Review: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things by Martina McAtee

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (Dead Things, Book #1)
by Martina McAtee
Release Date: August 31st 2015
2015 Martina McAtee
Ebook Edition; 520 Pages
ISBN: 978-0692498729
ASIN: B012KW638S
Genre: Fiction / YA / Paranormal
Source: Review copy from Pump Up Your Book

4.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
17 year old Ember Denning has made an art of isolating herself. She prefers the dead. She spends her days skipping school in old cemeteries and her nights hiding from her alcoholic father at the funeral home where she works. When her own father dies, Ember learns her whole life is a lie. Standing in the cemetery that’s been her sanctuary, she’s threatened by the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen and rescued by two people who claim to be her family. They say she’s special, that she has a supernatural gift like them…they just don’t know exactly what it is.

They take her to a small Florida town, where Ember’s life takes a turn for the weird. She’s living with her reaper cousins, an orphaned werewolf pack, a faery and a human genius. Ember’s powers are growing stronger, morphing into something bigger than anything anybody anticipated. Ember has questions but nobody has answers. Nobody knows what she is. They only know her mysterious magical gift is trying to kill them and that beautiful dangerous boy from the cemetery may be the only thing standing between her and death.

As Ember’s talents are revealed so are the secrets her father hid and those in power who would seek to destroy her. What’s worse, saving Ember has put her cousins in danger and turned her friend’s lives upside down. Ember must learn to embrace her magic or risk losing the family she’s pieced together.

My Thoughts
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things was a pleasant surprise as the story line is definitely something I was not expecting; although I am a huge paranormal fan, some of the offerings lately have really turned me away from the genre, so it was great to read something that was fun and not quite so formulaic.  This one had quite a few paranormal elements in it, so it was interesting to see how the author blended everything together and created a pretty good story to go with all of the different elements.  

First of all, I liked the variety of characters that permeated this book, from the werewolves to the reapers to the zombies to the witches, never really knowing exactly which ones to trust.  Since the story was told through different POVs, you get a sense of how these characters are feeling about the  situation thrust upon them as well as how they feel about each other.  Switching back and forth between the various characters was quite seamless and several times I had to look at the title to know which character was describing the setting and the situation as I couldn't always tell.  I liked how the characters developed and you got to know them really well through the differing story lines; it was like watching a huge family with members constantly getting in each others' way and business, but it was also funny at times too.  I definitely liked the interactions between the various members, watching how their various paranormal abilities created complications and arguments and dilemmas amongst them as well.  Ember is one of those characters over whom I felt quite protective, right from the beginning, liking her strength and her rebelliousness as well as her vulnerability due to her miserable early years.  Perhaps the fact that she is drawn to cemeteries like I am also helped?  I think the only thing I didn't like about her was her relationship with Mace.  I'm just not sure why she would be attracted to someone who tells her he kills people for fun and wants to steal her soul.  Is she just attracted to the bad boys? There were times when I would have liked to take her aside and go, "Hello?" Tristin also got on my nerves at times, as she could be quite nasty to people, especially to Quinn. You reap what you sow. I can't believe I just wrote that.

The story itself flowed rather quickly and smoothly.  The chapters were short, switching POVs quite often, allowing the pace of the novel to move along and I never really got bored; there was really too much going on.  The story centered around the reapers, but I don't feel that Kai's abilities were explored to their fullest, which was a bit disappointing, but perhaps more will be forthcoming in future novels. I was a bit disappointed in Ember at times, being this supposedly really powerful supernatural, who just does what people tell her to do and doesn't really stand up for herself, but perhaps character development in the future will allow her to grow and be more willful as it can get a bit annoying after a while.  

Verdict
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things was an enjoyable foray into a supernatural world filled with reapers, werewolves, witches, faeries, wizards, and so on.  I thought the book was more light-hearted than some I have read, but there were also some darker elements included.  The author was able to do this by keeping the interactions amongst the characters relatively friendly and family-oriented so they seemed like they were one big, crazy family.  That is not to say that darker elements were not prevalent in this book, as they definitely were, but the novel was kept from going too dark because of these lighter elements, and I rather liked that.  The themes of family, loyalty, betrayal, trust, and secrecy were prevalent however, if you delved deeply enough.  I liked the characters and thought the overall development was pretty good, although I would have liked a bit more depth and strength to Ember's character as she did come across as a bit irritatingly wimpy at times.  Overall, the world created in this novel was fun, and I am definitely looking forward to another novel in this series.  And by the way, I thought the cover to this one was amazing.

Review: When by Victoria Laurie

When
By Victoria Laurie
Release Date: January 13th, 2015
2015 Disney-Hyperion
Ebook Edition; 336 Pages
ISBN: 978-1484700082
ASIN: B00OJZYI2Z
Genre: Fiction / Young Adult / Paranormal / Mystery
Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father’s premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one.

Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the quickly approaching death date of one client's young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the when and not the how, she’s unable to offer any more insight. When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie.

Soon, Maddie is entangled in a homicide investigation, and more young people disappear and are later found murdered. A suspect for the investigation, a target for the murderer, and attracting the attentions of a mysterious young admirer who may be connected to it all, Maddie's whole existence is about to be turned upside down. Can she right things before it's too late?

My Thoughts
When is one of those books that I began reading with a bit of trepidation as I am a huge fan of the author's Psychic Eye and Ghost Hunter mystery series and worried that her foray into young adult might be a bit too much for me.  I'm glad to say I didn't have to worry as I really liked this novel, enough to have me reading over 200 pages in one night in order to finish it.  I thought the idea was original and liked the main characters very much, especially Maddie's friend Stubs.

I was drawn into the story fairly quickly and thought the plot was actually quite good.  Maddie can see numbers on people's foreheads and as a young child, didn't understand what the numbers meant until disaster struck her family.  The idea was quite intriguing and right from the beginning, I wondered if there was a way for those numbers to change; I mean life is full of possibilities, and any choices we make can always alter the future.  It was definitely an interesting thing to think about as I read through the story, and wondered how far the author would actually take the numbers thing.  I was quite satisfied with what happened in that regard, and thought the author handled the concept quite well.  

I liked Maddie very much as a character; she was confused, had low self-esteem, worked hard at school in order to get a scholarship one day, was loyal to her friends (even when one of them got involved in what was happening and was accused of things, she remained staunch and loyal), cried when things were too difficult for her to handle, and was stubborn as well.  There were times when I did want to shake her, but she is only sixteen, and can't behave like an adult every moment of the day; it just made things more realistic.  I have a teenager at home and I wouldn't have believed it otherwise if her behaviour was always exemplary, and she didn't have moments of "teenagerism".  

Where I did have to suspend my belief however, is towards the FBI and their original treatment of her.  Having very little proof of her guilty actions on said day of murder, the agents came down pretty hard on her and I wasn't too thrilled with how that storyline went down.  Interviewing a minor without an adult present, in front of others, just wouldn't have happened, unless corruption was going on, which there could have been.  The principal would have known exactly what the consequences of that action would have been, which I thought was handled very well, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.   Can corruption happen?  Yes, but this is not the place where I am even going to touch that argument, I just thought it could have been handled better in the book, and I work in the educational field.  Going with that thought though, the author seems to have several themes running through this novel: we've got the alcoholism one with her mother, bullying at school from both students and teachers, harrassment from police officers, loyalty, trust, and friendship themes, and the concept of not judging someone until they have been proven guilty theme.

Verdict
When was an enjoyable read and the pacing and suspense of the novel kept me interested enough to pretty much read the whole thing in one sitting.  I liked both the main and supporting characters, and thought they developed quite nicely, helping to set up some of the challenges that Maddie faced while dealing with the prospect of being labeled a murderer.  The plot was fun, although I was really skeptical during some of the police and school scenes; it was not always easy to suspend my disbelief and just read the story.  Warner Brothers has already picked up the rights for this book for television so I thought that was interesting.  And the book was left open enough at the end for a possible sequel.  

Review: House of Ivy and Sorrow by Natalie Whipple

House of Ivy & Sorrow 
by Natalie Whipple
Release Date: April 15th, 2014
2014 HarperTeen
Softcover Edition; 352 Pages
ISBN: 9780062120182

ASIN: B00DB30LCA
Genre: Fiction / Young Adult / Paranormal
Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary
Josephine Hemlock has spent the last 10 years hiding from the Curse that killed her mother. But when a mysterious man arrives at her ivy-covered, magic-fortified home, it’s clear her mother’s killer has finally come to destroy the rest of the Hemlock bloodline. Before Jo can even think about fighting back, she must figure out who she’s fighting in the first place. The more truth Jo uncovers, the deeper she falls into witchcraft darker than she ever imagined. Trapped and running out of time, she begins to wonder if the very Curse that killed her mother is the only way to save everyone she loves.

My Thoughts
House of Ivy & Sorrow is one of those books that had a really good premise, and I was a bit excited to delve into because I thought it would be interesting and fun.  And while I enjoyed the ride, and thought it entertaining, I felt it didn't quite live up to its hype or its premise.


I really liked the humour and the relationship between the three friends, Jo, Kat, and, Gwen. The novel did tend towards the silly at times, but once I got over my initial shock that the novel wasn't going to be the deep, gothic type of reading that I was expecting, and was being advertised, I enjoyed the humour between the characters and liked the silliness.  I also thought the premise was interesting and thought the sacrificial part of being a witch was a nice touch as it really made you think about the kinds of things a witch should be doing with her magic.  If every time you brew a potion you have to sacrifice something of yourself, you might think twice about what you are about to do as you can die if you have to give too much of yourself.  

I thought Jo was an interesting enough character, but to be honest, there was nothing really memorable about her, other than the many references to how much prettier she's gotten over the years.  Really?  That's important?  Jo and her friends were nice and friendly, but there was nothing edgy about them, nothing about their personalities that would make them want to take risks or go on serious adventures.  They were just your typical down-to-earth girls and while I liked the relationship between them, I was a bit disappointed by the character development and the lack of 'oomph' that would make them stand out as characters.  A month from now, I would probably go, "Jo?"  "From Little Women?"  Forgotten about, not memorable.  It's too bad really, as there was definitely a lot of potential in this novel for something really exciting to happen, and I kept waiting for it, only to be disappointed.  

I mentioned that I liked the witchy aspect, and I definitely enjoyed some of the more unique aspects to witch lore that were in this novel.  I wish they had been developed a bit more as I felt they were simplified too much and were for much younger readers.  I get that this is a YA novel, but it was too simple, even for a YA novel.  My eleven year-old daughter really enjoyed this book, but my soon to be fourteen year-old didn't so I'm wondering if it might be more appropriate for the twelve and younger age group rather than a teen novel.  I just felt that things moved along very slowly, and then all of sudden, we've got all of this action packed into the last third of the novel, but things are too easily solved and too pat to be quite believable.

Verdict
House of Ivy & Sorrow had a lot of potential, but didn't quite live up to it from what I could see.  There were interesting characters, but not a lot of development; the plot was too simple and things were concluded in a way that didn't quite seem believable, at least to me; and lastly, I just felt that it was too simple to classified as a YA novel.  There were a couple of scenes that could questionable for a younger reader, but I'm sure a few of you are familiar with Goosebumps and Darren Shan too, both of whom are listed as children's horror writers, and I don't think this novel compares with some of those books.  What bothered me more about the scenes was the lack of seriousness involved, and the joking that took place while it was going on, something I had to discuss with my own child, so this has me concerned more than the actual content.  Would I read another book by this author? Yes, I think so, but I would like to see something darker and more serious from her when it comes to something like this as I think the potential for a lot more depth is evident in the parts that were well-done.