Monday, June 24, 2013

A Review of Never Fade, a sequel to The Darkest Minds

Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2)Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I always get nervous about reading sequels, because so often the different tone of the book means I find it less interesting than the first one. But this cursed downhill slope with sequels thankfully did not happen with Never Fade. In fact, I may have enjoyed this one even more, as there was a lot less aimless wandering around. The characters constantly had a purpose, and a reason for going the direction they went in. And dang, they went to some pretty intense places.

I'm trying not to give too much away, but I will say that in some ways, Never Fade is probably darker than The Darkest Minds. The premise of The Darkest Minds was definitely pretty horrific, but this time Alexandra Bracken revisits some of the worst parts of the camps, plus takes us to some pretty awful places outside the camps. Not in a bad way either--I think the grittiness of the book helps shape Ruby's character growth. It's awesome watching Ruby come in to her own, and refreshing to see a character who while admitting they might have made some mistakes, doesn't take up half the book to wallow in those same mistake.

I was happy to see the return of a good number of the characters from the last book, and of course Liam--I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't gotten to see Liam. Throw a pillow across the room? Maybe something more breakable? :) All the characters are changed in some way, but that only makes sense, considering what they've been through. And personally, I loved the change; the "kids" are growing up, after all.

Whereas the end of the last book left me sad and horrified, this one left me still a little bit sad, but also hopeful. And impatiently awaiting the next one (I know, I have a super long wait since this one isn't even published yet)! I don't often give sequels five stars, but I'd say this one definitely deserved it.

This digital copy of Never Fade was given to me by NetGalley & Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.

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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Ink: a YA novel finally set in Japan

Ink (Paper Gods, #1)Ink by Amanda Sun
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It seems like a lot of reviewers were disappointed by this book, but I think it all depends on what you expect going into it. To that end, I'll do my best to give you a good idea of what you should...and should not...expect.

This isn't highly artistic writing, or deeply thoughtful, or intensely provocative. This is lighthearted fun, written with a lot of manga/anime qualities to the storyline and characters. I thought that the characterization style was highly appropriate, given the Japanese setting, but it could be annoying and unbelievable if you expect a serious story when you start reading it. Katie's reactions are over the top, her love with Tomo instantaneous and not entirely explainable, her thinking a bit silly and illogical, but the overall plot is intriguing and the character interactions amusing. It very much reminds me of the Manga I've read, only I don't have to deal with short sentences and having to read five books to get anywhere in the plot.

Essentially, Katie is an American teenager forced to move across the world because of guardianship issues after her mother's death. She has trouble acclimating to Japan at first, but after meeting Tomo, quickly discovers a whole other side to living in Japan that both intrigues and frightens her. For some reason, drawing start to move, and it seems to be linked to both Tomo and herself.

The book's ending definitely wasn't final enough--I'm going to be impatient about wanting to read the next one. I wouldn't say this was my favorite book of the year, but it was a quick, enjoyable read, with some cute drawings in addition.

This digital copy of Ink was given to me by NetGalley & Harlequin TEEN in exchange for an honest review.

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