The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson (Shades of London, #2)

"You are not weird in the head," he said, more firmly. "You went through something horrible, and you survived, and you've done amazingly well. You're strong. Stop making jokes about it. There is nothing wrong with you." 
I wasn't expecting this little outburst, or the anger that edged his voice.
"Sorry," I said. 
"Don't be sorry. Just don't do it. It's important. Because of what we do, it's important to always remember that there is nothing wrong with you."

[Click here to read my review of book 1: The Name of the Star]

After reading the first book in this series and falling in love with it's creepy and intriguing storyline, I was excited to see what book 2 had in store. Still, I waited (It's fairly rare that I read an entire series in one go. I usually read other books in between those books in the series.) and only got around to reading it a few days ago.

After the conclusion of the Ripper case, Rory is removed from Wexford by her parents and is staying in Bristol with them while she recovers. Her body is nearly healed, but she's a mess otherwise. Her teachers have been sending her work that she ignores and her therapist keeps prodding at things Rory would rather she left alone. She's separated from her friends, the only people who understand her ability to see ghosts and can possibly help her deal with her newfound "ability".

Then Rory's therapist suddenly suggests she goes back to Wexford and Rory jumps at the chance. However, things just aren't the same. She doesn't quite know how to deal with what's happened to her and she's sick of lying to everyone but Callum, Stephen, and Boo. She's fairly certain she's going to fail her classes, yet can't seem to bring herself to catch up where she left off after the attack. As if that weren't enough to keep her occupied, murders with seemingly ghostly origins start popping up and Rory can't help wondering if something that happened the night the Ripper attacked her has something to do with it.

Rory is a very relatable character with a sense of humor that endears you to her almost immediately. Even after all the chaos of the first book and the considerable amount of trauma she's been through, that doesn't change. Maureen Johnson has created in her one of those characters that makes every situation that much more interesting and I really love that about her.

As for the story itself, I've heard a few complaints that it suffers from that second-book-slump, but I'm not so sure I agree. Admittedly, there isn't as much mystery, but there is just as much plot as the first installment in the series. Johnson is clearly using this book as a launchpad for the major excitement in the next book, but this one still has its fair share of nail biting, cheering, and crying.

I think the next book is going to be absolutely stunning and I can't wait to see where Maureen takes the story from here. If the first two books are any indication, the next one will be a knockout.

Rating: ★★★★★

We were sitting right on top of the graveyard of the world's most infamous mental institution, which is arguably many hundreds of times worse than being on top of the old haunted burial grounds that things are always being built on in America. Loads of mad ghosts . . . who might be disturbed by, say, a major explosion that might have, quite possibly, opened up some kind of crack that they could pass through? And they might, for instance, kill people with hammers . . .
Now I had a reason to call Stephen.

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

“Pastor McKee, do you think we really have a ghost up there in the sanctuary? I mean, does the church even believe in ghosts? Because – if there is a ghost – maybe it's related to this drowning?”

It sounded so ridiculous when she said it out loud.

“Tell me, lassie, have you paerchance heard any local tales o' sea folk?” he said out of the blue.

“Uh . . .” Hester wondered where he was going with this.

“I've haerd tell they live en the deepes' par' of our own bay.”

“Why do you ask?”

He shrugged and shifted his feet, preparing to sit in the chair again. She held his arm while he lowered himself into it. “Jus' tha' tales o' ghosts and tales o' sea folk paersist in the world. Even an educated paerson mus' wonder ef thar's a reason for et.”

“Monstrous Beauty” is another book I came across on the shelves of my local Half Price Bookstore. I hadn't ever heard of it or the author before, but the cover was stunning and the summary on the back sounded just dark and interesting enough to catch my attention. If I remember correctly, this wasn't long after I had read “Fathomless”, so I'll admit I was probably on a bit of a dark mermaid story binge at the time, though I obviously didn't read it until much later.

Hester Goodwin has pledged herself never to fall in love or marry. Most especially, she will never have children. Hester has made this decision because of her family history. After all, if all the women in the last one hundred fifty years of your family history had died within a week of giving birth to their first child, you would be concerned too. Though she definitely has feelings for her best friend, Peter, she suppresses them and pulls away. She can't fall in love. She can't be talked out of it. She doesn't want to die.

Then Hester meets Ezra, a strange and intoxicating man whom she only ever sees on the beach, and suddenly all of her resolve seems to dissipate. He claims he can help her, that her troubles sound more like a curse than a genetic fault and perhaps the two of them can solve it together.

As she begins to look into her family's past, Hester begins to uncover the pieces of a tragedy that took place long ago and may be the cause of her curse, as well as the rumored hauntings that have taken place in the church and its graveyard, where she used to play as a girl. It's up to her to uncover a terrible truth and set to rights that which was tampered with long ago, that is, if the forces that be will let her do it.

The further I sank into this book, the more surprised I was that I hadn't heard of it before. A beautifully written tale that can be dark, tragic, thrilling, and hopeful all in one excellent novel? I was smitten from the start.

I cannot get over how good this book managed to be and I will definitely be singing its praises for months. The reader is caught up along with the protagonist in the mystery that surrounds her and the terrifying adventures she must face in order to get to the bottom of things. Hester is fierce and resourceful and an all-around believable character that I enjoyed getting to know within the pages.

If you're looking for a good, dark fantasy preferably containing mermaids and other supposed myths, this is the book you need on your shelf. I suggest finding it as soon as you can manage.

Rating: ~★★★★★~

She struggled and writhed as the thing switched positions, easily hooking an arm around her neck and swimming her down – headfirst, faceup, deeper and deeper – in a death-spiral version of a lifeguard rescue. It was a distinctly humanlike arm that held her, and Hester clutched it with both ahnds, afraid of the speed, and afraid it would strangle her. The rhythmic thumping and pumping beneath her was the unmistakable action of a powerful tail, propelling them to the depths of the bay. Hester kept her eyes closed, but she knew without seeing the creature: it was a mermaid.

They were real.

McKee was right; E.A. Doyle was right.

And Hester was about to be killed.

2013 Reading Wrap-Up

At the end of 2013, I ended up falling behind on reviews due to my brief hiatus when my family came home for Christmas and the general business of the holiday season. So I decided to give a brief review of the last four books that I read at the end of the year and didn't get to review.

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, #4)

"Tell me, Percy. I have no wish to argue with you. But do you support the gods because they are good, or because they are your family?"
 Riordan doesn't disappoint in the fourth addition to an already wonderful series. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover face graver dangers with higher consequences than ever before. Once again, Riordan manages to capture all of the excitement, terror, and adventure that the reader can imagine in this thrilling installment to the series.
I cannot get over how much I love the character growth throughout this series. I really enjoy getting to watch our three heroes grow and mature even as the world becomes more dangerous around them. I cannot wait to read the final book in the series and find out just how everything goes down.

Rating: ★★★★☆


Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke

My mother had once said to me, "We make our best friends in the dark times because we always remember how they helped us out of the darkness." 

After reading the Inkworld Trilogy (which I absolutely fell in love with), I am hard pressed not to pick up a Cornelia Funke book if I pass it in a shop.
Ghost Knight has only heightened my love for her work. A children's novel about a boy who must battle an ancient curse in order to save himself and everyone he loves, it was an absolutely delightful and chilling read. Accompanied by illustrations that heighten the sense of creeping danger and valiant bravery, I could not be more entranced by this gripping volume.

Rating: ★★★★★

Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti

It's pretty well established that girls want to be considered hot. I mean, when you're brought up to think that your hotness quotient is pretty much your entire worth, that shit becomes pretty damn important.
If you've been looking for a text that will cover all the basics of what being a feminist means, look no further. Jessica Valenti covers it all in this fabulous book that explains what feminism stands for and why you're almost definitely a feminist too.
I dove into this and barely surfaced for air. It was packed so full of gems that just thinking about this book makes me want to go back and reread it now. Give it a shot. You won't regret it.

Rating: ★★★★★

Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy

Even if you are a woman who achieves the ultimate and becomes like a man, you will always be like a woman. And as long as womanhood is thought of as something to escape from, something less than manhood, you will be thought less of, too.
This was one of those books that I just picked off the shelf at Barnes & Noble because it looked interesting, then found myself thirty minutes later, well into it and dying to read more. Ariel Levy has a distinct voice that rings with truth in an ages where women are trying to find equality and especially sexual freedom, yet aren't really sure what that look like.
Levy warns against the dangers of buying into what our culture calls "sexy" and letting a new era of objectification wash in where we thought we were ushering in our own freedom. This is definitely a must read for women everywhere.

Rating: ★★★★☆

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

"Fear can't hurt you," she said. "When it washes over you, give it no power. It's a make with no venom. Remember that. That knowledge can save you."

I really like Maureen Johnson.

I mean, what's not to like? She's a great author with 10+ books under her belt, a fabulous sense of humor, and she's unafraid to fight for what she believes in (in particular, the dreaded boy books vs. girl books conversation--one I too find particularly irksome because it's an old system based off archaic gender stereotypes . . . sorry, back to the review).

That being said, I was eager to pick up her newest series, which I've heard quite a lot about from other fans. The only problem was that it's about ghosts. If you know me, you know I don't do ghosts. The whole idea just creeps me the hell out, so I was a little nervous to dive in.

Rory is a seventeen year old girl from the outskirts of New Orleans, Louisiana. When she's relocated to a London boarding school for her senior year, she's excited. She sees it as an adventure that, while scary, will provide her with new friends and opportunities. However, her arrival is dampened by the news reports that someone has mimicked the first Jack the Ripper murder on the anniversary of the original murder.

When the second murder is also mimicked, all chaos breaks loose. The police can't find anything on the CCTV cameras, even the ones that are pointed directly at the scene of the murder, and there are no leads on the case. That is, until Rory runs right into someone at the scene of one of the murders just minutes after it's been committed. But for some reason, she seems to be the only one who can see him.

It looks like Jack the Ripper's back, but why? And how can anyone stop a murderer that they can't see?

I had never heard that much about Jack the Ripper before reading this novel. I knew he was a particularly brutal murderer from the late 1800s and that he had never been captured. Honestly, I think it made this book that much more interesting, getting to hear all the details for the first time from this perspective (though I've already started purchasing non-fiction accounts of Jack the Ripper, because this has absolutely piqued my interest).

Maureen has created a chilling novel that managed to keep me both terrified and eager to read more. I feel like I fell in love with every good character and cowered in fear from each of the bad ones, specifically our main villain. The entire novel was beautifully written and had every element I could have hoped for. I couldn't stop talking about it while I was reading it and leant it to a coworker the day I finished it.

The Name of the Star is the perfect spooky read for those who love mystery and being a little creeped out, without being so scared you want to cry. After all, I do live by myself. I can only handle so much. Though, word to the wise, try to ignore your cat while reading. They have a tendency to stare behind you at at the most terrifying moments and make you afraid to turn around and see what they're looking at.

Rating: ★★★★★

It's not that I'm extremely brave--I think I just forgot myself for a minute. Maybe that's what bravery is. You forget you're in trouble when you see someone else in danger. Or maybe there is a limit to how afraid you can get, and I'd hit it.

GNW: Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

 When Anya Borzakovskaya falls down a well, she learns she isn't the first one to fall down it. However, the last person to make this grievous mistake didn't fair so well. It's Emily Reilly's skeleton she finds at the bottom of the abandoned well and it's Emily's ghost who materializes just as Anya starts to lose her cool.

When Anya escapes, she accidentally takes a piece of the skeleton with her, Emily's little finger and Emily's ghost with it. Though initially annoyed by her presence, Anya starts to realize that there are perks to having a ghost for a friend. But when Emily becomes a little too clingy, Anya realizes that Emily hasn't been entirely honest about how she came to be at the bottom of that well. Anya quickly realizes that if she doesn't do something quick, Emily could wreak far more havoc than she could ever have imagined.

In her debut novel, Vera Brosgol has created quite a lovely and dark graphic novel about a girl and her ghost that kept me riveted from beginning to end. Anya is a strong-willed, fairly rebellious teenager who just wants to be normal and cool, but can't seem to quite grasp either one. She struggles with her self-esteem and figuring out how to do what's right, even when it means putting her social ranking on the back burner. I really loved reading about her and her adventure.

The story itself was interesting and stayed that way from beginning to end. It reminded me quite a bit of Hope Larson's Mercury, but better. The mystery was much more rounded out and the escalating danger ended up being more and more suspenseful. It was well done all around.

The artwork was absolutely beautiful. I love everything about it. Each of the characters looks entirely different, yet beautiful in their own way. And don't even get me started on how well the panels were planned out, especially the one in the example above, when Emily reveals herself.

This graphic novel was definitely quite a good read and it's perfect for Halloween. I suggest getting your hands on a copy as soon as you can.

Rating: ★★★★★

GNW: Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

Maggie has plenty to be worried about on her first day of high school. Her mother went AWOL a few months ago, her older twin brothers are hardly speaking to each other anymore, and she's being haunted by a ghost from the local graveyard. Oh, and did I mention that her first day of high school is also her first day of public school? She and all of her siblings had been homeschooled up until their first day of freshman year.

Though she's terrified, Maggie does manage to make some new friends in Alistair and Lucy, the two misfits siblings that she starts sitting with at lunch. When she tells the two of them about the ghost that follows her around, the three devise a plan to find out how to let the ghost rest in peace. The only problem? That plan might include stealing an artifact from a local museum and having a run-in with the Pack, a group of bullies from school who also happen to have it in for Alistair.

Faith Erin Hicks does a fabulous job in her depiction of Maggie's world, both in her storytelling and in the beautiful artwork that fills the pages. I really enjoyed Maggie's character and seeing her perspective as she deals with the overwhelming prospect of growing up. Starting high school is rough on its own, even without having to deal with a missing mother and a ghost that can't stop following you around.

As someone who is very close with her siblings, I'm the type of person that really enjoys literature that shows off siblings that care about and stick up for each other. Hicks manages to highlight this in her story while still capturing the frequent fights and the words we wish we could take back. The bonds of friendship, and especially family, are the central point of this novel and I loved everything about that.

Overall, this was a great and spooky adventure, filled to the brim with wonderful relationships and second chances. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's willing to give it a fair shot.

Rating: ★★★★☆