The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Usually I love any kind of books relating to time travel because I love messes and there's nothing that creates as much of a chaotic mess as time travel. Ex: The Time Traveler's Wife. The Future of Us isn't time travel, exactly - basically, it's getting access to your Facebook fifteen years ahead of time. So the main characters, Emma and Josh, can read who they're going to marry, where they'll live, what their jobs will be - and then if they don't like it, try to change it and hit refresh.

What a freaking mess. It's a fantastic idea.

The execution of that idea, at the beginning, didn't pull me in. It was kind of bland at first, and I wasn't really invested in the characters. But once they started messing things up, it was pretty glorious. It probably says something bad about my personality that I love characters' destruction so much, but, you know, if they were all happy it would be really boring. Ex: Snow White without poison.

Knowing the future is a pretty terrible idea, but also a really hard one to pass up. I mean, if you could know where you would be in ten years, would you say no? I think I would, but I think that's also because I read/watch a lot of time travel movies/books. Ashton Kutcher would probably say no, too. But it's pretty tempting.

And the idea of it being through technology seemed almost plausible, in a weird way. A technological time virus. At least, it sounds smart in the way that you just accept because you have no idea how it works. Vs a time machine, where it's harder to suspend your disbelief, a computer is something that's here now, but also isn't something we all really understand (minus the computer geniuses.) So it's easier to believe. Plus, it has a lot of funky buttons like F7 which I've never hit and I'm not sure what it does, so maybe that's the timey-wimey button. I don't know, it just seemed easier to believe, so I think people who find time travel / time concepts hard to grasp might be able to read this one easier.

So I thought it was a pretty interesting book, and Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler made a good team. I've read both of their separate works, and while this seemed a completely different genre from what they usually do, they Tim Gunn-ed it.

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

I really liked the Wake trilogy by Lisa McMann - a series of books whose protagonist can enter other people's dreams. Considering the fact that my dream last night consisted of speaking unicorn and wearing a belt made out of dragon hide, I think it would be pretty awkward to be friends with Janie. But reading through her eyes is pretty damn interesting, even though it's kind of a sucky superpower. The realism of the stories, though, matched with the thriller pacing and the slight paranormal aspect, makes one hell of a book series.

Cryer's Cross had that same feel to it. It was fast-paced -definitely a thriller - and had a slight paranormal aspect alongside the realism of it. It's told in alternating chapters between the main character, Kendall, and this creepy creepy whispering voice. It reminded me a little of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, whose chapters alternate between the main character and the killer in her town. So. Creepy. I could pretty much hear the whispers through the pages, and when you're up reading at 3am, that's not very ideal.

Cryer's Cross, the town, I loved - it has a population of around 200 citizens. I've always wanted to live in one of those towns, like Stars Hollow, where everybody knows everybody else. But when those people start going missing, it isn't such a quaint place anymore. But I loved that people sometimes rode their horses to school, and the main character rides a tractor through potato fields. Some people don't think that's more glamorous than McDonalds signs and gas stations, but I do. It seemed like its own separate little reality, which is why it's such a good setting for the horror aspect that McMann puts in it.

I feel like it was less charming than Wake, but much edgier. McMann's writing style is really sparse and choppy, and it works so well in her plots. No one else can write a thriller quite like she can. Very fast, edgy read.

Discussion Question: do you like settings in quaint, charming towns or in big cities, and how does that relate to where you live? (I live in a city, so I love settings in small towns.)

Theft and Treachery

So I was plotting some writing ideas instead of actually finishing my WIP. I've always wanted to write from the point of view of a pickpocket, because they're sneaky and fun and it reminds me of Oliver Twist. And because...I don't know. It would be fun to steal things? Anyway, it got me thinking. What's with the appeal of thieves/criminals in movies and books that doesn't at all translate to real life?

Like, say you saw a pickpocket strolling the streets and pilfering from old ladies' purses. Would you strike up a convo with them? No. You'd put your hands in your pockets and do the side-shuffle out of there. Or if you're more heroic, say something and slap them in the face. But in books like Stealing Heaven, where the main character is a thief who steals from people's homes, you can relate to the character, and it's ridiculously interesting to read about their lifestyle.

A kidnapper? They deserve to be in jail. And then you read Stolen by Lucy Christopher, where you have sympathy for the kidnapper and you think WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING? But it's true.

And say you meet a serial killer. I really don't think you'd consider their softer side. But watch an episode of Dexter and you want to sit down and have a conversation with the dude. I mean, if you take a step back and look at it, it's kind of messed up. But it's such a damn good show. And if we're going on that line, what about Damon from The Vampire Diaries? He kills people like it ain't no thang, but he's apparently just a labrador who needs a new squeak toy. I mean, eh, they're just people. Have you seen those abs?

It's funny that people seem to be so invested in these stories, in these characters, but when it's a criminal in real life, it's black-and-white. There's no gray. They are either good or bad. So what's the appeal to make them seem anything different? It's interesting to think about. I think books in general blur that black-or-white good-or-bad line because you are inside of the character's thoughts. You don't just see them and make judgments at face value because, in a way, you are them. That gray matter that books create gives readers a more open mind, but at the same time - when does that line become crossed? I love that it can be crossed in a way that makes people consider their own way of thinking, which is what Stolen by Lucy Christopher does especially well and which I think everyone should read.

Are there any other books/shows/movies where criminals are characterized in a different light?

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

I'm a huge fan of Cassandra Clare's writing. She's a master at creating worlds - which isn't an easy feat in itself, but when a writer is equally as talented at creating the characters that live in those worlds, it's a pretty rare thing. The characters in both The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series are just the right mix of angsty, bitter, and sarcastic. And there's enough wit and innuendos to keep a smirk consistently on your face.

At first, after picking up Clockwork Angel, I was a little hesitant. There seemed to be a similar love triangle, like in The Mortal Instruments, and some of the characters seemed to fall into the same personas. But after reading further, and into Clockwork Prince, I can say how completely different they are. They're set in the same world, but in a different time period - and history changes a lot over time, as much as it stays the same. The society the Shadowhunters and Downworlders have, told from a point in time much earlier to The Mortal Instruments, is insanely interesting.

This book, guys. It's full of angst angst angst. It's like pouring an emo band into a cup of black coffee and mixing it with a dirty twig before downing it. It sits in your stomach, a mix of bitterness and earthy sullenness. What happens in this book kind of destroys your heart. You can say that about any of Cassandra Clare's books, really, but in Clockwork Prince it's especially true. I think she took my heart out and gave it to Sweeney Todd to put through the meatgrinder. It's that wince-inducing.

The steampunk tones to this book mixed with the subtle Victorian setting mixes in a way that makes my heart happy again, though. Clare is also great at creating side characters, and when you put those steampunk and victorian tones into characters, it make pretty people. Henry, who is a redheaded inventor, is probably one of my favorites. And Gabriel and Gideon Lightwood I could swoon about for days. Warriors in Victorian vests, guys, is a dangerous combo.

Seriously, though, the fast-paced plot, the dialogue, the characters - pretty much every element of a book, Clare does right in this one.

Discussion Question: If you could live in the world of any book, what would it be?

Inside Out by Maria V Snyder & Contest

I've always been interested in Maria V. Snyder's books because her characters all have unique, interesting traits and careers, and I've always wanted to dive into their lives: her Poison Study series, about a poison tester for nobility; her Glass series, with a glassblower as a main character; and her new series starting with Touch of Power, about a healer. I've bought her books, but my bookshelves are jungles of words all asking to be read, so I hadn't gotten around to picking any up. The ideas of them have all just kind of formed a respect for the author, though, because she pursues stories that are refreshingly different.

I eventually picked up Inside Out, though, because I was meeting Maria at an event and really wanted to check out her books. It seemed like it stood apart from all of her others in a Sesame Street "one of these things is not like the other" way. Maybe because the others have a kind of mysticism to their plots,and Inside Out doesn't. But it's just such a hard book to categorize that it seemed like a good place to start. I was recommended to start with the Poison Study series, but the call of a book with no genre appealed to me more.

I guess I'll tell you what it's about. You can skip this paragraph if you're book savvy and already know. Trella is a worker in the lower levels of Inside. No one knows what's Outside, or if there even is one, because their entire lives have always been enclosed. The Upper levels are for the privileged, and everyone else must work constantly or risk being recycled. Trella, though, has a liking for pipes, which is what connects every level of the Inside. And only she knows the ways around them. Which incidentally makes her the accidental leader of the revolution. Because now the lower levels, the scrubs, want Out.

I love the idea of a character whose skill is navigating pipes. It's kind of like reverse parkour, and Trella was kind of BA for it. The lifestyle she lives on the Inside is insane. Snyder takes social classes and pits them against each other - they both have ideas about the other, but neither are realities. That's kind of something that's relative to any society, but within the enclosed system of the Inside, it's amplified. I love being in a world that's entirely different from my own, but I'm used to that with fantasy books. Not a realistic novel. And you can't label it anything, really, because that's the mystery. What IS Outside?

The whole book in general is mysterious and just different. There were some slow parts to it, but the idea is such an original one, that I know I'll read pretty much anything by Maria V. Snyder that I see.

Discussion question: what are some books you've read where the characters have unique traits or careers?

*The winner of the October prize pack has been contacted.