Video Review: The Watch That Ends The Night by Allan Wolf

Author: Allan Wolf

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Verse

Pages: 480

Published: October 11th, 2011

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Rating: 4/5 Stars

"Arrogance and innocence, hubris and hope--twenty-four haunting voices of the Titanic tragedy, as well as the iceberg itself, are evoked in a stunning tour de force.
Millionaire John Jacob Astor hopes to bring home his pregnant teen bride with a minimum of media scandal. A beautiful Lebanese refugee, on her way to family in Florida, discovers the first stirrings of love. And an ancient iceberg glides south, anticipating its fateful encounter. The voices in this remarkable re-creation of the Titanic disaster span classes and stations, from Margaret ("the unsinkable Molly") Brown to the captain who went down with his ship; from the lookout and wireless men to a young boy in search of dragons and a gambler in search of marks. Slipping in telegraphs, undertaker’s reports, and other records, poet Allan Wolf offers a breathtaking, intimate glimpse at the lives behind the tragedy, told with clear-eyed compassion and astounding emotional power."~Goodreads

With a slow build that leads to an impressive impact, this book is definitely at the top of my list when it comes to Titanic stories.  I've loved reading about Titanic and her passengers since I was a little kid.  The tragedy has always captivated me.  That being said, I'm a pretty hard reader to please when it comes to books about the subject.  I find that many authors have cheapened their tales by focusing on love stories or just regurgitating stories that we've all heard a million times before.  Allan Wolf doesn't do this.  He focuses on the passengers in a way that really makes the reader feel like they know and understand each individual.  He weaves a story of humanity and all the triumphs and failures that come with it.  The story is told by over twenty different narrators including the iceberg, itself.  All of these stories come together as a beautifully told narrative in verse about the ill-fated ship.  It is a quick and engrossing read that will thrill you and break your heart all at the same time.

Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Author: Patrick Ness

Genre: Paranormal, Horror

Pages: 215

Published: September 27, 2011

Publisher: Candlewick

Rating: 5/5 Stars

"The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth." ~Goodreads

 When I picked up A Monster Calls I figured it would be the perfect Halloween read.  I mean, monsters, hello!  I new that this was supposed to be a sad story as well, but I assumed (incorrectly) that it was more of a thriller than anything else.  After finishing this book, I can promise you that while it is a horror story, the horror here lies in the real life problems that the main character, Conor, is dealing with.  He is bullied at school, abandoned by his father, largely ignored by his grandmother and on top of everything else he is dealing with his mother's cancer.  That's a lot for a kid to deal with.  Then the monster starts showing up.

LIKES:

• The legacy of the book: The idea for this book was originally thought up by Siobhan Dowd.  Unfortunately she passed away from cancer before the idea could come to fruition.  Although Ness and Dowd had not known each other personally, he was a huge fan of her work.  So, when he was asked to write the book he did so with the utmost love and respect.  One of the reasons that this book is such a masterpiece is because Ness was memorializing and celebrating Dowd in its writing.  This makes the story all the more touching.
• The realism: Again, this story is less about a monster and more about Conor's internal struggle with his mother's cancer.  However, that doesn't mean that the story is sappy.  The emotions are so raw and real that it is impossible not to feel totally immersed in Conor's grief.
• The monster: The monster is such a dynamic character.  He is a terror but he is also a nuturer.  He is not only there to scare Conor, he is also there to teach him and to help him.  At the end of the day, it is the monster who makes Conor look at his true feelings and come to terms with his mother's potential fate.
• The illustrations: Jim Kay's amazing illustrations complement the story without overshadowing it.  They are both terrifying and melancholy.  While the story stands on its own, the book would not be the same without these wonderful pieces.
• All the feels: Especially during the last third of the book I just could not stop crying.  It takes a lot for a book to make me cry and this one just would not let up.  I suggest having a jumbo pack of Kleenex on stand-by if you are planning to read this one.

DISLIKES:

Absolutely nothing.  I can't think of a single thing that I didn't love about this book.  You've stumped me Patrick Ness. Well played, sir.

This book is, in a word, flawless.  If you are looking for a different kind of heartfelt read with just a little creepiness, this is your book.  If you aren't crying by the end, you may want to have your tear ducts checked out, there could be a problem.  From, idea to plot to writing and illustrations this book is incredibly well-formed.  I know it will have a place of honor on my shelf for years to come.

A Long Long Sleep

Author: Anna Sheehan

Genre: Fantasy, Dystopian, Romance

Pages: 342

Published: 2011

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Rating: 4/5 Stars

"Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss. Locked away in the chemically induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten subbasement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long gone, and Rose-- hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire-- is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat. Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes-- or be left without any future at all."

Beautiful, intriguing and sometimes heartbreaking, A Long Long Sleep is a book that sucks you in and holds on.  The story is framed as a futuristic Sleeping Beauty.  The main character is Rose, a shy, sheltered heiress, who wakes up one day to find that her idyllic world is gone and that she is now a ward of her late father's company, UniCorp.  We soon get the feeling, however, that Rose's world wasn't as perfect as it seemed.  Secrets about her former life and her family begin to reveal themselves as Rose starts to  fall for the new CEO's grandson, the dreamy Bren.  Meanwhile she is still holding on to the memory of her long lost love Xavier.

A Long Long Sleep has all the makings of a great book and, for the most part, it delivers.  First though, let me talk about the few issues I had with this book.  The first, and biggest issue, was that the beginning tended to drag on a bit.  There were times in the first half of the book where I felt that several pages could have been compressed into  a couple of paragraphs.  Second, again in the first half, the language was sometimes confusing.  Rose is trying to fit into a new world and the reader sometimes has to struggle along with her as she learns the new slang.  While this drives home the empathy factor, it did tend to make me me feel like an 80 year old trying to make sense out of high school lunch table conversation.  Finally, I really wish we could have seen more of the romance between Rose and Xavier.  I didn't feel very emotionally connected to him until about midway through the book and I feel like, since this is the main love story in the book, it could have been explored a little more.

Now, with that out of the way, let me tell you what I loved (and I did love this book).  I loved Rose!  She was strong, sweet, and just vulnerable enough.  Her struggle as she fell for another guy while still holding on to her first love felt very real to me.  And there's another thing, even though this book is taking place a couple hundred years in the future it was all very relateable.  Usually I don't go for sci fi stuff because I can't really relate to it, but this story felt very plausible and even the super futuristic elements felt realistic.  I think one reason the story seemed so realistic was the character development.  I knew all of the characters, even the background characters, and their motivations.  The relationship that I loved the most was the friendship between Rose and Otto (a half alien/ half human hybrid).  You could feel how much they cared about each other and Otto's dry humor was the perfect companion to Rose's panicked thoughts.  The thing that really sealed the deal for me though was the end of the book.  I really did not see the last couple of chapters coming.  Some of the revelations made my head spin.  More than that though, the ending was incredibly emotional.  I rarely cry when I read and this book made me weep both with joy and with sadness.  

I truly hope that Sheehan plans on a sequel because I would love to explore the relationships in the book more and really see Rose come into her own.  Certainly this book will stay with me for a very long time.  I highly recommend picking up A Long Long Sleep, it makes a great bedtime story.

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