Me on Contagion

Title: Contagion
Author: Erin Bowman
Release Date: July 24, 2018
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins imprint)

After receiving an urgent SOS from a work detail on a distant planet, a skeleton crew is dispatched to perform a standard search-and-rescue mission. But when the crew arrives, they find an abandoned site, littered with rotten food, discarded weapons… and dead bodies. As they try to piece together who—or what—could have decimated an entire operation, they discover that some things are best left buried—and some monsters are only too ready to awaken.

Contagion is eerie and mysterious, a story that takes place in the darkness of space on an isolated planet, where help is nowhere to be found and the shadows twitch. A place where secrets thrive. A place where something lurks down in the dark, waiting to get out.

Thea Sadik is an intern with promise, her whole future ahead of her. She's just looking for the right opportunity that will get her noticed by a big company. University, a career. A future away from her foster home. Nova Singh is a pilot looking to get her wings back, looking to prove herself in order to get a job travelling through the stars. For now, she's sort of stuck, but she's still piloting. Maybe after this evacuation and rescue mission, the company will hire her on permanently. Since the armed forces won't go anywhere near her. Unfortunately for Thea and Nova, the rescue isn't what they expected, and the site they arrive at isn't what they thought they'd find. Frozen-over samples, powered-down computers. Dead bodies. And a secret that's haunted for decades.

It's a rather intriguing story. It reads like an atmospheric sci-fi horror movie, something like Resident Evil or Pandorum or Alien. There's the story here, the rescue and all the death and the fight to survive, but I get the feeling there's a bigger story coming in the next book. One that will involve the company, the Union, and the future of humanity. It certainly kept me reading, certain events that unfolded and the idea of what will happen next. If you're a fan of quick reads, of sci-fi and creepy stories, of shadows and monsters and secrets, then you might want to give this a read.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on Girl Power Graphic Novels

Hi there! Welcome to one of today's stops in First Second's blog tour all about girl power graphic novels. These are all books that feature different kinds of girls, strong girls and scared girls and powerful girls and intelligent girls and clueless girls, as the main character. Seeing different kinds of heroes, heroines, and other main characters is so important for readers of kids books, no matter their gender. There's no one way to be, everyone is different, and everyone is amazing.

And so, here's a look at some very different young girls that can be found leading the way and falling into trouble in some recent graphic novels. :)

First is Claudette in Giants Beware!, Dragons Beware!, and Monsters Beware! by Jorge Aguirre & Rafael Rosado. Claudette is brash, rough and tumble. She's uncouth, head-strong, and bold. All she thinks about, dreams about, is fighting giants and monsters. All she thinks about is defeating evil and being a hero. Saving those in peril. And, as everyone around her constantly points out, she has no sense of propriety or delicacy. She speaks her mind and rushes too far and too fast into situations. She doesn't listen to sense. She's reckless. Claudette's more of an act first and ask questions later kind of girl, which can be very dangerous. But Claudette is staunchly loyal, to her blacksmith father and her aspiring chef brother Gaston, to her princess in training friend Marie, and to her dog Valiant. When the chips are down, Claudette will rush in with her sword, ready to bash any and all monsters. The entire series is a wonderful mixture of silliness, curious magic, complicated characters, and hard decisions.

Next is Isabel in The City on the Other Side by Mairghred Scott & Robin Robinson. Isabel is a quiet, lonely girl looking for a place of her own. Her life is far from exciting or even interesting, kept safe from dirt smudges and any hint of fun from her posh society mother and her distant artist father. She wonders if they truly love her, care about her, because they seem far more interested in their own lives than spend time with their daughter. But then, on a trip to Carmel to visit her father, Isabel ends up falling through to the fairy world and right into the middle of a war. A war that could impact her world as well. Drawn to a magical necklace, sure that no one back home will miss her, Isabel sets out on an epic quest. She comes into her own on this journey. She takes risks, falls into danger multiple times, and refuses to stop until everyone is saved. This is a girl who's finally found something she can do, finally found something that could be hers, if only for a little while. A girl who's, hopefully, found somewhere to be.

Then there's Avani in Star Scouts and The League of Lasers by Mike Lawrence. Avani is new to town, lonely because she doesn't have any friends and annoyed because her father signed her up for Flower Scouts where all the other girls do is talk about boys and makeup. She's bored, waiting for something she's interested in. And then she's mistakenly abducted by an alien. And so Avani joins Mabel and her Star Scout troop, made up of other aliens, and begins to lead a secret life of robotics and teleportation and weird space camp. Avani's like any kid who moves to a new town, she's looking for something familiar in a new place, and she sort of finds it with Mabel. She's met other kids who like doing interesting (to her) activities. But there's something that comes across in the first book, and that's that Avani can be rather bossy. After she finds the Star Scouts, when they compete against other groups at camp, she needs help from the others. But she's pushy in that she only wants the help that will make sure she wins. Both books are good looks at how friendship isn't easy, how everyone is different and that's okay, how strong personalities will butt heads over and over again. How it's okay to be wrong, about something or someone. How it's a lot more fun when you try to get along instead of argue all the time. Avani isn't perfect, but she's learning how to be a good friend.

If you're a middle grade reader, if you're a kid looking for new comics to read, maybe check out these, as well as Gigi D.G.'s Cucumber Quest and Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter by Marcus Sedgwick & Thomas Taylor. There's no one way for a young girl to be a young girl. You can want to fight monsters, you can want to be a princess, you can be quiet and studious, you can be loud and active. You can be smart, athletic, quiet, lonely, short, tall, thin, fat. You can have caring parents, you can be an orphan, you can have a single parent trying their best. You can be anything you want. Just be you.

Thanks so much to Gina at First Second Books for sending me physical copies and e-galleys of all of the above mentioned books (especially when we thought they were lost in the mail, they weren't!). You can definitely check out First Second on Twitter or Tumblr, or at your local library or bookstore. Happy reading!

Me on Odd & True

Title: Odd & True
Author: Cat Winters
Release Date: September 12, 2017
Publisher: Amulet Books (Abrams imprint)

Trudchen grew up hearing Odette's stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician's curse. But now that Tru's older, she's starting to wonder if her older sister's tales were just comforting lies, especially because there's nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio. In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it's Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters' search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that's wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all.

Odd & True is a mysterious journey. It's a story told in two parts by two voices, a story about family, about journeys, about truths and lies and secrets. About monsters, those fantastical and those hidden in our own past.

Trudchen is a little lonely, a little lost. Left behind by her father, mother, and later her sister, she's had to become practical. After the polio that almost took her leg, she's had a hard life. Struggling to get around, struggling to be seen as anything other than crippled. But now Odette's returned, ready and eager to whisk Tru off on a dangerous mission, to continue keeping people safe from monsters and demons. But it's hard for Tru to trust her sister, now that she's older and finds it hard to still believe in such stories. Od's voice is like a voice from the past, a voice who has seen, has suffered, and now knows what to do. She's the keeper of secrets and truths, the holder of knowledge, and at times it seems odd that there's only so much she'll share with her sister.

This is a curious tale, one I expected to be full of monsters and rescues, demons and creatures that lurk in the shadows, and two sisters continuing a family tradition. In some ways, that's what it is, and in some ways it isn't. It seems to be about people, their memories and their secrets, their lives and their journeys. It's about the things we hide and run from, the things we run towards, and the things we do in order to save others. I imagine fans of the author's previous books, historical tales with a dash of the ghostly and the impossible, will enjoy this, as might fans of historical stories and complicated but well-meaning sister relationships.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Abrams Books through NetGalley.)

Me on Our Dark Duet

Title: Our Dark Duet
Author: Victoria Schwab
Release Date: June 13, 2017
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins imprint)

Kate Harker is a girl who isn't afraid of the dark. She's a girl who hunts monsters. And she's good at it. August Flynn is a monster who can never be human, no matter how much he once yearned for it. He's a monster with a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost. Nearly six months after Kate and August were first thrown together, the war between the monsters and the humans is terrifying reality. In Verity, August has become the leader he never wished to be, and in Prosperity, Kate has become the ruthless hunter she knew she could be. When a new monster emerges from the shadows—one who feeds on chaos and brings out its victim's inner demons—it lures Kate home, where she finds more than she bargained for. She'll face a monster she thought she killed, a boy she thought she knew, and a demon all her own.

Our Dark Duet is a book of music and sorrow, of shadows and monsters. Of the monsters we fight and the monsters that live inside ourselves. Of the parts of ourselves that we can't turn away from, no matter how hard we try. Of the cost of living and the desire to keep from dying.

After leaving Verity, Kate's on the hunt in Prosperity, taking down the monsters that have popped up there. Stalking the shadows, attempting to keep a clueless city safe. Until something new makes its way out of the shadows. Something far more dangerous than the Malachai, the Corsai, or the Sunai. A new kind of monster that feeds and infects, over and over. When it heads to Verity, Kate knows she has to return to what she left behind, the monsters and the dead. August.

August has become what he hated, what he never wanted to be. A soldier in the FTF. A leader. A monster, using his music night after night. He's at war with himself, the part that's always been Sunai, always been a monster, warring against the years he spent watching humans, imitating humans. Wanting to be human. When something new arrives in Verity, with Kate Harker on its heels, August is worried, furious, and afraid. Afraid of what's coming, afraid of who he may lose in order to save the city.

This book is fast-paced and poetic, highlighting the struggles between the monsters that lurk in Verity's shadows and the human task force struggling to stay alive. The struggles inside both Kate and August, their humanity clashing with their fate. This book is heart-breaking and dangerous, coated in blood and tears, in fragile hearts filled with indestructible emotions. It's so much a Victoria Schwab book and I was pleased to feel emotionally drained as I read this.

(I purchased a copy of this title.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (331)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Tentacle & Wing
Author: Sarah Porter
Release Date: October 10, 2017
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt imprint)

From Goodreads:

Twelve-year-old Ada is a Chimera, born with human and animal DNA thanks to a genetic experiment gone wrong. Because being a “kime” is believed to be contagious, she has kept her condition—complete with infrared vision—hidden. But a surprise test outs her, and Ada is shipped off to a quarantined school for kimes. 

 There Ada meets kids of many different shapes, stripes, and appendages, such as a girl with dragonfly wings and a seal-boy. As she adjusts to her new life, Ada senses that the facility is keeping a secret that could upend everything the world knows about Chimeras. But will someone put a stop to her efforts to uncover the truth?

Ooooo, intriguing-sounding middle grade. I sounds like a mash-up of The Girl Who Could Fly and Monstrous, about kids with differences and monsters and secrets. Considering it's written by Sarah Porter, I wonder how dark it'll be. Vassa in the Night was pretty dark, but it's also YA.

Me on Spill Zone

Title: Spill Zone
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Artist: Alex Puvilland
Colourist: Hilary Sycamore
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Publisher: FirstSecond (Macmillan imprint)

Three years ago an event destroyed the small city of Poughkeepsie, forever changing reality within its borders. Uncanny manifestations and lethal dangers now await anyone who enters the Spill Zone. The Spill claimed Addison's parents and scarred her little sister, Lexa, who hasn't spoken since. Addison provides for her sister by photographing the Zone's twisted attractions on illicit midnight rides. Art collectors pay top dollar for these bizarre images, but getting close enough for the perfect shot can mean death-or worse. When an eccentric collector makes a million-dollar offer, Addison breaks her own hard-learned rules of survival and ventures farther than she has ever dared. Within the Spill Zone, hell awaits-and it seems to be calling Addison's name.

Spill Zone is haunting and creepy, a look at the aftermath of a complicated and mysterious disaster. It's an introduction to the secret things that now exist in a space that used to be a city, an introduction to a girl who will do what she must.

Addison is gritty and tough, rather serious and determined. After the loss of their parents in the Spill, she becomes a kind of replacement parent to her sister, Lexa, who was also sort of in the Spill on that day but made it out. Knowing they need money, Addison becomes a sort of escape artist turned visual artist, riding her motorcycle into the Spill Zone in order to take photographs of what lives there now. The dead bodies and the hunting rats. The eerie floating sculptures. Given the chance at one last trip, one final drive so she'll never have to think about it again, Addison jumps at a mysterious offer, but is this job more than she's ready for?

The art adds depth to the story, another layer of darkness and mystery. The art style is rough, jagged, expressive. With this being a graphic novel, readers are able to see the Spill Zone, what Addison's city has become, and what it is is bizarre and impossible. Floating bodies and items, cars that have somehow melted into the roads. Monsters that don't exist in the real world. The curiousness that is Lexa's doll.

This is definitely the start of something eerie, something overwhelming. I can't help but wonder if something in the Spill Zone wants out, wants to explore. What the truth behind Lexa's doll Vespertine is. What the truth behind the Spill is. If anything else is going to come out of it, move beyond the town and into the still normal world. I'm interested to see where the story will go, what will happen next to Addison and the things that lurk in the Spill Zone.

(I received an advance copy of this title from Raincoast Books.)

Me on The Edge of the Abyss

Title: The Edge of the Abyss
Author: Emily Skrutskie
Release Date: April 18, 2017
Publisher: Flux

Three weeks have passed since Cassandra Leung pledged her allegiance to the ruthless pirate-queen Santa Elena and set free Bao, the sea monster Reckoner she'd been forced to train. The days as a pirate trainee are long and grueling, but it's not the physical pain that Cas dreads most. It's being forced to work with Swift, the pirate girl who broke her heart. But Cas has even bigger problems when she discovers that Bao is not the only monster swimming free. Other Reckoners illegally sold to pirates have escaped their captors and are taking the NeoPacific by storm, attacking ships at random and ruining the ocean ecosystem. As a Reckoner trainer, Cas might be the only one who can stop them. But how can she take up arms against creatures she used to care for and protect? Will Cas embrace the murky morals that life as a pirate brings or perish in the dark waters of the NeoPacific?

The Edge of the Abyss is full of danger and tension, a mission of survival. A story of pirates, of an ocean that now feels like home, and the monsters that lurk beneath the waves.

Cas is full of conflict. Now on the pirate ship Minnow, under the rule of Santa Elena, she's hard at work proving herself. Proving that she has skills beyond those of a Reckoner trainer, because that's not what's needed anymore. For his own safety, Cas left Bao on his own, making sure he'd never be used as a pirate's weapon again. But is it really the life she wants to lead now? She's also struggling with her feelings for Swift, the rough and tumble pirate girl who's saved her life but also ruined it, poisoning the Reckoner Cas had been with for most of her life. She's not sure what to do, how to act, except follow Santa Elena's commands so she can stay alive.

I love how this book was made up of so many morally grey areas. Cas has to confront a number of things, especially pirate things, that she doesn't quite agree with. Like the raising of Reckoners by pirates. Like the underhandedness and thievery of pirates. Like the doublespeak that Santa Elena deals in when teaching her trainees. Like her feelings for Cas that don't always weigh as much as her fury at knowing Cas was behind the events that first brought her to the Minnow. But now comes the biggest conflict of all for Cas. Either stand with the pirates and destroy the illegal Reckoners that broke free and grew up feral in the NeoPacific, or stand by as they tear every single ship apart. And Cas now has to make those decisions.

This duology is dark and deadly and complicated. It's tense and brutal, all about survival and morals. All about a girl trying to stay alive and the girl she has feelings for. But what are those feelings? Love? Hatred? A combination of the two? I was satisfied both by the ending and that it was left slightly open. The world-building here, a mixture of futuristic and impossible sea monsters and piracy, has left a world that feels believable, and so of course Cas's story would continue on. But I feel like I was left with a good ending here. I would definitely recommend this duology if you're looking for something different with a slight Pacific Rim vibe to it.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Flux through NetGalley.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (311)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Our Dark Duet
Author: Victoria Schwab
Release Date: June 13, 2017
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins imprint)

From Goodreads:

Kate Harker is a girl who isn’t afraid of the dark. She’s a girl who hunts monsters. And she’s good at it. August Flynn is a monster who can never be human, no matter how much he once yearned for it. He’s a monster with a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.

Nearly six months after Kate and August were first thrown together, the war between the monsters and the humans is terrifying reality. In Verity, August has become the leader he never wished to be, and in Prosperity, Kate has become the ruthless hunter she knew she could be. When a new monster emerges from the shadows—one who feeds on chaos and brings out its victim’s inner demons—it lures Kate home, where she finds more than she bargained for. She’ll face a monster she thought she killed, a boy she thought she knew, and a demon all her own.

Because dear gosh why wouldn't I be waiting on this book?!

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (309)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Edge of the Abyss
Author: Emily Skrutskie
Release Date: April 18, 2017
Publisher: Flux Books

From Goodreads:

Three weeks have passed since Cassandra Leung pledged her allegiance to the ruthless pirate-queen Santa Elena and set free Bao, the sea monster Reckoner she’d been forced to train. The days as a pirate trainee are long and grueling, but it’s not the physical pain that Cas dreads most. It’s being forced to work with Swift, the pirate girl who broke her heart. 

But Cas has even bigger problems when she discovers that Bao is not the only monster swimming free. Other Reckoners illegally sold to pirates have escaped their captors and are taking the NeoPacific by storm, attacking ships at random and ruining the ocean ecosystem. As a Reckoner trainer, Cas might be the only one who can stop them. But how can she take up arms against creatures she used to care for and protect?

Will Cas embrace the murky morals that life as a pirate brings or perish in the dark waters of the NeoPacific?

Yessssss. I want it now. The Abyss Surrounds Us was a big surprise for me this year, it was so different and so interesting. Twists I wasn't expecting. I want to know how this duology ends, what happens to Cas and Swift, and where they end up.

Me on Blood for Blood

Title: Blood for Blood
Author: Ryan Graudin
Release Date: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Groups imprint)

Death camp survivor Yael, who has the power to skinshift, is on the run: the world has just seen her shoot and kill Hitler. But the truth of what happened is far more complicated, and its consequences are deadly. Yael and her unlikely comrades dive into enemy territory to try to turn the tide against the New Order, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost. But dark secrets reveal dark truths, and one question hangs over them all: how far can you go for the ones you love?

Blood for Blood is a fight for survival and freedom, a mission to uncover the secrets of the most dangerous man and reveal them to the world. But the truth isn't always what it seems.

For Yael, the race is on. A far more important, more deadly race than the previous one she just rode through fields and over mountains. It's time to warn the Resistance, to let them know they plan didn't quite work out how they thought it would. It's time to find answers. Why? How? What now? How many will die because of what happened, because some weren't ready? Because some were traitors and some were worried about their families. It's up to Yael now to go back to Germania, to uncover the secrets behind her own experimentation and reveal the truth. Even if it costs her her life.

It's easy for me to read this and feel horrified, feel disgusted at the atrocities committed in this fictional version of our history. It's easy to condemn most of the German soldiers, easy to sympathize with Yael, with her cause and her mission. Her suffering. It's easy to be afraid of something like this happening now, considering the current political climate of certain large and powerful countries. The worry is thick, a sour taste in the back of my throat. People are being taught to hate those with a different skin colour than theirs, a different religion than theirs. Book like this show how close the line between reality and fiction are blurring faster than we thought they would, and how we need to stop the hate. Fans of the first book will surely be eager to see how Yael's journey ends.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada.)

Me on Rebel Genius

Title: Rebel Genius
Author: Michael Dante DiMartino
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan imprint)

In twelve-year-old Giacomo's Renaissance-inspired world, art is powerful, dangerous, and outlawed. Every artist possesses a Genius, a birdlike creature that is the living embodiment of an artist's creative spirit. Those caught with one face a punished akin to death, so when Giacomo discovers he has a Genius, he knows he's in serious trouble. Luckily, he finds safety in a secret studio where young artists and their Geniuses train in sacred geometry to channel their creative energies as weapons. But when a murderous artist goes after the three Sacred Tools--objects that would allow him to destroy the world and everyone in his path--Giacomo and his friends must risk their lives to stop him.

Rebel Genius is tense and mysterious, seeping with artistic flair. It's a dangerous race against time to find the Sacred Tools, and Giacomo will have to make some impossible decisions if he wants to keep everyone safe.

Giacomo is a lonely boy, left homeless and without any kind of help or support after the death of his parents. Hiding in the sewers with his sketchbook, he struggles to eke out a living, stealing old bread so he can eat. When his Genius appears, he's worried. He's panicking. Having a Genius means capture, means being found and locked away, as per the laws of the tyrannical ruler Nerezza. But someone else finds him first, a secret group of artists and their Geniuses training to use art and their creative energy as a weapon. This is the start of something, the start of potential hope in Giacomo, and the start of a deadly journey to find things powerful and lost.

The world-building is intriguing. There's a a massive sense that the author drew from Renaissance Europe, especially Italy, when it comes to Giacomo's world and the reverence given to art. Here art is something magical, something vital. Something living. Something that can be harnessed, used for good or evil.

This is a tense adventure. There's a lot for Giacomo to learn, to overcome, to discover both about the world around him and about himself. Secrets abound, danger lurks. Perhaps it's a little dense at times, but there are so many characters, so many things happening that almost everything needs to be described. The illustrations were a great addition to the story. With it being so visual, being about art and shapes, the charcoal-esque drawings come in at perfect times. I would recommend this to readers looking for a new middle grade adventure series.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on This Savage Song

Title: This Savage Song
Author: Victoria Schwab
Release Date: July 5, 2016
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins imprint)

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he's one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who's just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August's secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

This Savage Song is a story of monsters and the monstrous, of humans and humanity. Of what makes us and what defines us, of intent and intentions.

Kate is cold, hard. Ruthless. She wants acceptance from her father, faith that she can be just like him. That he needs her around. That she can be the one to carry on his name. She waits for the day when he can let go of the past, of the sudden loss of her mother. Until then, she'll be hard as nails, shielding herself in armour. Waiting for the day to prove herself, waiting for the day her father will welcome her back.

August is looking to help his family, to help protect those who are preyed upon. He's looking to be human, even with his monstrous origins. He doesn't want to be like the others, like his older brother. He looked up to his father, a protector. He lives his life locked away, alone, hiding his hunger. Wishing it wasn't there. Wishing his past wasn't there, full of death and sorrow.

What are monsters? Who are monsters? What defines them? Can they be humans who assault and murder, drug and abuse and steal? Or can they only be fantastical creatures with sharp teeth and darkness in their eyes? What if one of those creatures is struggling to hold onto their humanity with both arms, both hands. Fighting every day to keep the shadows hidden, to control the hunger.

This book is dark, full of things that go bump in the night and creep out of the shadows, ready to claw your eyes out. It's a deep look at humans and monsters, the acts that make us human and the acts that make us dangerous. It's also a look at the relationships the main characters have with their fathers. Both Kate and August look at their fathers as something to strive for, whether it be in terms of power or compassion. They want to prove to them that they can be trusted, be used in the oncoming battle. If you're any kind of monster fan or complicated character fan or Victoria Schwab fan, then you should give this book a read.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on The Abyss Surrounds Us

Title: The Abyss Surrounds Us
Author: Emily Skrutskie
Release Date: February 8, 2016
Publisher: Flux

For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She's been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas's first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas's dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water. There's no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea. But Cas has fought pirates her entire life. And she's not about to stop.

The Abyss Surrounds Us is a futuristic adventure on the high seas, a tale of harsh pirates and frightening sea monsters. Of danger, fear, and strength.

Cassandra is a smart girl caught up in a dangerous situation. Kidnapped by pirates, forced to raise their stolen Reckoner pup, watched by a rough pirate girl, her back is against the wall in more ways than one. But she has her ideas. She has a plan or two. She knows Reckoners, how they grow up, how to train them. Cas could use this situation to her advantage. But pirates are treacherous, none more so than Santa Elena, and sometimes appealing, like the street smart but possibly helpful Swift.

This is a different sort of science fiction, the kind that's grounded on Earth but pushing the limits of current technology. Like the Reckoners, genetically engineered marine creatures bred to grow, to protect and defend ships out on the high seas. Some things, like pirates, will never disappear over time. There will always be scavengers and dishonest hunters out there, searching for unsuspecting victims and a bounty they can use until the next battle. The pirate fill the book with their standard shades of grey when it comes to morals. Yes, their actions are criminal, and yes, they know what what they're doing is wrong, but everyone has a family to feed. Everyone protects their home, their way of living. The longer Cas spends on the ship, the longer she treads water in those murky grey waters.

I wish books like this were more common, genre fiction with heroines of colour who are attracted to other girls. There are so few main characters in sci-fi and fantasy who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, and all the other terms that are part of the LGBTQ spectrum. More of their stories are being told, being published, in a contemporary setting, but what about in genre fiction? I would love to read more YA like this, to find more fantasy settings and futuristic settings with main characters where are anything but white and straight.

I found this book to be dangerous and exciting, full with rocks and hard places and seemingly impossible decisions that Cassandra was forced to make. I loved the futuristic setting, the ships and the Reckoner on the wide open ocean. I loved how Cassandra's attraction to Swift was just there, how it didn't feel the need to explain or justify itself. How it said 'this book is going to be about sea monsters and pirates and a girl who want to make out with another girl.' It shouldn't feel so refreshing to find a book like this, it shouldn't be so rare. If you're looking for something different, a book about sea monsters and pirates, a book full of complicated female characters, for a massively diverse genre fiction YA, then read this book.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Flux through NetGalley.)

Me on Lumberjanes Volume 1

Title: Lumberjanes Volume 1: Beware the Kitten Holy
Authors/artists: Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke A. Allen
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: BOOM! Box (BOOM! Studios)

At Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for hardcore lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together... And they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here.

Lumberjanes is a super fun comic full of adventure, action, strange creatures, and awesome friends. What more would you want at summer camp?

Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley. Five different and helpful friends. They all have their good times and bad times, their quirks, their skills and their fears. Their doubts. Their personalities come out in their likes and their clothes, their fun catchphrases ("What the junk?"). But they're all super supportive of each other. This comic is full of positive female friendships. It's not about showing up the others or taking control. They're ready to fight back against monsters as much as they're ready to go searching around in mysterious caves. It's about having fun together and figuring out the mysterious goings-on before cabin leader Jenny reigns them back in.

The artwork is bright, colourful, and expressive. You can see the confusion on their faces when they come face to face with three-eyes foxes in the middle of the night in the middle of the forest. The huge grin on Ripley's face as she comes barreling in. The worry on Molly's when Mal gets hurt. The excitement on April's when get earns the Pungeon Master badge for clever word play. Their pure unadulterated curiosity can barely be contained on the page.

This book is 100% unique characters and 100% exciting artwork, which adds up to 200% and is completely impossible, but nothing is impossible when it comes to these young hardcore lady-types. There's something going on in the woods, something that means three-eyes wolves and secret messages, and it's up to these five girls to figure out while kicking butt and having fun together. A must-read for those looking for fun.

(I borrowed a copy of this from the library.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (246)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Ravenous
Author: MarcyKate Connolly
Release Date: February 9, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

From Goodreads:

A witch has come to the city of Bryre. She travels in a hut that has chicken feet, and is ravenous for children. And once she gets what she desires, she never lets it go.

But when the witch captures Hans, Greta's little brother, Greta refuses to let her have him. The two strike up a bargain. Greta will retrieve something the witch desires in exchange for her brother's freedom.

To get the prize Greta must travel to Belladoma—a city where she was once held captive—which brings back terrible memories. With the help of a new friend, Dalen, a magical half-boy and half-horse, Greta embarks on the journey and tries to overcome both foes and her own weaknesses.

For fans of Monstrous and new readers alike comes the story of an epic quest and a heroine who will stop at nothing to save the one she loves most.

I'm so intrigued by this! I read Monstrous earlier this year and had no idea there was going to be another book set in the same world. I'm so curious as to what this book will bring, what characters will be introduced.

Me on This Monstrous Thing

Title: This Monstrous Thing
Author: Mackenzi Lee
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins imprint)

In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch's life shattered to bits. His brother, Oliver—dead. His sweetheart, Mary—gone. His chance to break free of Geneva—lost. Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: he brings Oliver back from the dead. But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair's horror further damages the already troubled relationship. Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay…

This Monstrous Thing has the feel of a gothic novel. It's full of shadow and mystery, it's dreary and searching. It's the exploration of the impossible and the supernatural, the battle between scientific exploration and morality, and the regrets that drip from a path paved with good intentions.

Alasdair has a secret in his past. One he keeps locked away. His days are spent working with his father, making secret clockwork limbs for those who need them. Sometimes he sneaks away to visit the brother he brought back from the dead. Alasdair is torn apart, wanting his brother to be like he was before he died. Wanting to have his life back, a life where he doesn't spend his days worrying about Oliver or in fear of the police coming to arrest him and his parents. But will he be able to escape his guilt and regrets? How? They hang over him like weights ready to fall.

There's some intriguing world-building in this book. There's a practicality in the people with mechanical/clockwork limbs, a reason for them. After the Napoleonic Wars, soldiers returned home across Europe with missing limbs, some blow off or lost to disease or injury. Factories were consistently unsafe, leaving workers with serious injuries. They would need new limbs to replace the ones they lost if they still wanted to work, still wanted to move around. Still wanted to be like everyone else. Plus the inspiration from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the man brought back to life, the hopes and regrets of his creator. The fear in the eyes of the townsfolk. I found how the author worked this in to be rather clever.

As much as this is a book of the impossible, it's a book of regret. A book of secrets and mistakes, of lies and stories. Alasdair brought his brother back to life using gears, clockwork, and pure luck, yes, but this is about what happens after. This is the aftermath, the repercussions. This is when Alasdair has to make a difficult decision. I imagine that fans of Frankenstein retellings and Megan Shepherd's The Madman's Daughter trilogy will enjoy reading this.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on Dreamland

Title: Dreamland
Author: Robert L. Anderson
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins imprint)

Odea Donahue has been able to travel through people's dreams since she was six years old. Her mother taught her the three rules of walking: Never interfere. Never be seen. Never walk the same person's dream more than once. Dea has never questioned her mother, not about the rules, not about the clocks or the mirrors, not about moving from place to place to be one step ahead of the unseen monsters that Dea's mother is certain are right behind them. Then a mysterious new boy, Connor, comes to town and Dea finally starts to feel normal. As Connor breaks down the walls that she's had up for so long, he gets closer to learning her secret. For the first time she wonders if that's so bad. But when Dea breaks the rules, the boundary between worlds begins to deteriorate. How can she know what's real and what's not?

Dreamland is mysterious and dangerous, a story of rules and secrets, of hidden monsters, of ticking clocks and broken mirrors. Of the truth behind dreams.

Dea is an outsider, constantly on the move with her mother. Few of her peers treat her with respect, the rest falling back on stereotypical name-calling, nasty rumours told behind her back, or keeping their distance from her. Acting like she doesn't matter. But she does. Dea is tired of moving around so much, tired of not knowing the truth. Dea wants a normal teenage life, even though she has to walk in people's dreams in order to keep living. When Connor moves to town, when his bright and friendly personality draw her in, Dea feels normal. Finally. She feels like a real teenage girl with a crush. But there are still rules to the dream walking. And Connor's appeal to Dea is the breaking point. After that, after someone goes missing, what will Dea do next? How far will she have to run?

The dream walking is some intriguing world-building. The different ways they shift and move around Dea as she walks. The ways they let her in or attempt to keep her out. In this book it's not all about the dreams having meaning, dreams holding the secrets to our hopes and fears. There is some of that, Dea can't escape that with Connor, but there's a bigger picture to find in dreams. What if there was a world beyond dreams? What if Dea and her mother weren't the only walkers?

There are a number of layers here, a number of mysteries and secrets combined to make up the book as a whole. The secret past of Dea and her mother. The secrets of Connor. The broken mirrors. The monsters in the nightmares. The dream world. I can see where some might find it a bit clunky or confusing with so much going on, the book is part mystery/thriller part paranormal/magical realism, but stick with it. I found it interesting, I wanted to know what would happen to Dea, where she would go, what the secrets of the dream world were. It vaguely reminds me of Magonia, how there's an ending but it could very well continue into another book. For fans of paranormal mysteries with a twist.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on Nimona

Title: Nimona
Author/Artist: Noelle Stevenson
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins imprint)

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

Nimona is about good and evil, friends and enemies, heroes and villains. This wonderful comic takes them all, mixes them up, and makes you wonder which side is the 'good' side. Who is really the 'villain' here?

Nimona is bold, unpredictable. She flies off and takes action without waiting for Ballister's instructions. Their relationship is like student and teacher. As the older villain, he guides her in the fine art of eviltry. Teaches her about plots and plans, drawing maps, biding their time, and striking when they're ready. As the plucky shapeshifter, Nimona teaches Ballister to care about people again. There are some dark days in his past, most of them involving hero of the people Ambrosius Goldenloin, and because of that time in his life he's given up on people.

The setting brings so much to the comic. Everything takes place in a medieval-style village full of peasants and knights, castles and swords, magic and dragons. Combined with this is a lot of modern science. Television, video calling, chemical warfare. Laser guns. There's a sense of whimsy here, that anything is possible. It's also interesting, that anything is possible in this world and people can still be at each other's throats. There's still complicated friendships and complicated politics in fantasy settings.

This comic is sweet, funny, tense, and emotional. It plays with long-running perceptions of good and evil, heroes and villains. The shades of grey that separate us, that we never see until we stop to explore what motivates people. A must-read for comic fans, for kids and adults. For everyone, basically.

(I purchased a copy of this book. Before publication, I read this when it was posted online as a webcomic.)

Me on Monstrous

Title: Monstrous
Author: MarcyKate Connolly
Release Date: February 10, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

The city of Bryre suffers under the magic of an evil wizard. Because of his curse, girls sicken and disappear without a trace, and Bryre's inhabitants live in fear. No one is allowed outside after dark. Yet night is the only time that Kymera can enter this dangerous city, for she must not be seen by humans. Her father says they would not understand her wings, the bolts in her neck, or her spiky tail—they would kill her. They would not understand that she was created for a purpose: to rescue the girls of Bryre. Despite her caution, a boy named Ren sees Kym and begins to leave a perfect red rose for her every evening. As they become friends, Kym learns that Ren knows about the missing girls, the wizard, and the evil magic that haunts Bryre. And what he knows will change Kym's life.

Monstrous is a sweet and fun, and as time goes on, rather sinister, story of magic and science. A tale of monsters and young girls, of good and evil and how they are told apart. A tale about finding our place in the world, whether we exist with a purpose in mind or we discover it along the way.

Kymera is unique. Clever and strong, inquisitive about the world around her because she only knows, only remembers, so much beyond what her father has told her. Because of that, she's filled with a sweet child-like innocence. What reason would she have to question her father? He's been nothing but kind, love. He brought her back to life so the two of them could save the young girls of Bryre. They just want to help. As the book goes on, her honest curiosity battles against her father's control over her. He tells her that no one would understand her, that people would be afraid of her. But she's not sure if that's true, so she's caught between the worlds that push her down and her thoughts of meeting new people. Perhaps making a friend.

But what is Kym, with her human brain and cat eyes and wings and a barbed tail? Is she still human or is she a monster? Can monsters with claws and wings be heroes, saving young girls from certain death? Can monsters grow roses? Is it what's on the inside or only what's on the outside? Kym looks dangerous, she looks like a terrible monster, so she must be dangerous, yes? What this book touches on is how we define who/what is a monster and who/what isn't and how problematic it is to judge people based on their appearances. What will help us determine the truth is knowledge, time, and our own instincts.

The world-building here is so much fun. It's a mixture of fairy tales, fables, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Magic and monsters and a girl brought back to life made up of parts that aren't originally hers. Kym navigates the world as the reader does, learning more and more about what evil plagues Bryre and what must be done in order to save it.

I found this to be a magical story, a sweet tale about a girl who isn't like other girls, one made up of good intentions and a strong need to help and protect others. We can't always be afraid of those who look like monsters, with scaly wings and sharp fangs and long tails, because they could be the bravest and most caring of all.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from Edelweiss through HarperCollins.)

Me on Through the Woods

Title: Through the Woods
Author: Emily Carroll
Release Date: July 15, 2014
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster imprint)

Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss. Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...

Through the Woods is a haunting, frightening collection of illustrated short stories. Each story is brought to life (I type as a shudder runs up my spine) with thin, spindly lettering, bold colours, and dark surprises at every turn.

Each of the five stories here are not for the faint of heart. All take dark, twisted turns, trailing deeper and deeper into the shadows. Into the darkness where the monsters lie in wait.

The artwork is also amazing. Shadows made from the darkest blacks, rosy cheeks and lips the brightest reds. Long, thin fingers. Large, round eyes. Everything seems more dangerous brought to life the way is is here. I imagine as prose, these stories wouldn't be nearly as frightening.

When I read the first story during the day, I was fine. But when I went to read it at night, when the shadows creep in around you, with the textured cover sliding and scraping against my fingertips, I'll admit that I wanted to go hide it somewhere where it couldn't get me. Dark and dangerous, filled with creatures and monsters and shadows, this is a perfect book for those interested in atmospheric reads and haunting stories.

(I purchased a copy of this book.)