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Life in the Community is peaceful, serene.  Not like the outside world where violence reigns and children—like Layla Hamilton's little sister—can be stolen from their front yards, never to return.  The Hamiltons feel privileged to be among the Chosen, one of only 20 families selected by Pioneer (through visions from God) for salvation.  Their devoted leader knows the end of the world is nigh; he instructs his people to stockpile food, practice shooting to kill, and keep the Silo—their underground fortress—a secret from anyone outside the Community.  

Fifteen-year-old Layla, who's lived under Pioneer's protection for the last 10 years, is content with her cloistered life.  Mostly.  She's looking forward to the End with more excitement than trepidation.  In the meantime, she's thankful to be matched for marriage with her best friend Will.  Maybe her heart doesn't skip a beat when he walks in the room, but she feels comfortable with him.  Truly, there are worse ways to spend her last days on Earth.  

A chance encounter with a boy from the Outside who questions the ways of Pioneer and his Community makes Layla's head spin.  She can't believe someone as nice as Cody Crowley could be evil, deserving of an apocalyptic death.  And the things he's saying about Pioneer—could they possibly be true?  What if he's not receiving divine revelations at all?  The more Layla thinks about it, the more disturbed she becomes.  With Pioneer's predicted apocalypse right around the corner, she must decide what she believes, where she stands and what to do with the time she has left.  At the risk of losing everything that's most important to her.  Forever.  

I don't know why, but I find cults totally intriguing.  That, coupled with my morbid love for dystopian novels, made Gated, a debut novel by Amy Christine Parker, a natural reading choice for me.  Even though the premise sounded a little too familiar, I figured the cult aspect would make the story unique.  Yeah, not so much.  The world of the Community just isn't developed well enough to be believable.  Nor is Pioneer himself.  He might even be the least dynamic of all the characters in the book.  Nothing about him convinced me that he could entice an entire group of people to follow him.  As far as plot goes, there's little here that I haven't seen before.  What does the novel having going for it, then?  Well, it's definitely a quick, exciting read.  It's also a clean teen book, which is something of a rarity.  Layla's questions also made me think about the differences between selfless leaders and egotistical dictators, prophets and imposters, and faithful following vs. blind obedience.  Overall, though, Gated just didn't do a whole lot for me.  I wanted to like it a whole lot more than I did.  Ah, well, such is my reading life.  

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams; The Hallowed Ones and The Outside by Laura Bickle; and a bit of The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau)

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To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

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It's tough being a preacher's kid, especially in a tiny town where sharp eyes detect your every coming and going.  And even sharper tongues report suspicious movements to your father.  Anyway, it's not like 10-year-old Robbie Hewitt goes looking for trouble—it just seems to find him.  He's tried to turn from his wild, mischievous ways, yes he has, but it's not working.  A boy like him just isn't meant to be cooped up in church all day, not when there are trees to climb, fish to catch and bloomers to run up the flagpole.  Still, Robbie knows he has to be careful since his Pa's overly-forgiving nature is already making his position as preacher of the Congregational Church precarious; a few too many misdeeds from the youngest Hewitt could lead to Pa's unemployment.  Then, where would Robbie's family be?   

As the 19th Century winds down, bringing the end of the world with it (at least according to Reverend Pelham), Robbie begins to wonder—what's the point of trying to be a good Christian, anyway?  It's way too much of a burden for someone like him, someone who, "let's face it, ain't got the knack for holiness" (19).  He decides, instead, to become a "heathen, a Unitarian, or a Democrat, whichever was most fun" (19) and to pack as much riotous living as possible into the last months of 1899.  

Even Robbie's surprised by the scale of adventure that comes his way.  But when the young rapscallion finds himself in way, way over his head, he has no idea what to do or who to trust.  Can the avowed "apeist"What' find his faith once more?  Can he fix the messes he's made without getting his Pa fired?  And, most importantly, what exactly will happen to Robbie Hewitt come January 1, 1900?

There's a lot to love about Preacher's Boy, the newest middle grade novel by renowned author Katherine Paterson.  Robbie's a funny narrator, whose rebellious-but-repenting nature makes him both sympathetic and genuine.  His antics made me laugh out loud.  Literally.  The story itself, though, feels a little clumsy to me.  There's not a lot of originality to it, nor is there a strong plot to give meaning to all of Robbie's various exploits.  The characters are vivid, though, as is the disapproving small-town setting.  All in all, the book's entertaining.  Not shout-it-from-the-rooftops amazing, but not a bad yarn either.  

 (Readalikes:  Reminded me of Mark Twain's classics Adventures of Tom Sawyer; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; etc.)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language and intense situations

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Preacher's Boy from the generous folks at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  Thank you!

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(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for The Supreme Macaroni Company, it may inadvertently spoil plot surprises from earlier novels in the Valentine trilogy.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

Despite her reservations about the union and an ill-timed kiss with an old friend, 35-year-old Valentine Roncalli is set to marry Italian tanner Gianluca Vechiarelli on February 14.  In six weeks!  Between now and then, Valentine hopes they can straighten out a few major tangles.  Where to live, for instance.  Valentine can't imagine leaving Greenwich Village, where her family set up its now famous shoe company over 100 years ago.  But Gianluca hates the city, much preferring the gentle Italian countryside.  Valentine wants children; Gianluca already has a grown daughter.  Even after she's married, possibly with kids, Valentine will need to work at a frantic pace to keep the Angelini Shoe Company solvent; Gianluca wants a traditional Italian wife, one who has time for him.  Valentine's solution?  Ignore the problems.  The happy couple can work out all the snarls after the marriage.  Right?

Trouble begins even before the couple's honeymoon in the Big Easy finishes.  It seems as if they don't agree on anything!  Valentine's already considering an annulment.  The pair work things out, but the tension between them doesn't fully dissipate, especially when some surprise twists and turns force them to face their worries, fears and stresses head-on.  Is their marriage strong enough to withstand it all?  Or was their tumultuous union doomed from the beginning?  

As much as I adored Adriana Trigiani's Big Stone Gap series, I've had trouble getting into this newer series.  For one thing, Valentine's troublesome as a protagonist—her brash personality, fickle nature, and selfish choices often make her difficult to love.  Indeed, I've often wondered why the story's cast adores her so.  Also, the books in this series seem to get too bogged down in detail, making the plots sag.  As for a central conflict that keeps the tale on track, always steering it toward an exciting conclusion, The Supreme Macaroni Company doesn't really have one.  It's more episodic, the only real question being if Valentine and Gianluca will stay married.  In short, it's a little dull.  Even the melodramatic finale doesn't have quite the impact it should.  On the bright side, Trigiani knows how to write about families in a way that's warm, funny and always authentic.  And, if you're a fan of what I call the Trigiani Trifecta (Italian families, Italian food, and New York fashion), you'll find plenty of it here.  I just wish I enjoyed this series more.  Ah, well.

(Readalikes:  Very Valentine and Brava, Valentina by Adriana Trigiani; also her Big Stone Gap series [Big Stone Gap; Big Cherry Holler; Milk Glass Moon; Home to Big Stone Gap])

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To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of The Supreme Macaroni Company from the generous folks at Harper Collins via those at TLC Book Tours.  Thank you!