The Madman's Daughter by Megan Sheperd

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Sheperd
Series: The Madman's Daughter, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: January 29, 2013

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

The Madman's Daughter is one of those books that I just knew that I would like. And for once, well, I was right. I did really like this one, and for me it wasn't very predictable. But I've never read The Island of Dr. Moreau, so this was a completely new experience for me.

I found Juliet to be a very...interesting/completely out of it character. She has ideas about things that just drive me absolutely mad. *I have developed a british accent in my head after reading this* At first her illness seemed really odd, but as some of the details about her father started to fall into place, it was like I suddenly figured it all out. And once I figure it out, I really wanted to beat some sense into Juliet. For instance, if you've read The Island of Dr. Moreau, you understand this: but there are natives on the island. And there is only one woman, a teenager, that Juliet deducts came on a boat...but. There are natives. She never even wonders where they came from? Really. I guess it kind of makes sense (her ignorance) for that time frame...but girl. People don't come from storks.

There are several other things that bothered me about her powers of deduction too, but for the sake of spoilers I won't reveal them. The island was so strange! When we first got there, I was questioning everything. I wanted to know about the past, and why and just everything. But the more I read, the more that it just got weird and twisted. Juliet thinks that what she did at the beginning was unnatural, but I disagree. What her father was doing was unnatural. And weirdly shocking.

As the story wore on, a couple new characters were introduced. And some had pasts that I never would have suspected. My face was like this by the ending: O.O All in all, it was a really good story, but I can't shake the feeling that it could have been a little better.

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Little, Brown
Publication Date: October 3, 2011

Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.

But Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the daily mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos--the prison his grandfather couldn't escape--where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It's dangerous and wild, and it's a place where his life just might be worth living. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside?

Michael L. Printz Honor recipient A.S. King's smart, funny and boldly original writing shines in this powerful novel about learning to cope with the shrapnel life throws at you and taking a stand against it.

I think I keep waiting too long after reading to write reviews, so please forgive me if this one doesn't make sense. And it probably won't. When I start Everybody Sees the Ants, I was expected a book very similar to Please Ignore Vera Dietz, which I adored. And although they had a lot of similarities, in my mind they were completely different.

Lucky, the main character per this one, is a huge nerd. I don't know exactly what makes him a nerd for me, but he'll be stuck forever as that in my mind. And the poor guy is bullied, he doesn't stand up for himself (his daddy made him that way) and one day it just goes too far. His mom gets sick and tired and leave town to stay with her brother. That's when the real story starts. Before that it was like we were just getting all the info for the build up of leaving, so we could see why. Good call there. (Completely off subject, but the bully: Nader. That sounds like a kid who would get bullied to me.)

But anyway. So they're gone. And Lucky starts explaining these weird dreams. Every time he has one, we get the down-low. And honestly, I have no idea whether Lucky is downright delusional, or if he's actually sane. Because the dreams...they're weird. And they're true to him, which makes it even harder to make a decision. Surreal is the best way to describe this entire book.

Lucky was really weird, too. On top of having all of these strange dreams, he's (as mentioned before) nerdy, and not only that, but he's a bit anti-social. I was so proud of him when he started to make friends! Because no matter how weird they were, I loved them. I mean, they're doing a public play named "The Vagina Monologues", and are doing it seriously. How are they not awesome? I mean, if it makes you uncomfortable it's probably not awesome, but I thought it was hilarious and actually kind of meaningful.

All in all, Everybody Sees the Ants was a very weird, surreal book. If you have problems reading about vaginas, or bullied boys, don't read it.

Twigs by Alison Ashley Formento

Twigs by Ashley Formento
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Merit Press
Publication Date: September 18, 2013

One pint-sized girl. Ten supersized crises. And it’s high noon.

They call her “Twigs,” because she’ll never hit five feet tall. Although she was born early, and a stiff breeze could knock her over, Twigs has a mighty spirit. She needs it, as life throws a whole bucket of rotten luck at her: Dad’s an absentee drunk; Mom’s obsessed with her new deaf boyfriend (and Twigs can’t tell what they’re saying to each other). Little sister Marlee is trying to date her way through the entire high school; Twigs’ true love may be a long-distance loser after a single week away at college, and suddenly, older brother Matt is missing in Iraq. It all comes together when a couple of thugs in a drugstore aisle lash out, and Twigs must fight to save the life of the father who denied her.

I have several very upsetting things to say about Twigs. First of all, I can't believe I made it through this book! For the about the first 30% of this book, I really wanted to drop it. But I soldiered on, with the false hope that it would pick up for me. But it was all in vain, because to tell you the complete truth, I hated Twigs. The character. Because she was annoying and self-centered and immature and had little development towards anything good.

Upon first glance, I really thought that I might like this. Maybe I'd get into the rhythm of the book (everything kept happening all at once, with no explanation to be heard) and it'd be okay. But I never got used to it. I'm still slightly confused as to what all happened, because there was some serious drama going on in this book. And most of it was stupid.

 But let's get back to Twigs. I can't stand her, I truly can't, and I'm curious as to how anyone could! Apparently, babies and dogs both like her (she even uses the same phrase in each instance), yet no one from the real world seems to. Except for Helen, who likes her after she throws hair dyes (?) on her. Violently. So of course Twigs (after meeting Helen on the street randomly, again), proceeds to go spend the night with her, alone, without telling anyone where she's going and without a cell phone. This almost makes me want to go spend the night with someone I don't know... no it doesn't. Especially since Helen is...well... to say the least, she's a little bit psycho.

Your husband cheats on you? Okay, go destroy a pharmacy. What about when he's out with a girl (or whore as you like to call him)? You convince Twigs to steal his car with you, and she breaks his arm on the way out. Atta girl! But what about *gasp* when you get home with his car? Whatever shall you do with it? Oh, how about you smash it to pieces then have a neighbor drive it to the hospital (where he's being treated for a broken arm) and leave it outside. Awesome, your debt to society is paid. OMG WHY ARE YOU SPENDING THE NIGHT WITH HER? You don't know her, and you watched her do all of this before you spent the night. ALONE. WITHOUT A CELL PHONE.

Call me crazy, but that does not sound like a safe friend to stay with. Or be around. As the book wore on, though, I do have to admit that Helen does have some sane moments that make her okay. But she's pretty crazy, regardless. I keep trying to talk about Twigs, but I've been sidetracked. So, again.

Twigs was... how do I put this? She doesn't think things through.... She's prone to making untrue judgments... She only cares about herself... She's annoying... Nope, I just don't know how to put this, so please just understand that I didn't like her, and I don't know how to explain it.

The only light part of this book was Coop. I enjoyed several of the scenes that he was in; because he made it lighter and funnier. He really was a sweetheart, and I wish that he had been around more often. All in all, Twigs just wasn't the book for me. I don't know how to say it any better than that.

The Island by Jen Minkman

The Island by Jen Minkman
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: June 1, 2013

‘I walk toward the sea. The endless surface of the water extends to the horizon, whichever way I look.

Our world is small. We are on our own, and we only have ourselves to depend on. We rely on the Force deep within us, as taught to us by our forefathers.

If I were to walk westward from here, I would come across a barrier – the Wall. Behind it, there are Fools. At least, that’s what everyone says.

I have never seen one.’

Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors.

But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?
Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?

The waves are calling,

beckoning me.

I have never found myself so disappointed by a dystopian. I'm not even sure that this qualifies as a dystopian. It has all the key attributes (defunct society, ruthless leader, plague), but they didn't really work together. And STAR WARS? Really?

I'm not proud of that...and it's totally sad. I mean, I never understand how lies like that become common truth, but it was particularly unbelievable in this case: their entire society is based on a STAR WARS *gasp* fanfic.

Nope, I'm totally not joking. Got you there for a second, though, didn't I? Anywho, moving on before I get too carried away.

The beginning seemed info-dumpish to me, to tell you the truth. Too many names and events at one time-- I had trouble keeping up. Not only that, but I just...STAR WARS FANFIC. Their society is defunct because they believe that STAR WARS FANFIC is true. o.O

I found the main character, Leia, to be fairly dull and flat, unfortunately. She just didn't do it for me, and neither did the villain or her love interest. They just weren't believable characters. They were also way too pliable-- one hint of something could send them running for it.

All in all, I'm VERY disappointed with this one. It wasn't at all what I was expecting.

Crush. Candy. Corpse by Sylvia McNicoll

Crush. Candy. Corpse. by Sylvia McNicoll
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: James Lorimer & Company
Publication Date: February 17, 2013

Paradise Manor is depressing - the smells are bad and the residents are old. Sunny would much rather be doing her volunteer hours at Salon Teo, but her teacher won't let her. Who says volunteering at a hair salon doesn't benefit the community?

But working with the Alzheimer's patients has a surprising effect on Sunny. Along with Cole, the grandson of one of the residents, she begins to see that the residents don't have much more choice about their lives than she does: what they eat, how they are treated by staff, even what they watch on television. So Sunny does what she can to make the residents happy - even if she has to sometimes break the rules to do it.

But when tragedy strikes at Paradise, Sunny's left to make the decision about whether or not to honor a promise that Cole made to his grandmother about her life and her death.

"Sonja Anna Ehret, you stand accused of manslaughter. How do you plead?"

From the cover, I thought that this was going to be some kind of paranormal. Even the title, Crush. Candy. Corpse. hints that there's going to be some made up creatures. I'm not sure what my final classification will be, but without a doubt, there was no paranormal activity in this one.

It was actually kind of a mystery-- did Sunny or didn't she kill Helen? It wasn't what I was expecting at all.

I actually liked Sunny-- I feel like she made a lot of bad decisions, and that she definitely could have done better for herself than Donny, but she's a teenager. We're prone to screwing up. I loved her interactions with the old folks-- she was very patient with them, and she did her absolute best to please them all.

I liked Cole too, but I felt like he could have had some more development. For half of the book I was trying to figure out where he went and all, so I was really surprised by the ending, to say the least. I wish that we had gotten to see more of him, and more development on his part.

My favorite part of this story was definitely the flashbacks, though. I love it when books have a present/past kind of thing going on. It gives me better insight into the characters, then and now.

All in all, I enjoyed Crush. Candy. Corpse., but I feel like the characters could have had more development. It's a quick read that's definitely worth a look, though.

One second of enjoyment didn't seem enough for a lifetime. Same as those last few minutes of Helen Demers shouldn't have destroyed my life either. ~Pg. 42, E-ARC