Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor

Release Date: 27th September 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:
Around the world, black hand-prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that colour. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-coloured eyes on her in an alley in Marrakech, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

In A Nutshell:
Awesome title. Fantastic characters. Forbidden love. Magical and Mysterious locations. Unique mythology. Definitely worth reading.

My Review:
What can I say about Daughter of Smoke and Bone that hasn’t been said before? Just like almost every review I have read and everyone I have spoken to about it, I loved it.

First off, what a totally awesome title! It’s mysterious and conjures up so many images but you have to wait until almost the end of the story to find out what it means. Our main character Karou joins the YA rank of fantastic female lead characters as a loveable and kick-ass character, with her blue hair and humour, but she also has a vulnerable side.

Like many YA supernatural/paranormal books, Daughter of Smoke and Bone uncovers the blurry lines between good and evil, enticing us with a forbidden romance (although thankfully no love triangle!) that while is sudden in some ways, as the story progresses, we see that there is more to Karou’s story than meets the eye. While this format is commonly seen in YA these days, the story that unfolds takes your breath away and provides Daughter of Smoke and Bone with that something extra that sets it apart.

My enthusiasm did slow three quarters of the way through with my uneasiness with the direction the story was taking but it picked up again and I am excited for what its sequel will bring. I would love to share more with you but this is one of those books where the mysteries can accidentally be spoiled with the wrong (right) word! You’ll just have to check it out yourself.

I should also mention the setting. How many YA books are set in Prague? This is the only one I know of and, as someone who has spent time in Prague, I think Laini Taylor has done a fabulous job bringing this magical city to the masses.

My favourite quote? I was going to share with you my favourite quote but I realised it continues for almost two pages. In my ARC copy, it starts on page 69 and continues half way down page 70. It is a discussion between Karou and her best friend Zuzana about the different types of butterflies you can get in your stomach, and what kind of guy sets them off. It certainly put a smile on my face!

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Title: Beauty Queens
Author: Libba Bray

Release Date: 1st June 2011

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:
Teen beauty queens.
A lost island.
Mysteries and dangers.
No access to email.

And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives deep in the heart of every girl, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness.

The horror, the horror!

Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count.

Join Libba Bray in this wicked satire of beauty pageants, reality TV and pop culture.

In A Nutshell:
A hilarious story filled with sexy pirates, killer snakes, temperamental beauty queens and accessories that can be used as weapons, Beauty Queens shows that just because you may be pretty, doesn’t mean you can’t fend for yourself when everything turns to mud (literally!). Highly recommended!

My Review:
I totally loved Beauty Queens! It has been described as Drop Dead Gorgeous (the movie) meets Lost (the TV show) but what I found was that Beauty Queens is so much more. While it is absolutely hilarious and does take the mickey out of beauty pageants, it is ultimately an uplifting story filled with heart and featuring a great cast of characters. It is a story about personal discovery, empowerment, comradery and the pressure put on girls, not just in beauty pageants but in today’s society.

When a plane carrying the contestants and crew of the Miss Teen Dream Beauty Pageant crashes on a remote island, the girls must set aside their competitive streaks (although they certainly still appear every now and then!) to join forces and survive.

There are only twelve survivors, all beauty queens, and with only suitcases full of beauty products and accessories at their disposal, the girls have to fend for themselves and avoid the unknown perils of the island. And what do they come face to face with? Killer snakes, quicksand, secret agents, sexy pirates, a stupid trust fund Yale graduate, an arms dealer with a love of Elvis, hallucinogenic berries, a former Miss Teen Dream who is no dream at all and of course each other! Oh and not to mention a lack of food, water and bathroom facilities!

Over the weeks following the crash, the girls begin to discover who they really are, now that they are not being influenced by their pageant obsessed mothers and coaches. They start to realise what they really want for themselves in life, discover talents they didn’t know they had and allow their real passions to come to light.

As friendships are forged and secrets revealed, we get to see some amazing uses for beauty products, hair-straighteners, eyelash curlers and ugly evening wear as the girls create new homes and an interesting but effective range of arsenal to protect themselves from the unknown dangers of the mysterious island.

I loved almost all the girls but my favourite beauty queens would have to be Adina (Miss New Hampshire), Jennifer (Miss Michigan) and Mary Lou (Miss Nebraska). I highly recommend Beauty Queens and am now looking forward to reading Libba Bray’s previous novel, Going Bovine.

Thankyou to Allen and Unwin for this review copy.

Second Opinions
bean there, read that
Words on Paper

Outspoken by James Vachowski

Title: Outspoken
Author: James Vachowski

Release Date: 8th February 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

Abraham Lincoln Jenkins is a teenage vandal, social activist, and aspiring revolutionary, but with only four months left until his high school graduation Abraham’s lifelong dream of attending Harvard College is put in jeopardy when he learns that he is still in need of two core credit hours in Physical Education. Unfortunately for Abraham, the only available spaces in a P.E. class are as a cadet in the Army’s JROTC program!

Told almost exclusively through Abraham’s one-sided complaint letters, OUTSPOKEN is the natural result when the War on Terror collides with the War on Christmas.

My Review:
Outspoken is a hilarious collection of an obnoxious, articulate and self-serving letters written by Abraham Lincoln Jenkins to a variety of people who hold 'power'. His letters poke fun at snobby rich people, incompetent police, the school system, the craziness of the Black Friday sales (which I discovered last year while holidaying in America) and provides us with a particular social commentary of America.

You will find yourself laughing at his wit, audacity and all-around "smart alec-ness". Abraham Lincoln Jenkins is the kind of person who would have annoyed the stuffing out of you if you had been the one on the receiving end of his rants but on paper, he is hilariously opinionated and believes whole-heatedly in what he is saying. He would make a fantastic lawyer (which is what he hopes to study if he ever makes it to Harvard).

Outspoken is a 'comedy novelette'. A relatively fast read with letters and quotes making up the 112 pages.

“America is not at war.
The Marine Corps is at war;
America is at the mall.”
— Unknown Marine in Iraq

Outspoken is available at all major digital book retailers, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and OmniLit, as well as on the Vagabondage Press website.