Title: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Review Copy Provided by Publisher/Shelf Awareness
Parental Warning: light language, teenage rebellion, fighting, pyromania

Summary:
Exiled to the Sword and Cross school after a freak accident takes the life a boy she’s in love with Luce finds herself entangled in a strange triangle of good versus evil.

Tentatively befriending a series of outcasts, misfits and reprobates Luce navigates her time at the reform school cautiously in an attempt to investigate.  Focusing on the student population she hopes to avoid the constant stream of strange events that seem to follow her. Preceded by an ominous conflagration of shadows nipping at her heels Luce can’t shake the feeling that she is losing her mind in a slow and torturous game of cat and mouse.

Enter Daniel and Cam, two boys with interest in and intentions for Luce. The problem? Luce is unsure who to believe.  Cam is sweet and generous, offering to help Luce adjust to the prison-like atmosphere of her new school.  He clearly wants to engage her romantically but she can’t quite go the extra mile.  On the other hand she is instantly attracted to Daniel, the arrogant and mysterious boy who couldn’t be bothered to give her the time of day.

What Luce doesn’t realize as she’s desperately trying to win Daniel over is that each boy has distinctly different plans for her.  It is in these plans that relationships are revealed, bonds are strengthened and a sad history repeats itself.

Opinion:
Ms. Kate did an excellent job in setting the mood with Fallen.  In particular the Savannah locale and the dingy gothic feeling of the Sword and Cross campus and it’s grounds left the reader with a decidedly mystical and dark feeling.  It’s these feelings that fed into the danger and suspense the overarching story was trying to achieve.

Further I was a particular fan of the most of her characterizations.  I believe I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m a fan of the bad boy (which I totally am).  That, my friends, is exactly where Daniel fits in.  He’s quite mysterious in a “is he good or is he bad” kinda way.  I really enjoyed the back and forth as I tried to settle on exactly where his allegiances fell.  Was he there to protect or harm Luce?

I found some of the different characters to be much in the vein of Daniel. I couldn’t decide who was truly good and truly bad so when the ultimate reveal came and we learned who was on what side I was pleased with the outcome.

Another thing I’m a fan of?  Attraction.  And man, was Luce ever attracted to Daniel.  Good or bad she wanted him and wanted him like a dog wants a juicy steak for dinner.  I could practically see her mouth salivating every time he was even mentioned, let alone when they were in the same place at the same time together.  The downside, this desire to be near him often times clouded her judgement and put her in remarkably dangerous and stupid situations. In that vein I would have liked to have seen that either Luce was under his spell more (leading her to make those poor decisions) or have her be a bit more wise and cautious.

A third thing that makes me fannish?  The slow build.  I like it when bit by bit we learn something new that leads us down the path to discovery.  Having said that, I thought Fallen was a bit too slow in that way.  There are only so many moonlit meet ups and dangerous situations to save a girl from before answers should be revealed and at times it felt a bit repetitive.

Finally, I felt the initial chapter showcasing some small glimmer of historical perspective felt out of place.  The transition between it and the modern day chapter that followed was too abrupt and it wasn’t until later in the book that the reader could really put the two together effectively.  I would have liked a bit more of that history on the angels and their fall but I suspect we might get a good deal more of that in book two so in the end it didn’t ruin the story as a whole for me.

In the end, I did enjoy Fallen and am looking forward to seeing what is to come in book two.  If you are a fan of darker themed teenage romance with a historical  and mystical theme I’d say this book is one you should give a go.

Title: Candor
Author: Pam Bachorz
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Egmont USA
Source: Review Copy Provided by Publicist
Parental Warning: light language, teenage rebellion

Summary:
Candor Florida is an impeccable community brimming with parental involvement and civic-minded students who excel in all subjects. It’s environmentally friendly, crime free and governed without debt. In a word it’s perfect.

Or is it?

Socially engineered to within an inch of it’s life Candor is beyond idyllic yet Oscar Banks lives to bunk the system. Oscar knows something his high-school aged peers don’t. It’s all a ruse — one specifically designed by adults to take their “problem” children and turn them into super stars of social consciousness, academic excellence and ultimately subserviance. His interest in thwarting the system is initially less about civil rights and the wrongs of mind control and more about rebellion against the man behind the curtain. A man, as it turns out, that happens to be Oscar’s father.

Enter Nia.

Turning his view of the situation completely upside down, Nia is Oscar’s first taste of love. She represents everything he’s ever wanted to be and be part of. Free-spirited, rebellious, and not remotely interested in towing the party line she waltzes into Candor with the bravado of a diplomat’s daughter. Unfortunately she was not immune to the political wiles of Mr. Banks. As it turns out she is, much to Oscar’s chagrin, number one candidate for mind-control.

Desperate to keep her individuality (and perhaps his own soul) intact Oscar begins his plight to save her and bring his father down.

Opinion:
The most compelling aspect of Candor is less about the rigid life inhabitants are forced to live at the hands of Mr. Banks and more about the father son dynamic that his control creates. Instead of allowing his son to grieve the loss of several family members, instead of creating a relationship built on that common ground Mr. Banks forces Oscar to rebel against unusual circumstances in a less than ordinary way.

Compelled to fight for free will not just for himself but for his classmates as well Oscar’s main foe is the one person he should be relying on most. In this way Oscar is actually a true teenager as he sneaks around and tries to keep his father at bay. The difference being the consequences of success or failure are much more extreme than the typical teenage rebellion about music or grades or selection of friends.

What is most interesting is that it is in Oscar’s final selfless gesture to the only person who he felt understood him, the only person he wanted to share his time and his life with, that the father-son relationship that Mr. Banks so longed for is solidified. It is in this act that Oscar becomes everything he never wanted.

It is this element of the story that had the greatest and most profound impact.

Written with an understated eloquence and subtlty Bachorz created an eerily robotic and somewhat disconcerting burg in Candor. The characters were over the top perky and conscientious yet rarely annoying to the reader. They exhibited traits of perfection, they were the ultimate in submission and all the while small traces of individuality leaked through in desperate attempts to show that there were still people in the mindless bodies created by Mr. Banks.

The irony of it all was that Mr. Banks ended up being the most robotic and least feeling character of them all. In his desperation to forget his wife and oldest son he lost all ability to effectively communicate, he lost the ability to discern right from wrong, and ultimately he became so mired in denial and avoidance that he was no longer able to do more than provide a service to community members. He got from point A to point B by controlling every aspect of everyone’s life.

Another interesting, and quite ironic, element of the story I truly enjoyed was the fact that Oscar used the same means his father undertook to try and preserve individuality. His own mind control tapes were designed to keep people themselves but in doing so he irradiated the true meaning of individuality and free will. There was still someone controlling their lives.

One of the things I adored most about this book was that Bachorz wasn’t afraid to take risks. Most particularly in how she handled the end. Without spoiling what exactly that ending is the result of Oscar’s hard work against his father was shocking in a way that has the ability to make a person weep. Done with great emotion and tremendous realism Bachorz creates a satisfying resolution that makes me yearn for more. Despite having heard of no plans for a sequel I can see there is definitely room to revisit Oscar and Nia. I’d love to get a peak of what happened to each and where they are now.

If you like dystopian fare that is less about fantasy and the end of the world then definitely pick up a copy of Candor it’s a fabulously interesting and thought provoking read.

Ho ho ho! Welcome to the last road trip of 2009!

It’s been a great year with loads of awesome stops across the country and the globe. I want to thank everyone who is participating and encourage you to continue to link up in 2010.

Florida
Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf joins the Literary Road Trip representing the state of Florida

Iowa
English Major’s Junk Food reviews The Moment Between by author Nicole Baart

Kansas
Joyfully Retired reviews Sons of Fire by author Max McCoy

Massachusetts
Care’s Online Book Club reviews Juckets by Joyce Keller Walsh

Pennsylvania
Beth Fish Reads spotlights Kristin Bair O’Keeffe

Washington
Books and Movies interviews Martha Brockenbrough author of Things That Make Us (Sic): The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar Takes on Madison Avenue, Hollywood, the White House, and the World

Once again, I can’t thank you all enough for continuing to contribute and make The Literary Road Trip a success. Her’s to enjoying the many stops to come in 2010.

As always, if you are a participant who is showcasing authors from a particular location please remember to submit a link to your posts via the Mr. Linky provided on the Literary Road Trip page on Galleysmith.com.

Until we meet again road trippers….safe travels!

Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Review Copy Provided by Publisher (via Shelf Awareness)
Parental Warning: mild violence (ie: children getting injured)

Summary:
It’s dark, cold and damp when young Thomas awakens in an elevator like box.  Frightened to discover that he’s in a place that is completely foreign to him he’s even more disconcerted by the fact that he has absolutely no recollection of who he is or where he came from.  Upon his release from the lift he finds himself in the company of a rag tag group of boys.  Disoriented, starving and still unsure of his surroundings Thomas begins his attempt to figure out what (or who) has brought him to this place.  Unfortunately, those he now finds himself living with are less than forthcoming with answers to his many questions.

In short order, however, Thomas befriends several local leaders and the occasional social misfit whereby he learns the name of his new home.  He is now officially an inhabitant of The Glade — a small parcel of land enclosed by giant unscalable walls. These aren’t just any walls though, they are designed to open and close based on a schedule set by an unknown governing party.  Though these powers that be are unfamiliar The Gladers have come to rely on them for food and other critical supplies to keep them alive.   Conforming to a rigidly structured schedule the boys have the timing of when the doors rotate and when each new product is to arrive.

Not the least of the arrivals are new Glade inhabitants.  All arriving without memories of their past and each as scared of the unknown as those landing before.  In order to assure their survival, and hopefully to determine why they are there, each boy takes on a job in a particular sector — food, medicine, security, etc.  Thomas is run through the gauntlet of each until he determines that what he wants most is to be part of the coveted group called the maze runners.  You see, outside the walls of The Glade there is a giant and ever changing maze.  Convinced that if they are able to map the maze or determine a pattern of it’s consistent changes the Gladers would find a way to their freedom and ultimately win their lives back.

The Maze Runner is Thomas’ story of attempting to do just that.

Opinion:
The Maze Runner is fabulous dystopian fare.  A book I’d highly recommend to readers young and old.  It’s suspenseful plot and interesting characterizations making it a fun, entertaining and don’t stop until you finish read.

One of the elements I enjoyed most was the setting Dashner dropped the boys into.  He has created a location in The Glade that allows the reader the luxury (or in this case discomfort) of feeling the space around them.  It is complete sensory perfection as we experience every painful ridge along with Thomas and The Gladers.  It’s a cold and dank place of confinement that unsettles both it’s inhabitants and the reader.

Further, the book had a very Lost Boys vibe to it. Each character had a degree of individuality of mind and spirit, each had their role as a cog or wheel, that it was quite easy to differentiate between them without confusion setting in. Of all characters I found the protagonist Thomas to be of most consequence.  He was courageous, empathetic, heroic and adaptable.  His ability to resolve problems and generate real solutions to forward the plight of The Gladers made him extremely rootable.  Moreover, he is a character that is appealing to boys, girls, young and old without being trite or overbearing.

If I were required to choose one irksome element of The Maze Runner I would have to say that the language Dashner created in lieu of using swear words was initially a bit much.  However, after some getting used to it turned out to be quite ingenious. That very small addition to the story went such a long way in creating community between the inhabitants of The Glade. It gave that added element of separation from what the reader knows as the real world while allowing the boys to be boys. It was one of the only times they were able to act their age.

Not wanting to spoil the larger surprises of the book I will say that I wasn’t disappointed when answers to some of the story’s larger scale questions and secrets were revealed.  The whys of hows of the Glade coming to be, the reasons for Thomas’ presence in it and many of the aspects of how the population potentially overcome the powers that be were all intriguing and suspenseful. I credit Dashner’s wonderful writing and ingenuity in composing a thoroughly entertaining story with fabulously well-developed characters.

I will certainly be picking up the follow-up to see what happens next.  Watch for book two, which I believe is called The Scorch Trials, in the next year.

Today I have two lovely ladies guest posting about their love for a certain gentleman in a certain series of novels.  Now if you’re on Twitter at all or if you read either lady’s blog you’ll not have to guess who the guy is because their love for him knows NO bounds, but if you haven’t had the opportunity might I strongly encourage you to visit them both because really, so.worth.it.  Anywhoo, please join me in welcoming Raych from Books I Done Read and TY from The Lit Connection as they profess their unending adoration, in a way only they can, for Outlander.

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Raych: Alright, seriespaloozers, are you ready to have every male literary lead ruined for you forever?’

TY: Are you reading to meet the fictional yardstick to which no male literary lead will ever measure up?

Raych: And we mean ‘yardstick’ both literally and metaphorically, where literally it measures but in a metaphorical sense it means ‘dong.’  Ok, serious question, though: How much do you want to do Jamie?

TY: No yardstick in the world can measure the lust I have for this noble Scotsman.

Raych: HA! Innuendos!

TY: How much do YOU want to do Jamie?

Raych: I would sell all my limbs. Which would be awesome, because then he would have to throw my limbless self on the bed and that would be hot.  Ok, tell me about the first time you read the O series.

TY: I’ve said this about Outlander before. It changed my LIFE. It turned my hair white like Moses when he had that conversation with GOD. The 1st time I read it, it’s like I came down off some imaginary Highland mountain after seeing God (Jamie Fraser) and now I want to preach the gospel and open readers’ eyes to this RED FOX’S Holy Hotness.   Did Outlander teach you about the birds and the bees?

Raych: No, I learned that from Where Do Babies Come From. But O taught me how HOT the birds and the bees can be. Also, kilts.

TY: I learned about the birds and the bees from DAWN. VCA!!!!! Outlander helped me heal.

Raych: If you could tell the uninitiate ONE THING before they read O, what would it be? Because DO NOT ACCIDENTALLY READ the back flap of book 3 before you read book 2, is my advice. It will ruin. everything.

TY: This is the hottest, sweetest romance EVER. Jamie is the most complex, drool-worthy man ever created by a woman.

Raych: Alright, sum up the plot of all 7 books thus far in 140 chars.

TY:

• Outlander: Fiesty WWII Nurse stumbles into standing stone time portal. Deflowers sexy Scotsman. Many adventures later, she saves his soul.
• Dragonfly: Love birds in Paris to stop war. Epic fail. Saddest-rip-my-heart-out-of-my-chest parting EVER!!!
• Voyager: They diddle other people. Jamie has son. Soul mates reunite. Nautical voyage. Hurricane. The Americas!
• Drums: Time travel extravaganza. Pirates. Rape. Indians. Melodrama involving paternity and mistaken identity.
• Fiery cross: Hangings and colonial life. There’s the American Revolution and Jamie doesn’t want to fight, but he has to because he’s a MAN OF HONOR.
• Breath: Abductions, gang rapes, threesomes, and the dread of WAR.
• Echo: War. Hot Young Ian. Pirates. Hot Young Ian. Quakeress spit fire. WAR. Amputations. And that THING with Lord John that is still blowing my mind!

Raych: You have just blown MY mind.  I didn’t think you could do it.

TY: How about the villains? Diana is a master at creating the nastiest literary villains. Not tepid bad guys, these guys make me CRINGE

Raych: How ABOUT the villains? Remember that time Black Jack captured Jamie and reduced him to a shell of his former self?

TY: I love how Diana ‘went there’. I was not expecting THAT to happen to Jamie. A lesser author would have saved him in the nick of time.

Raych: A lesser author wouldn’t be throwing her characters under the bus every time they turned around without looking ridiculous. Gabaldon is mercilessly skilled.

TY: Also, the fact that Black Jack “made love to him” disturbed me more than if he just raped him prison style. Kudos Diana on sustaining UNEASE

Raych: That part definitely made me uneasy. Also, I threw up in my mouth a bit. But she isn’t gibbets-and-brains style, which I appreciate. I also appreciate how she has managed to SUSTAIN THE LOVE between Jamie and Claire well into their 50s (60s?).

TY: Diana took your cliché Highland romance novel and twisted it like a pretzel.

Raych: A deliciously salted pretzel, wherein the salt represents J&C doooing eeet.

TY: J&C doooing eeettt is like the cheese you dip your pretzel in. Sometimes you forget about the pretzel and lick the dip till it’s done.  I use to believe that marriage was the end of the road when it comes to passion. Diana opened my eyes. Your THING is not dead once you slip on the ring.

Raych: And I love how Claire is feisty and competent and makes me want to BE her, not SMACK her.  For all that this is a love story, and for all the Mmmmm, Jamie, I would totally still read it if it was just about Claire.

TY: Rare is the heroine that I actually want to BE. I would never dream of smacking Claire; she’ll snap my neck like she snapped that wolf’s neck outside Wentworth Prision. The woman has brains and balls, the whole package.  Also, the whole young VIRGINAL man + older woman match up was unheard of before Diana came along and broke barriers. She’s like Rosa Parks.

Raych: She basically cured cancer with this story.

TY: Diana invented the atom bomb for which the world can never recover.  My loins are now radioactively charged every time I think about Jamie Fraser. There’s a picture for ya. Thanks Diana!

Raych: Ok, I need to go pop a bag of popcorn while I pretend to make lunch.  Any last words on the subject?

TY: I want to give Jamie my flower and he will make it BLOSSOM!!!!

Raych:Well, kids. You may not have heard it here first but you will definitely hear it here most often.  Outlander: get on it.

TY: I’ll get on it alright… If by ‘IT’ you mean “Jamie Fraser.”

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Seriously girls, you’re the bomb diggity!  Thank you so much for stopping by to spread the Jamie Fraser love.  Here’s to hoping a whole new batch of Outlanders are born!