Review: 'Masque of the Red Death' by Bethany Griffin

The cold air hits me and I realize that we're outside.  It's raining.

Out of the club, in open air. I feel myself begin to panic, not because I care,

but because I've been programmed to fear the airborne contagions. 

I put my hand up, fell the ridged porcelain surface of my mask, and sigh with relief. 

I've worn this thing so long that I no longer feel it.

Society is on the brink of complete collapse, brought low by an invisible killer, an illness that has no cure and can only be prevented by the constant employment of a specially designed mask.  Production of the life-saving masks is limited and only the richest can afford to protect themselves and their children.  Araby is the daughter of the man who invented the mask, an act that brought her family into the echelons of the upper class, but which came too late to save her twin brother.  Since the death of her brother, Araby has existed rather than lived, pulled along by her only friend, April, to the risque clubs of the Debauchery District where alcohol and drugs flow freely.  While in the pursuit of oblivion, Araby comes to know two young men whose passions ignite her own and who make Araby realize there are things worth living for; and worth fighting for.

Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's short story of the same title, Bethany Griffin has penned a haunting, gut-wrenching realistic world where life is uncertain and fear rules all.  Araby is wonderfully broken; emotionally distant, self-destructive and disconnected from the world around her.  It's not that she doesn't feel anything, but that she feels everything too much.  Readers will be drawn into Araby's perspective even if they have never flirted with the darker thoughts and emotions that rule her life.  'Masque of the Red Death' will have readers glued to the pages, anxiously turning the page to discover what happens.  Warning: this novel has a cliff-hanger ending will leave readers anxiously awaiting Griffin's next novel.

Make sure to look for 'Dance of the Red Death' coming in April 2013!

Book Source: Local Library
Reviewer: Rebecca

Recommended Ages: 16+ Drug use & violence

Recommended for Readers of:

Review: 'Immortal City' by Scott Speer

More than one hundred years ago angels revealed themselves to the human population and changed the way they performed their "miracles".  Now Guardian Angels offer Protection to anyone - if you can afford it.  Angels have become some of the riches beings on the planet and have become the new celebrities.  Instead of actors having stars on the Walk of Fame, angels get a star on what has become Angel Boulevard.  Jackson Godspeed is the most famous angel of his generation and the time for his Commissioning (when he becomes a Guardian Angel) is drawing close.  All he has ever wanted was to wear a Divine Ring and provide Protection.  But now something is hunting angels; leaving severed wings on Angel Boulevard and somehow the not-so-ordinary human teenager Maddy Montgomery is involved.

This novel has a LOT going on, but the pacing is a little strange and the first two-thirds seem to take twice as long to read - perhaps because Mr. Speer has created such a detailed world.  Jackson is wonderfully conceited without realizing it and the transition between the self-involved boy he starts as and the thoughtful young man he becomes is realistic.  Maddy's character is an interesting blend of confidence and insecurity that many a teenage girl will relate to and the fact that this mix wins her the heart of the hottest angel on the planet is sure to appeal as well.

Overall this is a decent first novel and there is potential for more novels set in this universe.  Readers looking for a quick paranormal read should find this one worthwhile.

Book Source: Local Library
Reviewer: Rebecca

Recommended Ages: 15+ Underage drinking, violence

Recommended for Readers of:

Step Aside Winchester Brothers, There's a New Guy in Town

For some reason I've been on a horror kick recently and have read some truly disturbing YA novels.  The most chilling read I've had lately is:
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood has unusual skill.  Like his father before him, he kills the dead.

Since his father's death at the hands of a powerful spirit, Cas has taken up the family knife and carried on the tradition of ridding the world of malevolent ghosts.  Everything changes when Cas receives information about an unusual ghost, Anna Dressed in Blood, who has more kills to her name than any spirit Cas has come across.  Suddenly the past comes back to haunt Cas and he must rely on new friends if he plans to survive the fight with Anna.

Kendare Blake has created a world in which things that go bump in the night are very real and likely to kill you.  Cas is an interesting and wonderfully flawed hero, while Anna's character opens the story to new directions that the reader doesn't expect.  Secondary characters are just as important and well-developed and help bring Blake's world to life.  Anna Dressed in Blood perfectly balances horror, action and emotion to leave the reader anxiously waiting for the next volume.

Recommended for readers of:

Robert Liparulo, Stephen King, Richard Yancey, Maureen Johnson

So Many Books, So Little Time

Best Book I've Read This Week!

In the past week I've read about 5 books and somehow I still don't feel like I've had enough time to really read. Strange isn't it? Seems like I should be satisfied with that amount of reading - many people would consider 5 books in a week somewhat excessive. :)

But it is odd, since a large part of my job consists of suggesting appropriate titles to a wide variety of both teen and adult readers I sometimes feel like there is consistent pressure to have a book in hand. Especially for YA materials.  In my branch I am the only person who works with teens (programming, readers advisory, etc) and I try to stay on top of new YA titles coming into the system.  Since another part of my job is materials selection and working on professional committees (Spirit of Texas High School Reading Program) I also attempt to keep up with new releases, upcoming releases and continuations of series.  Reading could easily be a full-time job for me!  [And one I'd like better some days if I could just read, suggest books and run programs.]

What is it that a YA Librarian is supposed to do with an infinite number of books and a finite amount of time?!

Chills, Thrills & Daniel Radcliffe!

U.K. Edition 2011

Harry Potter is all grown up and graduated to a wonderfully gothic looking film.  In February 2012 The Woman In Black will open just in time to scare the pants off all those lovers for Valentine's Day!  After being creeped out by the trailer (and discovering that the film is based on a novel) I decided to read the original text.  Susan Hill's The Woman in Black was first published in 1986 and lead to one of the longest running West End plays to ever thrill and audience.
The plot is rather simple: A young lawyer, Arthur, is sent out from London to a small villiage to handle the post-mortem affairs of one of the firm's odder clients.  When he arrives in the village he discovers that there is a bit more to the woman's affairs than he expected and soon encounters a vengeful spirit tied to a mystery more than 50 years old.
A few pages into the first chapter of Hill's masterpiece, I realized that I had seen the play many years previously at the Alley Theatre in Houston - without realizing that the script was based on a novel.  I remember the play as being wonderfully atmospheric and spine-tingling and was certainly not dissapointed in the original story.  Ms. Hill has a way of describing a scene while still allowing the reader to use their imagination:

 "Tonight, I smelled at once, and with a lightening heart, that there had been a change in the weather. All the previous week, we had had rain, chilling rain and a mist that lay low about the house and over the countryside...Inside the house, the lamps were lit throughout the day and the walls of larder, outhouse and cellar oozed damp and smelled sour, the fires sputtered and smoked, burning dismally low."

(Chapter 1).

Like the very best of gothic fiction, The Woman in Black is both mentally engaging and wonderfully dark.  I was unable to put this novel down and finished in about a day. Highly recommended.  This is one of my new favorites and I can't wait for the movie!

Recommended for Readers of: