twists and story lines so that the ending makes for a huge “wow” moment. It’s going to make an amazing movie someday, great visuals and I highly recommend if you like dark twists to your stories.

Everything Aoife thought she knew about the world was a lie. There is no Necrovirus. And Aoife isn’t going to succumb to madness because of a latent strain—she will lose her faculties because she is allergic to iron. Aoife isn’t human. She is a changeling—half human and half from the land of Thorn. And time is running out for her.

When Aoife destroyed the Lovecraft engine she released the monsters from the Thorn Lands into the Iron Lands and now she must find a way to seal the gates and reverse the destruction she’s ravaged on the world that’s about to poison her.

Hardcover, 417 pages Published February 14th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

ISBN  0385738315 (ISBN13: 9780385738316)

In the first book The Iron Thorn, Aoife destroyed the Lovecraft engine, setting war about all the lands. The gates that have always been closed, have been opened and creatures have set an all-out war amongst each other. Aoife is taken to the Mist lands to stay safe from the danger with her brother and friends, but soon finds that even they are not welcomed there. The more the portals are opened, the easier the Proctors can find them. Aoife cannot fall into the hands of the Proctors because it just may mean death for her, her friends and her family.

Aoife knows that she is the only one who can save their world, by setting all the things right, but everybody is advising Aoife that what is done is done. They must fight and make due with what has happened. When Aoife gets the opportunity to be with her father again, she is more unhappy than ever and has to be true to herself. The Proctors soon get to her, and use her for their own advantage, with the threat of keeping her boyfriend jailed until she completes her tasks. But all Aoife can think about is finding her mother, to see if the the rumors of the Clock are true. And to do that, she must betray her father, her family and head out on her own.

What we have come to know about Aoife in The Iron Thorn is challenged a bit in the beginning of The Nightmare Garden. The once strong, determined and very stubborn Aoife becomes more timid when confronted by her father – a man she has not seen since she was a child. She is confronted with those emotions of being abandoned by him and his newly formed authority over her. But this doesn’t last for long. Aoife could not have gotten as far as she has in her travels, without the tenacity that we have come to know and love in her.

Aoife has to experience a lot of sad, hard times in this novel. It is heartbreak after heartbreak and each time she is having to force through another blockade she grows stronger and harder than ever. She is one of my absolute favourite heroines. A girl that doesn’t know what it’s like to have it easy. She spends her whole life knowing that she is going to become crazy or contract her “weird” as they refer to it in this book. But unlike the stories of the weird she has heard about, she overcomes and learns to wield it, magically. She becomes stronger and pushes harder.

There is a lot of travelling in this series and each new land brings a whole new dark, mystical adventure. The descriptions of the mists/ether/ open starry skied lands are completely mind blowing and visually engrossing.  I loved every minute of the book. It’s going to get you thinking, especially the ending, about what kind of repercussions the actions of one world can have on all the others. I cannot wait to read the next instalment.

STARDUST: Gift Edition by Neil Gaiman

Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria Forester—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that stone barrier, Tristran learns, lies Faerie . . . and the most exhilarating adventure of the young man’s life.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes a tale of the dark and miraculous—a quest for true love and the utterly impossible.

Tristan, a young strong and determined man decides to win the heart of the fair, Victoria. To do that, he must cross the wall to get her a fallen star. This is a fairy tale story for adults, full of dark characters, some sexual relationships and a little cursing. The story pivots on Tristan showing his love for a girl by getting her a gift that she cannot refuse. His travels through the lands beyond the wall will not only test his true feelings for Victoria, but he will learn a truth about himself and his destiny.

Tristan Thorn, a naive and overly optimistic boy runs into the star-turned-girl, Yvaine. Yvaine has had a very rough landing. She’s in pain and kind of pissed off that she fell in the first place. Not only do several people desire her as their own, but she’s stuck with a young Tristan, a newcomer to the land. Together they have to endure many struggles before they can finally get back home.

This story is very imaginative, yet not as humorous as I suppose I was expecting. It has a darker fairy tale feel, closer to the Grimm Brothers than Disney. Although all aspects of the story work really well together, there are times when I wanted more from some characters. When the book came to a close, it certainly wasn’t with a happily ever after. It’s a very contemplative and melancholy ending, yet perfect for the characters in this tale.

William Morrow & Company has recently released the newest editions of this book both the special gift edition and the Signed Gift Edition. I received a copy of the gift edition which is has a gorgeous blue cloth cover with a gold stamped cover.

publisher: William Morrow & Company (October 30, 2012)

• Language: English
• ASIN: B00AU9CYZK

by Gregg Rosenblum Twenty years ago, the robots designed to fight our wars abandoned the battlefields. Then they turned their weapons on us.

Only a few escaped the robot revolution of 2071. Kevin, Nick, and Cass are lucky —they live with their parents in a secret human community in the woods. Then their village is detected and wiped out. Hopeful that other survivors have been captured by bots, the teens risk everything to save the only people they have left in the world—by infiltrating a city controlled by their greatest enemies.

Revolution 19 is a cinematic thriller unlike anything else. With a dynamic cast of characters, this surefire blockbuster has everything teen readers want—action, drama, mystery, and romance. Written by debut novelist Gregg Rosenblum, this gripping story shouldn’t be missed.

When Kevin, Nick and Cass were young, the adults worldwide were fighting wars using robots. The robots suddenly revolted against their commanders, and then upon all man-kind. They set up their own cities and put chips in the humans they chose to survive, re-educating them to fit into the society that the robots built. When Kevin, Nick and Cass’s guardians are taken by the robots to this city, they decide to go and rescue them.

The pacing of the novel is perfect. There is very little down time with the combination of several characters story-lines to follow. There is always something happening with each of them, giving the reader different angles to the story until they come together again. All the parts of the story are given to us as we read with no large info dumps and a good amount of dialogue. There are not many big or “wow” moments, but it’s constant and great for younger readers as well.

I haven’t read a book before where technology has completely taken over man-kind and is “retraining” them into a society that is suitable for them. I’ve seen mixtures of the two, but in this city, it’s the robots calling all the shots and handing out the punishment. I did find it interesting that the society they did build had similarities to our own, so it’s not very hard to imagine this happening.

This book is a good starter book for those that maybe nervous jumping into a futuristic, science fiction, robots world. It doesn’t contain a lot of uncomfortable events, and very little fighting. The story is pushed along by the main characters trying to outsmart the robots rather than physically overpowering them. I found it almost too easy for these kids to overpower them the way that they did. The main characters are stronger, more determined and strong willed than any of the adults and bots. It has a great storyline of personal empowerment and fighting for what’s right and not giving up.

Hardcover, 272 pages

Published January 8th 2013 by Harper Teen ISBN 0062125958 (ISBN13: 9780062125958)

After reading Pure by Julianna Baggot, I pretty much dread post apocalyptic novels. I hope I never come across anything that graphic and disturbing again. So when Lisa, Krista and I were trying to figure out the book club books for the first few months of this year and Fragments by Dan Wells hit the radar, I knew I would have to go and get myself a copy of Partials so I knew what I was facing and if I could hack it.

Not only could I hack it. I tore through this book, cover to cover, in under 14 hours. I was able to close the book, go to sleep and not have horrific nightmares.

Now this is not to say it’s a sugary sweet tale of romance, love and devotion. It is raw and heart breaking and scary… mainly because, as with so many post apocalyptic novels, it is not totally outside the realms of possibility.

The goodreads blurb says…

“The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials–engineered organic beings identical to humans–has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what’s left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them–connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.”

I could really feel the heat of frustration from Kira through her inner dialogue and her actions. I found myself wanting to throw the book more than once. I didn’t even mind the minor foreshadowing that occured a few times through the novel, I guess some of it was a little predictable, but only because you learn which characters to expect the worst from and they certainly didn’t disappoint in their grrrr factor.

Being a young mother myself, the thought of having the government telling my daughter she has to have her children at an even younger age than I had her, made my blood boil. Then the fact that the infants would ALL die was beyond the highest level of despicable. As far as tropes* go it has to be the worst one to be used in such an effective way. I forgive Dan for using it, mainly because the whole point of the book was to stop it from happening.

Dan has woven a wonderfully eerie world for his story to unfold. His characterization is in in-depth and believable. Kira was suitably intelligent and kind hearted and she’s going to evolve like crazy in Fragments. I am thoroughly looking forward to April to see how Kira continues to kick some serious butt.

*explanation of this Trope

http://www.thedanwells.com/

Paperback,International First Edition, 470 pages

Published March 1st 2012 by HarperCollins (first published January 1st 2012)

ISBN 0062135694 ISBN13: (9780062135698)

1. Partials by Dan Wells

Most memorable book I read all year. It kept me on the edge of my seat; couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!

2. Covet by Melissa Darnell

I enjoy the mixture of several supernatural creatures; Vampires, Witches and Shifters. With a main character that I respected and a love interest that is a true born leader, both caring and strong.

3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cyborg, Cinderella retelling, funnest read all year, it was an amazing ride

4. Defiance by CJ Redwine

An amazingly evil villain with a kick ass female lead. Made me want to shout ” you go girl”

5. Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

First read this year that made me exclaim ” OMG she took it there!” Kathleen Peacock’s book made me seriously consider switching from team Vampire to team Werewolf.
Most of the titles I am looking forward to next year are part of a series that I love and highly anticipate. Which also brings me to say that it’s hard to exactly say why I want to read it so bad without spoiling others, but here goes!

Top 10 anticipated in 2013

Sever by Lauren Destefano

- Last book in the trilogy. I love these books because as a girl it took me out of my comfort zone. Teens that die young because of a disease and the urgency of having children and carrying on humanity knowing you only get a few precious years full of turmoil, then sickness. And the abuse that comes along with such things in this society.

Fragments by Dan Wells

- The first book had me turning pages so fast that I had to go back and listen to the audiobook and enjoyed each so much. The
Partials—(engineered organic beings identical to humans) always one step ahead, really kept me on the edge of my seat.

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

-although I have read several reviews that had conflicting ideas about the writing style of book 1, Shatter Me. It was an absolute eye opener for me. Very poetic and full of imagery that blew my mind. Also fun super human powers and an impending war… I love that energy. 

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

-Also a sequel. Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella, but as a cyborg. It ended with so many questions and I’m excited to see where this one goes next.

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

- I haven’t heard too much about this one, but all I needed to hear was “Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books” (from the authors website)  as both a fan of ghosts, and books, this one sounds like a really interesting read. 

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

-Possibly my most shallow pick, but OMG that cover! I love the artwork on all of her books. As I have not even started the Infernal Devices series it’s crazy to nominate this one, but I have read all of the Mortal Instruments series and I know I’m gonna love these as well. 

Shades of Earth by Beth Revis-

The last book in the series, a fantastic science fiction story that is fun and other-worldly.

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi-

Sequel to Under the Never Sky but this time told from different characters perspective. The first book was intense and had great visual imagery.

Splintered by AG Howard

-In a darker twist to Alice in Wonderland. Alice was one of Alyssa’s ancestors and a curse has caused all the women to end up in mental hospitals. But it’s time for Alyssa to go to wonderland and finally break the curse.

Ink by Amanda Sun

-This was actually put on my radar by The Book Probe himself. I know very little about it but what caught my eye is part of the summary on the book: “Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control.”

When Ania moves from London to Swansea city in Wales she is hoping that her life will get a bit more exciting, after all she is running away from her controlling mother to taste more freedom and feel more independent. Everything seems to be going the way she wanted until she almost dies while taking a quiet walk around the beach in the late evening.

When she opens her eyes, nothing seems the same…

She starts seeing people that no one else is able to notice. An enchanting looking man keeps following her and Ania’s life seems to getting more exciting than she ever wished for.

Our main character Ania is determined to have some freedom away from her overbearing mother. They just recently moved from Russia to London, and now after graduation she is ready to go to college. If possible, far away from her mother. She chooses a school relatively close within driving distance, but far enough to feel like she’s got some freedom.  Ania’s character is very stubborn, her relationship with her mother is very tender and it seems to affect all of the decisions that she makes in her own life. But the reader is kept in the dark until the very end.

Upon arrival to her new home to attend college, Ania has a near death experience when she is stabbed by a stranger on the beach. After this event she begins to notice people she couldn’t see before, but soon realized they cannot be seen by others. Just her. This starts her life on a very fast track of trying to figure out who they are. When she falls for the one who seems to always be around her, she’s asking for trouble. But when Gabriel begins to fall for her as well, there are too many rules being broken, and eventually somebody has got to pay.

This story was a pretty fast-paced one, but comes with a very emotional and indecisive main character who although she caused me some frustration, I rooted for in the end. Ania has to overcome several different things emotionally, and as this is just the first book in the series, there is a lot of room for her growth. I was proud of her when she finally made that decision to put all of her thoughts into moving forward in one direction.

We just barely get a glimpse into the other world that is introduced in this first book, but it has a lot of fun and imaginative potential with a mixture of paranormal worlds blending.

Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I’m not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I’m usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven’t gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents’ research trip in Charleston—and now I’m being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents’ creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear.

All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive….

Paperback, 216 pages  Published September 1st 2010 by Harlequin Teen (first published August 15th 2010) ISBN  0373210205 (ISBN13: 9780373210206)

Charlotte is definitely not your normal teen. Her parents travel the world filming documentaries trying to prove that ghosts don’t really exist. But perhaps their show does exactly the opposite. This makes it really hard for Charlotte to make and keep friends. She begs her parents to settle down for just one year of school in a brand new house and let her just experience being a teen for a while.

At her new school, Charlotte makes friends easily this time around. Becoming very close with Avery, a cheerleader and her physical complete opposite. But they become close and it really is a friendship that the reader can see lasting a very long time. Avery has problems of her own, she like Charlotte is a very introverted character. Her boyfriend died and she partially blames herself. The boy who is accused of causing his murder approaches Charlotte and asks for her help to contact him. But Charlotte is already being followed around by ghosts asking for help. With so many things happening in the paranormal world, how can Charlotte’s new life be normal?

I jumped into the story really hoping for a great paranormal ghost story. Maybe get the pants scared off me. But this one was a lot more cute and light-hearted than scary. Charlotte’s connection with her sister and her new found friends is really nice. Charlotte’s life may be complicated in the ghostly matters, but her real life is shaping up with long time friendships. There is great family dynamics in this book, and I always love to see that. The mystery of the ghosts following Charlotte begins unravelling from the first chapter, interspersed with new mysteries that open up along the way.

It’s a really fast read, cute and fun that younger tweens and teens will be able to enjoy as well as the rest of us.

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the ushied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Hardcover, US Edition, 343 pages Published September 18th 2012 by HarperCollins ISBN 0062114875 (ISBN13: 9780062114877)

After the Hybrid War, hybrids are considered the enemy. Each body is born with 2 separate souls. Each body’s souls have different personalities, likes, dislikes, talents and variations of how they look. When one soul is the more prominent soul using the body, you can tell by the quirks they have. For instance, they could use the other hand when they write. But they are both different people, just occupying the same body.

When you reach abound the age of five, your less dominant soul is supposed to disappear, suppressed to the point of non-existence. But not with Eva and Addie. Addie never fully pushes Eva away. Eva stays hidden in the depths of Addie’s mind and continues living along with her until they meet others that help Eva decide that she does want to live. She wants a chance to have a body and experience things on her own. But what would that mean for Addie? Too bad they don’t get a chance to find out. The group is found out and they get taken off to the hospital where people are likely not to return from. It’s a death sentence, at least for one of them, or both.

The story was borderline Sybil for teens, except we only have 2 personalities with which to contend. It makes it easier to follow, and really unique to read a story in which your main character keeps referring to herself as “we”.  The reader will really empathise with Addie and Eve. They have very conflicting feelings when it comes to ownership of the one body. To lose either one of them would literally be losing part of yourself, your other half.

Although the story had sections of anticipation and danger, there is not necessarily a lot of action to the plot. The majority of the book takes place in the hospital. We get to meet a lot of other minor characters and staff members and find out about the hospital procedures and danger in the experiments they are running. It is a more atmospheric novel with the constant feeling of danger and paranoia.

It’s an interesting start to a new series. One that I was nervous to pick up, but sure glad I did. The ending is perfect and you will want to pick up the next book.