Book Blather

I’ve been sitting on this book and mulling over how I feel for a couple of days now. I loved the idea of the premise. As someone who has moved a lot, a story about dealing with those long distance friendships was a welcomed sight. And while this book did deal with that a bit, it also had things that weren’t so welcomed.

First things first, this a modern-day epistolary book. The whole things is told via Ava and Gen’s emails and texts. This makes for a quick read and generally works okay. You get the basic story and the general emotion of each girl. The emails and texts are sometimes a bit over the top, but that’s to be expected. However, at the same time, I did wish for more details at times. I felt like I was missing something by not being in the moment. I’m also hoping the final version will have dates and time stamps attached. It was really hard to gauge the passage of time between communication unless one of the girls drops a season/how long it’s been in one of their messages.

WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD

There are a couple of things that made the book go south for me. One, is the relationship between Gen and her TA, Charlotte. One moment, Charlotte is simply helping her edit her piece for the paper. Innocent and appropriate enough, right? Well, you blink and they’re suddenly lovers, in the loosest sense of the word. I can hear you saying, what’s the big deal, they’re both adults? Well, yes, but it still feels wrong. For one, Charlotte is in a position of power both as her TA and later as faculty advisor for the paper. Two, Charlotte is 32. That’s a huge difference, especially at that age. Three, Gen is not the only student she is sleeping with. There is at least one other girl, who Gen was also sleeping with, but it definitely sounded like it has been more. It just utterly and completely rubbed me the wrong way, especially when you throw in a transphobic storyline. Without telling the whole story, Charlotte is accused of writing transphobic pieces in the past, which ultimately leads to Gen quitting the newspaper, the whole reason she picked the college she did. If the Gen and Charlotte line had ended there, I would have chalked it up to being at college and experimenting. However, even after all that, Gen ditches Ava, who is visiting over Thanksgiving, to go have a weekend tryst with Charlotte. Considering how much of the book revolved around this pretty unhealthy relationship, I wanted to scream.

With Ava, it was her mental illness. Something about how it all was handled felt a bit off the entire book for me. Ava definitely had OCD, depression, and anxiety. I feel like there may be more going on, but if so, it’s not given a name. I have my own theories, though. The general portrayal is not my issues, but how past events are thrown in. For example, she’s also a cutter. There is a slight edge of urgency to it, but it’s only mentioned a couple times and dropped completely once Gen tells her mom. There’s only this weird spot where it’s nonchalantly mentioned that Ava tried to kill her mom in 6th grade once. It’s meant as a ploy to show how important it is for her to be on the right medication, but it still felt a bit odd. This, however, may go back to the epistolary-no-details issue I had above, but at times I felt like there was just a check list of all the things wrong with Ava mentally.

I’ve debated on if I wanted to mentioned this, but thought I would at least briefly. When Gen comes out, there’s a lot of mislabeling on Ava’s part. Repeatedly, Ava calls her gay. Gen does correct her by saying she still likes boys and does bring up bisexuality, but Ava to a point still implies she’s gay since Gen is mainly sleeping with women. It does seem to stop once Gen labels herself as queer, but it still irritated me a little. Especially when there was a whole passage about how could Gen fantasize about a man when she was gay! I know a lot of this is supposed to be that Ava is a poor sheltered girl (there are several other painful questions especially about trans stuff), but it’s a little unbelievable considering she’s in modern day L.A. I don’t expect her to be fully enlightened, but I would expect her to know more at her age.

In part, a lot of that may have to do that this book felt like Dunn and Raskin maybe took their own college experiences or YouTube stories and crammed them into this book, especially since they name/link dropped their own YouTube channel in the middle of the book.  Honestly, I’m not really sure I would consider this a teen book. Maybe more NA? I don’t know the voices used just didn’t feel too authentic to me. It felt a lot like 30 year olds pretending to be college students.

It’s been a week since I’ve read this book and I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I think. My general feeling is that it’s a decent book, but not without flaws. The concept of a young girl living in a prison is definitely interesting, but Spinelli doesn’t quite hit the mark. The story is told mainly through Cammie in 1959, but we do start, end, and often flashback to current day Cammie. It makes the book feel more like a reflection back than in the moment story. This plot device is also part of the reason I think adults will find this book more moving than it’s intended audience.

For the record, it is moving? Yes, very much so. Cammie’s mother died when she was just a baby and at 12 years old she is desperate for a mother figure. Any mother figure. In fact, she has decided that the current trustee/inmate in charge of her, Eloda, should fill that role. The want is palpable and over the summer, Cammie does everything she can think of to make Eloda give her attention. It starts simple with morning chats while doing her hair, but it’s obvious that Cammie longs for so much more. However, when she doesn’t get the results she wants, she tries smoking and stealing to incite any reaction from Eloda. When it doesn’t work Cammie find herself spiraling more and more out of control. It isn’t until Eloda tell her to finally go to the corner where her mom died/face her mother’s death that Cammie comes out of her dark abyss.

While this scene hits home, the aftermath of it is really wrapped up a bit too fast for my taste. The next day she goes back to school and we’re quickly thrown into the future, when a 17 year old Cammie finally learns the truth; View Spoiler »Eloda did actually care. In fact, she had been free that whole summer, but decided to remain in prison because she knew Cammie needed her/someone. « Hide Spoiler First of all, what?! At first, I thought it was very moving but the more I thought it about the more I wondered who would actually do that? Who would choose to stay in jail for 3 extra months for some girl. Not to mention, that all her feelings toward Cammie that summer are revealed via a diary. It felt weak and in the end took away more from the story than it added.

Cammie as a character had her ups and downs. There is no way around it was quite entitled, especially at the prison. She is also a bit spoiled and bratty, but what typical 12 year old (almost 13) isn’t? Some of her behavior/actions are things I see day in and day out in my teen department. And while she had moments that made me sigh, she had great ones as well. I especially liked when she finally put an end to her friend romanticizing a murderer. After the third or so time she begged Cammie to get an autograph, Cammie drags her down to the grocery store and to the victim’s mother.  She tells her to repeat to the mother what she is after. That scene was probably one of my favorites and showed that Cammie was growing up and coming into her own.

However, the biggest flaw in the book for me is the racial elements, especially Boo-Boo. Boo-Boo is a black inmate that is described as obese and jolly. She’s attached to Cammie and demands Boo-Boo time at the end of every visit where she fills Cammie with grand stories that are mainly lies. She never moves out of this stereotypical character, especially considering she commits suicide halfway through the book. A death that is used to send Cammie into a darker place/depression, even though their bond felt superficial at best. In fact, Boo-Boo felt more like a plot device than actual character.

The other character is four year old Andrew, a black boy who demands that Cammie take him on a ride around town on his bike, which she does. For hours. She even eventually befriends his family, after being scolded by Andrew’s mother. Nightly dinners are a regular thing as she grows older.  Reminder, dear reader, it’s 1959 and this would have been a big deal. Even if 12 year old Cammie didn’t realize it, I do think it’s something that adult Cammie should have reflected back on. I agree with someone who said it’s the giant elephant in the room that no one talks about. I can understand not wanting to make a book about race, but it was an important issue at the same time.

In the end, this is a book that stayed with me for days. It’s a fast read and does pack an emotional punch. One that I think adults will feel more than kids. And while it was an enjoyable read, it is far from perfect and really misses the mark on racial elements.

Want to see what others are saying? Jump over to the other blogs part of this tour:

I wanted to love this book. I really, really did. I first saw it on Edelweiss, but I didn’t get to it before it was published. I love  frank sex talk for teens ala Forever (Blume). I truly believe teens need those type of books; however, this is not it.

But it got good professional reviews and has decent buzz. Indeed it has gotten lots of praise, but I found the book incredibly problematic. I seriously cannot understand why no one but School Library Journal pointed out any of it, even as a precaution. While this is a rant for another day, I will say we need to do better. Hopefully, by the time I’m finished, you’ll agree with me.

Okay, let’s start with the writing. I found most of it to be choppy and stilted, especially when it came to Benedict. I do believe this was done on purpose, to highlight his “tin man” likeness, but it drove me crazy. Here’s an example of what I mean:

When I got home, I wanted to talk to my dad. He would have great advice. He’s brilliant. I’m not saying that just because he’s my dad. He’s a psychiatrist and an author. (p 17)

I know there’s technically nothing wrong with the sentence structure, but most of the book is in this format. For me, it’s jarring and pulls me out of the story. I honestly almost DNF at page 30 because of the writing.

Benedict as character has a lot of issues. I would wager by the way he talks and acts, that it is possible he is on the spectrum. I do not know this for sure, though, so it’s strictly a guess. However, if he is, the whole storyline that he can just be “normal” if he tries hard enough is problematic. Even if he is, that does not excuse some of his actions/allow him to be a jerk. I absolutely hate the way he treats his mother. Several times it is mentioned that his mom is the beauty and not the brains. She couldn’t possibly help him because she’s not intelligent enough to help him. It has to be his dad. I know a lot of this was force fed by his father, but it’s still not okay, especially since this attitude is basically applied to all women. I will give points for Benedict back pedaling on this train of thought as the book continued, though.

Of course, there is sex in this book. I’ll admit at times it is gratuitous, like telling me which hand is used to masturbate, but most of it isn’t too bad. I do like that most of the sex talk is straightforward. No cute slang for genitalia and consent is usually asked (at least with Benedict and Pen). However, it does at time makes the scenes seem a bit unrealistic, especially the first actual sex scene. It felt a bit too mature, however, that’s a  bit of nitpicky thing. What is not okay is how female masturbation is treated. Pen repeatedly calls herself a freak because she likes to masturbate and think about sex. She even gets sent to in-patient church therapy when her mom discovers her in the act. Benedict does tell her it’s healthy and that more girls should masturbate, but there is still a sense that Pen believes she’s a freak. Also, I do find that hard to believe that none of the girls talk about sex, even with religion thrown into the mix. I can remember sitting in 7th grade and listening to girls talk about their sex lives. Considering that was over 20 years ago, I can’t imagine it’s changed too much, especially the amount of times I’ve told my teens our program talk is PG-13.

I’m going to start delving into some of the stuff that really bothered me. The top of my list is abuse. Pen’s (ex) boyfriend, Paul, is highly abusive mentally, sexually, & physically. Here are just some of the passages that highlights how abusive he is:

“You’re not beating him up, Paul,” I say. Shit. I never tell him what to do or not to do. You know. I always do my passive thing…. “Babe, you can’t talk to me like that.” (p 24)

“I love you too.” I always said “I love you” after he did. I said it first once and it weirded him out. So I say it second. Always. (p 34)

After school, Paul grabbed me under the amr and dragged me out to his car. He kept twisting the skin under my arm. It felt like flesh would tear off, and I never told him to stop. Just take the pain, Pen. It’s okay. Paul would never really hurt me…..”If we hadn’t had sex, i would totally break up with you, Pen! But I love you and we’re going to get married. But we’re going to hate each other like your parents hate each other unless you stop acting like a cunt.” (p 52)

“How are you going to make it up to me?” ….Before I even undid my seatbelt, he put his hand behind my head and started guiding me down toward his crotch. It’s not like he shoved me down there. But, I don’t know, I guess I made it up to him. (p 53)

There is more I could pull, but I’ll stop there. Paul is abusive, no excuses. He breaks up with her after her mom decides Paul shouldn’t join them on vacation at the resort. He knows she was sent away for therapy, but doesn’t know the details. Instead, he uses it as an excuse for them to take a break and for him to mess around with another girl. During this break is when Pen hooks up with Benedict. Three days. Three days is all it takes for her to magically break “free”. When the vacation ends disastrously (I’ll get to this in a bit), she goes to see Paul. She doesn’t even care that he cheated and tells him it’s over. He refuses to let her go and then hits her, which she reports to the cops. I’m glad that she that she reported it, but it feels unlikely that after being in an abusive relationship for years she could stand up for herself so fast. It makes it appear that walking away from abusive partners is simple, but in real life it would have been way more of a struggle. Also, I hate how it was kind of swept under the rug/explained away because his own mother was abusive as well. It was odd how Pen was just like “well, that explains it” and go on her merry way.

Pen’s mother is also pretty abusive, which again is swept away with an explanation  as to why it happens. Not only does Pen mother send her away to therapy for masturbating, but she also calls the cops to assure she goes. It’s also implied many times that Pen’s mother is verbally abusive. The reason? View Spoiler »Her mother was raped when Pen was a baby. I hate that this was used to explain why Pen’s mother could be horrible and mentally unstable. Experiencing rape is a horrible thing, so I’m not saying these actions are unrealistic, just that is seemed another way to explain away abuse/tie everything into a neat little bow. I won’t even get into how it’s the priest who divulges this information, breaking her mother’s confidence in him. « Hide Spoiler

If that wasn’t enough, the way crazy, retard, & whore are thrown around is horrible. This is the area I’m most upset that professional reviewers didn’t at least call out as a precaution. Pen repeatedly calls her mom or herself crazy or nuts. I hate how loosely the word is thrown around. This passage struck me the hardest

So, yeah, it was a panic attack. I’m crazier than my mother. (p 83)

No. No, no, no, no. I hate the implications this makes on people who experience panic attacks. How would a teen who experience panic attacks regularly feel after that statement? It’s an illness that no one should be ashamed up and it certainty doesn’t make one crazy.

As for retard and whore, once Benedict and Pen are discovered in a warming hut naked, those words are thrown around without care. Her mother repeatedly called Benedict a retard and Pen a whore. A sentiment that his father echoes. A sentiment that Benedict starts to repeat to himself/believe.

Do you think she ever wants to see a boy again whose father called her a whore? Use your brains, retard. (p 225)

If I’m correct and Benedict is on the spectrum, this is unforgivable, especially since no one tries to stop them from saying it. In fact, only Pen says not to use those words, once, to Paul during their fight. That’s it. One could argue it was the parents lashing out, but I’m extremely disappointed by how casually those words are used.

I can’t say enough good things about The Inquisitor’s Tale. This has been one of the first books in weeks that I devoured and didn’t want to let go of. The basic format reminds me a lot of Canterbury Tales where multiple people are telling the story of these three children and a holy dog. A journey that leaps off the page from the very start.

The story does have a very central theme of religion to it, but it’s secondary to the story of friendship. A peasant, monk and Jew from medieval times are quite the unlikely group. However, it’s not long before the trio find comfort in each other. Yes, it’s their mystical powers and crazy circumstances that bring them together initial, but their friendship becomes deeply rooted in a very short time. Their gifts work beautiful in tandem with each other as they learn how to solve situations and problems head on together.

I also love how there are a few twist and turns in the story. There are moments where you have to question almost everything. When you have to look beyond the surface to discover the truth. Who is good? Who is bad? And who can they truly trust? William, Jacob, & Jeanne have a lot to overcome, but at the same time it was nice to see that they didn’t have to completely lose their aura of innocence and kindness to accomplish it. They weren’t hardened souls by the end of the story, instead they were 3 children (& a holy dog) that have lived through a frolicking adventure with endless possibilities for their future.

I suppose if I had to complain about anything, it would be that the ending felt a bit preachy. Religion really came to the forefront at that point. It kind of made me go “eh” a little, but I completely understand the reasons behind it. It also perfect fit the times and the story as a whole, so it’s kind of a nitpicky point but one I figured I’d still mention.

One last thing I’ll mention is that Gidwitz put a lot of research into this book. I love the author’s not where he talks about where the ideas came from and what was based on truth and what was not. Also, the annotated bibliography is great. I do think this may spur kids to want to learn more about this era and the titles listed will be helpful on that journey.

As a side note, I did read this as an ARC & most of the illuminations were not put it. What I did see I loved and I plan to grab a finished copy ASAP to check them out.

  BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE:

Monday, 9/26: Green Bean Teen Queen (Review)

Monday, 9/26: MundieKids (Review)

Tuesday, 9/27: Books 4 Your Kids (Review)

Tuesday, 9/27: Novel Novice (Guest Post)

Wednesday, 9/28: Read Write Reflect (Review)

Wednesday, 9/28: The Reading Nook (Guest Post)

Thursday, 9/29: Imagination Soup (Review)

Thursday, 9/29: Middle Grade Mafioso (Guest Post)

Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom is the perfect book to give to kids who are interested in the creepy or just want a good mystery. Instantly, they’ll be trying to figure out what is going on. Howe did a gigantic playground in the shape of a ship appear overnight? Why is almost everyone in the town in love with Dr. Fell? What is up with his weird purple waiting room with all the cat pictures? And most importantly, what really happens when kids go for a doctor visit with Dr. Fell?

Only Jerry, Gail, & Nancy notice something weird is going on since Dr. Fell has moved into town. They seem to be immune to his spell-at least for now. None of them is quite sure why, or even how they’ll be able to take him down, especially since all the adults think he’s the best man ever. Can they really find out what Dr. Fell is up to before he ruins their town?

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There really isn’t much I can complain at all. The town is crazy from the beginning.  I mean, who would be sad that their kids could no longer play in a run-down, abandoned place anymore? But I do think that made it easier to believe that the town fell in love over-night. It isn’t until the story goes on that you know that something must be going on.

While I love how the story tied up/how the town was saved, I do wish there had been a bit more of a hint what was going on. There are some clues, but I think most kids will miss them completely. However, I know that tons of people like to be surprised, but I’m one of those who likes to figure it out. There are a couple of things I’m not sure quite work with the explanation, but I don’t think it’ll bother the kids at all. This will definitely be a story that they love and pass on to friends.

This is one of those books where I’m a bit torn on how I feel about it. The story was good enough to entice me to finish the book. I don’t know if I’d call it a page-turner, but I was interested in seeing what would happen next to Lilah/Lily and where the adventure would end up going. The whole Nashville music storyline is what held my attention the most. I was rooting for her to find her footing again in the music world and reclaim her stardom. I loved her relationships with some of the writers, especially Clint. Their relationship seemed so organic and he easily became a big brother and an excellent listener.

What didn’t interest me so much? The love stories. I felt like Lilah was in love with someone new at the drop of the hat. Two of the three were certainly insta-loves. Seriously, she falls in love with the first guy as they’re walking into the studio and almost instantly jumped into a relationship/love. I will admit there’s was quite a bit of chemistry there and he seemed like he was a good guy…well, until he wasn’t. The one she actually ends up with, I felt almost zero chemistry between them. I don’t know if it was because, again, it happened super fast and I was just over it, but basically I was just like “oh look, another guy.”

Let’s not even talk about the ex that she get’s back with. That whole situation just made me want to scream. First, if someone cheated on you, wouldn’t you verify it with the source? Like if someone cheated on me, I’d be at their door yelling at them. I wouldn’t just take the word of a friend, no matter how good the friend was. Also, yes, so it was a lie, but I don’t know that I would have instantly jumped back into a relationship with that person. Obviously, there were still feelings, but, man, I would totally need time to wrap my head around what happened. I would be hanging out/making out with them less than 24 hours later. Also, he was just whiney and selfish and I just wanted to scream at Lilah to grow a backbone. It was obvious, by this point, that she was horrible at relationships.

I also don’t like how the whole JoBeth thing played out. It was obvious from the start she was a bad friend, but I would have like more resolution. I know the next book is supposed to be about her, but I would have liked a little more information about the aftermath in this book. It wasn’t absolutely needed, but it would have been nice.

Now, storyline aside, it was easy to tell this was an independant book. There were some mistakes and several spots where the pacing was totally off. There was one transition, I believe between her singing the national anthem and then moving to Nashville, that totally threw me. It was such a sudden jump that it took be a bit to figure out what was going on. This is certainly not the worst independent book I’ve read, but it could have used just a bit more clean up.

I will also say, this book is being sold as YA, however, I completely disagree. Yes, Lilah is only 17/18, but it just doesn’t have the feel of a YA book. In fact, I know very few teens who I would be able to hand this one to. If anything, I would say it’s New Adult, but I know that term isn’t as widely known/accepted as YA or Adult.

This is one of those books I wanted to like so much. When I heard about it, I was super excited, but the reality is the book just doesn’t live up to the hype. In fact, it’s highly problematic.

Before I truly dive into what I had issues with, I want to mention that Moldavsky does weave an interesting murder-mystery tale. I was intrigued by the basic plot and it held my attention enough to finish the book. However, whatever potential it had was lost in passages that upset me.

I’m not going to go into the fat shaming because Sarah over at Women Write About Comics did a good job of that already. Anything I would have pointed out, she already has. I will admit that the tackle scene did not bother me as much as everyone else. Mainly, it’s because by this point, I was already outraged by the fandom passages, which I’ll talk about in a moment. However, the passage that did get me was this:

Her appearance was one of Apple’s main hang-ups. That was what she saw in the mirror everyday and the conclusion she always jump to when things didn’t go right in her life. And, I’m certain, it was always a reason she chose Rupert P. —-  out of all the Ruperts —to love the most. I had a theory that choosing which boy to love in a boy band has a lot about a person…..I think April loved Rupert P. because she couldn’t even envision herself being loved by one of the cute boys. She loved him because he was the only one who she thought could possibly love her back.

I think that boy bands don’t worry about having a snaggle-tooth of an ugly member in their otherwise perfect row of teeth — boys — because they know that there are girls like Apple out there. Girls who really don’t like themselves enough to aim higher.  (p 82-83)

No, just no. No. No. No. And I know, there’s a spark to truth in girls thinking they can’t aim higher, but this is because society continuously tells girls like Apple they’re not good enough. Can we please just stop pushing this ideology? Please and thank you.

All right, so fat shaming. Check. Making fandoms look like crazies? HUGE CHECK. I’ll be honest, this is where the book lost me. I know people will come at me and say BUT IT’S A SATIRE, but it didn’t work well as one for me. There are too many moments that speak of reality and what is actually happening in the world of social media that are quite scary. For example, threatening tweets. Here’s the passage about the type of things that Isabel sends:

Isabel’s infamous tweets range from the cartoonish and impossible:

I’m going to pull ur tongue out of ur mouth wrap it around ur neck n strangle u w it so hard ur eyes will pop out. i will pee in the sockets.

To the quaint:

get your funcking hands off him bitch I will cut u. # RupertLIsMine  (knife emojis)

To the cryptically disturbing:

I watch u in ur sleep. (p 24-25)

To me, these are too real. I know people who get tweets like this–or worse. There is nothing funny about them. It’s scary and disturbing and wrong. I suppose if you didn’t know social media well enough you would think they were over the top, but they’re not and they’re many people’s reality. And while the main character does seem to condom those tweets, that type of attitude is basically what Isabel is all about.

The picture of fandoms that Moldavsky paints wildly varies depending on where you are in the book. At one point we get this

There was no point being a fan these days if you weren’t willing to go the extra mile for your idols. It wasn’t enough anymore to send them fanmail and kiss the posters above our beds. These days you weren’t a true fan until you engaged in Twitter death threats and endless stan wars. The fandom landscape was peppered with land mines, and there was no other way to navigate it but to walk until you hit one. You come out the other side a little crazier, yeah, but you’re also stronger. You are a true believer. You’ll do anything for the object of your affection. (p 32)

And then no more than 30 pages later we get this

Other people may have seen fangirls as crazy teenage girls obsessed with a fad, but they couldn’t understand the small but important joy you can get from indulging in these fandoms. They didn’t understand that a new gif of Rupert K. grinning at you could be the difference between a crap day and a beautiful one. They didn’t get the friendship that forms, the community of people who shared in your same joy. Maybe it was obsession, but it was also happiness; an escape from the suckiness of everyday life.  (pg 63)

So, which is it? Are they crazy obsessed teenagers or just a community that finds joy together? I suppose you could argue for both, but that second quote? Man, that’s what fandom is all about. That quote really hits at the heart of what they’re are and why people love and cling to them. When I saw that passage, I had hope that Moldavsky was going to give me something good. Instead, she goes back to painting them all as crazy. In fact, when a plea is sent out to the fangirls by one of the Ruperts to help find the missing Rupert, the girls start climbing the scaffold and busting into the hotel. I suppose you could argue that the over-the-top is where the whole satire/humor comes in, but to me it felt more like shaming than anything else.

There are many other passages that I could point out and use, but I fear they would make this review even longer than it is. And honestly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many other issues with race, sexual assault, and homophobia that are being pushed aside because it’s a “satire”. I know this will be a controversial review, but I just can’t support or recommend a book that is this problematic.

This is one of those novels that instantly transports you. You’re there with Kai as the quake hits and as he runs to get to higher ground to escape the tsunami. As the water keeps rising, you see the waves break apart the bridge he and his classmates had run to. And your heart will break as you realize he has, by some miracle survived, but lost so much as well.

While this books takes place in a coastal city in Japan, I feel like the emotions that Kai go through will resonate with everyone no matter where you live. The basic plot may be about the aftermath of a tsunami, but the heart of the story is truly Kai. It’s about his losses, his gains, growing up, and finding joy among the pain. Yes, he is often selfish and self-absorbed, but, at 17, he really is still a kid/teen. Up until this point, his biggest concerns were about finishing high school or what he fought with his mom about. Now, he has to learn how to get one without almost everyone that he loves. I loved that Lowitz didn’t hold back on the depression/survivor’s guilt as it’s an emotion that so many go through. Part of me does wish there had been just a tad bit more on it, but I understand it wasn’t the main focus as well.

I will admit that I found the dad side plot was a bit distracting. For the most part, it felt unneeded. Yes, it made it so that Kai wasn’t an orphan, but it felt out of place. The only really usefulness was to show that Kai had found where he belonged/didn’t want to leave after all, but there were other ways that could have been done. And maybe this will be the start of a real relationship between he and his father, but the whole thing just felt a tad forced.

The 9/11 connection always felt a bit out of place, but I liked this one more than I didn’t. Yes, it’s a bit cheesy that victims of one disaster helping other survivors heal. It’s one of those feel good, humanity still exists plots that I’m okay with. (This sentiment also applies to the lost soccer ball as well.)

Overall, this is a great collection of short stories about first times. The stories run the gamut from super awkward to not-so-bad first experiences. None of them were exactly awesome first experiences, but several came out pretty good. I like the open honesty that all the women shared. Most didn’t pull punches, which was refreshing to see. After all, the biggest problem with sex is that we don’t talk about it openly enough, but we treat it as if it’s something that should be swept under a rug. Our teens need this open honesty to see that they’re not alone and that it’s okay to talk about how they’re feeling.

I truly appreciate that Keyser made sure there were essays from all parts of life, especially when it came to be sexual orientation and identity. I loved that there were stories from lesbian, bisexual, and even a transgendered woman. Not only that, there were varying walks of life. There were people who were religious, who had been sexually abused, who waited for marriage, and who fell into it all by accident. It was also nice to see a range of ages, the youngest being 13 and the oldest at 23.

The start to this one is a bit slow. In fact, it took a good 20-25 pages until I fully understood what spheres were and why they were so important. Admittedly, this was slightly my fault since I didn’t re-read the description to refresh my memory before starting the book, but it also shouldn’t take so long to be introduced to the world. I almost wished that I had a little guide on  spheres, how they worked, and how many there were.

Once I grasped what was happening, I did enjoy the world. I thought it was an interesting concept, especially considering human nature. Who wouldn’t pay a couple hundred here and there for simple things like whiter teeth or ease of sleeping. People pay that now for different medications or gimmicks that aren’t always a sure bet. Of course, the super powerful spheres that increases intelligence or looks are rare and expensive.  Only those with lots of money could afford them. Maybe if you were a lucky hunter, you might who would find a pair to burn, but basically it was the rich get richer situation, which was fully realistic.

I will say the pacing was a bit off for me. There were times where the book moved along at a good speed, but then other times when it dragged. I loved the earlier hunting scenes with Hunter and Sully, but the scenes when they’re searching the water towers felt a bit too slow for me. I understand that McIntosh needed to show that it took a while, but I was quite bored. On the other hand, once they find the Gold, things seems to kick into super high speed. This is also where you have to start suspending belief. Almost nothing that happens after finding the Gold seems truly believable or possible. However, if you allow yourself to just roll with it, it’s a fun adventure.

The only part that I can’t quite get over is the ending. I don’t want to give anything away, but it felt extremely too easy. I could buy into what the spheres actually were, but how they solved it all seemed almost like a cop-out. It tied up way too nicely in a bow for my taste. I guess I wanted more than what I got.

I’m a little torn on how I feel about the love aspect. There is a nice build up between Hunter and Sully, but it also have the feel of insta-love. For most of the book, there a pretty big distrust between them, especially when a deal goes awry. However, they do actually spend a lot of time hunting together, so when you figure in that it’s probably been at least a couple of months it does sort of work. I think it was the out-of the blue declarations that didn’t work for me. Most of the book, Hunter keeps Sully at arm’s length and then suddenly she’s proclaiming how he’s the best thing ever in her life. It was a bit cheesy, but I know know of teens who will probably eat it up.

All that being said, this was a fast sci-fi read. I read it in one day, and while flawed, I couldn’t put it down. I would easily give these to my teens who are just starting in sci-fi or who are looking for an adventure book. It’s a bit on the big side for reluctant readers, but one I do think they’d enjoy.  It would also be a good pairing for 5th Wave, although there aren’t nearly as many mind games or heavy strategy in this one.

Often times, middle books in a trilogy (at least I’m assuming it’s a trilogy) can be lukewarm, that bridge between book one and three that gives just enough information to move the story along. Thankfully, that is not the case for Traveler. I love how much  information we get from this story about Catherine (John’s mom) and the whole seeker history.  

The POV is multiple just like the first book; however, we get a couple of additional character perspectives with Catherine and Nott. While six characters seems overwhelming, the majority of the story is really told by Quinn and Catherine. I was a bit sad that Maud didn’t have as much of a presence in this book, especially since she is one of my favorites. I still don’t really connect to John or Shinobu very much, although Quinn is starting to grow on me. I did love John’s growth as well, even though he is not my favorite. Catherine was a great addition and I was glad that we got to see the story unravel through her eyes, especially since so much of what we know is thanks to her and her detective work.

The setting this time around felt a bit more jarring. I’m really not sure why it bothered me this time and not last time. Maybe because last time I had assumed it was a steampunk world, but I’m not longer sure that’s the case. It felt so more modern this time …  and yet not? I don’t know. I eventually just had to throw the whole setting thing out the window before it annoyed me to no end. I’ll go back to my initial recommendation of just rolling with it.  

The thing I liked the least was the romance between Quinn and Shinobu. Thankfully Dayton did not remind us constantly that they were distantly related; in fact, it may only be mentioned once. However, I just didn’t feel their relationship. I know they’ve known each other their entire lives, but it just felt super fast. While Shinobu has been in love with Quinn forever, she was set on John until just a few months ago. I guess, for the most part, I just didn’t feel the chemistry. Now, this could be that Seeker is a bit hazy in some details, but looking at my review of Seeker, I complained about it then as well. I suppose they’re just not the pairing for me. However, I do think it will be a big part of book three, especially considering how this one ended.

Speaking of how it ended, be ready for a cliff-hanger. Yes, most seeker history related things are answered, but my oh my, Dayton knows how to leave you hanging. I’ll be interested to see where book 3 goes, especially considering most things felt wrapped up in Traveler. I am sure there is a lot more to the story though, and I can’t wait to see it unravel.

Final Verdict: Great second book filled with much needed history and unraveled secrets. I’ll happily pick up book 3, especially considering the huge cliff-hanger.

  This review is part of the Traveler Blog Tour. See below for other participants.

January 11 – Seeing Double in Neverland January 11 – The Cover Contessa January 12 –  Once Upon A Twilight January 12 – Two Chicks on Books January 13 – Take Me Away to a Great Read January 13 – Lytherus January 14 – Supernatural Snark January 15 – Bookish Lifestyle January 15 – The Eater of Books January 16 – Adventures in YA Publishing January 16 – Page Turners January 17 – Winterhaven Books January 17 – Black Dog Speaks January 18 – A Dream Within A Dream January 18 – Sci Fi Fan Letter January 19 – Mundie Moms January 19 – The Reading Nook Reviews

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Here are some January releases I’m excited for. (All covers link to goodreads)

           What are you excited for?

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