Me on Life After Theft

Title: Life After Theft
Author: Aprilynne Pike
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins imprint)

Moving to a new high school sucks. Especially a rich kid private school. With uniforms. But nothing is worse than finding out the first girl you meet is dead. And a kleptomaniac. No one can hear or see Kimberlee except for Jeff, so, in the hopes of bringing an end to the snarkiest haunting in history, he agrees to help her complete her "unfinished business." But when the enmity between Kimberlee and Jeff's new crush, Sera, manages to continue posthumously, Jeff wonders if he's made the right choice.

Life After Theft is a light, cute, and fun high school ghost story. There are touches of tragedy, but also of humour and of maturity. Sometimes, you have to help someone right the wrongs they caused, even if that person is dead and quite often doesn't share the whole truth.

Jeff is quite possibly the averagest of average guys. He's seemingly forgettable, not necessarily good at anything but interested in some things, and suddenly he gets wrapped up in this strange and slightly creepy situation. Since he is a nice guy, he's willing to help her out, but he never expected all the things Kimberlee's ghostly hands dump straight into his lap.

Kimberlee certainly has her issues, the least of which is that she's dead. She's also self-centered, a kleptomanic, a liar, and hugely unreliable. When she figures out that Jeff is all she has in terms of help, she complains like mad. But underneath all the polish and sparkle is a scared, sad little girl who died too young and with a lot of regrets. Yes, she's abrasive, controlling, and shrewish, but being dead still sucks.

There are times when you make choices and regret them, especially in high school. But what if you die in a freak accident and you're left haunting the halls of where you did most of your harm? Then you're trapped between life and the afterlife, seeing the faces of the people you hurt, the people you stole from, knowing the only way out is to make things right. But no one knows your there because they want to forget all the damage you did. Until someone who's never heard of you shows up.

As a retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel, I didn't notice it until I looked up the book itself. In the original, there is someone working in the shadows righting wrongs and saving innocents from harm. Here, I suppose that's true, but as I've not read The Scarlet Pimpernel I can't attest to anything more.

Death is a curious thing, and it sucks, dying when you have regrets and you've made mistakes. But knowing you have to make it all better in order to move on is the turning point, and then comes the most difficult decision of them all: whether or not you actually want to suck it up and fix those mistakes.

(I acquired an advance copy of this book at ALA Midwinter.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (124)

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

Title: Truly, Madly, Deadly
Author: Hannah Jayne
Release Date: July 16, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks

From Goodreads:

Sawyer Dodd has it all. She's a star track athlete, choir soloist, and A-student. And her boyfriend is the handsome all-star Kevin Anderson. But behind the medals, prom pictures, and perfect smiles, Sawyer finds herself trapped in a controlling, abusive relationship with Kevin. When he dies in a drunk-driving accident, Sawyer is secretly relieved. She's free. Until she opens her locker and finds a mysterious letter signed by "an admirer" and printed with two simple words: "You're welcome."

This sounds so weird. And I sort of want to read it really badly, which doesn't happen for me and a lot of contemporary YA.

Me on Arclight

Title: Arclight
Author: Josin L. McQuein
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins imprint)

The Arclight is the last defense. The Fade can't get in. Outside the Arclight's border of high-powered beams is the Dark. And between the light and the Dark is the Grey, a narrow, barren no-man's-land. That's where the rescue team finds Marina, a lone teenage girl with no memory of the horrors she faced or the family she lost. Marina is the only person who has ever survived an encounter with the Fade. She's the first hope humanity has had in generations, but she could also be the catalyst for their final destruction. Because the Fade will stop at nothing to get her back. Marina knows it. Tobin, who's determined to take his revenge on the Fade, knows it. Anne-Marie, who just wishes it were all over, knows it. When one of the Fade infiltrates the Arclight and Marina recognizes it, she will being to unlock secrets she didn't even know she had.

Arclight is a thrilling exploration into light, into darkness, and into a fear of the unknown. Eerie, mysterious, and intense, this complicated and frightening future holds the story of a mysterious girl as she questions her origins. Not knowing who she is or where she came from, she searches for answers, and somehow becomes wrapped up in the truth behind the Arclight, the Fade, and the Dark.

Questions surround Marina as soon as the book starts. Who is she? Where did she come from? Why do most of the people around her hate her? She's literally wounded and battered, limping around in this strange complex. She's frightened, but more frightened of where she came from, more curious about her origins, more upset that her memories are missing.

The creations of the author, the Arclight, the Dark, and the Fade, are haunting, frightening, and intriguing. This is a dark future where danger hides in shadow and only the Arclight and its massive glow will keep the remaining human population safe. But what are the Fade? Are they merely sick humans exposed to a terrible disease?

In a number of ways, this is a book about loss. Marina has lost everything from before she was found by those under the Arclight. Others have lost countless family members and friends. Everyone has lost their way, blinded by too much light, unable to see what's truly happening, what's really out in the world.

Connection is also important, the bonds that keep people close. Marina, yes, is connected to those in the Arclight, but there is also a curious connection to the Fade that she doesn't understand. It's all about coming together, discovering your true self, and figuring out where you belong.

The Arclight is curious, it protects but also inhibits. The remaining humans are trapped, the light giving them only so much room for movement. It keeps them from what they fear, the Fade and the Dark, but it also holds them hostage. They are afraid of what lies beyond, of what else exists out in the world, and of what is yet to be discovered.

This book started like a shock, like a spark, and didn't let up. It's a book I was welcome to come across, a glimpse into a different sort of future where bright lights protect but also restrain and stunt growth, a future where darkness is dangerous while it hides so many important pieces of knowledge. Like the truth behind everything.

(I acquired an advance copy of this book at ALA Midwinter.)

Me on This Week's Book Week (47)

This Week's Book Week is like Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews but with a different name and more rambling. ;)

It decided to be a cliché this week and rain. ;) But it was weird, we had a few days where the weather was nice and not cloudy. Usually, it's raining a fair amount between mid-February and mid/late April.

The plague finger. *sigh* The bone density scan results came in and my doctor said they think the infection is in the bone. This is pretty serious. I mean, it's in the end of my finger, it's not like it's in my back or a major joint or bone, but it's still serious. It means that I'm now on a 6 week course of IV antibiotics that need to be pumped into me every day. I so see it turning me into a hermit. Hopefully I'll be less of a hermit than when I broke my ankle. Driving could be hard. I'm also curious if I'm ever going to get billed for any of my treatment. I never was for my ankle (apart from physio), so we'll see. *hugs for Canada's heathcare*

At the moment, I'm not sure what this will do to Me on Books in terms of me taking some time off. It's a bit different than when I broke my ankle a couple years ago. Still complicated, but this seems to be a bit more serious. Reviews for next week are scheduled but not the week after, I'm currently reading those books. Everything will depend on how I react to the antibiotics (I'm feeling good so far, and that round in January didn't do me any harm) and how easy it'll be to type with the line in my arm. Hopefully, everything will proceed as normal with me not on Twitter as much. Also, right now, there's an IV needle in the back of my hand so it's a bit hard to type.

I've started a Tumblr about the treatment that I'll be posting at every day over the next 6 weeks. I always want to be honest with you guys, and that's why I've told you what I've been going through with my finger. The doctors still don't know how I got this infection, but I've got it, and they're going ahead with treating it. The new blog is so it's kept separate from book stuff.

This week's reviews will feature Arclight by Josin L. McQuein (Tuesday) and Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike. :)

Bought:
Nameless by Lili St. Crow
Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Me on Nobody's Secret

Title: Nobody's Secret
Author: Michaela MacColl
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Publisher: Chronicle Books

It's 1845, and for fifteen-year-old Emily Dickinson, every day follows the same patters: chores, chores, and more chores. So when she meets a mysterious, handsome young man, she's intrigued. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem to know who she or her family is. And even more surprisingly, he playfully refuses to divulge his name. Emily enjoys her secret flirtation with "Mr. Nobody" until he ends up dead in her family's pond. Stricken with guilt, Emily sets out to discover who this enigmatic stranger was before he's condemned to be buried in an anonymous grave. Her investigation takes her deep into town secrets, a possible blossoming romance, and deadly danger.

Nobody's Secret is a curious book about a curious mystery investigated by an even more curious girl. This book itself is intriguing, a fictional account of a young Emily Dickinson, a mysterious encounter with a stranger, and her investigation into the trouble that befalls him.

What highlights this book is Emily Dickinson herself, her intelligence, quick wit, and inquisitive character. Those who have studied her poetry know one side of her, but this introduces readers to a wholly different side, a side that was there during her formative teenage years in Amherst. The author's research and attention to detail is meticulous, her interest and passion towards Dickinson, her life, and her poetry is clear.

As a whole, the book is an intriguing undertaking. There's no proof that Emily Dickinson ever helped uncover a crime and solve a mystery when she was young, but what if she did? Where would her mind, filled with questions about the world, about people, about life and death, take her if someone truly did turn up dead in front of her home? Every character she comes across, outside of her family, has a secret connected to the man's death, and her investigation becomes an investigation of character as well.

Emily seems to find a kindred soul in Mr. Nobody. Someone who saw the world as something filled with possibilities. When he is found dead, she seems to be the only person who cares, and with her own unconventional passion and determination, she sets out to discover his secrets. I found this to be a clever imagining of a moment in time in a famous poet's life and would suggest it to readers of American history, mystery, and Emily Dickinson.

(I acquired an advance copy of this book at ALA Midwinter.)