Afterworlds

Afterworlds
Scott Westerfeld

My rating: ★½

ISBN: 978-1481422345
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Date of publication: September 23, 2014
Age: Grades 10 and up
Genre: Romance, Paranormal Fantasy/Realistic Fiction

Themes: publishing, independence, New York City, death, ghosts, terrorism,

Darcy has just signed a publishing contract for her YA novel, Afterworlds. With her sizable advance, she decides to defer college and move to New York--no friends, no apartment, no idea what she's getting into. Still, she has a network of fellow authors to help guide her--including Imogen, with whom she falls in love. Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel about Lizzie, a girl trapped in the middle of a terrorist attack who fakes death so well she travels to the Afterworld. The transition makes her a spirit guide and she must soon learn to navigate her new abilities. She gets help of Lord Yama, a god of the dead, with whom she falls in love.

It's really two books in one and they are both difficult to read. Darcy's story is flat and boring, with no real climax. And it's somewhat unrealistic--not so much about the publishing industry (which has been criticized by others for good reason) but about Darcy's sudden homosexual love life. Like, that came out of nowhere. Darcy as a character was unlikable because she is shallow, insecure, and whiney. The Afterworlds story was a bit more readable with more excitement...but the insta-love (again, unrealistic) combined with a scot-free murder at the end just kills any appreciation one might have for the story.

I'm rather disappointed. Westerfeld has written some great novels in the past for teens. This, however, is a trendy, meta book that seems to be desperate for attention. He throws in paranormal romance, homosexuality, liberal use of the f-word (you'd think authors would have a more impressive vocabulary), death and violence, all while constantly praising his own writing (think about it: every time a character compliments Darcy's book, he's really just complimenting himself). It's really unattractive. I barely finished. I was about to give up, when I just decided to skim all of Darcy's story and then go back and read all of Lizzie's story--no alternating. Made it a little easier, but still not worth it. When I consider his other books, I can't even fathom how this is the same author.

Warning: Explicit Content
Some sexuality
Language
*Also, the terrorist scene at the beginning is pretty graphic.

If you really want to, find it at your library or on Amazon

Love in the Time of Global Warming

Love in the Time of Global Warming
Francesca Lia Block

My rating: ★

ISBN: 9780805096279
Publisher: Henry Holt
Date of publication: August 27, 2013
Age: Grades 9 and up
Genre: Romance

Themes: apocalyptic disaster, GLTBQ, retelling,

Awards: YALSA Top Ten (2014), American Library Association Rainbow List Top 10 (2014) 

In this retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey, Penelope is left seemingly alone in Los Angeles after disaster strikes the country. However, as she finally leaves the house, she encounters cyclops, giants, witches, and other such fantastical beings. Meeting up with a few other survivors, Pen begins her journey to find her family.

I don’t really know what to say. Like, I even had a hard time writing the summary, because there’s just too much competing for attention in this book. It is such a mishmash of genres, themes, stories that…my brain hurts. Let me touch on a few: Global Warming is killing the earth. But the disasters were actually caused by a mad scientist who created giants and stuff. Yet, Pen has elemental powers. Oh, and she’s homosexual and falls in love with a transgender. And it loosely follows The Odyssey (which it makes a point of mentioning SEVERAL times throughout the book). But it is only 240 pages. Yeah. I really don’t recommend this. At all. Apparently, it’s the first in a series, but I’m not even going to worry about it.

Warning: Explicit Content
Sexuality

If you really want to, find it at your library or on Amazon

Impossible

Impossible

Nancy Werlin

My rating: ★

ISBN: 9780142414910

Publisher: Speak

Date of publication: September 18, 2008

Age: Grades 9 and up

Genre: Fantasy

Themes: Curses, rape, teen pregnancy, romance, mental illness

Lucy Scarborough lives with wonderful foster parents, but that is because her mother fell into mental illness after giving birth to her at age 18. It is a topic not usually brought up, until Lucy is raped and left pregnant at the age of 18—just like her mother and, it turns out, like every woman in her family before her. The Scarborough girls are living with an ancient curse, each girl giving birth to another daughter at age 18 and then going crazy. To break the curse, Lucy must do three seemingly impossible tasks to avoid going crazy and to keep her daughter. Luckily, she has true love to help her.

This book is based on a version of the song “Scarborough Fair”—yes, like the one Simon & Garfunkel sing. It is way weird. Way weird. A strange concept with an unrealistic interpretation. Basically, I couldn’t get over the fact that this was based on Simon & Garfunkel. The story was cheesy, the three tasks are utterly ridiculous, and the characters were a tad farfetched. But, hey, if you don’t know who Simon & Garfunkel are, you may better appreciate this strange fantasy than I did.

Warning: Explicit Content
Sexuality