Daisy's Review of The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Title/Author: The Demon King (Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher/Date published: Disney Book Group, October 6th 2009
How I got this book: own it

Goodreads summary: "Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for himself, his mother, and his sister Mari. Ironically, the only thing of value he has is something he can't sell. For as long as Han can remember, he's worn thick silver cuffs engraved with runes. They're clearly magicked - as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off. While out hunting one day, Han and his Clan friend, Dancer catch three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. After a confrontation, Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to ensure the boy won't use it against them. Han soon learns that the amulet has an evil history - it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.
Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Helena, Princess Heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of relative freedom with her father's family at Demonai camp - riding, hunting, and working the famous Clan markets. Although Raisa will become eligible for marriage after her sixteenth name-day, she isn't looking forward to trading in her common sense and new skills for etiquette tutors and stuffy parties. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea - the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But it seems like her mother has other plans for her - plans that include a suitor who goes against everything the Queendom stands for."

Recently I have been loving all the YA books I read and this is another one belonging to that category! I’ve been remembering why I love fantasy so much and it’s wonderful :)

The POV switches between Raisa and Han, our two main characters. And they are both wonderful! I LOVED how Raisa is not a spoiled little princess, but maybe slightly naïve about everything going on outside the palace. But you would be too if the only time you’d been in the city was when there was a parade in your honor! I loved that she’s intelligent and really wants to make a difference. She does have the whole superficial crush thing down, but well, she’s only 15 and she doesn’t think insta-soulmate, so I was good with this.
Han is a little on the dangerous side. And mysterious! He has had cuffs on his wrists ever since he was a baby and they grow along with him (MAGIC CUFFS). He doesn’t know why and up until the very end of this first book in the series, we don’t either. I LOVED it!

I LOVED the world building and all the different characters! And I loved to hate the ‘bad guys’ which is also nice :). Oh, and I was secretly gleeful when their evil plans failed! *enter evil laugh of my own*

And you know what’s one of the best parts? There are TWO more books in this series that are already out (at least one more yet unpublished)! YAY! I'll be reading them ASAP.

My rating: 5 stars

Paula fawns over "How to Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe"

How to Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
Published: 2010 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
How I got it: On my nook
Rating: 4 Stars

From the moment I saw this book I knew I wanted to read it. I never actually read the synopsis, I just loved the title and hoped that whatever it offered would be wonderful. I expected a fun science fiction adventure novel that would be an easy read, what I got was a super meta-fiction mindwarp but it was awesome. It took effort to read, but it was still a very fun read.

The protagonist of the story is Charles Yu (note: also the author) who lives in his time machine (which is approximately the size of a phone booth, and unlike Doctor Who’s TARDIS, it is not bigger than it looks). He is in love with the computer in his ship and his boss is a computer program who doesn’t realize he’s not actually alive. His job is to go fix other time machines, which people have bought and broke in their attempt to change their past, which he states over and over is impossible to do. He has been in his time machine for years, but he is only gone for a day every time he goes to the station. So he has had an apartment for a week total - and the landlord thinks he's just rapidly aging.

The first half of the story consists of Charles’ stories and thoughts. He shares stories about his father, who was the inventor of the time machine. Thoughts about things like “The Girl He Will Not Marry”, who is also the Girl He Has Never Met. He tells how he and the girl he never met would never have a wonderful life together. He muses on how when he brushes his teeth, his reflection looks disappointed in himself. He also shares stories of the people he retrieves from the past. In fact, his entire job exists to save people from themselves. And yet, he doesn't do a very good job of making sure his own life is in order. The first half of the books is full of amusing “such is life” kind of thoughts and is quite enjoyable. But it’s the second half of the story that really gets meta and mind boggling (but no less enjoyable). I wont tell you how, but Charles ends up getting himself stuck in a time loop. He is given the book “How to Live Safely In a Science Fiction Universe” by Charles Yu – but the problem is, he hasn’t written it yet. So he ends up reading it before he’s written it. Ugh just typing this is making my brain go “Huh?” Eventually the story gets resolved (or as resolved as a time-loop can be). It's brilliant, beautiful and funny.

I wont give too much more away. But I highly suggest you go read this book before you get stuck in a time loop.

Kelly Reviews "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop

Title: Escape

Author: Carolyn Jessup & Laura Palmer

Published: Broadway Books, 2007
Rating: 4 stars

Back in October 2009, I pulled this book at random off a shelf at the library, and boy, am I glad I did. It is the story of a woman, Carolyn Jessop, born into a polygamist community in Utah. She became the fourth wife of a man more than thirty years her senior when she was eighteen. (Over the course of his life, her husband had more than a hundred children by fifteen different wives.) Her husband mistreated all of his wives, to the point of slavery and extreme domestic violence, but these women still strived for his affection, even though they knew they didn't love him. They also challenged each other and did not stick together. Life was miserable for Carolyn in this religion; in extreme sects of FDLS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), women have absolutely no rights or freedom.

The climax of the book is where she plans and executes her escape with her children from the FDLS sect and her husband. In order to properly be separated, she must cross the state lines into non-FDLS territory. Her children, particularly the older ones proved to be the hardest obstacle in her escape. Some felt torn loyalty between her and their father and were not eager to leave their community. 

The part that scares me the most is the fact that this is happening in modern day...not five hundred years ago like it sounds like it would. She went on to become one of the few women who ever challenged her husband and religion, and the first to successfully leave the community with all of her children. The compound was later raided by police in 2008.

This book is full of encouragement and knowledge for those like me who were completely ignorant about FLDS and polygamy. The writing style is not the best, but was very thought-provoking nonetheless.

Heather reviews Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky

Book/Author: Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky
Published: May 2011, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Where I got it: received as an e-book from NetGalley
Why I read this: I liked the cover and thought it sounded interesting
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads): Maddie lives in a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home. There’s really no need. For the most part, Maddie’s okay with the solitary, digital life—until she meets Justin. Justin likes being with people. He enjoys the physical closeness of face-to-face interactions. People aren’t meant to be alone, he tells her.
Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her—a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking.
In this not-so-brave new world, two young people struggle to carve out their own space.

My thoughts: I began reading Awaken back in the early spring but because I'm a butthead sometimes, my NetGalley copy expired before I could finish. Then it took me a few months to get a copy to finish reading it. Once I was able to pick it back up, I was mad at myself for not getting my hands on it earlier. Maddie's world was so interesting! She is pretty much the first daughter of the new education system. In the year 2060, the world is almost entirely computerized. Want to hang out with your friends? Hop on the internet and virtual chat with everyone in a coffee shop setting. Even exercising is computerized. Having a father who is the head of digital school put a lot of pressure on Maddie to follow the rules. When we find out that she had something to do with a huge security breach years ago, it's easy to see that she doesn't necessarily believe in what her family is responsible for.

Awaken is about much more than just teenage rebellion. It's about standing up for what you believe in despite how much it might effect your life as you know it. Maddie chooses her beliefs over her family, which is something that only the strongest willed person would be able to do. However, the story was almost too unbelievable for me. I have been on this earth for almost 26 years now and I don't feel like the world has changed too drastically. It's very hard for me to believe that a world would be so different in my lifetime. I enjoy technology as much as the next nerd, but I could not wrap my head around how life could change so much in 50 years. The people in Maddie's world were so connected in the digital sense, but I couldn't help thinking it was more like they were disconnected. They were giving up real human interaction. It just seems so lonely to me and I was glad that Maddie was able to recognize that she was unhappy with that way of life.

Sadly, I was disappointed in Justin's character as her love interest. I felt that it was unfair of him to ask her to betray her family and expect her to do what she ultimately ended up doing by choosing his side. He seemed like a total toolbag and I just couldn't understand why Maddie was attracted to him, other than for his mysterious ways.

I don't usually talk about covers, but I will admit that I am one of those people that judges a book by its cover. This cover is what initially attracted me but I was glad to discover that the story was worthy of such an awesome cover. While there were certain things that I didn't like about Awaken, I enjoyed the concept and reading about a character who was able to fight for what she believed in despite being in such a tough situation.

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I Want to Reread

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.


So...I (Jamie) realized that I did a POOR job scheduling this one and the other similar topic top ten books I want to read/experience for the first time...which is in two weeks! SORRY GUYS. I do see a difference between them which is why I had both of them but I meant to schedule them further apart.  Is everyone cool with this or shall I turn two weeks from now into a rewind week where everyone picks an old topic they wanted to do but didn't??  And then I'll schedule "books I want to read/experience for the first time for later. Check here for future topics.

Top Ten Books I want to Reread

1. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - this was one of my immediate favorites when I read it about 6 years ago. As with any old favorite, I want to see how it holds up with time. Plus I could use a reread of such an epic love story.
2. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss - I remember this story being beautifully written and inspirational. I think it's one of those books I might like even more the second go round.
3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer - I read this one more recently so I might not revisit it for a bit, but it's definitely on my to be reread list! Oskar is one of my favorite fictional characters ever.
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - This book made me cry more than any book ever has and I think that's a great thing. I will probably reread The Book Thief over and over.
5. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky - I've reread this a few times already and I think some days are just days you have to sit and read this in one sitting.
6. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - I'm already in progress with this (sort of). I began listening to the audiobooks but have only completed the first two. I'm not sure if I'll continue with the audio version or if I'll pick up the actual books instead. Either way, this is a series that I'm sure I will continue to reread over and over for a long time.
7. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - I read this during a somewhat difficult time in my life and I remember relating so much to the main character. I'm not sure how it will be on a reread but I'd like to find out.
8.  Looking for Alaska by John Green - I love John Green and this was the first book by him that I read, before I realized that he has a formula for his characters. I thought it was such a good book and it's pretty perfect for a rainy day reread.
9. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - I just really enjoy Ms. Plath's writing and I'm planning on reading her journals soon. I think after getting a little more insight into what went on in her head, it'd be good to reread The Bell Jar.
10. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller - I read this in college when I first started getting back into reading for pleasure again and I remember being a little overwhelmed with schoolwork at the time. I'd like to reread and see if it's more enjoyable to me now.

Tahleen reviews: "All These Things I've Done" by Gabrielle Zevin

Title: All These Things I've Done
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners, 2011
Narrator: Ilyana Kadushin

Rating: ★★★★

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal substances. Manhattan is rife with crime, and speakeasies and black market trade are rampant. Sixteen-year-old Anya Balanchine is caught up right in the middle of everything, not because she happens to be alive in this time, but because her family owns the famous Balanchine Chocolate company, and because her father, now dead, was one of the most notorious crime bosses in the city.

Still, Anya tries her best to keep a low profile, since she doesn't want to bring attention to the fact that her bedridden elderly grandmother is their sole guardian, and her brother Leo is a bit mentally handicapped due to an accident when he was a boy. Unfortunately, when her ex-boyfriend is poisoned by chocolate that she gave him, she's all over the news and in a lot of trouble. It doesn't help that she starts a relationship with the district attorney's son. And all the while, she needs to maintain some sort of control of her brother and younger sister, Nattie, and keep them away from the influence of her mafia family.

The feel of this book is a mixture of dystopia and old-school gangster, what with the prohibition on chocolate and coffee. I never really read anything about organized crime, but I found the way Anya handles things and the way her family operates fascinating. She is incredibly cool-headed, and mostly seems completely in control, even when she's going crazy inside. I truly admired her character, and I loved how she took all of her father's words to heart. She was always recounting some piece of wisdom her father imparted when he was alive, and I actually found them to be truthful and/or valuable.

All of the characters are well-written, and I found myself caring for even the most dangerous characters. Except Gable; he's a jerkface.

The dystopian society itself is not too far off from where we could be headed. There is a water problem, but one not large enough to have water rationed—yet. It's just very expensive, sort of like gasoline today. And the illegal substances of our time parallel very well with the illegal substances of this world. Organized crime developed around the chocolate and coffee industries because of their illegality, and people get a "high" off both of them, much like drugs and alcohol today. Interestingly, alcohol is widely available for all ages here.

Zevin's language is, for lack of a better word, delicious. Something I want to sip slowly. I loved the atmosphere of her world.

As far as the audio version goes, Ilyana Kadushin does an excellent job. She sounds spot-on for Anya, not too old or young. Her voice is soothing with no annoying quirks that I find happens often in audiobooks. And, she does a great Russian accent for Anya's older family members. It's very easy to tell the difference between each character's dialogue.

I highly recommend the audio version of All These Things I've Done, and certainly recommend the book itself. I fully plan on reading the rest of the Birthright series when they are released.

Disclosure: Macmillan sent me a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Anna reviews 'The Pursuit of Happiness' by Douglas Kennedy

Summary from Goodreads: "Manhattan, Thanksgiving Eve, 1945. The war was over, and Eric Smythe's party was in full swing. All his clever Greenwich Village friends were there. So too was his sister Sara -- an independent, canny young woman, starting to make her way in the big city. And then in walked a gatecrasher, Jack Malone -- a U. S. Army journalist just back from a defeated Germany, and a man whose world-view did not tally with that of Eric and his friends. Set amidst the dynamic optimism of postwar New York and the subsequent nightmare of the McCarthy witch-hunts, The Pursuit of Happiness is a great tragic love story; a tale of divided loyalties, decisive moral choices, and the random workings of destiny."

I know I usually review non-fiction books but every once in a while I come across a fiction book that is so wonderful, I feel compelled to review it. This is certainly one of those. The book begins as a mystery- Kate is at her mothers funeral when she sees Sara, a woman she has never seen before. The two quickly establish contact and the story then flashes back to tell the story of Sara.

Sara is a witty, bright and highly independent woman. She's a talented writer and is devoted to her older brother Eric. During one fateful party on Thanksgiving Eve 1945, falls in love with Jack Malone. Jack Malone is conservative, Irish, and alas for poor Sara, only in town for the night. The two spend a passionate evening together and vow to stay in contact. I'm not going to spoil the plot of the book by revealing what happens next, but suffice it to say that this meeting between Sara and Jack has huge ramifications for her and those around her; it shapes the course of her entire life.

The characters in this book are excellently crafted. Sara is highly credible and likeable, she easily evokes sympathy from the reader. A credit to Kennedy's writing, early on in the book you begin to care about her and this remains true throughout the book. The relationship she has with her brother Eric is also very realistic- there is real tenderness and warmth between them. Eric is a funny and smart while Jack is incredibly human. All of the characters are complex, there are no good guy/bad guy distinctions. Every character in the book is vividly described. I felt that I really knew these people.

One of my favourite things about the book was its setting. Sara grew up in the McCarthy era, the time of the "red scare". Communists and other left-wing people were treated very harshly by the government. This is rather unfortunate for Sara's brother Eric, who was formerly a member of the Communist party. Throughout the book suspicion, deceit were rife; friends betrayed friends in order not to be branded as anything even vaguely left. I also found the effort they all made to define themselves as American and to conform to expectations of what what it was to be American facinating.

Overall, this is an incredible book. It's well-written, compelling and well worth a read. I think the cover of the book reveals a lot- Sara is walking a plank, trying to remain steady and reach the end. Each of the characters pursue happiness but though all have glimpses of it, none of them ever really achieve it. Overall, a well deserved four and a half stars.