This is a new meme I'm starting, though I'm sure it's not original. You book bloggers are breaking my heart, with all your reviews of killer books that I can't afford. I just thought I'd write them down. So, I present you with the first ever edition of WHAT MAKES MY WALLET HURT!

Going Bovine by Libba Bray



A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson (which I SHOULD be able to get because its $0.77 on Amazon but, alas, I am but a lowly fourteen year old with a stifling mother whose darn protective of her credit cards....damn.)



Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate) - Gail Carriger



Lockdown: Escape from Furnace - Alexander Gordon Smith



Clockwork Heart - Dru Pagliassotti



A Curse Dark as Gold - Elizabeth C. Bunce



Molloy - Samuel Beckett (pretty old, but I'm in a Samuel Beckett kick lately, so...)



Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld. God, it hurts to think that it's not coming out til October.



The Tear Collector - Patrick Jones



Rampant - Diana Peterfreund (it's Killer Unicorns...come on.)



Dull Boy - Sarah Cross



Pastworld by Ian Beck



Icelander - Dustin Long (I'm trying to get all the books in this new McSweeney's Publishing House.)



Hush, Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick



Crazy Beautiful - Lauren Baratz-Logsted
A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Wilcomb (which I was SO DAMN CLOSE TO GETTING!)
Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog

And...SLEEPLESS! WANT! NEED! GAHH!

Title: Evermore

Author: Alyson Noel

Pages: 305

Summary (from alysonnoel.com):

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, Ever can see auras, hear people's thoughts, and know a person's entire life story by touch. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen.

Damen Auguste is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head—wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can see straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. She has no idea just who he really is—or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

If there's one thing I can not--I repeat, can not--stand in a book is brand dropping.

You know the ones I'm talking about--the sly mentions of the latest Hot Young Thing, a quick reference to author's favorite book (i.e. House of Night, book 2, when someone mentions Wicked Lovely) or song. Usually, this works with the classics, such as Dracula in Evernight or the band Thin Lizzy in This Lullaby. But if it's a book or a person or a song that is less then three years old, it jsut doesn't work. People reading said book in twenty years will look at said reference, and draw a blank. Evermore, unfortunately, is one of those books.

While the plot is fascinating, if a bit Twilight-esq, the thin characterisation, the awful writing, and the horrendous name dropping completly ruined it for me.

I hate Ever, the protagonist. The first thing I look for in a character is whether I can relate to them, whether they're likable. Ever was...not. In fact, she was probably the most whiney, self-centered brat I had ever read an entire book about. I mean, I understand that your entire family dying in a car crash is traumatizing, I get that she can't touch people because she'll be overwhelmed with their emotions and such, but---shit, girl. Can you say mellow-dramatic? Ever other word is her whining---her aunt, whom she's living with, is spending too much money on her, she's so damn pretty!, Damen likes me, oh how I wish he didn't, I can't touch anyone I can't love anyone my mommy and daddyz deeaaaaddd. It's like...crap, there are such worse problems you could be having....I don't know. It was just incredabley irritating, reading 200 or so pages of a girl angsting out.

As for Damen and Ever's relationship...I have absolutely no idea how they fell in love. Okay, I get Damen's side--he met her years ago, and has continued to meet her over the years--but Ever? She spends a total of two weeks with him, half of which is spent being either jealous/nervous/sweaty/angry/frightened, which leaves...what? How the hell did this girl fall in love with this guy? It left me terribley confused, staring at the page in bewilerment.

Then there's Ever's friends--the Sassy Goth/Punk/Emo Best Friend and the Token/Archtipical Gay Guy--are just as thinly described. Haven and Miles have been written about in nearly every other young adult book since the eighties. They are completly unhelpful, next to useless for the plot, airheaded, one-layered, and...they say things like this:

"What the fug?"

What the fug indeed.

As for the general plot, it does have a fair share of potential. Immortal boy, multi-reincarnated girl (who manages to stay a virgin for numerous decades...?), angst insues, magical powers, etc. But there's really nothin notable about the entire book but for...well, nothing. The only thing I can think of that might make Evermore readable is the fast-paced prose. It will keep you reading, no matter how cheesy and dramatic.

In case your wondering what exactly I mean by cheesy, here's a choice bit from the last page--spoiler free, no worries:

...if eternity starts today, then that's the way I'm going to live it. For this day, and this day only. Knowing that Damen will always be at my side. I mean, always, right?

He looks at me, waiting.

"I love you," I whisper.

"And I love you." He smiles, his lips seaking mine. "Always have, always will."

Yeah. I know.

Also: I know Ms. Noel is capable of better then this mess; I loved her book Cruel Summer. It was well-paced, well written, the characters were decent, and I could understand the relationships as relationships, as opposed to weird fights for power. And very little Name Dropping. If your going to read anything by this author, that'd be it.

Rating: 2--horrible. Not suggested.

And:

Dear Alyson Noel,

Sid Vicious is the bassist for Sex Pistols. Not the singer. BASSIST

And, she also mentions a song...ahem...entitled "(You Never) Call Me When Your Sober" in a very strange, irrelevent moment. However, I do like the song:

Title: Fade

Author: Robert Cormier

Pages: 320

Summary (from AllReads.com):

At the age of 13, in the summer of 1938, Paul Moreaux discovers he
can
"fade" -- that is, cause himself and his clothing to disappear from
the
sight of others at will. He lives in the small Massachusetts town of
Monument, in the working-class Canadian Catholic quarter known as
Frenchtown. At
first, he is
thrilled with the things he can do -- spy on
his beloved but
loose Aunt Rosanna, and the wealthy twins across town,
Emerson and Page Winslow
-- but there are larger problems swirling about
him: The comb factory where his
father is employed goes on strike, and
Rosanna's lover Rudolphe Toubert is a
brutal
hoodlum who controls much
of the criminal activity in town. Paul also
learns that his "gift" brings
him knowledge about others and himself that he
wishes he never had.

Paul can Fade.

One second, he's there, the next he isn't. Just like that.

At first, he's thrilled: we've all wished we had the ability to vanish from sight, spy on our friends and family (if you say you don't, your a liar). He now has the opprotunity to observe his Aunt Rosanna, attractive and proud of it. He can watch the people in his town behind closed doors, discover who they really are without risking being caught. Every teenage boy's dream, right?

But then, as time goes on and more and more dark secrets are revealed, Paul begins to wish he never had the Fade.

This novel is definetly not for the easily offended. There are some touchy subject matter such as incest, depictions of minor sexuality, murder, mental illness, and child abuse. While accesable, it is pretty disturbing at times. Okay, really disturbing at times.

This story has a total of three narrators; Paul, a young up and coming publisher (and distant cousin of Paul's) who discovers Paul's (who had become a writer) final manuscript before his death---which proves to be the rest of the novel thus far. As she reads it, she begins to wonder. Is this really an autobiography? Did all this happen?

The third narrator, I feel, will definetly spoil it for anyone who has not read it yet, so I'm not going to mention him. But, trust me, his narrative is probably the most unsettling of the three.

I think the highlight of Fade is master storyteller Robert Cormier's ability to take these dreary--often horrific--subjects and themes and make them incredably easy to read. Things like incest and adultary is described in a way that kids can understand. I first read Fade when I was eight, and I remember thinking, "wow, this is wack" while, only days earlier, I had read a book about the exact same subject matter, and having no idea what they were talking about. Cormier's ability to connect with a younger audience is astounding, and his charactors and prose just add to his status as one of the best YA authors of all time.

It's impossible to describe much of Fade because everything about is twisted together in a way that makes near everything a spoiler. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it; Fade will leave you breathless with it's surreal, eery tone and it's strong, layered characters.

Rating: 9 out of 10---an instant classic.

Also: If I were you, I'd go out right now and buy all of Cormier's books--most notably After the First Death, Tenderness, We All Fall Down, and The Rag and Bone Shop.

Jess C. Scott, author of EyeLeash; A Blog Novel (reviewed here) has agreed to an interview about her writing, her influences, and 'blog fiction'.

And now, without further ado....

First of all, thank you for taking the time to chat with me about your writing.

A: You're most welcome.

EyeLeash is, as you describe, "blog fiction"---what exactly is blog fiction?

A: Wikipedia has a whole page on blog fiction -- to me, it simply means crafting a story, via the format of a blog. I kept in mind a spontaneous, confessional prose style, along with an "attention to the details". I didn't want the individual blog posts to add up to a non-existent, senseless plot!

What made you decide to write a book completely in blog entries?

A: I thought it'd be a way to capture the voice of this generation of teenagers. Digital and interactive media are new modes of communication; a book is also a way to communicate ideas and expressions. I thought it'd be fun and worthwhile to combine contemporary and classic elements, to form a stand-alone entity.

How do you think blog fiction is different than, say, "diary format", or even regular first person narration?

A: Very different -- blog fiction is a lot more restrictive than it looks. There are certain things about digital media that you cannot ignore -- things like the timestamps, the dates, the "pacing" of an IM chat. Example -- if a character exchanges 100 lines of instant messaging text with a friend in 15 minutes, and exchanges 5 lines with another friend in 60 minutes -- you can infer from those numbers which friend the character is closer to. The sense of "nowness" is something that is quintessential of online media.

What are some of your major influences for writing Eyeleash?

A: Mostly real life experience(s), for the content. As for the writing style, I think I was influenced by Vladimir Nabokov (master prose stylist), Roald Dahl, Bret Easton Ellis, the lovely Emily Dickinson...I guess I was also influenced by the entire digital era generation. There were/are just so many sources of inspiration.

Are any of the characters in EyeLeash based on people you know? Is the plot inspired by your own experiences?

A: A lot of the plot is inspired by my own experiences (the best basis for a work of fiction) -- Novan's physique is based on someone that I know. He's not an exact replica though. The actual person is a lot more...self-absorbed.

Jade, the protagonist, is very open about her sexual fantasies and activity (or lack of). Many people would agree that that sort of description is 'inappropriate' for YA fiction. How do you feel about that? Do you believe there should be boundaries as far as YA literature is concerned?

A: I think anything real and honest is going to be labeled as controversial -- I think there should be boundaries. MTV continues to showcase soft-porn on a daily ongoing basis; modern gangsta rap continues to feature explicit, sexist, and misogynistic lyrics; advertisements (which are the lifeblood of the mass media) continue to sexually objectify both men and women -- I think there should be boundaries on crass commercialism, and derogatory views on sex/sexuality/love/all that important stuff. It's a social thing, not just a YA literature and/or teenage demographic thing. Between pop culture, and creative works that show things "as they are" -- which has the more favorable influence on society, in the end?

EyeLeash is self-published--was there a particular reason for this? Did you feel that, due to the content, not many publishers would accept it?

A: I first sent this manuscript out in 2007; I had a dire lack of publishing credentials then. But I thought, hey, someone in the industry would recognize something, in the book. Wrong. I decided to oversee the entire publication process myself, rather than potentially waste the next 5-15 (or more) years of my life trying to rely on other people, to deem this to be "acceptable for publication".

On your website, you say that you find current blog/IM books lacking in "authenticity". How so?

A: I found most of them to be very fluffy -- there's a lot more to being a teenager/human being, than shopping, gossiping, bitching, living up to stereotypes, etc. Maybe I was a particularly opinionated/complex teenager, but I found it insulting that this was largely what life was being "packaged" as. There should be more to the human soul than money, good looks, and material commodities.

Music seems to play an important role in your writing. Jade's love interest, Noven, is in a band, and there are many musical references throughout the book. What type of music did you listen to while writing EyeLeash?

A: The top four would be Linkin Park, Queen, New Order, and Kylie Minogue. I listen to way too many bands/different genres...but I do recall those four being on repeat quite, quite often. I needed something energetic to see me through the entire book. But it kind of alternated between total silence in the background too -- I need that when I want to focus, heh.

EyeLeash is definitely a novel all its own, completely unique and seperating itself from most YA literature these days. How do you feel about what teenagers are reading today? (Twilight, Harry Potter, etc) Do you have any particular favorites?

A: I think a lot of it is very commercial -- I think there should be more stimulating, and challenging works for young adults to peruse. I like Vivian Vande Velde's work(s) a lot. They are original, and always an absolute joy to read. Roald Dahl too (the stories in The Great Automatic Grammatizator were specially selected for teenagers, from Mr. Dahl's adult works).

Are there any new projects you're working on? Do you plan on writing another book like Eyeleash?

A: Oh yes, I am about 1/4 of the way through with my next YA novel. I hope to finish it sometime next year. I have had a couple of plans for another blog novel -- I'd have to sit down and decide what to do with it though. I don't really want to have a carbon copy of EyeLeash.

In a completely unrelated but important note---if you were trapped on a desert island with only one book, one TV show, and one movie, what would they be?

Book: Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe or Complete Works of Oscar Wilde TV Show: Boston Legal or The SimpsonsMovie: The Rurouni Kenshin OVA anime or The Seven SamuraiI have spent many hours with the above -- time well-spent!

There you have it, folks---make sure to pick up EyeLeash and thanks to Jess C. Scott for chatting about it!

Title: Eyeleash

Author: Jess C. Scott

Pages (on .pdf copy): 260

Summary (from eyeleash.wordpress.com):

Jade Ashton is a sassy virgin. In her private blog, she vents about “fitting in” a world where superficiality reigns supreme.

Suddenly all logic flies out the window when she meets Novan: the former geek, who’s morphed into a delicious songwriter-musician.

They decide to be “friends-with-benefits”. But it’s Novan, with his poems and riddling passages on his own blog — which *isn’t private* — that backs out.

EyeLeash captures self-discovery in the 2000s, and showcases the colorful, intricate drama in two youths’ relentless search for themselves — and what’s really in their hearts.

I'm going to be honest. When I first heard of a "blog fiction" novel, I immediatley thought it would be another IM fluffy rom-com, like TTYL by Lauren Myracle. But, once I read the description, I was intrigued.

Jade is a virgin--much to her dismay--pining over the idea of love while still holding her 'indepednent women' ideals. She makes no secret of her self-satisfactory practices (then again, it is her private blog) and the conversations she and her friends have about sex. She's worried about her seemingly endless virginal future, listeninng with both curiousity and envy to her friend's account of their recent *ahem* activity.

But then, an old middle school fling (Noven) sends her an IM:

[novan]: hey hey
¤Jade¤: helloo
¤Jade¤: haven’t seen u online in a while =)
[novan]: oh yea
[novan]: i’ve been busy with a friend’s band, lol
[novan]: so how u doin
¤Jade¤: i’m good. how abt u?
¤Jade¤: and wow cool ur in a band??
[novan]: been listening to the same song for hours... trying to
get the tabs right
[novan]: yea!... we’re ‘the blah blah blahs’ (super creatively
thought of by myself)

And this is the cataylist that sets the rest of the plot in motion; he invites her to catch his band playing. She goes, only to find the geeky fourteen year old she remembers has transformed into a...well, he's hot. And she wants him. Bad.

After some mutual flirtation (and several nude pictures) they agree to be "friends with benefits"

They book a room at a 5-star hotel. Unexpectedly, Novan backs out at the last moment. Though he wants to explain his decision, he backs off due to Jade’s subsequent hostility.

At loveXpress.com [a fictitious site parallel to www.secondlife.com], Jade starts to chat with another guy—Hawke, a fitness trainer. His online avatar’s name is “Tyler Weed”.

Jade shifts her attention from Novan to Hawke. Still, she struggles to define her own feminine identity in today’s sex-saturated culture. (from Eyeleash synopsis)

I think the spotlight on Eyeleash should be on Ms. Scott for her representation of todays high-tech world, capturing perfectly the John Hughes-like angst every teenager goes through like any real teenager would--through the internet. Jade has a voice all her own, not like the drabble most teenage girls usually put in their blog; again, this is private, for her eyes only. She's stripped away her filter, giving an uncensored account of her journey to losing the ever-loving virginity.

I love this especially because, let's face it, we've all rambled on about our love-lives on some blog or another, we've all been in these kinds of situations before, we've all been in Jade or Novan's shoes. It's so easy to relate ot Jade's narrative. Personally, I've grown up in the technology era--I learned to type when I was seven--and this so truthfully protrays how love is these days. I've had entire relationships based around hour long chats and emails. If it sounds like I'm saying the same thing over and over, that's because it's all I can think about: how alike Jade is to me and so many of my friends. This really is a book for any teenager living in Cyber-America.

My only gripe? Even I, who will probably forget how to communicate audibley with my fellow human being by the year 2012, didn't understand some of the lingo and abbreviations. While it doesn't completely draw away from the story, it is a bit distracting and messes up the flow of the narrative. Again, not a complete deal-breaker, but still. I like to read books without having to go on the Urban Dictionary.

Overall, Eyeleash is a heartfelt, honest read that every teen can relate too--though, due to the content, I would probably only suggest it for 14 and up XD

And stick around later for...

AN INTERVIEW WITH JESS C. SCOTT ABOUT HER DEBUT NOVEL, EYELEASH: A BLOG NOVEL!


About the Author (from her site):

Hello, I’m Jess. I’m primarily a writer/novelist/poet.

I lived in Singapore for the first two decades of my life. Currently I’m in Maine, USA. Permanent location would be “in my head”.

I don’t like labels but the MBTI is fascinating; according to that, I’m an INFJ.

I’m working on my fourth book (as of May 2009). In June 2009, I decided to publish my first book myself (some stats on its history here), after realizing that my work isn’t “commercially categorizable” enough, for the current publishing industry’s standards.

Also: Here's a book trailer Ms. Scott created (pictures and all) for Eyeleash




And: I thought this was cute, a song/poem Novan posted on his blog about Jade;

[pinkstar]
pink & sweet
what a treat
if we were in high school
i’d go ‘what the hell’
and we’d be both expelled
at your mercy
when you show off like that
don't you think that hint of pink
slipping out's
so
so
so
(ohh...)
you're cosmic rocks glass
too hot to handle
too cold to touch
yea, i wanna impress
yea, this boy’s a mess
all i gotta say is…
you look fabulous.

If you like this: you might like Just Listen by Sarah Desson. Both are about two girls having issues in their love life (albeit, completely different problems) who fall for a guy in a band. Don't know why, but I thought of it as I was reading Eyeleash. Another one you might like, also music oriented, is Mosh Pit by Katilyn Dunnion, reviewed here. It's also a very raw coming of age tale, though a bit more graphic then Eyeleash.

Rating: 8 out of 10---an excellent, original novel that I suggest to anyone, whether their tech-savvy or not.

Book Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

Pages: 496

Summery (from PatrickNess.com):

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown.

But Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets.

Or are there?

Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd unexpectedly stumbles upon a spot of complete silence.

Which is impossible.

Prentisstown has been lying to him.

And now he's going to have to run...

Can words express how much I loved The Knife of Never Letting Go? Probably not. But I'll do my best.

This book starts off with, single handedly, the best first sentence in the history of literature:

The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say. About Anything.

And so begins The Knife of Never Letting Go.

Todd lives in a world of Noise.

Constant, unfiltered, timeless Noise that wafts through his small community just as the sound of traffic does in ours. Every thought, every feeling, every tick of an emotion is broadcast for the entire world to hear--at least, as far as Todd is concerned. He's been told that Prentisstown is the only civilization in a world of nothing, desolate and empty for his entire life. Mr. Ness describes the Noise perfectly:

"The Noise is a man unfiltered, and without a filter, a man is just chaos walking"

It's not hard to believe that the entire book is just Todd's Noise. Words are misspelled, do to his lack of education. Single sentences run on for paragraphs, words are cut off before they can even be processed, every thought Todd has is completely raw. While this could have easily been a gimick, Patrick Ness pulls it off with surprising grace and fluency. Easy to understand, easy to relate to, The Knife of Never Letting Go is coming-of-age tale set in a world where coming of age is deadly, and manhood is strictly defined. It's a place where you both wish you were and thank every God you can think of your not.

As for the characters, they are very well defined. Even Manchee, Todd's talking dog, seems be a character all his own, Todd's loyal companion throughout the book, putting his little dog life on the line a handful of times in order to protect him (the ever important "awwww" factor). At first, Todd makes it very clear that he does not want, and never asked for, Manchee (he wanted a knife, as it was), which he explains quite thoroughly:

Ben’s sent me to pick him some swamp apples and he’s made me take Manchee with me, even tho we all know Cillian only bought him to stay on Mayor Prentiss’ good side and so suddenly here’s this brand-new dog as a present for my birthday last year when I never said I wanted any dog, that what I said I wanted was for Cillian to finally fix the fissionbike so I wouldn’t have to walk every forsaken place in this stupid town, but oh, no, happy birthday, Todd, here’s a brand new puppy, Todd, and even tho you don’t want him, even tho you never asked for him, guess who has to feed him and train him and wash him and take him for walks and listen to him jabber now he’s got old enough for the talking germ to set his mouth moving? Guess who?

But, as you turn the pages and get deeper into Todd's chaotic thought process, you realize he does hold a certain affection for his dog, gradually turning into love as they spend their lonely days together running from God-knows-what, which I think is one of the more poigent parts of the book.

I especially love how they keep Todd and Viola's--the girl he meets as he runs from Prentisstown--unromantic. Call me a cynic, but it's highly unlikely that everytime a guy meets a girl, they fall in love. Especially while on the run from an army. I think that it's a curse that befalls far too much young adult literature these days--no matter how desperate the situation, no matter how CHAOTIC the circumstances, SOMEONE ALWAYS FALLS IN LOVE. I'm always a sucker for romance, but sometimes, it's just like, "I already read this. Three hundred times." If The Knife of Never Letting Go teaches us one thing, it's that a boy and a girl can meet and *gasp* just be friends.

Keep in mind, dear readers, that just because it's in the YA section, does not mean it's for the faint of heart: The Knife of Never Letting go is a horrific, all-to-realistic tale of what could happen to our--and other's--world if we're not careful. Though the year is unspecified, the place (and planet) left oddly in the dark, it's in a way that just makes it all the more eery and surreal.

There's no way of describing The Knife of Never Letting Go without spoiling it, but I will say this; anyone, young or old, should pick it up. Immediately. Go, you fools. Your missing out. There are precious hours being wasted. GO!

Also: If your interested in Post-Apocolyptic/Dystopian novels, might I suggest The Hunger Games, Obernewtyn, Exodus, Gone, or Life As We Knew It, all amazing books.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Title: Mosh Pit
Author: Kristyn Dunnion
Pages: 270

Summary: (from back)

Juliet meets her Juliets in this raw look at punk, young love and the sometimes cloudy road to adulthood. Mosh Pit, a compelling story of rebel girls in the modern city, stars Simone--torn between her loyalty to her heart-throb Cherry and her feelings for Carol, streetwise and distant enough to be alluring. The edgy young adult novel takes Simone through the modern equivalent of Hades where she gradually gains a sense of who she is and more importantly who she can be.

There's a lot of things one could call Mosh Pit; traditional publishers and authors might call it terrible, might call it disgusting and vulgar and inappropriate. Luckily, I am not a traditional publisher/author. I am a teen and, as a teen, Mosh Pit was probably the most honest novel I have ever read.

Simone's voice is completely raw, stripped of worldly description, stripped of traditional 'teen angst'--she is a character all her own, completely believable in her honesty, her vulnerability, and her fears. Simone is a young lesbian, struggling through high school and thriving in the local punk scene with her self-destructive friend/love interest Cherry. This book is not for the conservative or the weak of heart; there is cursing, and lots of it. While this is one of the main reasons I'm able to relate to it so much (I have a mouth like a sailor who stubbed his toe on a rock), I know a lot of people have problems with it. There's high levels of sexuality, underage drinking, underage sex, drugs, implied rape, etc. There's also alot of slang used between quotations. If in the wrong hands, this can be either annoying or cliche, but Ms. Dunnion uses it in a way that further allows the reader to relate to Simone. How many of us have used IM lingo whle narrating our daily life?

I think the most sincere part of Mosh Pit is Cherry. From beginning to end, Cherry slowly descends into a world of drugs, sex and rock n' roll. In between sever la chapters, their are post from her Livejournal, to help catch us, the reader, and Simon, on what Cherry is up to as she and Simone gradually drift apart. You watch her descend further into her destructive relationship with her drug dealer boyfriend, slowly giving in to the drugs themselves.

Usually, I try to veer away from books self-published or published to a smaller company, just because, from my experience, they're usually not very good. But now, I might be more convinced. Many big time publishing houses tend to avoid books like Mosh Pit, not because they're not good, but because they feel as though it would cause an uproar. And it probably would. Parents don't want their kids reading books like this, completely uncensored, completely stripped of everything but the heart of the novel; the characters. This is a completely, 100% character driven novel. Once more, the characters are relatable. I know a Simone, I know a Cherry, and I know a Carol. The entire thing is a twisted, punk rock Juliet and Juliet love triangle, uplifting one moment and heartbreaking the next. The musical undertones just add to the surreal, yet readable atmosphere. I can't recommend Mosh Pit enough.

Also: Here's a poem Cherry wrote on her Livejournal (page 172)

We run, woolly pack animals
abandoned by our fathers
betrayed by our mothers
raped by our uncles
now we storm the jailer, run wild, rabid, into the night.
Diseased.
We are the night.
we bite the hand that never feeds.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Title: Beastly
Author: Alex Flinn
Tagline: Ever wonder what it was like for the beast?
Pages: 300
Summary (from back):

I AM A BEAST

A beast. Not quite a wolf or a bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright--a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever--ruined--unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly...beastly.

Kyle Kingsbury is, let's face it, a dick.

He rides through life on his TV anchorman father coattales (and wallet) while silently swooning every girl that comes within an inch of him. He never ceases to remind everyone who will listen how amazingly attractive he really is. He remains happily ignorant of the lives outside his own, including the 'ugly' peoples--those who don't meet his standards of perfection.

Until one day, when Kendra, an obese Gothic girl in his class, calls him out for what he truly is: a beast.

As a joke, he asks Kendra out to the upcoming dance, expecting to ditch her there in favor of his real date, Sloan. But when the day of the dance actually comes, and he finds Kendra not hurt but dissapointed by the public humilation he put her through, he is unsettled.

After getting back from the dance, he finds Kendra in his room. She suddenly transforms from a 'fat Goth' to an attractive young women, who turns Kyle into a 'beast'--fangs, fur, the whole package. She shows him one bit of mercy, though: he has two years to find a girl who will love him, despite his appearence, and get her to kiss him, or live as a monster forever.

Distraught, Kyle hides in his room for the entire weekend, until his neglectfull father finally forces him out. After going to the best doctors and plastic surgeons in the country---"no son of mine is going to look this way"---both he and his father all but give up, his father dumping Kyle into an abadoned, five story mansion, with only their maid, Magda, for company. After threatening his father with going public about his condition, he recieves full access to the Kingsbury bank account, plus a tutor, a blind student named Will. Soon, Kyle has become Adrian--to fit his darker persona--a solitary, desolate being who only leaves the confides of the mansion to tend to his newly created garden. He is a prisoner in his own body, with no hope of finding love--until a robber attempts to rob his home. After catching him, the robber offers Adrian his one chance at returning to how he was--his daughter, Linda.

If there is only one notable thing to say about Alex Flinn's writing, it's that she has an innane ability to make you swoon for three hundred pages straight. During the first hundred pages, it's for poor Kyle/Adrian, who is only now realizing the error of his ways, when it's too late. It's when he watches his past classmates through a mirror Kendra gave him, able to watch anyone he wants, everywhere in the world, and how he pines for his old life. It's when he sits in a corner and watches people go to and from work, wishing desperatley for the freedom of life outside his mansion. Then, it's when he tries to win Linda's--or Lindy's--heart, watching him fall for her himself. I was basically "awwww"ing throughout the entire book. You watch Kyle transform from a selfish, self-absorbed rich d-bag to a kind, gentle--I'll say it--sensitive gentleman. (Once more, with feeling--awww)

Though it is a cute, if rather chaste, romance, there is the issue of believability. I mean, yeah, it's already unlikely that a guy would suddenly become a hairy beast, but that doesn't change the fact that they are still modern teenagers, all of them, and modern teenagers do behave a certain way. I understand that living in a mansion for a year straight, reading books like Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame could change you, I doubt it would change someones complete speech pattern and convince him to change his name. (quite dramatic about it, might I add) The dialogue is a bit drifty, a bit rushed, though this might be to get the plot along. Adrian's interactions with Lindy are a bit...I don't know. I'd say awkward, but that's putting it mildly. First, he acts like a thirty year old, only in the next breath to switch back to his teenage self. I might be alone on this one, but I found it a bit distracting. No matter how beastly he may be, he's still a kid, and kids don't talk like Victorian shadow-dwellers.

I did like Lindy, though. She came off as very real, to me, with her drug addicted father and love of reading (my people!). She's not described as a traditional 'beauty'--far from it. In fact, when Kyle first meets her as a ticket taker at the dance, he describes her as plain, with Ragedy Ann red hair. But as he gets to know her, he starts...erm...I'll say fantisizing about the girl. Again, in a very PG way, but still. It's a little bit of a "woah, calm down, fella" type of feeling. I get that you've been forced into chastidy over the last year in a half, but seriously. There's a point where it's cute and a point where it's annoying.

The only other gripe I have with this book is that Lindy's reaction to finding out Adrian is her long-time secret crush Kyle Kingsbury is not what I expected. I expected it to be a big deal, seeing has he had basically lied about his entire past. As a girl, I'd be a tad pissed (assuming I had come to terms with the fact that he looks like a monster one minute and a supermodel the next--but I'm rather shallow like that), but hey, it's not my book and it's not my character.

Other then that, Beastly is a highly enjoyable book. I read it in one sitting, and just re-read it a few days ago. Again, if your into the "awww" factor, then you'll be in heaven with Kyle and Lindy.

Also: Alex Flinn has a feature on her website called "Alex's Favorite Books", where she suggest titles you might like if you liked her books. So, if your liked Beastly and looking for something similar to it, that'd be the place.

I digress: There also making a movie, with *gag* Vanessa Hudgens as Lindy and Mary-Kate Olsen as Kendra. Also, that kid from Alex Rider as Kyle my homedog Beil Patrick Harris as Will. Not sure how to feel about this, since most adaptions are botched up anyway.

Rating: 8 out of 10