Fire & Blood by Victoria Scott

I was upset when I got to the end of Fire & Flood and realized it was yet another Book One of a Series/Trilogy, so I believe that means I enjoyed it. Actually, I did enjoy it quite a bit. Fire & Flood is about a contest, the Brimstone Bleed, which requires people to go through four terrains for the chance to receive a Cure which will "heal any sickness". Tella, our voice, has a brother who is dying and no doctor can figure out why. So she accepts the challenge into the contest, stealing off into the night from her home. It is clear that her parents knew she could be called, but just how involved they are or were is a question for the next book. It is an interesting concept. To help the players they have creatures called Pandoras, animal-like beings with certain abilities that are loyal only to their Contender. As the story continues we figure out more about the background of the contest and of the Pandoras, and it is set up well for the next book. There is a love story, but it is somewhat muted, so I didn't get that feeling I sometimes get when two characters fall in love simply because they are main characters. I have a weakness for unavailable love interests in fiction, so it could be that, too. 

While the writing wasn't perfect throughout, it was fairly consistent and I grew to like the main character, Tella, and her group of other Contenders who are working together until they get closer to the end. There are a few surprises, a villain, and many questions to answer. All in all, a very satisfying novel which I hope has a sequel very quickly. 

She Is Not Invisible

*SPOILERS*


If there is one thing I appreciate, it is an author with cleverness and dedication. I enjoyed reading this book a great deal, but it wasn't until the end when he alluded to a message written from every first word of every chapter that I truly appreciated it. Because instead of just thinking that there was a message, I had to go find it; so I did. I went back to the first word of every chapter and I wrote down the message, which was a sweet one. Because I did kind of love the blind girl, the one who understands patterns and sees nothing, loves her brother, and loves her father so much she would abduct said brother and go to another country just to find him when she thinks he is missing. 

The mystery of the story isn't an actual mystery. And I think that's the joy of it. Throughout, we hear the thoughts of Laureth's father, who is an author and obsessor of coincidence, because he had lost his notebook that contained his ideas. It was this notebook that led to the brother abduction and the chasing of coincidence through the streets of Manhattan. He sees patterns and coincidences everywhere, he is obsessed with the number 354 and thinks he sees it everywhere. We almost watch his apparently descend into madness and we think maybe something untoward really has happened to him. But in reality, much like all coincidence, all that happened was a series of events that led to another series of events. No mystery, no coincidence. And that made this book truly exemplary, that even though all of us get that cold chill when something eerie happens that seems like a strange and destined coincidence, it truly is nothing but simplicity and chance. 

"One thing: when you learn what she deals with you might love the blind girl who knows that it's never been her sight that she needs; that it's trust, love, and faith, also."

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

*based on an ARC edition

     I truly adored this book. As an older person who just happens to be obsessed with the young adult genre, the setting for Don't Even Think of It was a little more juvenile than I usually go for, but that wasn't even as a factor as I read. I finished in one sitting. This is a book about a bunch of teenagers from the same homeroom who are given a flu shot that has been tainted and results in some...unusual side effects. They call themselves the Espies because they all have the power of telepathy (ESP...Espies...get it?). They can hear everyone's thoughts. As a group of 22 they become "we" instead of the individual because as they say, it's the only way they know how to do it now. Hearing everyone's thoughts sounds great, and useful- there is some cheating on tests, one very shy member can make the perfect relationship- even though the guy is less than perfect- and there are no secrets. And that's the problem; there are NO secrets. There are friendships tested, infidelity revealed, feelings overheard, and new loves discovered. 
     Don't Even Think of It is a lighthearted, extremely funny escape from reality. It's just a fun book. There's no need to overthink anything, and the ending is perfect. It's not a book to read if you want deep thoughts, but who wants that all the time?