Title: Dancing in the Dark
Author: Robyn Bavati
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Flux
Release date: February 8, 2013 (North American release)
ISBN-10: 0738734772
ISBN-13: 9780738734774
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley

He tossed her into the air as if she were weightless, and just for a moment she seemed suspended there, defying gravity. I couldn't take my eyes off her. I knew what she was feeling. It was in every movement of every limb.

Here was a power I had never seen before, a kind of haunting loveliness I had never imagined. Seeing it made me long for something, I didn't know what...

Ditty was born to dance, but she was also born Jewish. When her strictly religious parents won't let her take ballet lessons, Ditty starts to dance in secret. But for how long can she keep her two worlds apart? And at what cost?

A dramatic and moving story about a girl who follows her dream, and finds herself questioning everything she believes in.



My Review:
Ditty Cohen comes from a strict Jewish household; she is a Haredi Jew, one of the most conservative branches of Judaism. One day, during a bout of rebellion, she discovers ballet and is instantly hooked. She dreams of taking ballet lessons and of a future as a performer. However, she knows her family would never allow her to do so. This story takes readers on Ditty's personal journey through the years, witnessing her struggle with family, faith, and her passion.

I need to start off and mention that it was so interesting to me that this was set in Australia, because everything was unfamiliar. Locations, seasons, how school years work and everything. I actually learned quite a bit of cultural information that I've never known about before.

I felt like I related to Ditty quite a bit, in terms of expectations while growing up. Not necessarily in a religious sense, though I have grown up in a religious household and still practice Roman Catholicism (quite progressively, mind you); going to mass, receiving the sacraments, etc. I've never personally felt the same pressures and lifestyle that Ditty had, but on a broader note, I feel like quite a lot of people can relate to her, in the sense that she had a dream that seemed far from her reach and she was willing to overcome everything that it took to get there. I admired her zeal. As for the other characters, I loved that there were no catty ones competing with Ditty in her ballet school. As if she needed any more people to come into conflict with. Everyone was supportive, very nice, and realistic.

The only issue I had with this book, which unfortunately stuck through the whole thing, was how negative the family came off. It wasn't even just the family, but the whole ultra-orthodox community. Almost everyone came off as brainwashed and it felt like the only way for Ditty to pursue her dreams was to have to leave her community. I'm not going to pretend like I know a lot about the different Jewish communities and how much Bavati's portrayal rings true, so I can't really expand on this. But reading that Bavati grew up Modern orthodox made me think that this was why it came off the way it did. Linda (Ditty's cousin who, like Bavati, was Modern orthodox) was very detailed in her arguments with Ditty and the latter could never really defend herself or her community. It felt pretty one-sided, which made me feel a little uncomfortable. As a reader, I really did sympathize with Ditty, which I'm sure was the intention. You want Ditty to succeed, to break free from whatever's holding her back, but at the same time I wish she tried a little harder to find some common ground with her Judaism.

Ultimately, this is a universal story about a girl with big dreams, and her journey in doing whatever it took to achieve it. I loved Ditty's transition as a dancer and that the story brought us through her entire experience from her discovery to finally being an actual performer. It sped through five years of her life, which could have made the story feel really rushed, especially considering the length of the novel, but it was done surprisingly well. It didn't drag on, and I felt like all the important pieces in Ditty's life were touched upon enough for the story to end the way it did.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Flux Books for providing me with the ARC.

My rating:

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Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Razorbill
Release date: October 8, 2007
ISBN-10: 159514188X
ISBN-13: 9781595141880
Format: Hardcopy
Source: Purchased

You can't stop the future. You can't rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret. . . is to press play.

Clay Jensen doesn't want anything to do with the tapes Hannah Baker made. Hannah is dead. Her secrets should be buried with her.

Then Hannah's voice tells Clay that his name is on her tapes-- and that he is, in some way, responsible for her death.

All through the night, Clay keeps listening. He follows Hannah's recorded words throughout his small town...

...and what he discovers changes his life forever.



My Review:
Thirteen Reasons Why touches upon the issue of suicide through Hannah Baker, a teenager who committed suicide and told her story through a series of cassette tapes. Clay Jensen comes home one day to find these mysterious tapes boxed up and addressed to him. He discovers that Hannah sent seven tapes with thirteen reasons to different people who played a part in her ending her life. Clay, as a recipient, apparently affected Hannah's decision, but he couldn't figure out why. Through each tape, the story ultimately tells the tale of how people's actions can cause a ripple effect on someone's life.

It ultimately turns out that Clay, the narrator of the story, was the only one on Hannah's list that didn't leave such a negative effect on her. With each passing tape that he listened to, he started feeling more and more guilty and felt that he could have done something to prevent Hannah from killing herself. He was a good enough character; of course every story has to have a narrator that virtually has no flaws... that's cool. But he was kind of just there. Hannah was the real focus of the book. She didn't really jump off the page for me, either. However, I've seen several people say that her reasons for killing herself "weren't even a big deal" and all these other things, and to that I say: who are we to judge? No one knows the extent of someone's problems or their feelings but themselves. Just because someone doesn't deal with problems the same way you would doesn't mean they're less inclined in any way. Not everyone has the same amount of strength to deal with tough situations.

That being said, I have to commend Asher for not going too over the top with the "reasons". Was it realistic? Maybe not. Was Hannah at fault for a lot of the things that happened to her? Definitely. But she dealt with realistic teen problems, and this book just showed how even the simplest actions can affect someone, and it's possible for it to build up into something that might end in a similar, if not same, situation. I wasn't too invested in the characters, it was more the plot itself and that message of the book overall that kept me invested.

The book got an extra half star from me because of the intricacy concerning the tape concept. The story-telling was done well enough and I kept reading on, interested to read about the next tape. I would've given it a whole star if I wasn't so creeped out by the fact that she sent out tapes for specific people; talk about being haunted for the rest of your life. I found myself asking what exactly the purpose was with the tapes. Was it to make them feel guilty? For revenge? That's a little cruel. And if that doesn't make these people feel like complete crap for a lifetime, knowing that they contributed to her death, then I don't know what would.

The plot is original and I sympathized with both Hannah and Clay, but I didn't love the book as much as I wanted to. It was recommended to me by a friend and I've seen a lot of people talking about it, so I decided to check it out. It only took me a couple of hours to read, and while I was entertained, I wasn't blown away or anything. The ending was also a little disappointing. I would have liked for it to be more fleshed out. It's a good, quick read, and I'm glad to have read it because it seemed to have impacted a lot of people, but I was conflicted. It does send a good message that people should be mindful to how they treat others, because you never know what kind of impact your actions can have on someone. I think I might have enjoyed it more if I listened to it via audio book; that would've been interesting considering the context of the story. Of course, if the plot sounds interesting (which it is) and you're the kind of person who is intrigued by these kinds of stories, then definitely check it out for yourself and be the judge.

My rating:

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Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Series: Mara Dyer
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release date: September 27, 2011
ISBN-10: 1442421762
ISBN-13: 9781442421769
Format: Hardcopy
Source: Purchased

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.



My Review:
Mara Dyer woke up in a hospital with no memory of what happened. She was involved in an accident that killed her best friend, her boyfriend, and his sister. She was the only survivor. To help ease her pain, her family packed up and moved to Miami, Florida to start a new life. While thinking she left the tragedy behind her, Mara starts having visions. It's possibly PTSD, but things start getting out of hand; visions come true and things around her get destroyed, just the way she sees them in her head.

I have conflicted feelings about this book. On the one hand, I loved the way it was told; Hodkin is quite the writer. But the biggest problem I had were the characters. Mara was an okay character; what stood out for me were her narrations. Hodkin gave her a great voice and I literally laughed out loud at some of the stuff Mara said internally because it reminded me of how I talk. She was also clearly disturbed and dark at times, which was understandable considering what had happened to her. But then she took a dive after getting to know Noah. It all became kind of Bella and Edward at that point. Noah was the typical bad boy love interest who had girls dropping their panties left and right, but he never gave a damn about anyone until he met Mara. There's pretentious and cocky, then there's Noah Shaw. He was scruffy and unkempt and a total prick because all the girls dig that, but it turned out he was actually filthy rich with a butler valet named Albert, spoke six languages, was well-read, smoked while he drove, had "la vie boheme" parents, massive daddy issues, and was British. Oh, and he drove a Prius. Of course he drove a Prius. It also bugged me that Mara's older brother, Daniel, seemed to always not have a problem with this guy taking his sister out and asking him to lie to their mom about stuff. It was especially unbelievable after Daniel being so protective of Mara in the beginning. It's like the whole story shifted into this weird place after Noah showed up. Then there was Mara's new friend Jamie... who was black. And Jewish. And gay. Who had a tongue ring. And dreads. Even he pointed out how token he was. Then he just disappeared... shame, because I actually wanted to know more about him. On the paranormal side, it was another story. I really liked how Hodkin pulled it off with Mara's ability and the descriptive way it was written. I just wished there were more details, but that's why it's a series, right?

Plot-wise, there were some random things near the end that just came out of nowhere. Stuff like strange rituals, animal sacrifices, blood consumption, gunshots, something about alligators and leeches and chickens (oh my)... I don't even know. I was confused throughout the book; it just lacked something. I think it would've warranted another star from me if Mara wasn't so obsessed with Noah. It seriously took up 70% of the book once he was introduced, and I'd probably be less confused if there was more focus on Mara's ability and why she had it, instead of Mara wanting to "have his babies" (no, seriously). It also wouldn't have hurt to expand on Noah's ability and why exactly they were meant to connect with each other. It was all so vague and disjointed; I think a lot of it had to do with the lack of differentiating between hallucinations and real-life. About a third into the book, I kept going, "what the heck is even happening?!"

But to be fair, in all my questioning, I couldn't stop reading. I literally could not put it down. I wouldn't rate this book 3.5 stars if I didn't like at least half of it. I kept on reading hoping my questions would be answered; they never really were, but wow, was I ever entertained. The style that Hodkin wrote in made me want to keep reading and I've already gone out and picked up the second installment. A+ for the cover, too. Look at it, it's absolutely gorgeous.

I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a compelling, creepy read with romantic overtones. If you're curious, definitely check this book out. Then come back and explain it all to me because I'm still confused.

My rating:

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Title: Alice in Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Series: White Rabbit Chronicles, Book 1
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Horror, Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: September 25, 2012
ISBN-10: 0373210582
ISBN-13: 9780373210589
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real...

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies...



My Review:
For most of her life, Alice Bell has lived under a close watch by her father. He insisted that evil was out there; that there were monsters. Their family were never allowed to go out at night, and she had been taught how to fight at a young age, in case anything happened. Alice never believed him... until one day, after insisting that the family go out to watch her sister's dance recital, a tragic accident happens that leaves Alice completely alone. It turns out her father wasn't lying. There were monsters, and Alice had seen them with her own eyes. Now, she's moved and living with her grandparents, goes by Ali, and is pushed into the ever-exciting world of high school, where's she's now free to live the life she had never really known, all the while keeping the secret of what she saw the night her family died. Little did she know that there might be others like her out there, and her life would change much more than she thought it would.I had just finished reading Snow Whyte and the Queen of Mayhem and was still reeling from it when I started this book. So I was going into it expecting another take, this time of one on my favourite tales, Alice in Wonderland. ...It has nothing to do with Alice in Wonderland. Well, there are some references and allusions mixed in, but don't expect it to be a modern-day version of Lewis Carroll's classic.

With that aside, I was quite pleased with how the story went. I didn't go crazy over it or anything, but I couldn't put it down. The writing style was engaging and it was all paced nicely. The titles for each chapter had a little reference to Wonderland, which was kind of cool. The zombies in this book were way different than the usual. I thought it was done well, it's just so different that it shocked me something fierce.

There were a lot of characters in this book. I just need to pick on a few... at length. Kat, Ali's new BFF annoyed the living hell out of me when they first met. Ali's entire family just died, she was still in the hospital, and this girl comes in and goes on and on about her "man-whore" of a boyfriend and this "hobag" named Rina. Then she became super awesome as the book went on and now she's probably my favourite. She was a great comic relief to this otherwise intense story, and I'm glad that there ended up being much, much more to her than meets the eye. Our protagonist, Alice, on the other hand... I liked her in the beginning, especially her relationship with her sister Emma, then I got over her pretty quickly. I understand her angst and pain over losing her family, but she became... how do I put this nicely... she became kind of a bitch. And in a short period of time, too. Like where did that come from? Then there was Cole, the love interest. There's a line in the book where Ali says that every girl likes Cole; if they say they don't, then they're lying. I can dig that, sure. But he was described as being muscley, bruised and tatted up with violet eyes... his friends were described in the same style (some even had house arrest anklets, which just had to be pointed out each time for each different guy, just to show how dangerous they were, obviously). The picture I drew up in my head made me laugh and at the same time hope I never ran into people that looked like that out of fear of having the living crap beat out of me for doing something as simple as blinking in their direction. Also, I get that Ali was very, very attracted to Cole, but the narrative when it came to him was 90% focused on how he looked. Other than him being super hot and oh-so-badass on paper, though? I don't know, nothing really stood out about him. He was also kind of a bossy-boots. Needed to relax a little bit. This always happens to me; I find the side characters more interesting than the mains when it comes to book series. There were the others in Cole's group like Mackenzie, Bronx, Frosty (no, seriously, that's actually what they call him), then Kat's friends Reeve, Poppy, Wren, and a whole slew of others. I hope that in the next books, we get to find out a bit more about some of them.

The first half of the book was very high school clique-y for a zombie book, but hey. It can't be all about fighting zombies. It was kind of nice to see Ali living a regular high school life after all the years of isolation because of her father's fears. There was a lot of romance, and it covered the beginning of her and Cole's relationship and followed their evolution at a nice pace. They had some pretty steamy scenes, too, which worked, but it was kind of shocking to have it all shoved in my face early on. It's not necessarily insta-love between them, but you could tell that they were going to be attached at the hip by the end of it. The second half was better in terms of action, and as always, the plot twists happened here. I really liked those twists in the story near the end; I would have never seen them coming at all. I won't mention them here, but if you're planning on picking it up, you'll know what I'm talking about when you get to them.

I really, really wanted to absolutely love this book. I saw so much hype surrounding it, the title was a play on Alice in Wonderland and the synopsis made it sound really awesome. But honestly, I was underwhelmed most of the time and there were some aspects of the book that just confused me. Showalter's take on zombies threw me off the most. Not in a bad way at all -- it was actually really creatively done and very refreshing. I guess I'm just so used to the flesh-eating, grave-crawling, decayed zombies that we're so used to hearing about. Also maybe a little too complex for my brain to handle (or that could just be from me reading it at night all the time right before bed. Pretty sure I actually fell asleep one night mid-read just because I was so tired). I think I set up such high expectations, as well. Note to self: try not to. If you're into teen paranormal romance stories, though, this would be for you. Overall, this was a quick read, held my interest, and was a nice take on the whole zombie genre.

My rating:

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Title: Order of the Dimensions
Author: Irene Helenowski
Genre: Sci-fi
Publisher: Irene Helenowski
Release date: September 14, 2012
ISBN-13: 9781105654442
Format: eBook
Source: Author

When Jane Kremowski first began her graduate studies in physics at Madison State University in Wisconsin, little did she know where her work would take her. Now, she is embroiled in a multitude of dimensions all leading to different outcomes. She and her colleagues therefore must act wisely in order to take and keep away the Order of Dimension from falling into the wrong hands for the sake of her loved ones.



My Review:
Jane Kremowski is a graduate physics student at Madison State University. She has been working on a device called the Multiverser, which, as the name implies, allows the user to visit alternate universes. The story follows Jane as she tries to stop the Multiverser from falling into the wrong hands, especially from one Dr. Anthony Zelov, who has ulterior motives and ideal dimensions involving our herione. Jane must stop Dr. Z from using the device to gain power, in order to save the innocent and especially her loved ones.The idea of the story can't get any more creative. I loved the multi-verse aspect and how it could change based on certain instances. And with a clever device like the Multiverser! It was all very complex and layered that I couldn't put it down because I wanted to know what would happen next and try to make sense of it all.

While the story was thrilling, the characters fell a little flat. The narrative was in the third person omniscient, but there wasn't much depth, so it was quite difficult to feel any connections with them. There was a lot of dialogue to keep the story moving, however. I just felt that it was missing something. The switching dimensions was also confusing at times, as great as a concept it was. It was a little hard to keep up with; I kept trying to get a feel of who these characters really were and found it quite difficult, as their personalities shifted depending on the dimension they were in. Overall, the character of Anthony Zelov was the real hook for me. He seemed lovely from the outside, but the guy's pretty twisted. He manipulates people in the most cunning ways and sometimes his plans for people got downright creepy. Plus his obsession with Jane borders on psychotic, which made him the classic and best kind of villain. But really, the guy is like Hitler, it's scary.

Helenowski described each dimension with great detail, but sometimes it was so much information that it felt kind of draggy in places. There were also a few grammatical errors, but that's nothing that a good editor can't fix. All in all, I thought Order of the Dimensions was an interesting read. I'd definitely recommend it to sci-fi fans, or just science fans in general. There's a vast time-travelling, science-y vocabulary all over this book, and while that's never been my strong point, I found myself pretty fascinated with the whole idea.

Thank you to Irene Helenowski for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

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