JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price.

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and out manoeuvre his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favour or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute… and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

Fans of The Hunger Games will remember Coriolanus Snow as the ruthless and fascist President of Panem. In Suzanne Collins’ prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, readers will come to understand his backstory — how did Snow go from teenager to bitter tyrant?

In this setting, the Capitol are up to their 10th Hunger Games and things are very different from how we see them over sixty years later. Nobody is watching the Games, especially in the poorer districts where they don’t even have televisions. The Capitol need to switch things up to increase excitement in the games, and Snow has a natural ability to ponder disastrous ways to engage new audiences.

There are three parts to the novel — Snow meeting Lucy Gray and gearing up for the Hunger Games, the Hunger Games themselves, and then afterwards, where Snow spends time in District 12 with his friend Sejanus and Snow’s humanity slowly starts to dissipate.

“Could there be a bigger slap in the face?” Coriolanus wonders. “District 12, the smallest district, the joke district, with its stunted, joint-swollen kids that always died in the first five minutes, and not only that . . . but the girl?”

Lucy Gray is a fascinating and complex character — she’s a talented singer with the charm and confidence to fascinate the Hunger Games crowds. Fans will find joy when they realise that the songs we learnt in The Hunger Games — The Hanging Tree, for example — were written and sung by Lucy Gray. We come to understand the history and the significance of these songs, which is a nice touch.

Because the book is written in third person, we experience events as Snow does and we never really come to understand what’s going on inside his mind. We witness as he betrays friends and kills people, but we never experience his thoughts or conflicts and it’s both a clever and chilling stylistic device.

“He’d been to the arena several times as a small boy, to see the circus, mostly, but also to cheer military displays under his father’s command. For the past nine years he’d watched at least part of the Games on television.”

This book explores the evolution of Snow but is also explores the evolution of the Hunger Games. In the beginning, we understand just how uninterested people are in them. The Capitol want to use the games to exert control over the districts, but they can’t quite work out how to do that. By the end, Snow has plenty of ideas on how to increase obsession with the Hunger Games, and it gives readers a chilling premonition because we know just how successful the Hunger Games end up being.

The novel isn’t without its flaws. The pacing was inconsistent. It takes a long time before the Games start, and they don’t actually go for that long. And then we follow a rather slow journey to the climax of the story. Whilst I loved the ending and truly felt surprised by the story of Lucy Gray and the conclusion to her tale (not a spoiler), I felt a little cheated that it took so long to get there.

Additionally, I never believed Snow’s hatred for mockingjays. It felt like it was put into the story purely to provide another connection to The Hunger Games.

“Some of the tributes dropped in their seats, chins almost on their chests, but the more defiant ones tilted their heads back and surveyed the hall. It was one of the most impressive chambers in the Capitol, and several mouths gaped open, awed by the grandeur of the marble columns, the arched windows, the vaulted ceiling.”

Recommended for fans of The Hunger Games. You’ll find yourself captivated by the setting and the story, and engaged long enough to see the story through to the end. 14+

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Suzanne Collins
May 2020
Scholastic Publishers Australia

Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova

An epic tale of love and revenge set in a world inspired by Inquisition-era Spain pits the magical Moria against a terrifying royal authority bent on their destruction. Majestic world-building on a grand scale in a knockout YA fantasy.

An epic tale of love and revenge set in a world inspired by Inquisition-era Spain pits the magical Moria against a terrifying royal authority bent on their destruction.

When the royal family of Selvina sets out to destroy magic through a grand and terrible inquisition, magic warrior-thief Renata – trained in the art of stealing memories – seeks to kill the prince, leader of the King’s Justice, only to learn through powerful memories that he may be the greatest illusion of them all … and that the fate of all magic now lies in her hands.

Loosely based on 15th century Spain, Zoraida Cordova’s Incendiary is the first novel in a new YA fantasy duology that explores the power of memory and revenge.

Renata Convida holds the power to absorb — and remove — people’s memories. As a child, she was kidnapped by the King and forced to use her powers to obtain knowledge from prisoners. After two years in the King’s clutches, Renata is rescued by a group of rebels named the Whispers.

The book is set eight years later, Renata now 17.

“When I open my eyes, it is dark once more. I register a tent. A low-burning lamp on the floor beside me. My lashes brush against soft fabric, not the dusty blanked I’ve been carrying for a week. The skin at the base of my neck is tender, the stitches like cords strung too tight. I let out a pained wail as the last thing I remember crashes over me.”

Admittedly, the book sets off to a slow start. We’re thrust deep into a storyline with characters we don’t know and the author expects us to sympathise for their plight. In reality, I was confused by the opening and found myself feeling distanced from the action. It takes some time before we understand characters enough to really sympathise for them, and I don’t think that’s reflected in Incendiary.

Renata and Dez’s romance doesn’t feel overly established in the beginnings of the novel, and so the reader doesn’t immediately care for their relationship. Fairly early on, Renata loses someone close to her but I felt we hadn’t really formed a connection with that character so the loss didn’t really hit hard. It felt like a missed opportunity to engage the reader.

Despite this, the novel picks up and the pace increases. Renata returns to the palace where she was held captive in order to save those close to her, and exact revenge on those who wronged her.

“We’ve ridden for hours, pushing our stolen horses onward without rest as the landscape changed from the Forest of Lynxes to the lush greens that border the Rio Aguadulce, but Andalucia is an oasis in a dry valley. I rub the flank of my horse. The capital is filthy, so we won’t stand out in our travel-worn clothes.”

The strengths lie within the world-building and the unique premise. Renata’s magical ability feels like a fresh addition to this genre — I felt genuinely impressed by what she could do and seduced by her character’s journey through the novel.

At times, the story feels a bit like a yo-yo. She’s kidnapped as a girl, then rescued, then willingly goes back to the Palace, and then works to escape again. I couldn’t help but wonder if the plot could’ve been simplified? Was Zoraida trying to accomplish too much in this book?

Truthfully, I never really felt like Renata was in any danger. When she returns to the Palace, she’s met with open arms because the King is in desperate need of her abilities. And whilst there are some people who are suspicious of her, the immediate threat — Justice Mendez — is not nearly as terrifying or threatening as he could’ve been.

“Silence falls in the darkness of the wagon as it jostles from our excess weight, a ship in a storm. I keep my eyes down and try to become aware of the capital’s deep night sounds. Hooves on cobblestone. Cheering from a tavern. Guards laughing from the wagon’s seat. From somewhere, a cry for help that won’t be answered.”

Readers will be propelled into an absorbing tale of magic and intrigue, and the ending will entice them to read the next in the series. There are plenty of twists and turns, unexpected deception and sketchy characters to intrigue even the most reluctant of readers.

Whilst the plot felt at times muddled and overly complex even for seasoned young readers, there are enough redeeming qualities in the characters, story and plot to maintain a readership.

Recommended for young readers, 14+

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Incendiary
Zoraida Cordova
May 2020
Hachette Book Publishers

Deep Water by Sarah Epstein

A gripping mystery about a missing boy and a group of teenagers, one of whom knows something but isn’t telling.

HENRY WEAVER IS MISSING
Three months ago, thirteen-year-old Henry disappeared from The Shallows during a violent storm, leaving behind his muddy mountain bike at the train station.

MASON WEAVER IS TRAPPED
While Mason doesn’t know who he is or what he’s capable of, he knows the one thing binding him to this suffocating small town is his younger brother, Henry.

CHLOE BAXTER WANTS ANSWERS
Why would Henry run away without telling her? One of Chloe’s friends knows something and she’s determined to find out the truth.

As Chloe wades into dangerous waters and Mason’s past emerges, a chilling question ripples to the surface: how far would you go to keep a secret?

Sarah Epstein’s Deep Water is a young adult thriller novel set within a small town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. The residents are reticent, the past is full of secrets, and the truth about a young boy’s disappearance is about to come out.

Deep Water captures a claustrophobic setting. Set in The Shallows NSW, the atmosphere of this small town is incredibly crowded and confined, making you feel like you’re trapped along with the characters. Stylistically, this helps build tension throughout the book, because there is nothing you can do but wait for secrets to reveal themselves.

Structurally, the book shifts between character POVs but also between ‘before’ Henry went missing, and the present. Over time, we come to understand just how hard life was — and is — for Mason and his younger brother. Their mother Ivy is an alcoholic, and she’s often violent, and Mason is left to pick up the pieces.

Deep Water illustrates the notion that you never really know what’s happening behind closed doors. People suspect, but no one in The Shallows really knows how violent Ivy is when she’s alone with Mason and Henry.

“Where the hell was Henry? Surely he’d heard their mother throwing her guts up. Would it kill him to attempt the clean-up himself for once? It’s not like he hadn’t watched Mason do it a hundred times.”

When I compare this with Sarah’s previous novel, YA thriller Small Spaces, I recognise an incredible difference in how Sarah reveals clues and red herrings. When reading Small Spaces, I felt there was too much foreshadowing and the plot was a bit predictable, but with Deep Water, I felt surprised and expectant the entire length of the novel. I had theories that all turned out wrong, I had suspicions that weren’t plausible, and when I came to the ending I genuinely felt satisfied with how the storyline was wrapped up.

Sarah implements the unreliable narrator incredibly well in her novels, particularly in Deep Water with the characters Mason and Chloe. Both are very different — Mason is the rebellious, misunderstood brother of Henry who Chloe suspects might’ve had something to do with Henry’s disappearance. Chloe is stubborn, relentless and refuses to let the mystery fade from people’s minds. Truthfully, she’s kind of annoying, but she’s meant to be. She doesn’t want Henry’s disappearance to remain unsolved for any longer. She hunts down clues until she discovers the truth about what happened the night that Henry went missing.

“Both of Tom’s parents were still around back then, before the court case and his dad’s prison sentence, before his mum fled to Queensland, promising to move her son up with her when she was in a position to do so. That never happened.”

The storm, and the constant mention of water, is symbolic of the pacing in the novel. Everything happens fast, quick and without pause. As the reader, you almost feel like you’ve been taken on a ride and there’s no chance of getting off before the end.

Identity and purpose are strong themes in the book. How well do these teenagers really know their friends, or even themselves? Some of them feel stuck in The Shallows, with no way out of the town. Some feel indebted to others, forced to stay to help their family or their friends. Each character has to learn to understand where they want their life to lead, and that can be a really hard thing to do when you’re also trying to solve a disappearance.

“Henry confided in me. I knew all about the accidents and the arguments, the lean weeks when they could barely afford milk and bread. I was aware of the smashed glassware and missed birthdays, how their power was cut the same week Ivy bought a fancy display cabinet for her collectable plates.”

Admittedly, there are a lot of characters to keep up with in this town. And it’s not just the characters, but their families and their relations and as the truth starts to unravel and you realise just how people are connected to the truth, I’ll admit it got a little confusing. Sometimes it felt like there should’ve been a smaller core cast of characters to allow for a more cohesive plot.

Gripping, suspenseful, engrossing and chilling, Deep Water will have you hooked from the first chapter. Recommended for readers aged 14+

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Deep Water
Sarah Epstein
April 2020
Allen and Unwin Book Publishers

Chain of Gold: The Last Hours Book One by Cassandra Clare

Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to Edwardian London in hopes of preventing the family’s ruin.

Cordelia’s mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bride. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations, and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians. All the while, she must hide her secret love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else. But Cordelia’s new life is blown apart when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London.

Trapped in the city, Cordelia and her friends discover that a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers – and a brutal choice that will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare is the first instalment in The Last Hours trilogy, a new fantasy series for adult and young readers. Apparently, it’s a sequel to The Internal Devices trilogy, and a prequel to the Mortal Instruments series, but that doesn’t matter to me. I’ve only read one book from the Mortal Instruments series, and I know nothing about any of the other series. I went in blind to this (I imagine other readers will too).

Above all else, this book explores friendship, identity, legacy and love. There are many things in this book that readers will not be able to relate to — demon attacks, warlocks, ghosts etc — but the teenagers in this book experience things that all readers can understand. They go through love and heartbreak, heartache and deception, betrayal, and they uncover shock secrets from within their own family.

“Cordelia couldn’t understand why she was so worried about Lucie. Several withdrawing rooms had been opened up, and Lucie could have wandered off to any of those, or returned to her own bedroom. She really could be anywhere in the Institute.”

Set in the early 1900s, the book is approximately 600 pages. Does it need to be 600 pages? No it doesn’t. The pacing in the first half of the book is so slow, it’ll make you feel like you’re never going to get through it. It feels like a walking marathon. Once you pass the halfway mark and the demon attacks start ramping up, that’s when events start to get interesting.

Chain of Gold is told through the perspective of Cordelia, a brave, strong-willed Shadowhunter. She’s a complex character, but she’s also confident, self-assured and defiant to those who underestimate her. Over the course of the novel, the reader witnesses Cordelia at her best but also her most vulnerable.

Cassandra Clare has a way of capturing the entirety of a character, delving deep into their emotions and actions so the reader walks away feeling like they truly understood that protagonist.

“He looked away from Grace for the first time and searched the floor for Cordelia. He found her in moments — she was easy to spot. No one else had hair that colour, a deep dark red, like fire shining through blood.”

Chain of Gold features a large cast of core characters, and Cassandra takes the time to really illustrate them all (to be expected when the book is 600 pages). We come to understand motives, doubts, fears, and each character’s biggest desire. Sure, there are plenty of things left unsaid (this is a trilogy after all, we have two more books to go), but the ending to this book felt satisfactory. I’m intrigued to read the sequel.

Admittedly, there are so many teenagers and kids in this book it was easy to get confused about how they were related. Who were siblings? Who were just friends? Who were extended family? Sometimes it was easy to forget. Whilst the core characters were crafted with depth, sometimes it did feel like there were too many of them and perhaps…there didn’t need to be as many kids and teenagers?

“James had never seen the infirmary like this before. Of course he’d heard stories from his mother and father about the aftermath of the Clockwork War, the dead and the wounded, but during his lifetime there had rarely ever been more than one or two patients in the sickroom.”

Recommended for fans of fantasy fiction and young adult literature. 14+

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Hours Book One: Chain of Gold
Cassandra Clare
March 2020
Walker Books Australia

Ember Queen by Laura Sebastian

SMOKE CLEARS
AND FLAMES DIE,
BUT ONE BURNING EMBER
CAN IGNITE A REVOLUTION.

The thrilling conclusion to the bestselling Ash Princess trilogy.

Princess Theodosia was a prisoner in her own country for a decade. Renamed the Ash Princess, she endured relentless abuse and ridicule from the Kaiser and his court. But though she wore a crown of ashes, there is fire in Theo’s blood. As the rightful heir to the Astrean crown, it runs in her veins. And if she learned nothing else from her mother, she learned that a Queen never cowers.

Now free, with a misfit army of rebels to back her, Theo must liberate her enslaved people and face a terrifying new enemy: the new Kaiserin. Imbued with a magic no one understands, the Kaiserin is determined to burn down anyone and everything in her way.

With more at stake than ever, Theo must learn to embrace her own power if she has any hope of standing against the girl she once called her heart’s sister.

Ember Queen is the third and final book in the Ash Princess fantasy series by Laura Sebastian. Chronologically, the book starts very soon after the end of Lady Smoke — Theo has descended into the fire mine after negotiations with Cress. In Ember Queen, she emerges alive and more powerful, but she has no memory of what happened down in the mine.

You can read my review of Ash Princess HERE.
You can read my review of Lady Smoke HERE.

Now that I’ve read all three books in the series, I think it’s appropriate to comment on the series as a whole. Does this series feel unique? Do I feel this series adds something new to the fantasy genre? No, I don’t. There are so many elements in this series that can be found in so many other books — love triangles, the concept of ‘the rightful Queen’, betrayal, captives, rebel armies, a cruel and vicious Queen, the list goes on.

But, in YA fantasy, sometimes it feels almost impossible to find a book that doesn’t possess these common, stereotypical elements. And there’s a reason readers keep coming back to these — they’re enjoyable. And I think a teenage reader, one who loves fantasy, would really like the Ash Princess series. Whilst it may be a bit unoriginal in some parts, the characters are interesting, the plot draws you in, and it’s an easy series to get lost in.

“It is a foolish plan. I know that, and I’d imagine deep down, Erik does as well. But with his mother so recently taken from him and the life he knew completely upheaved, Soren is the only family he has left, the only familiar thing in a strange and frightening world.”

Clocking in at over 460 pages, Ember Queen doesn’t disappoint. The characters and the plot are just as engaging as they were in books one and two, and readers will find themselves emotionally invested in the conclusion to the series. Whilst I felt book two was a bit lacklustre because the plot felt like a filler, book three makes up for that with a fast-paced, compelling plot that had me fully engrossed.

Structurally, the book moves along a few different paths. The majority of the book is political, following Theo’s war plans and her strategic campaign to overthrow Cress. Another part of the book follows Theo and Cress’ connection — they are able to meet and communicate in their dreams. Cress thinks Theo is dead, so she believes she’s being haunted. For a time, Theo is able to use these dreams to manipulate Cress and steer everything in a desired direction.

“Blaise said the same thing to me — that I always choose Astrea over him. I don’t think he meant it as a condemnation, but he’s right: what I have left over isn’t enough for him. Maybe it will never be enough for any person.”

There were definitely a few moments in the book where things felt a little too easy for Theo and her crew. Soren’s return to the group was one of them. But the pacing has been consistent in all three books, and readers will feel satisfied with how things unfold in the Ember Queen.

Laura Sebastian captures Theo’s internal conflict incredibly well in Ember Queen. Personally, I feel that this concluding novel is the strongest in terms of capturing Theo’s character development, and illustrating her inner turmoil over the decisions she has to make and the lives she’s putting at stake. After all, this is war. And with war comes death.

Theo is conflicted every step of the way. She feels great responsibility for her rebel army, but she also wants to avoid as much bloodshed as possible. She’s scared, although she hides it well. She’s tormented by Cress, and she’s tormented by all that she’s endured since we first met her in Ash Princess. In Ember Queen, we see Theo as an incredibly vulnerable character, and through that we witness her become the Queen she’s destined to be.

“Sometimes, the time I spent in the mine filters in like sunlight through a curtained window, diluted and soft-edged and incomplete. But other times, the curtain shifts and light pours in, sharp and jarring. I remember darkness; I remember being cold. I remember my mother.”

A satisfying end to the trilogy. I recommend the Ash Princess series to fans of fantasy fiction, or young adult fiction. The trilogy would be a great gift for a young, seasoned reader.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ember Queen: Ash Princess #3
Laura Sebastian
February 2020
Pan Macmillan Publishers