Book Review: HOW TO SAVE A LIFE by SARA ZARR

Photo Property of Hachette Book Group

How to Save a Life

By Sara Zarr

ISBN: 9780316036061
Published by: LITTLE BROWN BKS YOUNG READERS
Genre: JUVENILE FICTION
Published on: 10/18/2011
Subformat: YOUNG ADULT


Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.

Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It's harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?

As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy--or as difficult--as it seems.

Critically acclaimed author and National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr delivers a heart-wrenching story, told from dual perspectives, about the many roads that can lead us home.

Description:  Sara Zarr has a poetic way of describing scenes and people.  It's almost musical. Her words flow easily through my mind, painting a clear picture without overwhelming the senses.  Right from the start, How to Save a Life  drew me in and held my attention. (Score: 9/10)


Narrative:  Jill and Mandy are teens from different backgrounds brought together because of their own individual circumstances. How to Save a Life is told from alternating perspectives of the two girls.  To accomplish this, Sara Zarr utilized quite a bit of narrative.  This lead to a lot of background information presented per character.  And it's done beautifully.  I felt I was able to really know both girls. True fact: I couldn't read this book in public due to inability to control spontaneous tearful outbursts.  Yup-the narrative in this story was every thing a great book should be. (Score: 10/10)


Dialogue: I think Sara Zarr is really a teen hiding behind an adult.  The dialogue in this book is so authentic I could hear the voices in my head. (Okay, maybe I shouldn't admit that, but it's TRUE. lol) Sometimes in books, though, it's tough to tell the grown up speech from the teen speech; but not in How to Save a Life.  Even without tags, it was easy to pick up who was speaking when. (Score: 9/10)


Characterization: The characters in How to Save a Life stay in my mind even though I finished the book weeks ago.  To me, they were real people who shared their stories only with me.  I wonder how things are working out, and then laugh at myself because it's all made up.  That's great characterization and I can only hope to be that talented one day. (Score: 9/10)


Resolution:  Sara Zarr's book endings always make me sad because the experience is over.  Other than that, the resolutions are always perfect for me in every way: conclusive yet open ended enough to think for myself.   I want more.  I need more.  It's rare that I read a book over again, but ALL of Sara Zarr's books are on my bookshelf to be pilfered through when I need a fix.  I guess I'd say her books never end for me and that's the greatest resolution of all. (Score: 9/10)




I'm not going to lie.  I'm biased.  I've loved Sara Zarr's books since I first stumbled upon Story of a Girl while doing research for my own YA novel. Oh, and yeah, I took a workshop with her in June, but besides THAT I really think she is one of the greatest writers of realistic fiction out there.  ALL of her books have touched upon issues of my heart-personal things that I really don't think I can talk about here. 


But, How to Save a Life's impact I can discuss.  My father died suddenly seven years ago.  I'm an adult and was an adult when I lost him, but Jill's expression of grief was SO VERY close to mine that it felt like I lost him yesterday.  This summer, after reading How to Save a Life I grieved his loss all over again.  Even writing this blog has tears forming in my eyes.  Sara Zarr put thoughts into words that I can't verbalize.  Better yet, she gave me tools to share with others what it feels like to lose a parent. And that's only ONE of the issues she touches upon in this book.




How to Save a Life is a great read for anyone who enjoys heart wrenching, inspiring and beautiful stories all wrapped up in one.  It's genre is Young Adult, but I believe it's much broader than that.  The topics are applicable to most age groups.  I'm thinking this one, much like her others, will be up for many different awards.  I'd rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.


For a great review with a discussion of a different issue, check out Sera River's blog. 


AND for an inspiring interview of Sara Zarr click on over to Thalo Magazine.

Book Review: CALLIE by JESSICA LEE ANDERSON

Photo property of Milkweed Editions

Title:		Calli
Publisher:		Milkweed Editions

Pub Date:

09/13/2011

Author:		Jessica Lee Anderson
Category:		FICTION - ADULT: Literary

Calli has almost everything she could want in life—two loving moms, a good-looking boyfriend, and a best friend who has always been there for support. An only child, Calli is excited when her parents announce that they want to foster a girl her own age. But Cherish is not at all what Calli expected. Cherish lies, steals, kisses Calli’s boyfriend, and seems to get away with just about everything. Tired of being pushed around and determined to get even, Calli decides to take matters into her own hands. But her plan for revenge goes horribly awry. Calli ends up on the wrong side of her moms, her boyfriend, and even her best friend, while she wrestles with her guilt. She is desperate for a chance to make amends, but what if Calli doesn’t get another chance to say she’s sorry?

Description:  There's not a ton of description in Calli, so there's not a lot to say.  Scenes are set well.  I know what I needed to know to get by.  And details didn't overwhelm or bore me.  For me, as a reader, if I don't notice description, then it's done well. (Score: 6/10)

Narrative: Jessica Lee Anderson wrote Calli's story in first person, so the tale is told right from inside her head.  There's a lot of narrative.  Sometimes too much, I think.  I really liked knowing the facts revealed in this fashion, but I thought it lacked a little in the creativity department.  Some areas were a little dry and drawn out.  Overall, though, I enjoyed the concept of the novel. (Score: 5/10)

Dialogue:  Again, here, I was a little disappointed.  Most of the time, the dialogue was rather predictable. It lacked the flair that I think makes Young Adult Authors really stand out.  It wasn't bad or annoying, so that's good.    All in all, the dialogue in Calli just sort of was-if you know what I mean. (Score: 5/10)

Characterization:  (Now I'm starting to feel bad about writing this review, but hang in there, there are some redeeming qualities I'll describe later.)  My blunt and honest truth is that the characters were not multi-dimensional the way I like them.  They didn't pop off the page and pull me into the book.  Yes, each character was unique and definitely an individual within the story, but there was nothing that rose them above the general population.  (Score: 4/10)

Resolution:  Well, here I can honestly say this is a resolution that surprised me.  And that's hard to do.  There wasn't a far fetched twist or a predictable ending.  The book wrapped up and ended.  I liked that.  There were no cliff hangers or spoilers.  (Score: 6/10)

Calli overall was a book I liked, but didn't love.  I'm disappointed because I really, really wanted to love it.  The concept was sort of interesting to me: two moms and a teen with a foster sister.  What a great idea!  But, overall, I felt the novel really lacked the magic it needed to make me fall in love with it.  On the plus side, I didn't hate it.  I think maybe it could be enjoyed by many. I'd especially recommend it to the younger side of YA or readers who aren't as character driven as I am.  The story itself is clean cut with none of the "darkness" critics keep talking about.  It simple and easy to follow with some real thought provoking pieces to it.  Overall, I'd rate this book:  2.5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: SAVANNAH GREY by CLIFF MCNISH

Title:		Savannah Grey
Publisher:		Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint:		Carolrhoda Lab
Pub Date:		04/01/2011
ISBN:		9780761370253

Category:

FICTION - JUVENILE: Action & Adventure (incl. Interactive Adventures): Action & Adventure

Author:       Cliff McNish

Savannah Grey needs to keep moving. She doesn't know why, but she can't let herself get tied down by too many people. It’s almost like she's being chased by something. And now something strange is happening with her neck—with her throat.

Then she meets Reece—a guy who seems to understand her needs. He even knows about her neck. The same thing is happening to him. It's as if their voices are becoming weapons, warming up for some kind of attack.

Nature has been preparing for battle with the universe's ultimate monster for millennia. The time to fight is almost here. The weapon is Savannah Grey.

Before I begin this review, I'd like to make it very clear that, though I have an imagination, it's very difficult to entertain me with action-adventure, paranormal, and horror type writing.  I am a realist.  Maybe it's the nurse in me, but very few fantastical stories can force me to believe in alternate worlds.  So, what drew me to review Savannah Grey?  I haven't a clue.  Maybe it was the simplicity of the title, the beautiful cover or the way the book was described.  In any event, I surprised myself when I asked to review it.  I was not disappointed.

Description:  I am not one who particularly needs a lot of description.  Normally, I'm bored to tears with it.  But Cliff McNish did a great job of weaving description in with the story.  I found the story unraveled well with the continuing descriptions of Savannah's interesting trait.  The more she learned, the more the reader learned.  And that left me curious, wanting to know more.  I appreciated his style of quick tidbits that were thoughtful enough to leave me with a clear picture, but not skipping words, paragraphs, or phrases.  And he made the me-the nonbeliever think this situation could possibly happen to a fifteen year old girl. Score: (8/10) 

Narrative:  I think Cliff McNish's style of narrative is what kept me reading this book.  I loved the technique he used to tell Savannah's story and then concurrently telling The Orcassa's story.  It showed a lot of thought, research and preparation.  Not only was I impressed, but I was very intrigued as well. The change from mostly first person to occasional third person broke up the narrative and added extra tension.  The plot was clear from the start and each event moved the reader forward to the next.  Nothing seemed out of place or sequence. I do have to say I found a lot of the story rather predictable, though I was able to override that due to his beautiful writing style. And considering the genre-that's difficult for me to say.  Score: (8/10) 

Dialogue:  Much of the story unfolded with both outer and inner dialogue of characters.  Neither of which were boring or contrite.  However, when Savannah was figuring things out internally, I think the author could have done a little better here.  Savannah seemed to just understand/know things.  I found this a little distracting in that I had to consider how she figured things out.  Granted, it could have been instinct or the thing in her throat telling her, but that small detail kind of got to me. Though it caused me pause, it wasn't bad enough to make me stop. Overall, the dialogue was well written, interesting and productive.  Score: (8/10)

Characterization:  Savannah Grey is a fifteen year old girl with a big burden to bear: save the world from ancient evil. But it's clear from the start that she is no normal girl.  Her character starts strong and stays that way.  As a matter of fact, all characters are like that.  Instantly, I felt as if I knew everyone involved in the story.  As I said above, I loved the story behind the scenes of the developing Orcassa, the Horror, and the Nyktomorph.  And through his characterization, I learned to understand even the bad guys.  Cliff McNish did a great job with even the smallest of characters.  Score: (8/10)  

Resolution:  The climax of this story came together well.  All the pieces worked together to create a full picture in clever ways.  Although at some points, it did feel rather drawn out.  I didn't get bored, but I did think one or two of the barriers was a little much.  But then again, that could be my difficulty with this genre.  Overall, however, the actual ending thrilled me.  I love wide open endings that leave the reader to come to his/her own conclusions.  I despise being told what to think and feel when I close out a book.  Cliff McNish answered all questions, but left me to decide the rest.  To me, nothing can beat that.  Score: (8/10)

For a beautiful, fantastical read, I'd rate this book 4 stars out of 5.   I recommend you pick up Savannah Grey when it's released in the US, even if you're not a huge fan of paranormal/fantasy and horror.  There's a lot to be said about the power of love and Cliff McNish found a very interesting way to share his thoughts and feelings on it.

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When Hobbies Collide

Since my sister taught me to read at the young age of four, I've been a bookworm. I used to read anything at anytime, though lately, I've been a little more discriminate.

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Now that I'm a parent, I'm trying to pass along my love I'm raising two children, both of whom were read to while still in utero. To this day, my motto is "Boredom is impossible because you can READ." Though I wouldn't call either child a bookworm (yet) they both have a strong love for the written word.

In an effort to support my love of books, my husband purchased me a Kindle when they first came out. Let's just say, I've already had to replace the battery and have nearly bankrupted us with purchases. (Not REALLY, because I'm a freak for free books, but I DO READ A LOT!)

Unfortunately, most of my reading is way far behind the times, because by the time I hear about a good book, it's been out for a while. A review late in the game would just get lost in the shuffle, so I've never seen the point. Until NOW.

Last week I heard about NetGalley.com. Here, I can download pre-published galleys of books (for free!) and review them.  I mean, how perfect is this?  I love to read and then discuss books I've read.  In addition, I can learn more and more about the genre I in which I write.  It's a win-win situation when three of my hobbies collide!

If there's a particular book you'd like me to read, contact me.  Or if there's a discussion you'd like to have, comment.  But remember not to attack anyone personally.  To the write of this blog, I've listed my criteria of review.  It may not be all inclusive, but it's the top five things that matter to me.  And like all things in writer's lives, this is a WIP (a work in progress) so bear with me as I learn.

So stay tuned for posts containing reviews of soon to be released books.  I'm really excited and hope to keep the momentum up.  Happy Reading all!

Moved to Tears....

There is nothing more sweet than the taste of success, even if it belongs to someone else! Congratulations, Becc! You have worked hard. I am honored to boast the cover of your new book, due to be released November 2, 2009!