Book Review: The Walls Around Us

Title: The Walls Around Us
Author: Nova Ren Suma
Year of Publication: 2015
Summary:  On the outside, there's Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement.

On the inside, within the walls of the Aurora Hills juvenile detention center, there's Amber, locked up for so long she can't imagine freedom.

Tying their two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls' darkest mysteries…

What really happened on the night Orianna stepped between Violet and her tormentors? What really happened on two strange nights at Aurora Hills? Will Amber and Violet and Orianna ever get the justice they deserve—in this life or in another one?

Review: **Copy kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Poignant, beautiful and breathtaking, The Walls Around Us has the power to send the reader reeling. Nova Ren Suma has done it again.

I first picked up one of the author's earlier books, Imaginary Girls back in 2013 and was quickly drawn into that story and intrigued and impressed by Suma's personal blend of magic. The same sort of magic made an appearance in The Walls Around Us, woven into the prose skillfully.

The story follows three girls through the viewpoints of two of them, Amber and Violet. Their voices leapt off the page and were very distinct from one another. I had absolutely no trouble telling the two apart which is what can sometimes happen when you have more than one PoV in a novel. All of the characters were creative, original, and well-formed. There were absolutely no stereotypes in this book.

The plot itself was amazing and well thought out, with more twists and turns than a whole season of Lost, and it kept me hanging on to every page. I read this book in less than five hours in one sitting, it was just that good.

Nova Ren Suma is an amazing author, and I cannot wait for more material from her.

Rating:  5/5 stars
★★★★★

Book Review: Inhuman

Title: Inhuman
Author: Kat Falls
Year of Publication: 2014
Summary:  America has been ravaged by a war that has left the eastern half of the country riddled with mutation. Many of the people there exhibit varying degrees of animal traits. Even the plantlife has gone feral. Crossing from west to east is supposed to be forbidden, but sometimes it’s necessary. 

Some enter the Savage Zone to provide humanitarian relief. Sixteen-year-old Lane’s father goes there to retrieve lost artifacts—he is a Fetch. It’s a dangerous life, but rewarding—until he’s caught. Desperate to save her father, Lane agrees to complete his latest job. That means leaving behind her life of comfort and risking life and limb—and her very DNA—in the Savage Zone.

But she’s not alone. In order to complete her objective, Lane strikes a deal with handsome, roguish Rafe. In exchange for his help as a guide, Lane is supposed to sneak him back west. But though Rafe doesn’t exhibit any signs of “manimal” mutation, he’s hardly civilized . . . and he may not be trustworthy.

Review: Inhuman sounded like it was going to be an awesome adventure novel through what sounded like a dystopian, post-apocalyptic setting with a kick ass main character. I was so ready to tumble into this novel and thoroughly enjoy it.

Unfortunately, to put it bluntly - this book sucked. The opening scenes were boring, the main character was whiny, and the plot went slowly. By the end of the first quarter it was blatantly obvious there was going to be a love triangle. I knew more about how both boys looked than I did about the main character. Especially Rafe, as she took the time to describe his "sunkissed skin, aquamarine eyes and sculpted lips."

The two dimensional friends mentioned in the first chapter were barely thought of again by the main character, even though Anna was supposed to be her best friend. In fact, throughout the novel she barely thinks of anybody but herself aside from her two love interests - Rafe the bad boy, and Everson the white knight who were essentially reduced to stereotypes. Not only that but the characterization for Delaney was wildly inconsistent - she mentions survival skill classes but can barely do anything. She is supposed to be smart but she's as dumb as a bag of rocks. She fears and hates germs and ferals then the next minute she likes and cares for them (and then goes straight back to being afraid of them).

On top of this, the plot was so slow. By the time I reached the 50% mark I felt like the book should have ended already. I wished it had ended already. That way I wouldn't have had to puzzle through sentences like, "The word alone triggered mental epilepsy" and "The river looked not just fast, but schizo." I wish I had made those quotes up. What does that even mean???

Perhaps if the author had sped the plot up and stopped the lovey dovey mess this book would have been as awesome as it initially sounded. The last quarter of the book was jam packed with the sort of action I'd been craving - if only the whole book had been like this.

I don't think I'd recommend this book to anyone unless they just want to be put straight to sleep by a plot that goes nowhere. Have insomnia? Try this. At the very least it will make you want to knock yourself out.

Rating:  2/5 stars
★★✰✰✰