DNF Review: Dreamstrider (Lindsay Smith)

Title: Dreamstrider
Series: standalone
Author: Lindsay Smith (site)
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Told: First Person (Livia), Past Tense
Content Rating: Up to Page 128: Teen (violence)
Format Read: ARC (author)
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase On: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Summary:

A high-concept, fantastical espionage novel set in a world where dreams are the ultimate form of political intelligence.

Livia is a dreamstrider. She can inhabit a subject's body while they are sleeping and, for a short time, move around in their skin. She uses her talent to work as a spy for the Barstadt Empire. But her partner, Brandt, has lately become distant, and when Marez comes to join their team from a neighborhing kingdom, he offers Livia the option of a life she had never dared to imagine. Livia knows of no other dreamstriders who have survived the pull of Nightmare. So only she understands the stakes when a plot against the Empire emerges that threatens to consume both the dreaming world and the waking one with misery and rage.

A richly conceived world full of political intrigue and fantastical dream sequences, at its heart Dreamstrider is about a girl who is struggling to live up to the potential before her.

*          *          *

I did not finish this book. I stopped at Page 128.

In a Sentence: An intriguing fantasy world and premise, but I couldn't connect with the writing, bring myself to like the main character, or find the interest to care about the story.

Before I started reviewing, not finishing books was a common occurrence - if at any time I lost interest in a story, I simply moved on to another. But I feel a true review should only be written for a fully read book, and since I started reviewing I have tried to persevere with books even when I don't fully connect with the story. However, every once in a while I come across a book that I simply cannot finish, and to my great disappointment this was one of them.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find it in me to be interested in this book. While it possesses an unusual fantasy setting, a powered main character, and an intriguing premise  - a trifecta that normally never fails to engage me - all three fell flat in the telling.

Setting: While the unusual fantasy setting seemed interesting and different, the description of it, as with the description of everything else, was for some reason extremely difficult for me to picture. This left me unable to immerse myself in the story, always an outsider looking down from the pages. Also, for such a fantastical and rather complicated setting, very little was detailed or explained, leaving what vague picture of the world I was able to cobble together with great gaping holes. With a world such as this one I craved description, but was never even remotely satisfied with what was given.

Character: A powered main character will always immediately snag my interest, but despite her power, for the life of me I could not stand Livia. Even though she was the only person who could do what she did, she was extremely self-disparaging and constantly feared that if she made even one little mistake they would send her back to the slums from whence they rescued her. Considering they had no one to replace her this seemed highly unlikely, but she still panicked with every step she took, always walking on eggshells. She didn't try to learn more, to be better - just wallowed in her ignorance and self-pity. I really tried to find something to like in her, but I finally reached the point where I just couldn't take her anymore.

Story: I have a soft spot for stories about dreamworlds, so I was on board with this book right away. Although honestly the intriguing premise was really nothing new, paired with the fantasy setting I thought it had promise. But no matter the intrigue Livia became entangled in or the close calls she had, I just couldn't find the interest to care about the story. When I finally gave up on the book, Livia and partner were scaling a building to break into an office for possibly vital information, but I'm sad to say I just didn't care enough to find out if they succeeded or not - or if Livia would ultimately succeed in saving her country by the end of the book. I felt no excitement, no thrill, and therefore no enthusiasm to see the story through.

Writing: Looking back now, I think it all really came down to the writing style. It was like the book and my brain were written with slightly different code and I couldn't process it properly, sending on slightly different wavelengths and I couldn't connect clearly. I tried so very hard to understand it anyway, but we simply weren't compatible.

Conclusion: If you're on the right wavelength, this book has an interesting premise and intriguing fantasy setting that might be worth a try, especially if you like dreamworlds. But for me there was too little description for such a fantastical world and I couldn't bring myself to like the main character or take interest in the story. As it stands right now, I sadly do not think I'll be giving this one another try.

DNF Review: The Imaginary (A.F. Harrold)

Title: The Imaginary
Series: standalone
Author: A.F. Harrold
Illustrations: Emily Gravett
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Fantasy
Content Rating: Middle Grade (Chapters 1-5: seriously creepy situations)
Format Read: ARC (publisher)
Find It On: Goodreads
Summary:

Rudger is Amanda’s best friend. He doesn't exist, but nobody's perfect.

Only Amanda can see her imaginary friend – until the sinister Mr Bunting arrives at Amanda's door. Mr Bunting hunts imaginaries. Rumour says that he eats them. And he's sniffed out Rudger. Soon Rudger is alone, and running for his imaginary life. But can a boy who isn’t there survive without a friend to dream him up?

*          *          *
DNF Review
(DNF at Chapter 5)

"Amanda was dead."

This first sentence was only the beginning of a disturbing and dark children's story about an imaginary friend, his imaginative girl, and the creepy evil man and even creepier imaginary friend hunting them.

I was really excited to read this story, expecting a scary but exciting adventure. Instead, it turned out to be something out of nightmares. While it did have a playful undertone, the dark and creepy overtones smothered it for me, and the chilling illustrations made me shudder. Other reviews have noted that a lot of the creepy bits (like the predatory man staking out their house and then stalking the kids) would probably go over a young child's head, but I can't imagine the illustrations wouldn't cause some nightmares. It's one thing to read such descriptions, entirely another to stare into the dark sockets of an eyeless girl, or a bottomless pit of a mouth as it sucks you in.

Although the ungainly writing style took a few chapters to get used to, the characters seemed realistic (especially the children) and any playtime was fun and imaginative. But the plot was simply too dark and disturbing for me to continue into Chapter 5. I did peek at the end and it appears to be a happy, if melancholy, one. But I also glanced at some of the illustrations along the way and have no desire to read the rest of the story to reach it.

While writing this review I discovered The Imaginary is supposed to be "in the vein of Coraline," and as one who was totally creeped out by and unable to finish the Neil Gaiman story as well, I readily agree with this comparison.

For Fans Of: horror, Coraline

DNF Review: The Paper Magician (Charlie N. Holmberg)

Title: The Paper Magician
Series: The Paper Magician Trilogy #1
Author: Charlie N. Holmberg
Publisher: 47North (Amazon)
Release Date: September 1, 2014
Genre: Adult Alternate Historical Magical Realism
Content Rating: Older Teen (Pages 1-130: violence, some language)
Format Read: Paperback (purchased)
Try It Again?: Yes
Find It On: Goodreads
Summary:

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic…forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined—animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner—a practitioner of dark, flesh magic—invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

*          *          *

DNF REVIEW
(Chapter 10, Page 130 of 214)

While it began interesting enough, my attention waned around the one-third mark until I sadly lost all interest at Chapter 10. Ceony's arrogance and self-pity were a bit off-putting at first, but as her opinion of Thane and paper magic changed, she grew on me. Paper magic is my favorite kind of magic, and here it was intriguing with original elements that I enjoyed, even if the lessons could be a little dull. It had a bit of a Howl's Moving Castle vibe so I eventually got quite into it, but once Ceony entered Thane's heart my enjoyment steadily declined. Overall I'm not really sure what happened - it should've been interesting for me, but it just wasn't. I will be holding onto my copy though, and plan to try it again.

DNF Review: Mila 2.0

I did not finish this book. I read up to Chapter 18 (almost halfway through).

Title: Mila 2.0
Series: Mila 2.0, Book 1
Author: Debra Driza
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Told: First Person (Mila), Past Tense
Format: ARC
Find It On: Goodreads

Summary: 

Mila 2.0 is the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence.

Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past —that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.

Comments:

The story for Mila 2.0 is a simple and highly familiar one - average girl discovers she's an android and is hiding from the evil group that created her to do evil things. At this point, original spins and flares are (must be) added, but with Mila 2.0, I found none. It was the same old, same old, with barely any originality - except in one instance: Mila refused to accept her nature. Refused. We're talking downright, flat-out, fighting against her very programming, and body, and when she can't win has a tantrum refused. I could understand these feelings at first, but eventually it, and she, got on my nerves. On the run from two sets of bad guys (because there are always two), she needed to grow into her strength and face her reality. But she wasn't having any of it. It probably happens eventually - maybe at the end of this book, or in Book 2 - but after almost 20 chapters, with her breakdowns only getting worse, I just couldn't take any more.

The only good thing about the book was the love interest, Hunter. He was interesting and funny, and sometimes pulled something interesting and funny out of Mila when he was around. But once she went on the run, there was no place for him anymore. I mean, there could have been, easily, but I learned from other reviews that he most likely wasn't coming back until at least Book 2. 

I really wanted to enjoy this book and finish it. I really did. But with the prospect of nothing more than a whiny main character, overused plot, and no love interest, I gave up.

DNF Review: Parallel (Lauren Miller)

Title: Parallel
Series: standalone
Author: Lauren Miller
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 14, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Science Fiction
Told: First Person (Abby), Present Tense
Content Rating: Older Teen (up to Page 170: innuendo, underage drinking)
Format Read: ARC
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase On: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Summary:

Abby Barnes had a plan. The Plan. She'd go to Northwestern, major in journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper, all before she turned twenty-two. But one tiny choice—taking a drama class her senior year of high school—changed all that. Now, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten.

With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby's life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby's senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby's never even met.

As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that's finally within reach.

*          *          *

I did not finish this book. I read up to Page 170 (over 1/3 through the book).

The premise for Parallel is simple: after their parallel worlds collide, 18 year-old Abby has her life altered daily by the choices of her 17 year-old parallel self. While it could get a little technical at times, it was definitely an interesting idea - but unfortunately the idea wasn't good enough to overcome the book's problems for me.

First of all, the chapters were insanely long. I can understand that the author wanted to use the breaks to show the switch between the 17 and 18 year-old Abbys, but it would've been okay to have several chapters in a row about one girl and then switch to the other without the reader getting confused - the chapters were clearly labeled. With the book already over 400 pages long, the extended chapters made the story drag something awful. And staying with one Abby for so long made me forget there was another one, so when the chapter did finally switch I had to reorient myself to exactly which Abby it was and what was going on.

And then there was the fact that I didn't connect with Abby at all. I believe this was because of the plain writing style, and the fact that Abby's life was in no way exciting or unique that would make it interesting, even with all the uncertainties and upheaval. (Except the movie-set life, but that lasted all of one chapter. If it had gone the other way around, from college to movie-set, now that would've been exciting and interesting!) Her life was, simply, ordinary. And considering I came into the book looking for extraordinary (I mean, c'mon, parallel worlds), I had no desire to spend 400+ pages reading about an ordinary life altering in ordinary ways. 

Not that her "ordinary" life was realistic. Parallel existed in "television reality," where sex is casual, underage teen drinking is commonplace and easy because no one gets carded, and the only way to party is hard. The excessive drinking was what really got to me - the highschoolers had no problem getting their hands on booze and hangovers did nothing to deter them, and there was no carding or restraint in the college kids at all. Even though Abby was supposed to be little miss "Plan," there was no conscious thought about getting in trouble until after the fact, and no real consequences for any trouble that did occur unless it was important to the story. I'm sorry, but this can't possibly be reality for most teens - and if it is, God help us all.

Conclusion: This was definitely an interesting idea, and I'm sure most will love it. But for me personally, the writing was too plain, the chapters were way too long, and the setting just wasn't realistic. I tried to stick with it, I really did, but eventually I just couldn't take any more.

DNF Review: Unremembered (Jessica Brody)

Title: Unremembered
Series: Unremembered, Book 1
Author: Jessica Brody
Publisher: FSG
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Science Fiction
Told: First Person, Present Tense
Format Read: ARC (EpicLibrarian)
Find It On: Goodreads
Summary: 

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

*          *          *

I did not finish this book. I reached Chapter 25 (a little over halfway) and could not bring myself to continue.

For the entire first half of the book, barely anything happens. Sera, the main character, "just wants a normal life," and absolutely refuses to believe anything unusual about herself. She runs away from the plot instead of towards it, and only when it literally ties her to a chair and shoves itself down her throat does she start at least listening. And this is only a few short chapters before I stopped reading - it takes half the book for her to start accepting that maybe she isn't normal. 

When the love interest comes along, she refuses to trust him, or even go near him - but I didn't feel any spark between them anyway. The promise of a "love unchanged" on the cover is nowhere to be seen in the first half, aside for a bit of tingling Sera quickly dismisses. Lately, publishers have been feeding us instant sexual attraction and tension, so comparatively this relationship felt downright cold. 

And the "big reveal" turned out to be the same-old, same-old. 

I did like the short, direct voice and chapters in the beginning, but as Sera became more familiar with the world the superb writing laxed. In the end I had read it all before, and with the threat of an abundance of flashbacks in my future, I did not continue.