Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

It seems as if the flood of teen fiction about the either vampires, zombies or werewolves is starting to ebb, and dystopian fiction is all the rage. Usually there has been some cataclysmic event in the past and a new society has emerged. The society is usually ruled by a government who is ensuring that the past doesn't repeat itself. Once good, often the ruling party becomes entrenched in enforcing rules and regulations. Until someone, usually the protagonist, begins to question the rules. The choices the main character make effect both their lives and the lives of those around them.

Birthmarked is set in a future after some catastrophic environmental event has left the world harsh and dry. A society has been established within a walled city called the Enclave. Gaia Stone and her parents live in a town which as assembled outside the walled city. The city provides them with some food, limited water and basic healthcare. Without this, those outside would not survive. In return the walled city asks for a quota of babies to be “advanced” into the privileged society within the walled city. Gaia is starting to learn her mother's trade, that of a midwife, in helping the women in her sector deliver babies and 'advancing' the first 3 babies she delivers each month into the walled city. After delivering her first baby, Gaia comes home to find that her parents have been arrested and taken to prison within the Enclave. Wanting to find her parents, who have been so loyal to the Enclave, Gaia finds a way into the Enclave. She discovers that the society that she believed to be ideal and wonderful is not all it appears to be, and that the Enclave is genetically damaged. She hold a key to deciphering the genetic problems of the Enclave. Gaia needs to decide whether the answer will help society or give the Enclave further opportunities to restrict the society they have created.

Loved the book and the dystopian society it creates. Gaia is a strong-willed heroine who will do all she can to right what wrongs she sees in the world. However, the world is never black and white, throw a love interest into the mix, and decisions become harder for her to make. I could relate to the book as it reflected how I was as a teenager and some of the decisions that I had to make. As a teenager I was very 'black and white', things and situations were either wrong or right. This created lots of tension as not much in life is 'black and white' and I had to learn to make decisions in a grey world.

8/10

House of night series – P.C Cast and Kristin Cast

For the best part of the last two weeks I have immersed myself in the dramas of the House of Night. And I do mean the best part in terms of time and in terms of it been the highlight of the last few weeks. When I haven't been reading them, I have been thinking of the characters and what was going to happen and what I would do it the situation. I haven't experienced that about a series for a while, but perhaps it is also because I have been flooded by the story. I have read the eight books in the series and the last one with bated breath as I thought the story was coming to a conclusion. Wrong! These is still more to go and the next book “Destined” is due our at the end of October!
So.....why do I like the books so much
I really related to the heroine of the story, Zoey Redbird, is strong, loyal and far from perfect She makes mistakes, she keeps secrets she probably shouldn't, she is confused about love and the boys in her life, and when she cries she snots a lot. She is a 16 year old who becomes marked – that is chosen out of the human race because she will, in time, become a vampyre. It is a literal mark - the outline of a blue crescent moon that appears of her forehead. She must leave her present life and live at a school for fledglings (vampyres in the making). A fledgling needs to be strong to survive the change or they may die and being close to other vampyres makes fledglings stronger.  Before Zoey arrives at the school however she is visited by the goddess Nix (a sort of good Gaian mother nature type being) and her blue crescent moon tattoo becomes filled in – something that doesn't usually happen until a fledgling becomes a vampyre. So from the start Zoey is marked as special and she is also given unique gifts not seen in a fledgling before.
Like most heroines Zoey is supported by a group of friends who become known as the nerd herd. These friends are also specially blessed by the goddess Nix. There is her BFF Stevie Rae, studious Damien, fashionista 'twins' Shaunee and Erin, rich and bitchy Aphrodite, exuberant Jack, boyfriend Erik, and human ex-boyfriend Heath. I loved the interactions between these characters and how they develop (with some very unexpected developments) though the series.
The plot follows the age old idea of good verses evil, Light verses Darkness. However evil isn't devoid of Light and good can also be touched by Darkness. The authors are not afraid to kill off characters or allow characters to have a change of heart. And this plays out in the unexpected twists and turns in the plot. I did have one point of issue about the portrayal and treatment of one of Zoey's boyfriends who had become my favourite, however as the plot progressed in made sense, much to my dismay. As for the uncontrollable urge to continue reading book after book, the authors delight in leaving the reader hanging at the end of the novel (thus my long reading sessions into the wee hours of the morning).
I can't say too much about the books or the characters without revealing spoilers but if you love vampire fiction you will LOVE this series. 8/10

The books in the series can be found on the House of Night website

The Unidentified – Rae Mariz

As a mother of a teenager the premise of this books is frightening. Imagine that the government no longer has any budget to contribute to education. Along come big business corporations that offer to take over the education of the nation. School becomes one huge market for these corporations to advertise their products as well as getting some education content into the day. These corporations secretly monitor every ones friendships and activities. The school are run like one big social networked computer game where points are awarded to students based on their performance. It is actually becomes called the Game. Completing assignments will get you points but you can get easier points from competing in games and competitions that may or may not have educational value. Popularity is the key as corporations target trend-setters with their products such as touch screen devices, clothing, make-up, sports gear. This is called being 'branded' and is the dream of almost every student.
Katey, aka Kid, isn't really interested in being branded, in fact she just wants to make music and hang out with her small group of friends. However an anti-establishment event of a mock suicide that protests the power structure in the school by the 'Unidentified' makes her question the whole educational game and she strives to find out who this group is. In doing so such is identified as a trend-setter and is 'branded'. This is the last thing she wants and it isolates her from her close friends but it is an answer to her families tight financial situation. She soon discovers that being branded means that she gives up the rights to her ideas, her privacy and her identity. In finding out the identity of the “Unidentified” she tries to revolt against the situation she has found herself in, without loosing herself.
I was attracted to this book's dystopian society where the possibility that education could be taken over and young people exploited by big business is very real. It contains some of the big issues for every teen that of identification. Who are we? What defines us? How important are our friend? How important are our families? How do I know what is right or wrong?
The Game seems addictive and is perhaps reminiscent of Facebook and Twitter in the way that students communicate and network together with mobile devices such as ipads which gives sense that this scenario could happen in the not-to-distant future.
Here's hoping that education never gets mixed with big marketing corporations. And if it does that there are students such as Kid who don't get sucked in. 7/10

I am Number Four – Pitticus Lore

I am not at all surprised that this book has been made into a movie it has all the making of a suspenseful action movie – alien domination, aliens hiding among humans, love, superpowers, guns, and monsters.
The book sets itself up to be real (and perhaps it is for all I know) written by a Lorien Elder about the Lorien Nine, children who were sent to earth to hid from the Mogadorians who had invaded their planet. In order to protect them the children were charmed. As long as they lived separately from each other they needed to be killed in order. Each child would know when one of the nine died as a symbol would appear on their ankle. We meet number 4 and his guardian (or Cepan) Henri just before number 3 is killed. They need to move and find a place where they can blend in. It is a pattern with them that they move regularly to stay ahead of the Mogadorians searching for them. Number 4 chooses the name John Smith and they move to Paradise, Ohio. Here John fits in more than he ever has before, makes his first ever friend and falls in love. However it here that John comes into the beginning of his Legacies – powers and abilities that every Lorien Garde develops.
He is learning how to master these while not drawing any attention to himself which will lead the Mogadorians to him. However when someone he loves is threatened he exposes himself and draws the Mogadorians to him.
A very quick paced and easy book to read that has undertones of saving the planet's resources from technology loving, greedy aliens. I am a bit of a purist as I like to read the book, before I see the movie. I am sure the movie will be as successful as the book as when I was reading I could see the scenes playing out on the screen.
7/10

Matched – Ally Condie

Unlike the heroine of my last post, Cassia is a lovely girl who is popular and has always followed the rules. And the rules in Cassia's world are strict. She lives on a future earth that has reinvented itself. There was far too much information in the world so now all they have is the 100 stories, top 100 paintings, 100 poems, and 100 songs. Everything else has been erased from the human record, gone forever. This was based on the premise 'how can we anything fully, if we are overwhelmed with too much'. Life is regimented. There is allocated time for work, for school, for recreation and sleep. A time for getting married and having children (though people can choose to be 'a Single'), and a time to die (when you are 80). Food is allocated that contains the right amount of nutrients and calories per person and is delivered to homes at specified times. It is all controlled by the Society.
Cassia has waited for her Matching Day her whole life.  When she is 17 she attends a banquet and is presented with her Match that has been determined by the Society and takes into account genetics, character and interests. Cassia is surprised to find that her match is her best friend. Xander. They are excited. However when she opens an electronic document about her match another face flashes up as her match, someone she also knows. However, just as if it is a glitch in the system the face disappears and is replaced by Xander. However now Cassia cannot get this other face out of her thoughts and then finds herself drawn to the owner – Ky. However Ky can never be matched as he is an Aberation, someone who has caused an infraction against the Society. This is the start of where Cassia starts to question all that she has been lead to believe by the Society, especially when she discovers at her grandfather's Final Banquet where he will die, that he has hidden a poem other than the 100 poems.
An absolutely riveting book. I was fascinated by the futuristic Earth that Condie has invented and each chapter unveiled new ways that the Society regimented life. A love triangle always makes for a good plot line, one that I have found in a lot of the teen fiction I have been reading. Cassia finds herself stuck between her best friend who is her Match and the boy she loves but can never marry. Finally Cassia must make a decision that will effect her life and all those in it.
9/10

Skinned – Robin Wasserman

Apart from the main character being shallow, unlikeable, self-centered and has a poor me attitude this would make a good story. It is a miracle beautiful, popular, seventeen year old Lia Kahn is alive after a horrific accident but her new body is a machine which looks human but nothing inside is organic. It doesn't even look like Lia but she will never age and can't die. Lia still feels like herself but in a different body. Slowly Lia adjust to her new body but she doesn't have the same sensations anymore, and her body reacts differently now. Everyone around Lia tries to adjust to the new Lia her family and friends and just as Lia starts to accept herself as 'human' she is shunned by her friends and boyfriend. No one understands that she is still the same person underneath. She is introduced to other 'Mechs' who embrace who they are but Lia is still struggling with who she I. Is she still human? Lia is rejected by the human world and cannot accept life in the other. Her only friend is a human Auden who is fasincated with who she is. It is only another tragic event that forces Lia to chose where she belongs.
Skinned is a novel about identity and what it means to be human. However most of the humans in the story are unlikeable and shallow and Lia's sister is horrible. It is the Mech's that are more real and in her interactions with them that Lia acts more human. The concepts are great and I am interested in finding out more about Lia's story, however I hope that Lia gets over herself so that I can enjoy the story..
6/10

The Island – Armin Greder

What a dark, disturbing but thought-provoking book. With the story being about an island I can't help but draw comparisons between the story and Australia. One morning the people of the island awake to find a man had come ashore on a raft and he was not like them. They suggest that they send him back to where he came from, justifying that he wouldn't like it so far away from his people. A fisherman sticks up for the man, as he realises that to send him away would be sending him to his death. They take him to a goat pen, tell him to stay there and go back to their normal lives. Days later he comes to town because of he is hungry, The man causes fear and panic and the people don't want to feed him because if they feed everyone who came along they wouldn't have enough for themselves. They can't find away he could work for his food as everyone assumes that the man had no skills and he would frighten people. So they lock him up in the goat pen and feed him scraps. Even though he is locked up fear among the people increases as people gossip and tell stories until the people are so frightened that they force the man onto his raft and out to sea.
However the story does not end here. Because of their fear they burn their own fishing boats, refuse to each fish from the sea that brought the man and build a great wall around their island and shoot any bird that come near so that no-one will ever find their island again.
I felt really sad after reading this book, about the depravity of people. How Xenophobia causes people to reject those that are different to them and to become selfish and leads them to cut themselves off from the world and the wonderful experiences that it has to offer. With the way Australia is so non-accepting of refugees it is both a timely and a cautionary tale. When we reject those in need, that often come be boat, and refuse to share the wealth that we have we lose something of our humanity and make the world a sadder and darker place. The illustrations lend themselves to this darker place with the sombre colours sketch in charcoal, especially the ominous sea that is the threat that brings unwanted people who are different.
Although a picture book it is aimed at older readers (12+) and evokes passionate feelings of unfairness, human rights, anger and sadness.
9/10.

The Life and Times of Gracie Faltrain – Cath Crowley

So....I've started reading my daughters novels for Year 7 English. Not sure if this is the done thing, as my parents didn't do this for me, but then again they aren't readers. Are their other parents out there that do this?? Surely they are. I don't know if my daughter wants to talk about the books, but IF she does then I have some idea of what is going on. At the moment getting her to answer questions about school is like pulling teeth (unless it is time to go to bed and suddenly she is chatty).
Grace Faltrain is a Australian teenager who loves soccer. Ever since her father took her to a game and she saw the school soccer team she has wanted to play. She has pushed and got a position on the boys team and she is good, real good. But thing are not going according to Gracie's plan, shooting goals has become so important to Gracie she has lost touch with the team and they have lost trust in her; she had a disastrous date with Nick a boy she has liked forever; and her Dad has been absent for a long time and it looks like he might not be coming home. Gracie needs to pull something special out of the hat to get her life back on track again.
The book is written from the perspectives of the characters in the book. Gracie; Martin(the soccer captain); Helen (Gracie's Mum); Bill (Gracie's Dad); Nick; Annabelle (Gracie's rival for Nick's affections); Alyce (a classmate); and various soccer team mates. The book has an interesting format where each character's perspective is told on a separate page and sometimes it may only be one line. Sometimes they are speaking to the reader and other times they are responding to another character.
The book is at times humorous but also poignant as Crowley addresses themes of friendship, love, family relationships and self-esteem which are issues that effect teenagers. I'm glad that my daughter is reading this book and hope that she can take on board some of the lessons in the life and times of Gracie Faltrain.

Before Midnight – Cameron Dokey

Continuing right along with my reading of all things fairytale is this retelling of the story of Cinderella. When Cendrillon's mother dies just after giving birth to her, her father is devastated and leaves the estate and his daughter into the care of Old Mathilde. He also leaves a mysterious baby boy with instructions that this boy was to never leave the estate unless he was sent for. Thus Cendrillon and Raoul are bought up together in the care of Old Mathilde, who magically believes in wishes. Each year on their birthday Cendrillon and Raoul each make a wish. For Cendrillon it is that the ground around her mothers grave would grow something, for Raoul it is that he would know his origins. This continues until one birthday Cendrillon wishes for a mother and two sisters to love her. Wishes have a tendency to come try sooner or later, especially if they are spoken out of love, and soon a stepmother and two stepsisters arrive. Not knowing that Cendrillon is her husband's daughter, she is treated like a servant, but with kindness. But there is a sorrow in her stepmother's heart that Cendrillon longs to ease. Events take a turn when all the eligible girls of the kingdom are invited to a ball in the Princes' honour. Cendrillon is revealed to be a noble and all three girls prepare to go to the ball. However a message from Cendrillon's father tells them not to come. In ignoring this order the destinies of both Cendrillon and Raoul's are revealed.

I love the way that Dokey adds different dimensions to her tales. Instead of Cinderella's father dying and leaving her to her evil stepmother she adds the “what if” he was still alive and what effect would it have on the story. It is her father who is the man who has little regard for his daughter and would harm her if he could. In her stepmother Cendrillon finds the love that she craves.
Dokey sets the story in a familiar but magical landscape; where the garden grows mysterious and odd produce, where poor men can become princes, and where wishes are treasured and often come true. Perhaps the story is a little predictable, but it is to be expected as it basically follows a well known fairy tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 9/10

The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan

I am wondering which is more cool in paranormal genre. After the plethora of vampire book there are some good zombie teen fiction now available. Are zombies the new vampires or is this just part of the normal cycle of things. The first thing that attracted me to this book was the title. I was intrigued by the imagery that it conjured up for me; a forest of zombies reaching out with hands and teeth. This is a post-apocalyptic zombie novel where the majority of the human race are mindless cannibalistic zombies. The human race is confined to fenced villages. Mary lives in such a village which has been so isolated from any other humans that they believe that they are the only humans alive. Life involves keeping away from fences which are crowded by zombies trying to get in. The fences are maintained by the Guardians and all boys are trained up into this profession. The village is ruled by the Sisterhood who control all areas of village life such as schooling, marriage, childbirth, and death. Mary has lost her father to the undead and more recently her mother. She is becoming suspicious of the religious Sisterhood who try to rule her life and don't have answers to her questions about the past and the outside. When zombies breech her village Mary and a few others flee into a fenced corridor. No one knows were it will lead nor what dangers it holds. All that keeps Mary going is the stories passed down by her mother and her mothers mother and generations before of the ocean and a life free of the undead.
This is a good zombie read full of the tension that zombies, who are stronger than humans and relentless in their need to human flesh, bring to a story line. I was riveted by the intrigue of the Sisterhood and the way that tradition had been built on misunderstanding and lies to a build a religious order that most people never question. Mary's questioning mirrors teenagers today that are always questioning boundaries and norms that others don't think to question. Mary has a hope, unlike rest of the survivors, which gives her a will to survive and beat the odds stacked against her.
Ryan also adds a bit of teen romance to balance the desperation of the story and to round it off.
8/10

Snow – Tracy Lynn

Jess has skin as fair as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as shadow. Unfortunately her mother died at birth and her father is not much interested in her. Though a Dukes' daughter she runs wild with the estate children, learns to cook and not give much notice to her appearance. Until her father remarries. Appearances are very important to her stepmother and much of Jess's time is spent with her stepmother using her creams and potions to bring out her beauty. That is until Jess is pronounced the most beautiful. Jess is warned and flees for her life, to the city where she is found by five Lonely Ones – animal-like humans who secretly mine the streets (pick pockets). She keeps house for this group of misfits and adopts the name Snow. When Snow is discovered by her stepmother she dies in one of her stepmothers experiments to create eternal youth. Her friends are at a loss to know how to help Snow until then met the Clockwork man.....
A very interesting (as in peculiar) retelling of Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs with lots of other characters supporting the story. Snow herself is very traditional but the 7 dwarfs are animal-like people that we find out were originally created by the stepmother in her quest to have a child. The magic mirror is a bewitched musician and the wicked stepmother is a scientist who has gone mad in her attempt to be beautiful and to create a child. Gone is the magic kiss that brings Snow back to life, it is replaced by a jolt of electricity. It is also confusing who is the 'prince' as there are a few eligible gentleman. That said, I did enjoy the twists to the story as it made it less predictable. As a fairy tale adaptation it is a good read. 7/10

My Soul to keep – Rachel Vincent

I guess I am not up with paranormal folklore. When I think of a banshee I was picturing a wailing ghost like figure not unlike the ghosts in Scooby Doo. However with a google search on banshees I discover that they are female spirits who are omens of death and their wailing usually foretell death.
When Kaylee realizes that she can sense when people are going to die and cannot contain the scream that wells up inside her she knows she thinks she is crazy. But instead thanks to Nash, the hottest guy a school, she discovers that she is a bean sidhe (banshee) and a whole new supernatural world opens up to her. Just when she is coming to terms with this new life her classmates begin dying. Kaylee and Nash discover that their powers compliment each other and with Nash's experience in the Netherworld are a force to be reckoned with when they investigate the deaths and try to prevent them.
I found the concept of bean sidhes intriguing as it added to my knowledge of other-world fictional creatures. It is primarily a teen romance story in a paranormal setting. For me it was escapist fiction which I read very quickly and I am interested in reading the sequels to see what happens in the lives of this young couple. 6/10

Before I fall – Lauren Oliver

What if you lived the last day of your life again....would you change anything?
Eighteen year old Sam Kingston is having a severe case of deja vu. Believing that she has died in a horrible car crash with her best friends she finds herself in her bed reliving yesterday, the day of the crash. Reminiscent of the Bill Murray movie Groundhog day, Sam finds herself reliving the day over and over again. Sam is initially a popular girl at school who isn't being true to herself in order to be popular. Over the recurrences of her day Sam learns more about herself, shares her true self with people and gets to know the people she sees everyday at school in a new light. At first I found reading this book hard going as I could not relate to Sam nor did I like her character but I persisted as I was interested in the concept of her reliving the day of the crash. However Sam evolves through the book to show love and a depth of character which ultimate leads the ultimate outcome to her last day. 7/10

Water Song - Suzanne Weyn

The frog prince is my favourite fairy tale! When I was living in a rural village in Papua New Guinea one of my favourite things to do to encourage my language learning was to tell stories. Part of my job required hiking from village to village to collect information about literacy. At night people would gather around and talk. I became known for telling stories, especially the story called “Rokrok na pikinini meri bilong king” (The frog and the daughter of the king). In my imaginings this story would be retold by other Papuan nationals and become a 'tumbuna stori' (folkstory).
I'm not sure what it is that makes the story so appealing to me. Is it the romance of the story the way that the frog must woo the princess to kiss him to break the spell. Is it all about fairness in how we treat people. Or the whole idea of not overlooking someone just because they are ugly/different because what is inside could be something wonderful (Don't judge a book by its cover).
Suzanne Weyn's adaptation of 'The frog prince” is set during the first world war. Against this bleak background all of the well-known parts of the fairytale are addressed. The 'golden ball' is a golden locket shaped as a ball; the' princess' an wealthy English girl called Emma and, the 'frog' is Jack, an American who has a talent for back water magic. When they first meet Emma finds him in the well where she threw her locket. He's a good swimmer, his skin is blistered, and his eyes are bulging and swollen from the gas, very much the picture of a human frog. As soon as he is able to see Emma, he wants her to kiss him. The plot includes the aspects of war, espionage and battle that allows Emma to see what a prince among men jack really is. The result is a mix of war romance meets fairytale which didn't quite capture the magic for me. 6/10

Beauty Sleep - Cameron Dokey

Dokey has successfully converted sleeping beauty into a teen romance. Young Aurora is mollycoddled by her family because of a curse that was given at her christening. We all know the story but consider trying to eat steak without a knife as her parents won't let her use anything sharp! Prince Charming also lives with the family (Aurora's cousin) as heir to the throne. Initially he is anything but charming, but as he matures has a winning way about him. Until Aurora is named heir and Prince Charming is to be steward and the scene is set for a love-hate relationship. Unlike the sleeping curse of the traditional tale Aurora flees her home (to protect it from her curse) into a forbidden forest where she must await true loves kiss (or at least the kiss of someone she likes ) Perhaps not a true retelling of the fairy tale but Dokey's interpretation makes a good read. 7/10

The Storyteller's daughter - Cameron Dokey

Shaharazad has inherited her mother's storytelling gift and although never accepted by her father's people she uses her gift to bring sanity to the king. King Shahrayar has been betrayed by love and swears to marry and then the next morning kill his wife so that she has no opportunity to betray him. Shaharazad offers herself up as a bride to save others from death. Her stories woo the king, and attempt to restore his heart. This book brings that character of Shaharazad alive rather than just the stories she tells (as told in 1001 Arabian nights). It tells of her mother, her childhood and of the terror and wisdom in her actions towards the king she loves. I loved the book! I liked the way that Shaharazad is portrayed as a feminist and in her tales it is the woman who are most wise. Although I know Shaharazad's story there were enough twist in the story line to keep it suspenseful and enjoyable. 8/10