Ryan's second January 2013 pick

Snow White Must Die - Nele Neuhaus

A small German village is plagued by the tragic memories of a double homicide when the man accused of the crimes is released from prison after serving a ten year sentence. When another girl goes missing, the villagers take matters into their own hands. This murder-mystery-crime-thriller kept me guessing right up until the very end. The basic lesson I learned from this novel is to trust no one and suspect everyone.

Snow White Must Die is a Must Read.

Excerpt:

“Hello, Snow White,” he said softly. Beads of sweat formed on his brow. The heat was almost unbearable, but that was the way she liked it. Before, she had always been sensitive to cold. His gaze drifted to the photographs that he had put up beside her bed. He wanted to ask her whether he could put up a new one, but he needed to save this request for the proper moment, when she wouldn’t take offense. Cautiously he sat down on the edge of the bed. The mattress sagged a bit under his weight, and for a moment he thought she had moved. But no. She never moved. He reached out his hand and placed it on her cheek. Her skin had taken on a yellowish hue over the years and now felt stiff and leathery. As always she had her eyes closed, and even though her skin was no longer as tender and rosy, her mouth was as beautiful as before, back when she still talked to him and smiled. He sat there for a long while looking at her. His desire to protect her had never felt so strong.
“I have to be going,” he said at last, regretfully. “I have so much to do.”
He got up, took the wilted flowers from the vase, and made sure that the bottle of cola on her nightstand was full.
“Tell me if you need anything, all right?”
Sometimes he missed her laughter, and then he felt sad. Of course he knew that she was dead, yet he still found it simpler to act as if he didn’t know. He had never given up hoping for a smile from her.

Ryan's 2nd December 2012 pick

Ryan's October 2012 pick

 The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling’s new book for adults,The Casual Vacancy, is a dark, intense story that centers around a small town’s reaction to one man’s sudden death. This book is NOT FOR CHILDREN. The subject material becomes increasingly bleak and grim throughout the story, including such things as drug use, sex, abuse, rape, and death.

After Parish Councillor Barry Fairbrother dies suddenly, a small town is thrust into a local war as a campaign to fill his seat creates factions within the town and some of it’s member’s darkest secrets are revealed.

This story is incredibly written and unspeakably heart-wrenching. There are no secondary characters in this story; everyone has a back-story and a major part to play, from the upper-middle class citizens fighting to remove the blemish that is “The Fields” from their precious town, to the teenagers just trying to survive each day. These characters will become your friends and neighbors and enemies as you delve into the small town with dark roots beneath it’s pretty face.

The Casual Vacancy will tug at your heart strings and leave you feeling shocked and dismayed, but also refreshed and better for having read it. Rowling’s writing style is brilliant as always, and her passion for each character and their particular story really comes through. This book is incredible, despite it’s heavy subject matter. It’s a unique story written in a way that only J.K. Rowling could accomplish.

Excerpt:

“Disgust rose in Samantha like vomit. She wanted to seize the over-warm cluttered room and mash it between her hands, until the royal china, and the gas fire, and the gilt-framed pictures of Miles broke into jagged pieces; then, with wizened and painted Maureen trapped and squalling inside the wreckage, she wanted to heave it, like a celestial shot-putter, away into the sunset. The crushed lounge and doomed crone inside it, soared in her imagination through the heavens, plunging into the limitless ocean, leaving Samantha alone in the endless stillness of the universe.”

Ryan's August 2012 pick

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami is a 925 page novel about a woman named Aomame who finds herself in an alternate reality that shares most similarities but some drastic differences from her own 1984, and a man named Tengo who agrees to be a ghostwriter for a novel and soon notices that his reality and the world of that novel are becoming difficult to distinguish. A rather large book, 1Q84 sucks you in from the very first page, grasping your attention firmly by the collar and refusing to let go until the final word has been read and only then does it relinquish you from it’s clutches, but remains close by, smoothing the wrinkles from your shirt, reminding you of its presence and inviting you to pick it up again and again. This novel is fascinating, engrossing, compelling, and brilliant. Murakami’s writing is impeccable and unique. He blends science fiction, romance, adventure, and fantasy in a novel as intricately woven as a spider’s web.

As soon as I finished reading this novel, I gave it to my boyfriend to read and found myself reading it again over his shoulder. This book tastes good in my mouth when I read it. It’s like food for the soul; it flows along smoothly, building tension and anticipation and excitement, and never once snagging it’s plot on a rock or a twig. Murakami carefully guides his readers through the unfamiliar world, cautiously pointing out important details and slowly revealing twists and turns. He takes great care with each and every thread of storyline, weaving and tightening as he goes, until his impressive web sparkles gloriously with dew in the light of two moons.

Excerpt (Chapter One):

“It’s just that you’re about to do something out of the ordinary. And after you do something like that, the everyday look of things might seem to change a little. Things may look different to you than they did before. But don’t let appearances fool you. There’s always only one reality.”

Ryan's 3rd August 2012 pick

Cinder -Marissa Meyer

A dark, futuristic spin on the Grimm Cinderella tale, Cinder is a YA novel with a lot of heart, courage, and defiance. Cinder is a cyborg, shunned by those who know of her metal parts, disrespected by her stepmother and stepsister, and left to deal with such normal teenage issues as the plague, a murderous alien queen, and of course, the handsome prince trying to win her affection. Cinder is the first novel in a series by Marissa Meyer (the subsequent sequels to be released beginning in 2013) and mixes the emotions of adolescence with adventure, death, and robots. “Cinder” is a spectacular dark fiction novel for young adults itching to get a new view on the classic fairy tale. There are no glass slippers in this story. Only steel feet.

Excerpt (Chapter 1):

The screw through Cinder’s angle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle. Her knuckles ached from forcing the screwdriver into the joint as she struggled to loosen the screw on gritting twist after another. By the time it was extracted far enough for her to wrench free with her prosthetic steel hand, the hairline threads had been stripped clean.

Tossing the screwdriver onto the table, Cinder gripped her heel and yanked the foot from its socket. A spark singed her fingertips and she jerked away, leaving the foot to dangle from a tangle of red and yellow wires.