My Soul to Save

My Soul to Save
By: Rachel Vincent
http://www.rachelvincent.com/

“If she were going to die, I’d already be screaming. I’m a banshee. That’s what we do.”

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad’s ironclad curfew and putting her boyfriend’s loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls for a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can’t possibly understand. Kaylee can’t let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk... (from rachelvincent.com)

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This is a book I liked, but didn't love. It had alot of great moments and idea's but I had a hard time getting into it. In fact, when I try to think about what exactly I didn't like, nothing pops into my head. I guess there is something to be said for the fact that everyone likes different things! I think that sometimes the order I read books affects my feelings, since I was coming off a book I really loved and whose story I wans't quite ready to leave. At any rate My Soul to Save is about a girl named Kaylee who is trying to find her way as a Banshee with the help of her boyfriend Nash. Add pop-stars who are selling their souls and Nash's reaper brother Tod and you have all the ingredients for a dangerous adventure.

One of the things I really liked in this book was the company that represented evil- Dekkar Media, tricking bright-eyed ambitious youngsters into selling their souls in exchange for fame and fortune. Contracts are written up and before you know it, your bright eye's have gone blank (literally) and your soul has been replaced by demon's breath. Now what I loved is that Dekkar Media was so clearly Disney (at least in my mind- with the rival being a nickelodeon-esque Teen-network). It wasn't such a stretch to replace pop-star Addison with Brittney or Lindsey and see how, even if the soul stealing isn't literal, the connection and implication is clear.

I also liked the vision of the netherworld, somtimes loosely tethered to reality and sometimes, where the sins of this world filter though, an exact replica. I enjoyed how everything there is dangerous, even something as mundane as grass or vines or a building.

I did enjoy the main charecters, Kaylee, Nash and Tod (and even Kaylee's best bud Emma)- but unfortunately I didn't feel a deep connection to them. I will still pick up Vincent's next book My Soul to Keep, as I have a suspicion that given more time to get to know these characters I will find that connection.

Inside Out

INSIDE OUT
By Maria V. Snyder
www.mariavsnyder.com

Keep Your Head Down. Don't Get Noticed. Or Else.

I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. One of thousands who work in the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. The Trava family who rules our world from their spacious Upper levels wants us to be docile and obedient, like sheep. To insure we behave, they send the Pop Cops to police us.

So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? Not like it's all that dangerous--the only neck at risk is my own.

Until a lower level prophet claims a Gateway to Outside exists. And guess who he wants to steal into the Upper levels to get the proof? You’re right. Me. I alone know every single duct, pipe, corridor, shortcut, hole and ladder of Inside. It’s suicide plain and simple. But guess who can’t let a challenge like that go unanswered? Right again. Me.

I should have just said no...

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Ever since I read Snyder's Study Series last summer I have been a huge fan, and I've been waiting rather impatiently for Inside Out to be released. My patience was definitly rewarded.

This book revolves around a girl named Trella, who is a scrub in a world called Inside. Being a scrub means she lives in the lower levels on Inside and does grunt work like cleaning pipes. In fact she enjoys the escape her pipe cleaning affords so much that she has been tagged with the nickname "Queen of the Pipes". Life goes on day by day in a mindless cycle, until her best friend Cog takes her to meet the latest prophet, Broken Man, who claims to know the way to find the Gateway, and the way to the outside. Trella is soon pulled into an adventure that she never imagined and becomes a leader in the revolt against the ruling family.

I really enjoyed this book because, while not neccesaraily along the same vein as Snyder's past books, it showcases what I feel Snyder does best, and that's creating worlds. Admittedly, it took me a bit to sort out what exactly Inside might look like (Snyder has posted maps on her website to help), and how the measuring of years worked, but once I decided to just go with it, it actually started to make more sense.

Like Snyder's other leading ladies Yelena (Study Series) and Opal (Glass Series), Trella is a reluctant hero, who doubts her own abilities, but rises to the occassion. The characters are well developed and you quickly grow to relate to and care about them. One thing I really liked was that despite there being two great guys in her life, Cog and Riley, Snyder steered away from the somewhat overplayed love triangle. Sometimes a best friend is simply that, and I appreciated that storyline.

In terms of Inside v. Outside- I loved what outside ended up being (but I will keep that spoiler to myself for now). I had a million theories, and yet, the one Snyder went with never once crossed my mind. I LOVE when that happens.

I'm pretty sure I could go on and on about what I liked (how bout' the riddle password questions?? Trella's mother??)- but I will end with simply saying that this is another great book by Snyder and I for one will be waiting (rather impatiently again) for the next book in this series, Outside In.

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Snyder has a great website and there is also a page called What's Inside Out? that has a bunch of fun extra's including a book trailer and a quiz to find out what job you'd be assigned to is you lived Inside. For the record - I'd be a shepard :)

Wings

Wings
by: Aprilynne Pike
www.aprilynnepike.com

Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful--too beautiful for words.

Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.

Laurel discovers she is a faerie, sent among humans to protect the gateway to Avalon. Thrust into the midst of a centuries-old battle between faeries and trolls, she's torn between a human and a faerie love, as well as her loyalties to each world. In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever. (from aprilynnepike.com).

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I picked this book up as part of the Book of the Month club and I was pleasantly surprised by the story. I had an inkling (based solely on the title) that this would be a story about faeries, and I was correct on that front, but I enjoyed all of Pike's twists on the standard mythology.

Our main charecter is Laurel who up until this point thought she was a fairly normal teenager, albiet one who eats very little and never bleeds. When she starts the local high school after years of being home schooled she struggles to fit in. When she suddenly sprouts a flower off her back, she begins to see exactly how different she is. With the help of her friend David, and the guidance of fellow faerie Tamani, Laurel begins to find her place in the world of humans and faeries.

This is book one in a series, and I'm excited to see where the story goes in the sequel Spells now that Laurel knows why she left Avalon to live amongst the humans and how she will handle her new responsibilities. Of course, it will also be interesting to see where her relationships with David and Tamani go as well.

Spells comes out of May 4th. You can order it from Amazon here.