ARC Review: A Room Away from the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma

Title: A Room Away from the Wolves Written by: Nova Ren Suma Published: September 4, 2018 by Algonquin Books for Young Readers (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Bina has never forgotten the time she and her mother ran away from home. Her mother promised they would hitchhike to the city to escape Bina’s cruel father and start over. But before they could even leave town, Bina had a new stepfather and two new stepsisters, and a humming sense of betrayal pulling apart the bond with her mother—a bond Bina thought was unbreakable.  Eight years later, after too many lies and with trouble on her heels, Bina finds herself on the side of the road again, the city of her dreams calling for her. She has an old suitcase, a fresh black eye, and a room waiting for her at Catherine House, a young women’s residence in Greenwich Village with a tragic history, a vow of confidentiality, and dark, magical secrets. There, Bina is drawn to her enigmatic downstairs neighbor Monet, a girl who is equal parts intriguing and dangerous. As Bina’s lease begins to run out, and nightmare and memory get tangled, she will be forced to face the terrible truth of why she’s come to Catherine House and what it will take for her to leave...

I love Nova Ren Suma books and I was so excited to hear that she was coming out with a new one. The Walls Around Us is one of my favorite mysteries and that book is the perfect example on how an author can totally shock the reader at the very end of the book. I was really pumped to get a copy of this book at ALA and read this one. Unfortunately it was not as good as I was hoping.

One thing I will say about this book is how brilliant Nova's prose is. I'm constantly amazed at how beautiful and atmospheric Nova's writing books are and this one was no exception. It had this ethereal quality to it that was gorgeous and visual in a way that I completely loved. She has this great way of creating unique and engaging atmosphere that really draws the reader into the world. It's not over the top either, it just pulls you in with beautiful descriptions and writing that has been the the hallmark of here career.

However, that being said, I think this book relies too heavily on atmosphere. In terms of the world building, there isn't really any and there was a lot of opportunity for it. The setting of this book is very cool and interesting. Catherine House was truly fascinating. I love weird old houses with hidden passageways and secrets for the characters to uncover. Some of the best parts of this book were when they were finding things within the house. But we never got any information about it. And that was only the tip of the iceberg. I feel like sometimes when it comes to settings and worlds with magical realism, which is maybe what I would call this book, you have to remember that less is less. I get wanting to leave things open for interpretation but you need a world that is grounded in something.

But the plot of this book was also open for interpretation and that was even more confusing than the plot. I don't mind when mysteries have a crazy twist at the end of the book, but this felt different for some reason. I also don't mind when a book is left open for interpretation. Usually when that happens I'm left wondering what really happened and I desperately want to know. But here for some reason it felt like the book was being purposefully obstinate. I met Nova at ALA, when I picked up a copy of this book, and she said that this one leaves things totally up for interpretation which makes me thing she did all of this on purpose. Like she didn't want there to be an answer and I kind of realize I need an answer.

The one thing however I did like was the characters. Bina in particular was a really good main character. It was easy to root for her as the kind of character who has been through a lot of hardship and you want her to end up in a better place than she started with. I do think that she could have had better character development though. There were also some interesting secondary characters too. The people at Catherine House were really mysterious and intriguing. I wanted to know more about them and kind of wish we had gotten some answers about them, particularly Catherine herself.

On the whole, I think this showed a lot of promise that it never delivered on. I was totally excited to read it because I love Nova's writing but this one just felt purposefully obtuse and like it relied way too heavily on atmosphere. The mystery could have been much better and the world more grounded and engaging if there were some actual answers.

I give A Room Away from the Wolves 7.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. Not my favorite from this author. If you are a fan of Nova check this book out but it has some of the worst qualities of her previous books. If you are looking for a atmosphere heavy mystery that leaves you wondering what is going on them maybe pick this one up at the library.

Have you read A Room Away from the Wolves? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Book Review: Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Title: Imaginary Girls Written by: Nova Ren Suma Published: June 14, 2011 by Dutton Juvenile (Penguin Group) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.  But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.  With palpable drama and delicious craft, Nova Ren Suma bursts onto the YA scene with the story that everyone will be talking about.

I read The Walls Around Us a few years back and I really loved it. Since then I have been wanting to read more of her books. I saw this one on Overdrive and decided to snag it and read this month before I read her new book this fall. And while it was an engaging read, I didn't quite love it as much as I was hoping.

One thing that I did love about this book was the atmosphere. Nova Ren Suma definitely knows how to draw you in with her writing. She is the kind of writer who pays a lot of attention to the atmosphere and the way the book makes you feel. And what it makes you feel is uncertain and uneasy. There is a lot of mystery and wonder in this book which adds to that as well. Her writing is beautiful and lyrical in a way that you don't usually see with YA thrillers, but Nova does it so well.

The best way she does this is with the setting. We start with a small town in Upstate New York. As someone who grew up in a lake town in Upstate New York I was really excited to read this book and find my hometown in it. And while it wasn't as far upstate as I was hoping, it was still a great setting. It's a place with a lot of history that adds to the mystery and suspense of the setting. I do however wish that we had learned more about the town of Olive and the people who lived there. This isn't a historical mystery but it very easily could have been. As someone who loves those kinds of stories I couldn't help but feel as if this was missing something because it didn't go there. But that is just a personal preference.

Instead of being a historical mystery this book read more like magical realism. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Nova likes to add these subtle magical elements to her books. This one of course was no exception. The magic of this book was just one more thing that added to the mysterious atmosphere of this book. And while I really enjoyed the magical elements of this book I wish they had some more explanation too. It was just something that existed and we never got much information about what was happening and why. I just have so many questions when it comes to the world and plot of this book.

However, one of the really interesting things about this book was the characters. I am going to assume that these are not the kind of characters most people will enjoy. But I really enjoyed them because Nova does unlikable characters so well. Because the characters here are truly terrible. The two main characters are Chloe and Ruby. Ruby for one is truly terrible. She's manipulative and does some completely heinous things throughout the book taking advantage of people who care about her. The only person she really cares about is Chloe who is unable to see how awful she really is. I went into this book expecting a good story of sisterhood and I got one that was about a crazy and codependent family. It was definitely really interesting and kept me guessing though. If you like books about terrible people then this is definitely the book for you.

On the whole I enjoyed this book but it wasn't as tight a book as I was hoping. The setting and world is really interesting and atmospheric but there just wasn't enough info or explanation to it, but it does have interesting and unlikable characters.

I give Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma 8.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. I picked this up from the library and I think this was the right call. It's an interesting read but it didn't blow me away like I was hoping. If you like any of the author's other books then I would pick this one up as well.

Have you read Imaginary Girls? What did you think? Leave  me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Waiting on Wednesday: A Room Away from the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: A Room Away from the Wolves Written by: Nova Ren Suma Published: September 4, 2018 by Algonquin Young Readers (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Bina has never forgotten the time she and her mother ran away from home. Her mother promised they would hitchhike to the city to escape Bina’s cruel father and start over. But before they could even leave town, Bina had a new stepfather and two new stepsisters, and a humming sense of betrayal pulling apart the bond with her mother—a bond Bina thought was unbreakable.  Eight years later, after too many lies and with trouble on her heels, Bina finds herself on the side of the road again, the city of her dreams calling for her. She has an old suitcase, a fresh black eye, and a room waiting for her at Catherine House, a young women’s residence in Greenwich Village with a tragic history, a vow of confidentiality, and dark, magical secrets. There, Bina is drawn to her enigmatic downstairs neighbor Monet, a girl who is equal parts intriguing and dangerous. As Bina’s lease begins to run out, and nightmare and memory get tangled, she will be forced to face the terrible truth of why she’s come to Catherine House and what it will take for her to leave...

 
Why I'm Waiting:

I have only read one Nova Ren Suma book but it freaking blew my mind. I have been wanting to read more of her books since then. I mean she wrote a totally fantastic thriller with an ending that had me totally reeling after finishing. And like three years later I think I'm still not entirely sure what happened. This is not a common occurrence for me so I'm always trying to recreate that feeling.

But even if I wasn't super pumped to read more books by this author, I would probably want to read this book because that synopsis sounds amazing! I am such a sucker for books that mention houses with dark secrets and mysterious pasts. I love thinking about what may have happened in the old Victorian house I live in so I love thinking about that for other houses. I can't wait to read it!

I am definitely going to be picking up a copy of this book. I was rejected on Netgalley which was a total bummer but I am hoping that there will be copies at ALA. But either way I am planning to get my hands on this book because it sounds so fantastic and I definitely need to read it.

What about you? What are you waiting for this Wednesday? Are you waiting on A Room Away from the Wolves along with me? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

Title: The Walls Around Us Author: Nova Ren Suma Published: March 24, 2015 by Algonquin Books (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: “Ori’s dead because of what happened out behind the theater, in the tunnel made out of trees. She’s dead because she got sent to that place upstate, locked up with those monsters. And she got sent there because of me.”  On the outside, there’s Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement.  On the inside, within the walls of the Aurora Hills juvenile detention center, there’s Amber, locked up for so long she can’t imagine freedom.  Tying their two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls’ darkest mysteries . . .  What really happened on the night Orianna stepped between Violet and her tormentors? What really happened on two strange nights at Aurora Hills? Will Amber and Violet and Orianna ever get the justice they deserve—in this life or in another one?  In prose that sings from line to line,Nova Ren Suma tells a supernatural tale of guilt and of innocence, and of what happens when one is mistaken for the other.

*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher (thanks Algonquin) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have a long history of loving mystery novels and thrillers. From Goosebumps to Nancy Drew then on to Cozy Mysteries and so on. I am always looking for a really good YA mystery but often the ones I read fall a little flat. The Walls Around Us is the YA mystery and thriller I have been waiting for! It is complex and compelling with great settings, characters, and mystery that gets it right.

One of the things that I really liked about the book were the unique and compelling worlds of the book. We are taken through two equally cutthroat and dark settings in The Walls Around Us. First it's the world of a prison for young female juvenile delinquents. Then it's the world of ballet. With each setting we are able to completely immerse ourselves in what it was like to be a part of these worlds. We can see the jumpsuits and cells of the prison just as well as we can see point shoes and costumes of the ballet. Where the ballerinas are glitzy and glamorous with bright futures, the prisoners are disadvantaged and with nothing but hope. And despite the fact that they seem like they are two completely different worlds, the similarities are there as well. Both places have equal parts camaraderie and competitiveness. And both worlds are more than they seem. This made them the perfect location for the story of intrigue and mystery that was The Walls Around Us.

However the changing locations did sometimes get frustrating. I have a complicated relationship with multiple point of views and while I didn't particularly hate it here, I didn't always like going back and forth. Sometimes I would forget entirely what had happened in the previous section. It would move to a different place when I was becoming really invested in that story. It's not that it would leave on cliffhanger, in fact the transitions were really well done, it's just that it was kind of a confusing shift. But that may have been because I personally found the sections within the prison to be more compelling. But both were engaging places for the story and added a more well-rounded look at the plot and characters.

But it wasn't just the settings for this book that are more than they seem, the characters too were complex and interesting. The character that ties the two worlds together is Orianna or Ori. She is a ballerina who is sent to prison for committing a heinous crime. But she's not really the main character. Our two protagonists are Amber, a girl who has been in prison for a few years now and her best friend Violet, a ballerina who is getting ready to attend Juliard. And despite their differences there is some pretty interesting narrative symmetry and a lot of similarities between the characters. Neither character is particularly likable. They'll prickly, backstabbing, and rash. And yet somehow you root for them. Nova Ren Suma has done a fantastic job in making them sympathetic despite them not being very likable. Those weaknesses make them feel so real and the equal amounts of backstabbing from the secondary characters make you want them to succeed in the end. Both characters have secrets and their lack of honesty adds a lot to their characters. They're unreliable narrators, which I love. We're told right away how things end for them and Ori but we aren't told how or why. It makes them untrustworthy and not very likable but without a doubt the characters are complex and compelling.

But the most complex and compelling thing about this book was the mystery. I don't want to give too much away because you really need to read it for yourself. But just suffice to say that this is my favorite kind of mystery. I figured out the big picture parts of the twist pretty early in the book but it still worked. A lot of times what I see with mysteries, especially YA mysteries, is they try to surprise you by not giving you any clues or it feels too obvious. The Walls Around Us never felt like it was delaying the reveal and it felt unique and imaginative. It felt solvable instead of predictable. The clues were unveiled in a deliberate way that backed up my assumptions about the story. And yet there were still so many surprises. When everything was all said and done I was shocked, confused, and incredibly entertained. It was the YA mystery I have been waiting for. One that is complex and full of surprises while still being solvable. I seriously loved it.

The Walls Around Us was an incredibly enjoyable read. Nova Ren Suma has crafted a truly captivating and complex story here. It was atmospheric and pulls you in for something thrilling and unique. You're lulled into a false sense of beauty and hope just to be shocked and gutted by the ending. It builds to an exciting conclusion and with lots of mystery and excitement along the way, it was a great ride and a truly captivating read.

I give The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. If you are a fan of mysteries and thrillers this one is not to be missed. It definitely has some crossover appeal but if you are looking for that YA mystery that will keep you guessing but still let you solve the mystery then this is the book for you. I heard it referred to somewhere as Orange is the New Black Swan (hence the gifs) which is a totally accurate comparison so if you enjoy that TV show and/or movie check this out. It's worth it!

Have you read The Walls Around Us? What did you think? If you haven't what is your favorite YA mystery, are there any like this you think I should check out? Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!