Review: A Wounded Name

“A Wounded Name,” by Dot Hutchison. The Goodreads summary:

There's a girl who could throw herself head first into life and forge an unbreakable name, an identity that stands on its own without fathers or brothers or lovers who devour and shatter.

I'VE NEVER BEEN THAT GIRL.

Sixteen-year-old Ophelia Castellan will never be just another girl at Elsinore Academy. Seeing ghosts is not a skill prized in future society wives. Even when she takes her pills, the bean sidhe beckon, reminding her of a promise to her dead mother.

Now, in the wake of the Headmaster's sudden death, the whole academy is in turmoil, and Ophelia can no longer ignore the fae. Especially once she starts seeing the Headmaster's ghosts- two of them- on the school grounds.

At the center of her crumbling world is Dane, the Headmaster's grieving son. He, too, understands the power of a promise to a parent- even a dead one. To him, Ophelia is the only person not tainted by deceit and hypocrisy, a mirror of his own broken soul. And to Ophelia, Dane quickly becomes everything. Yet even as she gives more of herself to him, Dane slips away. Consumed by suspicion, rage, and madness, he spirals towards his tragic fate- dragging Ophelia, and the rest of Elsinore, with him.

YOU KNOW HOW THIS STORY ENDS.

Yet even in the face of certain death, Ophelia has a choice to make- and a promise to keep. She is not the girl others want her to be. But in Dot Hutchison's dark and sensuous debut novel, the name "Ophelia" is as deeply, painfully, tragically real as "Hamlet".

First of all, this is a drop-dead gorgeous cover. And not only is it gorgeous, it fits the book perfectly—both in plot and tone. But beyond the cover, my feelings for this book are . . . complex, to say the least.

Dot Hutchinson can write. There is absolutely no doubt about that. She strings words together in a way that’s not only beautiful but that creates the perfect atmosphere for the story. But because the language is so lovely, I was about three-fourths of the way through the book before I realized I had some major issues with it. And to Hutchinson’s credit, I think all the issues I had with the book were deliberate on her part. Like, it didn’t seem like any of them were the result of carelessness or not developing something enough, rather they were all part of the way Hutchinson intended to tell the story, as frustrating as they may have been.

And let me tell you, this is not a Hamlet retelling where anyone is redeemed. It’s a tragedy as much as the original play is. And I was expecting that, based on a few reviews I read. But what I wasn’t expecting was for Ophelia to be such a passive character. And I like I said, I came away with the impression that Hutchinson fully intended her to be that way. But still. I wanted her to act for once, instead of always being acted upon. But she never does. She never takes her life into her own hands, always letting others shape her life for her. That was a tragedy to me as much as the deaths were. And I think what got to me the most about Ophelia’s passivity is that Dane is abusive—physically and emotionally—and she just takes it. And more than that, she wants it. She wants him to take his pain out on her, and I just really struggled with that aspect of her character.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read Hamlet, but as far as I can tell, “A Wounded Name” was a fairly close retelling. I think what I found most interesting was that rather than changing the story to make it easier to swallow, the author instead explores what kind of people and events and backstories are needed for the story of Hamlet end the way it does. And in that, she does a fantastic job. I didn’t always like the characters, but their dislikable and complicated qualities made it so obvious why the story had to end with bitterness and death and revenge.

Seriously, I could go on and on some more about this book. Like I said, my feelings are complicated. But I think the last thing I’ll mention is the supernatural element. I just really think it worked so perfectly in this book. It makes Ophelia walking into that lake so incredibly understandable, which is something you don’t get in the original.

Overall, not an easy book, but one I think is worth a read. Ophelia really got to me by then end—to the point where I started yelling at the book out loud—but I think all those complex emotions I had made this a book I’ve thought about more than most others in recent memory.

Rating: 3 / 5 

Review: Sapphire Blue

“Sapphire Blue” (Ruby Red #2), by Kerstin Gier

Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean.

At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out.

So being as giddy about “Ruby Red” as I was, I pretty much immediately went to the library to check out the next book in the series and dove right in. The verdict? While I didn’t enjoy “Sapphire Blue” quite as much as “Ruby Red,” I still had a pretty good time with it.

Like with “Ruby Red,” the main thing that carried the book for me was Gwen. I just find her so refreshingly normal. I feel like with her, I’m in the head of a 16-year-old and not like I’m in the head of a 30-something-year-old author trying to sound like a 16-year-old. Of course, this does mean I get frustrated with Gwen sometimes for acting like a teenager, especially around Gideon, but she always redeems herself. Plus, she cracks me up.

Gideon was pretty much a tool in this book, and I’m really not sure why Gwen thinks she’s in love with him. By the end of the book, his reason for being such a jerk sometimes is revealed (not that it casts him in any better of a light), but still—I was not a fan of Gideon in this book at all.

Also like with “Ruby Red,” this book felt light. I was usually too busy having a fun time reading these books to mind, but they definitely tend to lack depth in terms of character or plot. I’m also starting to get the feeling that this series could actually have all been one book if some of the superfluous scenes had been taken out (seriously, I don’t know why that soiree scene needed to be so long).

Overall, a book that, while lacking in some areas, was still fun to read. On to “Emerald Green”!

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Review: Ruby Red

“Ruby Red,” by Kirstin Gier. The Goodreads summary:

Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

You’d think by now I’d have learned not to judge a book by its cover. I don’t know what it is about this cover, but it made me have about zero desire to read “Ruby Red.” But then I finally did anyway, and I was reminded for the billionth time why I need to stop judging books by their covers. Because I totally loved this book.

I think the thing that drew me in the most was the narrative voice. Gwyneth just tells her story in such an engaging and charismatic way. And she’s pretty dang funny as well. I think I would’ve enjoyed the plot no matter what, but the way it was told put it over the top for me. This book was originally written in German, I think, so kudos to the author for writing a book that could carry over so well into another language. And serious kudos to the translator for making the English version feel so natural. Pretty much, I just want to spend this review going on and on about how much I love Gwyneth as a main character. I basically adored the fact that although Gwyneth ends up being able to travel through time, other than that, she’s so completely normal that you can’t help but relate to her.

But maybe you might want to hear about some of the other characters too? Gideon, I really enjoyed for about 99 percent of the book. He and Gwyneth have that “I hate you but I’m secretly attracted to you” thing going on, and they pull it off well. I did think, though, that Gideon acted a bit out of character at the very end, so we’ll see if that carries over into the next books in the series. The other secondary characters were pretty great, especially Leslie, Gwyneth’s best friend. I do wish, however, that we could’ve gotten a little deeper look at Charlotte, Gwyneth’s cousin. But again, maybe in the next books.

Plot-wise, I thought that it seemed maybe a little light. Like, there could’ve been another 50 pages or something. But I guess I’d rather that than a series that tries to tackle too much in the first book. And really, handling the plot that way made me really eager to read the next books, so it was pretty effective in that way.

Overall, an amusing book with an interesting plot and a main character that I really loved. The other two books in the series are already out, and I’ll be reading them for sure.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

Review: Allegiant

“Allegiant” (Divergent #3), by Veronica Roth. The GoodReads summary:

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Due to the general outrage I’ve heard over this book, I wasn’t exactly in a big hurry to read it. But I was still committed to finishing the series. So after a few months of lending it to all my friends who wanted to read it, I finally decided to break down and read it myself.

Honestly, I didn’t have a problem with it, which I was happy about. While I still think the first book is by far the best, I definitely liked this third book better than the second one. In the second one, Tris annoyed me so incredibly much, and though I understood why she was acting that way, it didn’t make her any more likeable. But in this third book, Tris was back to being someone I could like and admire, for the most part.

I also remembered while reading this book how well Veronica Roth can write. I think the second book got on my nerves enough that I overlooked how deftly Roth can tell a story. But “Allegiant” reminded me that not only does Roth’s writing pull together a plot together pretty dang seamlessly, but she also can string words together in a way that skillful without drawing attention to itself. And I appreciated that she expanded the scope of the story in this third book. It felt like there were only three or four different settings in the first two books, and it was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic.

As for the thing that made everyone freak out, I have three thoughts (and I’ll try to keep it spoiler free). One, although I liked the book, I don’t think I was attached to the characters or story enough to truly care when that particular event happened. Two, I think doing what Veronica Roth did was pretty brave, considering she had to know the reaction she would get from her readers. And three, even though I think it took guts to put that in the story, I don’t think it was necessary; like, I think there were about a million other ways for the story to resolve without that event. It felt a little gratuitous.

Overall, much better than I was expecting based on other people’s reactions and how much I didn’t like the second book. While it didn’t amaze me, I was pretty content with it when I finished.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Other books in the series
Divergent
Insurgent

Review: Throne of Glass

“Throne of Glass,” by Sarah Maas. The Goodreads summary:

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another.

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

So I know that a lot of people really like this book. And I can kinda see why. But for me, this ended up being one of those books that never quite lived up to its potential. I can already tell that this is going to be one of those reviews where I spend all my time whining about the things I didn’t like rather than balancing it out with the things the book did well. So I’ll preface it all by saying that in general, the book was fine, it’s just that the things that annoyed me really annoyed me and kind of skewed my perspective.

The number 1 thing that annoyed me? The love triangle. I’m pretty much never a fan of love triangles, but this one especially grated on my nerves. I think it’s because Celaena’s attitude pissed me off. On the one hand, she acts all oblivious that she’s totally coming onto both guys, but at the same time she gets all miffed if one of them seems to stop paying attention to her. And I really just wanted to slap her sometimes. Similarly, I feel like the only reason parts of the book were from Dorian and Chaol’s perspectives were so we could see how in love with her they are—those parts didn’t really seem to advance the story in any other way.

Another thing that got to me a bit was that Celaena never really acts like an assassin. The whole book she goes on about how she’s the best assassin in the country, but you never get to see that. You get to see her training a little bit and you get glimpses of the tests, but other than that, the rest of the book is about the love triangle and about the magic stuff that crops up, and it made me feel like Celaena was all talk and no action, and it frustrated me that the author did that when she could’ve made Celaena kick butt.

I also felt like there were too many plot lines. There’s the championship contest, there’s the love triangle, there’s the champions being mysteriously murdered, there’s the visitations by long-dead queens, there’s the stuff about Kaltain . . . it just felt like too much. Or at the very least, it felt like it wasn’t woven together very well. I felt a very obvious shift each time the story moved to a different aspect of the plot, and that lack of seamlessness made the story feel a little clunky to me.

Overall, it probably wasn’t as annoying a book as I’m making it seem, but man did I get frustrated with it sometimes—especially with Celaena. But I feel like everyone else I know enjoyed the book, so don’t let this review stop you if you think it sounds like something you’d like.

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Review: Legend

“Legend,” by Marie Lu. The Goodreads summary:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

“Cute” and “fun” are not typically words I use to describe books in the dystopian genre, but I kinda feel like they fit in this case. Legend was about as untaxing a dystopian as any I’ve come across, though I don’t think the author necessarily intended it that way. But the plot was pretty straightforward and the characters relatively simple, and the result for me was that the whole book went down pretty easily. I don’t mean any of this pejoratively at all. I enjoyed Legend more than quite a few other dystopians because of all these things, in fact.

Like I mentioned, the characters in this book aren’t too complex. Their motivations are clear, and although June misleads Day for a while, that gets brought out into the open pretty quick. June and Day are fairly young—15, I think—and it shows a bit in their naiveté and how quickly they get all starry-eyed about each other. This is the kind of thing that usually annoys me, but this . . . sweetness, I guess . . . fit well with the relative simplicity of the book.

Even the things like street fights, interrogations, escape attempts, and confrontations with soldiers never quite seemed as brutal as might have been realistic. And although some really tragic things happen, I never really felt for the characters; it was more like an “oh, that sucks” reaction. Again, these types of things would usually bug me, but since they meshed with the other uncomplicated aspects of the book, I didn’t care as much as I typically would.

Overall, a dystopian that stays in the shallow end. But honestly, after some of the convoluted and confusing dystopian plots I’ve read, light and easy was a bit of a relief. The jury’s still out on whether I’ll be reading the rest of the series.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Review: Just Call Me Ninja (plus a GIVEAWAY)

Just Call Me Ninja, by Clare Haltom. The Goodreads summary:

Sophomore Callista Trent is used to being the anonymous new girl. But when her mother’s nomadic job finally keeps her family in one place long enough to force Callista to settle in, she wants none of it. She doesn’t expect it to last, anyway—it never does.

She also doesn’t expect to stumble across a group of shinobi, modern-day ninjas who also happen to be high school students. Or for them to claim destiny sent her to join them. Or for the hot, harmonica-playing loner from her chemistry class to be one of the instructors.

For once, she starts to think that maybe she could belong somewhere. But she quickly learns her new friends aren’t running some casual karate school. And when Callista’s assigned to a dangerous mission they say only she can complete, she begins to suspect it wasn’t destiny that brought her to the shinobi at all but a carefully laid plan. Oh, and the worst part? The boy she thought she could trust may have known the truth all along.

Ninjas, right? How awesome is that? I always enjoy reading YAs with plot devices I haven’t read before, and teenage urban ninjas definitely fall into that category. But as crazy as modern ninjas might sound, the author makes them fairly believable, and I think she pulls it off mostly because of her main character, Callista.

Callista is just so dang likable and easy to relate to. Plus, she’s funny and down-to-earth . . . the whole package really. So naturally, being the smart girl she is, when she first gets introduced to the world of modern ninjas, she’s completely skeptical at first. And I think because she was as dubious as I was about the plausibility of ninjas, by the time she was finally convinced, I was too. We made the journey together, if you will.

So, obviously, being a book about ninjas, it’s a mostly plot-driven story. The plot falls more into the light and fun spectrum rather than being suspenseful or gripping like you might expect from a story about ninjas, but the less serious approach to the story really worked for me. And while there’s not necessarily a whole lot going on in terms of character development, Callista is so likable from the get-go that it was mostly a non-issue for me.

I could’ve used a little more insight into some of the secondary characters, though, like Mercer, Izzy, Aaron, and Sol. Because what you see of them is so intriguing, and you can just tell they all have good backstories, but the book doesn’t really give you more than glimpses. You get a bit of a deeper look at Nick, the crush, but even with him, I didn’t feel like I was getting the whole picture. So I’m looking forward to them being fleshed out in later books.

As for the writing, I thought the book was pretty dang polished for a self-published. There are a couple places where errors slipped through, but by and large it’s well-written and amusing and reads smoothly. For the most part, I don’t think I would’ve guessed that I wasn’t reading a traditionally published book.

Overall, a fun read that strikes a good balance between the martial arts and making out. Although I could’ve used a bit more development in some areas, Callista is a strong main character that carries the book along effortlessly. And the book sets up some promising plot twists towards the end, so I’m on board for reading any subsequent books in the series. Recommended for fans of Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series or of Leila Sales’ writing style, and it's out today!

Rating: 4 / 5

Received for review.

GIVEAWAY!!!

In an effort to give a new author some buzz, Clare Haltom is giving away 10 copies of “Just Call Me Ninja” (Kindle or paper copy). All she asks is that you consider giving a fair and honest review on your blog, on Amazon, or on Goodreads. To win a free copy, just be one of the first 10 people to leave a comment on this post with your email (or Twitter name or some other way to contact you) by May 5, 2014.

Find Clare Haltom . . .
On her website
On Facebook
On Goodreads
On Twitter
On Amazon

Review: This Song Will Save Your Life

“This Song Will Save Your Life,” by Leila Sales. The Goodreads summary:

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Leila Sales two other books, it’s that the girl can write. Her writing style is just so engaging and witty, and I find myself getting pulled in whether I want to be or not. Because, to be honest, there were certain points in this book when I was thinking about tossing it into the proverbial DNF pile, but the writing always convinced me to keep going. So, you know, high five to Leila Sales for that.

I think the main thing that got to me about this book was Elise. She just . . . got on my nerves sometimes, and a really petty part of me couldn’t help thinking “No wonder no one at school likes you.” Which thinking that, even about a fictional character, made me feel like a terrible person, but guilt aside, I couldn’t handle Elise at times. I just wanted her to stop being so self-pitying and selfish and to get a grip and get some self-confidence. And, okay, I realize that the whole point of the book is Elise learning to like herself for who she is, etc., etc. But still, I couldn’t ever decide whether the fact that she annoyed me so much made Elise a really poorly written character or a really well-written one.

The other thing I wasn’t too thrilled about was that the “moral of the story,” so to speak, was so blatant. There were certain scenes that just felt like a public service announcement for self-worth. And I like to think most readers would be smart enough to figure out the message of the book without it being handed to them tied up with a bow.

But those two issues aside, I did find myself enjoying the book in other parts. Like all the stuff about DJing I found fascinating, mostly because my knowledge of indie dance parties and what it takes to be a DJ is approximately zero. I also liked the bits with Char in them. Yes, he’s a total tool, but I admired that the author could write a character who’s such a jerk without necessarily making him the bad guy.

Overall, although I had some issues with the book, the strong writing carried me through, and I’ll still be reading whatever Leila Sales writes next.

Rating: 3 / 5

Review: Cress

“Cress” (Lunar Chronicles #3), by Marissa Meyer. The Goodreads summary:

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

I really enjoyed “Cinder.” And I totally adored “Scarlet.” “Cress” . . . well, I want to make it clear that I did generally like it. I can tell already that this review is going to come off sounding more negative than I actually feel, so I feel I should state up front that the book was fine. It just that “fine” was a bit of a letdown after the amazingness that was “Scarlet.” So here we go.

First of all, I feel like this book has about a million points of view. There’s Cress’s, Scarlet’s, Cinder’s, and Kai’s, and that’s just for starters. Thorne, Dr. Erland, and Levana have bits from their perspective as well, and I’m sure there are other ones I’m forgetting. And switching between all those points of view got frustrating for me. I didn’t get to spend enough time in anyone perspective to really start to feel at home there.

I think this was especially the case with Cress and Thorne’s story. I mean, Cress is the title character, but I don’t feel like I got to know her in the way that I got to know Cinder and Scarlet in the other books. Same thing with Thorne. There wasn’t nearly enough time for him to develop as a character as much as I would’ve liked. With both of them, there were such promising hints of depth to their characters, but as soon as I felt like we might be getting somewhere with them, the perspective would change and we’d never really get back to that hope of depth.

And speaking of Cress, that girl did not come close to winning me over in the way that Scarlet or even Cinder did. I feel like Cress is always cowering and screaming, and yes, I understand why she’s that way, but it didn’t make it any less annoying. And don’t even get me started on her “relationship” with Thorne. He’s the first guy she’s ever seen, he’s handsome and charming, and they’re tossed in a stressful situation together—there’s no way that’s a foundation for a healthy relationship, and the author never really developed their feelings enough to convince me otherwise.

Plus, Wolf pissed me off in this book. He’s so awesome in “Scarlet” that I wasn’t expecting to be so constantly frustrated by him. It’s like he literally cannot function without Scarlet, and I just wanted to tell him to get a grip and focus on something other than his woe-is-me, my-life-is-over-without-her attitude. Mopey men are NOT attractive.

The shining moment of this book for me was the chapter with Winter. That girl has got fascinating written all over her, and I’m excited for the next book to see more of her.

Overall, like I started out with, I did like the book in general, it’s just that there were so many things I had issues with that it doesn’t really compare to, say, “Scarlet.” I mean, the “unputdownable” point for me (the point where I finally got sucked in) didn’t come until page 483, and in a book that’s 550 pages, that’s a long time to wait to finally get into it. Still, I’ll be reading the final book when it comes out.

Rating: 3 / 5

Other books in this series:
Cinder
Scarlet

Review: Counting by 7s

“Counting by 7s,” by Holly Goldberg Sloan. The Goodreads summary:

Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life... until now.

Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.

Okay, so I know in the summary it says that this book “is not a tragedy,” but still, going into it I was kinda expecting it to be exactly that. I mean, it says right there in the summary that her parents die in a car crash. But actually, the summary was right. It wasn’t a tragedy. Sad in parts, yes. Obviously. But more than that, I think this book was hopeful. Because although the death of Willow’s parents is a driving force in the book, it isn’t the only thing it’s about.

Instead, it’s about all kinds of good things, like finding somewhere to belong. It’s about the effect we have on others without knowing it, and how small acts of kindness can change everything. It’s about family—both the kind you’re born with and the kind you choose. It’s about how finding a new normal can be so, so hard but possible all the same. I kinda wanted to hug this book when I finished.

Willow . . . basically I want to adopt her. She’s a genius, and it colors her relationships with others and her reactions to the world around her, but it doesn’t make her emotionally distant at all. She’s kind and caring and such a good kid, despite all the hard things she has to go through. I loved her interest in medical conditions and in gardening, and those were the kinds of things that made her feel so real and accessible as a character.

I adored the other characters as well, even the ones I didn’t expect to in the beginning. I mean, Dell Duke is about as pathetic of a character as you can get at the start of the book. But if there’s one thing this book shows, it’s the power that comes from being needed and from other people having expectations of you.

Overall, it was a solid book. I don’t typically go for middle grade books, but this one was worth it. It had powerful lessons to teach, but it didn’t shove them down my throat, and I really appreciate it when a book respects my intelligence.

Rating: 4 / 5