Darth Paper Strikes Back

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving (in the USA it was yesterday). If you are Black Friday shopping today (eek!) be safe and don't be a jerk! Shopping online is much more enjoyable and less bloody. Plus you can be around your family and eat leftovers while you shop. Anyways, review time.

Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger
Published: 8-23-11 by Amulet Books

NOT SUCH A LONG TIME AGO, IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL NOT SO FAR, FAR AWAY...

Something amazing happened. A weird kid named Dwight made an origami finger puppet of Yoda. (That wasn't the amazing thing--just typical Dwight weirdness.) the amazing thing was that Origami Yoda gave great advice. He could predict the date of a pop quiz, tell a guy if a girl likes him or not, and keep kids from embarrassing themselves in a dozen different ways. Most of the sixth graders were convinced he was using the Force. 

But now, a year later, it's a dark time at McQuarrie Middle School. Dwight has been suspended and may be expelled, which means no more Origami Yoda. Even worse, Darth Paper, a puppet created by Dwight's nemesis, Harvey, has taken Yoda's place. He spews insults and evil and just may be responsible for getting Dwight kicked out in the first place. Now the kids of McQuarrie are trying to build a case to save Dwight. This is their case file.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda was cute and funny (see review here), and I am very excited that it is now part of a series! There is a more defined plot in this book, and also more origami, which makes Star Wars nerds like me very happy. Well, it makes me happy - I'm just assuming other people are happy about it. 

Here are my Yoda and Darth Vader origamis! (Is that the plural of origami?)

• plot - Dwight / Origami Yoda's advice is mistaken for a threat and he gets suspended, so Tommy and his friends make another case file to get the school board to let Dwight come back to school. And despite the fact that there are more things going on in this book, it's still filled with random Yoda awesomeness!
• Darth Paper - While Harvey's kind of mean and is definitely mean to Dwight, Darth Paper is entertaining. Well, actually, Darth Paper is mean because he's just Harvey, but the fact that Darth Paper exists is entertaining to me. I found the arguments between Darth and Yoda very funny.
• stories - Again, Origami Yoda finds unique ways to solve problems in seventh grade daily life. There are exploding pizza bagels and silly school rules, and it's all pretty cool.

• another school? - What happens if Dwight goes to a different school than Tommy and everyone else? They are in desperate need of Jedi knowledge! What happens in the 3rd book? Where does the wookiee come from? (Yes, that is how you spell wookiee)

• So you've already heard about how Dwight got sent home after the whole "Prepare to meet your Doom" thing. Well, here's what happened right after it: DOOM! It was like the minute Dwight and Yoda were gone, everything they had helped us achieve did a nosedive into the sarlacc pit.            - Tommy pg. 97
• "If you strike down Dwight, he will grow more powerful than you can possibly imagine!" said Origami Yoda.         - pg. 130

4 robots

The Force is strong with this one

Acquired: swapped for on swap.com

The Iron Knight

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
Published: 10-26-11 by Harlequin Teen

"My name--my True Name--is Ashallayn' darkmyr Tallyn. I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her. My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl..."To cold faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase--a half human, half fey slip of a girl--smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the unwelcome company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end--a quest to find a way to honor his vow to stand by Meghan's side.

To survive in the Iron Realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. And along the way Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

THIS REVIEW IS GOING TO BE FILLED WITH SPOILERS! 
Here is my review of The Iron Queen (It was my 1st review ever!)

I really loved the first 3 books in this series, but this one was just ok. If you've read the summary then you know that this book focuses on Ash and Puck. I was looking forward to that since they are like oil and water and throwing them together for an entire book sounded awesome. But as much as I like them, they can't make up for the absence of Meghan, who is one of my favorite butt-kicking heroines.

• emotional roller coaster - It's been clear since the start of the series that Julie Kagawa knows how to mess with our emotions. It hurts a lot at times, but I still love the fact that I'm overly emotionally invested in what happens to these characters.
• Puck and Ash - It's always entertaining when these two are together, whether they're facing off or working together. It's a lot less lighthearted than what I remember from the other books, but just them being together constantly and the possibility of conflict there is exciting. It's the main thing that made me read this book. 
• journey - The entire journey to get Ash to Meghan is, of course, filled with insane obstacles. The creatures and the horrors that inhabit the NeverNever are so clever and challenging. I really enjoy seeing what crazy kind of thing will pop up next.

THIS IS WHERE THE SPOILERS ARE! Seriously, if you plan to read this book then skip this entire section and go look at the quotes!

• flashback - There's a long flashback to when Ash wasn't just a moody bad boy, but a truly heartless ice prince playing games with the hearts of mortals. It was horrible to read through and that chapter felt so much longer than the others. Maybe it was needed to drive home the point of how awful Ash used to be, but I hated reading about it.
• flash forward - This was something that bothered me possibly even more than Ariella. There is an agonizingly long 2 chapters where Ash and Meghan have a perfect life together. They even have a son. But reading it was like waiting for pinata to burst. I couldn't concentrate on what was going on with Ash's struggle of being mortal while Meghan never aged. My brain was too distracted with poking my emotions with a giant this-can't-be-real stick. I accept that it was necessary in order to show Ash what his mortality would be like, but it hurt my brain and my heart.
• reunited - Meghan and Ash are only actually together for the teasingly short epilogue that lasts all of about 5 pages. Plus, Ash still has some fey magic in him - which he suggests might be enough to keep him from getting old. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm glad they have a happy ending. I nearly cried at the end of the Iron Queen. But if Ash still has fey magic in him, then what sacrifice is he making? He won't have to accept his weakened mortal body. He may not have to get old and die while his queen remains forever young. He's basically the same except that he gets to be with Meghan in the Iron Realm, and that feels like a cop-out to me.
• Ariella - There's already a very significant love triangle going on between Puck, Meghan, and Ash. Resurrecting the love of the past is gonna complicate things quite a bit. So as Ash fights to get back to Meghan, now he has to struggle with Ariella suddenly being all "just kidding guys I was never dead!" Plus the fact that Puck was also in love with her. Geez - what is with these guys? Aren't there enough women in the NeverNever for each of them to have a girlfriend? Poor Puck can never catch a break with the ladies. Even the ones you thought were dead and now aren't dead still prefer ice-boy. I would have preferred if Ariella wasn't a "necessary" part of Ash's quest. All of his internal struggling with Meghan vs. Ariella seemed pointless to me. Obviously, he was going to choose Meghan.

• "I'm going to kill you," I said softly, and Puck's eyebrows rose. "Not tonight. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon. Our past is catching up to us, Goodfellow, and this feud has gone on long enough."       - Ash  pg. 103
• More strange objects floated by us: love letters and wristwatches, stuffed animals and limp balloons. Once, Puck reached down and snatched up a faded copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream, grinned like an idiot and tossed it back into the river.    - pg. 103

3 robots

Puck and Ash are on an amazing quest, but it's not as entertaining as I had hoped and was weighed down by flashing back and forward in time

Acquired: swapped for on swap.com

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Published: 10-12-10 by Henry Holt and Co.

Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.

Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else. 

With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

I loved this book! It's about a college-aged protagonist and it doesn't center around a romance, which is something that's way harder to find than I ever thought it would be. This book has it all: some paranormal, some romance (well...I'm not sure if romance is the right word), tons of action, and it's filled with comedy. 

• Sam - A sarcastic college dropout with a crappy minimum wage job and a smart mouth, Sam is awesome. He's funny even in the strangest of circumstances and all of his reactions to what's going on feel realistic.
• humor - Even beheadings are hilarious happenings in this book! Seriously, funny beheadings. Usually paranormal YA books take themselves pretty seriously and everything that happens is pretty dramatic. In this book, dramatic crazy things happen, but the mood is ridiculously lighthearted (in a good way). There are funny comments constantly.
• Ashley - Ashley is actually a pretty big reason I read this book out of all the books on my TBR list. I read the free ebook, Necromancer, which includes an excerpt from the book and the story Death and Waffles, which is about Ashley. I love waffles and this story has waffles and a dead girl with a serious hankering for them. She's the one who guides souls to wherever they go after death and she pops in and out of Sam's life and helps him out with a side a snark. 
• Sam's friends - When Sam disappears, his friends don't just freak out - they freak out and find ways to help rescue him, even though they are just normal people who either work in fast food, or were recently separated from their body. That's how awesome they are. Their freaking out is very entertaining and realistic, which makes me happy.
• butt-kicking - I love reading about action, but I'm not a fan of nonstop confusing action. This book has the perfect amount of butt-kicking, which is awesome, but still manages to be funny. It's action-filled and involves vicious lawn gnomes and skateboards used as weapons.

• basement - The only part of this book I wasn't a huge fan of was when Sam was trapped, for a large part of the book, in a basement. Of course, even then there were extremely entertaining situations, but I found that Sam was funnier when not confined to one place.

• "You don't have Hitler in your basement or anything, do you? Tabloids are always claiming he's still alive. Him and Elvis. Because I can't condone that sort of thing. The Hitler thing, not Elvis. I've got nothing against the King."       - Sam   pg. 101 (ebook)
• Ashley looked quickly about the room before she ran over to me. Despite her experience, I think my ability to get into new and life-threatening situations shocked her. Personally, I was hoping it was a phase that I would grow out of.       - pg. 287 (ebook)

5 robots

Extremely entertaining and hilarious story, highly recommended for fans of anything paranormal

1. Bass Ackwards and Belly Up

2. The Last Summer (of You and Me)

3. Footfree and Fancyloose

4. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Acquired: bought (ebook version)

Zompacolypse 2012 Winner!

Hey guys!

Thank you to everybody who entered the Zompacolypse 2012 giveaway! And a special thank you to everyone who downloaded Neil Gaiman's story from Audible.com - we helped them donate over $30 to education just by doing that :) 

The winner was DeeDee!

She chose to receive Enshadowed (sequel to Nevermore) and it's currently on its way to her.

In book reviewing news, I'm working on typing up some reviews, and then I'm going to go back and do some 1 sentence reviews on books I read awhile ago and forgot the details of. This is an idea I'm stealing from Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl, which is a blog that you should go check out by clicking on her name! (And when I say stealing I mean doing something similar and giving her credit for her awesomeness)

Zompacolypse 2012 Giveaway!

Welcome to the ZOMPACOLYPSE!
This event is being hosted by Paranormal Wastelands

Before we get to the giveaway, there is a free short story by the always awesome Neil Gaiman for everybody! Every time someone downloads the free story from their website, Audible donates $1 for education to DonorsChoose, so spread the word. 

Click here to download Click-Clack the Rattlebag free from Audible.com.

I am giving away ONE of the books seen below. The first 6 are creepy books I've enjoyed and the last 4 are creepy books I want to read.

1. Anna Dressed in Blood - Kendare Blake

2. Meridian - Amber Kizer  (review here)

3. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride

4. Bad Girls Don't Die - Katie Alender 

5. Midnighters #1: The Secret Hour - Scott Westerfeld

6. Peeps - Scott Westerfeld

7. Enshadowed (Nevermore #2) - Kelly Creagh  (review of Nevermore here)

8. The Name of the Star - Maureen Johnson

9. The Turning - Francine Prose

10. Ten - Gretchen McNeil

The winner will have their choice of ONE of those 10 books, which will come from the Book Depository. This giveaway will end at midnight on Nov. 1st (the night of Halloween). You are not required to be a follower but you will get extra points if you are! GOOD LUCK!

UPDATE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS INTERNATIONAL AS LONG AS THE BOOK DEPOSITORY SHIPS TO YOU! Thanks to Dita Skarste for asking about it - can't believe I forgot!

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I Know It's Over

I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin
Published: 9-23-08 by Random House

PURE. UNPLANNED. PERFECT. Those were Nick’s summer plans before Sasha stepped into the picture. With the collateral damage from his parents’ divorce still settling and Dani (his girl of the moment) up for nearly anything, complications are the last thing he needs. All that changes, though, when Nick runs into Sasha at the beach in July. Suddenly he’s neck-deep in a relationship and surprised to find he doesn’t mind in the least. But Nick’s world shifts again when Sasha breaks up with him. Then, weeks later, while Nick’s still reeling from the breakup, she turns up at his doorstep and tells him she’s pregnant. Nick finds himself struggling once more to understand the girl he can’t stop caring for, the girl who insists that it’s still over.

I was interested in reading this book because it's a teen pregnancy story from the guy's point of view, which is something I've never read before. I learned that if it's a book from a male POV where sex takes place, I should read reviews 1st. Teenage guy protagonists aren't my favorite.

• abortion - I do have to give the author credit for exploring abortion as an option for Sasha. No matter how you feel about abortion, it's a realistic touch. I don't know what the laws are in Canada though, which is where this book takes place.

• Nick - The only thing motivating most of the decisions in Nick's life is sex. He has a friend he's not into, but she's willing to do sexual things with him, so he decides that's perfectly fine - ideal even. Yuck! I disliked Nick. I couldn't relate to him, and his decisions were generally terrible.
• Sasha - It's extremely hard to read about Sasha because she is incapable of deciding what she wants. She is back and forth over whether or not she wants a relationship with Nick for the entire time they are together. She is not a strong-willed character in the least. I was too busy being mad at her to care about what she wanted.
• all the parents in this book - Nick's parents are finishing up their divorce. Nick's dad is ok in one scene - when he really listens to Nick and helps get him what he needs. Besides that, he's a jerk. He gives his son cash for condoms instead of talking to him about his relationship. Nick's mom barely reacts to the fact that her son got a girl pregnant. Sasha's dad decides to stop talking to his daughter. What kind of support is that? Yeah, sure, be upset and angry - but to stop talking to your pregnant daughter is just about the least helpful thing I can think of.
• decision - When Sasha decided what she was going to do in regards to the baby, it seemed so quick and easy. The way Sasha was portrayed, I expected her to agonize over a decision and take awhile to decide what the right choice was for her. Then Nick doesn't question that decision, or try to give Sasha his opinion. I don't even know if he had an opinion.

• "Anyway, high school is just a stopover," Holland added. "It has nothing to do with what's really happening."   "Let's hope not," I sad grimly. Holland cocked her head and gave me a funny look. "These are the best years of your life," she said in an auditorium voice. Then the phone rang and she snapped it up and repeated it into the phone before pressing the receiver to her ear.              - pg. 73-74   Holland + Nick
• "This is another test isn't it? Like Halloween." My eyes were burning from the inside. I hated that she could do that to me. I was trying to be careful with her and she was breaking up with me. "So how does this one work? If we don't talk for three months, you'll be my friend?"             - pg. 120   Nick + Sasha

2 robots

A character-driven book in which I disliked all of the characters.

Acquired: swapped for on swap.com

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Published: 3-1-2010 by Amulet Books

Meet Dwight, a sixth-grade oddball. Dwight does a lot of weird things, like wearing the same T-shirt for a month or telling people to call him "Captain Dwight." This is embarrassing, particularly for Tommy, who sits with him at lunch every day. 

But Dwight does one cool thing. He makes origami. One day he makes an origami finger puppet of Yoda. And that's when things get mysterious. Origami Yoda can predict the future and suggest the best way to deal with a tricky situation. His advice actually works, and soon most of the sixth grade is lining up with questions.

Tommy wants to know how Origami Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. Is Yoda tapping into the Force? It's crucial that Tommy figure out the mystery before he takes Yoda's advice about something VERY IMPORTANT that has to do with a girl.

This is Tommy's case file of his investigation into "The Strange Case of Origami Yoda."

This is a middle-grade book. I don't usually read or review middle-grade books, but I couldn't resist the combination of Star Wars and origami. Just look at that adorable Yoda! I'm making an exception for this series of books because I really enjoyed this one. 

• references to Star Wars - Obviously, this book is based on the awesomeness that is Star Wars. There are a ton of really clever and subtle Star Wars references throughout this book that made me laugh because they were so appropriate for the situation. 
• Dwight + Yoda - Dwight is the weird kid, the one nobody understands. We only get to know him through the other kids' stories, and they only really talk to him when they want Yoda's advice. I think this is pretty accurate 6th grade behavior. Dwight is hilarious!
• POV's - All of the kids' stories were written in a fresh voice. Each one had a clear personality and they were easy to tell apart. It's been a long time since I was in 6th grade, but I was impressed with how realistic and universal the situations in the book are.

• Then he goes over to the next table, and the next, and pretty soon he has told everybody in the library to learn the Twist. Then he left the library, apparently to spread Yoda's "wisdom" to the rest of the school.         - pg. 35   Sarah
• As far as I can see, all this story proves is that Dwight is crazy as a bald gorilla. I was there when he was doing that covering-his-mouth thing, and it was totally embarrassing. Why does he have to sit at our table? Why wouldn't they let me kick him out?       - pg. 73-74   Harvey

4 robots

A cute and entertaining take on life in middle school - plus a Jedi master. The book includes instructions to make your own Origami Yoda!

Acquired: swapped for on swap.com

Wither

Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Published: 3.22.2011 by Simon & Schuster

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. 

A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can't bring herself to hate him as much as she'd like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband's strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted on day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape - before her time runs out?

You guys. ALL THE FEELS. I had to stop reading this book in public because it messed with my emotions so much. It's like a a roller coaster of emotions...in a tornado of emotions. Everything from the plot to the characters to the twists and turns had me sucked in and completely emotionally invested. SPOILER FREE REVIEW!

• world building - This is the 1st dystopian that I've read that truly sent shivers down my spine. The world felt so utterly real. It was entrancing and terrifying - every little bit of it. Each detail was important, and Rhine's emotions were so raw and understandable. Seeing this world through her eyes was intensely realistic. 
• characters - Each and every character was so complicated. I felt like I understood and sympathized with even the nastiest characters at some point during the book. Jenna, Cecily, Linden...I got everyone's motivations, even if I despised the person most of the time.
• plot twists - The eerie and tense atmosphere is a slow simmer in this book. Each new discovery is a layer that blurs your picture of who each character is and how this world operates. Every time I thought I had a handle on the direction the story was going, something else would happen to throw me off.
• more emotions - Everything was so intense and tangled that I can't even describe it properly. Every chapter reached out and punched me in the gut, but I loved every second of it. 

• Rhine's flaws - I thought Rhine was a great character. But so much time was spent either getting to know her through flashbacks, or getting introduced to her new world and her thoughts that I feel her flaws were left out. Does Rhine have any flaws? Something that can be seen in both flashbacks and the present? She doesn't seem to have any kind of character defect, while everyone else in the story clearly does.

• I wonder what would happen if I ran - if Gabriel or one of the others would stop me. But ultimately it's my fear of what my new husband might do that keeps me in place, because surely if I ran, I wouldn't make it far before I was caught. And then - what? I'd be locked in my room again, probably, forever marred as the one who can't be trusted.          - Rhine  pg. 50  (ARC version)
• I could tell him right now. I could tell him that Jenna's sisters were executed in that van, and that the last thing I'd ever wanted to be was a bride. But would be believe me? And if he believed me, would he let me go?           - Rhine   pg. 222-223   (ARC version)

5 robots!

Whenever I start thinking about this book I just can't stop - it's so tense and creepily beautiful. Highly recommended!

Acquired: swapped for on swap.com

Saving June

Saving June by Hannah Harrington
Published: 11.22.2011 by Harlequin Teen

Everyone's sorry, but no one can explain why.

Harper Scott's older sister, June, took her own life a week before high school graduation, leaving Harper devastated. So when her divorcing parents decide to split up June's ashes, Harper steals the urn and takes off cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going - California.

Enter Jake Tolan, a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession...and an unknown connection to June. When he insists on joining them, Harper's just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanor and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what Harper needs. Except...Jake's keeping a secret that has the power to turn her life upside down - again.

I can't resist a roadtrip book, especially one with a mysterious boy. This isn't a light and fluffy book, as you can tell from the summary. Harper deals with a lot on her journey across the country, between her sister's suicide and her parents' divorce, but this book is wonderful. There's just enough levity to balance out the heavy stuff without taking away from it.

• Harper - Harper is an excellent mix of sarcastic, angry, and understandably shaken up. Yes, she feels a bit guilty for leaving her mom behind (and she should), but I love the fact that she was angry enough at her parents to set her plan in motion and follow it through. Her keeping people at arms-length while she was dealing in her own way felt right.
• Jake - Jake is just badboy enough. Because of the kind of book this is, we can assume from the beginning that he has a heart of gold, but he throws us off from his 1st encounter with Harper. The slow unfolding of who Jake is, what he meant to June, and what he means to Harper is beautiful and real. Not ideal, but real.
• roadtrip - Who doesn't love roadtrip books? This one has it all: purpose, drama, and fun.

• comparing - I don't know what it's like to have sister or an older sibling, but Harper's constant thinking about how perfect June was and how flawed Harper herself is. It was depressing. It was kind of strange to me, how Harper was still comparing herself to "perfect" June, when every day it became more and more clear that her sister's life was anything but perfect.
• boy crazy BFF - Harper's best friend Laney was a great character, but why why why why why does every BFF in a YA book have to be the boy obsessed, sex-crazed girl? Laney wasn't bad by any means, but she's a character with little development beyond her interactions with guys. We don't get to know her besides that. 

• It's the first time he's used my first name. I hadn't even been completely positive that he knew what it was. We've never exactly had a formal introduction - how would that have gone? Hi, I'm Harper, the sister who didn't die. You must be Jake, the guy said dead sister tutored, the guy who burned here the mix CD she was listening to when she overdosed on Mom's sleeping pills, the guy who blackmailed his way into joining our road trip for reasons I am none too clear on.         - pg. 84 
• Jake Tolan: Secret Overboard Tipper, at least when it comes to overworked, yet resilient, bubbly waitresses with bad dye jobs. Who would've thought?      - pg. 165

4 robots

I devoured this book. The tone was perfect and the mystery of June's relationship with Jake, and Harper's developing relationship with him was great.

Acquired: swapped for on swap.com

The Nature of Jade

The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti
Published: 2-27-2007 by Simon Pulse

I am not my illness. "Girl with Anxiety," "Trauma of the Week" - no. I hate stuff like that. Everyone, everyone has their issue. But the one thing my illness did make me realize is how necessary it is to ignore the dangers of living in order to live. And how much trouble you can get into if you can't.

Jade DeLuna is too young to die. She knows this, and yet she can't quite believe it, especially when the terrifying thoughts, loss of breath, and dizzy feelings come. Since being diagnosed with Panic Disorder, she's trying her best to stay calm, and visiting the elephants at the nearby zoo seems to help. That's why Jade keeps the live zoo webcam on in her room, and that's where she first sees the boy in the red jacket. A boy who stops to watch the elephants. A boy carrying a baby.

His name is Sebastian, and he is raising his son alone. Jade is drawn into Sebastian's cozy life with his son and his activist grandmother on their Seattle houseboat, and before she knows it, she's in love. With this boy who has lived through harder times than anyone she knows. This boy with a past.

Jade knows the situation is beyond complicated, but she hasn't felt this safe in a long time. She owes it all to Sebastian, her boy with the great heart. Her boy who is hiding a terrible secret. A secret that will force Jade to decide between what is right, and what feels right.

This is a reread for me. I read this a few years ago, but I wanted to read it again because now I also suffer from a panic disorder and I was curious to see if I related more to Jade than I did on the 1st read. It's a pretty good book - not amazing and a bit predictable, but still a good read. Overall, the same things stood out to me the 2nd time around.

• anxiety - Jade had a lot of anxiety, and she had panic attacks. This is something I relate to, so reading about a character like Jade was encouraging. I thought that Jade's anxiety was realistic and liked how it didn't take over the plot of the book.
• Sebastian + Jade - These 2 were an adorable couple - each going through their own things and cautiously curious about each other, but willing to put themselves out there. The fact that Sebastian had a child was handled so well too. His son was a constant presence and never ignored when he wasn't around. He's a big part of Sebastian's life and was treated as such.
• Oliver - Jade's little brother wasn't in much of the book, but he was the only member of the family that I could stand. His interactions with his sister were always nice, light-hearted, but understanding and supportive. 

• Jade's parents - Jade's parents, especially her mom, annoyed me. Her mother was off acting like a teenager and her father just decided that if he ignored it, it would stop. I wanted him to find his courage and talk to his wife before things escalated, but he didn't.
• Sebastian's lie - At one point in the story, Sebastian lies to Jade. There are so many reasons I hated what he did: a major lie in a new relationship just destroys any hope of trust, it was a really important thing that he should have come clean to Jade about, and he put his son in a bad situation.
• Abe - Jade's therapist Abe was a cool guy. He really was - but that's part of the issue. Therapists are meant to have a really professional relationship with their clients in order to help them, and he and Jade's interactions just struck me as being a little too friendly and a bit off...like she should have been having the conversation with a best friend instead of this man she sees once a week.

• I can see everyone's reflections in the car windows. Mom, with her hair that has gone from inappropriately frivolous to somehow ashamed; Dad with his disappointed profile; Oliver, with his faraway face, lost in another place where children fought beasts way bigger than themselves and where potions fixed the worst evils.       - pg. 82
• If she knew I would wear what she suggested to meet a guy of an undefined age who I had just met, who has a baby, she would have strangled me with her new leather belt she's just also offered to lend me.      - pg. 113    Jade  + her mom

3 robots

A good book that deals with a lot of heavy things without ever focusing too much on any one of them

Acquired: bought