REVIEW: All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher's Summary:

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

My Thoughts:

I've been a Stiefvater fan for a long time. I had a difficult time engaging with the story and the characters. Part of this is the audiobook's fault. It was boring and in my opinion, pretty terrible. There was no 'life' to the narrative performance. 

The book's strengths remain Stiefvater's writing ability. Her attention to detail and narrative building are superb. I understand that the book has taken some criticism as she delves into writing from the POV of people of color for the first time. I did not note instances that would take offense but I would leave that as a judgement for others. What is positive is seeing more characters of diversity in YA literature at all. 

I was less enthused with the story itself. I found it a bit too cerebral to peak the interest of a wide scope of teen readers. While I always appreciate Stiefvater's ability to push young readers beyond the predictable and stereotypical books so commonly publish, this was might be too outside the box. I couldn't connect and just did not care about finishing the story at all. 

Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars (it was almost a DNF for me and my personal rating was a harsh 1 star)

REVIEW: Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel Jose Older

The first in the Bone Street Rumba series, is a foray into paranormal noir.  Carlos Delacruz is an inbetweener--half dead, half alive--working for the New York Council of the Dead.  He thinks he's unique—until he encounters other entities walking the fine line between life and death.

Eliminating a threat at the Council's behest, Carlos learns that he isn't alone.  Guilt and duty lead him to find the sister of his victim. However, what Carlos discovers is an inbetweener sorcerer who has summoned ngks, a horde of imp-like creatures that consume spirits. If they're not stopped, they'll spread through the city like a plague. Revealing the identity of this man means that Carlos must confront his own life and death. Much remains shrouded in mystery for tale to come.

This was my chance to try a genre I'm not as familiar with. At times Carlos reminds me a bit of Harry Dresden (but Dresden has a better sense of humor or an isn't as cynical). Other readalikes are Fated by Benedict Jacka, The Devil You Know by Mike Carey, and Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey.

The city and this interpretation of Brooklyn are very much supporting characters to the narrative. Carlos is intriguing in perspective--jaded, but likeable for readers. What is interesting is experiencing him learn of his own fragmented memories and to see how he deals with some pretty life altering changes. I liked the book for its diversity of characters, pacing and storytelling. I did feel the flow was hampered a bit at times and I didn't particularly like the ending. Furthermore, I'd have to have proof that the depiction of female characters improves in subsequent books. From the covers alone, I think at least Sasha plays a larger role.

Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Follow the author on Twitter: @djolder



#BoneStreetRumba #halfresurrectionblues #paranormalnoir #mystery #ghosts