What We Saw At Night

Mitchard, J. (2013). What we saw at night. NY: Soho Press, Inc.
YA Fiction / Mystery / Contemporary
ARC from NetGalley and Soho Press -- thank you!

QuickNEasy, 272 pages, ages 15-18.

I gave this 2 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. . . if there had been another chapter, I'd probably have given it 5 stars.

So THERE is my gripe.   I hate, hate when I'm reading along and a book ends, and -- GUESS WHAT??? -- keep reading for a preview sampler of the next book in the series. HUH?  I didn't know there was a next book in the series, and when I saw I still had twelve pages left, I assumed they would include a nice tie-up/resolution/conclusion to the book. Instead, it practically ended mid-sentence.  Truly, I thought my reader had frozen or blanked out because there was just no way that was the last sentence of the story.

Until that point, I was thoroughly enjoying this page turner.  I had never heard of XP, a condition where a person is allergic to sunlight, so it was really interesting to read how this group of friends lived given they couldn't be in daylight. Their yearning to be wild and free was completely rational -- even more so than an average teenager's yearnings -- and despite their difference from the norm, many of the same issues with trust, relationships, and friendship are there. 

But all is not quiet in the nights of this small town. There is murder (or is there?) and mystery and danger around corners.  Yes, there are some improbable situations (namely that a teenaged girl would keep a secret from her best friend for so many years) and there are plenty of times the reader must suspend the disbelief and not think things through too thoroughly.  Even so, it was entertaining and hopefully will correct its shortcomings in book two, What We Lost in the Dark. 

On the Clean-O-Meter, it's probably about a 6.5.  There is teen sex (though not explicit), though it is safe sex. There are some swear words s**t and its derivatives, and of course, though there are murders (or are there??) they are not explicit, explained, or graphic in any way.

The Dark Unwinding

Cameron, S. (2012). The Dark Unwinding. NY: Scholastic.
YA Fiction / Period Piece. Historical Fiction -- but not boring!

I really liked this book and gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.  I have decided I'm going to be very persnickety about giving out 5 stars any more, but this was close to getting it.

First, I must address the cover of this book. I had an ARC of this book, and the cover was just solid black / unfinished.  I drastically prefer that to what they ended up using for the book. Ugh. It's so like every other young adult book cover out there right now.  Add some blood splatters and it's Anna Dressed in Blood. I'm so tired of this look to books, and this book is so much more creative than that. 

Second, I was very interested to learn that the inspiration for the book was a Victorian estate in England called Welbeck Abbey, and the inspiration for a key character was the estate's owner, the fifth Duke of Portland.  I do believe I will do some research to find out more about the historical truths, and that is something because I usually avoid "history stuff" whenever I can.  So, if this can inspire me, I'm sure it can do the same with other readers.  A good thing!

About the book -- the characters are fantastic, with the winner being Uncle Tully because he's so eccentric, interesting, innocent, and real.  Katherine, the main character is richly developed and so easy to picture and even hear, and an excellent strong female heroine. Aunt Alice (boooo, hisssss), Mrs. Jefferies, Davy, Ben, and wonderful Mr. Babcock. . .  there just wasn't a poorly done character in the book. Even when the characters didn't have huge roles, they had huge impacts.  I knew the choice Katherine would make from the very beginning, but it was fun getting to the point where she made it. There was plenty of foreshadowing, but the ending was an unexpected turn and I was happy that it didn't quite resolve itself as I'd expected. 

So why not 5 stars? Sometimes the story jumped all over the place.  Sometimes the writing got a little basic. There were some things that happened that weren't fully explained and needed to be.

There's room here for a sequel, but I hope that Cameron doesn't go there.  What made this book interesting wouldn't be possible to create in a second installment. 

Wonderstruck

Selznick, B. (2011). Wonderstruck. NY: Scholastic Press.
YA / Graphic Novel

2012 Schneider Family Book Award Winner (Middle Grade Category)


Amazingly, there were even more drawings in Wonderstruck than in The Invention of Hugo Cabret! The book has an equally spectacular mix of drawings and writing to carry forward a dual storyline, one set in 1927 and the other set in 1977. 

The two seemingly separate stories, placed many years apart, weave and parallel each other and end-up coming together in a very satisfying way. In The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I really studied many of the drawings because they were so elaborate and had much to say, whereas in Wonderstruck,  I flipped quickly through more quickly because they were more focused on a single subject. The wolves, for example, are illustrated in a sequence of drawings that keep zooming in closer and closer, until you are looking very closely into its wild eye.  The level of detail is incredible -- every space on the page is taken.

Loved this book and will keep it on my shelf for my granny days.

Scholastic has a great website dedicated to Wonderstruck where you can see some of the fabulous illustrations from the book (those WOLVES!!) and learn all kinds of things about the book.  Here is their video with Selznick talking about it. Enjoy!