Sister's Red by Jackson Pearce

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Library find.

PJVs {Not So} QUICKIE POV: I just could not get into this book. I found the main characters rather lacking and could not get into Sisters Red because of that. Scarlett was too much, over focused and stoic, I couldn't relate. Rose was trying too hard to be the opposite. I felt the attraction between her and Silas was too forced. I think this would have been better played out as an adult novel. It didn't feel YA and with everyone living alone and "hunting" they didn't act like 16 year olds either. When I'd rather ...more I just could not get into this book. I found the main characters rather lacking and could not get into Sisters Red because of that. Scarlett, the scared sister was just too much. She was over-focused and stoic, I couldn't relate to her behavior. Rosie was the polar opposite. The characters were just too forced into these positions it didn't seem natural. Just everything about this book seem forced. It was as if the author had bullet points and she checked them off as she achieved them.

• Disturbed sister, haunted by her past √
• Weak, sister to be protected √
• Hot guy √
• Romance √
• Jealousy √
• Big Baddie √
• Impending doom √
• Something different √

Because of this outline type approach to a YA novel, I didn't get into the attraction. It was just there. "I didn't like Silas before he left...but now after a year away, boy is he hot. Now all I can do is think about him..." {Rosie POV}

I really think this might have been better played out as an adult novel. Then there could have been some more steam with the romance, there would be no need to have the threat of child services, which I don't know how they didn't get involved from the onset. It just didn't make sense that these children were living alone since their grandmother was brutally ripped apart by a werewolf and no one noticed. Not to mention, their behaviors was not that of 16 year olds, because of what they had experienced, so that YA voice wasn't there.

I was quite disappointed because I was so very impressed with AS YOU WISH by Pearce. I also think she is a rather entertaining person herself and think her tweets and VLOGs are usually hilarious. Maybe she should abandon the darker threads and stick with the more cotton candy approaches. Which is an odd sentiment for me, because I'm a fan of dark.

There is a second in this series, called Sweetly. I will not be reading, but hope to read other things from this author.

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce
Hardcover bought by moi at the Octavia Books (New Orleans) book signing.

PJVs QUICKIE POV: Surprise! That was the general feeling once I got hooked in this book. Bad PJ judged this book by it's cover and the silly little synopsis on the jacket...but what was I supposed to do? Both the cover and synopsis screamed candy coated teen chick lit. As You Wish while giving the impression of a shallow, quick little read, was anything but. Well, yes, it was quick, but I wouldn't call it shallow. As You Wish is a very poignant tale of a young girl struggling with her social standing and her self-image. She believes she is broken and therefor has disappeared from the world. As You Wish surprised me with the depth of emotion and the hidden messages strewn throughout it's pages. I was expecting light fluff, and in the end I actually shed a bit of a tear. Or at least my left eye watered, slightly.

REVIEW: Viola (poor girl?) feels she is a broken girl. 90% when she used to be 100%. For the last few months she has been the Invisible Girl, no one pays much attention to her, when all she wants is to be happy. It never used to be that way, she used to be happy, she used to have friends. But her world was brought down around her when her boyfriend and best friend declared that he really didn't like girls. Now out of the closet, Lawrence is quite popular with the high school crowd and Viola is invisible.

Staring at a girl that she could consider a friend if she had the nerve to interact with her...Viola wishes to belong. Her wish is so desperate and intense that a genie is sent to her from the realm of Caliban (Not to be mistaken with the land of terrorist - the Taliban).  With no name, he is only genie and he is also Viola's personal genie slave, there to grant her wishes and then leave from the human realm as quickly as he possible can. You see genies only age in the human world, and with a declining population, getting older is not a good thing for them.

Viola turns this wish granters world upside down though, as she refuses to treat him as just a wish granter, and instead begins call him Jinn, and forces him to call her Viola instead of Master. She also is very up in the air about her wishes...not able to make a decision quickly. At first Jinn is upset with her wishing procrastination, but as he spends more time with Viola and her friend/ex Lawrence, Jinn starts to realize that he is beginning to care for her and might not want to return to his home as quickly as he is supposed to.

An emotional and sweet teen romance, As You Wish, introduces a new kind of paranormal in the form of the surly genie, Jinn. Unique and sappy, the characters were very lovable, I just wanted to grab Viola and give her a big hug throughout most of the book...and then slap her around about the middle part of the book. Lawrence was also a great character and handled very tastefully by Pearce. And then there was Jinn, don't we all want our own hot wish granter? On top of the charming characters and well mapped plot, it was also very well written and I very much enjoyed Pearce's voice. I can't wait for her next novel, Sister's Red, which is said to have a little more bite to it.

Some negatives on this one: The first was the lack of parental influence that is very prevalent in YA novels, this one was ripe with No Parents Around Syndrome.  Mom was too busy reading self-help books, so she didn't know her kid was drinking and out until dawn on a weekend? Crazy love-struck boyfriend insists on waiting for her (in the parents house, while they were there) to get home and calls her Baby over and over again, without any interference from the parents. I know this technique is utilized in a lot of YA books to give the teens a freedom to play out the plot, I just sometimes think it is a cheat, because I really hope that the majority of parents are not like this. Second Negative has nothing to do with the author, and everything to do with that cover and synopsis...it just didn't convey the novel graphically, it needed to convey a little more depth. The cover just screams shallow to me and might turn off more mature readers.  I can't wait to see if they do a redesign.

All in all a great YA novel, don't pass this one up. As You Wish provides a bit of wit (hee hee), a lot of teen angst, some touchy feely romance, and a good bit of emotional depth to entertain teen and adult readers.  Like I said early that last scene made my left eye water!

RECOMMENDATIONS: Safe for younger teen readers, entertaining enough for adults. Quick and easy read, read it in one sitting. Love those! Will be holding on to this one to give to my little girl (in about 7-8 years).

  

Maggie Stiefvater Signing!

I had the pleasure of attending a book signing today that featured the very talented Maggie Stiefvater (Ballad, Lament, Shiver, Linger). I was also pleased to be introduced to two other authors from the YA realm that attended with Maggie, Carrie Ryan (The Dead Tossed Waves)  and Jackson Pearce (As You Wish). The girls were very entertaining, and surprising some parts were almost like stand-up.  Carrie Ryan really impressed me with her brains, Maggie with her wit, and well Jackson seemed to be the youngest of the group so a bit of the, well, comic relief.

Scoop that I picked up. Maggie mentioned that she is toying with a 3rd book to follow up Lament and Ballad. There will not be any ARCs for Fovever! *sob*

The signing was at Octavia books, which was a very cool little bookstore Uptown.  As an added bonus I got to meet Patti from Book Addict my fellow New Orleanian book blogger. Very cool...and I spent a fortune. I'll post In My Mailbox next to "Show-Off" my loot.

Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth & The Dead-Tossed Waves told us that there will be a third book in her series and that she will have a few short stories released this summer, including a piece in a Zombies vs. Unicorns anthology. Sounds interesting.

Maggie, Jackson and Carrie gave us some insight into characters that were hard to write and the characters that were most like themselves. Maggie was actually surprised when the crowd answered that James was the character that was most like herself. She said that rarely happened, most people said a lot of her other characters.  What was the funny thing though, and you can't see it in this picture is that Maggie's left hand was covered in writing, and little notes. Which could be what clued most in to who she related with.

There is Patti getting her book signed by Carrie. Hate to admit this, but I had the guts to do a little promotional business card slipping to Jackson and Carrie, but just didn't have the cojonas to slip one to Maggie, especially after she dropped the Forever ARC bomb. That means that release will be HOT. Hope you enjoyed my share!

Books by the above mentioned authors: