Book Club Report: Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

This was a special "travel" edition book club for me! I knew I was going to be in DC last weekend, so my DC buddies and fellow bloggers Michelle, Swapna and Jennifer met at Michelle's to discuss GLOW.

Short Summary: Even though she's only 15, Waverly figures she'll marry Kieran - sooner rather than later. See, they're on one of two spaceships traveling towards a new home planet and children are an essential part of the mission. But when the other spaceship makes contact after years apart, Waverly learns some shocking secrets and hard truths about the crews.  Who can she trust? Who can anyone trust?

The Group's Verdict: We all enjoyed this one.  It was fun both to read and discuss, and its themes reminded me a lot of the Battlestar Galactica reboot. Waverly's chapters were more creepy and extreme, and what she goes through in book 1 is certainly going to affect her actions going forward into the sequel. We really liked that there were no clear cut heroes and villains in the story, and even the reader never knows who to trust. It has a dystopian vibe to it, definitely, though it's more of a sci-fi thriller than anything.  I'll be interested to see where the next books take us.

Author Interview: Kassy Taylor previews Ashes of Twilight

For my spotlight on upcoming dystopian/post apocalyptic fiction series, I interviewed over 20 authors with novels coming out in the genre in 2012/13. These are exclusive first looks at exciting new works. Enjoy!

Please welcome Kassy Taylor to the blog today as she introduces us to her November 13, 2012 release from St Martins Press ASHES OF TWILIGHT.


Here's a quick teaser summary:

The start of a steampunk/dystopian series in which a girl works as a coal miner to support a domed city and how she unwittingly becomes the catalyst in a rebellion that ends the dome and the levels of hierarchy within her society.

And I also have an exclusive first two paragraphs excerpt to share:

The Bible teaches us that the heavens and earth were made by the one true God. I have heard these things all of my life but I dare not ask the questions that the lessons have created in my mind. I am certain I know quite a bit about the earth, as I spend most of my waking moments within its clanking iron bowels. The heavens, however, are a mystery to me as my world is hollow and my sky is made of glass. As I lie on my back and stare up at the thick dome that covers my world I still cannot help but wonder why?

Our history is taught in two stages. There is the before time, when man lived on the surface and roamed at will. He built great cities and sailed the oceans and conquered kingdoms. Then there is the after time when man created the great glass dome to protect all he knew from the mighty comet that came and burned up the sky. It is the ninety-eighth year since the world became the dome and I spend all of my waking moments trying to find a way to leave it.

ETA the cover:

And now onto the interview!

Why do you think people are drawn to "dark" stories?

I think its because we would like to think that if we, ourselves, were put into the same situation that we could rise to the occasion just as the heroes and heroines do in the books we love to read.  Most younger readers feel this need to do something great with their lives and during the teen years you feel as if nothing exciting will ever happen.  So by putting themselves into these dark stories they can imagine themselves doing great things if and when the time comes around. 

If ASHES OF TWILIGHT had a theme song, what would it be and why? 

Save Yourself by Stabbing Westward.  I always create a soundtrack for my stories and I can just imagine this one being played if Ashes ever got made into a movie.

What fictional character from another book would Wren chose as her best friend and why?

Katniss Everdeen - because they are both outsiders within their small communities.  I think Wren would look up to Katniss as someone she would like to be, not realizing that she is a lot like her all along. 

What are your top 5 Dystopian lit recs and why? 

The three books of the Hunger Games series and the three books of Carrie Ryan's Forest of Hands and Teeth series (that's six)  Also looking forward to reading Ann Aguirre's Enclave and Jana Oliver's Demon Trappers Daughter.

What's on the top of your to-do list before the world ends? (you know, in case it ends next year) 

Get a flame thrower because I'm certain the world will end by Zombie Apocolypse and that way I can fight them off. And make sure my family and friends know how much I love them.  I'd love to go to Ireland because that's where my ancestors come from.  But if the end of the world is coming, I'd rather be home with my family when it comes.


How does your novel stand out from other genre offerings?
In Ashes, the world is really not that depressing. It functions rather well except that there is no chance for anyone to better their station. I think the thing that will make Ashes stand out from all the rest, besides the voice, is the characters. The theme of the story is being responsible for your own actions and not blaming someone else when things don't go your way. The story is about Wren's journey from bemoaning her state to actually acting on the things that happen to her and around her and choosing action to make her world a better place.

Of course it might be a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire with the next book. But that remains to be seen.

Thank you Kassy!

Visit Kassy's website (under her real name of Cindy Holby)

Add ASHES OF TWILIGHT to your GoodReads wishlist

Book Review: Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

Eddie Reeves’s father, a semi-famous photographer, has committed suicide and Eddie just wants to know why. When she meets Culler, a student of her father’s, Culler tries to help her make sense of her father’s legacy and could just possibly be the key to unlocking the mystery of his death.


Courtney Summers is my go-to author for raw YA contemporary, and once again I was not disappointed. Though I may be getting tired of the death of a loved one angle in YA, when it’s done this well, I can’t complain. Summers captures that feeling of everything feeling meaningless after such a tragedy and has Eddie, who seems like she was a “good” girl before her father’s death, acting out and taking risks a teen in mourning might very well take.

The relationships feel very real here too. Eddie’s long-term friendship with Milo is tested by both her semi-withdrawal, complicated feelings towards each other, and Milo’s crush on a girl who looks like Marilyn Monroe. Culler is an older boy, a “starving artist” as well as someone who promises answers and thus has an irresistible allure. Eddie feels let down by her mother whose grief has kept her in a bathrobe and homebound, and is annoyed by the take-charge Beth, who tries to get both Eddie and her mother functioning again despite her own pain.

FALL FOR ANYTHING comes out in paperback tomorrow. Find out more about it on the author’s website.

Book Review: Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Annie O’Sullivan was a successful realtor until the day a man abducted her and kept her captive in a remote mountain cabin for a year. Now Annie’s so traumatized, she sleeps in her closet and can’t work. In 26 sessions with her therapist, the whole twisted story comes out.

Through most of this novel, I wasn’t sure I liked it. It’s riveting reading, yes, but it is also extremely disturbing and not for the faint of heart (or young teens). But then, once the big twist was revealed, I was blown away by how well the whole story was crafted.

Annie’s nickname for her abductor is The Freak, and it is apt. He is a terrifying guy with deep psychological issues and very strict rules. Crossing him by say, using the bathroom at a non-scheduled time, can lead to bizarre punishments such as having to drink from the toilet. What puzzles her is just how much he seems to know about her and her family, leading her to think that his crime was not random and that even if she escapes him, there may be someone else out to get her…

Annie’s experience changes her a lot – so much so that I almost couldn’t recognize the broken woman swearing at her shrink and shrinking away from her friends and family as the same independent woman we see in her “flashbacks”. Not only is this a fascinating character study, it is also a very satisfying thriller with a shock ending. Highly recommended!

STILL MISSING is coming out in hardcover 0n July 6, 2010. My copy was courtesy of the Amazon Vine program. Find out more about the book at the author's website.

Discussion Topic: Advertising, Menstruation, and the book FLOW

Some of you know that I work as an advertising copywriter. When I first started this blog, I talked about my work sometimes, but about two years ago, posts about books took over and Presenting Lenore became a book blog.

Recently Rebecca at The Book Lady’s Blog reviewed a book about menstruation called FLOW, and it got me thinking about the few months I worked on a project for Procter & Gamble on the femcare account Always.

Apparently, the authors, Elissa Stein and Susan Kim are very critical of the way femcare companies and advertisers have transformed menstruation “from a natural function…into a veritable hygiene crisis.” In her review, Rebecca says, “Flow’s overarching message is that it is high time women took back control of the menstruation conversation from the femcare companies who have shaped it for many years now.”

As an advertising copywriter on the European Always project, it was my job to “get inside the heads” of women who wear pads. Part of this process was to be an observer during focus group interviews. P&G invited about 20 pad-wearing British women to get together and talk about their periods. As someone who shunned pads since high school (more on that later), these interviews were extremely eye-opening.

For the first time, I heard women say that they LOVED having their period because it made them feel like powerful women who had the unique ability to bring life into the world. When their time of the month came around, these women got out their “granny knickers”, put on the biggest pad they could find, and lounged around on their sofas, reveling in their womanhood.

After the focus group, my team (3 other women, 1 very embarrassed man) got together to talk about the findings and how we could incorporate them into our latest project, a mailer with a coupon for a free package of the latest Always maxi pad featuring a “cottony soft topsheet”.

The conversation was interesting to say the least. 3 of us (well, 4, if you count the man) were not pad wearers for various reasons. The 4th woman admitted to wearing pads, but only because her body had changed after having a baby and tampons couldn’t do the job anymore. We all had a hard time believing that there were woman out there who not only wore huge pads, but actually seemed to enjoy doing so.

We shared the reasons why we preferred tampons. One team member was very sporty and active and felt that pads (and her period for that matter) slowed her down and inconvenienced her. Another cited hygienic reasons and said it couldn’t be healthy to “marinate for hours in your own blood.” The one who did wear pads said she wouldn’t wear the big ones if she could help it because they were so bulky and crinkly that she was sure everyone was staring at her and thinking about how gross she was. The ironic thing? These were all attitudes shaped by consuming years of femcare advertising! And we knew it.

My own period history is one primarily of avoidance (feel free to skip the next two paragraphs if you don’t like oversharing of personal information). My first period came late – at 14 (almost 15). As a very skinny teen who was active in sports (basketball and track), I had very little body fat and an extremely irregular period that came maybe 2-3 times a year. But when it came, it was debilitating. I had such bad cramps that I was dead to the world for a week each time. I had my share of bloody accidents too. Yes, I was that girl wearing white pants at school with a crimson stain steadily getting larger (major mortification). And pads always seemed to let me down, even the ones with wings. Friends on the track team extolled the virtues of tampons, and despite two early bad experiences with them (a wrong insertion technique and a TSS scare), I quickly latched on to them for their convenience and the fact that they let you forget about your period for hours at a time.

In college, I was diagnosed with a hormone imbalance, and put on the birth control pill. It was like a miracle to me. Not only did my skin clear up, but my periods were 2 days at the most without cramping or PMS. Then a (male) doctor told me I could skip periods altogether by simply taking the pill continuously. I’m sure the femcare companies weren’t pleased, because that meant I bought their products only a couple times a year if that. But for me, it made me feel like I had total control over my body.

I wish I could stay I started a revolution at the advertising agency – that I helped women see their periods in new, less shameful, light – but I was only on the femcare team a few months before moving on to another agency and other products. The project I was working on, at least, didn’t have an offensive tone. The main message was that the “cottony soft topsheet” could help women have a more comfortable period.

FLOW sounds like an incredibly important book, and I look forward to reading it. Tell me, how has advertising shaped your attitudes about menstruation?

Book Review and Giveaway: The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer

Michael Palmer’s THE FIFTH VIAL is one of the most exciting and memorable thrillers I’ve ever read. Even though it’s been at least 3 years since I finished, I still have the plot and characters burned into my brain. Why? Palmer excels at creating scarily plausible medical nightmare premises that are part conspiracy theory, part engaging human drama. And he’s done it again with his latest, THE LAST SURGEON.

The drama here revolves around war hero Dr. Nick Garrity who suffers from severe PTSD. As he tries to figure out what happened to an old war buddy, his path crosses that of psych nurse Jillian Coates who is investigating her sister’s murder (an apparent suicide). At the same time, we meet diabolical hitman Franz Koller, the self-proclaimed master of the “non-kill”, who is hired by a mysterious client to stage suicides and accidents.

Both Nick and Jillian are appealing characters to follow as they get closer to uncovering a secret that someone is determined to keep buried. The scenes which feature Franz are some of the most chilling I’ve ever read (and not for the squeamish).

If you're a fan of Michael Palmer, you'll no doubt enjoy this one too. If you're new to him, I might suggest trying THE FIFTH VIAL first as that is still my favorite of his. Or if you prefer this premise, you can read the prologue to see if it really is your type of novel. If it turns out you really like his style, he has a slew of other novels you can pick up. My next one will be THE FIRST PATIENT.

THE LAST SURGEON comes out on February 16th. Until then, check out the interactive content on the author's Facebook page and on his website. I also have a signed copy of the book to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment telling me which Michael Palmer thriller premise appeals to you the most (see the list of book summaries). Since it is sponsored by the author, this contest is US and Canada only. I'll keep it open for 2 weeks - until January 25th at 11:59 pm CST.

Book Review: Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Regina Afton was part of the Fearsome Fivesome until one of them told a lie that got her frozen out. Now she is on the receiving end of bullying she used to dish out. With no one left to turn to, Regina finds an unlikely ally in Michael Hayden, a misfit she helped to break.

It’s credit to Author Courtney Summers immense talent that we are actually able to sympathize with Regina’s plight despite her being extremely unlikeable and for the most part unrepentant for the damage she caused (and continues to cause) her own victims. This is a compelling character study of a girl everybody loves to hate who actually deserves it, and Summers holds nothing back. What Anna and Kara do to her is atrocious, but what she does back to them is no less so and the cycle of violence continues. It actually made me think about what goes on between Israelis and Palestinians, with Hutus and Tutsis and with other groups of sworn enemies day after day. How hard it is to forgive. And how hard it is to be the wronged party but to look for a peaceful solution instead of taking an eye for an eye.

At the heart of the novel though is Regina’s complicated relationship with Michael and the lengths she will go to in order to protect him once she gets to know him. He’s her path to redemption, but he’s not going to make it easy for her, and neither are her former friends.

No one is going to tell you this is a “fun” way to spend your reading hours, but it is a rewarding way: the novel is involving, moving and yes, gut-wrenching. And Summers has trimmed any trace of fat, resulting in a tight narrative that clips along at a pace that keeps you glued to the page despite the unpleasantness. I read it one sitting.

SOME GIRLS ARE is available in paperback now. Find out more about it at the author's website.

Book Review: The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato

After her divorce, Leonora Manin’s life in England is in tatters. She decides to move to Venice to follow in the footsteps of her famous ancestor Corradino Manin and be a glassblower on the island of Murano. Back in the 17th century, where the secrets of the glass are jealously guarded by the ruthless Council of Ten, Corradino must make difficult decisions to ensure the safety of his daughter.

Of the two threads of the story, the historical is the more engaging and exciting. The political intrigues of the day fascinate as do the detailed descriptions of glassblowing. The modern day thread tends to drag and Author Fiorato never succeeded in making me care too much about Leonora. While I could feel her passion for Venice and its arts, the characters came off as strangely cold and lifeless. Still, the two threads come together in a satisfying way in the end, and I closed the novel with a smile on my face.

THE GLASSBLOWER OF MURANO is available now in paperback. Find out more about this international bestseller at the author’s website.

Book Review: The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

13 year old Kyra lives in an isolated polygamist community where the word of the megalomaniacal Prophet is law. And when the Prophet announces that God told him Kyra is to marry her 60 year old uncle in mere weeks, Kyra knows she has to get away. Because Kyra has secrets – not only has she secretly been reading HARRY POTTER and BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA from the bookmobile, she’s also in love with a boy her own age from the compound.

I picked this up last night before going to bed, planning only to read a chapter or so, but I didn’t stop reading until I was done (and I am very tired today as a result). It’s just that gripping. It’s not really what happens so much – thanks to the media, we all are well aware of the plight of young girls in polygamist sects – but more the how. Kyra’s voice is so raw and immediate that she feels very real and your heart goes out to her.

And it’s not just Kyra who suffers, but the rest of the family as well. Kyra’s father is rather low on the totem pole, allotted only worn-out trailer homes for his measly 3 wives and 20 children, because he is a decent man who doesn’t believe in making his family cower before him as is the way of the higher-ups. The Prophet makes it obvious that if Kyra doesn’t follow his orders, her family will be punished, which makes her decision all the more tortured. The nuanced exploration of the various interpersonal relationships on the compound is especially fascinating. So much can be said in a downcast gaze, in rigidly set lips or a full plate of food in front of a leader when the followers make do with scraps.

It’s an unsettling novel with an ending left ambiguously open, but it’s highly worth a couple of hours of lost sleep.

THE CHOSEN ONE is out now in hardcover. Find out more about it at the publisher's website.

Book Review: Turning Japanese by Cathy Yardley + 13 of my own Japan memories

29 year old Lisa lives a comfortable life. She has a decent, if boring job, supportive friends and family, and a boyfriend she plans to marry. But Lisa’s life is turned upside down when she wins a contest to be an intern at a Japanese Manga publishing house for a year – in Tokyo. Does she dare to dream of a more fulfilled life doing something she is passionate about?

I am very impressed with how well Turning Japanese works as a character study. At the start of the novel, it is clear that Lisa is stuck in a rut. She’s letting others dictate her life choices, even to the point that she goes to Japan because her boyfriend wants her out of his hair so he can study for his MBA in peace. She’s never been adventurous, doesn’t like to travel, and mopes around Tokyo for weeks once she gets there.

But a funny thing happens once she is forced to make her own decisions – she discovers she actually likes having a say in her life. This frustrates not only her Japanese colleagues who value following orders to the letter but also her old friends and her boyfriend who aren’t used to an independent Lisa. I really enjoyed seeing her blossom and grow a backbone.

The setting is also highly entertaining, especially for someone like me who has lived in Japan and knows something about the peculiarities of the Japanese culture. So despite a slow start and an initial exasperation with Lisa’s passive and whiny personality, I found myself cheering for her in her quest to make the most of her internship and fulfill her dreams against all odds, cultural and personal. And I turned the last page with a very satisfied smile.

Turning Japanese will be released in paperback on Tuesday, April 14th.

Since I know you all love them, here are a few of my own Japanese memories:

1. Slept on a futon for the whole nine months I was in Japan on a University exchange program in Fukuoka. I had to roll it up every day and put it in the closet because it took up my whole little tatami mat room.

2. Had a teacher who said at the end of term, “I give you all As. We part as friends.” That kind of summed up how easy Japanese University classes are.

3. Bought Asahi beer from vending machines on the street. It is still my favorite brand of beer.

4. Wore a real kimono for my “graduation” from the international program. Even with professional help, it took over an hour for me to get dressed.

5. Started learning Nihon-buyo (Japanese traditional dance) but discovered quickly I didn’t have the necessary patience. I always wanted to break out into Latin dance moves.

6. Which I did get the chance to do because a friend was a translator for the Blue Note, a jazz club in Fukuoka. When a Cuban acapella band performed, we went out dancing with them afterwards until after dawn. They were amazing dancers!

7. Gave private English lessons to several clients, including a 13 year old girl who only responded to yes or no questions. We became pen pals after I left and she wrote me the cutest letters ever. Her parents always gave me “gift melons” called so because they cost $30 apiece, way too much for one to justify buying it for oneself.

8. Went bowling about once a week. Once got 6 strikes in a row and had the whole alley full of Japanese cheering for me. Ended up with my highest score ever – 198.

9. Visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Nagasaki and several smaller towns on Kyushu Island. I would have loved to have done more sightseeing, but travelling within Japan was prohibitively expensive.

10. Performed A LOT of karaoke. Mostly in smaller, private rooms in groups of Japanese friends who insisted I sing The Spice Girls. Once on a yacht where we were served shabu shabu.

11. Sat next to a sumo wrestler on a train.

12. Once dropped a large bill on the ground and had a Japanese man run after me to give it back. I felt so safe there, even walking down dark alleys in the middle of the night.

13. Was woken up every morning at 3 am by the bosozoku driving by and revving their motorcycles. The police followed behind blaring orders to cease and desist through a microphone.

Book Review: Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

Parker has always had to be perfect in everything. Perfect grades, perfect boyfriend, perfect hair and make-up everyday, perfect cheer routines. So when something happens that makes her realize she's not perfect after all, Parker loses it and pushes away everyone and everything she once cared so much about. Will Parker face her demons and forgive herself before it's too late?

What veers close to being an overly melodramatic saga of a downward spiral into drugs, alcohol and hopelessness after a tramatic event is saved by Parker's undeniable sass and ultimate will to live and to succeed. It seems perfectionist Parker, though "popular", was just as difficult to like as self-destructive Parker, but that doesn't stop boys, or the reader for that matter, from finding her incredibly interesting.

As it turns out, the novel, like Parker herself, is not perfect - for example there is a wierd subplot involving an adopted dog that didn't work for me - but hey, even though life is messy, it is still worth living and a book that reflects that truth as honestly and expertly as this one does, certainly deserves to be read.

Thanks to LibraryThing for the Early Review copy. Cracked Up to Be is now available in paperback.