Book Review: Buried Heart

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Title: Buried Heart (Court of Fives #3)
Author: Kate Elliott
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 465 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Review Copy: Purchased
Availability: In Bookstores

Summary: In this third book in the epic Court of Fives series, Jessamy is the crux of a revolution forged by the Commoner class hoping to overthrow their longtime Patron overlords. But enemies from foreign lands have attacked the kingdom, and Jes must find a way to unite the Commoners and Patrons to defend their home and all the people she loves. Will her status as a prominent champion athlete be enough to bring together those who have despised one another since long before her birth? Will she be able to keep her family out of the clutches of the evil Lord Gargaron? And will her relationship with Prince Kalliarkos remain strong when they find themselves on opposite sides of a war?

Review: I enjoyed the first two installments of Kate Elliott’s Court of Five series so I was really looking forward to seeing how Elliott would end Jessamy’s story. Buried Heart picks up moments after the end of Poisoned Blade as Jessamy, Kal, and their families are running from Saryenia after Nikonos pulls a deadly coup and takes over the city. I expected most of the book would focus on Jessamy and Kal working together to unite the Commoners and Patrons and somehow overthrow Nikonos. I have to say I was surprised by what actually happened in the novel. Working with her father, Jessamy and Kal are able to takeover the throne fairly easily at that happens only a quarter of the way into the book. After that, the novel takes on an interesting turn where Jessamy is captured by Lord Gargaron and is separated from everyone she loves. While I hated that Lord Gargaron had the upper hand over Jessamy at one point, but this allowed Jessamy to find an inner strength and leadership ability that she didn’t know she had. It fully allowed her to choose a side and when it came time to fight for Efea, Jessamy was able to use her skills from the Five Court and her new found leadership skills to truly help turn the tide of the war.

One of the many aspects I liked about Poisoned Blade was that we traveled with Jessamy and saw more of the world of Efea, and in Buried Heart we experienced more of the same, but we learned more about the people of Efea (i.e. the Commoners). We also learned more about the customs and beliefs of the Efeans before the Saroese (Patrons) invaded and took over the land. Learning more the history of Efea and it’s colonization, bring a deeper meaning to the novel. At it’s core, through the story of Jessamy, Buried Heart is the story of an oppressed people rising up, and of the privileged people learning how to recognize their role in oppression and working with the oppressed to make change.

Even though Jessamy and Kal spend a lot of time apart in this novel (again) this time it was much more satisfying to me, as in their time apart they grew into the adults they were going to be, and their relationship grew as well. At the beginning of the novel, Jessamy and Kal are so sweet together, but their relationship is much more mature based on their first separation. Kai truly accepts Jessamy for who she is, the good and the ugly, though Jessamy tries to still “protect” Kal’s more innocent nature. It’s sweet at the beginning, but devastating for Jessamy when she must watch Kal make tough choices when he becomes king, a position he never wanted. However, with this second separation, both have to make tough, adult decisions and each lose their innocence in a way. They both change because of their experiences in the war and when they are able to finally come together (if only for a brief moment) they see each other as true equals. I loved that Elliott wrote a relationship that was equally balanced where each of the lovers grew not just together but on their own. Both Jessamy and Kal look out for each other and push each other to be better, which is a very healthy relationship not often seen in many books. The tension between them came from outside sources and these two had to find a way to create their happiness and find a way to be together. To me, that is what made their love story so touching.

There is so much more I could say about Buried Heart, but I would be giving away so much of the story. So I will say this, Buried Heart is a fitting end to a wonderful trilogy that had a beautiful love story, a villain you just loved to hate, complex family drama, and a world that was so complete it felt real, but at it’s heart was an amazing heroine that us readers could root for.

Recommendation: If you have been waiting for this third book to come out you need to run to your nearest book store and buy it. If you haven’t read the Court of Five series, you also need to run to your nearest book store so you can begin the adventure and read the whole series in one sitting!

Queer and Here in YA Lit

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I feel like I’m always running around being like, “Look at this book! It’s going to be amazing! You need to read this when it comes out! Ahhhh!” It’s kind of a constant thing with me. But I’m here to say that this is my current to-read and must-read book on my radar:

Not Your VillainNot Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by C.B. Lee

Available: October 5th, 2017 (soon!)

Bells Broussard thought he had it made when his superpowers manifested early. Being a shapeshifter is awesome. He can change his hair whenever he wants, and if putting on a binder for the day is too much, he’s got it covered. But that was before he became the country’s most-wanted villain.

After discovering a massive cover-up by the Heroes’ League of Heroes, Bells and his friends Jess, Emma, and Abby set off on a secret mission to find the Resistance. Meanwhile, power-hungry former hero Captain Orion is on the loose with a dangerous serum that renders meta-humans powerless, and a new militarized robotic threat emerges. Everyone is in danger. Between college applications and crushing on his best friend, will Bells have time to take down a corrupt government? Sometimes, to do a hero’s job, you need to be a villain. [Image and summary via Goodreads]

I loved the first book in this series, Not Your Sidekick, and I’m pretty darn excited for the sequel. Not Your Sidekick is all about queer superheroes doing their thing, and it’s just a lot of fun. I’m a huge fan of fun genre YA lit starring queer and PoC characters, and this fits the bill. What’s your favorite queer PoC YA book?

New Releases

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There are quite a few new releases this week and I’m excited for several of them.

 

27 Hours (The Nightside Saga #1) by Tristina Wright
Entangled: Teen

Rumor Mora fears two things: hellhounds too strong for him to kill, and failure. Jude Welton has two dreams: for humans to stop killing monsters, and for his strange abilities to vanish.

But in no reality should a boy raised to love monsters fall for a boy raised to kill them.

Nyx Llorca keeps two secrets: the moon speaks to her, and she’s in love with Dahlia, her best friend. Braeden Tennant wants two things: to get out from his mother’s shadow, and to unlearn Epsilon’s darkest secret.

They’ll both have to commit treason to find the truth.

During one twenty-seven-hour night, if they can’t stop the war between the colonies and the monsters from becoming a war of extinction, the things they wish for will never come true, and the things they fear will be all that’s left.

27 Hours is a sweeping, thrilling story featuring a stellar cast of queer teenagers battling to save their homes and possibly every human on Sahara as the clock ticks down to zero.

Wild BeautyWild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Feiwel & Friends

Love grows such strange things.

For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.

The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family.

Akata Warrior (Akata Witch #2) by Nnedi Okorafor
Viking Books for Young Readers

A year ago, Sunny Nwazue, an American-born girl Nigerian girl, was inducted into the secret Leopard Society. As she began to develop her magical powers, Sunny learned that she had been chosen to lead a dangerous mission to avert an apocalypse, brought about by the terrifying masquerade, Ekwensu. Now, stronger, feistier, and a bit older, Sunny is studying with her mentor Sugar Cream and struggling to unlock the secrets in her strange Nsibidi book.

Eventually, Sunny knows she must confront her destiny. With the support of her Leopard Society friends, Orlu, Chichi, and Sasha, and of her spirit face, Anyanwu, she will travel through worlds both visible and invisible to the mysteries town of Osisi, where she will fight a climactic battle to save humanity.

Much-honored Nnedi Okorafor, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards, merges today’s Nigeria with a unique world she creates. Akata Warrior blends mythology, fantasy, history and magic into a compelling tale that will keep readers spellbound.

Broken Circle by J.L. and M.A. Powers
Black Sheep

Adam wants nothing more than to be a “normal” teen, but his reality is quickly leaking normal. Afraid to sleep because of the monster that stalks him in his dreams, Adam’s breakdown at school in front of his crush Sarah lands him in the hospital.

Now Adam can only vaguely comprehend some sort of future. His mother died when he was only four and his eccentric father—who might be an assassin, a voodoo god, the reincarnation of the Buddha, or something even stranger—is never available when Adam really needs him.

Adam’s life takes an even stranger turn when a fat man with a gold tooth and a medallion confronts his father regarding Adam’s supposed “true destiny.” Adam is soon headed toward a collision with life, death, and the entities charged with shepherding souls of the newly dead, all competing to control lucrative territories where some nightmares are real and psychopomps of ancient legends walk the streets of North America.

Seize Today (Forget Tomorrow #3) by Pintip Dunn
Entangled: Teen

The third book in the New York Times bestselling and RITA award winning Forget Tomorrow series is a thrilling conclusion to an epic trilogy.

Seventeen-year-old precognitive Olivia Dresden is an optimist. Since different versions of people’s futures flicker before her eyes, she doesn’t have to believe in human decency. She can literally see the path to goodness in each person—if only he or she would make the right decision. No one is more conflicted than her mother, Chairwoman Dresden, and Olivia is fiercely loyal to the woman her mother could be.

But when the Chairwoman captures Ryder Russell, a boy from the rebel Underground, Olivia is forced to reevaluate her notions of love and faith. With Ryder’s help, Olivia must come to terms with who her mother is in the present—and stop her before she destroys the world.

Not Your VillainNot Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by C.B. Lee

Bells Broussard thought he had it made when his superpowers manifested early. Being a shapeshifter is awesome. He can change his hair whenever he wants, and if putting on a binder for the day is too much, he’s got it covered. But that was before he became the country’s most-wanted villain.

After discovering a massive cover-up by the Heroes’ League of Heroes, Bells and his friends Jess, Emma, and Abby set off on a secret mission to find the Resistance. Meanwhile, power-hungry former hero Captain Orion is on the loose with a dangerous serum that renders meta-humans powerless, and a new militarized robotic threat emerges. Everyone is in danger. Between college applications and crushing on his best friend, will Bells have time to take down a corrupt government?

Sometimes, to do a hero’s job, you need to be a villain.

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
First Second

Pashmina tells the story of an Indian-American girl who struggles to fit in at high school, then discovers more about her family’s history with the help of her mother’s magical pashmina.

— Cover images and summaries via Goodreads

Review: The Victoria in My Head

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Title: The Victoria in My Head
Author: Janelle Milanes
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 400
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Review Copy: Purchased
Availability: Available for purchase now

Summary: A shy, rule-following teen winds up joining a local rock band in this laugh-out-loud, heartfelt coming-of-age novel.

Victoria Cruz inhabits two worlds: In one, she is a rock star, thrashing the stage with her husky voice and purple-streaked hair. In the other, currently serving as her reality, Victoria is a shy teenager with overprotective Cuban parents, who sleepwalks through her life at the prestigious Evanston Academy. Unable to overcome the whole paralyzing-stage-fright thing, Victoria settles for living inside her fantasies, where nothing can go wrong and everything is set to her expertly crafted music playlists.

But after a chance encounter with an unattainably gorgeous boy named Strand, whose band seeks a lead singer, Victoria is tempted to turn her fevered daydreams into reality. To do that, she must confront her insecurities and break away from the treadmill that is her life. Suddenly, Victoria is faced with the choice of staying on the path she’s always known and straying off-course to find love, adventure, and danger.

From debut author Janelle Milanes comes a hilarious and heartfelt tale of the spectacular things that can happen when you go after what you really want.

Review: It’s very easy to relate to the heroine of Janelle Milanes’s debut novel. Victoria has always lived her life according to her parents’ expectations, and she is at the point where her parents’ ideas of what should bring her happiness are clashing with what she actually wants from life. (Not that she’s always right about what would make her happy, but she knows the status quo is definitely not it.) The repetition of her life is wearing her down, and she constantly makes decisions in reference to what would make her parents happy. That’s an inevitable recipe for rebellion in YA, and after some hesitation (overcome with the help of Victoria’s BFF, Annie), Victoria dives right in to quitting school sports and secretly joining a rock band despite her stage fright.

The members of the band are all distinct, interesting characters, and I appreciate that they didn’t supplant Annie in Victoria’s life. Levi, the perfectionist bass player, whose head is filled with plans and goals and too many details; Krina, the punk drummer, who has fierce opinions and an empathetic heart; and Strand, the hot guitarist, whose laidback attitude challenges a lot of Victoria’s worldview. The ups and downs of their relationships with each other made for an engaging group of characters. Victoria’s family members were also strong presences, and it was easy to see that her parents loved her and wanted what was best for her—the problem being that they and Victoria disagreed on where she could find happiness.

One of the things that I think Milanes excelled at was creating a relationship that should have been great on paper and then slowly proved just how wrong the two people were for each other. Personality clashes, differing priorities, confusion about needs and wants—all of those culminated into an increasingly awkward relationship disaster that fueled Victoria’s personal growth. It was a great contrast to the second romance in the book, which had been built up slowly and blossomed out of both attraction and friendship.

There are some missteps in the novel. There were a couple of scenes with ableist language, and I was a little sad that a lot of Victoria’s negative thoughts about her body never seemed to be strongly challenged. I wish that the reveal of a secondary romantic couple had been independent from Victoria’s own romantic plotline, especially since Victoria’s cluelessness about Krina’s romantic orientation had already been blatantly pointed out in text.

Recommendation: Get it soon. While there are a few blemishes, THE VICTORIA IN MY HEAD stars a relatable heroine and has a comfortably predictable romance. Music lovers, dreamers, second-generation immigrants, and anyone who has settled for something safe instead of taking risks for their heart’s desire will find something to relate to in Janelle Milanes’s debut novel.

Extras

Interview with Janelle Milanes + Giveaway

Banned Books Week: Sex in YA

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It’s Banned Books week and to celebrate I thought I’d talk about a subject that many books are banned for – sex! Yes, that three letter word that often throws many adults in a tizzy when they think about children and teenagers being exposed to the natural thoughts and feelings that we all have. There is this thought, especially in America, that if we don’t talk about sex, read about sex, teach about sex, that teenagers will not engage in sex. Unfortunately, this silly myth persists despite evidence of the contrary. And authors have consistently bucked up against this belief and included sex into their novels.

In the past YA novels have been very careful with their depictions of sex, usually alluding to it with a lovely romantic “fade out”. However, I’ve noticed a difference in the past few years as more and more novels are being more umm, specific, in the descriptions of sex. In addition to including these moments, characters have also had discussions about their feelings, whether positive or negative, towards sex and their sexual identity. I’ve also noticed an increase in a discussions of consent regarding sex as the couple in question has a healthy chat prior and often the subject of protection is addressed as well.

It has been refreshing to see this change come about in the YA world as teens are much more sophisticated since they have access to so much information. The experiences and discussions YA characters face mirror many of the feelings teenagers have. Reading about a character who shares the same thoughts, has the same confused feelings towards sex can help many teens understand that sex, and all of its complex messiness, is perfectly natural and a healthy part of becoming an adult. It can also help teens understand the concept of consent, the importance of using protection, as well as help our LGBTQ teens see themselves on the page (see LGBTQ Teens Speak Out where some of my students speak out on the need for more representation). This movement in the YA world to be more open and honest about sex is encouraging to me, not only as a writer, but as a teacher who works with an age group who is starting to question the world around them. And so, I thought I’d finish off this post with two books I loved that handled sex and sexual identity in a beautiful way.

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn’t sure if she’ll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (along with her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support.

But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new…the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel’s disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself–or worse.

 

 Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

 

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

 

 

What books have you read recently that you think got sex right?

Author Interview: F.C. Yee

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The Epic Crush of Genie Lo has been on my radar for a while, and for good reason — it sounds, well, epic. And it turns out, it truly is! (Check out the RIC review here.) In this new YA book, one kickass Bay Area girl and the oh-so-glorious Monkey King are all that stands between humanity and the hordes of monsters that threaten to destroy the world. You definitely want to get this book… and today we welcome author F.C. Yee (@yeebookauthor) to Rich in Color for an interview!

I grew up reading about the Monkey King (shoutout to Laurence Yep!), and I imagine the ol’ rascal was a part of your life growing up as well. How did you settle on a story that brought Chinese mythology into the modern world?
 
The funny thing is, I did not grow up with Monkey King stories. My experience was much more like Genie’s, where I officially encountered him later in my teens. I’d been exposed to a lot of media that drew upon Journey to the West as an influence, but never seen or read any adaptations until the day I decided to sit down and read the translations of the original story.
I knew I wanted to write a story about discovering one’s own inner strength. But I also thought that an entertaining parallel would be the simultaneous discovery of this rich fictional universe by a character who didn’t know it was a part of their (personal) heritage all along. I settled on the portrayal that I did so that people originally unfamiliar with the Monkey King, like I was at one time, could be introduced in a fun way, while readers who would be very familiar with the source material could enjoy watching a surrogate learn the tale for the first time.
 
Sun Wukong is definitely becoming more human (and also more good-looking?) in recent movies. So, uh, did you start out intending Sun Wukong to be hot?
 
Yes. Without question. Full use of artistic license here.
 
Going off of that, can you talk a little bit about how you modernized the other figures of Chinese mythology, like trendy Guanyin with the pixie cut, into the book?
 
While I definitely wanted the humor of Sun Wukong acclimating into modern society in the book’s opening, I knew the joke could get old, especially if repeated through different characters. I decided it would provide a nice contrast against Quentin’s original strangeness and Genie’s further expectations of gods if the subsequent ones she met were already grounded. In the case of Guanyin specifically, it’s meant to show how she’s the most in tune with modern life and expectations, because she’s the one who does the most work on behalf of humanity.
One reader/online friend jokingly called the mythological figures in this book petty, which is absolutely accurate in retrospect, and one of the tools I used to modernize them.


A good chunk of the story is grounded in reality — especially Genie’s family situation and her uber competitive school life. (The competitive Bay Area school part hit a little too close to home for me, yikes.) Did you draw upon your own life for this, step into someone else’s shoes, or a little of both?
 
Both. I thought I grew up in a competitive academic environment in the East Coast, but in retrospect, knowing what some kids go through these days, it wasn’t that bad. I’m not sure what’s to be done about it – a high degree of academic competition might be an efficient method of operating for the system as a whole, but it’s punishing for the individual.
 
So Genie hates boba but loves coffee. Are you the same?
 
I love both boba AND coffee! I gave Genie that quirk regarding boba since it’s such a big part of Bay Area culture and liked the image of young Genie being grumpy that her friends want to keep meeting over a drink she didn’t like.

Is there a sequel on the horizon for The Epic Crush of Genie Lo?

There will be, in 2018.

Perfect… *rubs hands together gleefully* Finally, are there any YA books by/about people of color that you’re looking forward to? 
 
I’m perpetually confused over whether it’s being marketed as YA or not, but I’m looking forward to S.A. Chakraborty’s CITY OF BRASS. I also really want to read FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS by Julie C. Dao.

An awesome list. Thanks for stopping by! To those reading along, do yourself a favor and get a copy of The Epic Crush of Genie Lo ASAP because it’s just that awesome.