Dust & Decay - Jonathan Maberry

 

 Title: Dust & Decay

Author: Jonathan Maberry

Format: Audiobook

Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It’s also six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny’s zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny’s best friend Lou Chong are going with them.

Sounds easy. Sounds wonderful. Except that everything that can go wrong does. Before they can even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town. But as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers and the horrors of Gameland –where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all… could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?

In the great Rot & Ruin everything wants to kill you. Everything…and not everyone in Benny’s small band of travelers will make it out alive. 

It should come as no surprise to people who read my blog that I love anything about zombies and other weird crap.  So, it should come as no surprise that I am over the moon about Jonathan Maberry's Dust & Decay - the second book in the Rot & Ruin series. 

This book picks up six months after Rot & Ruin.  Benny, Nix, Lilah, Chong, and Tom are heading out into the Ruin to track down the plane they sat at the end of Rot & Ruin.  They have several surprises waiting for them that turn out to be just crazy!  I mean, seriously some of the things that happen in this book had me sitting there like:

A couple things that had me going wild were:

1. Preacher Jack is Charlie Pinkeye's dad.
2. White Bear was at Gameland when Tom torched it, and he DIDN'T DIE! (Also, he's Charlie's brother.)
3. Gameland is back.

There were so many other things I could tell you, but I don't want too many spoilers - go out and read the book!

When I was reading the book, I kept just wondering about Preacher Jack.  I found him to be incredibly arrogant, but also intriguing.  I imagine that he would probably sit around like: 

But I digress.

The characters in the book are all stunning.  Well developed, distinct, and sturdy. They take the things that happen with a grain of sand and keep fighting.  I think that Benny, Lilah, Chong, and Nix all grow and mature a lot in this book.  There are obviously a few moments where they are a little immature - they are teenagers after all. But by and large, they grow and change a lot. 

As far as the bad guys, White Bear, Preacher Jack, et al, they are as marvelous as you could expect any bad guy to be.  Really, truly, exceptional bad guys  They did things that made me cringe - and the entire time, they were under the belief that everything they did was good and under the guidance of god.  Weird, sure, but it makes it all seem legit.

The story fit together well from beginning to end.  There was nothing in the book that made me think it didn't fit or belong.  I was heartbroken at the end, but also understood why everything had to happen. 

Go read this book - it gets 5 stars all the way!  (Also, if you listen to it on audiobook, I think you'll find yourself as enamored with Brian Hutchison's voice as I was.)

Darke - Angie Sage

Title: Darke
Author: Angie Sage
Format: Audiobook

I listened to Angie Sage's Darke on audiobook, and like the other books in the Septimus Heap Series, I fell in love.  The book is fabulous from beginning to end.  It is "darke" in the way only the best children's book can be - and the characters are just as you would expect them to be from earlier books in the series.

The book is titled Darke for a couple reasons - first, there is a darke creature living in the castle (in a secret sealed room) that needs to be banished, and second - Jenna, our dear princess, becomes a witch.  It wasn't really her choice - but she does it anyway. 

There is plenty of action throughout the book, and some kissing - though not in the way you might expect.  (Don't worry, it is a kids book.  An evil witch gives Jenna a kiss on the cheek.) 

Even though the book was called Darke, there were some moments where I found myself laughing as well. 

Overall, this is the perfect book for kids 8 and up - and chances are their grownups will love the book well.  It doesn't disappoint.

The Life She Wants - Robin Carr

Title: The Life She Wants
Author: Robin Carr
Format: Audiobook

In the aftermath of her financier husband's suicide, Emma Shay Compton's dream life is shattered. Richard Compton stole his clients' life savings to fund a lavish life in New York City and, although she was never involved in the business, Emma bears the burden of her husband's crimes. She is left with nothing.

Only one friend stands by her, a friend she's known since high school, who encourages her to come home to Sonoma County. But starting over isn't easy, and Sonoma is full of unhappy memories, too. And people she'd rather not face, especially Riley Kerrigan.

Riley and Emma were like sisters—until Riley betrayed Emma, ending their friendship. Emma left town, planning to never look back. Now, trying to stand on her own two feet, Emma can't escape her husband's reputation and is forced to turn to the last person she thought she'd ever ask for help—her former best friend. It's an uneasy reunion as both women face the mistakes they've made over the years. Only if they find a way to forgive each other—and themselves—can each of them find the life she wants.

I read this book on a whim, looking for something that was what I like to call a "fluff" read.  While this book wasn't complete fluff, it had some of that aspect.  What I mean by that is the book had a sort of light plot that didn't get into a lot of deep issues, and characters that felt similar. 

While the story was somewhat intriguing, I also found myself disappointed at the fact that all the main characters were, like so many books, just white and blonde and the same.  And all the characters of color were described as being what white people expect people of color to be.  There was no real development of those characters as real people with real lives who mattered. 

From the description, you may think that the book is too deep to be a "fluff" book, and I guess in some respects it is.  BUT, let me tell you why I would still label it as at least more fluff than not.  Emma is dealing with a crappy marriage to man who stole millions of dollars from people, then, in the heat of the investigation, committed suicide.  Emma has a lot to deal with when it comes to her relationship and her now dead husband.  But she never actually really deals with her issues.  She thinks about them.  She talks about them.  But she never really gets into the nitty gritty of what happened to her, and she never deals with or copes with her problems.  The same could be said for Riley, and the relationship she has/had with Emma.  They spend the entire book dancing around the subject of Riley and Jock sleeping together even when Jock was still with Riley - but they never really solve the issue.  It was just like one day it was a problem, then bam - the next day everything was better.  Part of that was because Riley did realize she was the biggest part of the problem in that she wasn't willing to let anything go.  But mostly it just felt like everything had to get wrapped up neatly because the book was ending.

I really wanted to see Emma and Riley do more with making up and talking about what had happened in the past, but I never got it.  I also wanted the author to delve more into Emma and helping her work through her shit - and I almost got my hopes up when Emma started seeing a counselor, but then that just stopped.  There was no.... resolution with the Emma/my husband is dead thing.  It was frustrating.  

Overall, I think I would rate this book 3 stars.  Read it if you want, but don't expect anything drop dead spectacular. 

Things that Are - Andrew Clements

Things that Are is the third book in a YA series by Andrew Clements.  I haven't read the first two, so I have no idea how this book compares to its predecessors.  Things that Are focuses primarily on Alicia Van Dorn, a blind teenager from Chicago.  Her parents are professors at the University of Chicago, and she is best friends with Bobby, a kid who turned invisible because of an electric blanket malfunction.  Yep - you read that right - Bobby became invisible because of an electric blanket.

When Alicia receives an accidental phone call from Bobby in the middle of the night, she knows something isn't right.  She hears him arguing with someone, then the call ends.  Later the same day, Bobby arrived back in Chicago.  He meets Alicia at the university library, where they talk and hang out in a private room.  When Bobby leaves, Alicia finds herself sitting on a bench getting ready to leave when a disembodied voice starts talking to her.  The voice belongs to William, another person turned invisible because of an electric blanket malfunction.  The rest of the novel, which only occurs over the course of one 24 hour period, includes another electric blanket, sleeping pills being fed to Alicia's dog, and a couple of visits from the FBI.

Perhaps it was because the book was so short, or perhaps it was because this was the third in a series in which I haven't read the first two books, but this book just kind of fell flat for me.  There wasn't much of a chance for character growth since the book was so short and took place over the course of one day.  That only slightly bothered me - I don't know many people after all who develop much in the course of 24 hours.  However, it did bother me that all the characters seemed superficial and felt just kind of stale.

Also, because the story was a quick, look what happens in one day kind of thing, it felt like everything was rushed. The author jumped from one thing to the next, and seemed to throw in certain events just because he could.  For example, when Alicia's dad killed some mice by putting them in the garbage disposal - that was an unnecessary event. There was really no rhyme or reason to because, GUESS WHAT?! The mice are invisible.  He could have found some other way of hiding the mice from the FBI if he was really that concerned.

Overall, I'd give the book 2 stars - read it if you must, but be forewarned that you might find other books more interesting. 

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder - Rebecca Wells

I picked up The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder on audiobook at my local library.  This was the first book I've read by Rebecca Wells, despite knowing who she is because of the success of her Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. 

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder, to sum it up quickly, is the story of Calla Lily, a girl born in the town of La Luna, Louisiana.  Calla Lily grows up surrounded by her dad, her mother (called M'Dear), and her two brothers, as well as a whole town of people who all look out for and love Calla Lily.

The Crowning Glory was, from what I can tell, the perfect book to read for someone who loves when their books are ALL sunshine and roses.  The story was mediocre, there wasn't a ton of tension or unease in the book, and everything happened so easily for Calla Lily.  For example, when she was a teenager, she and Tuck realized that they were attracted to each other.  Then, all of a sudden, with no discussion about it, and no talking to each other about said feelings, they were just a couple - together until Tuck moved to California and never once wrote to or called Calla.  And she just got over her broken heart like that, moved to New Orleans, and went to beauty school.  Then, there's the move to New Orleans itself.  She was working at a diner to save money, then suddenly her dad presents her with this savings bond that suddenly makes it easier for her to move right away, and he acts like he forgot all about it.

Things continue to go easily and smoothly for Calla her entire life, even in spite of massive heartache and loss.  When her mother dies from cancer, the move from death of M'Dear, to Calla moving happens so quickly that one wonders what Calla actually felt about her mother's death.  When her husband is killed in an off shore oil rig explosion, the actual feelings Calla is experiencing are never discussed.  She doesn't get angry and yell at people, or throw things, or express any emotions of anger or sadness at all.

The characters in the book all seem... sort of flat.  They all seemed to have the same voices, and the same personalities for the most part.  The most distinct character in the book was Sookie, Calla's best friend.  Other than that, they see seemed to blend together.  None of them seemed particularly memorable.

Overall, this is a 2 star book, at most.  Read it if you want, but got into it with the knowledge that it is not Wells best work.  Had this been her first book, it probably would not have made it past the editor's desk, at least not without some major improvements.