I'm still working on reading from the list of 2011 Nebula Award Nominees for (science fiction & fantasy) books in the Young Adult & Novel categories. I don't know if I'll finish in time for the May 19 announcement of the winners, but I've discovered some fantastic books that I might otherwise never have found.
Weekly Reading With Chime and Ultraviolet
Chime, Franny Billingsley. Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death.
The main character, Briony, is so down on herself, that it made reading this book hard. She is full of self-loathing and is so sure about things in a way that teenagers think they know every damned thing when in fact they know nothing. So - I didn't like her as she annoyed me greatly - and how can I like a book where I don't like the main character?! The pacing was a bit slow at times - a little past the half way point, I was getting impatient for something to happen - but I was rewarded with the unraveling of the many threads of a plot that wove together beautifully ... threads that were only hinted at came into play. So ... I liked this book, might even dare say I really liked it in the end. (Amazon
Ultraviolet, R.J. Anderson. Once upon a time there was a girl who was special. This is not her story. Unless you count the part where I killed her. Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison's condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can't explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori - the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that's impossible. Right?
What a gem of a book. It starts write out with a mystery, which just gets more intriguing as it goes on - and then BAM - there is a twist that I just didn't expect that takes things in entirely different direction from where it seems the book was headed ... and I was like, wowza! But, it felt like the author didn't fully commit to this new plot twist, and it felt like there needed to be more ... more of an explanation (what we were offered felt a bit contrived to me), and more people involved. And the ending was ... well, I wanted more of a detailed resolution with the best friend - and probably a little more "happily ever after". But that's just my expectation - and overall I would definitely recommend this as a light fantasy/ science fiction read. (Amazon
*** If you're interested in seeing the other books I've read so for for the Nebulas, check out => Reading the 2011 Nebula Awards Nominees {2012 Reading List} ***
Currently Reading and Next
Firebird, Jack McDevitt. Forty-one years ago the renowned physicist Chris Robin vanished. Before his disappearance, his fringe science theories about the existence of endless alternate universes had earned him both admirers and enemies. Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath discover that Robin had several interstellar yachts flown far outside the planetary system where they too vanished. And following Robin's trail into the unknown puts Benedict and Kolpath in danger. (Amazon
The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson. Elisa is the chosen one. But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king - a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. (Amazon
My reading has been a lot of Fantasy books lately (although most of them are pretty mild). What type of books are you reading these days?
- Inspired by It's Monday, What Are You Reading @ Book Journey.
Oooh, I really want to read both Chime and Ultraviolet! And I love plot twists but that's kind a sad to know that the author of Ultraviolet didn't fully commit to it... Hmm, I'll most likely still check it out, though!