Gone, Gone, Gone - Review

Title: Gone, Gone, Gone

Author: Hannah Moskowitz

Release Date: April 17, 2012

Format/Page Count: Kindle/288 pages

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Purchased: Amazon


Synopsis:
 

In the wake of the post-9/11 sniper shootings, fragile love finds a stronghold in this intense, romantic novel from the author of Break and Invincible Summer.

It's a year after 9/11. Sniper shootings throughout the D.C. area have everyone on edge and trying to make sense of these random acts of violence. Meanwhile, Craig and Lio are just trying to make sense of their lives. Craig’s crushing on quiet, distant Lio, and preoccupied with what it meant when Lio kissed him...and if he’ll do it again...and if kissing Lio will help him finally get over his ex-boyfriend, Cody. Lio feels most alive when he's with Craig. He forgets about his broken family, his dead brother, and the messed up world. But being with Craig means being vulnerable...and Lio will have to decide whether love is worth the risk.

This intense, romantic novel from the author of Break and Invincible Summer is a poignant look at what it is to feel needed, connected, and alive. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: I am a SOLID Moskowitz fan. Hannah is one of my favourite (not so) new authors. I have yet to be disappointed by her works. In fact, I absolutely adore every Hannah Moskowitz book on the market. My expectation for this book was TOO HIGH.


Market/Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary

Review: 

Favourite Moments: 

'If I could take all the machine guns in the world and bend them into hearts, I totally totally would, even if I got grazed by bullets in the process, which knowing me I probably would, because I'm a little bit of a klutz, but Lio thinks I'm cute.'

'I love you, you fucking idiot, and I love you crazy and I love you sane, so will you please answer my emails?'


'One woman is not very many. Nine dead people, total, is not very many. But my stomach hurts so hard.'


'Something about the fact that he asked me if I was in New York, and I'm not in New York, and then he says he misses me even though I'm here, I'm just not here with him...I think I understand for the first time what it means to be in a relationship.'

From the moment I first read BREAK by Hannah Moskowitz, I knew I would read each consecutive novel she ever releases. Gone, Gone, Gone (from this point on referred to as GGG) is my 4th Moskowitz read (Break, Invincible Summer & Zombie Tag being her first three novels). As usual, I was NOT disappointed! Moskowitz continues to pepper her wonderfully real YA and MG novels with poignant heart-achingly awesome life. She is a master at instilling her readers with an emotional attachment to the worlds of her characters. An absolute master.

One of the things I love about GGG is the dual first-person narration. This is something that--as an author--I have used twice myself. Something about the dual first-person viewpoint really gives the reader such great insights into a story. With GGG the two main characters, Craig and Lio, take turns narrating chapters. Moskowitz carries out this back and forth narration flawlessly. One never forgets which of the two characters are narrating, as each are wonderfully unique.



GGG opens with Craig discovering that not only was his house broken into, but his menagerie of house pets have all escaped through the broken windows. Through this discovery, the reader begins to sense a slight brokenness in Craig...an endearing brokenness. We are also introduced to Todd, Craig's older brother. What would a Moskowitz novel be without an extraordinary brother/brother relationship! I still don't know how she does it. The reader gets a quick picture of this relationship in the way that Todd checks up on Craig, shows concern for him. There's this wonderful line in the first chapter that really captures something of their relationship. 'Todd has this way of being affectionate that I see but usually don't feel.'


The reader is also made aware in the opening chapter that 9/11 plays a prominent role in the story-line. The denizens of GGG are all on edge from the freshness of the terrorist attacks. Lio is from New York, newly settled in Maryland. While he deals with the memories of New York's version of 9/11 events, Craig struggles with the D.C. area's version--which included the death of his ex-boyfriend's father in the Pentagon. The story begins only 13 months after the towers fell. The raw nerves the characters display get re-electrified with a new fear as the DC sniper shootings begin.

To quickly describe the plot of GGG, it opens with an animal hoarding Craig. Apparently he is replacing his boyfriend (and his social life) with a menagerie of fury friends. He acts as something of a Welcome Wagon spokesperson for his school. He is assigned Lio, who is transferring to his school from New York. Their relationship begins in IM, but quickly develops from there. Lio is a boy who can possibly be fixed, unlike Craig's messed up institutionalized boyfriend Cody...who never recovered from his father's 9/11 death. Lio lived through cancer and had a twin brother who did not make it through his own cancer ordeal. Lio is as messed up as his multi-coloured hair. Something about him re-ignites Craig's life. Just as something about Craig re-ignites Lio's desire to speak, to engage in life.


"His tragic flaw is that he is a walking tragedy, and his smile makes me feel alive." ~ Craig, describing Lio.

As the two form a relationship, they struggle to live in a world gone mad with the random shooting spree of the Beltway Sniper. As everyone around them ducks and weaves to avoid being shot at, they slowly come together amid the chaos. Still dealing with the emotional fallout of 9/11, the two go about their lives trying not to become victims of the sniper. All the while, they are trying to reassemble Craig's gone, gone, gone menagerie. There are some wonderful moments in the story where the boys put everything down to mathematics---the odds of becoming a sniper victim, the differences in the number of tragic deaths in New York as compared to those in D.C.. We are made aware through character growth that the figures don't matter, that numbers don't matter. That each life lost is a life lost, come what may. There is something just achingly familiarly and melancholic in the insights we are given through the eyes of these two boys in love.

These two boys each have pasts to unravel and come to terms with. Doing so amid the re-collection of Craig's menagerie and the simultaneously unnerving sniper attacks makes for an exciting pace that will engage the reader non-stop. I read this novel in just over a day. Not unlike Moskowitz's other books, I just couldn't put it down. She writes with a rawness that makes the reader right at home inside both the tragedies and the joys of her stories. I highly recommend Gone, Gone, Gone. If you are not yet a Moskowitz fan, if you have yet to stumble upon her fiction, this book will bring you in hook, line and sinker. Be prepared, though. You'll want to pick up the rest of her quickly growing catalogue of work.





SIZE:5 (1/2!)

Expectation: Forget about it. Blew my expectations out of the water. I will read cocktail napkins that Moskowitz scribbles on. Hannah Moskowitz is a RELEASE DAY AUTHOR. No two ways about it!

Muskoka Novel Marathon - Writers Helping Readers

I don't usually post anything but reviews on this site, but I'm going to make this one time exception. Every year in July I head to Huntsville, Ontario for the Muskoka Novel Marathon. This year is no exception. (-:

Myself and approximately 30 other writers spend 72 hours together--we each write a complete novel. And we each collect sponsors for the event. Together, we hope to raise $10,000 for Literacy. Please consider a small donation to help stamp out illiteracy. This is a huge opportunity for us writers--to have a full weekend with nothing else to do but write. But it's also an opportunity for us to give others the gift of reading. WIN/WIN.

Please consider helping us reach our goal. (-:

Muskoka Novel Marathon - Writers Helping Readers

Ashfall - Review

Title: Ashfall

Author: Mike Mullin

Release Date: September 27, 2011

Format/Page Count: Kindle Edition

Publisher: Tanglewood Press

Purchased: Amazon



Synopsis:
 

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: TWITTER strikes again! My expectation was huge for this book. Mostly because of all the Twitter talk about it. AND...it also sounded KIND of end-times/dystopian  meets contemporary. The idea of this book simply appealed to me.


Market/Genre: Young Adult

Review: 

“The pre-Friday world of school, cell phones, and refrigerators dissolved into this post-Friday world of ash, darkness, and hunger.”~ Mike Mullin, Ashfall


Think YOUNG ADULT 'THE STAND', only better.


Alex is a fifteen-year old boy. He's home alone when the world experiences a near apocalyptic catastrophe. When a Yellowstone National Park supervolcano erupts, Alex's world is turned completely upside down. As the volcano erupts within the first few pages of this story, Mullin has us sitting on the edge of our seats right away. And he never lets us go. This is one of the most action packed young adult novels I have ever read.

Alex's home was destroyed in the volcano's initial blast. Luckily, he made it out of the house. The couple across the street, Darren and Joe, help Alex during the first day or so, as the volcano continues to erupt and explode.

Once the world returns to quiet, Alex has one thing on his mind--make it to his parents and sister. Big problem--they are hours away by car. In this new world, there are no cars. A thick blanket of ash covers everything. Alex embarks on the journey of a lifetime into the new world of ash and catastrophe.

What Alex meets along his journey makes this one of the best young adult novels I have ever read. He comes upon good people and killers. It is up to him to determine which camp they each fall into. At a farmstead, he finds Darla and her mother. Darla is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. Taught by her father to be handy with tools, as well as problem solving and inventive, Darla brings a lot to the table. Not to mention, Alex's attraction to her.

As things heat up in this new post-apocalyptic world, stakes are raised. People change...become more survival oriented, more singular. After an incident on Darla's farm, she and Alex continue Alex's journey together. Along the way, they learn how to survive together in their new surroundings--and simultaneously lose their innocence and leave their childhoods behind.

I don't want to give anything away. Just know that terrible things happen and heroic things happen. You will love these two amazing main characters. Both are strong and independent. It was extremely refreshing to see just how strong Darla was--a great female role model, excellently written. As a reader, I was totally captivated by this story. It held me in its grip from first page to last. Take the journey across this new horrifying America with Alex. All you have to do is pick up the book and start reading. And, if you're a fan of The Stand, by Stephen King, you'll know what I mean when I say this is reminiscent of that book. But I found ASHFALL to be SO MUCH BETTER than The Stand. I loved loved loved this book!

SIZE:5 (1/2!)

Expectation was realized in spades. I really dug this book a lot and can't wait to read the next in the series. Look for ASHEN WINTER next. I seriously can't wait! I need these characters back in my life. What happens next!?

Catching Jordan - Review

Title: Catching Jordan

Author: Miranda Kenneally

Release Date: December 1, 2011

Format/Page Count: Kindle Edition

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Purchased: Amazon



Synopsis: What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: I have this expectation section here for honest preconceptions I have prior to reading. So...I will be honest here. I had mixed expectation. TWITTER gave me HUGE expectations, once again. I heard so many amazing things about this book in my twitter feed. BUT I hate football. It's one of the only things we try not to allow on our TV. With a 16 year-old son, I'm not doing very good with that rule. So I thought, 'how will I ever like this book? It's FOOTBALL.' So, my expectation was low regarding the possibility of reading something about my least favourite sport (next to Curling, which...come on, let's face it...is not a sport).

Market/Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary/Romance

Review: 



"I once read that football was invented so people wouldn't notice summer ending."

So begins Catching Jordan. That is a great first line. It pulls you in. You don't have to be a fan of football to feel the absolute weight of that sentence. It's poignant. I loved it. I decided to put aside my prejudices against football once I read that opening sentence.

Jordan Woods is a great football player. As Captain and quarterback of the high school football team, Jordan has to be the best. But does being the best football player in Hundred Oaks High School--maybe even all of Tennessee--get you a free ride to the University of Alabama? Does the fact that your father is the great Donovan Woods, NFL superstar, help? I think it might, if you're a guy. But Jordan Woods is a girl. In a perfect world--in my world--that should not matter in the least. And in Catching Jordan, the reader begins to believe that maybe--just maybe--it won't matter. All is looking good for Jordan. The scouts are noticing her.


Jordan's attempt to make it to Alabama, though, is just one of the threads in this book. BUT it's an important one. As a YA story, I think it's great that the sexist world of sports is examined from this angle. Here, we have an exceptional athlete who deserves to follow the dream and make it to the pros...the top of her chosen sport's arena. The NFL. And, she deserves to get there via the university of her choice--ALABAMA. I won't go into the outcome of this thread, because I don't want to ruin it for the reader. I'll just say that through this thread alone, this was an exceptional read. Kenneally expertly handled this sensitive topic.


Catching Jordan is also about romance. The triangle is made of Jordan, her best friend for life Sam Henry and the new quarterback, Ty Green. Sam Henry was my favourite character. He's a great friend, a truly likeable person and a deeply emotional (without being sappy) person. I liked the relationship between him and Jordan. I always knew there was something going on, but I was never sure what it was. Kenneally wrote this friendship so well...the way Jordan would be concerned for Henry because she knew he was acting differently...the way they shared a bed when Henry slept over...the way her family 'adopted' Henry so completely...the plastic jewellery that Henry wore around his neck and the story behind it. There were just all these lovely things about the two of them.

And Ty. Well, I was a bit concerned about Ty. I liked it when Ty and Jordan became an item. I just could not tell if Ty was being controlling because of the recent trauma in his life, or because he was just a controlling person. It was a razor's edge, but in the end it was another well written twist in the story. See, Ty was likeable. He couldn't be likeable and despised at once. And who's going to like a totally controlling neanderthal? Especially when the one he is suddenly controlling is one of the strongest female leads of recent fictional history. I think Kenneally convinces the reader that Ty's recent upsets have made him overly-protective, not a neanderthal.

Jordan is adorable. A solidly written tomboy. We need more strong female characters in fiction, especially YA fiction. Girls need to know that it's okay to be just as strong OR stronger as boys. This is why I was a little annoyed with Donovan Woods at first. He was a solid wall of denial. His son was a star football player and he supported him and watched tapes with him. He was a great father supporting his son's dream. But he wouldn't go to Jordan's games, wouldn't talk to her about football, nothing. It was like he couldn't even SEE her. It was painful to read, at times. But well written and believable. The reader saw all the obstacles in Jordan's way, including her father. (Thank God for her mother--another well written character.)


When Alabama starts to show interest in Jordan, thankfully her father wakes up to her passion and determination. This thread of the story became truly rewarding. You will like the way Donovan steps up to the plate, so to speak (sorry for the baseball metaphor!).


So, with CATCHING JORDAN you have a strong female character trying to get into a male dominated world. You have a strong female character trying to balance respect for her position as team captain with the 'girlishness' of romance and love. You have a strong female character whose best friend for life is a male. AND you have a strong female character who is just discovering a love of writing while writing about all of these issues in a journal. All of these things in the hands of an amazing writer make for a page-turner you may even read in one sitting. I was driven to read this book, because even though it seemed like it might be predictable it absolutely was not. I found my emotions going up and down as the various threads unravelled. I LIKE that in a story--getting angry with characters, or upset with their choices, etc. I like getting that invested. I promise it will happen to you too. From the opening line (which was just all kinds of awesome) to the end, Catching Jordan is just a pure delight to read. You'll have to read it yourself, though, to find out if the ending is satisfying. It's hard to write about a book you love without giving everything away, so I'll leave it at this.


READ Catching Jordan. You may not fall in love with football if you didn't like it in the first place, but you'll fall in love with the characters in this football story!

SIZE:5

Expectation more than exceeded. You don't have to like football to LOVE this story.