Dead To You Review

Dead To You 
by Lisa McMann
Expected Release: 2.7.2012
From Goodreads:

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

My Thoughts: You know, it’s refreshing to have a male protagonist in a YA novel- especially one that feels male.  I’m always impressed with authors who have the ability to capture characters of the opposite sex and bring them to life.  Ethan feels real, and it’s easy to empathize with his predicament of trying to get back to his “old life”.  Everything from trying to connect with his family and dealing with school brought to life the very harsh truths of reunifications- often they are very hard.  And it's not just Ethan who struggles to fit into his new life, his parents marriage is put through the ringer upon his return, and his siblings have to deal with accepting him as their older brother.  Much family drama ensues!

Part of the reason I wanted to read this book, other than being a fan of McMann (I rhymed!), was because the premise reminded me of the old Lifetime movie I Know My First Name is Steven (which was a bit cheesey) and The Deep End of the Ocean (movie, not the book which I haven't read yet, but the movie is excellent and stars Jonathan Jackson, whom I truly adore), and since then I’ve had a strange obsession with tales of kidnapped kids.  In 2011 I read You Are My Only and Jaycee Dugard’s autobiography, but it’s obviously a story line I can read about again and again. Time and again I’ve read books of kidnapped girls- Possession, The Collector, Living Dead Girl, etc.  McMann choosing a male victim was a nice twist. 

Speaking of twists, that’s where this book lost me a little.  The pace of the book, the tension kept me flipping pages, and while I knew there was something coming, the ending took me by surprise.  It's either going to be and ending that you like, or one you hate, but it will make for excellent discussion!  I personally liked the ending, even if it left me wanting more.  It doesn't seem like McMann is going to continue Ethan's story, but I'd love to know what happens to him, Cami, and his adorable moppet of a sister.  I recently spent a week with my 2 1/2 year old niece, the lovely Fiona Kathleen, and Ethan's little five year old sister "the replacement child" reminded me so much of my precocious name sake that I had to wonder if the author has met Fi.

Overall, Dead To You is as readable as McMann’s Wake trilogy.  The subject of the book is dark, the main character is tormented, so this is not the book you want to read if you’re in the mood for a light and fluffy YA book.

 Dead To You gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

And a new feature is my Midnight Book Cover Rating!

Dead To You gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

I love the cover, even though it’s not apparent from the cover if the book is about a male or female character- not with those nice lashes!  But hey, the cover’s at least gorgeous enough to flip to the back for the summary.

Disclaimer: I temporarily received a ARC copy of Dead To You through Around the World Blog Tours in return for my honest opinion.

Wake Review, Zombie Walk, and Readathon Reads!

So my lovelies, September is rushing by and soon it will  be October and then it will be Readathon!  It's safe to say that I have readathon on the brain (speaking of brains, I also have Richmond Zombie Walk on the brain, see below for pics from last year).  Hmm, feeling hungry...

Where was I?  Oh, yeah, Readathon.  For me the best part of readathon is compiling the Pile O' Books.  It's very important, in order to have a successful readathon, to pick the right kinds of books.  Now obviously some of you out there are super serious readers who can power through War and Peace in just a few days, but for those of you out there like me, you want simple, fun, entertaining reads if you're going to make it through 24 hours of reading (although you really should take the time to be a cheerleader- it's a fun break for you and much needed support for lonely bloggers suffering from lack of sleep and the fear that their 24 hours of reading is going unnoticed).   So soon I will be posting a list of books/graphic novels that might help you through the long hours of readathon.  And please, give me your suggestions!!! 

One book that I bought for my Kindle for a past readathon (is it driving you crazy that sometimes I capitalize Readathon and others times I don't?  It's annoying me too), but only recently got around to reading is Wake by Lisa McMann.  Everyone told me what a great readathon read it would make, but I just kept putting it off, waiting for the next readathon.  But part of that is that I so love the physical tower of readathon books, that I end up not reading on my kindle or nook.  However, I do plan on getting the second book in McMann's series for my readathon pile this year. 

Wake 
by Lisa McMann
From Goodreads:

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.
She can't tell anybody about what she does they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can’t control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant.

My Thoughts:  A really great, quick read.  I read this in just a few hours, and really enjoyed the premise and that characters.  I can see now why people urged me to read it on Twitter during past Readathons.  There was a point in the beginning when I felt like I was reading a Nightmare on Elm Street book, but overall it felt fresh and new.  I like that the main characters aren't super rich, aren't worried about what they're going to wear or who designed their shoes.  So many YA books feature rich, or at least very comfortable middle class characters.  The characters in Wake are poor, and not just in the "My iPod is almost two years old" way.  And it's not a big deal, it's just a fact.   The only thing that really keeps this book from being a true Midnight Book read is that the writing style can be a bit jarring at time.  It's told in third person, which is rare in YA, but it didn't always work for me.  That said, I happily devoured the book, and can't wait to read the next two in the series.  I owe this book an apology- I apologize for leaving you to linger in my kindle for so long, I apologize for all the readathonss that passed us by, you deserved a better, more dedicated reader!  However, I feel better that I'm getting the word out.  Wake would make a great Readathon book (see, doing the capitalization thing again, argh!). 

Wake gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

It might not be perfect, but it's perfectly readable. :)

Okay, so I know you don't care about this next bit, and feel free to skip it, but I'm getting super excited about Richmond Zombie Walk!  Last year was my first time participating, and I was lucky enough to get two of my lovely nieces to join in.  This year will be even better, because my nieces are Girl Scouts and my sister in law is planning on getting the entire troop to dress up as Girl Scout zombies... which will be epic!  Last year was just kind of pulled together so we didn't have a theme but I did learn how to make my own fake blood.  Here's some pics:

 Heather Coy Photography

 Heather Coy Photography

 Heather Coy Photography

 Heather Coy Photography

Heather Coy Photography

We're kind of in the background on the first couple of pics, but there's a great one of my niece Kerry reaching toward the camera.  I'm the brunette wearing the flannel  and my niece Grace is the one wearing the vampire/witch dress.  Much thanks to photographer Heather Coy who took these pics and shared them on facebook!

So if you're still here and awake, let me know some of your choices for best Readathon books and I'll include them in a future post- or feel free to create your own post that I'll link to when I create mine.  Thanks!