Ai Ling has some kick-ass spirit in SILVER PHOENIX by Cindy Pon

Silver Phoenix has been on my radar for a while, but I never found it in book stores.  Eventually I ordered it on Amazon.  It rose to the top of my TBR pile when I heard about the controversy over the new cover and I learned that Barnes & Noble and Borders never ordered the book with the original cover because it was too Asian.

Well some really smart people lament this horrible example of institutional racism better than I can.  But I just want to say, this book-buying-white-girl loved Silver Phoenix in all its Chinese splendor.

Ai Ling is the daughter of a scholar who was exiled from the Emperor's palace before she was born.  She wants to be a good daughter and honor her parents, but she has qualms about entering into an arranged marriage.  Unlike most girls in Xia, Ai Ling can read and write.  Without her father's knowledge, she's read all about mythical monsters in The Book of the Dead.

Ai Ling's father is summoned to the palace, but gives her a jade pendant before he goes.  When he doesn't return, Ai Ling decides to travel to the palace and bring him home.  So what if decorum dictates that single women shouldn't travel alone?

On her journey, Ai Ling discovers the monsters from The Book of the Dead are much more than myths. Ai Ling survives a demon attach thanks to her jade pendant and the courage of her spirit.

While traveling, Ai Ling crosses paths with Chen Yong, a young man whose fate has been intertwined with hers since before she was born.  They continue towards the palace together and embark on an adventure to fulfill their destinies.

I love how Ai Ling is a kick-ass heroine in a world that expects women to be seen and not heard.  Sure Chen Yong saves her the first time they meet, but pretty soon she does most of the saving and ass kicking.  I also loved the reincarnation/ancestor-worship/spiritual stuff interwoven throughout the fantasy.

In some ways this is a road-trip story.  Some friends travel to the palace and of course get side-tracked and have adventures along the way.  Of course, it's also a coming-of-age story as Ai Ling discovers her own strength.  I love how Ai Ling is not shy about eating and the descriptions of food made my mouth water.  The sexual tension between Ai Ling and Chen Yong definitely left me hankering for the sequel, Fury of the Phoenix.


Silver Phoenix  by Cindy Pon is a great fantasy and a quick read.  Buy the beautiful original cover before they're all gone!

Hanna is crazy beautiful in BLEEDING VIOLET by Dia Reeves

This book is weird.
Don't get me wrong, I love weird.  Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves is a welcome relief from the swooning damsels, vampires, and werewolves plaguing the paranormal YA world.

Hanna talks to her dad everyday, even though he's been dead a year.  Hanna is bi-polar and has the stash of pharmaceuticals to prove it.  When threatened with hospitalization, Hanna beats her Aunt over the head with a rolling pin and flees to find her long lost mother.

When Hanna shows up on her mom's door step in Portrero, Texas, Rosalee is anything but happy to see her.  Hanna is determined to stay in Rosalee's house and make Portrero her home, no matter how many times Rosalee say she doesn't want her.

They strike a deal.  If Hanna can survive two weeks in Portrero--a town stranger and more dangerous than any of Hanna's hallucinations--then Hanna can stay.

Hanna encounters monsters lurking in the windows of her school, flying leeches on a walk home, and a man possessed by a serial-killing ghost while on a date.  Instead of running and screaming, Hanna decides she needs to hunt down a monster to prove her worth to Rosalee.  Hanna enlists the help of Wyatt, the cute boy sworn to protect the town and who is even freakier than Hanna.

I love Hanna's character in this book.  Her wild mood swings are fun and she's not easily rejected, no matter how many times her mother tells her she doesn't love her.

Hanna narrates the story through her girlish voice and overly simple view of the world.  And that's where it got weird.  These characters curse, have sex, and rip people's arms off, and it's all narrated in this childish tone.

The amount of blood in this book became so surreal that I stopped being concerned each time a character opened a vein.

But that didn't stop this from being a really fun read.  I whipped through the pages.  I enjoyed losing myself in Hanna's warped head and I stopped guessing what would come next.

Bleeding Violet is a great summer read.  

Amy is the key in THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin

Post-apocalyptic novels are hot right now.
Some of these books make me think, "Wow, this is fun.  Glad it could totally never happen."
Some of these books make me think, "Ooh depressing.  I hope I'm not around if this ever happens."
Then there's The Passage by Justin Cronin.  This book made me want to buy a shotgun, hoard water, and start digging an underground shelter.

The story starts about five years in the future, in a crappier but predictable version of the U.S.   A grieving scientist has discovered a unique virus in the South American rain forest.  This virus can cure cancer and reverses the aging process, along with some other side-effects that the military will kill to get its hands on.

The virus is brought back to a secret compound hidden in the Colorado rockies.  The virus is tested on those who society won't miss, death-row inmates.

It's Brad Wolgast's job to find the inmates, get them to sign their lives away, and bring them back to Colorado.  He's pretty much ok with this until he's asked to bring in Amy, a six-year-old girl.

Of course, something goes wrong and the infected inmates escape.  The virus and its violence spread rapidly across the U.S.  Amy may be humanity's only hope.

OK Junkies, I'll stop myself because I really don't want to spoil anything.

But you must read this book.  I know, it's like 800 pages and you could probably throw your back out from carrying it around.  But it's so worth it.

Did I mention it's jam-packed with bad-ass heroines?

There's Alicia, the ruthless fighter who kicks viral ass better than anyone.
There's Sara, the strong nurse who never flinches away from death.
There's Mausami, willing to risk everything for the man she loves.
There's Sister Lacy, willing to die for her cause.

And of course, there's Amy.

Read The Passage and stop by to tell me what you think.

Oh, for those of you who've already read it, check out this site with Blair Witch type videos.

Give aways!

Check out YA Highway's BEA Book Give Away.  There are at least 3 books on that list that I'm hankering for.

Sadie Sasses in The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

OK Junkies, so I'm gonna let you in on a secret.  I love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  I know, I know, it's about a boy, but there are some tough chicks, and I'm a total sucker for both Greek mythology and the hero's journey archetype.  Don't worry, I won't blab about The Lightning Thief, other than to say, read it.

But I was pretty excited when my dad sent me Rick Riordan's The Red Pyramid.  Now, I don't know my Egyptian history like I know my Greek stuff, but my History-Channel-watching-hubby was happy to fill me in on tid-bits, like Khufu, the baboon, was named after a pharoah.

The Red Pyramid is doubly cool, because instead of one young hero, we get two.  Carter and Sadie Kane are brother and sister who have only seen each other once a year since their mom died six years ago.  Carter travels the world with his dad, Julius, an archaeologist/Egyptologist.  Sadie lives with their maternal grandparents in London.

At least, those are their living arrangements until their dad blows up the Rosetta Stone on Christmas Eve, releasing 5 Egyptian gods, imprisoning himself in a sarcophagus along with the spirit of Osiris, and leaving Carter and Sadie to save the world.

Carter and Sadie alternate telling the story from their perspective.  Although Carter is older and he starts and ends the novel, Sadie is the actual hero.  Sadie is the tough, brave one who sees past the adults' BS.

Carter has the knowledge of the Egypt stuff and arguably more to lose, because he's so close to the now-imprisoned dad, but Sadie follows more of the archetypal hero's arc.

Sadie's past and parentage are mysterious.  She has a mentor who teaches her how to use her power and is then killed.  And ultimately, Carter learns how to swing a sword, but it's Sadie who has all the real power.  In the end, Sadie must make all the difficult choices, and Sadie must determine the fate of the world and break a dangerous cycle.

Sadie feels abandoned by and resentment towards her absent parents, but she must move past that to tap her inner strength and save the world.  Sadie is the hero of this story, because it is Sadie who sacrifices so much to make the right decisions.

Like Riordan's other books, The Red Pyramid is a story about the battle of good and evil.  But what I love about this book is that the lines between the two sides aren't always clear.

The Red Pyramid is a long-ass middle grade book, but the story is worth every page.  I will definitely be reading the next installment of the Kane Chronicles.


Oh, and Junkies, P.S.:
This is my official entry into The People of Color Reading Challenge.  I'm going to say I'll go for level 2 and read at least 5 books this year about or by people of color, but I really hope to do more.