The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

Blood of Eden

The Immortal Rules * The Eternity Cure * The Forever Song 

Dawn of Eden

Published: 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd/Audible
Author's Website
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Series: Blood of Eden
Narration by: Thérèse Plummer

Introduction

Zeke is dead, and Allie, Kanin, and Jackal are still travelling to stop Sarren. Allie has decided that with Zeke dead, she hates everything, and she wants to be a monster now. Jackal approves. Kanin isn't mad, he's disappointed.

Weak Female Protagonist

First, this book waxes sentimental WAY too much. I wish my music app on my phone had a "skip ahead 10 seconds" button like Youtube.

Overall, Allie is a weak protagonist in this book, which is the exact opposite of what she once was. People do change, sometimes for the worse, but this seems like bad writing. Instead of saving the world, she decides to go after her love interest. You know, after saving the world, he will STILL BE THERE. Saving the world is more important. Too many times she should have waited for the other two members of her team to come, but she rushed into danger and made everything worse. I guess the power of lub <3 is detrimental to strong women.

Sacrifice Ending

That was so lazy and just a dramatic gimmick. I'm pretty sure you could have sprayed your blood on them and gotten the same effect. You're a vampire, and we know limbs regenerate. Toss them an arm!

In my headcanon, he didn't die. He decided to get a hobby, like golf, and he took some time off to be by himself, away from the trio of idiots he had to spend last 6(ish) months with.

Final Thoughts

Despite Allison's terrible decision-making abilities, I still recommend this book. The trio has a nice family dynamic to it that was hilarious to listen to. If you've read the first two books in this series, or if your library has purchased the first two, there isn't a reason to not have the final book in the series in your collection. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys paranormal fiction, dystopias, vampires, or horror.

Xbox One Adaptive Controller -- Library Tech

Does your library have a gaming program? Have an Xbox One?

Microsoft has announced an adaptive controller, and libraries may benefit from having a few available.

Back in May, it was announced, and recently we heard that even the box is accessible. The base controller (above), can be connected to more peripherals (there are 19 jacks in the back), such as joysticks, pedals, and finger switches. The base controller doesn't come with these extra peripherals, but I think this is a strong step in the right direction. It releases sometime this year (2018), and I'll be looking to see if any libraries utilize it, and the outcome.

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Blood of Eden

The Immortal Rules * The Eternity Cure * The Forever Song 

Dawn of Eden

Published: 2013

Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd/Audible

Author's Website 

Format: Audiobook, Unabridged

Series: Blood of Eden

Narration by: Thérèse Plummer

Introduction

At the end of the last book, Allison is alone again. Now, she is looking for her maker, Kanin, following the blood bond. Around her rises a new strain of the Red Lung virus that is fatal to both humans and vampires. Her journey leads her to reunite with those she never expected to see again. She gains unexpected allies and new missions: save Kanin, find the cure, and stop Sarren. Allison fights her own inner monster to remain as human as possible, despite being told it's impossible. 

Returning Characters

I appreciated the recurring characters. I find that too many authors are quick to add new characters in every book when there are already established characters at the ready. The characters that showed up here worked very well and I was glad to see them all again (with one exception, I was hoping he was gone). There's a comic relief character that was so very needed.

Book about Walking

Like the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, a lot of this book is walking. Gets a little boring, but I think the banter and the events that happen from point A to point B make up for it. Based on the world they live in (usually no access to functioning cars), it's understandable.

Different Book Covers

Seems that this book some different covers. The one above is nice, but it doesn't match the previous cover, which means that your books aren't going to match. I'd get the covers to match, personally.

Final Thoughts

The sequel did not disappoint. If you have the first one in your library collection, nothing is keeping this from anyone's collection.

  

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Published: 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Author's Website

Introduction

There are indie kids, the kids who are special, the Chosen One(s). They have destinies. Their lives are full of extraordinary occurrences, tragedy, and love. And they always save the day. But what about the rest of us? The teens that go to high school and the adults and their jobs? What happens when you blow up the school, kill all the vampires or zombies, and many of your classmates and friends go missing? With all the storylines swirling around them, what is everyone else up to? Not surprisingly, they have lives too, affected by the chaos, their own problems. A politician mom, a struggling father, mental health issues, sexual orientation, college admissions, prom--all problems that these background characters deal with. A satire of young adult literature in a familiar world afflicted with over-the-top end-of-the-world situations.

Chapter Introductions and Section Dividers

https://patrickness.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/TROUJLH_9781406331165_PI_UK-extract.pdf  

Every new chapter gives a summary of what the indie kids are doing. At first, I didn't like it, but the two stories intermingled a bit and it was great. This is the forefront story, but this book is centred on the teens in the background. It would have been a bit confusing if we had no idea what the indie kids were doing. Plus, at times, it was funny. Above, we hear that there's more than one indie kid named Finn (of course), and a girl named Satchel. Reminds me how books and films influence baby name trends (all those Edwards!).

The section dividers are occasionally these cats, and I love them:

+1 to this book.

Worst Character Award

Henna.

People make mistakes (and all of the characters in this book make mistakes) but I found myself consistently disliking her. I feel bad because, in the back of the book, we hear that her name is from a real-life person. Yikes.

Dislikes

You don't have to like the protagonist, ever. Unlikable protagonists are acceptable. However, Mikey sometimes just pops in with these mean comments that I found jarring, and they don't come up again. At least make it consistent. There're some things going on with his sister, and he has these comments about another family in the restaurant that he works at. Shouldn't he be keenly aware of these kinds of remarks swirl in his sister's head?

Final Thoughts

Patrick Ness clearly likes Buffy, but he goes behind the scenes for this book. It definitely isn't a book for readers that want a warm-feelings-and-butterflies romance. It has a diverse cast, and it is a bit of a coming-of-age story. The writing was easy and unobtrusive, though the first few pages almost made me put the book down. The teens are contemplating the concept of love, and like teens do, they try to figure it out by trying to sound mature and philosophical. But give it a try, and I think there are many teens who would enjoy it. 

Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre

Published: 2014
Publisher: Audible/Macmillan Audio
Author's Website
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Series: Immortal Game
Narration by: Susan Hanfield

Introduction

Edie Kramer has been pushed into despair by her cruel classmates. On a bridge, a mysterious young man makes a deal with her: three wishes, which she will then repay later with three favours. There's a game afoot around her, played by the immortals in the mortal world. While Edie craves revenge on her classmates, the people around her are tormented by unexplainable events. The paranormal threatens Edie and those she cares about. The mysterious and beautiful man who made the deal with her seems to want to help her, but he is also a pawn in the game. Can Edie trust him? Is there a way out of the game after she made the deal? Luckily, Edie is exceptionally intelligent.

Bullying and Revenge

The set us is that Edie was severely bullied the year before, and she's out for revenge this year. The revenge plot quickly falls apart, though, and it was disappointing. I wanted to see her either rise above the bullies or get any kind of revenge! So, the book blurb isn't really true. It's more about different immortal factions playing a game, and us humans are pawns to be controlled and moved.

Emily is not impressed at Edie's amateur attempts. 

Essay Ideas

Faustian deals with the devil? I can only think of The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. Bullying, revenge, the paranormal, privilege? Hell vs Wedderburn, Mawer & Graf? Urban myths and mythology in contemporary fiction? Relationships with parents (I once wrote an essay regarding a protagonist's agency in conjunction to if their parents were alive or not (Harry Potter, Lyra Belacqua, etc.) and once you read this book to the end, it fits PERFECTLY).

Length

Plot gets bogged down with the paranormal aspects. There are a few characters I'd cut for wordcount/character count. The book dragged on far too long. I tried to listen to this audiobook years ago and I couldn't finish it. I'm glad I did, but I wouldn't call this a short read.

Horror Aspect

There are some horror elements that I appreciated, but I've never seen this recommended for anyone looking for horror. There are creepy "monsters" wreaking havoc and bodily harm, and some body horror.

Final Thoughts

Personally, I thought it was a great book, though the book blurb doesn't serve the actual plot.

Looking into the book, it seems that a lot of people have problems with the concept of beauty fixing all the world's problems, and that this book promotes the wrong idea of beauty. I don't agree -- I think Edie chose to be transformed because she wanted to be pretty, not because the author/Edie thinks being pretty is above intelligence. (And I thought it was great that she is still recognizable, not moulded into a movie star.) I think she did it for herself, and second to that, she could get close to the popular kids at school and get her revenge. Plus, all through the book, we hear about Edie being exceptionally intelligent, so it's not saying that Edie has no other qualities. She is also empathetic towards people who have done her wrong. So, other readers might not like the message about beauty.

I don't believe in trigger warnings, and I don't believe in censorship, but this does deal with suicide, depression, bullying, death, etc., which some readers might dislike.

Perhaps some people might not like the idea of dealing with otherwordly beings.

In conclusion, if your library has a strong collection development policy, I'd include it in a library.