Book Review: A History of Glitter and Blood

Title: A History of Glitter and Blood
Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Expected Publication Date: August 4th, 2015
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Beckan and her friends are the only fairies brave enough to stay in Ferrum when war breaks out. Now there is tension between the immortal fairies, the subterranean gnomes, and the mysterious tightropers who arrived to liberate the fairies.

But when Beckan's clan is forced to venture into the gnome underworld to survive, they find themselves tentatively forming unlikely friendships and making sacrifices they couldn't have imagined. As danger mounts, Beckan finds herself caught between her loyalty to her friends, her desire for peace, and a love she never expected.

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

A History of Glitter and Blood was at it's finest  - intricate and moving, and at it's lowest - slow and confusing. I read it in one sitting, and I'm still not sure if it's one of the best books I've ever read, or the worst, and it can be compared with possibly no other Young Adult book... which I'm not sure this even is?

The thing I liked best about this book was probably the characters and their relationships with one another. There is a lot of intimacy between characters who were not necessarily in a romantic relationship and jealousy is rarely a thing that comes into play and it was all so deliciously real, you know? At least for a bunch of fairies and gnomes and tightropers. I also really enjoyed how there was no sense of characters being either/or in terms of sexuality everybody just -was- and it worked brilliantly.

The book did drag on a little, especially towards the end. On one hand a lot of it was integral to the story, but on the other parts were so slow that I was debating on just going to bed instead of finishing the book.

I did love all the pictures in the book. They added a significant element to the book and also helped the reader understand a little bit more about Ferrum's history - which ultimately I would have liked more of but as it stands the book did okay without it.

I could understand how this book could make someone uncomfortable - there were quite a few scenes in which the main characters are prostitutes, a fact which is not disclosed in the blurb. This is not something that would turn me off the book, but a little warning would have been appreciated. Then again, how do you casually slip the fact that Beckan, Scrap and Cricket are sex workers to the gnomes who occasionally eat fairies?

I'm still not entirely sure whether I really liked this book enough, but I'd have to give it 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 for good measure, and I look forward to reading Moskowitz other works.

Rating: 4/5 stars
★★★★✰

Book Review: The Accident Season

Title: The Accident Season
Author: Moira Fowley-Doyle
Publisher: Corgi Childrens
Expected Publication Date: August 18th, 2015
Summary: The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.

But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?

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

The Accident Season is one of those books that I can't quite decide whether I loved or hated. On one hand, I loved the queer aspects to this book and the eerie feeling that surrounded the story. On the other, sometimes the writing was quite pretentious, and as well as that vague. I had only the faintest clue what was happening for most of the book.

I feel like the writing style didn't allow me to connect with the characters at all, especially with the switching between points of view that happened randomly throughout the story between Cara and then that weird third person that sometimes happened. I couldn't really get a proper grip on this book because of that.

Other aspects of the book felt quite contrived, especially the parts with the masquerade ball. I found myself eye-rolling through quite a lot of the dance planning scenes, and then in the actual dance itself. Also, the whole thing was pretty idiotic - the house was most likely private property and it was in ramshackles. Something really bad could have happened which the main characters did not seem to care about in the slightest despite the fact that it was the accident season.

The metal statue man was another source of frustration later in the book. Was he or was he not Christopher? This was never resolved. Neither was the case of the disappearing shop that Cara and Sam went to. A lot of things happened in this book that seemed significant at the time but were barely mentioned again.

Overall, I'd have to give this book a solid three stars. It could have been better, but it also could have been worse.

Rating: 3/5 stars

★★★✰✰

Book Review: The Corridor

Title: The Corridor
Author: A.N Willis
Publisher: Alloy Entertainment
Year of Publication: 2015
Summary: Infinite worlds. Endless possibilities . . . 

Stel Alaster has never known life without the Corridor. It appeared suddenly seventeen years ago, the only portal to a parallel version of our world—Second Earth. Everyone on First Earth fears Mods, the genetically modified Second Earthers who built the Corridor. They are too smart, too strong, and have powers that can’t be controlled. Any Mod found on First Earth is branded, then detained in the Corridor’s research labs.

Only Stel has a dangerous secret. She has a power, too: She can open a portal to Second Earth . . . and several other parallel universes she’s discovered. If anyone ever finds out, she’ll be imprisoned, no better than a Mod or common lab rat.

But when the Corridor starts to fail, emitting erratic bursts of energy that could destroy First Earth, Stel must risk everything to save the people and world she loves. With the help of an escaped Mod and an infuriatingly arrogant boy from a third universe, Stel sets out to unravel the mysteries of the Corridor and stabilize it before it’s too late. The fate of every world lies in the balance.

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

The thing that disappointed me most about The Corridor was that it had potential. So much potential. But it was let down by the character development and the progression of the story.

Probably the first thing that irked me about The Corridor was the time skip. Six whole months from the first chapter to the second. We are told later in the story that Estele did certain things in these six months, like exploring the Barrens and learning to control her powers. We are told a lot of things during this story, and I am left to wonder... why were we shown none of this? It would have made a huge positive impact on the novel if the author had included these things.

One of my biggest pet peeves is protagonists who seem to have the memory of a goldfish, especially when it comes to friends and love interests. That and instantly forging bonds with people without any sort of development. There were so many instances in this story where it happened that I don't know if it's possible to list them all. These were the main ones I can recall:

• Estele and her friendship group. The beginning of the story makes it seems like she has one friend - Lissa. Then suddenly an old friend pops in and she hangs out with them for a whole scene and references things they used to do together. Do you think we ever hear of any of them again? Nope. Well, one of them got a brief mention, but that is about it.
• Flinn. The moment Estele meets him she's totally falling head over heels in lust with him. Then she spends all of two scenes with his brother and it's like, Flinn who?
• And Ana. After spending one night with her and Cohl, they are suddenly bff. Do you know how much of that friendship we got to see? Zilch.
• Cohl! One moment he's this creepy guy who essentially stalks her, the next? Almost insta-love.

Estele and Lissa's friendship was also another source of frustration from this book. There was no substance to it! Absolutely none! We're told all these things about how their friendship was, and you know how much of it I believe? Zero. It felt very fake, as with most of her relationships, and in suit left the story feeling a little wooden.

Still, as much as these inconsistencies bothered me, the story was for the most part, bearable. I was intrigued by the different worlds and how they worked, even if the science behind it was a little vague, and this is essentially what kept me reading. Overall, I'd give this book 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3 for good measure.

Rating: 3/5 stars

★★★✰✰