Double-Trouble Monday: Episode 1

From now on, I’m going to be doing “Double-Trouble Monday” posts, which are basically going to be two short reviews and what I’m currently reading. I don’t always fully review what I’m reading, so I’ll probably be putting these up from time to time. Watch out! :)

Skinned  by Robin Wasserman

Price: $9.99 (paperback) from Amazon

Summary:

Lia Kahn was perfect: rich, beautiful, popular -- until the accident that nearly killed her. Now she has been downloaded into a new body that only looks human. Lia will never feel pain again, she will never age, and she can't ever truly die. [more]

Review: I almost loved this one. In fact, Skinned really reminded me of the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield (author of the recently released Leviathan, for anyone who’s been hiding under a rock), but that’s probably because of the cover and technologically-advanced, futuristic setting; the “skinned” scenario was definitely different. In a time when technology can cut a dying human’s brain into minuscule slivers and transfer all data into a machine, Skinned unfolds as a girl who was supposed to die in a car crash, Lia, is given the body of a never-aging, agile, beautiful... machine. Obviously, chaos ensues as she tries to assimilate back into her old life, since her adjustment works out about as well as a fish does on dry ground. Lia’s conflicts felt very real to me and, told in first person, the writing concise and the voice strong. What prevented me from actually loving this book was that sometimes I just wished Lia would get over herself; it’s hard, but deal with it, sorry. Overall, I had a difficult time putting this one down, and I am definitely anticipating the sequel, Crashed!

Rating:

Streams of Babel by Carol Plum-ucci

Price: $11.56 (hardcover) from Amazon

Summary:

In a New Jersey suburb, two women die of brain aneurysms within twenty-four hours--events that cause the government to suspect that a terrorist cell has unleashed a deadly biochemical agent. With each glass of water they drink, the people of Trinity Falls are poisoning themselves. [more]

Review: Before I start, I should probably say that I might be biased here. I have recently embarked on a journey of self-discovery, and found, unhappily, that I seem to be a complete girly-girl that needs to have romance in everything. So maybe terrorist books aren’t my thing. However, on that note, the terrorist plot in Streams of Babel was intriguing and a creepy prospect that I sincerely hope no terrorist will carry out anywhere near me or the United States. The whole terrorist story was very well developed and complex. Before you read, be aware that this book isn't really a mystery, more like you already know who the culprits are from page one and, from there, it’s the chase of the villains and dealing with the victims of the bacteria. A major complaint I had against the book was that there were so many different voices telling the story. Just when I was about to get into one person’s story and wanted to know what would happen next to him/her, the narrator would skip to another character and so on. Annoying, yes; Innovative, maybe. But basically, I just had a hard time connecting to the characters that way. And, just because I have to include this, a quote that made me smile:

“Go get a birth certificate before I kick a second crack in your ass.”

Rating:

Currently Reading:

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

on page 80 out of 278

-- I love the cover! The author has a beautiful way of seeing and describing things, but her style is a bit hard for me to read. I’m hoping I’ll get more used to it as the story progresses.

And, I just got Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick today, and I've read about half of it so far. I'll force myself to put it aside for Wintergirls, but I'm super excited to read it. Hope you guys are reading some equally exciting books this week!

Author Interviews (extra contest entry)

First, I want to say please bear with me. I'm still new to all this blogging business, but I'm hoping to start doing author interviews soon. The only major, extremely daunting problem for me is how to get about doing it.

Sooo, I was wondering if I could get some help. I basically have two questions, one that requires some experience amd one that doesn't:

1. What author would you like to see interviewed?
2. When and how did you start interviewing? (ie. popularity of your blog, approach to the author)

If you answer, I'll love you forever and give you an extra entry to the contest! Any other advice is loved too. :)

Review: Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (October 1, 2009)

Hardcover: 272 pages

Price: $12.23 from Amazon

Summary:

Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls:

Goblin Fruit: In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?
Spicy Little Curses: A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.
Hatchling: Six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?

Rating:

Review: Lips Touch: Three Times was definitely a welcomed break from the usual. Laini Taylor’s take on myths from other cultures was interesting and unique, and I could tell a lot of research and effort was put into the subject. I actually wasn’t very familiar with even one out of the three myths/cultural beliefs mentioned in the book, so this book definitely gets extra points for going somewhere else.

The main objection I had about the book was probably that it was too short. Don’t be deceived by the back summary, which is actually just about the first story, lasting all of fifty pages. The stories get progressively longer, but, all in all, the stories were a lot shorter than I expected. And I would have liked it a bit more if the author had tied up with more decisive endings. I really enjoyed the last two stories and their endings, but the first one was so open-ended that it could have gone in a million different directions. Some might find that appealing, but it just made me annoyed and frustrated because I really wanted to know what would happen to Kizzy, the main character of story number one. Though I suppose that can be interpreted as a tribute to how engrossing the story was.

On the plus side of having short stories, it allowed room for about five pages of dark, gorgeous images by Jim Di Bartolo, Laini’s husband, at the beginning of each story, depicting key events in the following story. I loved the black drawings with minimalistic color, and I could have loved a whole book of those drawings alone. The text was also beautified, with a stylish gray chapter title and swirls around the beginning letter of each chapter. I simply adore beautiful books, so this one will definitely be going on my shelf and repeatedly taken down, not primarily because of re-reading, but so I can stare at the gorgeous thing that is mine.

Bottom Line: I loved the concept of Lips Touch: Three Times, how the kiss always served as the catalyst for dramatic change. The stories themselves, though short, were very intriguing and insightful, and I enjoyed reading as Laini shaped mystical stories around the legends and culture of various areas around the world. The writing wasn’t especially stand-out to me and it occasionally used some complex words that I don’t think most people will know (ie. novitiate), so while I might re-read it occasionally, I don’t envision myself re-reading this a lot. However, if you want to observe a beautiful book for prolonged periods of time without the store clerk staring oddly at you, I say buy it and you (hopefully) won’t be disappointed. Overall, Lips Touch: Three Times is an engrossing compilation of exotic fairy tales, and the beautifully woven, intricate web of love, loss, and slight touch of magic left me wanting more.