(Image from Barnes & Noble)

(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Ashen Winter, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from its predecessor, Ashfall.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

It's been ten months since the supervolcano at Yellowstone National Park blew its top, smothering the nation in a thick layer of ash.  After a long, dangerous trek from his home in Iowa to his uncle's farm in Illinois, 16-year-old Alex Halprin is finally safe.  He's not living in luxury, by any means, but he's found a permanent place to live, he's helping to grow the kale that's keeping people alive, he's surrounded by family members—his aunt, uncle, cousin and younger sister, Rebecca—and he's sharing a bedroom with his girlfriend, 18-year-old Darla Edmunds.  If it weren't for the fact that his world's turned into a post-apocalyptic nightmare and his parents are lost in it somewhere, life wouldn't be all that bad.  

But the world has gone to pot and his mom and dad are still unaccounted for and Alex won't rest until he finds them.  He doesn't want to leave the only family he's sure he still has, but he has to know what's happened to his parents.  So, Alex and Darla gear up for another hike across the Midwest.  They're headed back to Cedar Falls, Iowa, across 140 miles of barren terrain.  Every mile will be a battle against hunger, thirst, snow, fatigue and, of course, ragtag groups of dangerous, desperate Midwesterners.  Letting their guard down for even a second can mean death or worse—being eaten by cannibals.  It will take every last ounce of their courage, cunning and craftiness to make it to their destination alive.

Like Ashfall before it, Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin (available October 16, 2012) tells a fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled survival story.  In fact, it rarely stops to take a breath.  It's all action, all the time.  Character development doesn't suffer for it, though, as Alex and Darla continue to get fleshed out, making them more sympathetic and compelling with every page.  Ashen Winter does take the whole cannibal thing to a new level, which got so nauseating at times I considered putting the book down altogether.  I couldn't, though, not without knowing what became of Alex and Darla.  If you have a weak stomach, you might want to steer clear, because once you get into this series, there really is no getting out.  Like I've said before, it's not the most original YA dystopian or the most brilliant, but there's something about it that keeps me reading—even when my grossed-out stomach is screaming, "Stop!  Please, for the love of all that's holy, make it stop!"  Ah, cannibals.  They're just so compelling that way.       

(Readalikes:  Ashfall by Mike Mullin; also The Road by Cormac McCarthy; The Last Survivors trilogy [Life As We Knew It; The Dead & the Gone; The World We Live In] by Susan Beth Pfeffer; and a little like the Gone series [Gone; Hunger; Lies; Plague; Fear] by Michael Grant)

Grade:  B

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 (possibly R) for violence/gore, sexual content and language (no F-bombs)

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of Ashen Winter from the generous folks at Tanglewood Press via Netgalley.  Thank you!

(Image from Tribute Books)

How do successful women turn their personal challenges and tragedies into victories?  That's the question that plagued life coach Annmarie Kelly in February of 2011 as she waited for a call from her doctor, telling her whether or not she had cervical cancer.  Although her problem turned out to be much less severe than cancer, Kelly never forgot the deep pondering she'd done during that topsy-turvy period between receiving alarming test results and waiting to get a possibly life-threatening diagnosis.  These thoughts led Kelly to write Victorious Woman!, a book about women who have overcome serious obstacles in life.  As she talked with each of these ladies, she paid special attention to what tools they used to turn their hardships into victories. 

Nine women are featured in the book.  Each has a unique story.  Some have dealt with serious illness, spousal abuse, homelessness, heart-wrenching problems with their children, legal battles, career struggles, depression, addiction and much, much more.  How did they deal with it?  With tears, initially.  Then, they got to work.  They left abusive situations, sought higher education, demanded better jobs, got treatment for health problems/addictions, and, in myriad other ways, fought for what was important to them.  Along the way, they each found an inner strength they never knew they possessed.

Kelly uses each vignette to illustrate tools all women can use to turn their own hurts into helpful lessons that push them toward achieving the goals they've set for themselves.  Things like courage, proactivity, goal-setting, and planning are demonstrated by each of the women featured in the book.  After each story, Kelly includes a "Stepping Stones to Victory" section, which offers thoughtful questions for the reader.  She encourages readers to write the answers to the questions in a journal, allowing them to think about what each woman's story has taught them.  Kelly's hope is that this kind of deep self-reflection will help women make positive changes in their own lives, leading them to their own victories.

Victorious Woman! isn't really my kind of book.  I knew that when I agreed to be part of its blog tour.  Still, I thought I'd give it a try, thinking, hey, maybe I'll learn something.  I mean, we can all use a little encouragement and inspiration in our lives, right?  And this one definitely provides that.  Although the book gets long, it's better written than I thought it would be.  Very readable.  Still, I got bored with it, especially since all of the stories seemed to be demonstrating the same principles.  Overall, I didn't relate to most of the stories, so while they were inspiring, I didn't find them all that relevant, if that makes sense.  My conclusion?  If you like girl power-type self-help books, you'll probably like this one.  If you don't, you won't.  If you're kind of so-so about them, then you'll probably feel as I did about this one—it's just okay.  Empowering, but nothing really Earth-shattering or special.   

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't really think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:  C+

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG for mild language and (brief, non-graphic) discussions of adult subjects like domestic abuse, sex, etc. 

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Victorious Woman! from the generous folks at Tribute Books in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!   

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

If 16-year-old Loann Rochester could have any wish, it would be this—to trade lives with her older sister.  Why?  Because Claire is everything Loann's not.  She's tall, thin, beautiful, smart and popular.  To walk in her shoes, even for a day, would be to know total perfection, absolute happiness.  If only.  Since wishes never come true outside of fairy tales, Loann's stuck with her own life as a short, plump, red-haired nobody. She might as well be invisible.  With Claire around, no one will ever notice Loann.

Except someone is noticing.  Unless Loann's completely delusional (which is entirely possible), gorgeous Josh Garrison is noticing. Which would be incredible, if he wasn't Claire's boyfriend.  And that's another thing—what's up with Claire?  She's acting distant and secretive, even from Josh and her other friends.  Loann's already got her own friend drama as well as some boy drama and even some drama drama to deal with, she's not sure she can handle sister drama, too.  But as Loann makes a disturbing discovery about where Claire's all-consuming quest for perfection has led her, she realizes that Claire's in serious trouble.  Life or death trouble.  And Claire seems hell-bent on choosing the latter.  As Loann tries to save her sister, she'll have to come to terms with her own limitations and rely on an inner strength she never knew she had.

Never Enough, a sophomore novel by contemporary YA author Denise Jaden, is pretty much what you'd expect from a teen issue novel.  It tells a story that's affecting and believable, even if it's one you've heard a million times before.  While I didn't find either Loann or Claire to be particularly memorable as characters, I definitely felt the strength of their bond as sisters.  Since that relationship formed the heart of the book, everything else in the novel felt authentic to me.  Still, Never Enough didn't have enough originality to really wow me.  Overall, I thought it was just okay, one of those didn't-love-it-didn't-hate-it kind of reads.         

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of Saving Ruth by Zoe Fishman and Purge by Sarah Darer Littman)

Grade:  B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), sexual content and violence

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Never Enough from the generous Denise Jaden.  Thank you!   

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

(Note:  Although this review will not contain spoilers from Unwholly, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from its predecessor Unwind.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

So, I have this thing for Neal Shusterman.  Kind of an embarrassing fan girl thing.  I love him.  I mean, really love him.  But, see, the man earns my admiration with every single book he writes.  Everything he pens speaks to me on multiple levels.  He's that good.  If you haven't read him—and gone gaga over his abundant talent—then something is wrong with you.  Seriously wrong.    

The proceeding public service announcement was brought to you by your friendly neighborhood book blogger.  

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about Unwholly, the newest entry in Shusterman's Unwind trilogy.  The long-anticipated second novel in the series continues the stories of Connor, Lev, Risa and the other AWOLs, but not directly.  It begins with a different set of kids—several of whom are scheduled to be unwound in the near future (unwinding = "The process by which an individual is dismantled.  By law, 99.44 percent of a person must be used and kept alive in transplant."  Parents can choose to unwind their children after the age of 13) and one who is a strange kind of miracle, something no one (not even the reader) has ever seen before.  As their lives intersect with each other and with Connor's crew, headquartered at an aircraft graveyard in Arizona, all of their tales contribute to the (fictional) debate over unwinding.  Is it moral?  Is it criminal?  Should the government be allowed to kill hundreds of (mostly) unwanted children in order to save those considered more worthy?  

Connor Lassiter, of course, believes that unwinding is the cruelest, vilest idea anyone has ever dreamed up.  And he will risk everything—even his own life—to stop the procedure from happening.  Maybe it's a losing battle, too much trouble for the overworked Connor, but he has to do what he can.  If only he could push away the everyday problems of his charges, deal with the new kid determined to stage a coup, and figure out how to make Risa happy—then, maybe he could concentrate on fighting the evil that is unwinding.  With trouble, in many forms, on the horizon, the Akron AWOL needs to get his head in the game.  And fast.

The plot may sound a little unfocused, but it's not.  Not at all.  Unwholly is just as complex, just as absorbing, just as impactful as Unwind.  Maybe even more so.  This truly is a brilliant series, one I can't recommend highly enough.  Shusterman fans everywhere will agree with me—you don't want to miss these books.  They're incredible and I don't say that very often, so just trust me on this one.  Have I ever steered you wrong?  I didn't think so.      

(Readalikes:  Unwind by Neal Shusterman)

Grade:  A

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), violence, and sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Unwholly from Amazon using some of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.