All 16-year-old Jacinda Jones wants to do is fly. Not squabble with her sister. Not mate with a prince. Not have her every move scrutinized by her pride. Just fly. Soar above the clouds and forget all the complications that exist on the ground. Her body's made for flight, longs for it, thrives on it. Like her dragon ancestors, Jacinda is meant to be in the sky. She's Draki, through and through, and a fire-breather, no less. One of a kind. Special, even in a community of unique creatures. She never wanted the spotlight beaming down on her. All she's ever wished for is the freedom to glide through the clouds, letting her wings carry her above all the cares of the ordinary world.
Nothing is ever that simple, of course. As the only living fire-breather, Jacinda is responsible for saving her dying breed. By mixing her genes with those of royalty, she could give birth to a new, stronger generation of draki. And the sooner the better, at least according to the calculating king. Jacinda's not thrilled with her future as a broodmare, but she's willing to do anything to help her people. Just not yet. Right now, she's more interested in feeling the sun on her scales. It's forbidden, of course, to let humans see her in draki form, which means she's only allowed to fly at night. Her rebellious streak has already gotten her into trouble, but she can't fight the urge to soar into the rising sun. It's a risk she has to take, one that ends with her running through the forest, desperately trying to shake the draki hunters that are right on her tail. The ordeal brings her face-to-face with Will Rutledge, a handsome tracker who's not like his murderous cohorts.
Jacinda's little stunt endangers not only herself but her whole community. Terrified of the repercussions, she and her family flee their home in Oregon, heading for the arid Nevada desert. Leaving the draki life behind is agonizing for Jacinda. No matter how hard she tries, she can't seem to assimilate. Especially when she runs into a familiar face - Will's never seen her in human form, but he's still inexplicably drawn to her. Jacinda can feel him with every fiber of her being. Pushing herself away from him is impossible, but letting him in could mean death to herself and everyone she loves. If Will ever found out what Jacinda really is, he'd skin her alive and sell her parts to the highest bidder. Preservation of her kind means staying far, far away from Will Rutledge. If only she could ...
Of all the Twilight-y books out there, Firelight by Sophie Jordan might just be the Twilight-iest. Not because of vampires or werewolves, but because of the impossible, consuming romance between the main characters. I'm no Edward/Bella hater - I just like me some originality. And yet, I burned through this book so fast, I swear I saw smoke pluming from its pages. It's the kind of story that keeps you glued to your chair even though you've got a thousand other things you really should be doing. Firelight starts out with an intriguing spark and ends with a raging inferno. It doesn't even come out until September 7 and I'm already dying for the next installment. Love it, love it, love it.
That being said, it's not a perfect book. Most of the characters need a good fluffing out, including the already appealing Will. The romance between Jacinda and Will seemed to develop awfully fast. It also got a little melodramatic at times. My biggest pet peeve, however, is this: Jordan never explains how Jacinda ends up in the exact town Will lives in. A coincidence like that is too big to leave unexplored. The fact that Jordan never addresses it bugged me throughout the whole book. I assume it will be justified in one of the sequels - Jordan's too careful a writer to let something like that slip - but I wanted it dealt with in Firelight.
Despite that big annoyance, Firelight kept me totally enthralled. I didn't want to put it down ... so, I didn't.
(Readaikes: reminded me a lot of Twilight, the Need books by Carrie Jones, Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs, and others)
Grade: B+
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), underrage drinking, and fantasy violence

When Anne Frank began her diary, she had no idea that one day, it would be read by millions of people. Neither did Peter Van Pels. He could not have foreseen that the world would come to know him based on the scribblings of a 13-year-old girl. If he had lived (he died at Mathausen in 1945), what would he have thought of her portrayal of him? Would he agree with her observations or vehemently deny them? If Peter had kept a diary, what would he have said about Anne, Margot, Otto and the rest of his Annex roommates? The answers to these questions will never be known. In Annexed (available October 2010), Sharon Dogar's fictionalized account of Peter's ordeal, the British author imagines what he might have thought, felt and experienced. It's a sensitive, realistic portrayal of a young man the world will only ever know through the eyes of another.
The story, which moves between Peter's days in the death camps, and those he spends in the Annex, begins on the morning Peter goes into hiding: July 13, 1942. Although the 16-year-old is grateful to the Franks for allowing his family to join them in the Annex, he's not looking foward to spending his time cooped up inside. And with annoying Anne Frank, no less. Desperately missing his (fictional) girlfriend, Liese, Peter's sad and moody, knowing he'll most likely never see her again. His new life holds little interest for him. He can only read so many books, draw so many pictures. Peter longs to be outside, running free. But, he can't leave the prison of the Annex. Nor can he run, shout, peek his head out the window, or let his guard down. Ever. His life, and those of his family, depend on staying quiet, hidden away.
Naturally, the people in the Annex grow bored, quickly becoming irritated with one another. The women bicker, Otto Frank tries to keep the peace, and Anne never stops talking. Or writing in her infernal diary. Peter can't escape his father's scrutiny or Dr. Pfeffer's unpleasant smells. He has no privacy, nowhere to really be alone. Through their forced togetherness, Peter and Anne eventually form a close friendship. Despite a crowd of prying eyes, their relationship blossoms into a romance full of stolen moments in which they share their thoughts, dream of better times, and try to keep their raging hormones in check. When betrayal leads all of the Annex's occupants to Nazi death camps, Peter mourns the days of relative peace spent hidden away. Mostly, he grieves for Anne, the girl he loves. As he lays dying, it's her he thinks of, her he longs to see, her for whom he pines.
Like most Holocaust stories, Annexed is horrifying, yet strangely compelling. Largely unsentimental, the book's nonetheless a moving tale of a boy's desperate fight for survival against insurmountable odds. It's bleak, depressing and hopeful all at the same time. Although the book's publication has been marred by controversy (click here and here for more info), I didn't find Dogar's portrayals of Peter, Anne, or the other "characters" in the story at all offensive. We'll never know what truly happened in the Annex and that's okay. Personally, I find Dogar's interpretation almost as valid as Anne's - after all, who's to say that the words of a young girl (especially an imaginative dreamer like Anne Frank) are any less true than Dogar's fictionalized, but well-researched account? The fact is, we'll never know. And personally, I don't care all that much. The story's always going to be gripping, heartbreaking, and utterly affecting - no matter how it's told.
Annexed is not the best written Holocaust tale ever, but it's definitely compelling. Drogar drew me into Peter's story right away, making me want to keep reading even though I knew exactly how it would end. While Peter may not be as vibrant or as lovable as Anne Frank, his tale is still worthy of being told - I think Dogar does an admirable job of telling it. Some of Dogar's prose needs work, sure, and I desperately hope that 90% of the exclamation points that appear in the ARC will be edited out, but all in all, I found Annexed a fulfilling read. Not the "sexed up" book it's been accused of being (although Peter does have some rather vivid dreams), just an honest re-telling of a familiar story. If you've ever longed to hear Peter's side of the story, you'll want to give this one a try.
** I'm not a huge fan of book trailers, but I thought Sharon Dogar's thoughts on writing Annexed were interesting:


(Readalikes: Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl; The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman)
Grade: B-
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for mild language (no F-bombs), sexual content (most of which occurs in Peter's imagination) and violence
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Annexed from the generous folks at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Thank you!