Teeth

Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Pages: 288
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: January 1, 2013
Source: Gifted ARC by Jenni of Alluring Reads

Description from Goodreads:
A gritty, romantic modern fairy tale from the author of Break and Gone, Gone, Gone.Be careful what you believe in.

Rudy’s life is flipped upside-down when his family moves to a remote island in a last attempt to save his sick younger brother. With nothing to do but worry, Rudy sinks deeper and deeper into loneliness and lies awake at night listening to the screams of the ocean beneath his family’s rickety house.

Then he meets Diana, who makes him wonder what he even knows about love, and Teeth, who makes him question what he knows about anything. Rudy can’t remember the last time he felt so connected to someone, but being friends with Teeth is more than a little bit complicated. He soon learns that Teeth has terrible secrets. Violent secrets. Secrets that will force Rudy to choose between his own happiness and his brother’s life.

First Sentence: "At night the ocean is so loud and so close that I lie awake, sure it's going to beat against the house's supports until we all crumble onto the rocks and break into pieces."

Review:
Hannah Moskowitz has been on my radar for years, but only since I started blogging has she become a high priority to acquire, particularly once I discovered Cuddlebuggery. Kat Kennedy has a shrine in her corner of the internet devoted to Hannah Moskowitz, perhaps only slightly smaller than the shrine to Melina Marchetta. Seeing such passion inspired in a reader, I can't help but be curious. Teeth is, without a doubt, one of the weirdest, most unique books I've ever read, and I can see what all the fuss is about.

Moskowitz's writing in Teeth is not of a style that generally appeals to me, but the writing style perfectly dovetails with the mood of the story and the character of Rudy. Jenni of Alluring Reads described the writing as 'choppy,' when we were discussing this book on Twitter. That descriptor really fits perfectly. The choppy writing mimics the cracking ocean and continuous discomfiture of the setting. The breaking waves, the storms, and the gray sky all reflect Rudy's emotional arc, and further reinforce the dark tone of the novel.

My favorite aspect by far is Moskowitz' use of magical realism. Teeth reads and feels like a contemporary novel, but with the twist of these magical fish, which, when eaten, can cure diseases and prolong life. Rudy's family moved to the island in a last-ditch attempt to save the life of his younger brother, who developed cystic fibrosis as a toddler. Unable to obtain a lung transplant, the parents heard about this island with magic fish and gave up their normal life to move to this tiny, weird place in the middle of the ocean.

Rudy, a sullen, sarcastic teenager, resents the move. He misses his friends and normal life, and, even with the fish, he's not sure how much hope there is for his brother. His life now consists solely of watching his brother for improvement, running barefoot (something he does now, perhaps as an attempt to connect with the world around him?), and homeschooling. Most of the people living on the island are old, extending their lives by the consumption of these fish.

The island becomes much more interesting for Rudy on the day he discovers that he is not, in fact, the only teenager. He meets Diana, a beautiful teenage girl, who will not leave her house, and begins to think about the prospect of getting action again. He also meets, more strangely, a fishboy, as in half-boy/half-fish. A freaking mermaid, as if magic fish that can help his brother's lungs are not weird enough.

Without a doubt, Teeth is my favorite mermaid book thus far. Moskowitz' take does not romanticize. Teeth, though he becomes dear to Rudy, could never be described as anything but ugly, at least to human eyes. He's slimy, has webbed hands and sharp fish's teeth. Worst for poor Teeth, he cannot breathe underwater. He breathes oxygen, effectively trapping him by the shore with the humans he hates so much, since, despite his fish half, he cannot just disappear into the open ocean or he will drown. His origin story, though creepy and disgusting, is perfection, with a sort of Greek mythology flair.

Before I read this, I'd heard much made of the GLBT themes in this book. Those really are not the biggest or most important theme, though. What Teeth really delves into is what it means to be human and whether animal lives are worth less than human ones. Teeth really gets the reader to consider these classic questions through a different lens, and I loved this philosophical focus.

Though I did like the characters and very much enjoy their story, I would have liked a bit more character development. Rudy and Teeth are the only ones that were adequately fleshed out. The portrayal of Diana and her mother particularly disappointed me, as I would have liked to find out more about their motivations and really delve into their characters, like if Rudy had managed to get his hands on those journals, perhaps. His parents and little brother, Dylan, lacked personality too, having little existence outside of Dylan's illness.

Teeth is a dark, creepy story, completely unlike anything else I've ever read, and I highly recommend  it to anyone who really wants to look at the world in a new light. This will most definitely not be my last Moskowitz novel.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote: "'Look.' I take a deep breath and say the only thing that will make us both sleep tonight. 'I think this is the part where we stop pretending we're not going to see each other again.'"

Labels: 4 star, Book Reviews, ethics, lgbt, magic realism, mermaids, young adult

Above World
Above World, Book 1

Author: Jenn Reese
Pages: 356
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Source: Library

Description from Goodreads:
Thirteen-year-old Aluna has lived her entire life under the ocean with the Coral Kampii in the City of Shifting Tides. But after centuries spent hidden from the Above World, her colony’s survival is in doubt. The Kampii’s breathing necklaces are failing, but the elders are unwilling to venture above water to seek answers. Only headstrong Aluna and her friend Hoku are stubborn and bold enough to face the terrors of land to search for way to save their people.

But can Aluna’s warrior spirit and Hoku’s tech-savvy keep them safe? Set in a world where overcrowding has led humans to adapt—growing tails to live under the ocean or wings to live on mountains—here is a ride through a future where greed and cruelty have gone unchecked, but the loyalty of friends remains true.

First Sentence: "Aluna swam toward the abandoned outpost, her heart pounding, her breathing necklace pulsing at her throat."

Review:
In a nice change of pace from all of the young adult dystopias, I read Jenn Reese's middle grade dystopia. Her book was an utter delight, full of clever world building, mixed-up creatures and vibrant characters. Not only that, but her book has become my favorite mermaid book thus far!

Though Above World is categorized as a middle grade by the age of the protagonists and the brevity of the story, I see no reason why adults and teens would not enjoy it as well. The main characters have a maturity and cleverness that keeps them from reading like children. While some middle grade novels can be painful for an older reader because the plot solutions are so obvious, Above World kept me entertained and ready to find out what would come next.

Above World begins under the see with the Kampii, essentially mermaids. However, these mermaids are unlike any others you've ever encountered before. They breathe through an apparatus, a breathing necklace, which plugs into their lungs. They trade their legs for a tail in a coming of age ceremony after taking a pill. Aluna, our heroine, is about to receive her tail and become an adult. She does not get to, though, because she fails her loyalty test, because she asks questions about why Kampii are dying, their breathing necklaces failing so that they drown in their home.

Aluna, though she desperately wanted her tail, does not whine about the fact that her father and the rest of the leaders punished her for trying to save the Kampii. Instead, she sets out for the Above World, the land, to find HydroTek, the company that manufactured the breathers. She will figure out how to fix them, so that no more of her friends have to die. She planned to go alone, but her best friend Hoku, younger and a genius with tech, followed her.

Together Aluna and Hoku go on a number of adventures, making new friends and allies along the way. Aluna is an amazingly powerful girl, gifted with fighting. Hoku's skills run toward planning and electronics. All of the characters are bursting with life. My personal favorite, an adorable little scene stealer, is Zorro, a raccoon/computer. He reminds me a lot of R2-D2, which basically means he is the most adorable and totally reliable in a crisis.

The forces of evil and the dystopian elements, which I wish I could talk about more, but won't because I think they'll be more fun for you to discover on your own, are captivating too. I will say that one of the bad guys reminded me a lot of the scary neighbor kid in Toy Story.

There is some romance, but that's not the focus, which is a good thing considering how young the main characters are. What is there is pretty freaking adorable. Hoku's a bit girl crazy, which just adds to his cute, nerdy persona. There are some hinted romances for the future, but there's been no rush for true love or anything like that. Oh, middle grade, thank you for this wonderful break from romances that progress too quickly.

Writing dystopian fiction for younger readers can be quite tricky, but Reese pulls it off masterfully. I will be eagerly anticipating the next installment!


Favorite Quote: "She gave Calli credit for not stumbling over Hoku's name this time, though the girl still turned red as a shrimp. Young love looked so incredibly messy, with all the mumbling and smiling and saying ridiculous things. Good thing Aluna had never fallen into that trap. None of the boys back in the City of Shifting Tides had ever inspired her to embarrass herself like that. Life was easier without the complication."


Remember: Every comment on a post during Dystopian August is an entry to win one of fourteen dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels IF you've filled out the form from this post.

Labels: 4 star, Book Reviews, dystopia, dystopian august, mermaids, middle grade fiction

Lies Beneath
Lies Beneath, Book 1

Author: Anne Greenwood Brown
Pages: 303
Publisher: Delacorte BFYR
Source: Random House via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

First Sentence: "I hadn't killed anyone all winter, and I have to say I felt pretty good about that."

Review:
Mermaids and I have had a bit of a tortured history. I want to like mermaid books, I really do. However, my experiences with them have not been hugely positive. Lies Beneath is one that I would feel comfortable recommending to people, even though I was not in love myself. This book came so close to being a really good mermaid book for me, but just didn't quite make it.

What I did like about Lies Beneath quite a bit was the writing. Anne Greenwood Brown definitely has talent. I like the way she puts her sentences together. She doesn't write down to teens at all, which I'm always happy to see. I also really loved the usage of the poetry in the book.

Now, let's talk about the romance. I'm really not entirely sure how I feel about it. On the surface (water pun!), Lily and Calder's relationship falls into the typical YA paranormal relationship: dangerous paranormal boy and the girl who cannot resist him because he's oh so pretty. Not to mention the fact that I was a little uncomfortable with how young Lily seemed, especially when paired with the fact that Calder is who knows how old and a killer merman.

However, there was another side to their romance that was a bit more unique that makes me somewhat okay with it. Lily, though she is attracted to Calder, does not immediately give into that. She hides it successfully for a while. It takes her some time to trust him. She confronts him openly and repeatedly about what his deal is and why he's following her around. That, I liked. In the end, though, she still goes for him, and isn't particularly angry to learn that he's lied to her or tried to kill her dad. Considering that she loves her family, her reaction was completely unbelievable.

The real problem I had with Lies Beneath, though, was the world building. Basically, I cannot fathom (another water pun!) how mermaid respiration works. I can totally accept that they shift into their mermaid forms. When human, they breathe like people do; as mermaids, they can breath underwater. What I don't get is why they can breathe underwater AND above the water in their mermaid forms.

Fish breathe via their gills. Do the mermaids have gills on their tails? That would explain why they can breathe with their heads out of the water, since the tail would still be submerged. Unfortunately, that does not explain how Calder was able to breathe oxygen into Lily's mouth while they swam around. Even if he does breathe through his human mouth, he wouldn't be exhaling oxygen. Humans don't exhale oxygen and neither do fish. I guess he could be processing the water into oxygen and immediately passing it to her, but I just had trouble with the whole thing.

If you're a reader that is frustrated by little details, like I am, you may want to try another book. However, if you're note, Lies Beneath is a well-written paranormal romance novel.

Rating: 3/5

Favorite Quote: 'Forgiveness isn't just for them, Calder. It's for you. Forgiveness is freedom. It's something you do for yourself—to keep who you are intact. Now that I think about it—in some ways, it's kind of a selfish act.'"

Note on Today's Song Choice: All of the lyrics don't work, but I think this really sums up how Calder feels about Lily. 

Labels: 3 star, Book Reviews, fantasy, mermaids, murder, romance, young adult

Of Poseidon
Of Poseidon, Book 1

Author: Anna Banks
Pages: 324
ARC Acquired from: Macmillan Children's Group via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. It’s while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen's not fully convinced that Emma's the one he's been looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves  that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help--no matter what the risk.

First Sentence: "I smack into him as if shoved from behind."

Review:
I really, really would like to find a mermaid book that I like a lot, but that search will be continuing. Of Poseidon is a book that most readers are probably going to love or be entirely annoyed by. Banks has a definite style, one that will either amuse and enchant you, or that will make you roll your eyes vigorously over and over again. For me, it was the latter.

Problem one is the host of YA tropes in the characters and their relationship to one another. Emma, a card-carrying member of the Bella Swan school of heroines, is exceedingly clumsy: "I'm betting Cinderella didn't feel this foolish, but then again, Cinderella wasn't as clumsy as an intoxicated walrus" (2). Note, too, Banks' sense of humor. This pretty much captures it perfectly. Emma meets Galen, Syrena prince, by tripping and smashing her face into his chest. We are treated to these inner thoughts:

"Tripping is bad enough. Tripping into someone is much worse. But if that someone has a body that could make sculpted statues jealous—and thinks you've broken your nose on one of his pecs—well, that's when tripping runs a distant second to humane euthanasia." (5)

This girl seriously needs to sort out her priorities. Also, she spends way too long thinking about the awkwardness of the situation. While she's thinking, she remains plastered against him, because obviously that's less weird. Everyone trips sometimes. He would laugh and move on if it were the real world. It's not though, so no one's phased by how long she presses her face against his chest on first acquaintance. Here's one more quote to explain my distaste for Emma: "If stupid were a disease, I'd have died of it by now" (119). This attitude is so unhealthy. I encourage girls not to think of themselves this way, even as a joke.

Galen, of course, is drawn to her from first meeting, purportedly because his mermaid (sorry, Syrena) senses are tingling. Meant to be together, blah, blah, blah. They met while she was on vacation (during which time her best friend got eaten by a shark). She goes back to Jersey and he shows up in her school with an identical schedule. When she tries to avoid him after the first class let out, he grabbed her wrist and, when she tries to pull away, he grips harder (41). This is a primo sign of a controlling guy. I was not surprised to learn that he had 'serial-killer eyes' (290). Among his other charming qualities, he also bosses her around constantly and takes advantage of her memory loss to convince her to accompany him somewhere.

I would also like to point out that Emma completely forgets about Chloe's death and that she's supposed to be sad within a day of Galen's showing up at her school. Meanwhile, her mother hears that Emma tripped and hit her head, freaks out and accuses Emma of sleeping with Galen, her boyfriend. The two are not dating and she refuses to believe anything else. He was a transfer; it was his first damn day at that school. WHAT WHAT WHAT?

The other big problem I have is the inconsistency of what the Syrena know about humans. Galen is an ambassador to the humans, which basically means a spy. He is bewildered by: phone books, people having more than one name (first and last), lip gloss, and countries. At the same time, he is capable of using a phone (likely a fancy modern one) and driving a car (note: one with a manual transmission). He was also capable of passing all of the high school classes she was taking. Plausibility fail.

Of Poseidon had some seriously major flaws, as I've pointed out, but it was still a quick and enjoyable read. I suspect many people will enjoy it more than I did.

Rating: 2.5/5

Favorite Quote: " 'Hey, you know what else I don't care about? You giving me orders.' "

Labels: 2.5 star, Book Reviews, fantasy, mermaids, young adult

Lost Voices

Author: Sarah Porter
Pages: 291
ARC Acquired from: Harcourt Children's Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Luce grew up with her father, a thief and repairman. They mostly lived in his big red van, constantly on the go, escaping from places they can never go again. Eventually, though, Luce's father felt that they should settle in one place for her benefit, so they moved to Alaska, where his brother (whose girlfriend he stole - Luce's mom) could get him a job on a boat. Unfortunately, one day during an awful storm, his boat did not return and Luce was left with her drunken, abusive uncle. On her fourteenth birthday, her uncle tries to rape her, because she so resembles her mom, and Luce discovers that a combination of loneliness and complete hatred of humans can cause a girl to become a mermaid.

Review:
Lost Voices reminds me a bit of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, only with a crazy paranormal bent and less focus. The story never really seemed quite to resolve into a plot. I suspect this may mean there is a sequel in the works, which would explain why so many things were brought up and then dropped by the seaside.

Porter's explanation of how mermaids come about and why they sink ships was certainly an intriguing one. Abused girls turn into mermaids and then punish the humans who did such awful things to them. To do this, they are gifted with otherworldly voices and beauty, which lure the humans to their deaths.

If this book had been a bit different, I think I might have liked it. The writing was pretty good and, even though I was not particularly into the story, it still moves along at a nice pace. However, the story focused primarily on the weird mermaid society, on their codes and how all of them secretly break them. Basically, it showed how terrifying a sisterhood is and how much fun it is to sing. I would have preferred a Speak-like focus on issues of child abuse or a fantasy romance that considered the possibility of the existence of mermen or an ethical tale that really evaluated their life choices. Lost Voices touches on all of these, but does not really go into any sort of satisfying detail.

The book is odd too, in that it would seem to attract a younger crowd, given the age of the heroine and the almost complete lack of romance. Yet, the issues and the tone of desolation would seem to suggest it is for older readers. Lost Voices is about as happy and sweet as the killer unicorn books by Diana Peterfreund, only not, for me, as good.

To sum up, I didn't hate this, nor did I like it particularly. It raises some interesting issues and I certainly recommend it to those who like YA paranormal, but are sick of the romances.

Labels: abuse, fantasy, friendship, mermaids, murder, music, rape, young adult

The Republic of Love

Author: Carol Shields
Pages: 366
Publisher: Penguin

Brief Summary
The Republic of Love is the story of two people: Tom and Fay. Tom is forty years old and thrice divorced. Every week he attends meetings for the newly single, although he is no longer fresh out of a relationship. His life is filled primarily by these meetings, a few awkward dates and his career as a night-time disc jockey. Fay has never married, although she has come close a couple of times; She has, however, been in a number of years-long relationships. For some reason, neither Tom nor Fay seems able to make their romantic relationships stick.

Review:
I own several of Carol Shields' novels, but this is the first one I have gotten around to reading. Incidentally, Carol Shields is an alumna of my alma mater, Hanover College. Pretty much our only famous one (unless you count good ol' Woody Harrelson, who may or may not have actually graduated - I think he got an honorary degree subsequently).

The writing is quite highbrow, full of five dollar words and complicated sentences. This does make a rather nice change from all of the teen fiction I have been reading. For the most part, I really loved her writing style. Every so often, a particular sentence would strike me as a bit over the top, as though big words had been used solely for the sake of using big words.

The narrative of the story moves along at a good pace, especially through the first half of the book. The format of the story, which follows the two main characters in alternating chapters, propels the reader forward, curious to discover how and when they will actually meet. I really loved the thought-provoking ideas about love, serendipity, marriage and being single that are woven throughout this novel. The theme of the interconnectedness of people's lives and the degrees of separation was particularly fascinating. It reminded me a lot of a slightly darker and more literary version of When Harry Met Sally, only not the plot with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. It called to mind the little insert stories about how people met.

I highly recommend this to literary fiction fans. For those who like easy reads, not so much. This is an excellent novel (thank goodness, since I do own several more by Shields!).

Labels: adult, Book Reviews, divorce, literary fiction, marriage, mermaids, romance