Cate Protects Her Sisters in BORN WICKED by Jessica Spotswood

So my dad is a big YA reader and he often asks me for recommendations. Last week I texted him, "Loved Born Wicked, it's like Little Women if the girls were witches." But I realized that assessment doesn't come close to describing how amazing this book is.

In Born Wicked, Jessica Spotswood has created a brilliant and believable alternate history. New England was once governed by witches, but by the late 1800's the Brotherhood  rules the province. Women have been stripped of all rights and witchcraft is the highest crime, punished by life-long imprisonment. Before their seventeenth birthday, girls must declare their intention to either marry or join the Sisterhood, a convent of devout women.

Cate Cahill is approaching her seventeenth birthday and in making her choice she thinks only of what will keep her sisters safe. Because Cate and her two younger sisters are witches. Since their mother's death it has fallen to Cate to protect them from the Brotherhood and ensure their magic remains a secret. But when Cate falls for Finn, the subversive scholar, Cate must choose between love and safety.

I love the relationship between the three sisters. The affection and rivalry between them feels so real. I'm also a fan of the hot kissing scenes (closets! gazebos! feathers!) and Finn is definitely a swoon-worthy love interest. Oh and I loved the ending! Actually, it broke my heart, but it broke my heart so effectively. I can't wait for the sequel.

I'm most impressed with how Spotswood built the suspense and secrecy. Among the corsets, gas lamps, and horse-drawn carriages the tension was as thick as in any spy novel. Cate is compelled to protect her sisters and cannot trust anyone with their secret. Each time her magic is revealed, my heart hammered in my chest, because it was inevitable someone would betray her and every character has secrets of their own.

The Brotherhood is also eerily familiar in today's political climate. Watching Congress hearings on contraception, the Brotherhood's supremacy doesn't seem so far-fetched. And that is Spotswood's brilliance. She's given us a fun novel in a historical setting with magic, kissing, and political undertones so subtle I didn't really think about them until days after I'd finished the book. Born Wicked is first and foremost a magical and romantic read, but like all great novels, I know I'll find a lot more to think about upon rereading it.

Oh, and for those in the Houston area, Jessica will be at Blue Willow Bookshop on Wednesday 2/22 as part of the Breathless Reads Tour. I can't wait to meet her!

Charlotte Shines in A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL by Suzanne Young

So I want to gush and tell you about how beautiful this book is, but I have this strict No-Spolier policy.  Actually it's more of a moral-code than a policy, but still.  The ending is one of my favorite parts of this story, but I'm not going to tell you about it, except to say I loved how Suzanne Young didn't wimp out in A Need So Beautiful.  She set up a battle between light and dark and followed her own rules.  I might have already said too much. I'll stop.

Ok, so since I'm not going to talk about the ending, I'll tell you about my other favorite part of A Need So Beautiful-- Harlin.  See what I did there?  We just switched from a meaningful spiritual ending to a hot guy on a motorcycle.  I'm not the type to usually develop crushes on fictional characters. First, it makes me feel pervy to crush on minors, and second, even though I'm still waiting for my Hogwarts acceptance letter, I DO remember they're not real. Most of the time.

But Harlin? It's hard not to crush on the bad boy with a good heart.  Charlotte and Harlin's romance is so perfect because not only is it hot, but I beleived they're truly in love.  So often YA romances are either about two people who fall in love and know each other well but never touch, or two people who get hot and heavy but never talk.  Charlotte and Harlin's relationship is a realistic blend.  They care about each other and share hopes and fears, but also share some smokin's scenes.

Young started out as a contemporary writer and her strength there shines through.  Although I liked the unique paranormal element, the realtionships are the strength of this story.  And not just between Chralotte and Harlin.  Charlotte's relationship with her troubled best-friend is both heart-breaking and inspiring.  I also might have gotten a little choked up at the scenes with Charlotte's foster family.

I'll definitely be reading the sequel, A Want so Wicked when it comes out this summer.

Give Away!
Oh, and I haven't blogged for two weeks, so to make good on my promise, I'm giving away a copy of A Need So Beautiful.  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post before 12pm Central time on Friday 11/4/11 saying you want a book  and I'll randonly pick one lucky winner to receive a copy.

Winner!  Random.org chose #1, so that means Karen is our winner!  Congratulations, Karen!

Paolo Bacigalupi writes real women in SHIP BREAKER

You don't need me to tell you Ship Breaker is an amazing novel.  It won the 2011 Printz Award and was a National Book Award Finalist.  A lot of people much smarter than me agree Paolo Bacigalupi has written a masterpiece.

Ship Breaker has some of the best world-building I've ever read.  You might expect an epic post-apocalyptic sci-fi pirating novel to be a little far-fetched, but the world Bacigalupi has created felt so real, gritty, and complete I never questioned any aspect of the complex setting.

Nailer is a perfectly flawed hero.  He's loyal and kind, yet fierce.  I was swept away by the story and captivated by Bacgalupi's prose.  The danger and desperation of Bright Sands Beach and Nailer's life of poverty and abuse felt so real, I ached for him to escape.

But more than just an excellent story, I was impressed with the women in this book.  Bacigalupi created a stark dichotomy between rich and poor, or swank and ship breaker, and in doing so he was careful to craft whole and mutli-faceted female characters.  So when Nailer meets Nita, their differences aren't about gender, but about economics and culture.

So often stories that follow the hero's journey have oversimplified archetypal females: the mother, the witch, and the sex-object love interest.  Bright Sands Beach is full of smart, tough, hard-working women who are fleshed out as complex characters.  There's smart and loyal Pima, Nailer's best friend.  There's Sadna, who acts like a mother to Nailer but also beats the crap out of the villain.  There's Sloth the betrayer, and Blue Eyes the crafty cult-member.

Even Nita who is weaker than the other girls because she's grown up in the lap of luxury and needs to be rescued a few times, is awfully tough and pretty smart.  She helps to save herself like any self-respecting heroine should and she has an awesome line at the end basically telling Nailer to suck it up.

I also loved how Bacigalupi crafts the romance.  Nailer's culture values hard-work and the ability to earn a living, so we know he's falling for Nita when he compliments her ability to skin eels.

Ship Breaker is a dark adventure with some tough chicks who hold their own.

IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma

Hello my Junkies, how I've missed you!  Check back tomorrow for a book give-away in apology/punishment for my absence.

Have you read Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma?  Have you?  Hmmm? 

This is one of those stories that's difficult to summarize or even place into a genre without giving too much away. Nova Ren Suma classifies it as magical realism and that works for me.

The book is narrated by Chloe and she is the protagonist, but the story isn't so much about her as much as it's about her older sister, Ruby.  Actually Chloe's whole life, her whole world, is not so much about Chloe as much as it's about Ruby.

Chloe idolizes Ruby and is convinced Ruby can do anything.  And Ruby does.  She has the whole town wrapped around her little finger.  Chloe loves her for it and Ruby would do anything for her.

This book has a surreal, dream-like quality to it.  But much like the reservoir in the small town, danger lurks beneth the calm surface.

Ruby terrifies me.  Chloe loves her and trusts her, but Ruby is a little too powerful and too unstable for me to be comfortable.  And that's what's so great about this story.  We swim along, floating on Suma's beautiful writing, but in the back of our mind we know darkness is closing in.

Imaginary Girls has some of the things I love most in books: an unreliable narrator, a dysfunctional family, and a touch of magic.

It's a great read.  Check back tomorrow for a chance to win a copy.