Ruby Red

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one moved quickly, and I wasn't ready for it to end! And that's mostly because it DIDN'T end. It just stopped, mid adventure. This is the type of trilogy that should really just be one really long book, because even if it's a series, each book needs to have some sort of narrative arc in and of itself. As it stands, this first book just ends, with no real conclusion for any of the many plot lines or mysteries. I would roll right into the next book of the series, but I have to wait for my hold request to go through at the library. This lack of conclusion itself is one of the reasons why this book is getting 4 stars instead of 5, because I'm rather enjoying the storyline and characters for the most part.

Time travel can become very sticky, especially when multiple people can travel through time, and you never know where people have been and who they've already talked to and how they've influenced the timeline. It can be really hard to keep straight, even as an outside observer, so I can only imagine how hard to is for the characters to wrap their minds around and keep track of.

This book actually reminds me a lot of the Chronos series that begins with Timebound - a girl has the ability to time travel through her genetics, and must use it to save the world/reveal some sort of unknown secret power, and she doesn't know who she can trust, even those in her own family tree. At least that series seemed to have a clear goal: stop the dude from taking over the world and changing the course of history bit by bit. This one, not only can't I figure out who the bad guys are and who the good guys are, I can't figure out what anyone's goals are. What is going to happen when the chrono-thing is complete? Do they even know? Why do some want to stop it? Why would it be bad if the count knows about Gwenyth's abilities? Is that the Power of the Raven?[And is she extra special because she's the child of 2 time travelers? (Yes, I'll say that again. I think it's pretty clear by now that Gwen is Lucy and Paul's child, and Grace has been hiding her for years.) (hide spoiler)]

The only thing I'm a little disappointed by is that the relationships don't feel very developed yet. Plus, it added to the confusion at the end of the book, because I turned the virtual page to see what would happen next, because surely that wasn't the end, to discover the epilogue. Uh, what? I had to go back to make sure I hadn't missed anything. I'm hoping in the next book we get a little more insight into their relationship, more than just "you're different from other girls. You don't do what I say. It's so fascinating."

I also am really looking forward to learning more about Gwen's powers. Seeing ghosts and gargoyles is pretty cool and unique, and I wonder what it means, in the grand scheme of things. I'm especially looking forward to ghost James teaching Gwen all about the past, and maybe she can even meet him while he's still alive sometime! There's other interesting characters, too, like the best friend and the teacher. I'm curious about them, but hopefully the development of the main relationships won't be sacrificed for their sake.

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The Stone Heart

The Stone Heart by Faith Erin Hicks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

MAJOR SPOILERS!!

At this point, Rat and Kai's friendship is well-established (I ship it!), so this book mainly shows them growing closer and opening up more and more. Rather than focusing on Rat and Kai, we dive more into the parent-child relationships in the book.

We have Kai, who grew up with a strong mom and an absent father. I appreciate that Kai finally told Andren how he felt about his abandonment, that even if Andren told himself he was doing it for Kai's good, the result was the same: Kai had no relationship with his dad until he arrived at the city, and he hasn't yet earned the right to be respected as his father. I always wondering how Kai's parents came together, and why they lived so far apart. Theirs is definitely a sad story.

Rat's parents seemed very loving, and it's unfortunate that she lost them so young. I wonder who she would have grown into without that event shaking her life.

The saddest relationship was that between Erzi and his father the General. I knew Erzi was unhappy, entitled, whiny, and angry about "losing his birthright," whatever the heck that means, but (view spoiler)[I really didn't see him murdering his own father. Once Kai explained that was a regular occurrence among the Dao, it was less surprising that Erzi killed his father, but that his father didn't see it coming. The General killed his own brothers to unite the Dao kingdom, yet he thinks his son is going to acquiesce and head back to the Dao countryside? Not when murder is in his blood. (hide spoiler)]

I'm still trying to figure out Mura. I kind of liked her in the first book, but now that we're seeing behind the curtain into her twisted past, she is definitely a sneaky snake. She clearly has resentment towards the monks for kicking her out as a kid (I'm guessing what she'd tried to steal was that book?), and feels some sort of loyalty/devotion/love for Erzi, who saved her from the streets. I can't tell if Mura is manipulating Erzi or the other way around. Either way, sometimes she has a seriously crazy look in her eyes.

At this point, all we can do is hope that Andren and Kai's plans succeed.

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The Girl with All the Gifts

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SPOILERS AHEAD!

I really enjoyed this one - it was a great mix of action, adventure, mystery, and thoughtfulness. It's obvious to us as readers pretty much from the start what Melanie is, and it's fascinating that it takes her so long to recognize it herself. Maybe it's because, although she's extremely smart, she only knows what she's been taught. She's been told for years that she's a little girl, and so she believes that. She knows what a hungry is intellectually, but doesn't really she IS one until she truly feels the hunger. Once she realizes the danger she poses, she is the first one to suggest extra precautions to protect against her.

I love her relationship with Helen Justinbeau. It wasn't her intelligence that won Helen over, it was her obvious love and clear emotions. Those 2 were so devoted to each other, and I loved how they protected and helped one another.

Parks was an interesting guy - in many ways, he was just doing what he was taught, trying to keep as many people safe as he could. As he spent more time in proximity with Melanie, he was slowly won over by both her humanity and her obvious intelligence, and started to trust her more and more.

Dr. Cauldwell was so frustrating. On the one hand, her research was vital to figuring out how the hungry disease was spread and what the next step was. Without her findings, Melanie wouldn't have known what to do to help reboot the world, so to speak. To Dr. Cauldwell, the cost was worth it. But is the cost ever worth it when innocents are experimented on and killed in the name of progress, in the name of science? It sounds a lot like what the Nazi doctors did in WW2, what early researchers did across the world while conducting illegal research on uninformed and thus non-consenting human subjects.

I did appreciate how much the science made sense, the reasoning behind how and why Melanie and the other kids were different from the normal Hungries. I feel a little bad for the life Miss J will be leading from now on, but I think she will probably look on it as penance for the wrongs she committed, and as more and more hungry kids start awakening emotionally, she'll start to love them as much as she loves Melanie. Hopefully that's enough.

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The Nameless City

The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm so not shocked that I loved this - I have been enjoying Faith Erin Hick's work for years now. I picked this one up at comic con last year, but 2016 was quite the reading lull for me, so I hadn't read it yet. Luckily, book 2 comes out tomorrow, so I decided to finally read this one tonight.

I love how Kaidu and Rat's friendship develops. She is quite wary of him at first, but Kai's persistence and consistent friendship not only brings her to eventually trust him, but also to rethink the way she looks at Daos as a whole people. Kai gains not just a friend in Rat, but a really awesome and amazing friend. From Rat, Kai learns to be bold, work hard, and question what's going on around you.

This is such a fascinating look at the different way culture groups interact with one another. The Nameless City has a million names, yet no name at all. To the Dao, the Named city-dwellers are Skral, Not-Dao, not a person. To the Named, the Dao are conquerors, oppressors, murderers, thieves, invaders. Some of the Named hope to merely drive the Dao out, but who will fill that void? Kai's father, Andren, hopes to establish a council where all the surrounding countries and the Named run the city together. While it seems quite idealistic (and therefore far-fetched), the General seems convinced to at least hear him out, and we can thank Rat and Kai for that. (view spoiler)[If Rat hadn't met the General through her connections with Kai, she wouldn't have been moved to try to save him. If she hadn't been willing to share what she learned about the assassination attempt on the General and his son, they would have been killed and all would have been lost. If Rat hadn't have saved his life, the General would have been less open to Andren's ideas. (hide spoiler)]

The character who confuses me the most at this point is the General's son, Erzi. He clearly is not prejudiced against non-Daos - His bodyguard Mura is not of the Dao, and not only does he trust her with his life, he knows she the best fighter and that is right to defend her. Yet he is adamant that their army needs to be stronger to protect their hold over the city, and seems absolutely shocked and dismayed when his father says he'd like to meet with representatives from the city.

Just to briefly mention the art - I LOVE Faith's style, so it's not a shock that I love the art in this book. It's so lush and details and sweeping. The colors by Jordie Bellaire are just perfect, setting the tone in every scene, from the dusky early morning runs to the richly warm festival.

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Paper Girls, Vol. 1

Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such a great first book! I love the art and colors, and the story so far is twisty and intriguing. It appears to be time-travel related, but I still have so many questions!

I'm curious what the "Grand Father" means by generational conflict. There appear to be two sides, an older more established group (with flying monsters and machines that make you relive your life) and a teenage scavenger renegade group.

I'm still not sure what happened in the girls' town that caused the old-timers to zap up all the inhabitants and put them in stasis pods. Also, what is this "Calamity" the boys spoke of?

I liked the explanation of time travel, but I wonder what happened with the exploding space ship - how did it happen to send the girls (just 3 of them?) to a different time? And what does that mean? What does it mean that future Erin is there?

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Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine

Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!

Definitely a book for our times. Yes, this is an extreme view of our possible future, but when our supposed president degrades and abuses women with no consequences, and women rise in reaction to those abuses, it's not hard to see it getting to this point.

I'm ending this book being just very sad. I can't believe Meiko is dead. There was a tiny glimmer of hope, and it just feels so unfair that these smart, courageous women keep getting slapped down and taken out, though I can't believe I am still shocked by that at this point. Nothing is fair in this world.

Obviously Kam's main goal is finding her sister. That seems to be her main motivation on going to BP. But what is she willing to put up with in order to reach that goal? What more is she willing to risk? I can imagine that Meiko's death will be devastating to her - will she continue to push on with her Megaton team? At what cost?

I loved getting to know more about Penny Rolle. Despite her rough childhood, she great into an amazingly confident woman. I loved the part where they showed her an image of her ideal self, and she wasn't changed at all. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And I ain't broke." If only we could all be so confident in ourselves!

The most frustrating people in this society are the women who just go along with their own marginalization. The teacher at Penny's school who continually punished her and insisted on calling her grandmother Mrs. Chester Alexander. The girls in Penny's shop who eat 15 calories at a time and measure their defecation. The young new wife in issue 1 who doesn't care that her predecessor was murdered to make room for her. And worst of all, Miss Whitney. Who actively instigates and organizes the death and humiliation of thousands of women. I truly don't understand her motivation.

Looking to the future, I'm also afraid to hope. I want Kam to keep fighting back, but who is going to be killed next? I'm curious to know who the Fathers are and how they got so much power (and why do they keep it). Will Kam find her sister? What will Meiko's father think when he arrives? Will they tell him about her death? So many questions.

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Juliet

Juliet by Anne Fortier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

A fascinating premise - what if Juliet and Romeo were real people, and those real families involved in the tragedy were truly cursed. And what if the only way to break that curse was for a Juliet and a Romeo in our time to fall in love and fulfill theirs and their ancestors destinies?

I really enjoyed how this book was written, jumping back and forth between the past and present. As I followed along with Guilietta's research, it felt like I was there with her, learning the true story, and falling in love. You can also tell that this book was well-researched, and it made me want to learn more about Siena and it's history. I also loved the author's note at the end when she mentioned all her mom's research. So sweet!

So was there anything I didn't like? This is where we enter the spoiler zone. Probably my least favorite part of this story was the mafia element. I get that there needs to be a villain element to explain the twins' parents' deaths, but we spent so long thinking Luciano was the villain that it seemed like an odd switch at the end to see he had been threatened and coerced all along. It would have been nice if they had at least mentioned the real bad guy (whose name I don't even remember) at some point before he appeared. As is was, I was left with a, "wait what??" when they suddenly showed up at the house.

Also, I couldn't figure out Luciano. Did he really die? Or escape with the jewels? You'd think he'd want to be with his girls, but I guess he was still a wanted man. Plus, did he just really not like Janice? Even though she seemed horrendous at the beginning, she kind of grew on me at the end, and I'm sure she was disappointed when she learned who her real father was, considering how he treated her all her life. Probably my least favorite part of this story was the mafia element. I get that there needs to be a villain element to explain the twins' parents' deaths, but we spent so long thinking Luciano was the villain that it seemed like an odd switch at the end to see he had been threatened and coerced all along. It would have been nice if they had at least mentioned the real bad guy (whose name I don't even remember) at some point before he appeared. As is was, I was left with a, "wait what??" when they suddenly showed up at the house. Also, I couldn't figure out Luciano. Did he really die? Or escape with the jewels? You'd think he'd want to be with his girls, but I guess he was still a wanted man. Plus, did he just really not like Janice? Even though she seemed horrendous at the beginning, she kind of grew on me at the end, and I'm sure she was disappointed when she learned who her real father was, considering how he treated her all her life.

The other issue I had was, did there really have to be so much secrecy? I mean, I get that it makes for a more exciting book, when you don't know who is out to harm you, but if the Alessandro and Eva Marie had been honest with Guillietta when she first showed up, even if it was after they did the DNA test and realized she was telling the truth, she's such a trusting person that she would have helped them and saved everyone a world of trouble.

The other issue I had was, did there really have to be so much secrecy? I mean, I get that it makes for a more exciting book, when you don't know who is out to harm you, but if the Alessandro and Eva Marie had been honest with Guillietta when she first showed up, even if it was after they did the DNA test and realized she was telling the truth, she's such a trusting person that she would have helped them and saved everyone a world of trouble.

Overall, I'm happy to have read this, and am already researching a trip to Siena. :)

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