The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
Balzar + Bray (an imprint of HarperTeen/HarperCollins), 432 pages
Expected US Release Date: January 29, 2013
Format: Print ARC
Source: Around the World ARC Tours - thank you!

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.
-------------------Goodreads summary
Prior to reading The Madman's Daughter, I would never have said I like Gothic Horror/Thriller. Or that I read it. Or that I would consider reading it (I'm easily scared). But now? Oh hell yes. I am DOWN with this genre if it's all like Megan Shepherd's book!

There were so many fantastic elements to this book I have no idea where to start! I picked it up because I'd always wanted to read The Island of Dr. Moreau, and I figured a YA version had to be pretty awesome - plus, I'll admit that I'm buying into the hype. So many people had this book on their WoWs, or were talking about how badly they wanted to read it, and then so many people signed up for the ARC Tour, and I was like "What is up with this book?! What makes it so awesome?"

The answer: EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING, I TELL YOU.

It really is a creepy tale. The idea of experimenting on animals and vivisection (live dissection) to make them talk, act and think like docile humans is enough to make my squirm; and then the details that are given just make it that much more gruesome. Megan can reeeaaally paint a picture, guys - guts and body parts and heartbeats while a scalpel is cleanly slicing through. It is terrifying and heart-pumping and awesome all at once. Like I said, I scare easy, but there's something so captivating about the writing and how each scene is described as well as how it plays into the entire story that had me absolutely riveted.

I'm not sure what it is, but female MCs are a bit of a struggle with me most times - I'm very critical of them simply because I compare them to myself and I am quite self-criticizing, no matter how often we are told not to do it. That said, I was surprised at how much I liked Juliet! She's got a fantastic personality mixed with a great heaping of strength and realism and intelligence. At the same time, I found her completely relatable in how much she doubted and yearned for love from her father and how scared she was of this madness that might be within her. She's well-rounded and well-developed and I can't wait to get to know her more through the rest of the trilogy.

Who else do I want to get to know? MONTGOMERY. In an entiiiiiiiiirely different way than I want to know Juliet though, and a whole lot less ladylike. I am so in love with this character, it is ridiculous. It's something to do with how smart and hopeless and broken he is, how he hates himself but is proud and how compassionate and caring he is towards everyone - animals and humans and the unfortunate inbetweens. Every scene between him and Juliet was crackling with delicious tension, and I can't even formulate how jealous I was of her for having his intentions. Even though he's blonde (ech...not my kind of man!) and arguably as intelligently mad as the father sometimes, I love him. All of him. Every bit. Yes.

Anyway. What was I saying? Right.

This was a phenomenal story. I haven't read the original tale, so I don't know what is taken from there or what is original or added, but I was totally taken for a ride. Things I thought would happen either didn't at all, or did in a way I never expected. Every time I thought I had something figured out, I was thrown through a loop and reminded that I am just a pawn in Megan's writing game. The pacing and tone is unreal, and I was completely, totally lost in the story. I found myself immersed with no hope of getting out until I'd read the very last word, and I have absolutely no regrets.

Here's what the magic is in this book: yes, it's creepy. It's weird to think of hybrid animals and humans, especially when there are characters who are spelled out exactly what they are (one character is a sheep + 3 rabbits and completely resembled a human. Yeah. Dwell on that). Kinda makes the skin crawl, actually. Juliet's father really is a madman, and you have no idea the extent of it (I barely believe it and I read it!). But through all this violence and weirdness, you also immensely care about everyone involved. You completely understand how the Father would think he's not mad and how he believes his experiments will improve humanity. You don't blame Montgomery for assisting the father all these years, through all the horrors. You fall in love with him, in an all-encompassing way. You want to hug Juliet to you and help her struggle her way through figuring out her Father and the island. And even though Edward is...well, I can't quite say what his placement in the story is (I had a hunch about mid-way through, but it still shocked me how everything played out!), but you still love him a little bit and want to run after him to the jungle.

Read this book, guys. I can't recommend it enough. If you're like me and think nah, I'm not into Gothic Horror - GET OVER IT. THIS IS WORTH IT.

But that ending? OMG. WHERE IS BOOK 2?! MY HEART!

The Archived (Archived #1) by Victoria Schwab
Disney-Hyperion, 336 pages
US Release Date: January 22, 2013 (go buy it!)
Format: Print ARC
Source: ALA Annual 2012 - thank you Hyperion!

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.
------------------------Goodreads summary
The Archived is unlike anything I've ever read before. The concept itself was fascinating and immediately drew me in - mostly because I couldn't help but think of drone-like shells of people sitting on shelves, heads drooped in sleep mode - and I have to say, it did not disappoint!

It baffles me that people refer to this book as a Dystopian, because I just don't see that anywhere. It's hard to pin down, actually - a little bit fantasy, a little bit science fiction and paranormal, a little bit thriller and mystery. Whatever way you want to try and categorize it, just know that you will find something you like within it. My favourite part was the concept of The Archived itself and how Histories can be woken to the point of escape. It's such a clever, unique idea, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the series will bring to us.

I'll admit that it took me a little bit of time to get into the story - while the beginning is necessary by ways of explanation, there was something just a little too slow for me. But past the first 50 pages, I was absolutely, totally in. I highly suspect that Victoria meant it to be that way, actually - it made getting caught up in the story that much more of a whirlwind. Suddenly, your heart is pounding as she's in the narrows and hunting Histories, and you're screaming at the book for her to turn around, he's got a knife!

If I told you that I actually got scared by this book, would you believe me? Because you should. And it's not like it's an exceptionally scary book, or made to be terrifying or horror. Because it's not! But there was something about the writing and the scenery, the Narrows and how I imagined them to be the stuff of horror movies (dim hallways, fog drifting and lighting up only certain white chalk marks and vague doors that lead to God-Knows-What...), how it's about dying people who have been disturbed and are now trying to figure out where they are. Add in the idea of Keepers being able to read people and their pasts through a simple touch, and my imagination just goes wild. It is thrilling, in a disturbingly awesome way.

And...ok, we have to talk about the boys. Wesley first, since OMG I WANT HIM.  Guyliner and all (actually sometimes it can be hot...but we'll pretend I never said that). He's so hilarious and witty and surprising - sometimes a little too perfect, but I can accept it here because it works so well off Mackenzie. I'm not going to give away what part he plays with the whole thing, but...I believe in him. I believe in his abilities and his personality and his support and what he can do and omg can I just have him in my life, PLEASE?!

Moving on to Owen. Who I'm not going to say what he is or does either, but...I knew it. I KNEW IT. How dare Victoria toy with me in regards to him! I was so on the fence, and then I was so certain, but then it was all ripped away, but then I doubted the ripping...he's a fantastic character for getting me all riled up and invested. He's such a mystery, and then when I finally learned what he was doing, I wished so hard it could go back to the mystery. I hate him as much as I love his role.

But this story isn't just about boys, no matter how much I'm making it seem so. It's about love and family and how that can transcend the planes of existence into the Archived and what that bond can do. It's about friendship and coworkers and teams and just what is done to maintain that. It's about the belief in yourself and what you can do, and what you need to do to maintain who you are to those around you and who are you to yourself. It's about strength, and weakness, and how often one of those needs the other.

I am so excited for the rest of the series. I'm glad that Victoria says she doesn't do cliffhanger endings, because I seriously think a little bit of me would have died if she'd ended The Archived any other way. But how she does is a perfect setup for what's to come, too. There are still so many questions I have, and I love how much we learn about The Archived and its "employees" towards the end. Definitely whet my appetite, and I am going to be anticipated Book 2 like crazy now!

PS. MAJOR COVER LOVE. One of my favourites yet.

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

The Namesake by Steven Parlato
Merit Press, 256 pages

While he may be the smartest boy at St. Sebatian's Academy, Evan has no idea why the father he's named for committed suicide. A searching story of a boy's too-early coming of age

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Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook
HarperTeen, 304 pages
Expected US Release Date: January 29, 2013
Format: print ARC
Source: DAC ARC Tours - thank you so much!
Challenges: 2013 Debut Author Challenge, Contemporary Challenge

Bonnie and Clyde meets IF I STAY in this addictively heart-wrenching story of two desperate teenagers on the run from their pasts.

They’re young. They’re in love. They’re on the run.

Zoe wants to save Will as much as Will wants to save Zoe. When Will turns eighteen, they decide to run away together. But they never expected their escape to be so fraught with danger....

When the whole world is after you, sometimes it seems like you can’t run fast enough.

Nobody But Us, told in alternating perspectives from Will and Zoe, is an unflinching novel, in turns heartbreaking and hopeful, about survival, choices, and love...and how having love doesn’t always mean that you get a happy ending. Described as “beautiful, heartbreaking, and exhilarating” by Kody Keplinger, author of The DUFF, Nobody But Us will prove irresistible to fans of Nina Lacour, Jenny Han, and Sara Zarr.
--------------------Goodreads summary

Uses For Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt
St. Martin's Press, 240 pages
Expected US Release Date: January 14, 2013
Format: e-ARC
Source: NetGalley - thanks St. Martin's Press!

Anna remembers a time before boys, when she was little and everything made sense. When she and her mom were a family, just the two of them against the world. But now her mom is gone most of the time, chasing the next marriage, bringing home the next stepfather. Anna is left on her own—until she discovers that she can make boys her family. From Desmond to Joey, Todd to Sam, Anna learns that if you give boys what they want, you can get what you need. But the price is high—the other kids make fun of her; the girls call her a slut. Anna's new friend, Toy, seems to have found a way around the loneliness, but Toy has her own secrets that even Anna can't know.

Then comes Sam. When Anna actually meets a boy who is more than just useful, whose family eats dinner together, laughs, and tells stories, the truth about love becomes clear. And she finally learns how it feels to have something to lose—and something to offer. Real, shocking, uplifting, and stunningly lyrical, Uses for Boys is a story of breaking down and growing up.
--------------Goodreads summary
I know for a fact I wasn't the only one who was fooled, but I'll state it again: that pretty, ethereal cover that seems to spell out a wonderful romance? NOT. TRUE. DON'T FALL FOR IT. LOOK AWAY FROM THE GORGEOUS LIGHTS.

But really. Heather said in her review that the word for this would be "unexpected," and it really is that. I had absolutely no idea what this book would turn out to be; not even after reading the summary. I knew some of the elements (you can't have "slut" in the summary without all the connotations and insinuations of that), and suspected some - but the reality? SO far from what I was thinking.

Let's get this out of the way: this book is raw and gritty. And I've used those words before in reviews, but I mean them in the most emotionally literal ways I can. This book doesn't hold back. There's mental abuse and sexual abuse and sexual discovery and a lot of uncomfortable moments - and I am no prude. There's family troubles, being lost, manipulation and using people and taking advantage of a girl who doesn't know better. There's relationships and all the bases and it tells you them. In a surprising amount of detail.

So be prepared for all that, if you read this book.

But here's what's also in store for you: a heartbreaking, sometimes disturbing, and surprisingly hopeful story of a girl forced to grow up in crummy situations and how she learns to deal with it. Sure, there's a loooot of detail, but there's also a lot of tenderness, and real feelings. Even though a lot of the time I wanted to shake Anna and tell her to snap out of her thoughts and woman up, I also wanted to protect her pretty fast. I just wanted to make things better for her and teach her what real love means and that no, a hand on your knee does not mean affection.

Watching Anna grow up and make mistakes was pretty tough, I won't lie - there are certain things I just wanted to push her out of the way of and steer her clear. I wanted to yell at her sometimes. But the moments when she really feels happy, when she feels like she's making sense of all the mixed messages her crap mother has sent her? It made my heart so full for her. There are moments of revelation and real love here, and I think they were made better because it was surrounded by such darker moments.

The main downfall for me were the characters. I couldn't stand Toy from the moment she and Anna met, and I thought she was so flimsy and see-through. It was never a surprise to me of what she was or who she turned out to be. I'm not a fan of Anna, though I admit that my frustration with her is probably what clouds that judgment. And each of the boys...yes, they had redeeming parts (especially Sam), but there were so many flaws in each one and very little for me to find something to love.

I have to comment on the writing, though: it's fabulous. It's got such a unique tone to it, and it presents the subject matter so perfectly. It fits Anna and her situation so well, and I think how it's written is the thing that ultimately saved this book and made it completely worth the read. If nothing else, read this book to understand how the writing itself can convey the story.

Safekeeping by Karen Hesse
Feiwel and Friends (an imprint of Macmillan), 304 pages
US Release Date: September 18, 2012
Format: Print ARC
Source: Publisher, for review. Thank you!

Radley just wants to get home to her parents in Vermont. While she was volunteering abroad, the American People's Party took power; the new president was assassinated; and the government cracked down on citizens. Travel restrictions are worse than ever, and when her plane finally lands in New Hampshire, Radley’s parents aren’t there.

Exhausted; her phone dead; her credit cards worthless: Radley starts walking.
----------------Goodreads summary