Archive for Australia

Publisher: Published by the author
Publication Date: October 1, 2012
Format: eARC
Status: Stand-alone

Genre: Teen Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Australia
Other Info: Host is also the author of The Silence of Medair.
Description and link from Goodreads):

Come for the apocalypse.
Stay for cupcakes.
Die for love.

Madeleine Cost is working to become the youngest person ever to win the Archibald Prize for portraiture. Her elusive cousin Tyler is the perfect subject: androgynous, beautiful, and famous. All she needs to do is pin him down for the sittings.

None of her plans factored in the Spires: featureless, impossible, spearing into the hearts of cities across the world – and spraying clouds of sparkling dust into the wind.

Is it an alien invasion? Germ warfare? They are questions everyone on Earth would like answered, but Madeleine has a more immediate problem. At Ground Zero of the Sydney Spire, beneath the collapsed ruin of St James Station, she must make it to the surface before she can hope to find out if the world is ending.

I’ve never been so happy to be proven wrong about self-published books. And All the Stars is the kind of book I’m always searching for, regardless of who published it. Well-written, tightly plotted and titillatingly characterized, here lies a masterwork. In fact, I’m kind of surprised that this book hasn’t gotten more buzz. I heard about it on The Booksmuggler’s blog (it was featured on their Radar and then Ana reviewed it), but it was sheer happenstance that I saw it on NetGalley. I requested it on a whim–everyone probably knows by now that I’m on a NetGalley ban–and was lost in the story before I even knew it.

And All the Stars tells the story of Madeline Cost (not Maddie, Leina only to her cousin Tyler), and how she survives the apocalypse by shucking her loner status and binding together with a motley crew of teenage survivors. As the story opens, Madeline is in an underground station, at the center of the apocalypse. Unbeknownst to her parents, Madeline snuck away from home to meet her cousin Tyler at his Sydney apartment. Too bad this act of rebellion coincided with the apocalypse. All over the world, in the most populated cities, mysterious spires have erupted from the ground. These spires (which I imagine look like the Swiss Re building in London, left) are like ginormous mushrooms. They’ve sprouted from the ground and emit a thick cloud of dust (to continue the mushroom analogy, I thought of them like spores).

Madeline escapes the underground station and makes it to  her cousin’s Sydney apartment only to experience dramatic changes as a result of inhaling the dust. Most of her body turns midnight blue, dusted with sparkling white stars (the cover makes sense now, doesn’t it?). Her metabolism drastically quickens and she discovers that she has new, frightening powers. Maddie’s instinct is to huddle up and wait, but it’s the hunger that drives her out, where she meets a string of teens also affected by the dust.

Among these teens, Madeline discovers the girl who will become her best friend and the boy who just may be first love. Unfortunately, they’re all on the run for their lives. Those spires, it turns out, are the work of an alien race intent on using humans for their survival. Though Madeline (as the one with the most “stain” on her body), is the aliens’ most-wanted human, the bewildered group of teens bands together and forms a close-knit group. This, perhaps more than the apocalyptic storyline, is the heart of And All the Stars.

Before I give anything else away, I better shut up. I couldn’t possibly unveil all the layers of this book in one review. I wouldn’t even want to. Like all good books, it’s a thing best discovered for yourself. There are a few curious elements (cell service and electricity during the apocalypse?!?!) and the epilogue is a bit schmaltzy and baby-studded, but well-deserved. Just trust me when I say that this is the book to cure your apocalyptic ennui. Think you’re over them? Think again!

5 Matryoshkas: I would move in with this book.

Ruby’s Bookish Bundles is a new feature I’m starting here on the blog. In it, I’m going to post about three books:

• Want Now: One recently released or already published title I’m lusting after.
• Want Soon: One upcoming title I’m looking forward to, based on things I’ve heard, the cover, and the description.
• Want Someday: One upcoming title I’ve heard about that sounds like it could be interested but is so far off into the future it doesn’t even have a cover yet.

I love discovering new books, and I love sharing about the books I discover. However, I’ve been wanting to do something a little different from (and more involved than) a WoW post, so I created this new feature for myself. Anyone is welcome to participate, or to share their own wants. If you do so on your own blog, leave a link so I can visit!

I’m all about the Aussie authors this week, ever since I started Embrace. I don’t hate it, but I’m definitely disappointed by the lack of Australian flavor. I set out, purposely, to find some Australian titles that could better accomplish this. What I found is a smattering of titles that managed to catch my eye. However, I’ve arranged this a bit differently this week. All the titles have already been published; instead, I’ve listed them in order of preference rather than publication.

Want Now:

I saw the following title in The Book Smugglers’ Stash this past Sunday. And All The Stars has a lovely cover, but what really grabbed my interest was the description. I immediately added it to my Goodreads wishlist and then, when I saw it on NetGalley, I requested it right away. I’m enjoying it so far, but if you want to read a complete review, The Book Smugglers posted Ana’s review today.

Come for the apocalypse.
Stay for cupcakes.
Die for love.

Madeleine Cost is working to become the youngest person ever to win the Archibald Prize for portraiture. Her elusive cousin Tyler is the perfect subject: androgynous, beautiful, and famous. All she needs to do is pin him down for the sittings.

None of her plans factored in the Spires: featureless, impossible, spearing into the hearts of cities across the world – and spraying clouds of sparkling dust into the wind.

Is it an alien invasion? Germ warfare? They are questions everyone on Earth would like answered, but Madeleine has a more immediate problem. At Ground Zero of the Sydney Spire, beneath the collapsed ruin of St James Station, she must make it to the surface before she can hope to find out if the world is ending.

Add And All the Stars to your Goodreads wishlist.

Want Soon:

I can’t seem to get away from this one! I first learned about it because I watched the film adaptation on Netflix last week. Well, I started to and stopped. Then, I figured out that I can buy them through the Scholastic Book Club I get for me my students. Finally, I saw it on Smash’s bought list on her Clock Rewinders post. That decided it. I’m fated to read this series.

When Ellie and her friends go camping, they have no idea they’re leaving their old lives behind forever. Despite a less-than-tragic food shortage and a secret crush or two, everything goes as planned. But a week later, they return home to find their houses empty and their pets starving. Something has gone wrong–horribly wrong. Before long, they realize the country has been invaded, and the entire town has been captured–including their families and all their friends. Ellie and the other survivors face an impossible decision: They can flee for the mountains or surrender. Or they can fight.

Add Tomorrow, When the War Began to your Goodreads wishlist.

Want Someday:

I love teens-as-spies books! I hope this one gets published in the US at some point. Otherwise…maybe I can get it through the Book Depository?

Kirra Hayward is an ordinary sixteen year old – smarter than most, but otherwise completely anonymous. When she solves an unusual decrypting puzzle on the internet to fill in a moment of boredom at school, she has no idea of what she’s letting herself in for.

Kidnapped by a shadowy organisation of mercenaries known only as The Industry, Kirra soon discovers how valuable her code-breaking skills are. And when she stubbornly refuses to help them, they decide to break her … by any means at their disposal.

Kirra knows that to protect herself, she must trust no one, not even her fellow prisoner, Milo. But as time goes by she wonders if he is the only person she can rely on.

Compulsive and page-turning, The Industry is the first in a trilogy from talented debut author Rose Foster.

Add The Industry to your Goodreads wishlist.

As always, feel free to recommend any titles you’ve come across, are waiting on, or have just plain piqued your interest. That goes double for Aussie authors!

Publisher: PanMacmillan Australia
Publication Date: June 1, 2011
Format: Trade paperback
Status: First in the Winter’s Shadow series, to be followed by Winter’s Light in 2012 and an untitled book three in 2013.
Source: Received as part of Darkfallen’s Bloggerhood of the Traveling Book tour. You can sign up for the tour at Paranormal Wastelands.
Genre: Teen paranormal
Other Info: At the moment, his book is only available in Australia, but you can order a copy from overseas at TheNile.com.au. Click for the direct link.
Description (from Goodreads):

     I think I first saw Winter’s Shadow on one of Small’s No More Waiting posts, and I immediately wanted to read it. I fully admit that my desire was fueled by the fact that the book isn’t available in the States. At least, unless you want to order a copy from Australia. So, in truth, I fell victim to that old trap: exclusivity. Winter’s Shadow was the Berkin bag of teen books. Thus I was thrilled when Darkfallen emailed me about this book tour. I jumped on the chance to read a heretofore inaccessible title. And, yes, I totally just wanted to be able to use the word “heretofore” in a sentence.
     I’m really glad I got to read this one because it would have haunted me if I hadn’t. That almost makes up for the fact that it wasn’t worth all the hype. You really don’t need to order this book from Australia because you’ve read it before. In the US, it was published under the following titles: Twilight, Dead Beautiful, Die for Me and Evermore. Among so many others. It’s basic. Girl is shy and unpopular with dead/absent parents. She meets mysterious guy. There is much that is mysterious about him, including his incredible good looks. And, oh yeah, Girl in much danger. Boy resists the attraction to the Girl until he can resist no longer.
     Winter’s Shadow follows the formula to a T, but that wasn’t the part that really disappointed me. I thought that the mere fact of the author and the setting being Australian would add a little spice. It didn’t. There’s nothing in Winter’s Shadow that would indicate that the entire story (and all of the characters) couldn’t be scooped up and plopped down anywhere in the US.  Never has globalization made me so incredibly sad.
     I really wanted to like this book. I was fully prepared to like it. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. The characters didn’t stand out, or have particular personalities and the plot wasn’t anything new. Because the setting failed to evoke Australia (or anywhere else), it was a dud, too. The writing wasn’t actively bad, but it didn’t grab me. Altogether, I’d have to list this book as a mediocre attempt. I’m glad I got it out of my system, but this won’t be a series I’ll be romantically lusting after anymore.