Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

"People said time was relative, and I guess that explained why my life before River felt like a handful of seconds- brief flashes of small events that added up to very little.
But my life after River was a three-volume saga. Epic with quests and villains and murders and unsatisfactory resolutions and people being torn apart."

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a paranormal teen romance book with heavy hints of southern gothic. It's sort of Twilight meets Beautiful Creatures, but different. Also, it's really, really good.

Violet and her brother Luke are the grandchildren of wealthy industrialists. As such, they are not supposed to get jobs to earn money for silly trifles such as food. While their artist parents travel in Europe and are basically unreachable, Violet comes up with the idea of renting out the guest house. A girl's gotta eat, after all.

Soon, almost freakishly soon, someone responds to her ad. The new boy in town is called River. Violet is drawn to him, and River seems to reciprocate her feelings. Despite never having strong feelings towards any of the boys in town, she starts having all kinds of steamy dreams about him. The problem is that strange things start to happen, bad things.

What qualifies as strange? The teenage neighbor sees a mad man in a cave moments after telling the story of a mad man who lives in a cave. A little girl disappears, the neighborhood children having seen her abducted by the Devil himself. People start to do things and feel things that they cannot control. The timing of the events coincides with River's arrival. The question is how River could do these things, and if he is responsible, does that make him evil?

I was a big fan of Violet. She was a fairly sensible girl (In one of my favorite quotes, she talks about a childhood fantasy that she had where a rich descendant who owns a neighboring estate comes back and they fall in love. She concludes this admission with, "I was pretty stupid when I was younger." That really made me laugh.) who likes to wear her late grandmother's clothes and watch old movies. River was fairly dreamy, though I have a thing for the boys with dubious motives. They have a pretty nice relationship, which fortunately doesn't ruin their individual characters.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was pretty exciting. Normal, casual events would take place, then all of a sudden STUFF would happen. I loved how it was hard to predict when STUFF would go down. I am eagerly anticipating the sequel, which is due out August 2014. How can I wait sooo long?

I received my copy of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea from Edelweiss, courtesy of Dial. It's available for purchase now.

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

"It's not so much a possession as an infection.
The House was always his.
Always him."

I was very excited to read The Shining Girls, but I ended up disappointed. It sounded awesome: a serial killer who hunts his victims throughout time, while the one who got away is hunting him. The biggest problem I had with the book is momentarily forgetting how very gross serial killers are. The very violent scenes of women being killed made me sick. The victims are interesting women, and one by one we see them being brutally murdered. This was listed as a book that features a strong female character, but the story shows the very opposite.

The Shining Girls opens in Chicago during the Great Depression. Harper, our a-hole serial killer, is running from some dudes who want to punish him for killing a man, like the a-hole he is. A bunch of crazy mishaps later, he steals a coat from an old blind woman (As you do, when you're an a-hole). The coat contains a set of keys, keys to the House.

The House is a giant mystery, this weird time-traveling place. Inside the House are a list of names and a whole lot of random objects. The objects are from the girls, girls who shined with life and potential, girls he will kill/has killed/time travel! Harper gets right to work visiting the girls, giving them an item, then going back at a future time and murdering them. He then leaves an object from another girl at the scene of the crime.

This whole disgusting routine is going swimmingly, until it doesn't. He leaves one woman alive: Kirby. She is a brash college student who interns at a newspaper and uses its resources to hunt down her attempted killer. This proves nearly impossible, as Harper's murders span decades. I found Kirby to be a bit annoying, but mostly okay. It would be hard to side against anyone looking to kick Harper's butt.

The time travel element made this book somewhat interesting. I was slightly impressed that a deranged lunatic was capable of keeping track of timelines so well, that he was so good at closing loops. The Shining Girls really made me sad because I do see potential greatness in the story, but ultimately it fell short of the mark.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

"I care about Simon Snow. And I know he's not mine, but that doesn't matter to me. I'd rather pour myself into a world I love and understand than try to make something up out of nothing..."

Going away to college has always been a rite of passage. For many, this counts as their first taste of independence. Cath isn't looking forward to the experience. Her twin sister, Wren, is using the time to explore new things, including requesting a roommate that isn't Cath. Wren spends her weekends drinking and partying, and her week days practicing crazy vegan diets. Cath is afraid of all the changes she has to face without her sister and best friend. She spends the beginning of her year eating protein bars in her bedroom because she's afraid to go to the dining hall, then because she's too embarrassed to ask where the dining hall is.

Thankfully, Cath eventually ventures outside of her dorm. This is largely due to the fact that her roommate Regan, and Regan's boyfriend Levi, take her under their wing. Through them, she finds the dining hall and learns the joys of peppermint mochas. Cath would still rather stay inside and write Simon Snow fanfic than party, but they always extend an invitation when going to a party.

Speaking of Simon Snow, he is the main character in a series of young adult books. Simon goes to a magical school, like Harry Potter. His roommate is a brooding vampire named Baz, and they tend to fight. In the great world of the internet, Simon and Baz are really hot for each other. Cath writes a lot of Simon and Baz slash fics, the most important of which is "Carry On, Simon." It gets tons of hits and even has its own fan gear. Cath is determined to finish her masterpiece before the final Simon Snow book is published.

Despite being a Freshman, Cath negotiated her way into an upper level writing class. She soon starts writing with a boy in her class, alternating paragraphs while he works at the library. Yet, library boy never walks her home to her dorm at midnight. Levi does. That little bit of conflict aside, Cath's teacher adores her writing. When she turns in a fanfic, however, the teacher hates it, even refers to it as plagiarism.

There are a lot of confusing moments going on in Cath's Freshman year. There's the feelings about library boy (Who always seems kind of meh) versus Levi (Who obviously loves her and has the funniest moments in the entire book and is awesome). She has conflicts with her family: the whole Wren issue, her guilt over going away to school and not being able to take care of her father, and then finding out that their mother wants to reconnect with them, the same mother who left when they were eight.

I really love how Cath starts out as an introvert, and basically stays that way in the end. She comes out of her shell a bit, but she doesn't turn into a social butterfly. I like that, how it's okay for her to be who she is. It would be really difficult to dislike Cath. There were moments when she was so incredibly awkward or self destructive, and I just wanted to give her a hug. I could see a whole lot of myself in her. I also loved Regan and Levi for never giving up on her, no matter how many times she turned down their invites. Regan is one of those intimidating girls with the pessimistic attitudes. They are exact opposites, but Cath and Regan created a great balance. And Levi is absolutely the best. I don't know why I'm just discovering Rainbow Rowell (I also read Eleanor & Park, and it is also fantastic), but she is a wonderful writer. I want to read whatever she has coming next, and I only hope that she comes out with it soon.

I received my copy of Fangirl from Netgalley, courtesy of St. Martin's Press. It will be available September 10th, 2013.

Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay

"In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret. The secret was as old as the cracked cobblestone streets of Yuan, as peculiar as the roses that bloom eternally within the domed city's walls, as poisonous as forgotten history and the stories told in its place..."

The city of Yuan is enclosed by a dome that keeps out the savage monstrous people who roam the deserts. The dome also protects the normal smooth skin people from being mutated by the environment on the outside. Yuan is a successful city, and to ensure that success, a female royal must be sacrificed to the magical roses. These roses ensure plentiful food and water for the citizens. Recently, the city has been on a decline. The roses demand a proper blood sacrifice, and soon.

Outside the dome, the people of the desert are also suffering. Men, women, and children are starving to death. They even poison themselves to make it quick, rather than endure the slow torture of starvation. Gem, the chief's son, is part of a group that breaks into the dome. His village's shaman has seen that they need Yuan's magic roses in order to save the people. Once inside the dome, stuff goes down. Gem runs into Isra (More on her in a minute), who alerts the guards. The others leave, but Gem is held as prisoner in a gesture of good faith to ensure that the villagers won't attack the dome again.

Unfortunately, the King of Yuan was killed in the attack. His death means that his daughter, Isra, is now the Queen. Isra has been locked in a tower since she was four years old. An accident took her sight, so she was hidden from the people. She also suspects that she is deformed, as she is very tall and her skin is rough and a little scaly. Isra must now get married and then she will be sacrificed to the roses, hopefully in several decades. In the meantime, Isra tries to change things in Yuan. She gets Gem to help her plant a garden in order to reverse or prevent the mutations that are springing up among the people. She also wants to let the mutated and smooth skins live together, rather than keeping the former locked away in a ghetto area. Unfortunately, despite being Queen, Isra meets resistance from her father's top advisor. She will also have to marry his son, who ends up being kind of nice, though he is also racist and very promiscuous.

Obviously, as this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, Isra must end up with Gem. The reversal of the roles is interesting, with the man being the prisoner and the woman the captor. I thought the reversal from mortal enemies to true love was a bit rushed, but it wasn't terrible. I'm not an expert in how Stockholm Syndrome works. I was impressed by the combination of the fairy tale premise with a dystopian setting. It makes for an incredibly original twist on an old story.

I received my copy of Of Beast and Beauty from Edelweiss, courtesy of Delacorte Press. It's available for purchase now.

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

This is Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh's blog. Now, as great as that blog is, imagine a version that you can take with you anywhere. You can take it camping, back to the Prehistoric Age in your time machine, or into a hellish dystopian future (Though by then, books may have been banned and you will be slaughtered by the fascist government).

Hyperbole and a Half: the book version features comics from the blog, as well as new ones. It's all the same awesome stories from Ms. Brosh's childhood, as well as details of her battle with depression. These comics are very brave, and still done with the same sense of humor as the other chapters.

It's definitely worth being persecuted in that dystopian future. You would need all the laughs you can get.

I received my copy of Hyperbole and a Half from Edelweiss, courtesy of Touchstone. It will be available for purchase October 29, 2013.

This is some Tweets from Allie Brosh to promote the book. They were originally posted on other sites, and also Twitter.

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

"Things happen in life. Things don't go the way you plan. And even when they do, it doesn't feel the way you thought it would."

Teenage girls are simultaneously the most powerful and powerless forces in the world. So much is designed to appeal to them, to get them to buy something, wear something, do something, or like something. That part is the power. Their weakness is that it's hard being a teenage girl. In order to appeal to them, a product claims to need to fix or complete the girl. They are never enough on their own.

It makes it easy to understand the book. Teenage girls are offered their greatest desire. It's always a boy. Make him love me, make him need me. What they lack the foresight to understand is the price. There is always a price, and it is always much too high.

A year after her disappearance, Annaliese Rose Gordon emerged from the woods. She had no hair, was covered in a garbage bag, and had no memory of where she had been. She was returned to her loving parents and safe comfortable life. As more and more memories come back to the girl, one thing becomes clear: she isn't really Annaliese Rose Gordon.

What does Annaliese Rose Gordon have to do with the first two paragraphs? Why, absolutely everything! Annaliese is just the latest in a string of covetous young ladies who gave up everything to get what she thought she wanted most. The real Annaliese is gone, and the girl occupying her body has to piece everything together, soon. Otherwise, she will end up trapping another teenage girl, and the same thing happens over and over again.

This sounds like another psychological thriller, but it ended up being more paranormal. This was actually a nice surprise. It weaved an original mythology with elements of Faust, and a satisfying amount of horror. It surprised me, both with the story and with how much I ended up enjoying it.

I received my copy of Another Little Piece from Edelweiss, courtesy of HarperTeen. It's available for purchase now.

The Originals by Cat Patrick

Elizabeth is a normal, busy high school student. She juggles advanced courses, dance, cheerleading, a college course, and a part-time waitressing job. What nobody else knows is that Elizabeth is actually three identical girls. Ella, Betsy, and Lizzie are clones. Their mother smuggled them out of a lab after the clients were going to take only one baby and kill the other two. At least that was what the girls had always been told, and what they always believed.

In the beginning, Lizzie attends morning classes, Ella attends afternoon classes, and Betsy does after school activities, waitressing, and their college course. The girls are all tutored at home, so they still receive a complete education. When Lizzie fails a test, their mother switches her to afternoons. This is actually better suited to Lizzie, as she enjoys the creative writing and dance classes. This is also how she meets Sean Kelly.

Sean is in the creative writing class, and he notices the change in Elizabeth right away. Unfortunately, Betsy develops an interest in another young man in one of the morning classes. The girls have never been permitted to date before, but their mother gives them permission this time. The catch is that Elizabeth can only be seen dating one boy. Unfortunately for Lizzie, it's not going to be Sean.

This is when the girls take matters into their own hands. They start to break the rules that they have been living with for way too long. It's not just about the right to date whomever they want, there are much bigger issues. Lizzie, Ella, and Betsy want to be more than just one third of a person.

This was a fairly entertaining book. It was nice to see a subject matter that hasn't been done to death, so definite points for that. There is a nice, though slightly cliche, message about being yourself. It's made up for by the intriguing mysteries being hidden from the girls. Best of all, this isn't actually going to expand into a series. If you read this, there's no anticipation, waiting, or major commitment. I consider that a major win.