Our Dark Duet

Our Dark Duet
By Victoria Schwab
Published: Greenwillow Books, 2017
Pages: 528 pages
Genre: YA, Fantasy
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For the majority of his short life, he'd thought of people as either good or bad, clean or stained - the separation stark, the lines drawn in black and white -but the last six months have shown him a multitude of grays.

The second book in a duology, "Our Dark Duet" begins six months where "This Savage Song" left off - Kate Harker is living under a false identity in a different territory and August Flynn is now following in his brother's footsteps as the public figure of the FTF. Verity is in chaos following Callum Harker's death with Sloan taking control of the Corsai and Malchai and attempting to gain control of the entire city. Kate soon discovers and new kind of monster, one with powers never seen before that leaves a trail of death. Kate and August must team up to defeat this new monster, but not before the monster goes after everyone they love.

So, wow. "Our Dark Duet" (ODD) was a fast-paced, fun read. I thought it better than "This Savage Song" (TSS). I enjoyed TSS, but it had an aspect of unbelievability to it. I know it's fantasy but at times I wasn't able to immerse myself into the world. ODD, on the other hand, I could easily slip into the fantasy - maybe because I was already familiar to it or maybe I just thought this book was written better than the first. I also loved the characters, Kate especially strikes a chord with me. I'm sad about the ending... an important character dies but that has to happen sometimes. I will definitely be checking out more of Schwab's novels.

RATING (out of five puppies)

Pet Sematary

Pet Sematary

By Stephen King
Pages: 373
Published: Doubleday, 1983
Genre: Horror
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"It has fed on your grief... no, more than that. It's doubled it, cubed it, raised it to the nth power. And it isn't just grief it feeds on. Sanity. It's eaten your sanity. The flaw is only the inability to accept, not uncommon."

Dr. Louis Creed moves his family half way across the country when he accepts a job as the director of an infirmary for a large university in Maine. He and his family move into a house located in the quiet county. Well, quiet that is except for the parade of loud, large trucks rushing past 24/7. Louis quickly befriends an elderly neighbor, Jud, and learns there is a pet cemetery in the woods behind his home - and something ancient and deadly, too. When his daughter's beloved cat dies, Jud revels a secret about the Pet Sematary - one that none of them will ever forget.

It was difficult for me to really get into this book at first - I felt the beginning moved pretty slow. It wasn't until I was about two-thirds of the way in that I finally got hooked. King is always good at setting an ominous tone in his novels; for Pet Sematary, this occurs when Jud warns Louis and his wife to watch out for the dangerous road and later on when he warns the family to never stray from the path in the woods. However, the slow pace made it difficult for me to continue reading it.

I've read several of King's books and while this wasn't my favorite, I still enjoyed it. The ending is what I think saved my opinion of Pet Sematary. I won't post spoilers, but the ending was completely unexpected and perfect.

RATING (out of five puppies)

The Memory of Light

The Memory of Light

By Francisco X. Stork
Published: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2016
Pages: 325
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
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"I wrote because writing helped me. When I wrote, the hollowness inside was filled for a few moments with memories and images, not all of them happy, but at least there was something living in me... again, when I wrote. I wrote because writing kept me alive."

Vicky is a 16-year-old who attempts suicide when she finds the daily drone of life too much to bear. Her family becomes broken and distant after her mother dies, there is no place she belongs at the competitive school she attends and there is nothing that gives her joy - each day is just like the next, filled with meaningless actions and words that make no difference to her. Vicky finds herself at Lakeview and discovers that she can find reasons to WANT to live. While recovering at a ranch with other patients, who are now her friends, a crisis occurs and Vicky is left back at home facing the same demons and "uglies" - suicidal thoughts. It will take courage and hope for her to face

This book hits me right in the soul. It's clear that Stork has dealt with depression before since he can write about it so clearly. He writes a metaphor for depression by Vicky explaining her depression is like elves living in her brain that sidetrack certain signals and send false ones to her central system. This makes his writing so relatable. And each character was written so vividly, I can easily picture each one in my head. The ending was perfect in that it wasn't "too perfect." Some characters are still in a bad place and struggling with their treatment, which is realistic. Mental illness is never clear cut; it quite often is a constant struggle and uphill battle.

The Memory of Light sends a perfect message to anyone any age or may have or may currently be struggling with depression about how it IS possible to find hope. You just have to take one day at a time; some days are better than others and it'll always be that way. Even if you're at the worst place in your life, there WILL be better days. I recommend it to anyone.

RATING (out of five puppies):

         

First post!

My name is Hannah and this is my first blog post. I'll be reviewing a wide variety of books and I'm excited to connect with others who share my interests. I live in a small town in rural Illinois, and it can be difficult to find others with the same passions as me - so of course I came to the internet. :)
I try to read a wide variety of genres so I can be as close to well-read as possible, but the novels I usually reach for are mystery, horror and young adult fantasy. I also try to be open-minded and even if you don't agree with one of my reviews, I'm open to hearing your opinion.
I hope to be posting reviews at least a couple times a month.