Early Review: Call the Shots

09 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment

by Jen in New Release Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

Call the Shots by Don Calame (pub date 9/11/12)

Another YA treat that I picked up from BEA!  This one is part of a series but it can be read on its own.  I haven’t read any of Calame’s previous books but Call the Shots is a self-contained story and I was able to pick up on the characters pretty quickly.

Coop, Sean, and Matt are fifteen, best friends, and always coming up with new schemes.  When wise-cracking Coop hears about an upcoming indie horror movie festival, he knows he can make a movie that’ll win the top prize.  At first his friends aren’t interested, but then Sean finds himself in a situation in which he needs cash fast, and decides to go in on the project.  With movie-buff Sean as the screenwriter, the three boys begin working on their idea for the next big horror flick: a monster movie featuring zombie/vampire/human/chimp hybrids.  All they need is start-up funds, actors…and a camera.

Soon the project becomes more complicated than they had imagined.  Between borrowing money from Sean’s stoner uncle, and using his psycho girlfriend’s camera on the condition that she star in the movie, the guys start to wonder if they’ll ever finish their masterpiece.  At the same time, Sean is dealing with an unrequited crush on a girl at school, a drama teacher with too many suggestions for his screenplay, and a twin sister who hates his guts.

I really enjoyed this cute and funny story.  It has great comedic timing, and realistic characters.  I think it’s harder to write teenage characters than some people think; they can sometimes sound too adult or too childish.  But the boys’ witty dialogue felt very natural to me.  Due to its rough language and drug references, this is definitely a book for older teens.  And if you’re an adult who enjoys YA, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this book.

Book Review: Nocturnal

17 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment

by Jen in New Release Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

Nocturnal by Scott Sigler (pub date 4/3/12)

“Bryan said what he always said–that killing a man felt awful.”

I feel like I’ve been posting reviews on mostly serious, dramatic books lately.  So it’s time to get back to my horror roots and have a little fun!  I’ve never read a Scott Sigler novel before, but when I came across the book trailer for Nocturnal on Twitter, I knew I had to read it:

Set in San Francisco, Nocturnal is a book about the battle between monsters and men, and even dares to blur the line between the two.  Our protagonist Bryan Clauser is a homicide detective, rough around the edges but still basically a good man.  Stuck with the nickname “The Terminator” due to the number of criminals he’s killed, Bryan tends to see right and wrong strictly in black and white.  His partner Pookie Chang provides the comedic relief and also serves to keep Bryan grounded.

When Bryan and Pookie begin investigating a series of gruesome murders, Bryan begins to feel as if he’s losing his mind.  He starts dreaming about the murders (even as they’re happening), and he begins to wonder if he’s somehow connected to them.  Little by little, he and Pookie start uncovering clues to the killings, clues which point to a 200-year-old cult, a strange teenage boy, a vigilante killer, and a legion of monsters living in shadows beneath the city.

With plenty of twists and turns, interesting characters, and a fair share of blood and gore, Nocturnal is an enthralling read for horror fans.  Even at almost 600 pages long, the story stays fresh and the writing keeps pulling you back in.  It’s definitely not for the squeamish, but still an extremely enjoyable and unique read.  Sigler clearly took the time to develop his characters and provide an origin story for his monsters, making them seem even more real.

Overall, Nocturnal is a hard-hitting story for the true horror fan.  It’s part crime drama, part creature feature, and altogether a well-written and intelligent book.

Early Review: Monsters in America

26 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment

by Jen in New Release Reviews Tags: , , , ,

Monsters in America by W. Scott Poole (pub date 10/15/11)
 

 
In case you couldn’t tell by now, I love horror and I really love Halloween.  So let’s kick off the Halloween season with a look at a book about some real-life horrors that are uniquely American.
 
Monsters in America is a non-fiction piece which examines the horror genre in the context of American history.  Each chapter focuses on a different period in our history and asks “What were Americans afraid of at that time, and why?”  Starting with the colonial years and the fear of witchcraft, the book moves through the Civil War and early 20th century and examines Americans’ fear of “foreign savages.”  When horror became a source of entertainment, our real fears were soon exploited for popular books and films.
 
Poole clearly did his homework in reasearching this book.  His attention to detail both in describing the eras of American history and the evolution of the horror genre is amazing.  His insight into horror is interesting and refreshing.  Poole moves beyond the obvious and lends a different perspective to the book.  It’s pretty much common knowledge that the “mutated monster” movies of the Cold War era were a result of Americans’ fear of nuclear war.  But Poole also explores how much of the imagery in horror movies of the 70s and 80s were a commentary on the sexual counter-revolution.  Even as someone who wrote a term paper on horror cinema during my undergrad years, that was not something I had really thought about before.
 
I have only one caveat: this is no easy read.  This is a dense work, written mostly in a dry, academic tone, and with very few illustrations to break up the monotony of the text.  It’s unfortunate, because a topic as fascinating as this deserves to be read, and this writing style may end up putting some readers off.  Still, if you are interested in history and enjoy horror, give Monsters in America a try.  If anything it’ll get you in the mood to watch your favorite scary movies this Halloween!

Book Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children

26 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment

by Jen in New Release Reviews Tags: , , , , ,

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (pub date 6/7/11)
“I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary.  I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was.”
 
In the tradition of Coraline, here is a clever and well-written YA novel that adults can also enjoy.  Miss Peregrine’sis a whimsical adventure story infused with Burton-esque imagery and well-rounded characters.

16-year-old Jacob has always had a special bond with his grandfather Abe.  As a child Jacob used to love hearing Abe’s fantastic tales of children who could fly or become invisible, and he vowed that when he grew up he too would see the wonders of the world.  When Abe dies mysteriously, Jacob struggles to get over his loss.  Soon Jacob finds an old letter which reveals clues about his grandfather’s past, and he travels to a small Welsh island where Abe grew up.  In the ruins of Abe’s childhood home, he finds a collection of bizarre photos depicting the very children that Abe used to tell stories about.  Strangely enough he also finds the children, alive and well despite being told that they had died years ago.

Miss Peregrine’s is a wonderful and inventive story, and at times quite creepy.  Author Ransom Riggs beautifully blends fantasy and reality, and creates a world in which magic is real…and monsters are too.  Riggs’ writing truly makes the characters and settings come alive, from the way he portrays Jacob as both a brave young man and a smart-alecky teen, to capturing the quaintness of the Welsh fishing village.  But what really makes this book a treat are the photos.  Riggs borrowed an assortment of amazing (and somewhat disturbing) black and white photos from antique collectors and included them in the book, making the story as real to the readers as it is to Jacob.  The photos alone are worth the price of the book.

Reading Miss Peregrine’s is a unique experience; it’s a great story for anyone who’s looking for an escape from the ordinary.  It’s available now and would make great summer reading for any teen or adult who enjoys a “peculiar” kind of book.

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