The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Let's face it, the cover drew me in when I first saw it at BEA. A falling woman sinking into what? A woman thrown up by magical forces? Like many people, I both cringe and gawk at an accident, and this book drew me in like other "accidents." Once I entered the pages, I was both pleasantly confused and hooked into reading until the end. It's a terrific tale!

Magical Realism... This novel showcases the best aspects of the genre. It begins with a realistic accounting of a seemingly mundane lifestyle with a coincidental family issue. Every year, for about a month, the protagonist's family is prone to accidents; some are minor, but others are so horrific that they stain the future. Throughout the narrator's retelling of events, I was never quite sure if this really happened or if it was the imaginings of a young girl raised in an artistic (read eclectic) family. I think that enigma is what I truly enjoyed about the novel. At some points you say to yourself, "Hey, this is definitely a fantasy novel complete with fairies and witches and supernatural occurrences!" At other times, you convince yourself that these are just the wild imaginings of a deluded young woman. What I particularly loved is that while the ending clarifies many points from the novel, it still leaves the reader wondering which end is up.

The narrator's touching concern for her friends and a "missing" girl drive the plot and add intrigue to the seemingly normal events in her life. The dialogue flows easily and maintains an authentic presence. Vivid descriptions abound and add literary merit to the novel. The suspense builds gradually, but is nonetheless compelling. Many thematic topics are explored including loyalty, friendship, bravery, denial, drug use, secrets, and the paranormal.

Widespread inclusion and acceptance as normal of partying with smoking and drug and alcohol use suggest that it is not appropriate for a middle school audience, but is best suited for high schoolers and older. Adults will enjoy the tale as well!

Read on, my friends! This novel has my high regard.

After the Red Rain

After the Red Rain

by Barry Lyga, Peter Facinelli, and Robert DeFranco

I received an ARC of this book at BEA, and I was immediately drawn in. In fact, it was the first book I wanted to read of the many I had picked up while at BEA. The cover is the first clue that you are entering a post-apocalyptic world. The "cracked" letters and burning pile of debris let you know that this won't be a pretty picture. Indeed, that was certainly the case.

The prologue was creepy and a bit confusing, alluding to an earlier time frame, but it's connection doesn't become apparent until much later in the text. The today of the novel is a terrible potential future: humankind is impoverished, resources are scant, especially "natural" food, and people have been subjugated to the territorial magistrates, overlords who control work and the meager rations.

As is common in post-apocalyptic novels, one person stretches the rules to suit her own purposes. Deedra is an explorer who pushes the boundaries of acceptability in order to scavenge for items and food to supplement her rationed-near-starvation diet. While exploring, she encounters an almost perfect boy named Rose. Immediately, I assumed I would be reading a transgender tale of some sort, but that notion was quickly dispelled and much later replaced with the notion of transhuman.

Deedra's reaction to Rose and her subsequent actions propel the plot at a reckless speed that kept me rooted to turning pages without stopping. I felt her character had real truth. Hers was the outlook of a person who had been told this is the way it is and always has been. Yet in a world where history is a reflection of frequently edited wikis on the net, history is no longer fact, but a human construct of varying, and often conflicting, opinions. Deedra's hopelessness and despair reflect this mentality but seem to grasp for something more.

Stock characters abound, but they play their roles well and serve the overall plotline perfectly. My curiosity about this new world had me intrigued, but the later efforts at world building seemed stagnant and redundant. The strengths of this novel are its interesting observations about human nature in a post-apocalyptic world and its frenetic pace that keeps the reader engaged in the thrilling story. Some vocabulary is a bit high for most middle schoolers and even high schoolers, but overall it is a genuinely readable novel, enjoyable even for adults.

My final take? Go ahead and get it. It's worth the read!