Category: Realistic Fiction
Seed by Lisa Heathfield
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
All that Pearl knows can be encapsulated in one word: Seed. It is the isolated community that she was born into. It is the land that she sows and reaps. It is the center of her family and everything that means home. And it is all kept under the watchful eye of Papa S.
At fifteen years old, Pearl is finally old enough to be chosen as Papa S.’s companion. She feels excitement . . . and surprising trepidation that she cannot explain. The arrival of a new family into the Seed community—particularly the teenage son, Ellis—only complicates the life and lifestyle that Pearl has depended upon as safe and constant. Ellis is compelling, charming, and worldly, and he seems to have a lot of answers to questions Pearl has never thought to ask.But as Pearl digs to the roots of the truth, only she can decide what she will allow to come to the surface.
Lisa Heathfield’s suspenseful, scintillating debut features a compelling voice that combines blithe naïveté, keen observation, and sincere emotion.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received an ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
If you know anything at all about cults, or have even read any first-hand survivor accounts of former cult members, Seed will hold absolutely no surprises for you. I wish it had been a more unique and less predictable take on how cults keep and manipulate their members, but Lisa Heathfield really doesn’t stray from the typical cult modus operandi. That’s not a bad thing because it makes it realistic, but for me it was so predictable that it got a little boring at points. It won’t be true for everyone, but for anyone with the aforementioned knowledge of cults you aren’t going to encounter any surprises.
That said, Lisa Heathfield does paint a very realistic picture of what someone raised in a cult would be like. Pearl constantly wants to please Papa S., wants to be his Companion without realizing what that fully implies (and yes, it means exactly what you’re thinking) and laughs off Ellis when he tells her of the wondrous things in the outside world. She’s been kept naive about absolutely everything and while she questions some things, she doesn’t question them like you or I would. It’s more realistic than if she were questioning everything and you’d think it would become annoying, but it doesn’t. Lisa Heathfield writes very good characters and while sometimes I was exasperated with Pearl, her character still rings true.
As I said, the plot is predictable for people who know a little about cults, but somehow that adds to the overall suspense toward the end. I knew how things were going to end and I knew how they were going to get there, but I was still anxious to find out what happened. Heathfield’s pacing was a little slow in the middle (thus my occasional boredom) but despite that she really ratcheted up the suspense toward the end. Particularly in the barn scene.
I would have liked for a little more even pacing throughout the novel so that it didn’t drag so much in the middle, but this is her debut novel so you can’t really expect everything to be perfect. Her character development was still amazing and in the end I do have to say that I enjoyed Seed. Will it ever be on the list of my top 10 favourite novels? No, not really. But it is quite a good book and a decent debut so I think we can expect great things from her in the future. Heathfield has a good grasp of psychology and with a little practice, she can write some truly terrifying novels in the future. I for one can’t wait to see what she comes out with next.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Best Seller by Martha Reynolds
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Set in New England at the time of the American Bicentennial, Best Seller is the poignant story of a displaced young woman struggling to figure out who she is within the context of her hometown and the carefully masked dysfunction of her family. “Everything can be fixed by writing a check.” Words to live by for Robin Fortune’s wealthy father, until he can’t buy her way back into college after she’s expelled for dealing pot. Now he chooses not to speak to her anymore, but that’s just one of the out-of-whack situations Robin’s facing. At nineteen, she feels rudderless, working in a diner by day and sleeping with a buddy from high school by night – all so strange for her because she was always the one with the plan. While her college friends plotted how to ensnare husbands, she plotted a novel, which she scratched out into a series of spiral-bound notebooks she hides in the closet. But now, there’s nothing. No vision, no future, no point. In fact, the only thing she feels she has to look forward to is that her favorite author, Maryana Capture, is paying a visit to the local Thousand Words bookstore. Robin surmises that if she can convince Maryana to help her get her novel published, she’ll finally get herself back on track. Except that life never takes a straight path in this intensely satisfying coming-of-age novel.
[Full disclosure: I received a free paperback in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
I have to say that for all of my hesitation about Best Seller, it actually isn’t a bad book. It’ll never be a great book but Martha Reynolds is a pretty solid writer.
Her main strength is her characters because although I hate people like Robin in real life (naive, unambitious sorts of people who have never done a thing for themselves) I actually didn’t mind her in fiction. Do I like every decision she makes? Of course not, particularly when it concerns her love life. However, it’s a testament to the strength of Reynolds’ writing that I didn’t throw the book at the wall like I normally would with a character like this. In some ways I enjoyed Robin’s journey from pretty darn naive for a 20 year old to an almost adult by the end, and in some ways I was a little frustrated at the same time.
The reason I was frustrated was the plot. I love a good character novel but I do feel that a book has to have some sort of overarching plot or theme that the main character struggles with. That wasn’t necessarily so in Best Seller. There’s a lot of inter-character conflict but the main point of the novel (Robin is an aspiring young writer) gets wrapped up in just a couple of pages at the end. Just like every other conflict Robin faces, it gets wrapped up in a pretty little bow at the end with not even a little ambiguity anywhere. It’s just too perfect, really, especially when you consider characters like David who do a total 180 by the end.
I haven’t exactly lived through 1976 so I’m not going to talk about any historical accuracy in the novel. But, at the same time, Martha Reynolds’ writing made me feel like I was there with the characters: breathing in the smoke before smoking indoors in public places was illegal (which I do actually remember), tasting the breakfast at the diner and so much more. She has a very descriptive writing style and yet she never crosses into boring territory.
So when a writer can make me like the sort of person I’d rather slap in real life and can bring me back to an era I’ve never lived through, I can definitely appreciate their efforts and their talent. I just wish that Best Seller had more of a plot/point.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
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Operation Owl by Tara Quan
(Cover picture courtesy of Elle Rush’s blog.)
A Beyond Fairytales Adaptation of Grimm’s The Owl
Five years ago, Maya Jain kissed her best friend only to have him run out of her dorm room and leave the state. When he shows up in Washington, D.C., a wanted fugitive sought after by every branch of the US government, she can’t bring herself to ignore his plight. As their physical relationship picks up where it left off, she decides it’s time to make him see her as more than the bespectacled, bookish girl he once called “Owl.”
After being accused of espionage and treason, Zack Strong needs a forensic accountant to help clear his name. Not knowing who he can trust, this white-hat hacker has no choice but to ask his former best friend and math tutor for help. Together they unravel a cyber conspiracy at the Barn, an NSA facility tasked to intercept electronic communications. But as they traverse the nation’s capital to avoid capture, Maya insists on letting their simmering sexual tension take its natural course. Even though he’s never been able to shake the memory of their one kiss, he refuses to let her give up her life for a man with no future.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
Operation Owl was a solid ‘meh’ for me personally. Yes, I went into this expecting for there to be lots of romance (which was fine) but I also expected a little bit more action. I’ll explain.
Essentially, the big conspiracy plot that’s the reason why Zack is running plays second fiddle to the interpersonal conflict between him and Maya. That’s just fine by me in theory, except that in practice, the actual huge conspiracy probably made up less than 25% of the book whereas the rest was about their friendship. With a conspiracy that big, I would have preferred a little more action because it’s pretty important. So even though Operation Owl does have an interesting plot on the blurb, it’s actually very much the ‘romantic comedy’ it’s labelled as. (Though lacking on the comedy part.)
Despite my misgivings about the plot, I did enjoy the characters. Maya and Zack have had a complicated relationship, to say the least. We learn about the events of five years ago that led to Maya kissing Zack and how that in turn led to them not seeing each other in person for all that time. When they finally meet again, having Zack being chased by the government’s hired mercenaries doesn’t exactly make for the best circumstances. Still, they make it work and their bond re-forms. I liked seeing from each of their viewpoints how they learned to let go of the past and just focus on the present. This is definitely one of the better romances I’ve read.
Tara Quan’s writing style is actually very good. It’s well-suited to the contemporary feel of her novel and while it is pared-down, I was never confused about the setting or which character was speaking (as sometimes happens when authors try to cut too much description). She does an excellent job with the sexual tension of both characters and by a certain point in the book you’re just ready to scream at them to go and have sex already. Which is sort of the purpose of that unresolved sexual tension, I suppose.
So character-wise and writing-wise, I really have no complaints. I would have liked for there to have been more focus on the conspiracy, but that’s just me. At least the conflict was resolved nicely (but not necessarily neatly) at the very end and it would almost be believable were I not such a cynic about politics. Again, that’s just me; it’s actually quite a satisfying ending from a reader’s standpoint.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Along the Watchtower by David Litwack
(Cover picture courtesy of Masquerade Tours via email.)
A Tragic Warrior Lost in Two Worlds…
The war in Iraq ended for Lieutenant Freddie Williams when an IED explosion left his mind and body shattered. Once he was a skilled gamer and expert in virtual warfare. Now he’s a broken warrior, emerging from a medically induced coma to discover he’s inhabiting two separate realities. The first is his waking world of pain, family trials, and remorse—and slow rehabilitation through the tender care of Becky, his physical therapist. The second is a dark fantasy realm of quests, demons, and magic that Freddie enters when he sleeps.
In his dreams he is Frederick, Prince of Stormwind, who must make sense of his horrific visions in order to save his embattled kingdom from the monstrous Horde. His only solace awaits him in the royal gardens, where the gentle words of the beautiful gardener, Rebecca, calm the storms in his soul. While in the conscious world, the severely wounded vet faces a strangely similar and equally perilous mission—a journey along a dark road haunted by demons of guilt and memory—and letting patient, loving Becky into his damaged and shuttered heart may be his only way back from Hell.
[Full disclosure: I received a free paperback from David Litwack so I could review this book in conjunction with the blog tour. As always, this is an honest review.]
Having previously read David Litwack’s work I was expecting a novel that was mostly high fantasy or maybe even a combination of science fiction and fantasy. What I didn’t expect was a high fantasy story running in conjunction with a very real heart-wrenching story.
Freddie has had a crappy life. Both of his parents and his older brother are dead and he was severely injured in Iraq by an IED. Most of his squad died but he lived so in addition to his physical injuries there’s some pretty huge survivor guilt mixed in with PTSD. Add to that the fact that his developmentally disabled brother went missing because of him years ago and you’ve got the makings of a Shakespearean tragedy. You’d think a book with a plot like this would stray into opera level dramatics but it never does. David Litwack’s writing has improved since There Comes a Prophet so he gets just the right amount of emotion without ever becoming too sappy or cheesy.
His characters are very much three dimensional. Both Freddie and his alter ego Frederick are three dimensional characters facing (obviously) similar challenges. In the dreamworld all of Frederick’s challenges are a metaphor for what’s going on with Freddie in real life, from his rehabilitation to his growing feelings for his physiotherapist. Now a book like this could very easily stray into the territory of sexism because it would be easy to portray both Becky and Rebecca merely as background characters who help the hero reach his goal. That’s very much not true. Becky is a complicated woman with her own demons to look out for and she’s a very determined and competent physio. You can’t ask for much more than that where a romantic relationship is concerned: two people with their own problems come together slowly and try to work those problems out while acknowledging that some scars may never fully heal.
The plot isn’t fast-paced by most people’s standards but this is definitely a character driven novel. You’ll cheer for Freddie to succeed after going through so much and you’ll feel his pain as your own. He’s a very vivid character and his world of rehabilitation is brought to life by David Litwack’s amazing writing. Most people have never had physiotherapy but I have so I can tell you that the scenes between Becky and Freddie are pretty darn accurate (especially the attitudes of the medical staff). And to top it all off, this book ends on a satisfying note. Not all loose ends are tied up but enough are so that you’re pretty sure what happens to Freddie after the story.
Basically, this is just a good book. I’m so glad I joined the blog tour for it!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
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If I Stay by Gayle Forman
(Cover picture courtesy of Gayle Forman’s site.)
On a day that started like any other…
Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, adoring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. Then, in an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the one decision she has left—the most important decision she’ll ever make.
Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving.
Here I am once again tackling a book that’s pretty much become a classic of modern literature. I really tried hard not to let the hype influence my opinion of it but as you guys know it’s impossible to be totally oblivious to a novel as popular as this one.
I didn’t like If I Stay. There, I said it. So you can start writing your hate mail now but at least hear me out on my reasons why.
Mia was a horrible main character, to be honest. No, she wasn’t an awful human being but she was boring. Horribly, ordinary and boring with pretty much nothing to set her apart. Sure she’s into music but her personality is about as dull as watching paint dry. The book starts out with her accident and as she’s in a coma we learn more about her life prior to the accident. And you know what? It’s too good to be true.
She has the cool parents that every stereotypical teenager supposedly wishes for. They’re cool, not uptight about anything and basically act like teenagers themselves. She never, ever has any disagreements with them. Ever. That’s just not realistic at all. And her relationship with Adam was so cheesy it almost made me gag. That scene where they’re in Mia’s room and Adam asked her to “play [him] like a cello” (page 59). And she literally played air cello on his body before he reciprocated by playing air guitar on hers. I haven’t rolled my eyes so hard since I was 13 years old and even at that age I could have told you that two teenagers alone in a bedroom together are not going to play air-whatevers on each other.
Basically, If I Stay is a bunch of memories of Mia’s where she boringly examines her perfect life before deciding if she wants to die or not. There’s no great lyricism to the writing, no real emotion in what really should be a heart-wrenching situation and I really didn’t care what happened to Mia by the end of the novel. I just wanted the novel to be over so I could do something productive with my life.
If you want to read If I Stay to see what all the hype is about, go for it. But set your expectations a little lower if you don’t want to be totally disappointed.
I give this book 1/5 stars.