NetGalley Review: A Curious Tale of the In-Between (Pram #1) by Lauren DeStefano

Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Published Sept. 1, 2015
240 Pages

Pram Bellamy can speak to ghosts. She lives with her aunts and doesn’t have any friends except for Felix, who is a ghost.  When Pram is forced to attend school, she meets a boy named Clarence, who like her has lost his mother.

Clarence wants to say good bye to his mother so with Pram they go to meet Lady Savant, a spiritualist for help. But Lady Savant isn’t exactly who she claims to be and takes a dangerous interest in Pram and her ability.

Wonderful, wonderful read! Perfect for middle schoolers or young adults that do not want fluff of romance and extra nonsense.

Pram is a straight forward character. There isn’t any real depth to her other than her ability to see ghost and the death of her mother. Surprisingly enough when she ask a question she gets an answer without any run around. It made for a uncomplicated situations for about half of the book. I was actually worried there wouldn’t be much going on.

However when Lady Savant the story takes for a creepy turn. I loved it. Lady Savant provides the complex character that I wanted from Pram. She is twisted and although at one point Pram feels bad for her, I don’t not even the slightest bit. By time I finished the book I got the feeling that this book wouldn’t be the last time we hear from Lady Savant. The ending didn’t seem easy but a bit too easy for the character.

As stated before the book is designed for middle schoolers because it doesn’t contain a romance or backstabbing or any of the other usual stuff you see in paranormal YA books. The pace was great but the lack of personality from Pram did make the book seem slower. When things got bad I was hoping from some intensity from Pram and it didn’t really come at all.

Overall I unexpectedly fell for this book. I impatiently look forward to book two.

4 Pickles

 

Manga Review: Bizenghast, Volume 1 (Bizenghast #1) by M. Alice LeGrow

Tokyo Pop
Published Aug. 9, 2005
184 Pages

A forgotten town named Bizenghast gets an expected visitor when a sad young girl moves to the town. Here she discovers a collection of lost souls looking for a way to end their nightmare. It is up to her to set them free or else she will likely join them. 

I always passed this book when it was suggested to me on goodreads. I got tired of seeing it and decided to pick it up. To say the least it is a lackluster read.

This young girl is just a sad individual that walks around as if she knows nothing in this world. She is scared of everything and has no issue crying about it. Her friend on the other hand does everything for her. . .  because if she doesn’t complete the missions she will dye a horrible death for all eternity.

It actually is quite sad.

What I liked about this manga is the idea that there are souls, good and bad, who are trying to get out of their circumstances. I liked the mystery surrounding them; it reminds me a bit of like clue because they have to find items or find certain aspects of the dream in order for them to succeed. I thought that was really cool and I wish the author played more on that.

I also loved the Gothic style of drawing. In the beginning it was hard to decipher the time period because only the girl and her friend wear these type of clothing but I got it.

But overall I read to Volume 2 and plan on reading #3. My issue with this book is it doesn’t bring enough to the table for me to fall in love with. The main character is what really knocks this book down and she is pretty much the same way in volume 2.

2.5 Pickles

Book Review: The Year of Shadows by Claire Legrand

Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Published Aug. 27, 2013
416 Pages

Life couldn’t get much worst for Olivia Stellatella. Her mother left her, her father and Grandmother. Her neglectful father, a maestro of a failing orchestra moved her and her Grandmother in the broken down concert hall to save money. Her only friend is a cat named Igor.

However, although Olivia can’t believe her situation, things get more complicated when she meets four ghost who have asked for her help to cross over. 

So with the help of the most popular boy in school, who also happens to work at the concert hall, Olivia makes it her mission to help the ghost. But when helping the dead, life itself becomes deadly.

I loved this book the moment it started. The author did  a great job of reeling me in and keeping me there. When the story opens, you’re with Olivia as she moves into her new home. There is no horrible, boring lead up to the action. You know about Olivia’s past (or at least the important parts) in the beginning of the book as well as throughout the book. That reminded me and it could have been a reminder to Olivia why the way she was.

I also liked the fact that Olivia wasn’t necessarily a emotionally withdrawn girl. She had feelings and although a lot of it was anger, she was able to express herself as well as hide them if need be. Another thing I liked was the fact that she grew as a character throughout the book. In the beginning she didn’t want to get close to people outside of her Grandmother but she grew to accept love and I really appreciate that especially since she is such a young character.

The only flaw I have with this book is it was long. No it didn’t feel dragging nor did it feel like the author was reaching. However, I noticed the length of the book because that is just my pet peeve.

Overall this book gets 4.5 Pickles

Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

goodreads.com

Although it seems like a typical boy meets girl story, there was nothing typical about it. Cas Lowood , with the thought of revenge for his father’s death pushing him , he moves from city to city, state to state, country to country to kill ghost/dead people; Of course, with the help of his mom and a ghost detecting cat.

On this particular “trip” Lowood, has to kill Anna dressed in blood; a local legend in which a ghost kills everyone who enters her house. However, the twist to this is she spared his life. Anna is not like any other ghost Lowood has met. Not only did she spare his life, which is completely abnormal but she is still wearing the dress she died in.

Honestly, I couldn’t have found a better book to read. The author did an amazing job with details. Lowood’s mother is a witch, so in various parts of the books she describes smells, more than just using the terms rosemary or lavender. She does her best to make sure the author knows that this is what the mother does. She creates herbs, and scents for protection. I also believe she did a good job of keeping Lowood very realistic. He is a 17 year old boy and although she doesn’t put in the book he thinks about girls and drinking and partying, she makes references to his struggle of trying to make his mom happy and doing his job (of killing ghosts).

The pace of the story was steady. It didn’t move too fast in which you didn’t think you missed something and also the “action” scenes gave you no question to what happened. It shocked and moved you, which is exactly what it should do.

As in every story, in which a boy meets a girl, there is love and who the love in between was probably the craziest part of the story. I loved it; it was perfect. This book had the perfect amount of love, horror, freak-out and sadness.

The book gets a nice 10 out of 10. There is a second book and so look out for that review!