Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton

 

 

To be Published: July 2013

Publisher: Flux Books

Pages: 350

Copy: NetGalley

Summary: Goodreads

Elizabeth Caldwell doesn’t feel emotions . . . she sees them. Longing, Shame, and Courage materialize around her classmates. Fury and Resentment appear in her dysfunctional home. They’ve all given up on Elizabeth because she doesn’t succumb to their touch. All, that is, save one—Fear. He’s intrigued by her, as desperate to understand the accident that changed Elizabeth’s life as she is herself.
Elizabeth and Fear both sense that the key to her past is hidden in the dream paintings she hides in the family barn. But a shadowy menace has begun to stalk her, and try as she might, Elizabeth can barely avoid the brutality of her life long enough to uncover the truth about herself. When it matters most, will she be able to rely on Fear to save her?

Review by Pither
I am such a cover junkie. I was looking through NetGalley, sniffing around in case I missed something good, when I saw the cover of Kelsey Sutton’s “Some Quiet Place.” It’s so… creepy, but deliciously so, like hearing a good ghost story you just KNOW is going to keep you up at night, but you keep listening anyway.
To start with, I ADORED “Some Quiet Place.” Our relationship began happily enough: I couldn’t get enough, had to have more, just couldn’t stop those pages flipping. The characters are highly engrossing, and the story is as hidden to you as it is the main character, Elizabeth.

You know something is wrong as soon as you start the book; Elizabeth just doesn’t feel emotions. She knows she should be feeling them, pastes suitable expressions on her face when she can, but she’s an actress in her own life. However, she knows emotions exist because she can see them. Despair and Anger are frequent visitors to her home life, abusive and neglectful by turns, with a drunken father and distant mother. She sees Sorrow, Courage, Worry, even Elements such as Fog.

I just love the whole concept; Emotions wandering around, their touch eliciting what you’re feeling. Elizabeth sees Courage behind the shoulder of a brave classmate, Grief clinging to her mother, Despair to a sick classmate. They’ve all got their own distinct personalities, looks, and also feelings. I love Sutton’s tone, her almost lyrical language at some points. Sorrow, for example: “Sorrow looks at me while Joshua is distracted, those constant tears streaking down his white, white cheek. His black hair thrashes in the wind and his essence clashes against me. I see death, sobs, emptiness.” (p. 119)

The highlight Emotion of the book is Fear. All brooding and good-looking and bad-boy-delicious, he’s obsessed with Elizabeth as she’s the one person who doesn’t feel his touch. For such a negative emotion, you get really wrapped up with him! Sutton does a great job of characterization, never letting them descend to the level of cardboard cut-outs (with one exception, which I’ll rant about later). Fear is the bad boy, true, but he never skulks around a la Snidely Whiplash. There’s depth to him, and you just love peeling back the layers trying to work out what makes him tick.

The story is also involving, and I loved trying to unravel the mystery of it all. But therein lies my one—and it’s a major one—problem with the book. I can’t say too much without unloading major spoilers, but when you finally uncover the mystery and figure out what’s going on… It all changes. As said before, I adored this book, the potential of it, all those Emotions running around, but three-quarters the way in… Elizabeth changes, and to my mind, not for the better. She morphs into a bit of a cliché, losing all those layers that made her intriguing at the start of the book. I kept gaping at her, “I can’t believe you just said that!!”

So overall, a fantastic read, but one that got me frustrated before the end. It was so awesome up until that point, five stars, but with that shift… It got bumped down to a 3.5. I definitely recommend it though, especially to Curlypow with her love of bad boys :) I hope Sutton plans to write more with the Emotions; they’re just too good to leave in only one book!

 

Same Book, Second Look Oops, no, it's third look - Enclave by Anne Aguirre

 

Published: April 2011

The sole reason I picked up "Enclave" by Ann Aguirre was because so many friends recommended it, notably Curlypow, Christinabean, and Special K (and where would any of us be without that motley crew?)

"Enclave" follows Deuce, a teenage girl whose sole ambition in life is to be a Huntress and protect the enclave. With humans living below ground in dark tunnels, those that protect the enclave from the zombie-like Freaks are held in high esteem. Hunters, along with the other two castes, Builders (engineers, fix-it's) and Breeders (umm, don't think I need to explain that one), have to survive with very little food, resources, even space. Everyone's all packed in; I'm surprised there isn't more sickness than is already mentioned. Other enclaves exist, but are further away, and not be trusted. Things are going along (somewhat) tickedy boo for Deuce, until she's paired with fellow Hunter and somewhat-of-a-loner-rebel, Fade. LOVED Fade! A brooding, mysterious, bad ass fighter who gets his name from a bottle of laundry detergent. What could be better?

 

I liked the characters, and found them quite believable and could relate to them. But... Perhaps because of my friends' recommendations, "Enclave" fell a bit short for me. My expectations were so high going in, perhaps anything would have been disappointing. The story never quite picked up for me; I never got to that enjoyable state of rabid flipping, just having to know what happened next.

It wasn't anything I can point to and say "Ms. Aguirre did THIS wrong," it just... didn't measure up. It didn't have the heart or edge-of-your-seat action like "Hunger Games" (which Publishers Weekly compares "Enclave" to), or the emotion or beauty of language of "The Forest of Hands and Teeth." Readers of both of those would enjoy "Enclave," don't get me wrong, but I just didn't like it as much as others.

Definitely pick "Enclave" up, it's a good read, but it's just that: good, not great. Sorry "Enclave," it's not you, it's me.

Thanks to Pither for adding yet another look to a book so many of us enjoyed.

Guest Post from Pither - Scarlet by A C Gaughen

Published: February 2012

Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers, imprint of Bloomsbury Children's Books

Pages: 304

Copy: Netgalley and Publisher

Summary: Goodreads

Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for

I picked up Scarlet because the legend of Robin Hood has always appealed to me. Yes, even the prancing about in tights version (best movie EVER.) It always feels like you’re going behind the scenes when you read a book based on the figure.

Gaughen’s take on Scarlet is an unusual one, primarily because ‘Will’ Scarlet is in fact a girl. Fleeing from a secret, troubled past, she joined up with Robin “The Hood”of Locksley, Earl of Huntington, in London. The book starts with the ‘Merry Men’ quite early on, Robin’s not long back from the Crusades, and there are only four members of the band: Robin, John Little, Much the miller’s son, and Scarlet the thief. (His character’s always been my favourite—brooding, secretive, the blackened thief with a conscience buried deep… What’s not to love?)

I liked the treatment of Scar’s character. She’s a strong female protagonist, gruff and removed, somewhat aloof.  We see glimmers of her battered heart as the book progresses, and I like how she gets all upset when she actually cares about people and the related hurt that can bring. Funnily enough, she battles against low self-esteem quite often, something which adds depth to the character. One of my favourite lines from her is:

“Honest, this were what I liked best about being a thief—even a dirty one at that. Sometimes, if you just had a bit of ichor in your blood, you could walk where no one else could and do things that no one else dared.” (p. 234)

I can’t say very much about the romance in the book without giving away some heavy duty spoilers. Suffice to say, it wasn’t too cloying, a few breathless moments and heavy blushes and whatnot. One thing I didn’t like was the back and forth between John and Robin. I get the fact you’re running around the woods with some pretty studly males, but jeez, just pick one and stop taunting the other!

Robin’s character was another thing I liked, the seeing the young man behind the legend. He’s struggling with the loss of his family and lands, the horrors he saw while on Crusade, and the suffering of the people around him. I think one quote in particular sums him up nicely:

“We do what we do—“ He halted, then stepped one foot closer. “I do what I do because I will always believe that no matter how awful life gets for however many of these people, there is something I can do about it. There is something I will do about it.” (p. 67)

The humour was great, just enough without turning it from a drama to a comedy. Scar makes for a spunky heroine, one that should appeal to Tamora Pierce fans. Little turns of phrase make you smile, and realize that girls just have more to think about when they traipse around in the woods on the run from the law:

“Staying in the darker bits, and watching John and Much, I changed quick into my gown, untwining the muslin that I used to pin my bits back. Couldn’t very well be running for your hide with bits jiggling all over the place, could you?” (p. 87)

Scarlet would be good for reluctant readers, as there’s a lot of action with a minimal amount of description. There’s some violence and cruelty (i.e. a traitor’s mouth being sewn shut, people getting tortured and hurt), but nothing was graphically described. I like Scar as a character, her gruff nature and the loyalty the band holds to Robin. I enjoyed watching her secret past come to light and her relationship with her chosen young man develop. The ending was good, and though it may have been obvious to some, it took me by surprise! Captain Oblivious rides again. Overall a solid, enjoyable read.

NOTE - quotes are taken from an ARC and may change in the final copy

Thanks so much Pither for joining us with this great review.  Scarlet was already on my TBR list, and it has been bumped up several noches now.