Waiting on Wednesday – Week 108

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It’s to spotlight upcoming reads that I’m DYING to get my hands on!

This week’s WoW is:

Inland by Kat Rosenfield

The psychological labyrinth of a young woman’s insidious connection to the sea, from the Edgar Award nominated author of Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone.

Callie Morgan has long lived choked by the failure of her own lungs, the result of an elusive pulmonary illness that has plagued her since childhood. A childhood marked early by the drowning death of her mother—a death to which Callie was the sole witness. Her father has moved them inland, away from the memories of the California coast her mother loved so much and toward promises of recovery—and the escape of denial—in arid, landlocked air.

But after years of running away, the promise of a life-changing job for her father brings Callie and him back to the coast, to Florida, where Callie’s symptoms miraculously disappear. For once, life seems delightfully normal. But the ocean’s edge offers more than healing air … it holds a magnetic pull, drawing Callie closer and closer to the chilly, watery embrace that claimed her mother. Returned to the ocean, Callie comes of age and comes into a family destiny that holds generations of secrets and very few happy endings.

June 12, 2014 ● Goodreads

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone was absolutely gorgeous, so there’s no doubt why I’m anticipating Rosenfield’s upcoming novel, Inland. It sounds suspenseful and hauntingly beautiful– I definitely can’t wait to sink (pun intended) into this one.

What are you waiting on?

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Rated: YA 14+
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

When soldiers arrive at his hometown in Cambodia, Arn is just a kid, dancing to rock 'n' roll, hustling for spare change, and selling ice cream with his brother. But after the soldiers march the entire population into the countryside, his life is changed forever. Arn is separated from his family and assigned to a labor camp: working in the rice paddies under a blazing sun, he sees the other children, weak from hunger, malaria, or sheer exhaustion, dying before his eyes. He sees prisoners marched to a nearby mango grove, never to return. And he learns to be invisible to the sadistic Khmer Rouge, who can give or take away life on a whim.

One day, the soldiers ask if any of the kids can play an instrument. Arn's never played a note in his life, but he volunteers. In order to survive, he must quickly master the strange revolutionary songs the soldiers demand—and steal food to keep the other kids alive. This decision will save his life, but it will pull him into the very center of what we know today as the Killing Fields. And just as the country is about to be liberated from the Khmer Rouge, Arn is handed a gun and forced to become a soldier. He lives by the simple credo: Over and over I tell myself one thing: never fall down.

Based on the true story of Arn Chorn-Pond, this is an achingly raw and powerful novel about a child of war who becomes a man of peace, from National Book Award finalist Patricia McCormick.

I’m ashamed to say this: I’ve lived in Asia for most of my life and not once have I ever learned about the Khmer Rouge. It’s sad that not many people actually know what happened in Cambodia, and I think in general, the history that I’ve learned in school tends to be more one-sided, as I barely know anything about Asian history, even studying in international schools in South East Asia. Never Fall Down was an enlightening experience for me, as it revealed the horrors that took place and the childhood experiences of Arn Chorn-Pond, a very well known human rights activist, during the Pol Pot Regime.

I love how much the writing is reflected onto what would be the basic English-speaking capability of Arn during his childhood in Cambodia. The writing was simple yet so impactful whilst reading. To see this through the eyes of a child, and all the horrors of the events, just makes it all the more distressing that this actually took place. The author really took the time to make sure that she got the basis of his story, and it really does show throughout the novel. It’s also interesting because it shows the inability of Arn to express himself, confining him to what he can relay back to the reader as a child, while he deals with the deaths and the emotional trauma surrounding the regime. It makes it all the more scarier to see how people resort to cannibalism in extreme cases, turning against each other, and doing what they can to survive, as it gives a broader overview of the events as well.
I liked how there was particular focus on how Arn did survive, through playing music. The lengths Arn had to take in order to survive, learning to play an instrument he had no experience with and gaining more confidence day by day, still shocks me. The fact that a lot of these details are true makes it all the more surreal, making this an amazing and profound survival story, one that people need to hear.

I started this book and couldn’t stop reading until I’d reached the end. Never Fall Down was a heart-pounding read, a gruesome and realistic portrayal of how a country turned on itself, and how one boy found a glimmer of hope surrounded by death and destruction. Patricia McCormick’s writing hits hard and true, illustrating the horrors and traumatic experience of war. Moving and fierce, Never Fall Down is one not to miss.

If you like this, try...

• Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys ● Goodreads
• Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong ● Goodreads
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ● Goodreads 

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A Message from Clinton Festa, author of The Enchanted Harp

Fellow readers:

People in prisons and juvenile detention centers don't have many options for recreation.  They love reading as much as we do, but they rely on a steady supply of books.  Have you ever wondered what to do with your old books?  Maybe your mother/father/wife/husband has asked you several times to clean out your 'old books that you're never going to read again.'  You can even donate your sports magazines and comic books to one of our featured juvenile detention centers.

Please 'like' the Facebook page below and join the Goodreads group to get updates from Sentences Book Donations on the latest needs from individual prisons and JD centers.  Check out past posts, or wait for future ones, and you're sure to see a prison that needs exactly what's on your shelf.  Stay connected, and you'll find an opportunity to make a very efficient, effective donation.  Your books will be read!  We'll tell you how to donate, where to send it to, etc.  Thank you for your donation!

https://www.facebook.com/sentencesbookdonations

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/125524-sentences-book-donations-to-prison-libraries-and-juvenile-detention-cen

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The Enchanted Harp is available for free on Amazon now until April 14, 2014.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Enchanted-Harp-Clinton-Festa-ebook/dp/B00JCHQ4WU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396205464&sr=8-1&keywords=the+enchanted+harp+clinton+festa

If you’ve never downloaded a free e-book, it’s very easy.  Just log in and purchase it (for $0.00) like you would any product.  You can begin reading right away.  No Kindle required.

The book takes place in 1920 London.  Lillian Paisley is a fifteen-year old errand girl for (the fictitious) King Richard XVI, or Rick, as he prefers.  Her saintly mother died when she was only three, leaving Lilly with a vague, frustrated memory of the person who should be the most important role model in her life.  Lilly was left in the care of her three loving but very meddling godmothers, Matthea, Marcia, and JoAnna.

Mattie, Marcia, and Jo tell mythic stories of Lucy Paisley, Lilly’s mother, which only frustrates her more.  They claim that Lucy did jumping jacks on water, or turned rocks into brownies and dirt into frosting.  On an errand to a church in the poorest part of London, Lilly says a prayer to understand who her mother really was.  The result is a concert grand harp enchanted with the spirit of Lucy Paisley.

From there, anything real becomes unlikely, and anything absurd becomes the norm.  With Lucy’s wisdom and Lilly’s courage, the mother-and-daughter team set out to make things right in their troubled town, performing a few miracles along the way.

So, what category is The Enchanted Harp in?  That’s a tough question to answer.  It’s Young Adult… 50% comedy… 25% romance… 33% historical fiction (don’t worry if these numbers don’t add up)… 10% mystery… 33% religious themes, which include angels, demons, saints, etc… which also makes it 20% paranormal…  Okay, let me try to say what it’s not.  It’s not a mean-spirited, obnoxious, slow-paced read full of self-destructive characters that make you cringe at their unrealistically poor decision-making.

The Enchanted Harp is my second book, following Ancient Canada, both published by SynergEbooks.  Ancient Canada is available in print; The Enchanted Harp is a new release and only available as an e-book right now.

Remember, The Enchated Harp is available for free until April 14th on Amazon!  Don’t miss the chance to get it for free!

Thanks everybody for reading,

Clinton Festa

Frozen by Erin Bowman

Frozen by Erin Bowman

Release Date: April 15, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Taken, Book 2
Rated: YA 14+
Format: ARC
Source: Borrowed – thanks Richa @ City of Books!
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Read my review of Taken HERE

The Heists were only the beginning.

Gray Weathersby escaped from the primitive town of Claysoot expecting to find answers, but what he discovered shook him to the core: A ruthless dictator with absolute power. An army of young soldiers blinded by lies. And a growing rebellion determined to fight back.

Now Gray has joined a team of rebels on a harsh, icy journey in search of allies who can help them set things right. But in a world built on lies, Gray must constantly question whether any ally—or enemy—is truly what they seem…

I had a couple of fears going into this book. One of them was that I wouldn’t remember what happened in Taken and this book would be a big pot of confusion. Fear number two was that it would fall into the category of not-as-great-sequels as can be found with several YA books. Turns out, I really didn’t have to worry– Frozen was an amazing ride, and even though I'd read Taken a while back, many of the details and names of characters and places came back to me eventually. It was a great follow-up to an amazing start, and didn’t let me down.
I was pretty bummed when I didn’t manage to get a copy of Frozen, but luckily for me, one of my best friends Richa had an ARC so I was able to read this well in advance before publication date. However, it does mean that now I have to wait a SUPER long time for the next book... which doesn’t even have a name yet! The ending of this one just blew me away and made me ravenous for more.

Gray has developed a lot as a character, because in Taken, he made a lot of stupid, rash decisions that had me slapping my forehead in frustration. You can really see that he’s more mature in this book, although he still feels so much confusion as to which girl he should be with. I like that this book is from a guy’s point of view– it’s nice to shake things up once in a while! There is a definite outcome of who Gray is with at the end of the novel (well... pretty much). Since I was already okay with either Bree or Emma from book one, and I didn’t have a preference since both had their strengths and flaws. I kinda wish that the romance was stronger, but on the other hand I’m still glad that the main focus was placed on the action.
As I’d mentioned before, eventually all characters came back to me when I read through, and there are a couple of new characters as well. I really found Jackson’s character interesting, as the book introduced a new group of “people” known as Forgeries and this definitely seems like something that will be further explored in the next book.

I definitely did NOT see that ending coming. My sister read the book before I did and taunted me endlessly with the shocking twist. Even though my mind thought endlessly about the possibilities, I never ended up imagining the ending that this book has. Needless to say, I’m blown away and dying to find out what happens next!
I also liked the contrast in settings that this series presents, as along with an original concept, different landscapes arise and it was very easy to imagine the journey that these characters take as well as the areas that they land up in. The world building is absolutely gorgeous and Bowman’s writing really allows the reader to understand and build up this dystopian setting whilst reading.

Frozen was an enthralling follow-up to Taken. While I’m sad that there is only one more book to go, I’m anticipating the finale and answers to all the questions I’ve had since I started this series. Captivating and beguiling, Erin Bowman’s sequel is bursting with action, suspense and deception, topped off with a likeable protagonist and wonderful descriptions. Can’t wait for book 3!

If you like this, try...

• Reboot by Amy Tintera ● Goodreads
• Possession by Elana Johnson ● Goodreads