Foretold: 14 Stories of Prophecy & Prediction by Various Authors

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Delacorte Books

Pages: 368pgs

The Story

Richelle Mead, Lisa McMann, Michael Grant, Meg Cabot, Laini Taylor, and nine more of the hottest YA authors to hit the shelves explore the concepts of prophecy and prediction in this story collection edited by NYT bestselling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan.

Have you ever been tempted to look into the future? To challenge predictions? To question fate? It's human nature to wonder about life's twists and turns. But is the future already written - or do you have the power to alter it?

From fantastical prophecies to predictions of how the future will transpire, Foretold is a collection of stories about our universal fascination with life's unknowns and of what is yet to come as interpreted by 14 of young adult fiction's brightest stars.

The Review

From the reviews I've read online lately I know I won't be the first reader to admit this . . . but I mostly read this book of short stories (well I mostly took more notice of one particular short story over the rest of them and I know it's sad but I don't care) because of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy short story featuring the one and only favourite heroine, Rose Hathaway, and her sexy russian mentor-now-turned "lover", Dimitri Belikov, and trust me here folks . . . it was well worth the excruciating, EXCRUCIATING wait!

In the short story of HOMECOMING we are reunited with Rose and Dimitri, where they decide to go back to Dimitri's home country in Russia to visit his family. Now for all those who have actually read the Vampire Academy series, you would already know that Dimitri's family haven't seen him in AGES not since he was turned Strigoi, and even with Rose . . . his own family haven't seen her for a while either, not since the events of the fourth VA book, Blood Promise, so for all of those eager fans out there, we do finally get to see Dimitri proving to his family that he's back to his original self and boy was it beautiful to witness. Cutting down to the chase here (I don't want to ruin this precious little gem for you), I can say quickly that Rose was pretty awesome in this short story and it was really great to see her again. Dimitri, on the other hand, now he was such a super hunk in this story as well and he was completely adorable all the way through it, and even though it was a very SHORT the story but . . . having Dimitri's grandmother crack a few jokes here and there about the future . . . yeah . . . it was definitely a great short story and I have a lot of love for it too!

Overall, when all of you Vampire Academy fans (I know you're out there somewhere in the world) finish this short story you'll be raising your fists in the air with pride because really . . . who doesn't want more of Rose and Dimitri in their lives? I mean, come on people . . . we will always want more of them whether it is in a full length book form or not. And, as for the other short stories, while they were all well and good and interesting in their own ways, but this Rose and Dimitri short story beats them all out!

The Rating

4/5 stars

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Little Brown Books

Pages: 400pgs

The Story

Reese can't remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She's different now.

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States Government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.

Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won't tell them what happened, where they are - or how they've been miraculously healed.

Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police forcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction - and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.

The Review

Malinda Lo is an incredible storyteller - there's no denying that fact. But for her newest release and the first installment of her next YA series, ADAPTATION is a book that cleverly steps away from the fantasy genre and straight into the world of the weird-but-addictive-as-hell science fiction. From birds falling from the sky, people waking up in strange hospitals with little idea on how they got there in the first place and with best friends feeling almost like strangers within their own bodies . . . in all honestly the author had really blown me away with this book and boy was a grand masterpiece for me, especially since I'm a huge science fiction geek so . . . it does take a whole lot of talent to impress me in that genre alone. And Malinda Lo did all of that!

I think what impressed me even more - and went beyond the awesome characters themselves - was the storytelling all on its own and how the author managed to only give us small pieces of a very gigantic puzzle in each of the chapters we read. It really got me thinking, you know? It was also a very clever technique to use too (the one that makes you question everything) because in delivering a book that can quite easily be compared to the X-Files and another favourite book of mine Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson, it's a very hard thing to write and to keep readers satisfied with, but for ADAPTATION in particular it somehow worked perfectly and I thought it delivered everything I wanted in the sci-fi elements because  the book was so complicated and yet so compelling . . . even when you're always left to second-guess what is really going on with the characters and what surrounds them. It was needless to say SO FREAKIN' AWESOME and it's just the kind of book that is so hard to describe to you, so you'll just have to read it for yourselves to find out just how weird, cool, compelling, complicated, and what-the-hell moments this book holds together. Trust me your mind will spin!

While I won't get into too much depth about the characters (it will definitely spoil things if I did!), but what I love about Malinda Lo's characters - especially when it comes to her main ones - is when she explores her character's sexuality and writing about how exactly they deal with these difficult issues for these much older teens to understand themselves. I mean, for me having the simple storyline of girl-meets-boy and girl-falls-for-boy-ONLY is something that feels and comes across as very natural to me when I read young adult fiction because it's always there the girl-boy relationship and that's how most YA books go, and yet Lo puts a unique spin to her own books in writing something that is similar in a way but it was also something that was quite different too: Girl-meets-boy-but-girl-also-develops-feelings-for-a-girl.

Yup. Now for her to make her book that unique in the YA genre I definitely think it's a wonderful thing to have for her older teen readers - even adults, and even when it might cause a slight stir to some readers and make them uncomfortable at times. But I, for one, am very comfortable with it. In fact, I applaud the author for writing it and handling it so well in her writing as she's done in her other books. Whether you approve of what happens or not between the main character and her supporting ones, the author, Malinda Lo, knows her characters and because of her main character, Reese, is conflicted with her strong feelings for a boy AND a girl . . . it's just apart of the story in her figuring out who she is as an individual and to me there's nothing wrong with that . . . so once again it's a wonderful thing and I loved the journey Lo took us on. Especially with Reese's story. It was one hell of a ride!

Overall, once the final reveal draws to a close, ADAPTATION will leave you with so many unanswered questions and yet you will still be gearing up for the next installment which is coming out sometime next year! So if you love the sci-fi genre and all the weirdness of it that you can possibly imagine - a book that will make you distrust everything surrounding the characters and their motives - not to mention secrets that they keep, then I would highly HIGHLY recommend this book to you. Seriously it was a BLAST!

The Rating

5/5 stars

Huntress by Malinda Lo

Release Date: 5th May, 2011

Publisher: ATOM

Pages: 384pgs

The Story

Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance.

To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of-journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet the two girls' destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever.

The exciting adventure prequel to Malinda Lo's highly acclaimed novel Ash is overflowing with lush Chinese influences and details inspired by the I Ching, and is filled with action and romance.

The Review

Before I start gushing over this title, I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to ATOM Australia for giving me a copy of this amazing book! It was bloody brilliant! Now I'm a huge fan of Malinda Lo's debut novel, Ash, and when I heard about her writing a prequel of the book set in the same world as Ash, I pretty much had a fangal freakout moment! And I can definitely say HUNTRESS doesn't disappoint! It's a wonderful story about coming of age and a beautiful, well-set environment with a sweet romance that blossoms between two very strong female heroines.

In HUNTRESS, Kaede, the daughter of the King's Chancellor, wants to escape the political marriage her parents have arranged for her. Taisin on the other hand, wants nothing more than to become a Sage. So here in this story, we have a non-magicial girl and a magicial girl. The two of them are the shining stars of this dark tale and I was amazed how great they were! I think what I love most about Lo's writing is how she uses her beautiful language and weaves it into this encompassing fantasy world of hers, while focussing on a romance between two girls. I love stories like these. One time, I'd read a review where someone said they felt uncomfortable about it being about a gay relationship, but I found it quite beautiful. It's about time someone addresses a new kind of romance and Malinda Lo does it just right: her writing is rawly emotional, layered, and just damn . . . solid.

While the story is filled with fascinating magic, riveting action, and an unpredictable plot (though I guessed what would happen by the end of the book), it was the romance between Kaede and Taisin that really made an impact on me. To watch how their feelings grow and then watch how they try and deny their affections . . . it was nice to see these girls develop as characters and feel - like themselves - overjoyed when they finally let go of responsiblities (even for a little while) and become aware they're falling in love! It was so utterly beautiful and heart-warming. What I loved most about Kaede and Taisin as our main heroines, was how strong they were and how they were the complete opposites to one another, in personality wise. In a way, they complimented each other and I'm thankful for it. In addition to these characters, I loved the supporting cast: Con, Shae, Tali and Pol. Each character had a purpose in the story and were solid til the very end (though two didn't exactly make it til the end but you'll have to read it and see what I mean).

To be honest, I think HUNTRESS is soooooooo much better than Ash, even for a prequel set centuries beforehand. With its astounding sense of adventure about bravery and unconditional love, this book has definitely become a dear favourite of mine for 2011! I highly recommend to anyone who loves the likes of Melissa Marr and Robin McKinley!

The Rating

5/5 stars