Review: Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

Title:  Radiant Darkness
Author:  Emily Whitman
Pages:  270
Genre:  YA Mythology
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Summary:  He smiles. "Hello."

It's a deep voice. I can feel it reverberate in my chest and echo all the way down to my toes.

I know I should leave, but I don't want to. I want to keep my senses like this forever. I'm all eye, all ear, all skin.
Persephone lives in the most gorgeous place in the world. But her mother's a goddess, as overprotective as she is powerful. Paradise has become a trap. Just when Persephone feels there's no chance of escaping the life that's been planned for her, a mysterious stranger arrives. A stranger who promises something more--something dangerous and exciting--something that spurs Persephone to make a daring choice. A choice that could destroy all she's come to love, even the earth itself.

In a land where a singing river can make you forget your very name, Persephone is forced to discover who--and what--she really is.

The Quick Dish:  Retellings have always fascinated me, especially in the way of myths since so many of them seem to be told within so few pages. The myth of Persephone and Hades is rather popular, especially with the number of YA books that have pulled inspiration from their story. However, this is the first actual retelling I have read, and I have to say, it's good for readers to hear Persephone's voice. Most readers will know their story as Persephone being dragged down against her will into the Underworld by Hades in order to become his queen. Not so in this case.

Emily Whitman offers a different type of story in which the young spring goddess was stifled by her mother's constant sheltering. I really enjoyed this rendition of Persephone and how strong she became by the end of the story. It was troubling how she could not find her voice first with her overbearing mother, Demeter, and then with her (lovingly) possessive husband, Hades. Both of them felt they knew what was best for Persephone, though I have to say Demeter's overprotectiveness was far more trying than Hades' concern about her being taken from him.

Speaking of the god of the Underworld, I really wanted to see more of him in this story since the myth was originally called "Hades and Persephone." While I was a bit disappointed by this, I realize that this is Persephone's story, so her growth and development must be the focal point.

Overall, Radiant Darkness was an enjoyable retelling of a favorite myth that definitely puts the original story into a matter of perspective. Readers who enjoy Greek mythology should definitely add this one to their reading pile.

 

Book 3                                     Book 2

Review: Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Title:  Shattered Souls
Author:  Mary Lindsey
Pages:  326
Genre:  Paranormal Young Adult
Publisher:  Philomel Books
Summary:  A thrilling debut story of death, love, destiny and danger. Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries. Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

The Dish:  There are only two words I can use to describe Mary Lindsey's debut... completely amazing.  It's always exciting when an author hits the mark the first time with story, characters, and pacing, and Mary Lindsey definitely hit it dead-on.

The story was a concept that hasn't been explored as much as others, and it was refreshing to read such a unique story involving reincarnation.  Lenzi is simply an amazing girl, and I adored her right from the beginning of the book to the very last page.  She really became more than what she originally thought she was capable of in the first chapters while still trying to overcome her persistent doubts.  It was both fascinating and frustrating watching how Alden's attempts to help her overcome the doubts sometimes caused even more doubts, but that is the mind of a teenage girl, even one who has apparently lived many different lives through the centuries.

There were times that I wondered what was going through Lenzi's head when she made decisions that placed herself in danger, but that added to the realism of her character.  She is a teenager, and teenagers don't always make the best of decisions (trust me, I remember being a teen and making bad decisions, too). Given the traits of her past self, that Alden and others like them knew as Rose, which were gradually revealed to Lenzi as well as the reader, her decisions did make sense.  When it came to Alden, I thought she did ultimately make the right decisions.  Oh, Alden... a swoon-worthy boy if ever I did see one, though sometimes he did take his orders a bit too seriously.  It's no wonder that Lenzi became so frustrated with him, but in the end he also made the right decisions for her.

With the story really being about Lenzi coming to know who she is by learning who she was, the pacing had the pages turning at a consistent rate.  It always astounds me how authors find the balance that keeps baiting the reader to keep moving on to read even more.  There were some areas of the story that were left open to a possible sequel, however I'm not sure if one will happen.  Even without a second book, I am impressed and delighted to have found such a wonderful author and storyteller in Mary Lindsey.  I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Bottom line: You must read this book.  If you are a Texas YA blogger, then you MUST read this book.

Book 1

TGIF (8): Reading Resolutions

TGIF is a weekly meme created and hosted by GReads! that recaps the week's posts and has a different question each week.

This week on Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes:

Happy New Year!

2012 YA Mythology Challenge

Top Ten Tuesday (30): Top Ten Books I'm Excited to Read in 2012

What Books Do When You're Not Looking...

***

This Friday's Question:

What are some of your reading goals for the new year?

My Answer: First off, I definitely want to participate in some of the reading challenges hosted by other blogs.  I've signed up for the 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, the 2012 YA Mythology Challenge, and I have set a more manageable reading goal on Goodreads of reading 50 books (non-graphic novel) this year.  I also plan on reading and reviewing on a more regular basis (though the holidays kind of put me a bit behind).  With all of the books I collected last year as well as at Christmas, I'm sure these challenges will be met.  Here's hoping we can achieve all our challenge goals this year! ^_^

2012 YA Mythology Challenge

Well, after looking over my TBR bookshelf, I realized how many mythology-related YA books I have on hand.  So I thought it would be good to participate.  The challenge is to read 10 YA or Middle grade novels that incorporate any type of Mythology in the story line (Greek, Egyptian, Norse, etc.). 

- The challenge will run from January 1, 2012-December 31, 2012.

- You can join anytime by filling out the form at For Those About to Read.

- Books must be read in 2012.

- If you are a blogger, you must write a sign-up post that links back to the challenge page (Please be sure to use the image above in the post).

- If you are not a blogger, just leave a link to your account on Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.

Not sure what to read? Check out the YA Mythology Challenge Goodreads List.

Reflections and 2012 Reading Challenges

As we look forward to the new year, it's also a time to look back and reflect on the old year.  While my blog was originally created in October of 2010, I really didn't become active in the community until February of 2011.  One of my goals for this year was to put more effort into networking in the blogging community, and though I feel I have accomplished that, I know there is still much to still learn as a blogger from both veteran bloggers and novice bloggers.  I still consider myself a novice blogger, and there's nothing wrong with maintaining the mindset of a student.  Even the veterans I follow are most likely still learning, and that's part of what makes them great.

For the new year, I aim to comment more on my fellow bloggers' reviews and review on a more regular basis.  I was very happy with how much reviewing I did in November, and my stats definitely improved in the latter half of the year.  With the amount of books I've squirreled away (like the book squirrel I am), I have more than enough to keep me busy even with the amazing new titles being released in 2012.  Because of all the books I've acquired in the past year, I feel inspired to participate in the 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge.  Here's a picture of some of the titles I'd like to read for this challenge, and here's hoping I can do it in a year!

I'm also going to set myself a more realistic goal on Goodreads for 2012.  This year I felt pressured by wanting to read 75 books, and now that I'm down to the wire, I'm reading more graphic novels in order to attain that goal.  While they are books, I would like to have non-graphic novel titles for the majority (if not all) of my list.  So this year I plan to read 50 books that are not graphic novels for my Goodreads 2012 Challenge.  That's not to say I won't be reading any graphic novels, I just won't count them towards this particular challenge.

2012 promises to be a great year, and I'm looking forward to it as both a librarian and a blogger.  Here's to a new year for all of us, my fellow bloggers and my dear readers!

What reflections do you have for 2011 and what challenges for 2012? ^_^

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

 

Challenge guidelines: 

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2012 - Dec 31, 2012.
2. As we would like to see quality reviews linked up to our monthly wrap-ups, only bloggers can enter. Sorry about that!
3. Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Only books released in 2011 and earlier! NO ARCs and 2012 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2012 TBR PILE Reading Challenge (You need to include the info + host list + challenge button. You can also grab the button code and add it to your sidebar!)
6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2012, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
8. At the end of each month one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will have it's unique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository. It's open to INTERNATIONALS. For participating in the mini-challenge you will get +1 entry.
9. If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice - we will be checking ;)
10. December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you'll link up in December will be entered into a HUGE giveaway - 12 books, 12 winners, INTERNATIONAL. 
11. You don't have to follow all the hosts to join the challenge, but you do have to follow all of us to be entered in giveaways!

Levels:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - A Sweet Kiss
31-40 - Love At First Sight
41-50 - Married With Children

Hosts:

Evie from Bookish - http://www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com @SeoEvie
Nicole from All I Ever Read - http://www.nicoleabouttown.com/ @Nicoleabouttown
Bonnie from Hands and Home - http://www.handsandhome.ca/ @HandsHomeBlog
Donna from Book Passion For Life - http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.com/ @BookPforLife
Caitlin from WatchYA Reading - http://whatchyareading.net @caitlingss
Rie from Mission To Read - http://missiontoread.com/ @missiontoread
Vicky from Books, Biscuits & Tea -http://booksbiscuitsandtea.blogspot.com/ @alouetteuette
Christa from Hooked On Books - http://christashookedonbooks.blogspot.com @ChristasBooks
Jenna from Fans Of Fiction - http://fansoffiction.blogspot.com/ @fansoffiction
Angel from Mermaids Vision - http://mermaidvision.wordpress.com @mermaidvisions

From: Bookish

Considering all the books on my TBR shelf, I think this is a challenge I can handle for the next year. I've been collecting, buying, winning, and storing books (like a book squirrel), and it is high time that I sit down and read these books. I'm going to go for the Friendly Hug (15) level and we'll see where that takes me. Here's hoping for a good challenge met in 2012!